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#1 Feb 09, 2006 18:48:19

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The Scout's Handbook

Having not seen a handbook post for the Scout yet, and having taken interest in the class for some time now, I’ve

decided to try my humble hand at making a handy-dandy guide. This will, I hope, be an evolving document – any

thoughts, advice, criticism or other commentary will be quite welcome. I'll be happy to add in any solid suggestions,

and I'm sure the many great folks here have things to say that I've completely missed.

Vitals

• Moderate BAB

• d8 Hit Die

• Good Ref save

• 8 + Int mod skill point per level

• Standard party roles: ranged skirmisher, ranged destroyer, melee skirmisher, melee mobile striker, melee

destroyer, scout/infiltrator

Class Abilities

• Skirmish – When the Scout moves at least 10 ft., he receives a damage and AC bonus. This goes up to +5d6/+5

AC at level 19, paralleling a rogue’s sneak attack progression. In most cases, an optimized Scout will have a

significant focus on maximizing this ability’s use.

• Trapfinding – Just like a rogue, the Scout can find and disarm traps of any DC. The Scout errata adds Disable

Device to his class skill list.

• Battle Fortitude – Competence bonus to Fort saves and Init checks. Helpful, but not something to get ecstatic

over.

• Uncanny Dodge – Never being flat-footed is nice. No Improved Uncanny Dodge unless you multiclass/PrC, sadly.

• Fast Movement – Quite useful for a skirmisher, this eventually grants the Scout a +30 ft. enhancement bonus to

his land speed. Not so useful if you’d planned on using magic to increase speed anyway, but quite nice otherwise

– it lets you stay farther away from the enemy when using Spring Attack/Shot on the Run, or charge farther/run

away faster as necessary.

• Trackless Step – This won’t help you in combat. That said, it can be a good ability for a Scout who actually

wants perform his namesake role – it’s harder for enemies to catch you if they can’t track you down.

• Bonus Feats – A Scout gets a total of 5 bonus feats over 20 levels, taken from a moderate-sized list. Sadly,

these are less useful than one might think – they’re spread out, which can make getting the feats you really want

through these somewhat impractical. That said, free feats are never bad, and there’s a number of good ones in

the list.

• Evasion – Evasion is great – who doesn’t love saving for no damage? High Dex and a good Ref save combine to

be very effective here.

• Flawless Stride – Another ability that helps the Scout while Scouting – moving through any terrain without

hindrance lets you get where you need to and get out quickly and efficiently. It’s also useful if a sudden retreat is

necessary.

• Camouflage – More useful for Scouting than combat initially – it won’t help you in the cities, but when outside

(which is where a Scout will probably spend the most time) it’s handy to have. Better after you have Hide in Plain

Sight.

• Blindsense/Blindsight – Helpful in Scouting and combat – it’s always good to know everything that’s around

you.

• Hide in Plain Sight – Hide anywhere, anytime in a natural setting. Though a Scout need not catch enemies

unawares to inflict extra damage, making a hitting an enemy with Spring Attack or Shot on the Run and then

fading into the surrounding until you do it again is a good way for a Scout to remain alive, particularly when

alone.

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-- -- Previous Editions Character Optimization

of 22The Scout's Handbook | The Wizards Community

9/13/2015http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/104...

• Free Movement – Permanent (Ex) Freedom of Movement effect. Awesome.

Options

Although other possibilities exist, the Scout has a few main options to choose from.

• Ranged Skirmisher – This Scout generally uses a bow and the Shot on the Run feat, ducking in to make a

single attack and then moving away out of easy attacking distance. Although this sort of build won’t inflict high

damage, it has the advantage of keeping far away from the enemy at all times and can hide using

Camouflage/Hide in Plain Sight after attacking. This also potentially frees up feats for things other than ranged

combat.

• Ranged Destroyer – Though similar to the ranged skirmisher, this character focuses more heavily on ranged

combat and normally has Greater Manyshot, preferably combined with a Splitting bow and other useful

enhancements. Shot on the Run may or may not be an option (check with your DM on this, although the FAQ

says that Greater/Manyshot and Shot on the Run do not work together) – however, this character’s main focus is

firing many arrows with easy-to-trigger precision damage. Feat intensive, especially is also using Shot on the Run.

A possible variation on this requires using some trick to move 10 ft. as your allotted 5-ft. step (for example,

using the Sparring Dummy of the Master) and following that up with a hail of thrown weapons or regular bow

attacks (rather than Greater Manyshot). Can be very damaging when throwing numerous weapons, but likely to be

very feat intensive and may require PrCing to make the most of it.

• Melee Skirmisher – The melee version of the ranged skirmisher. This normally uses Spring Attack to come in

close to a target, strike them for skirmish damage, and duck back out before they can retaliate. Not very high

damage, but it keeps you away from the enemy (most of the time) and lets you hide after you hit. The Bounding

Assault feat from the PHB2 can give a melee skirmisher a second attack when using Spring Attack, making it a

very strong choice. A common variation of this involves taking Two-Weapon Fighting/Improved Two-Weapon

Fighting and the Tempest PrC, letting the character strike one with each hand when making a Spring Attack. This

gives higher damage at the cost of several feats and the upper-level Scout goodies, making it a solid but less-

than-definite choice.

• Melee Mobile Striker - In between the skimrisher and the destroyer, this Scout makes use of the Spring

Attack/Bounding Assault/Rapid Blitz feat tree from the PHB2 to get three attacks one each Spring Attack. These

can all be against the same target, dealing damage comparable to the melee destroyer, or spread across two or

three different targets. Since Rapid Blitz requires a +18 BAB, Scouts that fall into this category will only have 4

levels of the Scout class - the rest of their levels must be in full BAB classes, probably including Tempest for Two-

Weapon Spring Attack. Highland Stalker is also a natural combination, with its Skirmish advancement. This

character will be fairly limited in its non-combat capabilities, but has good versatility in combat - consider using

weapons/spells/abilities that produce harmful effects besides simple damage to maximize effectiveness here, and

spreading your love between three opponents in many cases, leaving a string of disarmed/Con-

damaged/tripped/etc opponents in your wake.

• Melee Destroyer – This sort of Scout build activates skirmish and then – in one fashion or another – makes a

full attack with melee weapons. Some possibilities include using a pounce ability to charge and full attack,

combining Scout with the Dervish PrC and the Dervish dance ability, finding a way to take a 10-ft. step (generally

through the Sparring Dummy of the Master, from the A&EG) or multiple 5-ft. steps at once, or certain other

methods. This often includes taking the Two-Weapon Fighting chain to maximize damage output. Though feat-

intensive and dangerous (as it usually leaves you next to the enemy at the end of your turn), damage output is

high – by far the highest of these five options if the Splitting bow enhancement is not available.

• Scout/Infiltrator – Taking a big step away from the others, this Scout focuses on stealth and information

gathering, leaving combat as a backup option when all else fails. May or may not have Spring Attack or Shot on

the Run – most feats will likely focus on boosting stealth, detection and survival capabilities, however.

Comparisons

Scout vs. Rogue

Perhaps the most obvious comparison to make, the Scout and rogue are both stealth- and skill-heavy classes with

precision damage and survival abilities. However, they have their notable differences.

The Scout’s precision damage is at half-progression compared to a rogue’s, but also gives an AC bonus; triggering

requires completely different setup than a rogue’s, and usually rewards staying from an enemy rather than getting near

them. The Scout will have a better Fort save and Init check, assuming all else is equal, due to Battle Fortitude – this

makes them more likely to actually make their hit-and-run attack and more likely to survive some dangers. Movement

and stealth in natural areas is easier for the Scout, and roughly equal to a rogue’s in cities – against magical

impediments the Scout also wins out thanks to Freedom of Movement. Blindsense and Blindsight are also useful in this

vein, no matter when the Scout is. The bonus feats help loosen up the requirements for various Scout builds. With a

d8 hit die, scouts are also slightly more durable.

The rogue, on the other hand, has a larger skill list – notably, the rogue’s list includes Use Magic Device, whereas the

Scout’s smaller list includes Survival. The rogue’s sneak attack damage, though at times harder to set up, is easier to

score multiple attacks with and has twice the damage progression of skirmish. Improved Uncanny Dodge protects the

rogue from other rogues, a benefit the Scout doesn’t have, and trap sense, defending against traps – an all-too-

common hazard in many games. A rogue also gets four special abilities, which can be extremely helpful – of note are

Improved Evasion, Slippery Mind and Opportunist.

All in all, a Scout is actually superior to a pure rogue in terms of movement, stealth and observational information-

gathering. A rogue, on the other hand, has better skills and survival abilities. Combat superiority depends greatly on



the build and situation – Scouts have an easier time triggering their bonus damage, but rogues have twice as much of

it.

Scout vs. Ranger

Compared to a ranger, the Scout has a number of advantages. These are bonus damage that applies to many kinds of

targets, higher skill points, Blindsense/Blindsight, Freedom of Movement, five bonus feats, trapfinding and uncanny

dodge. The Scout also gets fast movement, a skill list that includes Disable Device and a better version of the ranger’s

Woodland Stride, and Trackless Step. For early through mid-game play, the Scout also receives certain abilities –

Evasion, Camouflage and Hide in Plain Sight – before the ranger would.

The ranger, on the other hand, has a full rather than moderate attack bonus and and two good saves instead of just

one. His combat style is is roughly comparable to three of the Scout’s five bonus feats – assuming you want to use

two-weapon fighting or those particular archery feats. The ranger also get several favored enemies; the bonuses are

much more limited in application thaqn skirmish, but can be applied to any type of enemy (including those immune to

critical hits) and apply to skill checks as well as damage, which is handy in focused games. The animal companion can

be handy, though generally not extremely powerful, and minor spellcasting can be nice.

