I started developing this some time ago, but with all of the talk of the ranger playtest and non magic rangers and such, I thought there might be some interest. Constructive comments welcome, especially with completing the saboteur archetype. Design notes follow at the end.
~The Scout
The halfling runs swiftly and silently through the woods, keeping pace with the marching soldiers. Occasionally, she pauses to make bird calls, alerting her allies that the marchers are nearly at the ambush point. She sprints ahead, finds her spot near the trip wire trap that will assail the first in line, notches an arrow, and takes aim.
The dwarf grunts, hoists his shovel and carefully places a bladder filled with a strange amber liquid into the hole, before gently covering it. Leaving the road, he smiles knowing that the hobgoblin patrol is sure to cross this way and step on his little trap….
Her slightly-pointed ears perked up while she sat astride her beautiful stallion. Suddenly, she launched the horse into action as arrows suddenly whirled about her. Ably guiding her mount past the danger, she sped back to her companions to warn them of the foes ahead.
The one-eyed man slams the pommel of his sword into the orc’s head, knocking him to the ground. In moments, he’s bound his bounty, ready to drag his prey back to civilization and the justice that awaits.
The elf crouches next to her wolf companion, whispering commands. In a moment the two spring from hiding and into action, circling the bugbear, each taking turns launching their attacks—a darting rapier at one moment, gnashing teeth at the next.
Scouts are master at reconnaissance and expert skirmishers. They rely on their knowledge of the wilds, stealth, and awareness of their foes’ weaknesses to always be ahead of danger.
Trailblazing and Reconnaissance
You are a skilled pathfinder and tracker who may offer your services for a fee. You always seem to find your way. Oftentimes, you are the first to detect threats to your hearth and home, whether humanoid marauders, rampaging giants, or the whims of nature. 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. As a scout you can navigate difficult terrain at a good speed, and it’s your job to enter dangerous areas, gather information, and escape without being detected. You pride yourself on seeing your foes before they see you. You might be a forester keeping abreast of threats to your village, work as a wilderness spy for a noble house or guild, or serve as an outrider for a mercenary company or your country’s military.
Ambushers and Skirmishers
You are also a skilled hunter. While you excel at hunting wild game, you also excel in hunting criminals as a bounty hunter, fighting oppressors as an insurgent, or ambushing the unsuspecting as a bandit. You’re fighting style likely emphasizes the use of ambushes, sabotage, raids, hit and run attacks, harrying enemy lines, and other forms of guerrilla warfare—combat styles that favor fast movement and devastating attacks.
Creating a Scout
As you create your scout character, consider where your allegiances lie. Are you dedicated to your local community as a merry insurgent fighting against a wicked lord or a humble villager who keeps an eye out for danger? Perhaps you are allegiance is only to yourself and you are a bounty hunter tracking fugitives for profit or a horrible bandit marauding to survive. Or perhaps, you are dedicated to a mission bigger than yourself, serving in your nation’s military as a reconnaissance expert.
What was it that set you on the path of the adventurer? Did you fail your charges? Or, quite the opposite, did your eagle eye save the day? Did you start on one path, only to be forced on another? Perhaps you began as a military scout, but corruption among the ranks drove you to quit bitterly and become a bounty hunter. Or perhaps, your village was sacked by marauders and you joined your military to fight back.
Quick Build
You can make a scout quickly by following these suggestions. First, Dexterity should be your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. Second, choose the outlander background.
Class Features
As a scout, you have the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per scout level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per scout level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, longswords, rapiers, scimitars, shortswords, nets
Tools: Trapmaker’s kit (see below)
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival. (If you play with Streetwise, scouts may also choose that skill.)
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
Multiclassing
Multiclassing Ability Score Minimum Prerequisites: Dexterity 13 and Wisdom 13
Multiclassing Proficiencies Gained: Light armor, simple weapons, one skill from the class’s skill list, trapmaker’s kit
Natural Explorer
Starting at 1st level, as a ranger. You choose additional favored terrain types at 5th, 10th, and 15th level.
Signaling
During your training, you learned how to use flags, mirrors, hand gestures, drums, whistles, and animal calls to send secret or coded alerts about troop movements and basic dangers to your companions and other scouts. You can also leave hidden or coded trail markers and signs recognizable by other scouts as warnings of possible dangers or hazards or so that they may more easily follow your trail.
Sneak Attack
Beginning at 1st level, as a rogue.
Cunning Action
Starting at 2nd level, as a rogue.
Vigilance
At 2nd level, you add your Wisdom modifier (if positive) to your initiative rolls.
Scout Archetype
At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you emulate: Beast Master, Bounty Hunter, Outrider, Saboteur, or Skirmisher, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your archetype choice grants you class features at 3rd level and again at 9th and 14th level.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Uncanny Dodge
Starting at 5th level, as a rogue.
Bushwhacker
Beginning at 6th level, as an assassin rogue’s Assassinate.
Master Scout
Starting at 7th level, as a thief rogue’s Supreme Sneak.
Land’s Stride
Beginning at 10th level, as a ranger.
Camouflage
Starting at 11th level, as a ranger’s Hide in Plain Sight.
Stamina
Beginning at 13th level, you have advantage on Constitution checks and saving throws involving lack of sleep, laboring without rest, running a marathon, forced marches, food and water deprivation, holding your breath, extreme temperatures, and against other nonmagical effects that can result in exhaustion, such as certain illnesses and diseases.
Trackless Step
Starting at 13th level, you can’t be tracked by nonmagical means, unless you choose to leave a trail.
Evasion
Beginning at 15th level, as a rogue.
Ambusher
Starting at 17th level, as a thief’s rogue’s Thief’s Reflexes.
Elusive
Beginning at 18th level, as a rogue.
Deadly Accuracy
At 20th level, as an assassin rogue’s Death Strike.
Scout Archetypes
Scouts share many features in common, but can still come in many varieties. Many scouts take the Sharpshooter and Skulker feats to become snipers that can harry their enemies. Beyond the use of feats, four archetypes are detailed below, the Beast Master, the Bounty Hunter, Outrider, Saboteur, and the Skirmisher.
Beast Master
This archetype is very similar to the ranger archetype of the same name (PH 93).
Scout’s Companion
At 3rd level, as a beast master ranger’s Ranger’s Companion. Official errata should be applied:
Like any creature, the beast can spend Hit Dice during a short rest. If you are incapacitated or absent, the beast acts on its own, focusing on protecting you and itself. It never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.
Exceptional Training
At 9th level, as a beast master ranger.
Bestial Fury
At 9th level, as a beast master ranger. Official errata should be applied:
When you command the beast to take the Attack action, the beast can attack twice or take the Multiattack action if it has that action.
