Scoundrel is traditionally a bad word. It's in popular culture that this word is associated with 'Rebel', 'Smart', and 'Cool'. With 'bad' people, people who violate rules or laws.
But if Complete Scoundrel's editors, marketers and managers think the readers can get the pop meaning, by what does the translator think it should be changed?
The way the book interpret this word is merely an extension of better part of this meaning, in that this is a tool book for players who want to play a 'smart', 'cool', and/or 'revolutionary' character (smart as in pop culture instead of smart as in 100% exam score).
However, readers are not supposed to know this until they flip the book, since this is not a standard interpretation even in pop culture. And the editors know this.
They have a reason for choosing this word.
Language is living, dictionaries are only references, not rules. Few experts consider dictionary a good way to improve your language skill after you mastered the basic because a word's meaning is strongly associated with its context, which dictionary can't help you with.
Readers are smart, and the living characteristic of language is universal. It is not a translator's job to baby sit readers.