To summarize, the Scout noticeably trumps the ranger in terms of skills, stealth, movement, information-gathering and

potentially AC. The ranger can hit better in combat; however, the Scout has much more damage potential against

enemies succeptible to skirmish. The Scout does not have access to a number of useful ranger spells or the animal

companion, however, and cannot take advantage of the wildshaping ranger variant from Unearthed Arcana.

Stats

High Dexterity is a must for a ranged-combat or stealth-focused Scout, as it affects his attack rolls, AC and many

skills. Melee-combat Scouts will often also wish to have a high Dex score and take Weapon Finesse to accompany it.

Constitution is important for Scouts that spend a great deal of time next to an enemy (such as a pouncing charger

build) – with the Scout’s d6 hit die, a good Con is vital to staying alive. Other builds will also do better a solid Con

score, but will find it less vital.

Intelligence is helpful to many Scouts, though not absolutely vital. With a base of 8 skill points per level, the Scout can

pick up most of his necessary skills with a moderate-low Int score.

Strength, though handy, unimportant to most Scouts since their primary source of damage will be the skirmish ability.

Wisdom is helpful, since it boots Will saves and several skills – however, it falls behind Dex, Con and Int in

importance.

For most Scouts, Charisma will be the least important stat – it has no mechanical benefit, and many other characters

will serve far better as the party’s advocate.

Races

• Catfolk (RoW) – Dex boost is good and higher base speed are good. The Catfolk Pounce feat is great for Scouts.

LA +1 makes them less attractive, however.

• Duskling (MoI) – Dex boost, fey type and bonus essential is handy, though speed boost doesn’t stack with

Scout’s fast movement. Int penalty is a pain, though. Favored class totemist makes it more viable if such a

multiclass build is planned.

• Elf (PHB) - Bonus to Dex is good, but Con penalty hurts. Bonuses to Listen, Search and Spot are handy for

Scouts, as is Low-Light Vision and some miscellaneous bits. Can be good for melee skirmishers, ranged characters

and scouts/infiltrators, but not recommended for melee destroyers or other scouts who are often targeted by

enemy attacks.

• Half-Fey template (FF) – High fly speed, stat boosts and a bevy of useful spell-like abilities. LA +2 is less fun,

however.

• Human – A feat and bonus skill points are always good, especially in the more feat-intensive builds.

• Mineral Warrior (UD) – DR 8/adamantine and a strong Con bonus make a Scout significantly more durable.

Burrow speed, earth strike, natural armor and darkvision are nice as well, though the penalties to mental stats

are a pain. LA +1 is a bigger pain, but may arguably be worth it.

• Nezumi (OA) - Rat-men with +2 Con/-2 Cha, 40 ft. base speed, +2 Hide/Move Silently, the option of Scent as a

feat, a natural attack and a minor bonus vs. poison and disease saves. Altogether a very good race for Scouts.

Oriental Adventures material may not be allowed in some games, however.

• Thri-Kreen (XPH) – Four arms and a number of handy abilities can be fun – particularly nice if your DM lets you

apply the Tempest’s two-weapon spring attack to the ‘Kreen as four-weapon spring attack, or you can take the

Greater/Improved/Multiweapon Fighting feat chain and make a full attack with skirmish damage. +1 LA/2 HD is

fairly nasty, however.

• Xeph (XPH) – Bonus to Dex and racial Burst ability fit well. This also allows access to psionic feats, some of

which (such as Up the Walls, Speed of Thought and Unavoidable Strike) can be handy for a Scout.

Feats

This is a list of feats that Scouts may potentially find useful, giving their basic effect and commentary.



• Able Learner (RoD) - Human or doppleganger only. Can purchase cross class skills with only 1 skill point instead

of 2. Handy in some multiclass builds, but many Scouts will find that their class skills provide enough options.

• Able Sniper (RoW) - Bonus to attacks against flatfooted targets and bonus on hide checks after a sniping attack.

• Agile Athlete (RoW) - Use Dex instead of Str for Climb and Jump checks. Handy for a treehopping or

mountainous campaign, or Scouts who use the skills often (for example, Leap Attack-using Scouts), otherwise skip

it.

• Ancestral Relic (BoED) – Ideally this feat won’t be necessary. However, it may be worthwhile if your DM makes

it hard to find the items you want but does allow many splatbooks – you could potentially use this to design your

ideal bow or possibly quiver of infinite magical arrows (based on the Quiver of Anariel that should be somewhere

on the Wizards site).

• Aquatic Shot (SW) - Allows the use of ranged/thrown weapons under water. Penalties reduced for using

ranged/thrown weapons under water or attacking into water. Water does not provide cover against ranged attacks.

Great if you want to use ranged weapons in an aquatic campaign setting or a game that has significant stints

underwater; however, playing a melee Scout may be more effective here, especially with the Free Movement class

ability.

• Bonus Essentia (MoI) – For characters with multiclassing/dipping in a meldshaper class or simply taking a feats

to shape soulmelds, more essentia may be handy. Should usually be a later priority, though.

• Bounding Assault (PHB2) - Great feat if you have Spring Attack; lets you designate a second target when using

Spring Attack to get a second attack against, which can be the same as your normal Spring Attack target.

Prerequisite for Rapid Blitz.

• City Slicker (RoD) - Can only be taken at 1st level. Grants 4 skills as class skills, none of which are on Scout

list. Can be quite handy in subterfuge-heavy campaigns; otherwise, probably not worthwhile.

• Close Quarters Fighting - You always get an attack of opportunity when targeted by a grapple, and can add any

damage you dealt as a bonus to your grapple check. Nice in case enemies decide to grapple you to keep you from

moving, but best if you deal solid damage without skirmish. Obviously, only works with a melee weapon.

• Combat Acrobat (PHB2) - Keep from being knocked prone or ignore difficult terrain with a Balance check.

Synergizes well with the Dive For Cover feat.

• Cunning Evasion (PHB2) - Combined 5-ft. step and Hide check as an immediate action whenever you

successfully use evasion. Potentially handy, especially after you get Camouflage/Hide in Plain Sight, though keep

in mind that enemy casters can still target area effect spells where you are. Might prove an interesting way of

getting closer to enemies, though, along with an interestin combination when using the Starmantle Cloak.

• Darkstalker (LoM) – Takes care of those pesky things with scent/blindsense/blindsight; they need to make skill

checks to detect you just like anyone else. Solid choice at mid-high levels for a Scout.

• Defensive Archery (RoW) - Get a bonus to AC agaisnt attacks of opportunity for using a ranged weapon. Can be

nice if your DM throws swarms of spread-out enemies at your regularly, but otherwise it's usually better to avoid

triggering AoOs and save a feat.

• Dive for Cover (CV) – Second chance on your Ref saves, but you end up prone. Useful if you have an open feat,

synergizes great with Evasion.

• Dodge – Poor feat, but required for Spring Attack and Shot on the Run.

• Elusive Target (CW) - Provides bonuses against the target of your Dodge feat, including negating Power Attack

bonus damage. Can be nice for melee Scouts. Does not work with Expeditious Dodge, as it requires designating a

specific enemy for your Dodge bonus.

• Expeditious Dodge (RoW) - Get a +2 bonus to AC for one round when you move 40 ft. Substitutes for regular

Dodge when as a feat/PrC prerequisite. Superior to Dodge so long as you generally move 40 ft. or more, which is

the case for many Scouts. Be wary of situations where you can't take

• Fleet of Foot (CW) - Can make a single direction change of up to 90 degrees when running or charging. Good for

charging melee destroyer builds.

• Greater/Improved/Multiweapon Fighting (SS) – Great for many-armed melee destroyer Scouts. Possibly also

for melee skirmishers going into the Tempest PrC, depending on DM’s ruling. Otherwise, useless.

• Greater/Improved/Two-Weapon Defense (PHB, CW) - Bonus to AC when fighting with two weapons. Nice for

some Dervish/Tempest buids and some melee destroyer builds, but the heavy feat investment in a class that

already has so many other good feats available makes it a questionable choice.

• Greater/Improved/Two-Weapon Fighting – A must for most melee destroyer builds, along with some melee

skirmishers. Required for the Tempest PrC (and thus for the two-weapon spring attack ability), and gives you a

significant damage boost if you can make a full attack after moving. Otherwise, useless since you can’t deal

skirmish damage without moving.

• Greater Manyshot (XPH) – A must for most ranged destroyer builds. Skirmish damage is applied to each arrows,

letting you move (thus activating skirmish) and make several attacks in the same round. May work with Shot on

the Run (check with your DM on this, although the FAQ says these feats do not work together).

• Improved Initiative – Helpful to make sure you hit the enemy or hide before they can close with you.

• Keen-Eared Scout - Get useful information by succeeding on listen checks with a result above the normal DC.

Quite nice when combined with Quick Reconnoiter. Requires Alertness or Skill Focus (listen), however, which is

less nice.

• Mage Slayer (CA) – Not too good for most Scouts by itself, but is a prerequisite for Pierce Magical Concealment

and Pierce Magical Protection.

• Manyshot – Not that great by itself, since skirmish damage is only applied once. Prerequisite for Greater

Manyshot. May work with Shot on the Run (check with your DM on this, although the FAQ says these feats do not

work together).

• Midnight Dodge (MoI) - Dodge bonus equal to invested Essentia. Grants one point of Essentia. Counts as Dodge

for feat/PrC prerequsites. Superior to Dodge if you can get anything else that uses/grants Essentia, like Indigo

Strike.

• Mobility – Poor feat, but required for Spring Attack and Shot on the Run.

• Improved Precise Shot – Ignores less than total cover and concealment. Very handy feat.



• Improved/Rapidstrike (Drac) – Great if you can qualify and want a melee destroyer build, since each extra claw

attack will deal skirmish damage.

