How far should the party hang back from the scout?

[moritheil]

Generally, IME, scouts being needed is rare - but they are immensely helpful in the few instances when scouting does make a difference.

 

[lukelightning]

Scouting is best done by magic or a familiar. As others have pointed out, it's too easy to detect a sneaking rogue. If you are scouting, I'd say 30-60 feet, or "up to the next turn/branch of the corridor" etc.

 

[axp_dave]

I agree strongly that scouting doesn't work well in the game if your approach is to always be in front. It might work in a wilderness or even in a dungeon until the first encounter. Typically we walk in with suprise on hand, but then it goes out the window when a large battle is heard, foes retreat, gaurds go missing, etc.

Scouting does work well when used tactically when the situation allows it. In those cases, our DM has always rewarded us with good information for our rogue. I believe it is knowing when to use scouting, versus always trying to be ahead of the party. In 3.x combat seems so much more deadly and if you come to one foe who is able to see and approach the scout you are dead.

David

 

[Nail]

I believe it is knowing when to use scouting, versus always trying to be ahead of the party.

Agreed.

It's not like a computer game, where if you keep the rogue in front Moving Silently, the monsters just stand around.

I've very rarely seen "scouting" work well. Something almost always goes wrong (darn dice!).

 

[Justin Bacon]

Lets say we have a ranger/rogue/someone with good hide/move silently/etc skills.....he scouts ahead of the party in a dungeon......how far behind should the party be?

No further than the minimum distance necessary to counteract the difference between the lowest skilled party members (in terms of stealth) and the scout.

Spot and Listen checks suffer a -1 penalty per 10 ft. So if you've got a fighter with +10 Hide and Move Silently checks paired up with a scout who has +20 in those skills, there's absolutely no reason for the fighter to be more than 100 ft. behind the scout.

More generally, I recommend that a party never be more than one round away from reaching the scout. In practical terms, this usualy means 120 ft. in a straight corridor.

 

[Sejs]

2 Rounds of the scout's full movement when running, normally. Minimum of one round of hauling ass. So for a normal human, normal scouting distance would be somewhere around the 240' mark.

Reason for this is twofold - first, means the scout can move back to the party in a short amount of time if and when it's needed.

Second, the range penalty for whatever the scout is scouting to hear/spot the party will be at somewhere around -24. Enough such that the normal un-sneaky folks can stumble about without too much effort to be cautious and not automatically give their presence away.

Low lights and some form of communication (message, telepathic bond, familiar on point with the scout as a nannycam, etc) are very useful.

 

[Felon]

Vindictive? Try "normal set-up".

D&D 3.xe generally discourages "scouting" in the classic sense. There are good reasons for this:

• It bores the other players, and
• It reduces dramatic tension.

Well, even more specifically, the traditional purpose of scouting is either to avoid enemies, which nobody in D&D really wants to do, or to wipe the enemy out with a surprise attack, which generally isn't feasible except at low levels thanks to the magic of hit points.

It is situational. The DM certainly has to want you to scout, to avoid encounters, to take out guards in a Bond-like manner.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

just close enuff that he feels safe, becuse when it gets hot and heavy he is on his own anyway

 

[moritheil]

It has just occurred to me that Question's initial post might specifically have our campaign in mind, where the scout role is filled by a succubus (and thus has invis and etherealness at will.) As such, the scout is in considerably less danger than a conventional scout.

 

[lukelightning]

It has just occurred to me that Question's initial post might specifically have our campaign in mind, where the scout role is filled by a succubus (and thus has invis and etherealness at will.) As such, the scout is in considerably less danger than a conventional scout.

Party: You @#*^(@!! succubus! You're the worst scout ever! You said there was nothing dangerous in the room, and when we came in an iron golem clobbered us!
Succubus: Well, there wasn't anything dangerous...to me.