Scout

Art of the Con

Scouts often make their living through underhanded and often illegal activities; that’s not to say that all are criminals, and many spies, diplomats, and even entertainers make up their ranks. For those who do revel in the thrill of the con, severity and morality of these grifts vary but are ultimately relative compared to the void’s infinite horrors and wonders. To the scout what matters is getting to the next day and making that day brighter for yourself, and that often means stringing someone along for a while. Cons and scams are a true artform that require dedication to the craft and a powerful personality. Scouts may take up a permanent job as a smuggler or a thief, work in a gang ranging from the streets to small empires, or they may freelance for themselves. What matters is that at the end of the day the marks are none the wiser and the scout comes out on top.

Experts & Aces

Scouts often find themselves on voidrunner crews. These spacefarers are rarely monoliths and it’s common for scouts to be the heart of a crew, making jokes and running the authorities in circles. Often once they become fully integrated into a crew they make every effort to scam for the group’s benefit as well, fighting the greater evils or just glad to make their favorite crewmate smile. In combat the scout is a wildcard, always challenging the odds with unexpected plays and audacious wordplay— putting one on comms is a surefire way to sow chaos in the enemy ranks and take advantage of it in the same breath. Scouts are willing to fight dirty as they outmaneuver, out talk, and outwit their enemies. They’re quick, smart, and when necessary can put an old fashioned shot right between an enemy’s eyes.

Creating a Scout

Scouts are charismatic but it takes real dedication to learn their tricks. When creating your scout it’s important to consider how and why they chose this life. Did you grow up in abject poverty and have to hustle your way up? Or do you come from a noble background, at home in high society? Perhaps you work for the authorities as a secret agent or cunning ambassador? Maybe you were taken under the wing of a master con artist or smuggler who taught you everything you know.

There are all sorts of reasons scouts join voidrunning crews—to make a quick buck, to stick it to the authorities, or maybe just to keep seeing new worlds in their viewports. But why does your scout do it? What are their ultimate goals in life? Even being in it for the money has an end. Do they want to settle down somewhere eventually with their riches? Or do they con for the love of the game? Do they do it for their companions, or for their government? For someone back home? Or do they have a real home at all?

Exactly what type of scout you choose to be should have a big impact on your adventurer. Is your scout a scoundrel? Driven by a need for independence and freedom? Or maybe your scout is a miscreant, a thorn in society’s side hoping to break down the system? It’s also important to ask how you’ve been living up until now. Have you been steadily building up an illicit business or scheme? Have you been living on the run? What friends or enemies have you met along the way—who recognizes your real face and how would they react if they saw it?

Table: Scout

CLASS FEATURES

As a scout, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per scout level

Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per scout level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor

Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons, starship weapons

Tools: Computers, disguise kit, hacking tools, thieves’ tools, space vehicles, and one gaming set of your choice.

Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma

Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Athletics, Culture, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth

Equipment

You begin the game with 250 credits which you can spend on your character’s starting weapons, armor, and adventuring gear. You can select your own gear or choose one of the following equipment packages. Also consult the Suggested Equipment section of your chosen background.

• Smooth Operator’s Kit (cost 228 credits): Bug (audio only), concealed pistol (40 shots of ammunition), fine clothes, flask of strong liquor, masterwork playing card set, 2 smoke grenades 

• Street Fleecer’s Kit (cost 247 credits): Backpack, blaster (20 charges of ammunition), canvas armor, styx (1 dose), thieves’ tools, vibroknife 

• Void Grifter’s Kit (cost 228 credits): 3 data wafers, personal communicator, jolt pistol (40 charges of ammunition), stun stick, synthweave armor with integrated grappling hook, thieves’ tools 

Dastardly Gambit

At 1st level, you have an infuriating ability to distract, goad, or otherwise throw your opponents off their game at just the right moment. This takes the form of a Dastardly Gambit die, a d6. When a creature that can hear or see you or a device you are piloting makes an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, you can use your reaction to expend a use of Dastardly Gambit, rolling a Dastardly Gambit die and subtracting the number rolled from the creature’s roll.