• Improved Skirmish (CS) - Move 20 ft. to get an extra 1d6 damage and +1 AC. Pretty solid if you do that

regularly, not as much if you use some trick to get 10 ft. Ranged Destroyer builds featuring Greater Manyshot will

probably get the most out of it.

• Indigo Strike (MoI) – Adds a bonus to skirmish damage per point of Essentia invested. Very nice if you use

skirmish often, as many scouts will.

• Open Least/Lesser Chakra (MoI) – Lets you bind a soulmeld gained through the Shape Soulmeld feat to a

chakra.

• Pierce Magical Concealment (CA) – Helps make your hit-and-run attacks count by letting you ignore magical

concealment. Hard to fit into many feat-tight builds, however, and has significant prerequisites.

• Pierce Magical Protection (CA) – Helps make your hit-and-run attacks count by dropping an enemy’s AC-

boosting magic. Hard to fit into many feat-tight builds, however.

• Point Blank Shot – Required for many archery feats.

• Precise Shot – Standard for any archery build, since you’re likely to shoot into melee often.

• Quick Reconnoiter (CV) – Initiative bonus is nice, and free Spot/Listen checks can help when out Scouting. May

be a good choice for one of the later bonus feats.

• Ranged Disarm (CW) - Disarm with your ranged weapon. Can be quite handy so long as the character has a

high attack bonus. Can make an effective hit-and-run support tactic, especially combined with Greater Manyshot

or when fighting weapon-wielding undead.

• Ranged Sunder (CW) - Sunder with your ranged weapon, but deal only half damage with a piercing ranged

weapon. Best for scouts using slashing/bludgeoning thrown weapons, or special arrows that deal those damage

types. Requires Ranged Pin, a feat nearly useless to most Scouts since you must still succeed at a grapple check,

so it may not be worth the two-feat investment.

• Rapid Blitz - Great feat, but only accessible to character with a +18 BAB and a feat at that level of after - tough

to get. Lets you designate a third target when using Spring Attack to get a second attack against, which can be

the same as your normal Spring Attack/Bounding Assault target(s).

• Rapid Shot – Required for Greater/Manyshot. Otherwise useless unless the character has a way to move 10 feet

and make a ranged full attack.

• Shape Soulmeld (MoI) – There are a number of soulmelds that can be useful to a Scout. Generally combined

with the Open Least Chakra feat.

• Shot on the Run – Great for a hit-and-run ranged skirmisher. May work with Greater/Manyshot (Check with your

DM on this, though the FAQ says the feats do not work together).

• Snow Tiger Berserker – Can full attack after a charge when wielding light weapons. Requires Rage, but can be

quite good for Barbarian/Scout multiclass. Also has a regional requirement.

• Spring Attack – Great for a hit-and-run melee skirmisher. Required for Tempest.

• Steady Mountaineer (RoS) - Can always take 10 on climb and jump checks. Handy for a mountainous or

treehopping campaign, or for Scouts who otherwise use the skills often (for example, a Leap Attack-using Scout),

otherwise skip it.

• Swift Ambusher (CS) - Scout/Rogue levels stack for Skirmish, but not Sneak Attack. Good for mobile Rogues

who want extra damage, not so much for Scout primaries - there's not much reason to have a real Scout/Rogue

multiclass character.

• Swift Hunter (CS) - Scout/Ranger levels stack for Skirmish and Favored Enemy, as well as letting you use

Skirmish against your favored enemies even if they're normally immune. This makes a Scout/Ranger multiclass

significantly nicer to look at, and you give up a bit less if you want BAB+16 this way for your fourth attack (on

Greater Manyshot or otherwise).

• Up the Walls - Lets you run on walls and ceilings. Handy for meleers who want to make attacks against some

hard-to-reach opponents or just get into odd places, made especially good by the Scout's high movement speed.

Psionic feat.

Skills

Like rogues, Scouts get 8 + Int mod skill points per level, though from a modified list. Most Scouts will want to max

Hide, Move Silently and Tumble; Disable Device, Jump, Listen, Search, Spot and Survival will also be good choices.

Equipment

Here are a few items and enhancements to consider when making a Scout and seek out when playing a Scout.

• Antimagic Torc (UD) – Potentially handy as a backup device against casters – all Scout abilities are (Ex), so you

only lose equipment benefits while they lose their ability to affect you at all. Also fairly cheap at high levels.

• Belt of Battle (MIC) - Constant +2 to initiative, and 3 charges per day that you can spend to get extra actions.

An extra move action is only one charge. Quite handy, especially for melee destroyer builds, and relatively

inexpensive at 12k GP. High levels character could even carry several!

• Blood Seeking weapon enhancement – Ranged weapon ignores target’s cover for your attacks. Handy.

• Chronocharm of the Horizon Walker (MIC) - An amulet that lets you move half your speed as a swift action

without taking AoO's, 1/day. Handy and amazingly cheap - keep in mind that you have to wear it for 24 hours

before it'll work, though.

• Exit Wounding weapon enhancement - Can be handy if you fight crowds, but be careful about hurting your

allies.

• Greater/Improved/Shadow + Silent Moves armor enhancements – Helpful for a stealthy Scout.

• Gloves of Dexterity – Useful for most Scouts.

• Malleable armor enhancement (UD) – Very nice if you’re likely to be in cramped spaces often, since it lets you

move at normal speed and keep your Dex bonus.



• Quicksilver Boots (MIC) - Move up to your full speed as a swift action, even across water, 2/day. Only 3.5k GP

and quite nice overall, especially for melee destroyer builds.

• Quiver of Anariel (online(http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/fr/lonedrowstats) ) – Quiver of

infinite magical arrows. Pricing appeared to be, if memory serves, 28,000 + (bonus^2 * 4,000) GP. Used to be on

the Wizards site, but I’m not sure if it still is – if anyone actually sees it, let me know. Best when combined with

Radiant Holding.

• Radiant Holding ammo enhancement (MoF) – Ammo enhancement that makes ranged attacks into ranged touch

attacks, also has a DC 17 save to avoid being affected by the Hold Monster spell. Changes weapon damage to 1

point of force damage, and the word from Wizards CustServ is that this means all damage, not just base weapon

damage. In this case, it's not worth it. Some DMs I've seen will let you apply precision damage - i.e. Skirmish,

Sneak Attack, etc - to Radiant Holding ammo, however - if your DM is one of these, Radiant Holding arrows make

a great addition to your quiver.

• Retributive Amulet (BoED) – Good for Scouts who plan to be near the enemies often. Otherwise, probably not

worth it unless your DM targets you a lot.

• Ring of Counterspells – Good to keep from being dispelled, and quite cheap.

• Ring of Solar Wings (BoED) – Great fly speed, but pricy.

• Seeking weapon enhancement – Ranged weapon negates target’s concealment against your attacks. Handy.

• Skirmisher Boots (MIC) - +2 to Skirmish damage, and 2/day you get an extra attack at full BAB when you move

10 ft. or more. For a little over 3k GP, they're a solid pick.

• Splitting weapon enhancement (CoR) – Absolutely the first priority for any Scout that wields a bow. Each arrow

launched turns into two identical arrows, each of which gets its own attack roll. Only +3 equivalent. May make

you feel dirty for using it, though.

• Truedeath Crystal, Greater weapon augment crystal (MIC) - Great item! For a mere 10,000 GP, your weapon

gets +1d6 damage vs. undead, the Ghost touch property, and lets you apply precision damage and critical hits to

undead. The best part? You can take it off later and put it on your new weapon with no loss.

• Vest of Resistance (CA) – Saves are good, especially when you have Evasion.

• White Cloak of the Spider (MoF) – Spider Climb at will makes getting around easier in many places.

• Wings of Flying – Great way to keep away from many enemies, and greatly increases mobility.

Multiclassing and Prestige Classes

The Scout class has a solid progression of abilities throughout its 20 levels, and has several particularly good abilities

during its last few levels – notably Freedom of Movement at 17 and Blindsight at 20, along with bonus feats and

several other lesser abilities. This makes multiclassing/PrCing less a less obvious decision than it is for most other

classes – the benefits gained must outweigh the Scout’s already solid set of abilities, rather than simply replacing a few

minor boosts.

Base Classes

• Barbarian can be a good one-level dip - you get +10 ft. fast movement that stacks with your scout bonus, a

boost to your Fort save and HP, a point of BAB, martial weapon proficiency, and rage 1/day. It also qualifies you

for the Snow Tiger Berserker feat, which can be good for charging melee destroyer builds. Beyond one levels

benefits for a scout drop, however.

• Binder can give a wide variety of useful abilities and effect, depending on what vestiges the character chooses to

bind. The best cut-off points for Binder levels are 3, 5, or 8. Keep in mind that this loses out on high-level Scout

abilities, and that save DCs on abilities that allow a save are Charisma- and level-based, meaning they'll be low

for most Scouts. The Binder's skill list and moderate skill points also hurt for Scouts that want to do more than

just stab people, especially given the lack of Hide and Move Silently on the skill list. As with any magic-based

class, multiclassing in Binder makes you more vulnerable in an Antimagic Field or similar effect. The downsides

are significant, and I'd generally advise avoiding a Binder multiclass - it's still be worth considering, however, as

some of the granted abilities are useful and may become more so in certain campaigns or for certain character

concepts. It might be best as an addition to already multiclassing builds.

◦ Binder 3 lets you bind one vestige of up to second level at a time, along with 1 pact augmentation ability

and suppress sign. One good candidate is Dahlver-Nar, for boost to natural armor (equal to your Con mod),

Shield Self (as a self-only Shield Other, letting you displace half the damage you take to somebody else),

and an area-effect daze attack. Another is Malphas, for a handy scouting ability, short-duration but infinite-

use invisibility, poison use, and a few dice of Sudden Strike damage. If binding Malphas sounds particularly

good, consider Binder 4 (sudden strike is 1d6 + 1d6/4 levels) and a bonus Binder feat. Keep in mind the

Scout abilities you lose, however.

