Ranger, Rogue or Scout?

[Quez The Lame]

All a Scout needs to open locks is an adamantium mace. Of course, that's a bit noisy!

Not if he's a Whisper Gnome with an adamantium mace

 

[nittanytbone]

Thank you for posting this. I could take the Track Feat at first level and be the party wilderness, locks and traps expert all at once! It's great to be able to fulfill 2 roles with one character. This looks like a great option for a whisper gnome. Now, if I can just get my DM to allow it ...

Or just multiclass Ranger and Rogue. There's a lot of nice synergy there between combat style and sneak attack damage; both classes give lots of skill points and have access to search; and levels in ranger will add a lot of useful spells to your class spell list (so you can use a wand of Cure Light Wounds) for example. You also get martial weapons, which are quite useful (spring attack with a greatsword anyone?). By the time you hit Rogue 3/Ranger 2 you'll be thinking about a PrC class anyways so multiclassing penalties won't even come into it.

 

[Ogre Mage]

TWF vs. archery

While we are on the subject, what are people's opinion on the age-old debate of two-weapon fighting vs. archery for a whisper gnome ranger/rogue/scout?

Also, I have discovered one of the other players will be playing either a cleric or paladin. Hmmm ... a paladin and a whisper gnome? :\

 

[Dog Moon]

Originally posted by MerricB
It did. And what, pray tell, does Disable Device have to do with Open Lock?

Cheers!

Well, a lock is a device and by disabling the lock, you open the door.

 

[rowport]

While we are on the subject, what are people's opinion on the age-old debate of two-weapon fighting vs. archery for a whisper gnome ranger/rogue/scout?

Also, I have discovered one of the other players will be playing either a cleric or paladin. Hmmm ... a paladin and a whisper gnome? :\

Personally, I love the TWF. But, mechanically, archery is generally a better option, especially with the relatively low hit points of R/R/S. Also, to get the Scout's Skirmish damage, lots of movement is required, which is somewhat limiting for archers but *very* limiting for TWFers.

If you do decide to multiclass all three, I suggest the Wilderness Rogue instead of standard Rogue- it will synergize better for the skills. Of course, I wonder why you would take Rogue levels at all when the Scout offers nearly all of the same features..?

 

[Zakath429]

I like the scout class personally as a DM I used a group of these as a bandit encounter against my PCs. The PCs beat them, but took a lot of damage in the process. The scout's skirmish ability can be devastating if employed properly. For example, a first level scout with an 18 Dex and Weapon Focus (Shortbow) is +5 to hit and does 2d6 (1d6 for the weapon and +1d6 for skirmish) as long as he moves 10 feet in that round. Make a group of 6 of them, and back them up with some warriors or fighters and you can cause considerable damage to a group of PCs. I love using them for bandits/outlaws.

 

[shilsen]

Well, a lock is a device and by disabling the lock, you open the door.

I did think about making that argument, but figured I'd just be honest and sit in the corner

 

[Kobold Stew]

While we are on the subject, what are people's opinion on the age-old debate of two-weapon fighting vs. archery for a whisper gnome ranger/rogue/scout?

If you want to be a ranged specialist, then going the archery route means that most of your other feats are spoken for anyways. There is very little variation in an archery build, even with the ranger feats.

If you want to be a HTH specialist, then you need to decide whether you want TWF. For a small character, it's a natural: Weapon finesse + many attacks = sneak attack goodness.

The only reason to go TWF with another build is with Improved Shield Bash and a sword & board build.

But, there are many rogue/ranger builds that might prefer other options (esp. half-orc, gnoll, hobgoblin, lizardfolk... and the like). Such builds do not need many feats (power attack, cleave) In which case, a few "bonus" archery feats remain available for when you need to attack at range.

 

[melkorspawn]

All a Scout needs to open locks is an adamantium mace. Of course, that's a bit noisy!

Ken

I wonder what the pricing on an adamantine mace of silence would be...

 

[JonnyFive]

3312 for a Masterwork adamantime mace, free for the whisper gnome's 1/day silence