| Prime Requisite: | DEX |
| Requirements: | None |
| Hit Dice: | 1d4 |
| Maximum Level: | 14 |
Scouts are masters of stealth and the wilderness. Not at home in cities and dungeons like thieves, and not as hardy and martially skilled as explorers, they are invaluable companions in the borderlands and beyond, where they can guide a party safely through dangers, while acquitting themselves well in ambushes. Experienced scouts can outdo explorers, discovering monster lairs and guiding entire armies to stealthily surprise their enemies.
At first level, scouts hit an unarmored foe (AC 0) with an attack throw of 10+. They advance in attack throws and saving throws by two points every four levels of experience (as thieves). Scouts cannot wear armor heavier than leather, and cannot use shields or exclusively two-handed weapons. They may use any missile weapons and any one-handed melee weapons. They may fight with a one-handed weapon in each hand, or wielding a one-handed weapon with two hands.
Scouts can hear noise, hide in shadows, move silently, and backstab as thieves of their level. The scout must be wearing no more than leather armor and not using a shield to use these skills.
Scouts have sharp reflexes, and gain a +1 bonus on surprise and initiative rolls. They are also naturally stealthy, and their opponents suffer a -1 penalty to their surprise rolls when encountering the scout or the scout's party.
Parties guided by a scout gain significant advantages on wilderness adventures. Any time the scout's party is in country familiar to the scout, they get a +4 bonus on proficiency throws to avoid getting lost. In any terrain except clear and grassland terrain, the scout's party receives a +5 bonus to proficiency throws to evade wilderness encounters. A party guided by a scout can evade wilderness encounters even when surprised on a skill roll of 19+.
Starting at 3rd level (Lookout), a scout can follow tracks (as per the Tracking proficiency). If the scout already has the Tracking proficiency, they instead can follow tracks while moving at full speed (instead of half speed).
A 5th level (Frontiersman) scout is an expert scout, trained to find monster lairs in the wilderness (see Lairs & Encounters). When searching a hex, the scout receives a searching throw to discover a lair every 30 minutes instead of every hour (or every 15 minutes if aerial). When first arriving in a hex, the scout may attempt to assess the total number of lairs in the hex as if they had Land Surveying proficiency. If the scout has or gains Land Surveying, they gain a +4 bonus to assessment throws.
A 7th level (Vanguard) scout is a cunning and flexible reconnoiter. Whenever the scout is commander of the scouting or screening units in an army, or its overall leader, the army treats any opposing army as if it were one row more proximate on the Results of Reconnaissance Rolls table. If the opposing army is already in the same 6-mile hex, then the army treats its degree of success as one column better instead. Any opposing army treats the character's army as if it were one row less proximate for reconnaissance results, or if already at maximum distance, as if its degree of success were one column worse.
At 9th level (Master Scout), a scout can establish a camp, and 2d6 scout apprentices of 1st level will come to work with the character. If hired, they must be paid standard rates for henchmen. Camps use the rules for hideouts are detailed in the Campaign chapter of the ACKS Rulebook. Given their skills, scouts can only engage in assassinations, carousing, smuggling, and spying hijinks. Nothing prevents the scout from hiring thieves, however.
Scout Proficiency List: Acrobatics, Alertness, Animal Husbandry, Animal Training, Beast Friendship, Blind Fighting, Climbing, Combat Reflexes, Fighting Style, Land Surveying, Mapping, Military Strategy, Mimicry, Mountaineering, Naturalism, Navigation, Passing Without Trace, Precise Shooting, Riding, Running, Signaling, Skirmishing, Sniping, Survival, Swashbuckling, Tracking, Trapping, Weapon Finesse
| Experience | Title | Level | Hit Dice | Backstab | Hear Noise | Hide in Shadows | Move Silently |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Vagabond | 1 | 1d4 | ×2 | 14+ | 19+ | 17+ |
| 1,250 | Wanderer | 2 | 2d4 | ×2 | 13+ | 18+ | 16+ |
| 2,500 | Lookout | 3 | 3d4 | ×2 | 12+ | 17+ | 15+ |
| 5,000 | Pioneer | 4 | 4d4 | ×2 | 11+ | 16+ | 14+ |
| 10,000 | Frontiersman | 5 | 5d4 | ×3 | 10+ | 15+ | 13+ |
| 20,000 | Trailblazer | 6 | 6d4 | ×3 | 9+ | 14+ | 12+ |
| 40,000 | Vanguard | 7 | 7d4 | ×3 | 8+ | 12+ | 10+ |
| 80,000 | Reconnoiter | 8 | 8d4 | ×3 | 7+ | 10+ | 8+ |
| 180,000 | Master Scout | 9 | 9d4 | ×4 | 6+ | 8+ | 6+ |
| 280,000 | Master Scout, 10th level | 10 | 9d4+2* | ×4 | 5+ | 6+ | 4+ |
| 380,000 | Master Scout, 11th level | 11 | 9d4+4* | ×4 | 4+ | 4+ | 2+ |
| 480,000 | Master Scout, 12th level | 12 | 9d4+6* | ×4 | 3+ | 3+ | 2+ |
| 580,000 | Master Scout, 13th level | 13 | 9d4+8* | ×5 | 2+ | 2+ | 1+ |
| 680,000 | Master of Scouts | 14 | 9d4+10* | ×5 | 1+ | 1+ | 1+ |
| * Hit point modifiers from Constitution are ignored | |||||||
| Level | Petrification & Paralysis | Poison & Death | Blast & Breath | Staff & Wands | Spells | Attack Throw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | 13+ | 13+ | 16+ | 14+ | 15+ | 10+ |
| 3–4 | 12+ | 12+ | 15+ | 13+ | 14+ | 9+ |
| 5–6 | 11+ | 11+ | 14+ | 12+ | 13+ | 8+ |
| 7–8 | 10+ | 10+ | 13+ | 11+ | 12+ | 7+ |
| 9–10 | 9+ | 9+ | 12+ | 10+ | 11+ | 6+ |
| 11–12 | 8+ | 8+ | 11+ | 9+ | 10+ | 5+ |
| 13–14 | 7+ | 7+ | 10+ | 8+ | 9+ | 4+ |