Hi everyone! As always, let me stress how good is your work with temple plus! Thanks guys! Coming to the main topic: is the skirmish mechanics with the scout appliable to ranged combat effectively? Many shots feat description says that only the first shot applies critical damage or similar type of damage. So is it making a ranged scout pointless or a lot subpar compared to a melee scout?
Since you have to move to activate the skirmish ability, you generally only get one attack with skirmish either way. I think ranged scouts are fun to play and haven't tried out a melee scout yet. Look at the Improved Skirmish feat to improve skirmish damage a bit. You can also make a nice rogue/scout build if you pick up the Swift Ambusher feat.
There is a feat in pnp 3.5 D&D which turned the ranged scout from useless to dust kicker: https://dndtools.net/feats/expanded-psionics-handbook--65/greater-manyshot--1280/ Despite the name of the book it is not psionic. Mechanistically the feat effectively reduces the time to perform a full ranged attack combination (without Rapid Shot, haste or weapon of speed effect) to one standard action; I haven't a clue how this could be made to fit with the ToEE combat system though......
First impressions - sounds like a variant version of Rapid Shot, and at a far greater penalty than Rapid Shot's -2. But then I didn't pick up on the 'full attack in standard action' element, I wonder if that was meant
I'm in the process of playing through all the new character options afforded by Temple+ at the moment (current project: swashbuckler-rogue with daring outlaw feat), but I have to say I'm a bit underwhelmed with scouts and skirmish damage, particularly in typical combat situations on this game. For one thing, skirmishing is weaker than sneak attacking (rising every fourth rather than every second level), it's trickier to activate (you have to move), and activating it makes better options impossible (full attacks). A single level of scout gives a nice bonus to a character when charging, but 4 more levels is quite a cost to get that second d6. Far better to be a rogue with a reliable source of Greater Invisibility... It's shame, because there are some nice ideas for martial characters that synergise poorly or not at all (yet any new idea for spellcasters is typically available to all wizard/sorceror, clerical, or druidic casters with minimal limitations).