Beastly Coordination
Beginning at 14th level, when an attacker that you can see hits your beast companion with an attack, you can call out a warning. If your beast companion can hear you, it can use its reaction to halve the attack’s damage against it.
Bounty Hunter
Hunting game was only the beginning for you. You hunt more important and lucrative prey now. You are particularly skilled at tracking your mark to collect the bounty on their heads, though you honor contractual distinctions between “kill” and “capture.” You may serve the people for reward or as a vigilante, capturing criminals and bringing them to justice. You may serve the shadowy lords of the underworld, avenging the twisted honor among thieves. Or you may work both sides, holding allegiance only to yourself. Or maybe you are an inquisitor hunting down enemies of the faith.
Bring ‘Em Back Alive
Starting at 3rd level, you can attempt to stun your target instead of causing sneak attack damage. For each 2d6 of damage, you can stun your target for 1 round. The target must make a Constitution saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier) to resist the effect. You can use as many of your Sneak Attack damage dice for this affect as you choose and use the remainder to cause damage.
Hogtie
By the time you’ve chosen this archetype at 3rd level, you’ve become an expert at binding targets with rope or manacles. You can add your proficiency bonus to any Dexterity ability checks you make involving rope, including making a firm or special type of knot, tying up a prisoner, or splicing two ropes together, among other tasks. Similarly, you can add your proficiency bonus to the DC of any Strength or Dexterity checks a target makes to break or wriggle free of bonds you’ve successfully tied. You can bind a grappled, incapacitated, or restrained target with rope or manacles as a bonus action (normally, a target must be incapacitated to bind them). A bound target is restrained until they use their action to break or wriggle free of their bonds or are released from their bonds. You can loosen the bindings around the target’s feet to allow it to move at half speed; it otherwise remains restrained.
Mark
Beginning at 3rd level, you can target, or mark, an individual foe to better hunt that enemy. To do so, you must focus on a creature that is present and visible, or on the depiction or description of one who is not, for 10 minutes. Once this study is complete, that creature is called a mark. Initially, you can have only one mark at a time. You can focus on two marks at the same time at 9th level and three marks at the same time at 14th level. You can choose to give up on an existing mark as a free action, though such actions may affect your reputation as a bounty hunter.
You have advantage on several checks involving your mark, including Intelligence (Investigation) checks, Wisdom (Survival) checks, and Charisma checks to gather information (treated as Charisma [Streetwise] checks in some campaigns). You also have advantage on any ability checks involving a contest against your mark.
One Step Ahead
At 9th level, you can use the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action feature to take the Ready action so long as the circumstances that trigger your reaction have to do with your mark. You also gain advantage on attack rolls against your mark if you act before your mark in the round. (This allows you to Sneak Attack if you have the higher initiative. If you don’t have the higher initiative, you can take the Ready action to move yourself earlier in the initiative order.)
Inscrutable
Starting at 14th level, you automatically detect attempts to sense your emotions, read your thoughts, contact you telepathically, or target you with a divination spell. You cannot determine who is trying to do so (aside from any obvious clues), and these attempts only work if you allow them to do so. If you allow a telepathic conversation to begin, you can terminate it as a free action. In addition, Wisdom (Insight) checks made to ascertain your intentions or sincerity have disadvantage.
Outrider
As an outrider, you perform much of your scouting from astride a mount. You are most often found far afield, and your community, military unit, or lord turns to you to warn them of and protect them from danger.
Faithful Mount
At 3rd level, you gain a faithful mount companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is trained to fight alongside you. Choose an appropriate mount (horse, camel, elk, mastiff, pony, etc.) that is of one size category larger than yourself and that has a Challenge Rating of 1/2 or lower. Add your proficiency bonus to the mount's AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals its normal maximum or four times your scout level, whichever is greater.
The mount obeys your commands as best it can. It takes its turn on your initiative, though it doesn’t take an action unless you command it to. On your turn, you can signal the mount where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help, or Hide action.
Like any creature, the mount can spend Hit Dice during a short rest. If you are incapacitated or absent, the mount acts on its own, focusing on protecting you and itself. It never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.
If the mount dies, you can obtain a new one by spending 8 hours bonding with a new mount you acquire that isn't hostile to you.
Two as One
At 9th level, you have achieved a symbiotic relationship with your mount in combat, creating an instinctive bond with it that allows you to fight as a seamlessly unit. This advanced training grants you several benefits:
Defensive Rider
At 14th level, you have mastered your instinctual fighting bond with your mount and your mount benefits from the following class features once you have them: Uncanny Dodge, Vigilance, Land’s Stride, Stamina, Trackless Step, Evasion, and Elusive. In addition, while mounted, you and your mount both use the higher of your two armor classes. Finally, your mount’s speed increases by 10 feet.
Saboteur
You are a master at surreptitiously disabling and crippling the command and control, supply lines, and infrastructure of your enemies. You can litter an enemy’s encampment, a battlefield, or a dungeon with traps ranging from annoying to deadly, in mere seconds. Similarly, you can rig traps to confound pursuers and secure your camp. And with a bit of preparation, you can turn a difficult battle into a rout. In lieu of being a saboteur, you might rather be a military sapper or trapsmith instead, though to some that’s only semantics.
Booby Traps
Starting at 3rd level, you can quickly set up crude, mechanical traps to harm and hinder your foes. Setting the booby traps takes both your move and action. The traps fill a 5 ft. by 5 ft. area on the ground and are triggered by any Small or larger creature entering the trapped area. The traps only last for 1 hour and will only trigger once without being rebuilt. You can automatically find and disable your own traps. With a trapmaking kit, any additional items noted in the trap description, and whatever is it at hand (at the DM’s discretion), you can make a number of traps equal to your level per day.
The detect DC, disable DC, and, if applicable, save DC of your traps are equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier. You can subtract 2 from any of the three DCs to add 1 to another DC. You may not subtract more than an amount equal to your proficiency bonus from any DC. The traps you make have an attack bonus, if applicable, equal to your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier. Traps deal bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage (your choice) equal to a spell of half your level rounded down as detailed on the Spell Damage chart (DMG 284).
You can choose to describe your trap as you choose or simply say you set up a trap that follows the above rules. Other sample traps that you can set up include:
Trap Breaker… with All Due Haste
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with thieves’ tools and can use Cunning Action to use your thieves’ tools to disarm a trap or open a lock.
Trap Sense
At 3rd level, you have become particularly alert to hidden traps. You gain the following benefits.
Bomber
Starting at 9th level, you gain proficiency in alchemist’s supplies and learn how to make several new traps. Alchemy-enhanced traps require an hour’s time to brew and prepare the necessary ingredients, but remain stable for 24 hours until incorporated into your booby trap. In addition to bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, your traps can also deal one of the following types of damage: acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or thunder damage. You may choice how much, if any, is bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing and how much is of one other type.
