Scout NPC Class, Rough Draft

General questions, debates, and rants about RPGs

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
Orion
Prince
Posts: 3756
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Scout NPC Class, Rough Draft

Post by Orion »

Scout (NPC class)
Hit Die: 1d6
Skill Points: 6+Int
Skill List: Hide, Move Silent, Spot, Listen, all the mobility skills, ride/handleanimal/survival/knowledge (nature, geography, dungeoneering).
BAB: Cleric
Saves: Reflex

1 Replaceable, Stealth Teamwork
2 Stealth Movement
3 Combat Advantage
4 Rank
5 Hide in Plain Sight

Stealth Teamwork: Up to 4 scouts within 30 feet of each other can share a single hide and move silently check. While doing so, they must also share perception checks.

Replaceable: Scouts don't have feats. They get +1 to saving throws for every feat they would get

Stealth Movement: a scout can move from cover to cover without destealthing. Each observer can roll one perception skill to notice this.

Combat Advantage: a scout gets +2 to hit any time she would qualify for sneak attack, with no range limit)

Rank: A 4th-level scout has a command rating

Hide In Plain Sight: as the shadowdancer ability.
...You Lost Me
Duke
Posts: 1854
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:21 am

Post by ...You Lost Me »

Hummm a couple things:

1. I like the stealth teamwork thing, but wouldn't scouts give each other bonuses or something? Also, it'd be nice if the distance between the scouts was larger--30 feet just seems a little low.

2. The word destealthing is confusing. I saw it as "de-steal-thing"... and I kept wondering if it were an inside joke or something ("so-me-thing".. hee hee!). De-stealthing would be easier to understand, IMO.

3. What's the scout's command rating? BAB/5?

4. According to [Tome] rules, you can, Hide in Plain Sight is available to everyone. So that's not quite an awesome capstone.
DSMatticus wrote:Again, look at this fucking map you moron. Take your finger and trace each country's coast, then trace its claim line. Even you - and I say that as someone who could not think less of your intelligence - should be able to tell that one of these things is not like the other.
Kaelik wrote:I invented saying mean things about Tussock.
Hieronymous Rex
Journeyman
Posts: 153
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2010 1:23 am

Re: Scout NPC Class, Rough Draft

Post by Hieronymous Rex »

Slightly off topic, but is there any way to apply the "Replaceable" concept to skills? For instance, listing default ranks in each skill along with each level?
User avatar
Orion
Prince
Posts: 3756
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by Orion »

The first draft did indeed have their Replaceable give a +X bonus to all skill checks. I axed it because using stealth for low level PCs is *really hard* if you're not cheesed out as a whisper gnome or something. When I played vanilla 3.5, our 20 DEX halfling rogue, at level 3, still failed sometimes to sneak into a goblin camp. Tome adds spot and listen to warriors, upping the difficulty still further. I decided I didn't want to make NPC perception numbers even harder.

Stealth Teamwork is effectively a massive bonus to stealth checks. The thing about the d20 stealth system is that the RNG is large, and every individual sneaker gets discovered if he rolls low. This means

--PCs can sneak up on the bad guys
--enemies can lie in wait, if you let them take 10 on hide or something.
--lone stalker monsters can sneak up on pcs.

But by RAW the odds of a night raid of bugbears catching your guards unaware is TINY, particularly if there are more than one guard. Stealth Teamwork massively improves the success rate of the "sneak into the PCs camp and murder them" gambit.
User avatar
Psychic Robot
Prince
Posts: 4607
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 10:47 pm

Post by Psychic Robot »

Why not just use the Expert?
Count Arioch wrote:I'm not sure how discussions on whether PR is a terrible person or not is on-topic.
Ant wrote:
Chamomile wrote:Ant, what do we do about Psychic Robot?
You do not seem to do anything.
...You Lost Me
Duke
Posts: 1854
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:21 am

Post by ...You Lost Me »

Well, it just seems to provide for an all-or-nothing approach, so instead of seeing 1 bugbear with a bad roll, you see all 15 with a bad roll.
DSMatticus wrote:Again, look at this fucking map you moron. Take your finger and trace each country's coast, then trace its claim line. Even you - and I say that as someone who could not think less of your intelligence - should be able to tell that one of these things is not like the other.
Kaelik wrote:I invented saying mean things about Tussock.
User avatar
Orion
Prince
Posts: 3756
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by Orion »

But all or nothing is generally an advantage. If none of you are detected, you get your surprise round for your whole team, get to lure the enemies into the traps you set, and generally implement your plan. If PCs spot even one of you a turn early, the PCs can buff up, lob area nukes, or otherwise ruin your day.
User avatar
RobbyPants
King
Posts: 5201
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:11 pm

Post by RobbyPants »

Psychic Robot wrote:Why not just use the Expert?
Is there a Tome NPC Expert, or do you mean the one in the DMG?
Post Reply