◦ Binder 5 gives the ability to bind third-level vestiges, along with a second pact augmentation ability. Again,

there are two particularly favorable vestiges of this level: Andromalius and Paimon, the latter of which is

usually better. Andromalius grants an ability identical to Tasha's Hideous Laughter once per 5 rounds, to

learn the direction of any undisguised object you can visualize that's within a few hundred feet, See

Invisibility at will, a bonus to some semi-relevent skill checks and a couple dice of sneak attack. Potentially

handy for the a Scout who does a fair bit of scouting and searching. Paimon grants an ability similar to

Dervish Dance once per 5 rounds (quite nice), proficiency and Weapon Finesse with short swords and rapiers

(which character probably already have), an untyped +4 bonus to Dexterity, +4 to Tumble checks, and

Uncanny Dodge (which stacks with the Scout's ability to become Improved Uncanny Dodge). You also get

Whirlwind Attack, which won't help you much. Could be very nice for a combat-focused, particularly a melee-

focused Scout. Keep in mind that you're losing Free Movement, +1d6/+1 AC of Skirmish, Blindsight and two

Scout bonus feats (though you gain one Binder bonus feat), among other things.

◦ Binder 8 grants the ability to bind two vestiges, along with access to fourth-level vestiges (gained at Binder

7), along with immunity to fear. Again, two vestiges seem best for Scouts. Buer grants a bonus to



Heal/Knowledge (nature)/Survival checks, immunity to disease and poison for you and any allies within 30

ft., fast healing, a minor but infinite-use healing ability, and the Track feat. This can help make a Scout more

self-reliant in certain ways, as well as providing the boost to the party; however, you have to give up a lot

of Scout abilities (+2d6/+2 Skirmish, Hide in Plain Sight, another bonus feat, and everything Binder 5 gives

up) to get it. Tenebrous grants Deeper Darkness at will, the ability to see in any darkness, minor cold

damage to your weapon, turn/rebuke undead (which doesn't help much due to your low Binder level, barring

divine feats), and what's essentially a very short-range Dimension Door effect. This might be best when

combined with the Shadow Creature template - if you're going to bother, Human Shadow Creature (LA+2)

Scout 10/Binder 8 who almost always has full concealment might be interesting.

◦ Binder 2, though tempting since it lets you keep Free Movement, isn't normally worth it. You can only bind

1st level vestiges, which don't have much of use to a Scout. The other losses - Blindsight, a bonus feat,

BAB, etc - aren't worth the minor bonuses. The only one that seems really worthwhile is Naberius for his

Disguise Self ability, or possibly Aym in a low-level campaign with numerous fire-based enemies.

• Fighter gives bonus feats, which can be nice in some Scout builds. However, consider carefully before dipping – a

two-level dip will have you paying for two fighter bonus feats, martial weapon proficiency, a bit of extra HP and a

+2 to your Fort save with Blindsight, +1 AC to skirmish, +1 to battle fortitude, and a Scout bonus feat. Taking

more levels of fighter will lose you Freedom of Movement and other abilities. In other words, don’t dip without a

very compelling reason.

• Incarnate (MoI) also has a few soulmelds that could be of use to a Scout. Notable are:

◦ Incarnate Avatar (chaos) – An insight bonus to ranged attack rolls is great for a ranged Scout, especially one

taking penalties from Greater/Manyshot. May be best to obtain through Shape Soulmeld feat.

◦ Sighting Gauntlets – Another insight bonus to ranged attack rolls. Sadly, does not stack with incarnate

avatar.

It’s worth noting that four levels of fighter will give you a +16 BAB and thus let you launch four arrows per round

instead of the three a Scout 20 could.

• Monk gives a significant speed boost if you take enough levels and lets you us the Sparring Dummy of the

Master, along with other abilities. MAD and loss of Scout abilities makes it a less appealing choice.

• Psychic Warrior gives bonus feats and a number of helpful psionic powers, along with martial weapon proficiency

and a good Fort save. However, dipping gives you very few power points, so it may be necessary to invest a

number of levels in order to really make use of the class - that is, unless you want it just to take some psionic

feats. Some notable powers are:

◦ Hustle - Swift action to manfiest, gives an extra move action. Good for getting a full-attack skirmish, but

costly to use often. Level 2, 3 PP.

◦ Psionic Lion's Charge - Swift action to manifest, lets you full attack at the end of a charge. Good for getting

a full-attack skirmish, but costly to use often. Generally inferior to Hustle. Level 2, 3 PP.

◦ Wall Walker - Walk on walls and ceilings. Handy for getting into odd places. Level 2, 3 PP.

• Ranger can synergize well with the Scout in terms of skills and abilities. Taking four levels of ranger will give you

a +16 BAB at level 20, letting you launch four arrows per round instead of the three a Scout 20 could. It also

gives you several other nice abilities and a slight boost to your saves, along with martial weapon proficiency.

However, keep in mind that it comes with a significant price – blindsight, +1 AC to skirmish, +1 to battle

fortitude, one Scout bonus feat, and the wonderful Freedom of Movement ability. Six levels of ranger also gives

you the Manyshot feat, which you need anyway as a prerequisite for Greater Manyshot, and a second favored

enemy, but costs another Scout bonus feat and +1d6 to skirmish damage.

• Totemist (MoI) gives access to several great soulmelds. Notable are:

◦ Blink Shirt - Teleport (as the Dimension Door spell) up to 10 ft. per point of Esssentia invested, as a

standard action. With Totem bind, use this ability as a move action. Note that Dimension Door does not allow

any actions to be taken after its use. Can be used with Teflammar Shadowlord if your DM allows - note that

this is note possible by RAW since Blink Shirt is not actually a spell or SLA, however.

◦ Landshark Boots – With totem bind, get four claw attacks as a standard action if you can make a 5-ft. high

jump. Makes a melee destroyer build much easier and only requires a two level investment.

◦ Sphinx Claws – With hands bind, make a full attack with all your natural weapons at the end of a charge.

Can also be obtained through the Shape Soulmeld (sphinx claws) and Open Least Chakra (hands) feats.

Works best when the character has numerous natural weapons.

◦ Girallon Arms – With totem bind, get four claws. Only requires a two-level investment. Best combined with

Sphinx Claws or another pounce ability.

◦ Manticore Belt - With totem bind, gives a ranged attack allowing a number of hits equal to invested essentia

as a standard action, all at full BAB. Quite nice, though unlike using a bow, there's no obvious potential for

magical enhancements.

◦ Phase Cloak – With shoulders bind, become ethereal when moving. Requires a hefty twelve-level investment,

but can also be obtained through the Shape Soulmeld (phase shirt) and Open Lesser Chakra (shoulders)

feats; this option is recommended if you want the soulmeld.

◦ Worg Pelt – With hands bind, lets you make a free trip attempt whenever you hit with a bite attack. Great

for hit-and-run melee Scouts, since an enemy that has to get up from prone can’t come after you, but

requires you to have a bite attack. Can also be obtained through the Shape Soulmeld (worg pelt) and Open

Least Chakra (hands) feats.

• Warlock can work well as a dip or a full-fledged multiclass combination with Scout - eldritch blast (particularly

with eldritch chain) is a great way of delivering skirmish damage, and many invocations are very beneficial to the

Scout. Use Magic Device and the Warlock's abilities related to it, though Charisma-based, is also quite handy. Of

course, multiclassing with Warlock means losing Scout class abilities.



Prestige Classes

• Dervish (CW) can be used as part of a melee destroyer build, as it allows the Scout to make a full attack while

moving with Dervish Dance. This would, however, normally lead to a significantly lower number of Scout levels

and shift the focus heavily toward combat – the character would be nearly exclusively a mobile combatant. This is

sometimes combined with Tempest to add combat versatility, creating an even more combat-focused character.

• Dragon Devotee (RoDr) gives you a minor (though nice) template, two levels of sorcerer spellcasting and +2d6

to skirmish over 5 levels. Skirmish boosts come at levels 2 and 4. Probably most useful if PrCing into a class

requiring spellcasting.

• Highland Stalker (CV) continues skirmish advancement and has a good BAB, giving you +16 BAB by level 20 if

you take four levels (or a higher BAB with more levels). Depending on the number of levels taken, it can also

boost skirmish damage to +6d6, rather than the Scout’s normal maxmimum of +5d6 at level 19. The other

abilities of the class are significantly inferior to those of a pure Scout, however.

• Horizon Walker (DMG) is a reasonable way to qualify for Teflammar Shadowlord, although it causes you to lose

skirmish damage, skill progression, and a number of class features. It does, however, let you Dimension Door

every 1d4 rounds at level 6, and offers a Tremorsense ability that is something of a substitute for Blindsense.

Also gives some other useful bonuses. This PrC is not suggested for most builds.

• Master Thrower is a strong class for scouts that wish to focus on thrown weapons, with a number of handy

abilities. Of particular interest are Double Throw (throw two weapons as a standard action), Two with One Blow

(hit two adjacent enemies by taking a -4 penalty to your attack) and Weak Spot (make attacks with thrown

weapons as ranged touch attacks).

• Peregrine Runner (RoS) also continues skirmish advancement, at the same rate as the Highland Stalker, but has

a medium BAB and two good saves (Fort and Ref). At third level the class gets immunity to fatigue, and later it

gets immunity to exhaustion, along with mountain stride, fast movement, climb speed, a limited slow fall ability

and a peregrine falcon companion. This seems better as a possible three- or four-level dip in some builds than as

something to take to level 10.