You can choose to use this feature after the creature makes its roll. You have a number of Dastardly Gambit dice equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum one). You regain any expended Dastardly Gambit dice when you finish a long rest.

At 5th level your Dastardly Gambit die increases to a d8, at 10th level it increases to a d10, and at 15th level it increases to a d12. 

Fortunate Defense

Your ability to survive deadly encounters through sly maneuvering or dumb luck is extraordinary. At 1st level, choose one of the following options.

Artful Defense

While you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Charisma modifier.

Sly Defense

While you are wearing light armor, you replace your Dexterity modifier with your Charisma modifier for AC.

Clever Tricks

At 1st level, your ability to befuddle and outplay your opponents has risen to an art form. You learn one clever trick of your choice. Your clever tricks are detailed at the end of the class description. The Clever Tricks column of the Scout table shows when you learn more clever tricks. Some clever tricks have requirements, such as minimum scout level, class feature, or another trick. You must meet those requirements before you choose that trick. If you should learn a bonus trick, it does not count against your clever tricks known.

Some of your clever tricks require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:

Clever tricks save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Combat Maneuvers

At 2nd level, you gain the ability to use combat maneuvers. You gain proficiency in one combat tradition from the following list: Ace Starfighter, Biting Zephyr, Mist and Shade, or Rapid Current. You learn two maneuvers of your choice from tradition you are proficient with.

You gain an exertion pool equal to twice your proficiency bonus, regaining any spent exertion at the end of a short or long rest. You use your maneuvers by spending points from your exertion pool. The Maneuvers Known column of the Scout table shows when you learn more maneuvers from a tradition you are proficient with, while the Maneuver Degree column shows the highest degree you can select maneuvers from at a given level.

Additionally, whenever you learn a new maneuver, you can choose one of the maneuvers you know and replace it with another maneuver of the same degree from a tradition you are proficient with.

Scout Archetype

At 3rd level, choose one scout archetype. Though you are familiar with all sorts of tricks and grifts, your archetype represents your most practiced techniques and styles. You gain benefits from your archetype at 3rd level, and further features at 6th and 14th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

At 5th level you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Archetype Feature

At 6th level you gain another archetype feature.

Font of Falsehood

Starting at 6th level, you regain all expended Dastardly Gambit dice whenever you finish a short rest.

Twisted Thinking

Beginning at 7th level, your mind is so used to double-think and twisted schemes that those that try to invade it find a resilient mental labyrinth. You gain an expertise die on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws. In addition, when you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

Lucky Devil

Starting at 9th level, things have a way of working out for you. Whenever you roll a d20 for an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, you may immediately roll again and take the new result. You may wait until after a die is rolled before deciding to use this ability, but you must decide before the Narrator says whether the roll succeeds or fails.

You gain an additional use of this feature at 13th level and a third use starting at 17th level. You regain all spent uses of this feature whenever you finish a short rest

Fake It Until You Make It

At 10th level, you can bluff your way through practically anything by projecting confidence, educated guessing, and sharing a few memorized talking points. You can always choose to use Charisma when making an ability check using a skill or tool you aren’t proficient with

Shift Approach

Beginning at 11th level, you’ve had enough experiences with your gambits going badly that you know the signs and how to quickly shift your approach. Whenever you roll the Dastardly Gambit die and the result is a 1 or 2, you may immediately reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or 2.

Archetype Feature

At 14th level you gain another archetype feature.

Sheer Audacity

Starting at 18th level, your dastardly gambits have gotten so bold and so ridiculous that your enemies are often left completely stunned at your sheer audacity. Whenever you use Dastardly Gambit to reduce a creature’s roll it makes a Wisdom saving throw against your clever tricks save DC. On a failed save the creature is stunned until the beginning of its next turn or until it takes damage. Once a creature makes a successful save against this feature it is immune to your Sheer Audacity for the next 24 hours.