Sample new traps include:
Improved Trap Sense
By 9th level, your trap sense has become seemingly supernatural, granting you the following benefits.
Expert Trapsmith
Starting at 9th level, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any checks you make with a trapmaking kit and thieves’ tools.
Master Trapsmith
By 14th level, you have refined your trapsmithing and have become a true master. You can set your Booby Traps as an action. In addition, whenever you make an ability check that uses your proficiency with a trapmaking kit or thieves’ tools, you can treat all rolls of 9 or lower as a 10.
Skirmisher
As a skirmisher, you are the prototypical scout. With the criminal background, you become a bandit, highwayman, smuggler, or spy. With the folk hero background, you become the local guide or an insurgent fighting against an evil lord. With the outlander background, you become the ideal hunter, trapper, and pathfinder. And with the soldier background, you become the military scout carrying out reconnaissance missions and disrupting enemy lines.
Hit and Run
Starting at 3rd level, opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage.
Trap Breaker
You are as skilled at disabling traps as crafting them. When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with thieves’ tools.
Mobile Sneak Attack
Beginning at 9th level, when you use the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action to take the Dash or Disengage action and have moved at least 10 feet, you can use Sneak Attack with any melee or missile attack you make on your turn.
Blindsense
Starting at 14th level, if you are able to hear, you are aware of the location of any hidden or invisible creature within 10 feet of you.
Tools
Trapmaker’s Kit
Cost: 50 gp; Weight: 10 lb.
This kit contains a small shovel and a variety of ropes, wires, snares, spikes, and other equipment to make traps of various sorts. Proficiency with these tools lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make to craft traps.
Designer Notes
Throughout the history of D&D, there have been multiple versions of the scout. Usually, it involved grafting a kit or some other mechanism to the rogue class. Because the rogue class has generally been based on an urban thief, the scout often involved a bit of force fitting, wherein you often gained abilities that did not fit the theme. Conversely, the ranger has generally had a fair amount of magical abilities that often didn’t seem appropriate either. Even with some spell-less ranger variants, the class still seemed more front line warrior or straight-up archer than skirmisher. In 3.5E, a separate scout class was introduced with a modified sneak attack mechanic called skirmish. I thought it was a great idea with a few execution problems.
I wanted a scout in the vein of the 3.5E class, a sneak attacker and skirmisher who had many of the skills of a ranger, but not the magical powers. Early versions of the 5E play test included the scout as a rogue variant, but this was dropped as the game reached its completion. I could have gone with that start and made a rogue with some tweaks to skill choices and thieves’ cant, a new archetype, and the outlander background, but it still felt as though something was missing. I wanted a class that could compete with the ranger in survival skills, but had more of the sneak attack aesthetic of the rogue. I didn’t necessarily want to recreate existing workable rules either. I decided to use the rogue (assassin) as the starting point and ended up with the scout (skirmisher) as an end point. Here’s a comparison at each tier of play.
First tier (levels 1-4): The scout starts off with similar hit points and proficiencies to the rogue, but comes in at a minor disadvantage. Instead of proficiency with the hand crossbow and thieves’ tools, the scout gains proficiency with the scimitar, net, and the new trapmakers’ kit. This is, if you will, a “net” negative because both classes have enough weapon choices that a couple different options is not such a big deal, but the loss of thieves’ tools is because disarming traps and locks is much more prevalent than setting traps. In addition, scouts lose one skill proficiency and have fewer choices from which to select skill proficiencies. We’ll have to make up these losses to keep balance.
Also, like most classes, the rogue gains an ability score improvement at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th levels, but gains an additional ability score improvement at 10th level. We’ll keep the standard, but talk about a replacement for the one at 10th level below. The scout is more narrowly focused than the rogue, which can probably cover the most thematic ground of any class, and we can come up with something to fit the bill.
Looking at 1st level, we’ll replace expertise with the ranger’s natural explorer class feature. This is arguably a fair trade. Expertise offers more flexibility in the interaction and/or exploration pillars, but natural explorer gives you a little more bang in the right terrain in the exploration pillar. That’s okay; scouts are going to lose some of the rogue options to enhance the interaction pillar in favor of the exploration pillar. This is a key feature thematically and we’re going to want to grant the scout new favored terrains just as the ranger does (or perhaps a bit better than the ranger does). We’ll also replace thieves’ cant with a similar, but new feature called signaling. Signaling is arguably a bit more useful in that you can communicate to a limited degree with folks who don’t have this feature, but in the end, they are near equals, and neither is a game changing feature. We’ll keep the rogue’s core abilities of sneak attack at 1st level and cunning action at 2nd level. But at 2nd level, it’s also time to make up for some lost ground, so let’s give the scout a little bump to their initiative due to their heightened awareness that we’ll call vigilance. This gives us a minor bump to our combat abilities. Like the rogue, we’ll start the archetypes at 3rd level. In our comparison, the rogue (assassin) gains proficiency in two sets of tools to help with the interaction (and perhaps combat) pillar and the assassinate combat feature. The scout (skirmisher) is going to pull a feature from the ranger (hunter), escape the horde (and rename it “hit and run” to fit our theme) and gain proficiency in thieves’ tools (we’ll call it trap breaker). The ranger feature is normally gained at 7th level, but it’s more defensively oriented compared to the more offensive assassinate feature and proficiency in a poisoner’s kit. By the end of the tier, they should be close to balanced.
Second tier (levels 5-10). At 5th level, we’ll stick with uncanny dodge (the last of the core rogue abilities). We’ll also improve natural explorer at 5th and 10th levels. At 6th level, we trade the improvements to Expertise with the rogue (assassin) assassinate combat feature, which is normally gained at 3rd level. At 7th level, we’ll give the scout the rogue (thief) supreme sneak exploration and combat oriented feature that is normally gained at 9th level. This isn’t a make or break feature, but it plays to the scout’s strengths, which is cool. (We’ll also rename it “master scout” to fit the theme.) That said, the rogue normally gains evasion at this level and that is definitely better. At 9th level, the rogue (assassin) gains the interaction benefit of infiltration, but we’re still thinking that we took a bit of hit with the loss of evasion, so we’ll go with an offensive combat bonus in the form of a new class feature, mobile sneak attack that allows the scout (skirmisher) to apply sneak attack damage when he uses cunning action to move. This compares favorably to the 3rd level rogue (swashbuckler) feature toujours l’audace. That’s pretty cool, fits our theme, and has probably evened things out again. At 10th level, the rogue gains another ability score improvement or feat. That’s a tall order with a huge amount of flexibility, but maybe we did a little better last level, so let’s go with the ranger’s land stride exploration feature normally gained at 8th level and another favored terrain for natural explorer. All in all, I think we’re still fairly balanced.