• Teflammar Shadowlord (UE) can be handy, provided the character has a way of teleporting (preferrably

something usable at will), the DM rules that such teleportation counts as movement for triggering skirmish

damage, and the DM lets skirmish count as sneak attack for meeting the prerequisites (or the character has sneak

attack damage from another source). Note that by RAW, the second point is questionable but unlikely and the

third is not possible. If those conditions are met, this PrC can synergize nicely for mobility and gaining full

attacks, though at the cost of skills, skirmish progression and certain Scout class abilities like Free Movement and

Blindsight. This is unlikely to be of use to most Scout builds, in large part due to the required DM judgements.

• Tempest (CV) can be a solid choice for a melee skirmisher build, as five levels grants two-weapon spring attack

and certain other useful abilities. This combat boost comes at a significant cost to more utilitarian and protective

abilities, however, most notably costing the character blindsight and Freedom of Movement, along with several

other abilities.

• Uncanny Trickster (CS) can be handy - it's only three levels long and progresses all your Scout abilities for two

of those, so you don't lose much, and more skill tricks/skill trick uses is nice to have. There are, after all, a

number of very nice skill tricks out there.

Skill Tricks

Skill tricks are a new mechanic introduced in Complete Scoundrel, similar to limited-use feats. Skill tricks are special

abilities, similar to those provided by some feats or classes, that a character can spend 2 skill points to purchase -

these abilities are normally only usable once per encounter, however. Some choice ones are:

• Acrobatic Backstab - If you tumble through an enemy's space, they're flat-footed against your next attack. You

may now get Sneak Attack damage, but that can still be a nice drop in their AC. Especially useful against high-

Dex enemies, given how easy tumble checks are.

• Extreme Leap - If you jump 10 ft. or more in your turn, you can move another 10 ft. as a swift action. Could be

handy for triggering Improved Skirmish or simply getting farther away from something.

• Listen to This - You can describe any sound you hear perfectly for up to one hour. Handy for Scouts who

actually scout.

• Opening Tap - Use Open Lock as a swift action, but take a -10 penalty. You can't use it again for 8 hours if you

fail. Still, nice if you have a great Open Lock score and you want to be able to do something useful on the same

round as opening that door.

• Spot the Weak Point - Standard action to use, but your next attack within one round is treated as a touch

attack. Quite nice for the first strike in a stealthy hit-and-run campaign - just make sure that first attack counts.

The Miscellany

Ways to Get Skirmish Damage

Besides simply using your move action and then making an attack, a few options are:

• Charge – Preferably with some pounce ability, such as given by the Catfolk Pounce feat, Feral template, Psionic

Lion’s Charge power, and Sphinx Claws soulmeld.

• DC 40 Tumble check – Allows you to take a 10-ft. step instead of a 5-ft. step. This rule may not be in use,

depending on the DM, as it comes from Oriental Adventures.

• Elocater 7 – Take an extra 5-ft. step per round. Requires 1st-level manifesting to enter.



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#2 Feb 09, 2006 18:52:39


• Grapple with Reach - When you grapple you move into your target's space. Grappling with reach from 10+ ft.

away means you'll move 10 ft. Hard for most scouts to do well because of poor grapple checks and lack of reach,

however, and may not be accepted by some DMs.

• Sparring Dummy of the Master – After training with it, you can take a 10-ft. step instead of a 5-ft. step.

Requires either monk multiclass or Use Magic Device.

• Spring Attack/Shot on the Run – Make your attack in the middle of your move.

Builds

Archetypical Scout Archer

Scout 20

A conservative yet quite solid ranged Scout build. Uses Greater Manyshot, preferably with Shot on the Run, to good

effect. Can also scout about efficiently.

[b]Level BAB Special Abilities Feats[/b] 

1 +0 Skirmish (+1d6), trapfinding Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot [Scout] 

2 +1 Battle fortitude +1, uncanny dodge 

3 +2 Fast movement +10 ft., skirmish (+1d6, +1 AC), trackless step Dive for Cover 

4 +3 Bonus feat Dodge 

5 +3 Evasion, skirmish (+2d6, +1 AC) 

6 +4 Flawless stride Rapid Shot 

7 +5 Skirmish (+2d6, +2 AC) 

8 +6 Camouflage, bonus feat Mobility 

9 +6 Skirmish (+3d6, +2 AC) Manyshot 

10 +7 Blindsense 30 ft. 

11 +8 Battle fortitude +2, fast movement +20 ft., skirmish (+3d6, +3 AC) 

12 +9 Bonus feat Greater Manyshot, Shot on the Run [Scout] 

13 +9 Skirmish (+4d6, +3 AC) 

14 +10 Hide in plain sight 

15 +11 Skirmish (+4d6, +4 AC) Improved Precise Shot 

16 +12 Bonus feat Improved Initiative [Scout] 

17 +12 Skirmish (+5d6, +4 AC) 

18 +13 Free movement Darkstalker 

19 +14 Skirmish (+5d6, +5 AC) 

20 +15 Battle fortitude +3, blindsight 30 ft., bonus feat Quick Reconnoiter [Scout]

Evil Clawed Meatgrinder

Elan Scout 10/Totemist 2/Fighter 2/Thayan Gladiator 6

Taken as Scout 1/Totemist 2/Scout 2-8/Fighter 2/Thayan Gladiator 6/Scout 9-10.

Leaping power-attacking shock trooping charger getting nine claw attacks per round. Should be quite effective at

dealing damage - although there may be some trouble at hitting - but not very versatile. Still potentially possible to

make this build sneaky, however.

Note that this is based on the assumption that taking the Open Least CHakra (hands) feat will let you bind a soulmeld

to your hands, along with the bind gained from the Totemist class.


1 +0 Skirmish (+1d6), trapfinding Toughness 

2 +0 Wild empathy 

3 +1 Totem chakra bind (+1 capacity) Power Attack 


5 +3 Fast movement +10 ft., skirmish (+1d6, +1 AC), trackless step 

6 +4 Bonus feat Open Least


8 +5 Flawless stride 

9 +6 Skirmish (+2d6, +2 AC) Leap Attack 

10 +7 Bonus feat Track [Scout] 

11 +8 Bonus feat Improved Bull Rush [Fighter] 

12 +9 Bonus feat Shock Trooper, Weapon Focus (claw) [Fighter] 

13 +10 Improved natural attack, study opponent 

14 +11 Improved critical, natural armor +1 

15 +12 Stunning critical, silver strike Rapidstrike (claws) 

16 +13 Natural weapon focus 

17 +14 Imbue natural weapon, natural armor +2 

18 +15 Adamantine strike Improved Rapidstrike (claws) 

19 +15 Skirmish (+3d6, +2 AC) 

20 +16 Blindsense 30 ft.

Mutlipurpose Skirmisher

Human Scout 20

Capable of either melee or ranged skirmishing, this character also has a number of handy defensive and utilitarian

abilities, along with solid stealth capabilities.


1 +0 Skirmish (+1d6), trapfinding Midnight Dodge, Mobility [Human] 


3 +2 Fast movement +10 ft., skirmish (+1d6, +1 AC), trackless step Indigo Strike 

4 +3 Bonus feat Spring Attack [Scout] 


6 +4 Flawless stride Point Blank Shot 

7 +5 Skirmish (+2d6, +2 AC) 

8 +6 Camouflage, bonus feat Shot on the Run [Scout] 

9 +6 Skirmish (+3d6, +2 AC) Precise Shot 

10 +7 Blindsense 30 ft. 

11 +8 Battle fortitude +2, fast movement +20 ft., skirmish (+3d6, +3 AC) 

12 +9 Bonus feat Dive for Cover, Improved Initiative [Scout] 

13 +9 Skirmish (+4d6, +3 AC) 

14 +10 Hide in plain sight 

15 +11 Skirmish (+4d6, +4 AC) Darkstalker 


17 +12 Skirmish (+5d6, +4 AC) 

18 +13 Free movement Close Quarters Combat 

19 +14 Skirmish (+5d6, +5 AC) 

20 +15 Battle fortitude +3, blindsight 30 ft., bonus feat Quick Reconnoiter [Scout]

Pyroscout

Human Scout 9/Psychic Warrior 1/Pyrokineticist 10

Taken Scout 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Scout 4-5/Pyrokineticist 3/Scout 6-9/Pyrokineticist 4-10

A fire-loving ranged skirmisher who normally uses his Bolt of Fire ability in conjunction with Skirmish to deal damage.

This build can also become a melee skirmisher when needed with Greater Weapon Afire plus Skirmish, and keeps a

skills at a reasonable level, along with a number of useful abilities.


1 +0 Skirmish (+1d6), trapfinding Point Blank Shot, Able Learner [Human] 

2 +1 Battle fortitude +1, uncanny dodge 

3 +2 Fast movement +10 ft., skirmish (+1d6, +1 AC), trackless step Precise Shot 

4 +2 Bonus feat Up the Walls [Psychic Warrior] 


6 +3 Bonus Feat Midnight Dodge, Mobility [Scout] 

7 +3 Fire lash 

8 +4 Fire adaptation, hand fire 

9 +5 Bolt of fire Indigo Strike 

10 +6 Flawless Stride 

11 +7 Skirmish (+2d6, +2 AC) 

12 +8 Camouflage, bonus feat Elusive Target, Spring Attack [Scout] 

13 +8 Skirmish (+3d6, +2 AC) 

14 +9 Weapon afire 

15 +9 Nimbus Darkstalker 

16 +10 Firewalk 

17 +11 Fear no fire 

18 +12 Greater weapon afire Improved Precise Shot 

19 +12 Heat death 

20 +13 Conflagration

Reforged Melee Mobile Striker

Warforged Scout 4/Fighter 2/Highland Stalker 6/Tempest 5/Reforged 3

Taken Scout 4/Fighter 2/Highland Stalker 4/Tempest 5/Highland Stalker 5-6/Reforged 3. +18 BAB, 3d6 Skirmish

damage, attacking with both weapons (at no penalty) on a Spring Attack, and being able to select three targets (or hit

the same target six times) on a Spring Attack make for an effective offensive combination, while Elusive Target helps

keep enemies from using leap attack/shock trooper power attack on you. Scouting skills are passable, and you get a

few Scout goodies.

a couple other versions of this are Warforged Scout 4/Fighter 2/Highland Stalker 8/Swashbuckler 3/Reforged 3 or

Warforged Scout 4/Fighter 2/Highland Stalker 10/Reforged 3. Neither of these would use Two-Weapon Fighting.