Master Plan

At 20th level you’ve developed mind games within mind games and your plans run deep. You may spend a point of inspiration to reveal your master plan as an action. When your master plan is revealed, describe a theoretically possible sequence of events that has led to a suddenly revealed boon for you and your allies, however implausible. Some examples include:

• An underling working for the villain was actually your friend working undercover this entire time.
• That the important item the enemy just got away with was actually a fake, only to reveal the real item.
• That a character was actually a different character in disguise, only to reveal the real character. 

This feature is highly subject to the Narrator’s discretion, and you should discuss your master plan with the Narrator before activating this feature and revealing it. Your story can be implausible but not impossible, and you must fully explain a reasonable rationale for how such a con was possible in your reveal. Once the Narrator approves of your changes and you reveal your master plan, your story becomes reality, potentially even retroactively changing events. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you spend at least a week resting in a safe haven to plan out your next master plan.

Clever Tricks

If a clever trick has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the art at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your scout level.

Aggressive Retreat

Requirement: 9th level

Sometimes the best offense is saving your own skin while returning fire. Whenever you take the Disengage action, Sprint action, or make the Evasive Maneuvers starfighter maneuver, you may also make a single ranged attack as a part of that action.

Back Channel Gear

While in a city, spaceport, or any area with access to backchannel markets, you can use your contacts to acquire weapons or any item from the Security, Clothing, or Survival Gear tables at half the normal cost. If you publicly utilize or attempt to resell items acquired in this way, at the Narrator’s discretion you may attract the attention of local law enforcement.

Beast Tricks

When it comes down to it, trapping a beast isn’t that much different from fleecing a mark. You gain proficiency in Animal Handling. In addition, you can always choose to use Charisma when making Animal Handling checks, and when making Survival checks for hunting or the Hunt and Gather journey activity.

Buddy Hijinks

Your options open up when you have a friend or a willing patsy. Whenever you are back to back with an ally and either you or your ally is targeted by an attack, you can choose to swap the target between you or your ally.

Bully

You can really get an edge in situations where you’re able to gang up on one target. While you are flanking a target, you can use a bonus action to attempt to bully and distract it. The target makes a Charisma saving throw or one creature of your choice also flanking the target may make an attack of opportunity against it.

Card Shark 

Games of chance are your method of choice for separating fools from their money. You gain proficiency with all gaming sets. In addition, you gain an expertise on Sleight of Hand checks made to cheat.

Carefree

Stress seems to roll right off you and you know how to really enjoy the downtime. You have advantage on saving throws made to resist strife or mental stress effects. In addition, you have advantage on checks made for the Destress journey activity.

Coin Biter

With some thorough inspection you can determine if just about anything is genuine and how much it is worth. As an action you can accurately determine if an object you can both see and touch is authentic or a replica, and you can roughly determine how much it costs.

Crowd Diver

Once you dive back into the streets you disappear into the crowd. You have advantage on Stealth checks made in crowded or densely populated areas.

Dastardly Devil

Requirement: 9th level

Your devilish luck spills over to your charm. Whenever you use Lucky Devil to reroll a die that would add your Dastardly Gambit die, you may choose to reroll the Dastardly Gambit die as well.

Dastardly Flying

Goading misdirects can be just as effective as skilled piloting. While piloting a starfighter you may spend Dastardly Gambit dice as if they were exertion points to perform starfighter maneuvers.

Digital Angler

You can be anyone online, and with enough effort your fake online personality can be very persuasive. If you spend at least a week with regular access to an online network, you can catfish a random stranger and convince them to perform one of the following actions: 

• Be at a location at a certain time (that they could reasonably access).
• Pay you 6d6 credits.

  Alternatively, you can attempt to catfish a specific target connected to the network. If you do, at the end of the week of catfishing the target makes a Charisma saving throw against your clever tricks save DC. On a failed save the target performs one of the listed actions as normal or a small favor it is capable of performing, such as leaving a specific door unlocked for you, telling you something confidential, or absolving a minor crime. The exact nature of this favor is at the Narrator’s discretion but should be limited to something a person would conceivably do for a friend they met online.
Once you convince or attempt to convince a target to do something in this way, you must spend another week catfishing before you can do so again.

