Wilderness Scout
Ever the ears and eyes of the expedition or army she scans ahead for. The Wilderness Scout is a remarkably talented individual who must brave the dangers of a vanguard position. Only her keen senses can warn her and those she protects from potential danger, both natural - as in dangerous terrain, and tactical - as in hostile forces. The need for stealth and minimal encumbrance preclude a lack of protective armour, so this class relies upon not being seen by those that are a potential threat. Driven by a love of the outdoors, the unknown and the need for challenge, the Wilderness Scout finds them in abundance serving the rigorous demands made of her. These may even include functioning as an intermediary spokesperson between two armies where a herald or page is unavailable. From day to day, rapid, tireless reconaissance and wary intuition guide the Wilderness Scout in her role. These are not only her strengths, but her trademark qualities.
Hit Die: d6.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Wilderness Scout, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria:
Hide: 5 ranks.
Intuit Direction: 5 ranks.
Listen: 5 ranks.
Spot: 8 ranks.
Feats: Alertness, Endurance.
Class Skills
The Wilderness Scout's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Balance(Dex*), Climb(Str*), Craft(Int), Diplomacy(Cha), Escape Artist(Dex*), Hide(Dex*), Intuit Direction(Wis), Jump(Str*), Knowledge(Evaluate Enemy Forces)(Int), Knowledge(Hearth Lore)(Int), Knowledge(Regional Topography)(Int), Listen(Wis), Move Silently(Dex*), Search(Int), Spot(Wis), Swim(Str), Tumble(Dex*), and Wilderness Lore(Wis). See Chapter 4: Skills in the Player's Handbook for skill descriptions.
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.
The Wilderness Scout
lvl AB FS RS WS Special
1st +0 +0 +2 +0 Still Watcher, Coded Signals 2nd +1 +0 +3 +0 Locate Water, +2 Hide
3rd +2 +1 +3 +1 +2 Spot, +15’ Move (+10’ small)
4th +3 +1 +4 +1 Sense Danger , sneak atack +1d6 5th +3 +1 +4 +1 Expeditious Route
6th +4 +2 +5 +2 Sense Danger +2
7th +5 +2 +5 +2 Enhance Ambush,sneak atack +2d6
8th +6 +2 +6 +2 Sense Danger +4
9th +6 +3 +6 +3 Wilderness Lore, Endure Hustle
10th +7 +3 +7 +3 Sense Danger +8, sneak atack +3d6
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Wilderness Scout prestige class:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Wilderness Scouts are proficient with all simple weapons, and light armour. They do not use shields. Note that armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket, and Tumble. Also, Swim checks suffer a -1 penalty for every 5 pounds of armour and equipment carried.
Still Watcher: When in cover (ie. shadow, building, or brush, etc.) the Wilderness Scout may add her Wis bonus to her Hide check if she remains perfectly still. Only add if a positive bonus; no detrimental effects for a negative Wis modifier.
Coded Signals: The Wilderness Scout is able to communicate with her main group by way of imitation bird calls, or other animal sounds and/or hand signals if within range to see and/or hear her. This requires her to teach someone in the main body of the group her coded “language” prior to its usage.
Locate Water: Enables the Wilderness Scout to find fresh sources of drinking water in wilderness areas. This is essentially a specialized Wilderness Lore check - “Get along in the wild”- except that it only provides water. May be used if an actual Wilderness Lore check is failed. Check vs DC 10 using Spot skill bonuses and add Knowledge Skill(Regional Topography) to this result. Fresh water is found for one extra person for every 2 pts. by which the check result exceeded 10. Procedure takes 1d6 ˝ hours to accomplish.
Increased Movement Rate: Medium sized Wilderness Scouts gain an additional 15’ per round movement, while Small sized ones gain +10’.
Sense Danger: Represents the Wilderness Scouts intuitive ability to sense danger ahead. Whenever the Wilderness Scout suspects she is in danger, she can make a check (DC 20) adding her Wis bonus to the roll. This extraordinary ability is a full round equivalent action. Every 2 levels grants a bonus to the Wilderness Scout’s ability to succeed with the Sense Danger check as listed in the Wilderness Scout table. This extraordinary ability works for any situation which could effect the character, for good or ill, including magic effects, and natural dangers such as a rock slide or quicksand. However, it would not be triggered by harmless effects such as Magic Mouth, for example.
Expeditious Route: The Wilderness Scouts expert use of the terrain allows her to take the shortest possible route between two locations. “Short cuts” effectively reduce distances and therefore travel times. Increase the overall distance traveled by 1d20% across trackless terrain for each full day of outdoor travel (8 hours or more) (see PHB pg. 143 - Overland Movement).
Enhance Ambush: If an ambush in preparation is supervised by the Wilderness Scout, she may give the rest of the group a circumstance bonus equal to ˝ her Spot skill bonus towards the eventual Hide check. The group must not change position during that time for the bonus to apply.
Endure Hustle: A Wilderness Scout can sustain travel beyond the normal walking pace for longer periods of time. Often speed is essential, and the distances to traverse are great. Wilderness Scouts take only half the normal effects of subdual damage associated with the Hustle movement rate after the first hour (see PHB pg. 143), if they succeed with a Con check (DC 15 + # of current hours at Hustle pace). She gets +4 to this roll due to her Endurance.
Wilderness Lore: The Wilderness Scout acquire this skill as per the listed description in the PHB. If the Wilderness Scout already possess this skill, she gets a +2 bonus instead.
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