Post by Dachshund on May 22, 2007 0:37:47 GMT -5
//Found this on the WotC website.
Scouts
Scouts are the first line of defense in any standing army. With their ability to move quickly, superlative stealth and survival skills, and their pension for sniping at enemies while staying out of harm's way, scouts are the best defense against getting surprised, surrounded, and outnumbered. While rogues and rangers can be effective in these endeavors, rogues lack the wilderness abilities and toughness of the scout, and rangers lack the skill and speed. These abilities, along with the scouts' ability to find traps, make scouts a great asset to most parties.
Among the elves of Faerûn, the largest contingents of scouts resides on Evermeet and in newly resettled Cormanthor. The elite group of scouts on Evermeet, known as Kel'min'hara (fleet defenders of the blessed), are based in Sumbrar, the island military stronghold 50 miles to the east of Evermeet. This contingent of 100 elite lookouts and snipers utilizes portals between the two islands to be ready for threats both on land and from the sea. The numbers of the Kel'min'hara were greater prior to the resettlement of Cormanthor, but when Seiveril Miritar put out his call for volunteers, a significant portion of the elite squad heeded his request. Now, 35 scouts of the original group patrol the forests of Cormanthor, stomping out baatezu, drow, and other threats. Having lost 15 of their members in the war, the Kel'min'hara of Cormanthor have a renewed dedication to protecting these lands from evil. They sing campfire songs about the legendary deeds of Otaerhyn Hawksong, the wood elf commander of the scout contingent of Cormanthyr's armor.
The scouting tradition is strong among other races as well. Seven halfling scouts of the akh'velahr (the standing army of Cormanthyr) destroyed a large encampment of worshippers of Moander in the Year of the Galloping Gorgon (503 DR). The septet became known as the Heroes of Myth Drannor and was celebrated for years. Two of their members were given prominent positions as armathors of Myth Drannor. After the fall of Myth Drannor, a contingent of halfling scouts returned to their ancestral land and established a strong scouting tradition that continues today.
Throughout Faerûn, scouts serve in armies, act as bounty hunters, work as guides, and travel with adventuring parties. From the wilderness guides of Rashemen to the elite lookouts of Silverymoon, scouts play an important role. DMs who do not wish to introduce this class, however, have little extra work to do. Almost any PC or NPC scout could just as easily be a rogue or ranger (or a multiclass combination of the two). While scouts have a more focused hybrid of stealth and wilderness abilities, those classes can almost as easily function in the same roles.
Scouts
Scouts are the first line of defense in any standing army. With their ability to move quickly, superlative stealth and survival skills, and their pension for sniping at enemies while staying out of harm's way, scouts are the best defense against getting surprised, surrounded, and outnumbered. While rogues and rangers can be effective in these endeavors, rogues lack the wilderness abilities and toughness of the scout, and rangers lack the skill and speed. These abilities, along with the scouts' ability to find traps, make scouts a great asset to most parties.
Among the elves of Faerûn, the largest contingents of scouts resides on Evermeet and in newly resettled Cormanthor. The elite group of scouts on Evermeet, known as Kel'min'hara (fleet defenders of the blessed), are based in Sumbrar, the island military stronghold 50 miles to the east of Evermeet. This contingent of 100 elite lookouts and snipers utilizes portals between the two islands to be ready for threats both on land and from the sea. The numbers of the Kel'min'hara were greater prior to the resettlement of Cormanthor, but when Seiveril Miritar put out his call for volunteers, a significant portion of the elite squad heeded his request. Now, 35 scouts of the original group patrol the forests of Cormanthor, stomping out baatezu, drow, and other threats. Having lost 15 of their members in the war, the Kel'min'hara of Cormanthor have a renewed dedication to protecting these lands from evil. They sing campfire songs about the legendary deeds of Otaerhyn Hawksong, the wood elf commander of the scout contingent of Cormanthyr's armor.
The scouting tradition is strong among other races as well. Seven halfling scouts of the akh'velahr (the standing army of Cormanthyr) destroyed a large encampment of worshippers of Moander in the Year of the Galloping Gorgon (503 DR). The septet became known as the Heroes of Myth Drannor and was celebrated for years. Two of their members were given prominent positions as armathors of Myth Drannor. After the fall of Myth Drannor, a contingent of halfling scouts returned to their ancestral land and established a strong scouting tradition that continues today.
Throughout Faerûn, scouts serve in armies, act as bounty hunters, work as guides, and travel with adventuring parties. From the wilderness guides of Rashemen to the elite lookouts of Silverymoon, scouts play an important role. DMs who do not wish to introduce this class, however, have little extra work to do. Almost any PC or NPC scout could just as easily be a rogue or ranger (or a multiclass combination of the two). While scouts have a more focused hybrid of stealth and wilderness abilities, those classes can almost as easily function in the same roles.
