Character Classes

SCOUT

Any force on the move, whether it's an army or an adventuring group, needs information about what's ahead and what's behind and, more important, time to prepare for battle. A scout can navigate difficult terrain at good speed, and she specializes in seeing her foe before the opponent ever detects her presence. In a dungeon or in the wild, a scout is seen only when she wants to be. Scouts adventure for numerous reasons. Many have a role in a military organization. Whether serving as outriders for a large army or as foresters for a small border fort, these scouts venture into the wilderness under orders. Although more common than other scouts, those attached to the military are unlikely to have the time or permission necessary to undertake regular adventures. Instead, adventuring scouts come from rural villages, having honed their skills over a lifetime of wandering the woods. Others have left their military service behind and find themselves attracted to the adventuring lifestyle. Many adventuring scouts begin their careers as guides hired to lead other adventurers through the wilderness. Those who find the excitement and challenge of adventuring to their taste then seek out a group of their own. A scout has some training in weapons and a unique combat style that favors fast movement and devastating attacks. She excels in performing during running battles, which allow her to maximize her special fighting techniques and high movement rate. Although a scout can hold her own in a fight, she's at her best before combat begins, when she can use her powers of stealth and observation to find an enemy and give her companions accurate information about what they face. The scout is a backcountry expert, exceeding even the ranger's ability to navigate rough terrain and lead a group of companions through the wilderness. The scout also excels in a dungeon environment, and she can find and disable traps as well as any rogue. As a scout advances in level, her senses become amazingly acute, and she can eventually operate normally even in total darkness. Scouts can be of any alignment, and a scout's alignment is often shaped more by her personal background than from any training. The notable exceptions to this are the many scouts who receive their training in a military organization - such scouts are carefully and rigorously taught, and are almost always lawful in alignment. Outside of military organizations, more scouts are neutral than any other alignment, but every alignment and philosophy is represented within the class. Scouts have varied and individual takes on religion, and no single religion stands out as typical of the class. Scouts occasionally pay homage to deities of nature, but these devotions are more a personal choice on the part of an individual than any outgrowth of their training. Scouts don't see nature as a force in its own right, and this belief is one of the most profound differences between the scout and the ranger classes. Where the ranger sees nature as something to be revered and protected, the scout sees it as the terrain over which she must do her job. Although a scout might love nature for its beauty or for the solitude she can find within it, she'll never draw power from nature the way a ranger does. Many scouts receive military training and serve for a time as outriders for an army. They perfect their techniques while trying to spot and hide from large groups of foes. The crucible of military service turns out tough, independent scouts accustomed to working on their own or in small groups. Such steady individuals make great additions to adventuring parties, and their expertise is often sought by members of other classes. Other scouts come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some train with foresters and rangers serving a rural lord, and others simply grow up among the common folk of the countryside, spending month after month exploring the wild in their leisure time. Scouts from such diverse backgrounds often take up adventuring to leave their home communities behind. Having exhausted the potential for exploration in their home region, they seek a wider variety of experience and wish to see a broader portion of the world. Humans make excellent scouts. Their adaptable nature allows them to perfect a wider variety of skills than most other races, and they make good use of the scout's many abilities. Elves and halflings are the most naturally gifted scouts; both races have produced nimble scouts with amazing abilities of stealth and observation. While halflings have more innate talent for sneaking than elves do, the greater speed of elf scouts gives them advantages of their own. Dwarves and gnomes make respectable underground scouts, and the scout's bonuses to speed offset one of these races' greatest weaknesses. Combined with the dwarf's knack for operating in areas of earth and stone, scout training can turn dwarves into impressive underground explorers - although most dwarves prefer a more straightforward approach to combat and dislike the skirmish fighting style of the scout. Scouts work well with members of almost any other class. Skilled and adaptable, they thrive when they can complement a slower and louder group of adventurers or soldiers. Scouts move ahead of such a group for brief periods, stealthily checking the next room or forest clearing for foes, and then circling back again to ensure that enemies are not sneaking up on the group from behind. When combat is joined, however, the group remains as a stable base to which a scout can fall back when pressed. Clerics, wizards, and others willing to cast spells that enhance a scout's mobility or stealth make her job easier, and are welcome companions in combat as well. Conversely, a scout also welcomes a group made up entirely of stealthy characters such as rogues, rangers, ninjas, and fellow scouts. This group moves much more quietly than a normal adventuring party, and it is seldom surprised. A scout plays several roles in most adventuring groups. first and foremost, a scout excels at detecting an enemy or creature before being detected herself. Whether moving well ahead of the group or guarding the rear, a scout is the character most likely to discover a potential threat and be ready to act in combat. Serving as a backup melee combatant or ranged expert in battle, she provides support for the more straightforward fighters in the group and confuses and distracts the enemy. A scout's stealth and trapfinding ability make her the natural choice for entering and searching dangerous areas.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d8.