Third tier (levels 11-16): At 11th level, the rogue normally gets reliable talent which takes their proficient skills to even higher heights. We’re going to go with the ranger’s exploration class feature hide in plain sight normally gained at 10th level (and rename it “camouflage”). The scout definitely got the shorter end of the stick at this level. At 13th level, the rogue (assassin) normally gains the imposter interaction-oriented class feature. That doesn’t fit our theme, so we look to the ranger and see the vanish class feature normally gained at 14th level, except we can already hide as a bonus action through cunning action, so we’ll take the part of vanish we don’t have and rename it trackless step. That’s not really enough, plus we probably need to balance out 11th level a bit, so we’ll give the scout the new stamina class feature, which is an exploration and combat feature. It allows the scout to run long distances and deal with hostile environments without fear of tiring. At 14th level, the rogue gains blindsense, which works for us as well, so we’ll keep it. At 15th level, the rogue gets slippery mind, which is very good, but doesn’t fit our theme. Looking at the ranger (hunter), we see it can choose evasion as an option—which provides defensive benefits akin to slippery mind and is normally granted to rogue’s at 7th level—and that works great for us too. We’ll also go with one more favored terrain. Things are still looking on the whole balanced.
Fourth tier (levels 17-20): At 17th level, the rogue (assassin) gains death strike, which is cool, but we look at the rogue (thief) and see thief’s reflexes. That feature is perfect for the scout and plays back into the scout’s vigilance class feature, but not in any way that should break anything; neat. Let’s take that. At 18th level, the rogue normally gets elusive, which works for the scout as well, so we’ll keep it. Finally at 20th, the scout needs a capstone feature. The rogue gets stroke of luck and the ranger get’s foe slayer, neither of which is right thematically, but I’m still thinking about the rogue (assassin) death strike class feature. Let’s try that and rename it deadly accuracy.
In the end, the scout has 10 rogue class features, 6 ranger class features, and 4 new class features. It has about 13 combat-oriented class features and 10 exploration (and to a much lesser extent, interaction) class features, while the rogue has 11 combat-oriented class features and 8 exploration and interaction class features (counting the better proficiencies as an additional class feature). That said, several of the scout’s class features are obviously less powerful (and flexible) than the rogues, so again, they are probably balanced on the whole.
Now let’s create some archetypes. I’ve already settled on the skirmisher. Looking at my archetype options and the class features I have, I settle on levels 3, 9, and 14 for archetype class features. This is on the low end of archetype variability, but it should still work. My initial archetype, the skirmisher will get hit and run and trapbreaker at 3rd level, mobile sneak attack at 9th level, and blindsense at 14th. So far, so good; although, I may want to revisit blindsense. It fits my class theme, but may not be accentuating my archetype theme as much as I’d like….
I also worked up the bounty hunter, which we’ll compare to the skirmisher. While the skirmisher gets hit and run and trap breaker, the bounty hunter gets bring ‘em back alive and hogtie. Those seem comparable. Bring ‘em back alive is an offensive feature, but comes at fairly high cost. Nevertheless, it plays well with hogtie, which is otherwise comparable to a tool proficiency. The bounty hunter also gets its mark feature, which has nice flavor and a little punch with its bonus in contests, but given that it’s limited to situations with one to three specific individuals, is not much of a game breaker. One step ahead might be a bit better than mobile sneak attack, but again is only useful against the bounty hunter’s marks, which take 10 minutes to focus on. Finally, inscrutable seems somewhat comparable to blindsense. Perhaps it is somewhat less useful, but arguably, the bounty hunter got a slight edge at earlier levels.
I added in the beast master option. It fit nicely as I had not cribbed any of the scout’s class features from this archetype. Since the scout archetype generally gains its abilities at a later level, the scout does not gain the ranger’s Extra Attack feature, and there are concerns about the power levels of the beast master, I gave the scout archetype both the 7th-level Exceptional Training and 11th-level Bestial Fury class features at 9th level. In addition, I gave the spell-less ranger variant’s 15th-level Beastly Coordination class feature at 14th level. In comparing it to the other archetypes, I think it should be mostly balanced. I see the 3rd level class feature as a bit weaker than the other archetypes with the 9th level class features making up for some of that weakness, while the 14th level seems somewhat comparable.
Inspired by the 3E halfling outrider (Complete Warrior) and the mechanics of Khaalis’ cavalier here on ENWord, I added an outrider archetype.
Finally, I worked up the saboteur, a trapsmith specialist inspired, in part, by the 3.5E kobolds (Races of the Dragon), 3.5E trapsmith (Dungeonscape) and combat trapsmith (Complete Scoundrel) prestige classes, and Pathfinder trapper ranger (Ultimate Magic) and trapsmith rogue (Advanced Player’s Guide).
I also considered three other archetypes, the sniper and the military scout. The sniper could have gotten some sort of low-light vision with increased vision distance, increased range, and the archery fighting style, but in this case, the Sharpshooter and Skulker feats capture this very easily, so I’ll just note that somewhere. I was going to give the military scout access to some maneuvers like the battle master fighter, but in the end, decided the skirmisher captured the feel I was looking for.
~The Scout
The halfling runs swiftly and silently through the woods, keeping pace with the marching soldiers. Occasionally, she pauses to make bird calls, alerting her allies that the marchers are nearly at the ambush point. She sprints ahead, finds her spot near the trip wire trap that will assail the first in line, notches an arrow, and takes aim.
The dwarf grunts, hoists his shovel and carefully places a bladder filled with a strange amber liquid into the hole, before gently covering it. Leaving the road, he smiles knowing that the hobgoblin patrol is sure to cross this way and step on his little trap….
Her slightly-pointed ears perked up while she sat astride her beautiful stallion. Suddenly, she launched the horse into action as arrows suddenly whirled about her. Ably guiding her mount past the danger, she sped back to her companions to warn them of the foes ahead.
The one-eyed man slams the pommel of his sword into the orc’s head, knocking him to the ground. In moments, he’s bound his bounty, ready to drag his prey back to civilization and the justice that awaits.
The elf crouches next to her wolf companion, whispering commands. In a moment the two spring from hiding and into action, circling the bugbear, each taking turns launching their attacks—a darting rapier at one moment, gnashing teeth at the next.
Scouts are master at reconnaissance and expert skirmishers. They rely on their knowledge of the wilds, stealth, and awareness of their foes’ weaknesses to always be ahead of danger.
