STARTING APTITUDES, TALENTS,
AND MODIFIERS

Characteristic Bonus: +5 Perception

Starting Aptitudes: Agility, Ballistic Skill, Fellowship, Fieldcraft, Finesse, Perception
Start ing Skills: Awareness, Stealth, Survival
Starting Talents: Deadeye Shot, Heightened Senses (Sight) or Light Sleeper, Weapon Training (Las, Solid Projectile).
Specialist Equipment: Good Craftsmanship Long-Las or Good Craftsmanship Sniper Rifle with Telescopic Sight, Chameleoline Cloak, 2 Demolition Charges or 2 Smoke Grenades
Wounds: 8+1d5

I was tired of the only solid sniper option being a Space Hobbit. Let's see how this works? I think this would count as a Guardsmen spec, not a Support.

Why does a sniper spec get fellowship aptitude?

Unholy_Ravager said:

The concept of a friendly sniper is an old one, though it doesn't need mechanical representation. That was a result of overzealous copy/pasting from the Ratling. Perhaps giving Willpower instead makes more sense.

I agree on the +5 perception bonus.

I don't think they should receive all those skills but rather something like Awareness OR Survival..

I kinda like the idea, because I don't like ratlings BUT…

You took a support class, 300 xp and want to put it in guardsman area (600xp). You also gave it 3 more wounds, and instead of Awareness OR stealth, you gave it both and added survival (which weapon specialists can choose too). Then you added demolition charges or smoke grenades.

Granted you removed 5 perception and 10 fellowship, but also removed -10 toughness.

Assuming there was some kind of balance in creation, they probably got too much good changes only.

I think weapon specialist could easily be the sniper in the group anyways, although no current rules for beginning specifically as one. Not sure it's really needed though, can't really decide

Work on the stats a bit and I'm probably all for it

STARTING APTITUDES, TALENTS,
AND MODIFIERS

Characteristic Bonus: +5 Perception

Starting Aptitudes: Agility, Ballistic Skill, Willpower, Fieldcraft, Finesse, Perception
Start ing Skills: Awareness or Survival, Stealth
Starting Talents: Deadeye Shot, Heightened Senses (Sight) or Light Sleeper, Weapon Training (Las, Solid Projectile).
Specialist Equipment: Good Craftsmanship Long-Las or Good Craftsmanship Sniper Rifle with Telescopic Sight, Chameleoline Cloak
Wounds: 7+1d5

Something like this, then?

I might bump the wounds slightly to 8, bringing it inline with the medic and specialist, but that is just me

Reposting my take on this archeotype:

Pathfinder (Guardsman)
snipers, scouts, trackers and recon specialists

Characteristic Bonus: +5 Per or +5 BS
Starting Aptides: Agility, Ballistic Skill, Perception, Toughness, Fieldcraft. Finnese
Starting Skills: Awareness, Navigation (Surface), Stealth or Survival, Common Lore (Imperial Guard)
Starting Talents: Heightened Sense (Sight, Hearing), Weapon Training (Low-tech, Las or SP)
Specialist Equipment: Good Craftmanship Long Las or Good Quality Sniper Rifle with Telescopic Sight
Wounds: 8+1D5

I decided to let player choose if he want to be more snipey or scouty (hence BS or Per), on aptitudes I see only difference is Toughness, which (alongside the tied skills/talents) in my opinion fits better. Your skills seems reasonable, but I added surface navigation (crucial for scouts) and CL:IG (as almost all guardsman specialities start with one). On talents side, I would drop Deadeye shot, as it seems unnecesary bumping from start, but I like the idea of choosing Lightsleeper instead of HS. In equipemnt, I am personaly broken over the issuing the cameleoline to each sniper/scout. And I would also give sniper 8+1D5 wounds standard.

I thought about it a bit more and actually, the weapon specialist kinda covers the sniper and scout area pretty well.

Sure they don't have perception as aptitude, but besides that you just choose the +5 bonus to BS instead of WS. You get the option to choose survival. They start with navigation (surface).

Starting talents are either lasgun barrage or rapid reload and the reload would probably be more proper, though with a triplex pattern lasgun you would be more versatile and could take lasgun barrage for good long range and close range.

the 600 exp you start out with you could buy awareness and stealth for 300 total (200 awareness and 100 stealth), unless you belong to a recon regiment in which case you would already have awareness, meaning it's only 100xp to get stealth.

This leaves you either 300 or 500 xp to buy Deadeye shot if you wanted that particular talent (which is tier 1 and both aptitudes, meaning 200xp).

So, specialists start out with 300 xp and guardsmen with 600. If you wanna be a recon guy or sniper you probably belong in a regiment that would use those people, not likely line infantry (not saying they can't be there, just that it's less likely), so most likely would already have awareness which mean that by buying stealth skill and Deadeye shot would leave you with 300xp, same as a specialist..

If you play that class in a group with the sharpshooters added to the regiment, you start out with deadeye shot as well..

So, basically, no sniper guardsman needed. No scout either. It's the weapon specialist with focus.

Also, guardsmen who become snipers are that way because of training so shouldn't start out as such really, whereas a person from a sniperschool would be a support specialist more likely. Start with 300xp. If you still wanted to make a sniper class.