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From a player perspective, I have had GMs who are very accommodating of stealthy scouting and those who are more ambivalent about it, but rarely have I had any who are outright vindictive about shutting down clever reconnaissance. Scouting can be a little tricky, but as a GM I like to reward a player who has invested spells known, skill ranks, feats, or tactical knowhow in this approach. Just remember that some creatures and enemies are packing countermeasures that allow them to scout out scouts as the latter try to gather information.
Most scenarios do not detail how a creature might respond to someone scouting around, and that's where rewarding creative solutions comes into play.
As a player who had John Compton GM a series of high-level scenarios for a group of us, I would like to add that scouting ahead can go horribly, horribly wrong. Our "sneaky" character wasn't much of a fighter so during combat he would usually scout out other areas to make sure nothing else was going to come out at us. This almost always ended with him being spotted. This in turn led to either a)more stuff coming that wouldn't have, b)a BBEG seeing an incoming threat and buffing up, and/or c)the death of the scout.
The first problem is that clever (good) GMs will consider the enemies' response. Smart enemies will recognize that they are being spied upon and take countermeasures appropriate to the threat.
The big PFS specific problem is the "Box Text Attack!" where as soon as an enemy notices someone they perform a preset action. Several scenarios have this action set in motion something that will happen a certain number of rounds later (prisoner executed, building burns down, etc.). And if the scout sets it off while the rest of the party is engaged elsewhere, look out! For PFS this is one of those things the GM can't change (run as written) and to me it's far more dangerous than clever enemies.
Moral of the story: if you're going to scout ahead, make SURE you aren't going to be spotted.
Developer
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As a player who had John Compton GM a series of high-level scenarios for a group of us, I would like to add that scouting ahead can go horribly, horribly wrong. Our "sneaky" character wasn't much of a fighter so during combat he would usually scout out other areas to make sure nothing else was going to come out at us. This almost always ended with him being spotted. This in turn led to either a)more stuff coming that wouldn't have, b)a BBEG seeing an incoming threat and buffing up, and/or c)the death of the scout.
Guilty. On the other hand, the scout in question did discover a few threats and hidden areas of import over the course of the series.
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If you haven't finished an encounter that the rogue can't participate effectively in, then the rogue should be watching the groups backside, which means standing rearguard by watching down unexplored corridors or waiting in ambush behind/beside yet to be opened doors, just in case something else happens to wander in. Actively scouting ahead of the party, which comes under the category of "Looking for Trouble", should only happen when the party is ready for you to pull the next monster to them.
When is a door not a door?
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If you haven't finished an encounter that the rogue can't participate effectively in, then the rogue should be watching the groups backside, which means standing rearguard by watching down unexplored corridors or waiting in ambush behind/beside yet to be opened doors, just in case something else happens to wander in. Actively scouting ahead of the party, which comes under the category of "Looking for Trouble", should only happen when the party is ready for you to pull the next monster to them.
When is a door not a door?
When it's ajar, of course.
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I run a 2-dagger thief and I find taking a potion of invisibility and scouting ahead has helped the group repeatedly in PFS. One time I managed to get behind the BBEG cleric and held action until he heard the rest of the group coming, and when he cast his spell, used my sneak attack to disrupt it with damage.
I almost died by golem last time I did this, but it allowed the party to avoid some brutal range attacks and take it down, setting them up to really mess up the final enemy.
So, it's a risky tactic, but a useful one.
Don't forget that the cleric died saving you when you went after that golem. :)
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And then there are just times that the party wants to go "Full Frontal Assault", at which point the Sneak's role becomes "Get behind the enemy to provide flanking bonuses and stab them in the back".
Like anything else, you have to know when to scout and when not to scout.
If your party's in a fight, you should be in it with them, or at the very least guarding their backs to keep the bad guys from flanking, not off looking for more trouble.
- Is scouting worth it? Definitely.
- Is it always appropriate? Definitely not.
- Is easy to implement? Again, definitely not.
I would tend to agree it works better with an experienced team and GM, and not so well for convention play where you don't know the team or the GM.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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And make sure you don't forget the +1 to the check for every 10 feet of distance and the +5 if they're distracted. (it's actually pretty rare for a perception not to have a penalty vs. a stealth check)Oh, I don't forget it... but I have played with judges who do. then there's the guy who gives the guards +4 Circumstance bonus because "they are watching for someone to sneak up."
*sigh*
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Oh, I don't forget it... but I have played with judges who do. then there's the guy who gives the guards +4 Circumstance bonus because "they are watching for someone to sneak up."*sigh*
Circumstance bonuses should (IIRC) top out at +2
It's my experience long time guards should have a circumstance penalty. Standing guard duty at the same place over and over leads to boredom and complacency.
Interestingly, last time I checked, most of the verbiage concerning circumstance modifiers has been lost between 3.5 and PF. There are only a couple of examples in the CRB where the word circumstance is mentioned in that context. I've wondered in the past whether I should be using them in PFS.
I agree on both bullets above though.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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*sigh*
Circumstance bonuses should (IIRC) top out at +2
It's my experience long time guards should have a circumstance penalty. Standing guard duty at the same place over and over leads to boredom and complacency. Interestingly, last time I checked, most of the verbiage concerning circumstance modifiers has been lost between 3.5 and PF. There are only a couple of examples in the CRB where the word circumstance is mentioned in that context. I've wondered in the past whether I should be using them in PFS.
I agree on both bullets above though.
That's frustrating.
The reason for the sigh is, if a character is built do do something really well, I feel they should be allowed to do it. If Stealthy McStabby has maxed out his stealth, put feats/traits/gold into it so he is one with the night, he should be allowed to be one with the night! Stacking circumstance bonuses on guards to punish the guy who specialized just isn't right.