Class Skills

The scout's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge(dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge(geography) (Int), Knowledge(nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (n/a), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (8 + Int modifier) x 4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 8 + Int modifier.

Table: The Scout

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the scout.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Scouts are proficient with all simple weapons, plus the handaxe, throwing axe, short sword, and shortbow. Scouts are proficient with light armor, but not with shields.

Skirmish (Ex):A scout relies on mobility to deal extra damage and improve her defense. She deals an extra 1d6 points of damage on all attacks she makes during any round in which she moves at least 10 feet away from where she was at the start of her turn. The extra damage applies only to attacks made after the scout has moved at least 10 feet. The skirmish ability cannot be used while mounted. The extra damage applies only to attacks taken during the scout's turn. This extra damage increases by 1d6 for every four levels gained above 1st (2d6 at 5th, 3d6 at 9th, 4d6 at 13th, and 5d6 at 17th level).

The extra damage only applies against living creatures that have a discernible anatomy. Undead, constructs, oozes, plants, incorporeal creatures, and creatures immune to extra damage from critical hits are not vulnerable to this additional damage. The scout must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. Scouts can apply this extra damage to ranged attacks made while skirmishing, but only if the target is within 30 feet.

At 3rd level, a scout gains a +1 competence bonus to Armor Class during any round in which she moves at least 10 feet. The bonus applies as soon as the scout has moved 10 feet, and lasts until the start of her next turn. This bonus improves by 1 for every four levels gained above 3rd (+2 at 7th, +3 at 11th, +4 at 15th, and +5 at 19th level).

A scout loses this ability when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load. If she gains the skirmish ability from another class, the bonuses stack.

Trapfinding (Ex):A scout can use the Search skill to locate traps with a DC higher than 20, and she can use Disable Device to bypass a trap or disarm magic traps. See the rogue class feature.

Battle Fortitude (Ex):At 2nd level, a scout gains a +1 competence bonus on Fortitude saves and initiative checks. This bonus increases to +2 at 11th level and +3 at 20th level. A scout loses this bonus when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex):Starting at 2nd level, a scout cannot be caught fat-footed and reacts to danger before her senses would normally allow her to do so. See the barbarian class feature.

Fast Movement (Ex):Starting at 3rd level, a scout's gains a +10 foot enhancement bonus to her base land speed. At 11th level, this bonus increases to +20 feet. See the monk class feature. A scout loses this benefit when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.

Trackless Step (Ex):Beginning at 3rd level, a scout cannot be tracked in natural surroundings. See the druid class feature.

Bonus Feats: At 4th level and every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level), a scout gains a bonus feat, which must be selected from the following list: Acrobatic, Agile, Alertness, Athletic, Blind-fight, Brachiation, Combat Expertise, Danger Sense, Dodge, Endurance, Far Shot, Great Fortitude, Hear the Unseen, Improved Initiative, Improved Swimming, Iron Will, Lightning Refexes, Mobility, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Quick Reconnoiter, Rapid Reload, Shot on the Run, Skill Focus, Spring Attack, Track. She must meet all the prerequisites for the feat.

Evasion (Ex):Beginning at 5th level, a scout can avoid damage from certain attacks with a successful Refex save. See the monk class feature.

Flawless Stride (Ex):Starting at 6th level, a scout can move through any sort of terrain that slows movement (such as undergrowth, rubble, and similar terrain) at her normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment.

This ability does not let her move more quickly through terrain that requires a Climb or Swim check to navigate, nor can she move more quickly through terrain or undergrowth that has been magically manipulated to impede motion.

A scout loses this benefit when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.

Camouflage (Ex):Beginning at 8th level, a scout can use the Hide skill in any sort of natural terrain. See the ranger class feature. She loses this benefit when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.

Blindsense (Ex): At 10th level, a scout gains the blindsense ability out to 30 feet.

Hide in Plain Sight (Ex):Beginning at 14th level, a scout can use the Hide skill in natural terrain even while being observed. See the ranger class feature. A scout loses this benefit when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.

Free Movement (Ex):At 18th level and higher, a scout can slip out of bonds, grapples, and even the effects of confining spells easily. This ability duplicates the effect of a freedom of movement spell, except that it is always active. A scout loses this benefit when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.

Blindsight (Ex):A 20th-level scout gains the blindsight ability out to 30 feet. Her senses become so acute that she can maneuver and fight flawlessly even in total darkness. Invisibility, darkness, and most kinds of concealment are irrelevant, though the scout must have line of effect to a creature or object to discern it.

