First off Voadam - it is your campaign and you can do anything you want to in it - you don't need our permission or blessing of your house-rules or the way yuo run your game.
The scout is indeed a non-core class, being in a supplemental book so, IMO, like presitgue classes its inclusion is soley up to the DM.
Voadam said:
Having read everything in this thread I still don't buy the movement creates opportunity as the opponent is caught off guard argument. It breaks down completely when the opponent is helpless, under a hold person, caught asleep, etc. Under the mechanic, the opponent is irrelevant, they just need vitals the scout can get to. The reasoning offered only makes the scout as good as he is against a helpless opponent. That does not correspond to the mechanic.
Now take a target who is paralyzed. He cannot prepare for the attack. So the scout attacks him and can reach his vitals. No extra damage. The scout has to move before he can hit the paralyzed guy's vitals and do extra damage by catching the paralyzed victim unprepared.
So when the scout moves the paralyzed guy is less prepared, so the scout does extra damage. However if the scout does not move, the paralyzed guy is more prepared and the scout therefore can not hit his vitals?
This I think is the crux of the problem with your understanding of the class' ability. It has nothing to do with catching the foe off guard - that is what a rogue does. The skirmish ability has nothing do with the opponent being denied his Dex bonus (which is what the catching him off guard boils down to). If you keep thinking of it in this way you will never see why or how it works.
I have to go along with the deduction that you were looking for someone to provide you with some rationalization for not allowing the class to be used, since you had seemingly already made up your mind on it - this really wasn't a question to be answered.
There have been several different explanations given for why the skirmish ability could be justified, but you seem to have fixed on the one that parrallels the rogue's ability that is based on catching the opponent off guard or distracted. I still think my explanation fits much better - the scout uses movement to locate the weakest part of his opponent by gaining a slightly different view. His attack then takes advantage of this weak area. And yes even a straight movement would work since the scout is getting a different view, either closer or farther. A few in/cm can make a huge difference from 20 ft away. My explanatin also works for determining why the scout uses his movment to get an AC Bonus - he is moving to minimize his weak areas with relation to his foe.
Regardless, if you are still thinking that the skirmish works via catching the foe off guard then you will never be satisfied with any other explanation and just let it be.
A side note - a rogue can still get a sneak attack with movement from range. He can take a move and then use a ranged attack at up to 30ft and get a sneak attack as long as his opponent is denied his Dex bonus to AC.
All skills are class skills. Fighters can be good at diplomacy or knowledge or whatever. Paladins can be good at spotting danger. Rogues can be good at camping and hunting. Barbarian vikings can be masters of profession sailor. Whatever works for the character concept.
Also trapfinding, everybody can detect any traps with a sufficient search check, Rogue trapfinding means they detect traps like elves detect secret doors (picked up from everquest rpg rogues).
So pretty much the differences in every class have been reduced. Fair enough, but it does make things like the Bard (a heavy skill based class) less effective when everyone has the same class skills.
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