Trailblazing and Reconnaissance
You are a skilled pathfinder and tracker who may offer your services for a fee. You always seem to find your way. Oftentimes, you are the first to detect threats to your hearth and home, whether humanoid marauders, rampaging giants, or the whims of nature. 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. As a scout you can navigate difficult terrain at a good speed, and it’s your job to enter dangerous areas, gather information, and escape without being detected. You pride yourself on seeing your foes before they see you. You might be a forester keeping abreast of threats to your village, work as a wilderness spy for a noble house or guild, or serve as an outrider for a mercenary company or your country’s military.
Ambushers and Skirmishers
You are also a skilled hunter. While you excel at hunting wild game, you also excel in hunting criminals as a bounty hunter, fighting oppressors as an insurgent, or ambushing the unsuspecting as a bandit. You’re fighting style likely emphasizes the use of ambushes, sabotage, raids, hit and run attacks, harrying enemy lines, and other forms of guerrilla warfare—combat styles that favor fast movement and devastating attacks.
Creating a Scout
As you create your scout character, consider where your allegiances lie. Are you dedicated to your local community as a merry insurgent fighting against a wicked lord or a humble villager who keeps an eye out for danger? Perhaps you are allegiance is only to yourself and you are a bounty hunter tracking fugitives for profit or a horrible bandit marauding to survive. Or perhaps, you are dedicated to a mission bigger than yourself, serving in your nation’s military as a reconnaissance expert.
What was it that set you on the path of the adventurer? Did you fail your charges? Or, quite the opposite, did your eagle eye save the day? Did you start on one path, only to be forced on another? Perhaps you began as a military scout, but corruption among the ranks drove you to quit bitterly and become a bounty hunter. Or perhaps, your village was sacked by marauders and you joined your military to fight back.
Quick Build
You can make a scout quickly by following these suggestions. First, Dexterity should be your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. Second, choose the outlander background.
Class Features
As a scout, you have the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per scout level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per scout level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, longswords, rapiers, scimitars, shortswords, nets
Tools: Trapmaker’s kit (see below)
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival. (If you play with Streetwise, scouts may also choose that skill.)
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) studded leather armor or (b) leather armor
- (a) a shortsword or (b) a simple melee weapon
- (a) a shortbow and quiver of 20 arrows or (b) a light crossbow and case of 20 bolts
- (a) explorer’s pack or (b) an dungeoneer’s pack
- A dagger, steel mirror, and a trapmaker’s kit
Multiclassing
Multiclassing Ability Score Minimum Prerequisites: Dexterity 13 and Wisdom 13
Multiclassing Proficiencies Gained: Light armor, simple weapons, one skill from the class’s skill list, trapmaker’s kit
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Sneak Attack | Features |
| 1 | +2 | 1d6 | Natural Explorer, Signaling, Sneak Attack |
| 2 | +2 | 1d6 | Cunning Action, Vigilance |
| 3 | +2 | 2d6 | Scout Archetype |
| 4 | +2 | 2d6 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 5 | +3 | 3d6 | Natural Explorer improvements, Uncanny Dodge |
| 6 | +3 | 3d6 | Bushwhacker |
| 7 | +3 | 4d6 | Master Scout |
| 8 | +3 | 4d6 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 9 | +4 | 5d6 | Scout Archetype feature |
| 10 | +4 | 5d6 | Land’s Stride, Natural Explorer improvements |
| 11 | +4 | 6d6 | Camouflage |
| 12 | +4 | 6d6 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 13 | +5 | 7d6 | Stamina, Trackless Step |
| 14 | +5 | 7d6 | Scout Archetype feature |
| 15 | +5 | 8d6 | Evasion, Natural Explorer improvements |
| 16 | +5 | 8d6 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 17 | +6 | 9d6 | Ambusher |
| 18 | +6 | 9d6 | Elusive |
| 19 | +6 | 10d6 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 20 | +6 | 10d6 | Deadly Accuracy |
Starting at 1st level, as a ranger. You choose additional favored terrain types at 5th, 10th, and 15th level.
Signaling
During your training, you learned how to use flags, mirrors, hand gestures, drums, whistles, and animal calls to send secret or coded alerts about troop movements and basic dangers to your companions and other scouts. You can also leave hidden or coded trail markers and signs recognizable by other scouts as warnings of possible dangers or hazards or so that they may more easily follow your trail.
Sneak Attack
Beginning at 1st level, as a rogue.
Cunning Action
Starting at 2nd level, as a rogue.
Vigilance
At 2nd level, you add your Wisdom modifier (if positive) to your initiative rolls.
Scout Archetype
At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you emulate: Beast Master, Bounty Hunter, Outrider, Saboteur, or Skirmisher, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your archetype choice grants you class features at 3rd level and again at 9th and 14th level.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Uncanny Dodge
Starting at 5th level, as a rogue.
Bushwhacker
Beginning at 6th level, as an assassin rogue’s Assassinate.
Master Scout
Starting at 7th level, as a thief rogue’s Supreme Sneak.
Land’s Stride
Beginning at 10th level, as a ranger.
Camouflage
Starting at 11th level, as a ranger’s Hide in Plain Sight.
Stamina
Beginning at 13th level, you have advantage on Constitution checks and saving throws involving lack of sleep, laboring without rest, running a marathon, forced marches, food and water deprivation, holding your breath, extreme temperatures, and against other nonmagical effects that can result in exhaustion, such as certain illnesses and diseases.
Trackless Step
Starting at 13th level, you can’t be tracked by nonmagical means, unless you choose to leave a trail.
Evasion
Beginning at 15th level, as a rogue.
Ambusher
Starting at 17th level, as a thief’s rogue’s Thief’s Reflexes.
Elusive
Beginning at 18th level, as a rogue.
Deadly Accuracy
At 20th level, as an assassin rogue’s Death Strike.
Scout Archetypes
Scouts share many features in common, but can still come in many varieties. Many scouts take the Sharpshooter and Skulker feats to become snipers that can harry their enemies. Beyond the use of feats, four archetypes are detailed below, the Beast Master, the Bounty Hunter, Outrider, Saboteur, and the Skirmisher.
Beast Master
This archetype is very similar to the ranger archetype of the same name (PH 93).
Scout’s Companion
At 3rd level, as a beast master ranger’s Ranger’s Companion. Official errata should be applied:
Like any creature, the beast can spend Hit Dice during a short rest. If you are incapacitated or absent, the beast acts on its own, focusing on protecting you and itself. It never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.
Exceptional Training
At 9th level, as a beast master ranger.
Bestial Fury
At 9th level, as a beast master ranger. Official errata should be applied:
When you command the beast to take the Attack action, the beast can attack twice or take the Multiattack action if it has that action.
Beastly Coordination
Beginning at 14th level, when an attacker that you can see hits your beast companion with an attack, you can call out a warning. If your beast companion can hear you, it can use its reaction to halve the attack’s damage against it.
