Talk:Scout (5e Class)

This article is a current featured article nominee as of 11:26, 28 March 2023 (MDT). Featured articles exemplify D&D Wiki's very best work, and therefore must meet the featured article criteria. Please become engaged in this process and support, oppose, and leave comments as to this page's featured article nomination (engage!).

Creator Notes

This is primarily a port of the 3.5e Scout class from the Complete Adventurer, especially the Recon Division, but I don't mind the other subclasses drifting far afield of that. I would love more subclasses that vary the type of character you can play with this class, but I'm a mechanics guy first and foremost so coming up with the ideas and fluff for that is not my forte.

My current concerns are keeping Recon from feeling lackluster and making sure that the Dragoon and Peltast are comparable in power but distinct in playstyle. I've playtested the Peltast Division, and it seemed well-balanced--I just had to tweak how Skirmishing multiple times in one round would work. --Salasay ♄ 10:35, 25 February 2023 (MST)

"You may treat throwing spears as finesse weapons if they are not already." - I think this should this should read "You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your throwing spear." - the properties of the weapon do not change. Marasmusine (talk) 13:34, 25 February 2023 (MST)

I could do it that way, but I don't think that phrasing would technically satisfy the weapon qualifications for Skirmish (or sneak attack if you're multi-classing or something)Salasay ♄ 20:04, 25 February 2023 (MST)

"The attack must use a finesse, ranged weapon or throwing spear." It's basically similar to the wording for a monk's weapons. Marasmusine (talk) 12:04, 26 February 2023 (MST)

That opens it up to all scouts, not just Peltasts, and still excludes sneak attacking. How would this work:

"When making an attack with a throwing spear, you can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls, and may therefor treat it as an attack with a finesse weapon for the purpose of features such as Skirmish." —Salasay ♄ 13:26, 26 February 2023 (MST)

Chaplain

I'm between a few ways for Comforting hands to work:

You have a pool of d6s that you spend to fuel this healing. The number of dice in the pool is equivalent to your skirmish bonus damage.

As a bonus action, you can touch a creature and spend a number of dice from the pool. Roll the dice you spend, add them together, and restore a number of hit points equal to the total. You may choose to spend an Action performing this healing instead of a bonus action. If you do, you restore 6 hit points per dice spent instead of rolling.

Your pool regains all expended dice when you finish a short or long rest.

OR

Your pool regains one expended die when you finish a short rest and all expended die when you finish a long rest.

OR

You have a pool of d4s that you spend to fuel this healing. The number of dice in the pool is equivalent to your scout level.

As a bonus action, you can touch a creature and spend a number of dice from the pool. The maximum number of dice you can spend at once equals your Wisdom modifier (minimum of one die). Roll the dice you spend, add them together, and restore a number of hit points equal to the total.

You may choose to spend an Action performing this healing instead of a bonus action. If you do, you can spend as many dice as you have left in your pool, and you restore 4 hit points per dice spent instead of rolling.

Your pool regains all expended dice when you finish a long rest.

Not sure which is fairest for the subclass —Salasay ♄ 15:22, 28 February 2023 (MST)

Featured Article Nomination

Once more unto the breach, dear friends.

I think this class would make a good featured article because it's simple enough to fit in seamlessly with the core classes without being indistinct, and it's a good example of adapting material from past editions into 5e. Functionally, I've playtested it with the peltast division in a year-and-a-half long campaign spanning levels 3 through 11. It feels like it should—a 3.5e scout but translated into 5e—and minus a few balancing tweaks it was on-par with the core classes. While the Scout is similar to the ranger and the rogue, it didn't feel like it was stepping on either of their toes.

As for the quality of my writeup—I've made the prose as clear, concise, and captivating as I can, I don't think I've missed any major facts or details, and it's stable in that I'm pretty much the sole contributor. It should be all properly linked and formatted up. The current image is my only concern—if we're allowed to use it I would like to, because it's so tied to the Scout in my mind that I can't easily pick a different one. —Salasay ♄ 11:26, 28 March 2023 (MDT)

In retrospect, I'm not thrilled with the wording on the "expertise" subclass features--I think I want to drop the number of starting skills to three (so that you total proficiencies don't exceed the rogue), add an equivalent feature to the Peltast to account for that, and then phrase the feature... differently. The gist would be "proficiency in one skill from the list X, Y, and Z, and then expertise in one skill from X, Y, and Z that you are proficient in", but I'm not sure how to word that clearly and concisely in proper 5e-speak. This is all complicated by the fact that some of the subclasses "want" skills that aren't Scout class skills... —Salasay ♄ 15:10, 11 April 2023 (MDT)

Okay, so—I missed that after my re-jiggering of the class skills, the only subclass that "wants" skills that aren't on the list is the Chaplain. If I add Medicine to the list of class skills and give the Chaplain a free proficiency in Religion, it should let me switch everything to the wording below, which I think works a lot better:

• In addition, choose one skill from X, Y, or Z in which you are proficient. You gain expertise with that skill, which means your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make with it. The skill you choose must be one that isn't already benefiting from a feature, such as Expertise, that doubles your proficiency bonus.

Adding Medicine would give the Scout one more class skill option than the Rogue, so I think I should drop Deception. The Chaplain getting a fifth skill proficiency shouldn't be a problem here because Religion isn't an especially useful skill for a scout. This would also let me keep the Peltast as the only subclass lacking an expertise option, which I think is fair —Salasay ♄ 05:40, 12 April 2023 (MDT)

Support. I have considered nominating this class before as well. I agree that it meets the criteria for a featured article, and it has my support. --Green Dragon (talk) 12:46, 11 April 2023 (MDT)