Improved Skirmish Over the Top?

[Felon]

I'm still not seeing where you can get "20 feet away" by not moving at all...

If you move and then end your movement where you started, you have in fact moved.

I think I'm not alone in treating the relevance of the word "away" as being less than stone-engraved when it isn't mentioned at all in the description of the skirmish ability found in any book. Neither Complete Adventurer or Complete Scoundrel use the word "away", and the latter is a more recent source the little half-page CV errata PDF that can only be found online.

Having said that, I am fine with the "away" requirement myself. That's still manageable even in many dungeons. It just doesn't seem to resolve any potentially "broken" issues.

 

[The Grackle]

Imp Skirmish is ok, but the combination with Greater Manyshot is broken.

Word.

 

[Sithobi1]

20 feet away

10 feet away

Given that nothing in the CS book actually gives you the ability to skirmish, the primary source for the Scout, CV, takes precedence...and the Errata overwrites the printed rules.

 

[FireLance]

Edit: Oops, misread something.

 

[Felon]

Given that nothing in the CS book actually gives you the ability to skirmish, the primary source for the Scout, CV, takes precedence...and the Errata overwrites the printed rules.

A full description of the skirmish ability is presented on page 25 of CS. It is, unfortunately, not erraticized.

 

[Sithobi1]

Again, that does not override the Scout's description(which has recieved errata), any more than a class getting Uncanny Dodge without the armor restriction would alter the Barbarian.

 

[Felon]

Your mileage may, and appparently does, vary from mine. Suit yourself. Merely pointing out for you that the skirmish ability is indeed included in its entirety in Complete Scoundrel, without the word "away", so the only trace of it is in some errata that only exists in digital format, buried in the errata section of the WotC website. I suspect a good many groups aren't even aware of its existence.

 

[DarkJester]

The more I think about it, the less I like skirmish.

Human Scout 3
Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot
15 dex 14 str
MW Mighty Longbow (+2)


vs. AC 15 target

Full Attack Rapid Shot
1d20+4/+4
for 1d8+3/ 1d8+3 (Average 6.75)

or

1d20+6
for 1d8+1d6+3 (average 6.6)

Even at level 3 the scout is better off using rapid shot than using his skirmish ability. Obviously this is dependent on the character-at-hand’s stats and equipment, but if you have any kind of plus to damage the multiple attacks will be better than any static +d6 damage that negates multiple attacks.

 

[FireLance]

1d20+6
for 2d6+3 (average 6)

Shouldn't that be 1d8+1d6+3?

 

[DarkJester]

Yep, had him using a shortbow first then didn't go back.