[RPG] What’s the difference between a Ranger and a Scout

character-creationclassdnd-3.5e

Apparently the Complete Adventurer contains rules for a new base class, the Scout.

Can anyone explain, at a high-level, what is the difference in character concept between a Ranger and a Scout? When should I, as a player creating a new character, decide to play one or the other?

Best Answer

Robin Hood is an iconic scout: moving through the wilderness unseen and dropping arrows through the hapless tax collectors' apple from a hundred paces. He can appear out of the brush, attack, and fade back without the opponent having a chance to reply. Usually scouts are part of a larger group, whether a band of merry men, as advance guard for a squadron of soldiers, or checking the trail ahead for a band of adventurers.

A ranger, on the other hand, is more like Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. He can smell danger, track prey for miles over rocks, or calm a horse with a whisper. A woodsman, usually a loner (though sometimes with an animal companion), a ranger is often at home with a campfire, the stars, and a good knife. His skill set is very similar to a scout's, but with a basis more in nature than in proficiency with stealth or weapons.