SCOUT VARIANTS

Aquatic Scout

The quick, nimble scout makes an excellent aquatic adventurer, both above and below the waves. In fact, in most aquatic-themed campaigns, the scout is almost certainly better suited for inclusion in an adventuring party than the rogue. Fast movement allows the scout to move more quickly through the water, while a scout who focuses on Balance, Climb, Jump, and Tumble can get along well aboard any ship. Flawless stride applies equally well in underwater conditions, though it doesn't change the normal distance covered by a Swim check. At 18th level, a scout can function underwater as if affected by freedom of movement - a great boon to underwater combatants.

Fast Movement (Ex): Scouts who possess a racial swim speed can choose to apply their fast movement bonus to their swim speed instead of their land speed. The choice must be made when the character gains the class feature, and cannot be changed later. This benefit still applies only when the scout is wearing no armor or light armor and not carrying a medium or heavy load.

Dungeon Specialist

The scout's mobility gives her a significant advantage over foes in combat. While any scout can hold her own in an underground setting, some specifically train for the dark, enclosed spaces found in dungeon environments. If you select the dungeon specialist alternative class feature, you give up some of your speed to turn the dungeon into a three-dimensional combat environment. You'll shine in small rooms and tight corridors, though area spells become a bit more dangerous for you.

Level: 3rd.

Replaces: By choosing the dungeon specialist alternative class feature, you give up both fast movement (normally gained at 3rd level and improved at 11th level) and evasion (normally gained at 5th level).

Benefit: At 3rd level, you gain a climb speed equal to one-half your base land speed (rounded down to the next 5-foot increment), and you can attack with a light weapon normally while climbing. At 11th level, your climb speed improves to equal your base land speed.

Having a climb speed grants you a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and allows you to take 10 on Climb checks even if rushed or threatened. You also retain your Dexterity bonus to AC while climbing, and enemies gain no special bonus on attacks against you while you are climbing. See Movement Modes for more details.

At 5th level, you learn to use confining areas to your advantage. Whenever you are standing on the ground and adjacent to a wall, you gain a +2 bonus to AC and opponents gain no bonus on their attack rolls when flanking you.

This is an extraordinary ability. You lose both of these benefits when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.

Go to Ground

Just as most druids and scouts have an almost supernatural ability to avoid being tracked in the wild, so too have others learned to blend in so fully with the urban throng that nobody remembers their passage.

Class: Druid or scout.

Level: 3rd.

Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain trackless step.

Benefit: When you choose to "lay low," you become all but impossible to find without magical means. All attempts to find you with Urban Tracking simply fail outright.

Hidden Stalker

For those who know how to use them, the ever-shifting concealment of the throng and the back alleys of the city provide just as much opportunity for stealth as the shadows of the trees or the early morning fog.

Class: Ranger or scout.

Level: 13th (ranger) or 8th (scout).

Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the camouflage ability, and your hide in plain sight ability (gained at higher levels) is modified.

Benefit: Upon first gaining this ability, the hidden stalker no longer takes a -5 penalty on Hide checks when moving faster than half speed, nor does she take the standard -10 penalty when attempting to hide during a brief distraction. In addition, the presence of other people within 5 feet is considered sufficient cover for her to hide, making it easy for her to vanish into a crowd.

At the second level of this ability, the hidden stalker gains hide in plain sight, but this ability functions in any urban environment, rather than only in natural environments as written.

Light Cavalry

The mainstay of many armies, light cavalry scouts are the vanguard for large military forces, reconnoitering the path ahead, marking traps for sappers, securing campsites, and riding picket to give the army early warning of enemy attacks and ambush. If you select the light cavalry variant class feature, you lose some of your speed and stealth in order to gain a specially bonded mount. You also transfer some of your abilities to your mount. As a light cavalry scout, you shine in battles fought in the open, where your mount's high speed can be utilized most effectively.

Level: 5th.

Replaces: By choosing the light cavalry variant class feature, you give up fast movement (normally gained at 3rd level and improved at 11th), camouflage (normally gained at 8th level), hide in plain sight (normally gained at 14th level), and free movement (normally gained at 18th level).

Benefit: At 5th level, you gain a special mount as a paladin of your scout level, with a few minor changes. Your special mount must be fast, and most are relatively small members of their species (i.e., without advancement via Hit Dice). The light cavalry scout special mount gives up share spells (normally gained when its master is 5th level) and command creatures of its kind (normally gained when its master is 11th level). In exchange, the light cavalry scout special mount gains fast movement (+10 feet at 5th level and +20 feet at 11th level), trackless step (as the scout ability, at 11th level), and free movement (as the scout ability, at 15th level).

Riposte

While most scouts rely on mobility to overcome their opponents, some focus instead on taking advantage of the openings their foes provide in combat when making their own attacks.

Class: Scout.