Bounty Hunter
Hunting game was only the beginning for you. You hunt more important and lucrative prey now. You are particularly skilled at tracking your mark to collect the bounty on their heads, though you honor contractual distinctions between “kill” and “capture.” You may serve the people for reward or as a vigilante, capturing criminals and bringing them to justice. You may serve the shadowy lords of the underworld, avenging the twisted honor among thieves. Or you may work both sides, holding allegiance only to yourself. Or maybe you are an inquisitor hunting down enemies of the faith.
Bring ‘Em Back Alive
Starting at 3rd level, you can attempt to stun your target instead of causing sneak attack damage. For each 2d6 of damage, you can stun your target for 1 round. The target must make a Constitution saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier) to resist the effect. You can use as many of your Sneak Attack damage dice for this affect as you choose and use the remainder to cause damage.
Hogtie
By the time you’ve chosen this archetype at 3rd level, you’ve become an expert at binding targets with rope or manacles. You can add your proficiency bonus to any Dexterity ability checks you make involving rope, including making a firm or special type of knot, tying up a prisoner, or splicing two ropes together, among other tasks. Similarly, you can add your proficiency bonus to the DC of any Strength or Dexterity checks a target makes to break or wriggle free of bonds you’ve successfully tied. You can bind a grappled, incapacitated, or restrained target with rope or manacles as a bonus action (normally, a target must be incapacitated to bind them). A bound target is restrained until they use their action to break or wriggle free of their bonds or are released from their bonds. You can loosen the bindings around the target’s feet to allow it to move at half speed; it otherwise remains restrained.
Mark
Beginning at 3rd level, you can target, or mark, an individual foe to better hunt that enemy. To do so, you must focus on a creature that is present and visible, or on the depiction or description of one who is not, for 10 minutes. Once this study is complete, that creature is called a mark. Initially, you can have only one mark at a time. You can focus on two marks at the same time at 9th level and three marks at the same time at 14th level. You can choose to give up on an existing mark as a free action, though such actions may affect your reputation as a bounty hunter.
You have advantage on several checks involving your mark, including Intelligence (Investigation) checks, Wisdom (Survival) checks, and Charisma checks to gather information (treated as Charisma [Streetwise] checks in some campaigns). You also have advantage on any ability checks involving a contest against your mark.
One Step Ahead
At 9th level, you can use the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action feature to take the Ready action so long as the circumstances that trigger your reaction have to do with your mark. You also gain advantage on attack rolls against your mark if you act before your mark in the round. (This allows you to Sneak Attack if you have the higher initiative. If you don’t have the higher initiative, you can take the Ready action to move yourself earlier in the initiative order.)
Inscrutable
Starting at 14th level, you automatically detect attempts to sense your emotions, read your thoughts, contact you telepathically, or target you with a divination spell. You cannot determine who is trying to do so (aside from any obvious clues), and these attempts only work if you allow them to do so. If you allow a telepathic conversation to begin, you can terminate it as a free action. In addition, Wisdom (Insight) checks made to ascertain your intentions or sincerity have disadvantage.
Outrider
As an outrider, you perform much of your scouting from astride a mount. You are most often found far afield, and your community, military unit, or lord turns to you to warn them of and protect them from danger.
Faithful Mount
At 3rd level, you gain a faithful mount companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is trained to fight alongside you. Choose an appropriate mount (horse, camel, elk, mastiff, pony, etc.) that is of one size category larger than yourself and that has a Challenge Rating of 1/2 or lower. Add your proficiency bonus to the mount's AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals its normal maximum or four times your scout level, whichever is greater.
The mount obeys your commands as best it can. It takes its turn on your initiative, though it doesn’t take an action unless you command it to. On your turn, you can signal the mount where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help, or Hide action.
Like any creature, the mount can spend Hit Dice during a short rest. If you are incapacitated or absent, the mount acts on its own, focusing on protecting you and itself. It never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.
If the mount dies, you can obtain a new one by spending 8 hours bonding with a new mount you acquire that isn't hostile to you.
Two as One
At 9th level, you have achieved a symbiotic relationship with your mount in combat, creating an instinctive bond with it that allows you to fight as a seamlessly unit. This advanced training grants you several benefits:
- Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any Wisdom (Animal Handling) checks you make regarding your mount.
- When mounting your faithful mount, it takes 5 feet of movement and you can perform a dismount as a bonus action.
- Your stability in the saddle grants you advantage on the saving throws made to avoid being dismounted. Additionally, you may use either Dexterity or Strength to make this saving throw.
- Your advanced bond with your mount also allows you to verbally command your mount to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge Help, or Hide action as a bonus action.
Defensive Rider
At 14th level, you have mastered your instinctual fighting bond with your mount and your mount benefits from the following class features once you have them: Uncanny Dodge, Vigilance, Land’s Stride, Stamina, Trackless Step, Evasion, and Elusive. In addition, while mounted, you and your mount both use the higher of your two armor classes. Finally, your mount’s speed increases by 10 feet.
Saboteur
You are a master at surreptitiously disabling and crippling the command and control, supply lines, and infrastructure of your enemies. You can litter an enemy’s encampment, a battlefield, or a dungeon with traps ranging from annoying to deadly, in mere seconds. Similarly, you can rig traps to confound pursuers and secure your camp. And with a bit of preparation, you can turn a difficult battle into a rout. In lieu of being a saboteur, you might rather be a military sapper or trapsmith instead, though to some that’s only semantics.
Booby Traps
Starting at 3rd level, you can quickly set up crude, mechanical traps to harm and hinder your foes. Setting the booby traps takes both your move and action. The traps fill a 5 ft. by 5 ft. area on the ground and are triggered by any Small or larger creature entering the trapped area. The traps only last for 1 hour and will only trigger once without being rebuilt. You can automatically find and disable your own traps. With a trapmaking kit, any additional items noted in the trap description, and whatever is it at hand (at the DM’s discretion), you can make a number of traps equal to your level per day.
The detect DC, disable DC, and, if applicable, save DC of your traps are equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier. You can subtract 2 from any of the three DCs to add 1 to another DC. You may not subtract more than an amount equal to your proficiency bonus from any DC. The traps you make have an attack bonus, if applicable, equal to your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier. Traps deal bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage (your choice) equal to a spell of half your level rounded down as detailed on the Spell Damage chart (DMG 284).
You can choose to describe your trap as you choose or simply say you set up a trap that follows the above rules. Other sample traps that you can set up include:
- Alarm Trap: include additional costs if any….