Level BAB Special Abilities Feats 

1 +0 Skirmish (+1d6), trapfinding Mithral Body => Rapid Blitz (Reforged 3) 


3 +2 Fast movement +10 ft., skirmish (+1d6, +1 AC), trackless step Weapon Finesse 


5 +4 Bonus feat Dodge [Fighter] 

6 +5 Bonus feat Mobility, Spring Attack [Fighter]

7 +6 Mountain stride 

8 +7 Skirmish (+2d6, +1 AC) 

9 +8 Swift tracker Two-Weapon Fighting 

10 +9 Skirmish (+2d6, +2 AC) 

11 +10 Two-weapon defense +1 

12 +11 Ambidexterity (-3/-1) Improved Two-Weapon Fighting 

13 +12 Tempest defense +2, two-weapon versatility 

14 +13 Ambidexterity (-2/-0) 

15 +14 Tempest defense +3, two-weapon spring attack Bounding Assault 

16 +15 Surefooted 

17 +16 Skirmish (+3d6, +2 AC) 

18 +16 Extroverted, natural healing Elusive Target 

19 +17 Reforged insight, magical healing 

20 +18 Embrace emotion, final reforging

Scout-Warlock

Human Warlock 11/Scout 9

Taken as Warlock 1/Scout 5/Warlock 2-6/Scout 6-9/Warlock 7-11

An effective ranged skirmisher/destroyer with a number of useful utilitarian and combat abilities, including the

versatility of full ranks in Use Magic Device. Uses Eldritch Chain to get ranged touch attacks against multiple

opponents, dealing Eldritch Blast and skirmish damage, along with any blast type invocation effects.


1 +0 Eldritch blast 1d6, invocation (least)

2 +0 Skirmish (+1d6), trapfinding 

3 +1 Battle fortitude +1, uncanny dodge Midnight Dodge 

4 +2 Fast movement +10 ft., skirmish (+1d6, +1 AC), trackless step 

5 +3 Bonus feat

6 +3 Evasion, skirmish (+2d6, +1 AC) Indigo Strike 

7 +4 Detect Magic 

8 +5 Damage reduction 1/cold iron, eldritch blast 2d6 

9 +6 Deceive item Darkstalker 

10 +6 Eldritch blast 3d6 

11 +7 New invocation (least or lesser) 

12 +8 Flawless stride Dive for Cover 

13 +9 Skirmish (+2d6, +2 AC) 

14 +10 Camouflage, bonus feat Mobility [Scout] 

15 +10 Skirmish (+3d6, +2 AC) Elusive Target 

16 +11 Damage reduction 2/cold iron, eldritch blast 4d6 

17 +12 Fiendish resilience 1 

18 +12 Eldritch blast 5d6

19 +13 Energy resistance 5 

20 +14 Damage reduction 3/cold iron, eldritch blast 6d6, new invocation (least, lesser, or greater) 

 

[u]Invocations to Consider:[/u] 

[i]Least:[/i] Baleful Utterance, Devil’s Sight, Leaps and Bounds, Spiderwalk 

[i]Lesser:[/i] Eldritch Chain (must have), Fell Flight, Flee the Scene, Voidsense, Walk Unseen 

[i]Greater:[/i] Chilling Tentacles, Enervating Shadow, Wall of Perilous Flame

Scoutmeleon Melee Mobile Striker

Human Scout 4/Fighter 2/Highland Stalker 6/Tempest 5/Chameleon 3

Taken Scout 4/Fighter 2/Highland Stalker 4/Tempest 5/Highland Stalker 5-6/Chameleon 3. +18 BAB, 3d6 Skirmish

damage, attacking with both weapons (at no penalty) on a Spring Attack, and being able to select three targets (or hit

the same target six times) on a Spring Attack make for an effective offensive combination, while Elusive Target and

Close Quarters Fighting help keep enemies from using leap attack/shock trooper power attack or grapple on you. The

Chameleon's floating feat is used for Rapid Blitz. Scouting skills are passable, and you get a few Scout goodies. You

also have up to third level arcane or divine spells from Chameleon, of which there is a number of good ones to choose,

along with other possibilities and the option of switching your floating Chameleon feat to something else if needed.

Similar to the Reforged build, but overall better, I think.


1 +0 Skirmish (+1d6), trapfinding Weapon Finesse, Able Learner [Human] 


3 +2 Fast movement +10 ft., skirmish (+1d6, +1 AC), trackless step Dodge 


5 +4 Bonus feat Mobility [Fighter] 

6 +5 Bonus feat Spring Attack, Two-Weapon Fighting [Fighter] 

7 +6 Mountain stride 

8 +7 Skirmish (+2d6, +1 AC) 

9 +8 Swift tracker Improved Two-Weapon Fighting 

10 +9 Skirmish (+2d6, +2 AC) 

11 +10 Two-weapon defense +1 

12 +11 Ambidexterity (-3/-1) Elusive Target 

13 +12 Tempest defense +2, two-weapon versatility

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#3 Feb 09, 2006 19:09:37

zombiegleemaxJoined Aug 2009469620 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#4 Feb 09, 2006 19:29:18


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#5 Feb 09, 2006 20:15:37

RokkuJoined Apr 2005178 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#6 Feb 09, 2006 20:40:29

phoenixinfernoJoined Aug 2003448 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

14 +13 Ambidexterity (-2/-0) 

15 +14 Tempest defense +3, two-weapon spring attack Bounding Assault 

16 +15 Surefooted 

17 +16 Skirmish (+3d6, +2 AC) 

18 +16 Aptitude focus 1/day (+2) Close Quarters Fighting 

19 +17 Bonus feat (floating 

20 +18 Mimic class feature 1/day

Sample build:

Duskling scout 9/totemist 11 (you should actually be interleaving the levels)

Feats:

1st: Indigo Strike

3rd: Improved Essentia Capacity

6th: Expanded Soulmeld Capacity

9th: Double Chakra (totem)

12th: Bonus Essentia

15th: (free slot)

18th: Open Greater Chakra (waist)

What you get with this build is versatility, with two modes of attack based on what soulmelds you shape. You can

shape sphinx claws on your arms and totem to become a terrifying full-attack charger, or you can shape the manticore

belt to be able to throw a hail of spikes as a standard action. Either way, you're going to have heart of fire (or some

equivalent) in your other totem slot to add more damage.

Scout is a d8 class i believe, not d6

You may want to add Barbarian under base classes.

Just 1 level and you gain: Marital weapons proficiency, an unnamed +10 bonus to speed, and Rage 1/day.

Now Rage qualifies you for the Snow Tiger Berserker (with 13 dex) Feat (UE p 45); full attacks on charge with light

weapons.

Combine this with Lightning Maces (CW) you can make the most of your Skirmish ability.

Not bad for a 1 level dip.

Another prestige class worth noting is the Dragon Devotee from Races of the Dragon. It's Combat Technique ability

allows you to gain another 2d6 of Skirmish damage if you had Skirmish before entering the class, and also nets you

the Draconic Template, as well as two levels of Sorcerer spellcasting.

Good resource and pretty well written!

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#7 Feb 09, 2006 20:46:20


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#8 Feb 09, 2006 21:21:08

tweedledopeJoined Aug 2003380 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#9 Feb 09, 2006 21:26:56

RokkuJoined Apr 2005178 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#10 Feb 09, 2006 21:38:55

hotsakeJoined Oct 2005256 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#11 Feb 09, 2006 21:41:37

tweedledopeJoined Aug 2003380 Posts

Thanks for the heads-up on the HD - have fixed that. Will take a look at the rest later tonight/tomorrow (have a

physics test to study for, or I'd do it now).

Zemyla: Looks pretty solid. Hmm... I don't have MoI with me at the moment, sadly, but what's the advantage of Scout

9/Totemist 11 vs. Scout 11/Totemist 9? I know Totemist 9 qualifies for Double Chakra, so I'm wondering whether scout

11 might be a better choice - that does, after all, get you blindsense, another point of battle fortitude/AC for skirmish

and another +10 ft. to movement speed. Also wondering whether double-binding Sphinx Claws is really superior to

binding Sphinx Claws (hands) and Girallon Arms (totem) - the latter gives four claws instead of two.

For the free feat, perhaps Power Attack or Shape Soulmeld? There're some Incarnate and Soulborn melds that might be

handy, if my memory serves me right... Bloodwar Gauntlets (do those go with arms or hands?), Bluesteel Bracers,

Incarnate Avatar and a few others, maybe. If I had MoI with me I could probably be a bit more certain, but, no such

luck currently I'm afraid. Your thoughts, though?

Glackor: Hmm, Barbarian does sound like a solid suggestion to put down, will add it soon. Not sure about Lightning

Mace though... Seems handy if you can score a good number of threats, but I have to wonder whether there might be

better things to invest feats in than that and Weapon Focus/Combat Reflexes.

Rokku: How many levels are required to get that boost in skirmish? Also, what does the Draconic template do/is it

found in a book besides RotD? I assume either good or moderate BAB? Sounds quite intriguing, though.

PhoenixInferno: Thanks!

Does anyone have any advice on how to play an efficient and optimized scout at lower levels?