Divine Appeal

Holy men are often flush with cash so why not get in on the racket? You gain proficiency in Religion. In addition, you gain an expertise die on checks made to convince others of your faith (regardless of your actual beliefs).

Duct Rat

The first thing a good scout does on a large ship is learn all the ducts, back passages, and hiding places—spaces people rarely think to barricade. When you move between decks you can take back passages to move to barricaded decks without breaching them. When you do so, willing creatures can use their reactions to follow you. 

Extra Dastardly

With a bit of practice you’re just that much more clever and underhanded. You gain one Dastardly Gambit die (in addition to those gained from your Charisma modifier). This clever trick may be selected more than once, up to a maximum number of times equal to your proficiency bonus.

False Identities

When a badge demands your papers it’s always nice to have a name to give them. By spending 1 hour of uninterrupted work you can make fraudulent versions of all the appropriate legal documentation needed to prove that you or someone else is a completely different person. You may choose the name and any specifics of these false identities. Creatures can determine that your documentation is fraudulent by succeeding on an Investigation check made against your clever tricks save DC. 

Filch

With disguised or lightning fast movements you snag something or slip something into a pocket.

When a creature is within your reach, you can use your reaction to make a Sleight of Hand check against it.

First Impressions

A good first impression can make all the difference and you’ve put a lot of effort into making the best of first meetings. You gain an expertise die on Charisma checks relating to creatures you are meeting for the first time for up to 1 minute after your first interaction.

Glass to Diamond

There’s a sucker born every minute. You gain an expertise die on checks made to haggle or convince a creature that something is more valuable than it actually is. 

Graceful Misdirect

You misdirect incoming danger at the last possible moment. When you are hit by an attack, you may roll one of your Dastardly Gambit dice, reducing the damage dealt by twice the result.

Hammy Tragedian

When you are hit by an attack you can use your reaction to pretend to die. When you do so, you scream, gurgle, and perhaps utter a few poignant final words before falling prone and appearing to die. So long as you remain in the space where you seem to die creatures believe you to be dead. While playing dead in this way you can perform minor actions without breaking your ruse such as retrieving or stowing items, applying medical aid, or reloading weapons. Creatures can see through your ruse by using an action to interact with you directly, if their passive Perception score is equal to or higher than your clever tricks save DC, or if they similarly succeed on a Perception check against your clever tricks save DC. You can cease playing dead at any time. Once a creature sees you die and revive from your faked death it is immune to this feature’s effects for the next 24 hours.

Handcuff Fighting

You know how to handle yourself even when they’ve got a hold of you, and a pair of cuffs can be an excellent weapon if you know what you’re doing. You ignore the following penalties that are normally incurred by the restrained condition:

• Attacks made against you do not have advantage due to the restrained condition.
• Attacks you make do not have disadvantage due to the restrained condition.

Hidden Threat

You can artfully hide or disguise weapons. Over the course of a long rest you can add the concealed weapon augment to a light melee or light ranged weapon in your possession at no cost.

Hotwiring

All it takes is a little rewiring to take the perfect ride as your own. While inside an inactive vehicle or starfighter you can use an action to begin hotwiring it, creating a fast countdown pool using 5d6. At the end of each of your turns that you spend hotwiring, roll these dice and remove any with a result of 4–6. When there are no more dice remaining in the countdown pool the device is successfully hotwired, and any creature can pilot it even if it normally requires a key, password, or other security measure.

Improvised Decoy

The guard triumphantly tackles you only to discover that they’ve arrested a garbage bag wearing your hat. As an action you can hastily construct an improvised decoy in an adjacent space out of whatever materials you have on hand, often incorporating an article of your clothing but not requiring one. Any creature that did not directly observe you creating this decoy believes it is you unless they physically interact with it or succeed on a Perception check made against your clever tricks save DC. Once you have fooled a creature with an improvised decoy it is immune to this feature’s effects for the next 24 hours.