Level: 1st.

Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain skirmish or any later improvements to that class feature.

Benefit: Any time the scout attacks a foe that has made a melee or ranged weapon attack against her within the past round (whether or not the attack hit you), her attack deals an extra 1d6 points of damage. This extra damage increases by 1d6 for every four levels gained above 1st (2d6 at 5th, 3d6 at 9th, 4d6 at 13th, and 5d6 at 17th).

This extra damage applies only against living creatures that have a discernable anatomy. Undead, constructs, oozes, plants, incorporeal creatures, and creatures immune to extra damage from critical hits are not vulnerable to this additional damage. The scout must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. She can apply this extra damage to ranged attacks, but only if the target is within 30 feet.

At 3rd level, the scout gains a +1 competence bonus to Armor Class against any creature to which she has dealt riposte damage, as described above. This bonus lasts until the start of her next turn. If she deals riposte damage to more than one creature in a round, she gains this bonus against all of them; it is not limited to a single foe. This bonus improves by 1 for every four levels gained above 3rd (+2 at 7th, +3 at 11th, +4 at 15th, and +5 at 19th level).

The scout loses this ability when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.

Skilled City-Dweller

The various wilderness-oriented skills are valuable indeed, but make less sense - and may prove less useful - for an urban character.

Class: Any class that has one or more of the "skills replaced," as listed below, on its list of class skills.

Level: 1st.

Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the "skills replaced" as listed below.

Benefit: The skilled city-dweller gains one or more skills as class skills, at the expense of other skills. If she does not have the proper skill to lose, she cannot gain the skill it grants as an urban benefit.

Note that she need not swap out all these skills. A skilled city-dweller may pick and choose, but she cannot later change her mind.

Sniper

Some scouts do not specialize in close-quarters skirmishing, but instead stalk their targets from afar. This kind of scout prefers a precise, potentially lethal shot from the most extreme reaches her weapon allows, all the while remaining well hidden. If you select the sniper variant class feature, you give up your ability to deal extra damage in melee and a bonus to your Armor Class to gain that extra damage from a distance. You shine in the wilderness, especially on the plains or in other environments that let you stay far from the action while still giving you a clear line of sight.

Level: 1st.

Replaces: By choosing the sniper variant class feature, you give up both the skirmish ability (normally gained at 1st level) and fast movement (normally gained at 3rd level and improved at 11th level).

Benefit: At 1st level, you gain the ability to make precise shots at long range. As a full-round action you can make a precise shot against a target farther than 60 feet away. You cannot move (even a 5-foot step) in the round you take the shot. If you hit, you deal an extra 1d6 points of damage. The extra damage applies only to attacks made with a missile weapon, such as a bow or crossbow. This extra damage increases by 1d6 for every four levels gained above 1st (2d6 at 5th, 3d6 at 9th, 4d6 at 13th, and 5d6 at 17th level).

The extra damage only applies against living creatures with a discernible anatomy. Undead, constructs, oozes, plants, incorporeal creatures, and creatures immune to extra damage from critical hits are not vulnerable to this additional damage. You must be able to see the target well enough to pick a vital spot. If it has any form of cover or concealment you cannot use this ability against it.

Spell Reflection

Many masters of stealth share the signature talent to avoid explosive blasts of magical energy. It takes only a little training, however, to twist this defensive flair into the ability to reflect magical attacks back upon their creator.

Class: Monk, ranger, rogue, or scout.

Level: 2nd (monk or rogue), 5th (scout), or 9th (ranger).

Special Requirement: Knowledge (arcana) 1 rank.

Replaces: You do not gain evasion. (If you would later gain improved evasion as a special ability, you gain evasion instead.)

Benefit: You gain the supernatural ability to reflect magical attacks back on their caster. If an enemy misses with a spell or spell-like ability aimed at you, you can use an immediate action to redirect the effect back at its originator. The spell or ability attacks the original caster (who makes a new attack roll using the same modifier as the original attack). If it hits, the caster is subject to the normal effect of the spell or ability.

For example, if a 3rd-level wizard missed you with a scorching ray, you could use an immediate action to redirect the ray back to the wizard. The wizard would immediately make a new ranged attack roll (using the same modifier) against his own touch AC; if the attack succeeds, the scorching ray deals its normal damage to the wizard.

This effect applies only to spells and spell-like abilities that require an attack roll. Other spells and spell-like abilities that affect a target aren't subject to this reflection.

If a single spell or ability misses you more than once at the same time (such as scorching ray cast by a high-level caster), you can redirect each portion of the spell that missed. Using the example above, if you were missed by two of the three rays from an 11th-level wizard's scorching ray spell, you could redirect only those two rays (but not the one that hit).

You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + your Dex modifier (minimum 1/day).