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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 8599974" data-attributes="member: 22779">But, there's the issue.It's all about cost/benefit.&nbsp; What are the costs of scouting - well, there's a non zero chance that your scout is going to fail to be sneaky (and, over time, that chance changes from non-zero to virtually guaranteed without magic) and touch off an encounter that the scout absolutely can't win.&nbsp; And, if the scout isn't quick enough, it is entirely possible that the scout dies as a result.So, what's the benefit here?&nbsp; You gain a couple of rounds worth of information about the situation ahead of you.&nbsp; Which, by and large, doesn't actually help you all that much.&nbsp; What difference does it make that you know that next cave has two trolls in it vs the entire party learning that there are two trolls in that cave?&nbsp; You might gain a surprise round?&nbsp; Maybe?&nbsp; The rogue can't really do anything about the trolls, particularly, so, the scout goes up, sees the trolls, reports back to the party, who then goes and confronts the trolls.Versus, the party simply wanders forward, being careful of traps and whatnot, but, not particularly stealthy, and meets the trolls.&nbsp; Is the information really worth the risk?&nbsp; For many groups, no, it's not.&nbsp; I used to really wonder why groups didn't scout more, but, then I realized that by and large, having a PC scout was pointless.&nbsp; At best it was a waste of time, while one player got to play and everyone else sat on their hands waiting.&nbsp; At worst, it alerted monsters and left the party badly out of position and was often a major disadvantage.The only time I see scouts anymore is with renewable resources - far, FAR better to risk a small amount of gold on a renewable familiar than actually send a PC ahead.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 8599974, member: 22779"] But, there's the issue. It's all about cost/benefit. What are the costs of scouting - well, there's a non zero chance that your scout is going to fail to be sneaky (and, over time, that chance changes from non-zero to virtually guaranteed without magic) and touch off an encounter that the scout absolutely can't win. And, if the scout isn't quick enough, it is entirely possible that the scout dies as a result. So, what's the benefit here? You gain a couple of rounds worth of information about the situation ahead of you. Which, by and large, doesn't actually help you all that much. What difference does it make that you know that next cave has two trolls in it vs the entire party learning that there are two trolls in that cave? You might gain a surprise round? Maybe? The rogue can't really do anything about the trolls, particularly, so, the scout goes up, sees the trolls, reports back to the party, who then goes and confronts the trolls. Versus, the party simply wanders forward, being careful of traps and whatnot, but, not particularly stealthy, and meets the trolls. Is the information really worth the risk? For many groups, no, it's not. I used to really wonder why groups didn't scout more, but, then I realized that by and large, having a PC scout was pointless. At best it was a waste of time, while one player got to play and everyone else sat on their hands waiting. At worst, it alerted monsters and left the party badly out of position and was often a major disadvantage. The only time I see scouts anymore is with renewable resources - far, FAR better to risk a small amount of gold on a renewable familiar than actually send a PC ahead. [/QUOTE]

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