Insult the Hidden

With enough provocation you can force more insecure infiltrators to reveal their position. As an action you can spend a Dastardly Gambit die to make vicious insults directed at any potential hidden hostile creatures. Any creatures currently hidden from you that can hear you and that can understand you makes a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save creatures respond to your insults and are no longer hidden. Once you have used this feature against a creature it is immune to this feature’s effects for the next 24 hours.

Junk Flier

A flying hunk of junk just needs the right handling to really soar. Through a light touch and clever workarounds you can repair a critical malfunction of a deck you are crewing as an action. Repairs you make in this way are only temporary fixes and are suffered again if not repaired properly after 8 hours. Once you repair a critical malfunction using this feature you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest. 

Make it Happen

Requirement: 5th level

You know how to force the issue with an extra layer of charm or effort. Whenever you would roll your Dastardly Gambit die, you may expend an additional Dastardly Gambit die to treat it as if it rolled the maximum possible result.

Nobody’s Fool

It takes one to know one, and you know when somebody is trying to pull one over on you. You gain proficiency in Insight. In addition, you may always choose to use Charisma when making Insight checks.

Pressing Bravado

With enough bluster you can take ground even without the strength to back it up. Whenever you take the Press the Attack action, the target creature makes a Charisma saving throw. On a failure, attacks made against you until your next turn only gain an expertise die (instead of advantage). 

Pull the Pin

Requirement: 11th level

How kind of your enemies to bring their own petards for hoisting! You can attempt to activate an explosive worn or held by a target adjacent creature or device as a bonus action. The target makes a Dexterity saving throw or the explosive is activated and detonates (centered on the target) at the end of your turn.

Pyramid Scheme

Why take on risk when you can convince other people to do it for you? You can perform the Rob journey activity even in regions that would not normally allow it so long as you have a connection to an open network. In addition, you suffer no negative effects from critical failures for Rob journey activities made in this way.

Quick Change

Either through physical currency or quick digital transfers you can fluster the other person in a transaction so that you end up on top. You can attempt to scam a creature when you make a purchase from it. If you do, the creature makes an Intelligence saving throw against your clever tricks save DC or you steal a number of credits equal to your 1d12 × your proficiency bonus. On a successful save you don’t steal anything but the confusion is passed off as a mistake, though on a success by 10 or more the creature realizes that you were trying a scam.

Reckless Overload

Requirement: 7th level

With just a snipped wire here and there, practically any energy weapon can make for a handy improvised explosive. As a bonus action, you can set a weapon you are holding to explode so long as it uses an energy battery or long-life battery as ammunition. Once set in this way, you may use the weapon exactly as if it were a frag grenade that detonates at the end of your turn.

Right in the Tenders

In a truly dishonorable fashion, you hit your target where it’s most vulnerable. When you hit a creature with an attack roll, you may roll your Dastardly Gambit die and add the result to the damage dealt.

Shoot First

You won’t be caught off guard and innately know when a deal is going south. When you roll for initiative you gain a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier.

Showboater

Often it all comes down to putting on a good show. You gain proficiency in Performance. In addition, whenever you need to make a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check you may instead make a Dexterity (Performance) check. 

Skilled

You never know what skill will come in handy. You gain proficiency in any one skill or any two tool kits of your choice. This clever trick can be selected multiple times, each time choosing a different skill or two tool kits. 

Specialized

Scouts are often full of eclectic specialities. You gain two skill specialties in two different skills of your choice. This clever trick can be selected multiple times, each time choosing two new different skill specialties in skills that have not yet been chosen in this way.

Technobabble

People will trust a fast-talker if they’re wearing a lab coat and spitting enough convincing jargon. You gain proficiency in Science. In addition, you can attempt to deceive people using scientific fast talk by making a Charisma (Science) check. Lies told in this way can only be opposed using Science (instead of Insight as normal).

Witty Repartee

You know just how to draw attention and ire. As a bonus action you can engage a creature that can hear and understand you in witty repartee. If you do, the creature’s first attack during its next turn has disadvantage unless it targets you. Once you have used this feature against a creature it is immune to this feature’s effects for the next 24 hours.