- Ball Bearings Trap: as in PH
- Bolt Trap:
- Caltrop Trap: as in PH
- Drop Trap:
- Falling Net Trap: as in DMG
- Hunting Trap: as in PH, but modified as above
- Snare Trap: entangling
- Trip Rope Trap:
Trap Breaker… with All Due Haste
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with thieves’ tools and can use Cunning Action to use your thieves’ tools to disarm a trap or open a lock.
Trap Sense
At 3rd level, you have become particularly alert to hidden traps. You gain the following benefits.
- You can search for traps while traveling at a normal pace, instead of a slow pace.
- You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks made to detect the presence of traps and secret doors.
- You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws made to avoid or resist traps.
Bomber
Starting at 9th level, you gain proficiency in alchemist’s supplies and learn how to make several new traps. Alchemy-enhanced traps require an hour’s time to brew and prepare the necessary ingredients, but remain stable for 24 hours until incorporated into your booby trap. In addition to bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, your traps can also deal one of the following types of damage: acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or thunder damage. You may choice how much, if any, is bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing and how much is of one other type.
Sample new traps include:
- Alchemist Fire Trap:
- Befuddling Trap:
- Flash Bang Trap:
- Marking Trap: glitterdust too
- Poison Trap: creature is poisoned
- Scorcher Trap: see DMG bomb
- Sleeper Trap:
- Stinking Cloud Trap:
- Viscid Glob Trap:
Improved Trap Sense
By 9th level, your trap sense has become seemingly supernatural, granting you the following benefits.
- You have advantage on Intelligence (Arcana) checks to detect or disarm a magic trap.
- You have advantage on all saving throws made to avoid or resist traps.
- You have resistance to the damage dealt by traps.
Expert Trapsmith
Starting at 9th level, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any checks you make with a trapmaking kit and thieves’ tools.
Master Trapsmith
By 14th level, you have refined your trapsmithing and have become a true master. You can set your Booby Traps as an action. In addition, whenever you make an ability check that uses your proficiency with a trapmaking kit or thieves’ tools, you can treat all rolls of 9 or lower as a 10.
Skirmisher
As a skirmisher, you are the prototypical scout. With the criminal background, you become a bandit, highwayman, smuggler, or spy. With the folk hero background, you become the local guide or an insurgent fighting against an evil lord. With the outlander background, you become the ideal hunter, trapper, and pathfinder. And with the soldier background, you become the military scout carrying out reconnaissance missions and disrupting enemy lines.
Hit and Run
Starting at 3rd level, opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage.
Trap Breaker
You are as skilled at disabling traps as crafting them. When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with thieves’ tools.
Mobile Sneak Attack
Beginning at 9th level, when you use the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action to take the Dash or Disengage action and have moved at least 10 feet, you can use Sneak Attack with any melee or missile attack you make on your turn.
Blindsense
Starting at 14th level, if you are able to hear, you are aware of the location of any hidden or invisible creature within 10 feet of you.
Tools
Trapmaker’s Kit
Cost: 50 gp; Weight: 10 lb.
This kit contains a small shovel and a variety of ropes, wires, snares, spikes, and other equipment to make traps of various sorts. Proficiency with these tools lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make to craft traps.
Designer Notes
Throughout the history of D&D, there have been multiple versions of the scout. Usually, it involved grafting a kit or some other mechanism to the rogue class. Because the rogue class has generally been based on an urban thief, the scout often involved a bit of force fitting, wherein you often gained abilities that did not fit the theme. Conversely, the ranger has generally had a fair amount of magical abilities that often didn’t seem appropriate either. Even with some spell-less ranger variants, the class still seemed more front line warrior or straight-up archer than skirmisher. In 3.5E, a separate scout class was introduced with a modified sneak attack mechanic called skirmish. I thought it was a great idea with a few execution problems.
I wanted a scout in the vein of the 3.5E class, a sneak attacker and skirmisher who had many of the skills of a ranger, but not the magical powers. Early versions of the 5E play test included the scout as a rogue variant, but this was dropped as the game reached its completion. I could have gone with that start and made a rogue with some tweaks to skill choices and thieves’ cant, a new archetype, and the outlander background, but it still felt as though something was missing. I wanted a class that could compete with the ranger in survival skills, but had more of the sneak attack aesthetic of the rogue. I didn’t necessarily want to recreate existing workable rules either. I decided to use the rogue (assassin) as the starting point and ended up with the scout (skirmisher) as an end point. Here’s a comparison at each tier of play.
First tier (levels 1-4): The scout starts off with similar hit points and proficiencies to the rogue, but comes in at a minor disadvantage. Instead of proficiency with the hand crossbow and thieves’ tools, the scout gains proficiency with the scimitar, net, and the new trapmakers’ kit. This is, if you will, a “net” negative because both classes have enough weapon choices that a couple different options is not such a big deal, but the loss of thieves’ tools is because disarming traps and locks is much more prevalent than setting traps. In addition, scouts lose one skill proficiency and have fewer choices from which to select skill proficiencies. We’ll have to make up these losses to keep balance.
Also, like most classes, the rogue gains an ability score improvement at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th levels, but gains an additional ability score improvement at 10th level. We’ll keep the standard, but talk about a replacement for the one at 10th level below. The scout is more narrowly focused than the rogue, which can probably cover the most thematic ground of any class, and we can come up with something to fit the bill.
Looking at 1st level, we’ll replace expertise with the ranger’s natural explorer class feature. This is arguably a fair trade. Expertise offers more flexibility in the interaction and/or exploration pillars, but natural explorer gives you a little more bang in the right terrain in the exploration pillar. That’s okay; scouts are going to lose some of the rogue options to enhance the interaction pillar in favor of the exploration pillar. This is a key feature thematically and we’re going to want to grant the scout new favored terrains just as the ranger does (or perhaps a bit better than the ranger does). We’ll also replace thieves’ cant with a similar, but new feature called signaling. Signaling is arguably a bit more useful in that you can communicate to a limited degree with folks who don’t have this feature, but in the end, they are near equals, and neither is a game changing feature. We’ll keep the rogue’s core abilities of sneak attack at 1st level and cunning action at 2nd level. But at 2nd level, it’s also time to make up for some lost ground, so let’s give the scout a little bump to their initiative due to their heightened awareness that we’ll call vigilance. This gives us a minor bump to our combat abilities. Like the rogue, we’ll start the archetypes at 3rd level. In our comparison, the rogue (assassin) gains proficiency in two sets of tools to help with the interaction (and perhaps combat) pillar and the assassinate combat feature. The scout (skirmisher) is going to pull a feature from the ranger (hunter), escape the horde (and rename it “hit and run” to fit our theme) and gain proficiency in thieves’ tools (we’ll call it trap breaker). The ranger feature is normally gained at 7th level, but it’s more defensively oriented compared to the more offensive assassinate feature and proficiency in a poisoner’s kit. By the end of the tier, they should be close to balanced.