My DM loves to start us off at low levels and I need to be optimized at lower levels and, as COptimizers, we love to

see the end result so, help a fella out here!

-=TD=-

Rokku: How many levels are required to get that boost in skirmish? Also, what does the Draconic template do/is it found

in a book besides RotD? I assume either good or moderate BAB? Sounds quite intriguing, though.

The skirmish bumps come at levels 2 and 4. The Draconic template is found in the Draconomicon -- I don't think I can

give its full description without breaking The Rules (tm).

OA and ELH both say you can take a 10' step instead of a 5' step with a DC 40 Tumble check.

OA and ELH both say you can take a 10' step instead of a 5' step with a DC 40 Tumble check.



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#12 Feb 09, 2006 21:48:30


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#13 Feb 09, 2006 21:48:47


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#14 Feb 09, 2006 22:48:34

umiskatonicJoined Feb 2004122 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#15 Feb 09, 2006 22:51:27

pontelonJoined Sep 2004320 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#16 Feb 09, 2006 22:57:58

That's the problem...ELH is 3.0 and OA is 3.0...along with that, a very conservative DM could say that ELH is for Epic

Level Characters only and that OA isn't accepted (after all, it is pretty overpowered...take a look at the Ninja Spy. ;))

So, that's the problem. Unless it's "core" many DMs won't allow it.

The ELH was updated to 3.5 (more or less) in the SRD. Vague notions of impropriety aside, I have yet to see any text

limiting the use of skills described in the ELH to epic characters only. As far as I know, they can be used like other

expanded skill uses found in the splatbooks - that is, by whoever can managed to make the check.

P.S. Excellent stuff here. Two thumbs up, Encard!

edit: Actually, I just looked at ELH and I can't find the part about the 10' step. I first found the rule in OA and

mentioned it here, then someone else said it also appeared in ELH. Never actually bothered to confirm that, myself.

It's not in the SRD either. I guess that makes it a no-go unless you can get OA material approved (or at least this

part).

A human scout with point blank and precise shot can do 2d6 per attack, once a round. That's as good as a guy with a

greatsword, (ok, no strength bonus at level 1), and you deny the opponent the ability to make full attacks because

you're always on the move.

It won't be long before you can afford a few MW arrows, they'll tide you over until you have the cash for the might

MW composite longbow.

Personally, I like two levels of ranger in my scout builds. Track is a great feat to have, and rapid shot is useful when

your mobility is taken away (brambles, or 5ft hallways). Martial weapons don't hurt, neither does a favored enemy.

Warlock might be worth a dip of a level or two. It grants UMD as a class skill and nets you some decent invocations

and a way to do ranged Skirmish damage even when you are disarmed from your bow. The UMD is mostly for the

Dummy, though it can have other uses.

PS, great handbook!

If playing Eberron you may want to add a few levels of artificer, you will have to get to level 6 as an artificer to make

wands, but then you can make any wand. Also, Eberron adds the "eternal" wands with 2 uses per day of a spell to

keep costs down a little.

This build also works with Rogues, though you don't get to make your own wands.



mentarJoined Oct 200446 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#17 Feb 10, 2006 8:35:34

tweedledopeJoined Aug 2003380 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#18 Feb 10, 2006 9:10:33

bonzaiJoined Oct 2004467 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#19 Feb 10, 2006 9:28:47


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#20 Feb 10, 2006 9:54:51

Scout wand specialist

Scout + Artificer/Rogue/Sorcerer/Wizard/Warlock

Make sure to max UMD, or take a level of sorcerer/wizard.

Wand of acid splash/ray of frost (0 level spell, 1D3 dam, cost 375gp) move 10' or more and add your skirmish damage

(1D3 +1D6). It's a DC20 UMD check to use the wand for anyone but sorcerer/wizard, but good cha and maxing the

skill helps. Also note acid splash has no save and no SR, ray of frost has SR but no save.

This idea hit me when reading about artificer/blaster combos dual wielding wands, it only takes one level of scout to

gain an added 1D6 damage on ALL ATTACKS after moving at least 10 feet.

As you gain levels upgrade your wands (perfect for scout/artificer build) to scorching ray or even lightning bolt.

(Personally I would not give the extra damage to magic missile or fireball because they do not require an "attack roll"

in order to hit.)

The problem with using all of these UMD based builds is that the Scout is pretty stat dependent and a great sufferer of

MAD. Charisma is the traditional stat to dump and if we add UMD to the list then we'll need a good charisma.

So, in point buy systems, these UMD routes might not be too good. As stated in the handbook, the scout needs a good

dex (usually), a good con, a good intelligence and now, you all suggest a good Charisma. That's MAD if I've ever seen

it.

-=TD=-

Actually, I like the idea of going straight duskling scout.

Duskling Scout

1. Tracking

3. Midnight Dodge

6. Mobility

9. Spring Attack

12. Indigo Strike

15. Healing Soul

18. ?

A little explanation. I like my scouts to be able to track too. This way my scout is both Ranger and rogue and fits well

flavor wise. Not needed for pure melee optimization, but I like it. Midnight Dodge is Dodge with a bonus point of

essentia. Indigo Strike gives a point of essentia, and for every point of essentia you invest in the feat you get a +2

bonus damage bonus to skirmish damage. You can invest a maximum of 4 essentia without taking another feat or

going epic, and this build just so happens to have 4 essentia. This gives you a +8 damage on skirmish attacks. Healing

Soul is a useful feat that grant a point of essentia, and reduces down time by giving you some limited self healing. I

wanted one more point incarnum feat, and I liked it the best. I'm not sure what to put in the last slot. Suggestions?

This build will probably be using a spear, or some other reach weapon to maximize spring attack, and keep the scout

safe.

Great guide, thx!

Part of the problem with Scout is their abilities rely on them moving. Yea at lower levels that is fine (when you only

get 1 attack per round) but who wants to give up 3 of 4 attacks per round?




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#21 Feb 10, 2006 10:01:21

vorlirJoined Dec 200424 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#22 Feb 10, 2006 11:10:08


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#23 Feb 10, 2006 12:52:32


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#24 Feb 10, 2006 15:00:08


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#25 Feb 10, 2006 16:41:39

encardJoined Aug 2002144 Posts

So a possible answer is to try and get Hustle in there. Either an item, or get some levels of psychic warrior (or egoist I

think will do).

thats why at higher levels you manyshot, or preferably greater manyshot. Those ideas are good too however.

I haven't seen anyone seriously try to do either of these in a build, but:

It's a DC 20 ride check to mount or dismount as a free action (provided you've got a move action in reserve). Since

ride is dex based and a class skill for scouts it's actually not that hard to get there, especially if you play a Goblin.

A PC that initiates a grapple successfully moves into the target's square for free. Enlarge Person gives 10' reach, and

synergizes well. Alternatively a 5' step can also be combined with a grapple in order to move 10'.

Also, the Master Thrower trick 'Double Throw' allows two attacks with seperate attack rolls as a standard action.

For totemist dip, you forgot Manticore Belt. It gives you a ranged attack that allows a number of hits equal to your

essentia invested as a standard action.

Also, Indigo Strike is a good place to put essentia if you're going to be using skirmish all the time.

1 lvl monk dip + Practice Dummy of the Master = 10ft step instead of 5ft step

Just saying.

Good suggestions, folks! At the moment, I have added the following to the Handbook:

• Barbarian class.

• Close Quarters Fighting feat.

• DC 40 Tumble Check entry modified (noted that it comes from OA).



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#26 Feb 27, 2006 8:11:55

lostoneJoined Apr 2003401 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#27 Feb 27, 2006 12:56:39

father_daleJoined Mar 200483 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

• Dragon Devotee PrC.

• Fighter entry modified (noted martial weapon proficiency).

• Grappling with Reach method of getting skirmish damage (though with reservation - scout will usually have poor

grapple checks).

• Manticore Belt soulmeld (for Totemist).

• Master Thrower PrC.

• Psychic Warrior class (though with some reservation, since it seems necessary to take a decent number of levels

to really make the most of the class, unless taking it just for psionic feat acces/bonus feats).

• Ranger entry modified (noted martial weapon proficiency).

• Snow Tiger Berserker feat.

• Up the Walls feat.

Have a couple more additions I will try to make later tonight.

Zemyla: I'm thinking, after looking at MoI, that scout 10/totemist 10 might actually be best - this gives the character

both blindsense (from scout) and a third bind (for totemist). Thoughts?

Regarding warlocks and UMD: It does bring more MAD in, which is a problem... However, for high-stat builds (either

luck or high point buy) or those who don't want to focus as heavily on skills, it might be worthwhile. A level of warlock

+ Able Learner, perhaps? Some of the Least Invocations are also handy... Will take a closer look later.

SigmaJargon: Thanks!

Random speculation: full-attack charger with girallon arms + sphinx claws, goliath, knockback, leap attack? Will have

to look at later.

Also, do you folks think a tripper scout has any potential? Seeing a problem with low Str, but keeping opponents away

is good...

To those I haven't replied to yet - sorry, I need to run, but will try to be back this evening. Thanks again for all the

suggestions!

Something that was pointed out to me in a previous thread a couple months ago (and that I was recently reminded

about in a new discussion) is the Halfing racial substitution level for monk in Races of the Wild. Instead of flurry of

blows you get skirmish damage. So for Scouts taking a dip into monk and using sparring dummy of the master,

halfling would be a good choice for more damage.

Great guide for one of my favorite classes!

Some suggestions:

Under feats:

From Races of the Wild:

Able Sniper: Bonus to attacks against flatfooted targets and bonus on hide checks after a sniping attack.

Agile Athlete: Use Dex instead of Str for Climb and Jump checks. Handy for a treehopping scout.

