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<blockquote data-quote="Felon" data-source="post: 3057459" data-attributes="member: 8158">Scouting is dangerous, but so is blundering into ambushes blindly. Saying that &quot;it doesn't work in D&amp;D&quot; or &quot;sooner or later it gets you killed&quot; are generalities that can be applied to many roles, such as the fighter who acts as the party's meat shield. You obviously need certain assets to be successful. In this case, you need to be able to escape if you're detected. Ranks in Hide, Move Silently, Spot, Listen, Tumble, and a decent initiative modifier all are important. If you're in an enclosed area, forget the bow. Hold a melee weapon in one hand, and a potion of invisibility or cure X wounds in the other.Obviously, it helps to have more than one party member capable of scouting, but for some reason a lot of players I've gamed with seem demonstrably irritated when they discover they're not the only stealthy character. Go figure.A lot of scouting's success depends on the DM and the situation (mostly the DM). Some mean DM's do not like scouts, because they spoil surprises. Some nice DM's keep their encounters so evenly-matched to the party that caution is simply a grand waste of time. In dense terrain, like forests, you can scout ahead 60-100 feet. In more open terrain, you may have to outride a bit.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Felon, post: 3057459, member: 8158"] Scouting is dangerous, but so is blundering into ambushes blindly. Saying that "it doesn't work in D&D" or "sooner or later it gets you killed" are generalities that can be applied to many roles, such as the fighter who acts as the party's meat shield. You obviously need certain assets to be successful. In this case, you need to be able to escape if you're detected. Ranks in Hide, Move Silently, Spot, Listen, Tumble, and a decent initiative modifier all are important. If you're in an enclosed area, forget the bow. Hold a melee weapon in one hand, and a potion of invisibility or cure X wounds in the other. Obviously, it helps to have more than one party member capable of scouting, but for some reason a lot of players I've gamed with seem demonstrably irritated when they discover they're not the only stealthy character. Go figure. A lot of scouting's success depends on the DM and the situation (mostly the DM). Some mean DM's do not like scouts, because they spoil surprises. Some nice DM's keep their encounters so evenly-matched to the party that caution is simply a grand waste of time. In dense terrain, like forests, you can scout ahead 60-100 feet. In more open terrain, you may have to outride a bit. [/QUOTE]

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