Second tier (levels 5-10). At 5th level, we’ll stick with uncanny dodge (the last of the core rogue abilities). We’ll also improve natural explorer at 5th and 10th levels. At 6th level, we trade the improvements to Expertise with the rogue (assassin) assassinate combat feature, which is normally gained at 3rd level. At 7th level, we’ll give the scout the rogue (thief) supreme sneak exploration and combat oriented feature that is normally gained at 9th level. This isn’t a make or break feature, but it plays to the scout’s strengths, which is cool. (We’ll also rename it “master scout” to fit the theme.) That said, the rogue normally gains evasion at this level and that is definitely better. At 9th level, the rogue (assassin) gains the interaction benefit of infiltration, but we’re still thinking that we took a bit of hit with the loss of evasion, so we’ll go with an offensive combat bonus in the form of a new class feature, mobile sneak attack that allows the scout (skirmisher) to apply sneak attack damage when he uses cunning action to move. This compares favorably to the 3rd level rogue (swashbuckler) feature toujours l’audace. That’s pretty cool, fits our theme, and has probably evened things out again. At 10th level, the rogue gains another ability score improvement or feat. That’s a tall order with a huge amount of flexibility, but maybe we did a little better last level, so let’s go with the ranger’s land stride exploration feature normally gained at 8th level and another favored terrain for natural explorer. All in all, I think we’re still fairly balanced.
Third tier (levels 11-16): At 11th level, the rogue normally gets reliable talent which takes their proficient skills to even higher heights. We’re going to go with the ranger’s exploration class feature hide in plain sight normally gained at 10th level (and rename it “camouflage”). The scout definitely got the shorter end of the stick at this level. At 13th level, the rogue (assassin) normally gains the imposter interaction-oriented class feature. That doesn’t fit our theme, so we look to the ranger and see the vanish class feature normally gained at 14th level, except we can already hide as a bonus action through cunning action, so we’ll take the part of vanish we don’t have and rename it trackless step. That’s not really enough, plus we probably need to balance out 11th level a bit, so we’ll give the scout the new stamina class feature, which is an exploration and combat feature. It allows the scout to run long distances and deal with hostile environments without fear of tiring. At 14th level, the rogue gains blindsense, which works for us as well, so we’ll keep it. At 15th level, the rogue gets slippery mind, which is very good, but doesn’t fit our theme. Looking at the ranger (hunter), we see it can choose evasion as an option—which provides defensive benefits akin to slippery mind and is normally granted to rogue’s at 7th level—and that works great for us too. We’ll also go with one more favored terrain. Things are still looking on the whole balanced.
Fourth tier (levels 17-20): At 17th level, the rogue (assassin) gains death strike, which is cool, but we look at the rogue (thief) and see thief’s reflexes. That feature is perfect for the scout and plays back into the scout’s vigilance class feature, but not in any way that should break anything; neat. Let’s take that. At 18th level, the rogue normally gets elusive, which works for the scout as well, so we’ll keep it. Finally at 20th, the scout needs a capstone feature. The rogue gets stroke of luck and the ranger get’s foe slayer, neither of which is right thematically, but I’m still thinking about the rogue (assassin) death strike class feature. Let’s try that and rename it deadly accuracy.
In the end, the scout has 10 rogue class features, 6 ranger class features, and 4 new class features. It has about 13 combat-oriented class features and 10 exploration (and to a much lesser extent, interaction) class features, while the rogue has 11 combat-oriented class features and 8 exploration and interaction class features (counting the better proficiencies as an additional class feature). That said, several of the scout’s class features are obviously less powerful (and flexible) than the rogues, so again, they are probably balanced on the whole.
Now let’s create some archetypes. I’ve already settled on the skirmisher. Looking at my archetype options and the class features I have, I settle on levels 3, 9, and 14 for archetype class features. This is on the low end of archetype variability, but it should still work. My initial archetype, the skirmisher will get hit and run and trapbreaker at 3rd level, mobile sneak attack at 9th level, and blindsense at 14th. So far, so good; although, I may want to revisit blindsense. It fits my class theme, but may not be accentuating my archetype theme as much as I’d like….
I also worked up the bounty hunter, which we’ll compare to the skirmisher. While the skirmisher gets hit and run and trap breaker, the bounty hunter gets bring ‘em back alive and hogtie. Those seem comparable. Bring ‘em back alive is an offensive feature, but comes at fairly high cost. Nevertheless, it plays well with hogtie, which is otherwise comparable to a tool proficiency. The bounty hunter also gets its mark feature, which has nice flavor and a little punch with its bonus in contests, but given that it’s limited to situations with one to three specific individuals, is not much of a game breaker. One step ahead might be a bit better than mobile sneak attack, but again is only useful against the bounty hunter’s marks, which take 10 minutes to focus on. Finally, inscrutable seems somewhat comparable to blindsense. Perhaps it is somewhat less useful, but arguably, the bounty hunter got a slight edge at earlier levels.
I added in the beast master option. It fit nicely as I had not cribbed any of the scout’s class features from this archetype. Since the scout archetype generally gains its abilities at a later level, the scout does not gain the ranger’s Extra Attack feature, and there are concerns about the power levels of the beast master, I gave the scout archetype both the 7th-level Exceptional Training and 11th-level Bestial Fury class features at 9th level. In addition, I gave the spell-less ranger variant’s 15th-level Beastly Coordination class feature at 14th level. In comparing it to the other archetypes, I think it should be mostly balanced. I see the 3rd level class feature as a bit weaker than the other archetypes with the 9th level class features making up for some of that weakness, while the 14th level seems somewhat comparable.
Inspired by the 3E halfling outrider (Complete Warrior) and the mechanics of Khaalis’ cavalier here on ENWord, I added an outrider archetype.
Finally, I worked up the saboteur, a trapsmith specialist inspired, in part, by the 3.5E kobolds (Races of the Dragon), 3.5E trapsmith (Dungeonscape) and combat trapsmith (Complete Scoundrel) prestige classes, and Pathfinder trapper ranger (Ultimate Magic) and trapsmith rogue (Advanced Player’s Guide).
I also considered three other archetypes, the sniper and the military scout. The sniper could have gotten some sort of low-light vision with increased vision distance, increased range, and the archery fighting style, but in this case, the Sharpshooter and Skulker feats capture this very easily, so I’ll just note that somewhere. I was going to give the military scout access to some maneuvers like the battle master fighter, but in the end, decided the skirmisher captured the feel I was looking for.
It's been quite a while since then, however. Funny you should mention it though. I was just looking at some of the Age of Apocalypse stuff I worked up for the game just yesterday.
