Scout build help

[CIDE]

Level 4 campaign currently. Character is a half-Elf Scout in a custom world. Base books and "Completes" are allowed. Anything beyond that is case-by-case.

Beyond that I'm hoping to get Shadowdancer levels in there for the glass cannon no one can ever find.

We haven't actually started play (doing that tonight) for me to gauge the other players and their builds. So I don't know if I want full optimization or not. That said ANY ideas are welcome.

[OracleofSilence]

Firstly, look up any of the Various Swift Hunter (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=103.0) Handbooks, and follow the advice within. Secondly, take the Dark template (only +1 LA) for Hide in Plain Sight rather then two levels of Shadowdancer for the same.

Finally, if you really, really, really want to play an elf, do not, EVER, play a Half Elf. I strongly recommend a Snow Elf (from Frostburn) instead. +2 Dex, -2 Cha, and everything else remains the same about the Race. High Constitution is a very good thing for you.

[CIDE]

Only templates allowed are various lycanthropic templates as well as Half-Vampire based templates.

beyond that I LIKE Shadowdancer. In fact that's the ultimate goal play-wise. Just...the mechanics can be iffy.

The Half-Elf was chosen for story reasons considering the environment (Imagine an African American in Alabama in the 1950's for a general idea on Half-Elves) just to switch things up. Besides, only races available now are Human, Elf (base only),a nd Half-elf.

Edit: level 3 character. Not 4. My bad.

[OracleofSilence]

Well then. Still, i recommend taking a look at the Swift Hunter builds out there. They are basically strictly better then straight Scouts, and can be pretty devastating in a skirmishy kinda way.

[Feralventas]

Improved Skirmish is good for scouts or even just a dip, needs +1 AC and +1d6 before you can get it, but if you move 20ft you gain a bonus +2d6 and +1 AC on top of your base amount. Needing Combat Reflexes, Mobility and Dodge is going to slow down entry into the PrC, though you can pick up Imp Skirmish after the fact to improve your options. You'll need to cross-class Perform Dance, but scout's on the Rogue's level for skill points available, so that's not difficult.

Shadowdancer is an obvious stealth class. You'll need to apply the supernatural aspects (summon shadows, etc) carefully to make it work. Since SD doesn't progress your Skirmish or offer Sneak Attack options, you'll want to look into monetary options for improving damage capacity, otherwise you wind up as a glass pistol; useful, but fragile and weak if not applied properly.

SD's most powerful aspect is it's shadow companion; you're looking at Undead Apocalypse if you don't keep that thing in check. Might be worth looking into ways to make that work more in your favor.

That said, if you're looking for Shadow powers, have you looked at the Shadowcasting section of the Tome of Magic?

[JackRackham]

If you can find justification for a one-level dip into Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian (ACF from Complete Champion), and if your DM would allow it, take it. It lets you full attack on a charge, which makes skirmish SO much more useful. there's also a skill trick that lets you take a single turn, up to 90 degrees on a charge. I recommend that as well. Otherwise, Dervish isn't a terrible choice for a Scout, as it also lets one move and full attack.

[Manateee]

If you like Shadowdancer, you might want to check out Tome of Battle's Swordsage with some Shadow Hand maneuvers. The Swordsage gets a lot of abilities that work well with the Scout's Skirmish.

Even from ECL 2, a Scout/Swordsage gets nifty stuff like Wolf Fang Strike (2 skirmish attacks as a standard action), Sudden Leap (swift action movement) and the Child of Shadow stance (concealment whenever you qualify for skirmish).

Basically, it turns the Shadowdancer's schtick and turns a lot of it into a melee-focused base class instead of an unfocused PrC that's basically designed for villain NPCs.

[CIDE]

@Feralventas: Thanks for the suggestions. Yeah, I liked the supernatural aspect to Shadowdancer here a lot but I wanted a decent mesh between that and the archery if it were at all possible.


If you can find justification for a one-level dip into Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian (ACF from Complete Champion), and if your DM would allow it, take it. It lets you full attack on a charge, which makes skirmish SO much more useful. there's also a skill trick that lets you take a single turn, up to 90 degrees on a charge. I recommend that as well. Otherwise, Dervish isn't a terrible choice for a Scout, as it also lets one move and full attack.

I'm not sure if the dip would be allowed. I'd have to ask. On that note I never used charging nor ever really read into it enough to bother understanding. And where's Dervish from?

Edit: No Barbars. At least not without a very specific backstory. My character is already set and has been RPed that way. So that's a no-go in my case.


If you like Shadowdancer, you might want to check out Tome of Battle's Swordsage with some Shadow Hand maneuvers. The Swordsage gets a lot of abilities that work well with the Scout's Skirmish.

Even from ECL 2, a Scout/Swordsage gets nifty stuff like Wolf Fang Strike (2 skirmish attacks as a standard action), Sudden Leap (swift action movement) and the Child of Shadow stance (concealment whenever you qualify for skirmish).

Basically, it turns the Shadowdancer's schtick and turns a lot of it into a melee-focused base class instead of an unfocused PrC that's basically designed for villain NPCs.


Swordsage isn't allowed. In fact the DM HATES Tome of Battle and everything in it. There is no convincing him otherwise and I don't feel like trying.

Anyone's thoughts on supplementing the Shadowdancer with Shadowlord as well from Unapproachable Eeast?

[OracleofSilence]

Shadowlords are incredibly useful for their BAMPHing ability, and kinda hilarious at that. Just as a not though, i don't know if shadow pouncing counts as movement for the purposes of skirmish.