The Scout came about because I wanted a ranger who uses their companion less as a meat shield, and more as a tool. The falconer ranger who can send his companion out to scout ahead and gets more out of it than simply “it’s a bird”.
The Scout
A scout is the master of infiltration. Whether mapping deep behind enemy lines, marking troop positions, or blowing enemy dams, the scout is an expert at being where they aren’t supposed to be with the help of a hawk, eagle, or trout.
Animal Companion
3rd-level Scout feature
When casting the Find Familiar spell, you can choose to instead summon any CR ¼ or less Beast to serve as your familiar, provided it is native to the terrain you are in. While acting as your familiar, it has no qualms about leaving its native terrain, but cannot be summoned outside of it.
Infiltration Magic
3rd-level Scout feature
You learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Scout Spells table. Each spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of ranger spells you know.
Scout Spells
- 3rd find familiar
- 5th misty step
- 9th sending
- 13th dimension door
- 17th passwall
Unleashed Companion
7th-level Scout feature
Your bond with your companion grows. You can communicate with it at any range, not just 100ft, and you can always see through its eyes. This is no longer an action and does not render you blind and deaf, allowing for not only greatly increased scouting, but also the ability to use unusual spells catching your foes by surprise.
Additionally, 3+Proficiency mod each long rest, your companion can serve as the source for a ranged attack, or ranged spell attack you make. After you release your arrow, javelin, bullet, or even boulder, it is magically transported to your companion, where range and line of effect are then determined as normal.
Companion Bond
11th-level Scout feature
As an action, you can teleport to your companion’s side, or bring your companion to your side. You appear in an adjacent, unoccupied space in which you can comfortably fit. You can use this ability once per short rest per point of proficiency modifier.
Planar Explorer
15th-level Scout feature
Once per day, as part of a special ritual, a Scout, and up to 8 willing creatures with linked hands may walk through natural terrain for one hour. If they were undisturbed, and did not take any other actions, the ritual is successful. At the completion of this hour, the ranger can choose to cast either the Teleport or Plane Shift spell. If disturbed or take damage during their one hour walk, the ritual is disturbed, and no spell can be cast. When used in this manner, you cannot use Plane Shift to banish an unwilling creature.
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