Catfolk Pounce: Catfolk only. Can make a full attack at the end of a charge, but only against flatfooted opponenets.

Defensive Archery: Get a bonus to AC agaisnt attacks of opportunity for using a ranged weapon.

Expeditious Dodge: Per the RAW, this can substitute for regular Dodge when qualifying for feats or PRCs. Get a +2

bonus to AC for one round when you move 40ft.

Woodland Archer: Tactical Feat. Gives three different abilities, all of which are useful for an archer. The best one lets

you do sniping attacks and move at the same time. Could be very good for a stealthy ranged scout, particularly with

Camoflouge and HIPS.



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#28 Feb 27, 2006 19:44:21

dnjscottJoined Aug 2005213 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#29 Mar 01, 2006 15:28:30


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#30 Mar 01, 2006 20:52:13

From Stormwrack:

Aquatic Shot: allows the use of ranged/thrown weapons under water. Penalties reduced for using ranged/thrown

weapons under water or attacking into water. Water does not provide cover against ranged attacks.

From Races of Stone:

Steady Mountaineer: Can always take 10 on climb and jump checks.

From Races of Destiny:

Able Learner: Human or doppleganger only. Can purchase cross class skills with only 1 skill point instead of 2.

City Slicker: Can only be taken at 1st level. Grants 4 skills as class skills, none of which are on Scout list, and are

useful in urban settings which can offset some of the Scouts problems in such areas.

From Complete Warrior:

Fleet of Foot: Can make a single direction change of up to 90 degrees when running or charging.

Greater/Improved/Two Weapon Defense. Can be used to great effect in a Scout/Dervish build to pump up the AC when

fighting defensively with two weapons.

Improved Combat Expertise. Can be used to great effect by melee Scouts.

Ranged Disarm and Ranged Sunder:

Elusive Target: Tacticul feat. very useful for melee Scouts and Scout/Dervishs. Provides substantial defensive benefits

agaisnt foes who are your designated Dodge target.

Under Races:

Elf: (PHB) Gains +2 Dex which is good, but the -2 Con hurts. However many scouts will go to great lenght to avoid

being targets, so Scouts can survive with less hps than most classes. Elves get +2 bonuses to Listen, Search, and Spot

checks and can detect secret doors simply by passing within 5 feet of them. Elves also get free weapon proficiency in

the Longbow, Longsword and the Rapier, which are weapons which Scouts do not have proficiency with.

Dual Strike is a crappier version of the Dervish's ability that only requires a feat (req. imp. two weapon fighting--it's in

Complete Adventurer). Basically, you get two attacks with an extra -2 and precision only applies once. There's a bit

more than that, but you get the idea.

There was a scout post a while ago on the Class forums (not optimization) and I kept on saying: "Dummy o' the

master" again, and again. Hopefully someone will read this thread and see that, finally! No one I was talking to back

then knew what it was.

Not to insult raven 113, no "I did it first" stuff. Just venting.

GREAT JOB!

Expeditious Dodge beats Dodge for usefulness because of skirmish. +2 dodge bonus if you move 40-ft or more in a

single turn, lasts until your next turn. Counts as dodge for feat and PrC quallifications.



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#31 Mar 01, 2006 22:26:36

reis

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#32 Mar 01, 2006 23:30:58


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#33 Mar 02, 2006 10:59:46


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#34 Mar 02, 2006 11:52:36

sierraJoined Mar 20055 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#35 Mar 02, 2006 12:01:28

lostoneJoined Apr 2003

Scout5/Ranger3/Horizon Walker 7/Telflammar Shadowlord 5

-dimension door every 1d4 rounds with a full attack afterward and +2d6 skirmish damage if you DD at least 10 feet

-30' tremorsense (horizon walker cavernous mastery) is an excellent substitute for the scout's 30' blindsight. Also,

superior darkivison (shadowsight) from TSL

-, +16 BAB, i usually do 6 attacks per full attack with greater two-weapon fighting...gets two weapon fighting via

ranger. With a bit of finesse (haste spell from TSL or quicken spell-like ability (dimenion door) and a literal

interpretation of shadow pounce, you can get up to 14 attacks per round...

-really hard to kill with constant teleports and shadow discorporation as well as shadow blur, displacement spells...

- great stealth skills and moderate tracking/outdoorsish skills. Shadow walk for long-distance travel.

-Slightly vulnerable in light

If you do go Incarnum, the feat Midnight Dodge counts as Dodge for prereqs, gives you a point of Essentia, and the

flexibility to use that point elsewhere if you don't think you need it.

Could you build a karmic striking scout, barbarian, that charges into combat,rages, smashes face with a full attack

action, then keeps his skirmish damage throughout the next turn, using it for all attacks of opp. Joined with MoI, the

fire shield thing, you could output some serious damage.

Is this a viable option?

I am not sure on the Karmic strike rules, but could you also just charge through a combat, prevoking loads of AoP and

essentially gaining a number of extra attackes = to your Dex mod, then still get a full attack?

Ray

Could you build a karmic striking scout, barbarian, that charges into combat,rages, smashes face with a full attack action,

then keeps his skirmish damage throughout the next turn, using it for all attacks of opp.

I thought Skirmish damage only worked on your turn after moving 10ft, attacks of opportunity would not get that

damage because it is not on your turn.

I thought Skirmish damage only worked on your turn after moving 10ft, attacks of opportunity would not get that damage

because it is not on your turn.



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#36 Mar 02, 2006 16:24:50


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#37 Mar 03, 2006 12:21:02


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#38 Mar 03, 2006 12:34:55

lokathorJoined Feb 20031514 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#39 Mar 03, 2006 13:49:40

raymondcaleatry_dupJoined Jul 200353 PostsView All PostsView ProfileBlock User

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#40 Mar 05, 2006 11:05:11

Correct. Skirmish damage is only good on your turn, the AC bonus is good until your next turn.

In the first paragraph of skirmish:

The extra damage applies only to attacks taken during the scout's turn.

Second to last paragraph of skirmish, referring to AC:

The bonus applies as soon as the scout has moved 10 feet and lasts until the start of her next turn.

... and I kept on saying: "Dummy o' the master" again, and again..

'fraid I never saw that thread. Its cool though, monk/scout has a lot of synergies Dummy aside. We'll keep spreading

the good word.

It's much more reliable than DC 40 Tumble checks, and who doesn't love having monk abilities to fall back on. (Encard

said it first)

Could you build a karmic striking scout, barbarian, that charges into combat,rages, smashes face with a full attack action,

then keeps his skirmish damage throughout the next turn, using it for all attacks of opp. Joined with MoI, the fire shield

thing, you could output some serious damage.

Is this a viable option?

I am not sure on the Karmic strike rules, but could you also just charge through a combat, prevoking loads of AoP and

essentially gaining a number of extra attackes = to your Dex mod, then still get a full attack?

Ray

Sure. Karmic Strike just says, "On your action..." and lasts until your next turn. I see no reason it wouldn't work

during your current turn. Use Shock Trooper and drop that AC to make sure you get hit. ;)

Sure. Karmic Strike just says, "On your action..." and lasts until your next turn.

But each attack you get with Karmic Strike won't deal Skirmish damage, because the attacks won't occur on your turn

at that point, and the bonus Damage only lasts until the end of your turn.

but you can activate karmic strike, charge a target through a group of guys, provoking loads of AoO and then reply

with your own. Any AoO you gain in reponse to an ememy AoOing you during your charge will include the extra

skirmish damage aslong as you have charged at least 10 feet before any attack.

Its not really a great tactic, but it is rather funny.

Ray



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#41 Mar 14, 2006 21:54:24


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but you can activate karmic strike, charge a target through a group of guys, provoking loads of AoO and then reply with

your own. Any AoO you gain in reponse to an ememy AoOing you during your charge will include the extra skirmish

damage aslong as you have charged at least 10 feet before any attack.

Its not really a great tactic, but it is rather funny.

Actually it could be a fine tactic if you have wrathful healing on your weapon(s) and/or decent damage reduction or

fast healing or regeneration, etc. Basically ways to offset the damage you take.

Alrighty, finally had time to add the new suggestions to the Handbook - thanks, folks! Sorry it's taken so long; I've

been hideously busy and stressed of late.

Additions are:

Feats

Able Learner

Able Sniper

Agile Athlete

Aquatic Shot

City Slicker

Defensive Archery

Elusive Target

Expeditious Dodge

Fleet of Foot

Greater/Improved/Two-Weapon Defense

Midnight Dodge

Ranged Disarm

Ranged Sunder

Steady Mountaineer

PrCs

Horizon Walker

Teflammar Shadowlord

Races

Elf

I will note that I generally add my own assessment of things I add to the Handbook, and in some cases that's not fully

positive. If you disagree with me on anything there, please let me know - new points of view are bound to make this a

more useful and complete guide.

Reis, the build you presented doesn't actually work by the RAW - as I mentioned in my entry for Teflammar

Shadowlord, that PrC requires sneak attack (not simply precision damage) and skirmish may or may not be triggered

by teleportation (the most likely decision is, I believe, that it is not). I'm somewhat hesitant to add it to the builds

section since it requires a houserule and a somewhat questionable rules decision. I'll probably put it in later with that

noted, however.

Regarding Karmic Strike - charging through a group of enemies is a possible tactic, but I'm seeing a few problems with

it for most builds. The main thing is the Scout's probable lack of HP, which makes triggering attacks dangerous -

unless you have a way to effectively regain HP during combat (such as Wrathful Healing, though it's still risky with

that), I wouldn't suggest it. The high feat prerequisites can be an issue for some Scouts, but are luckily also

prerequisites for Spring Attack. Of course, some builds can use this better than others.

I'll update the builds section later tonight or tomorrow - I'm on spring break now, so I have a bit more time this week.

Thanks again, all of your who've posted here!

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