alackthereof
2015-04-03, 03:46 PM
I'm going to be starting a Forgotten Realms campaign that is taking a turn similar to the Spellplague, but in some ways more severe; the Weave has been down for about eight centuries, and war has stripped down a number of establishments. The party has the option of all the non-magical classes and archetypes to start out with, and one of the players is inquiring as to a non-magical variant for a ranger. The world will slowly be regaining magic in segments (individual gods, branches of ley lines, etc), so those wanting to transition into other archetypes or magical classes will get the chance to convert over. That said, I'd like this ranger to be balanced in case the player wants to keep the class as is.
Without further ado, here is my ranger variant. Only class features that were added or changed are described.
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1st Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer
2nd Fighting Style, Fast movement
3rd Ranger Archetype, Primeval Awareness
4th Ability Score Improvement
5th Extra Attack, Toxin Sense
6th Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer improvements
7th Ranger Archetype feature
8th Ability Score Improvement, Land's Stride
9th Terrain Mastery
10th Natural Explorer improvement, Hide in Plain Sight
11th Ranter Archetype feature
12th Ability Score Improvement
13th Favored Critical
14th Favored Enemy improvement, Vanish
15th Ranger Archetype Feature
16th Ability Score improvement
17th Terrain Mastery
18th Feral Senses
19th Ability Score Improvement
20th Foe Slayer
Fast movement: Your movement speed increases by 10 feet when you are in your favored terrain and you aren't in heavy armor.
Primeval Awareness: Once per short rest, you can focus your awareness on the region around you. By concentrating for one minute, you can sense whether the following types of creatures are within 1000 feet of you (1 mile for favored terrain): aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature doesn't reveal the creatures' location or number.
Toxin Sense: You have Advantage on checks to identify the presence of poisons or diseases in a target you inspect.
Favored Critical: Your weapon attacks against a favored enemy score a critical hit on a 19 or 20.
Terrain Mastery: Select one of the terrains that you have chosen for Natural Explorer. You gain the following benefits when in that terrain:
* Arctic - You gain resistance to cold, and have advantage on checks to maintain footing on ice.
* Coast - You gain a swim speed equivalent to your movement speed, and can hold your breath for twice as long as normal.
* Desert - You gain resistance to fire, and require only half the water of a normal character.
* Forest - You gain a climb speed in trees equivalent to your movement speed, and have advantage on stealth checks.
* Grassland - You gain an additional 10 feet of movement speed, and are never surprised.
* Mountain - You gain a climb speed over rock equivalent to your movement speed, and take 5 times your ranger level less falling damage.
* Swamp - You gain resistance to poison, and have advantage on Stealth checks.
* Underdark - You gain blindsense out to 120 feet.
You select a terrain mastery at 9th and 17th levels.
Revised edition
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1st Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer
2nd Fighting Style, Marked Foe
3rd Ranger Archetype, Primeval Awareness
4th Ability Score Improvement
5th Extra Attack, Animal Ken
6th Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer improvements
7th Ranger Archetype feature
8th Ability Score Improvement, Land's Stride
9th Terrain Mastery, Marked Foe
10th Natural Explorer improvement, Hide in Plain Sight
11th Ranger Archetype feature, Fast Movement
12th Ability Score Improvement
13th Favored Critical
14th Favored Enemy improvement, Vanish
15th Ranger Archetype Feature, Natural Explorer Improvement
16th Ability Score improvement
17th Terrain Mastery
18th Feral Senses
19th Ability Score Improvement
20th Foe Slayer
Marked Foe: Once per Long Rest, a ranger may mark a target. To do so, the ranger must spend 3 rounds studying a target within 60 feet, doing nothing other than moving. At the end of the third round, the target is considered Marked. A Marked foe takes an additional 1d6 damage from your attacks. Additionally, you have advantage on checks to locate your mark. This benefit lasts for one hour or until the target is felled.
Starting at 9th level, you may perform this ability once per Short Rest, and you need only spend two rounds studying a target to Mark them.
Primeval Awareness: Once per short rest, you can focus your awareness on the region around you. By concentrating for one minute, you can sense whether the following types of creatures are within 1000 feet of you (1 mile for favored terrain): aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature doesn't reveal the creatures' location or number.
Animal Ken: You have advantage on checks to intuit the demeanor and condition of animals native to your favored terrain.
Terrain Mastery: Select one of the terrains that you have chosen for Natural Explorer. You gain the following benefits when in that terrain:
Arctic - You gain resistance to cold, and have advantage on checks to maintain footing on ice.
Coast - You gain a swim speed equivalent to your movement speed, and can hold your breath for twice as long as normal.
Desert - You gain resistance to fire, and require only half the water of a normal character.
Forest - You gain a climb speed in trees equivalent to your movement speed, and gain an additional +1 AC from cover.
Grassland - You gain an additional 10 feet of movement speed, and are never surprised.
Mountain - You gain a climb speed over rock equivalent to your movement speed, and take 5 times your ranger level less falling damage.
Swamp - You gain resistance to poison, and have advantage on Stealth checks.
Underdark - You gain blindsense out to 120 feet.
You select a terrain mastery at 9th and 17th levels.
Fast movement: Your movement speed increases by 10 feet when you are in your favored terrain and you aren't in heavy armor.
Favored Critical: Your weapon attacks against a favored enemy score a critical hit on a 19 or 20. If the enemy is also Marked, you score a critical hit on an 18, 19, or 20.
Natural Explorer Improvement: You choose an additional favored terrain type at 15th level.
BEAST MASTERY ARCHETYPE
Clever Girl (Replaces Share Spells): The benefits of Marked Foe, Land's Stride, and Favored Critical extend to your beast companion as well. Once per long rest, you can use a bonus action to command the beast to take the Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action on its turn, even if it has attacked on your turn.
If you think anything is off on the power scale, not a great fit, or doesn't make sense, please ask. I appreciate any feedback you all may offer.
Without further ado, here is my ranger variant. Only class features that were added or changed are described.
--------------------------------------------
1st Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer
2nd Fighting Style, Fast movement
3rd Ranger Archetype, Primeval Awareness
4th Ability Score Improvement
5th Extra Attack, Toxin Sense
6th Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer improvements
7th Ranger Archetype feature
8th Ability Score Improvement, Land's Stride
9th Terrain Mastery
10th Natural Explorer improvement, Hide in Plain Sight
11th Ranter Archetype feature
12th Ability Score Improvement
13th Favored Critical
14th Favored Enemy improvement, Vanish
15th Ranger Archetype Feature
16th Ability Score improvement
17th Terrain Mastery
18th Feral Senses
19th Ability Score Improvement
20th Foe Slayer
Fast movement: Your movement speed increases by 10 feet when you are in your favored terrain and you aren't in heavy armor.
Primeval Awareness: Once per short rest, you can focus your awareness on the region around you. By concentrating for one minute, you can sense whether the following types of creatures are within 1000 feet of you (1 mile for favored terrain): aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature doesn't reveal the creatures' location or number.
Toxin Sense: You have Advantage on checks to identify the presence of poisons or diseases in a target you inspect.
Favored Critical: Your weapon attacks against a favored enemy score a critical hit on a 19 or 20.
Terrain Mastery: Select one of the terrains that you have chosen for Natural Explorer. You gain the following benefits when in that terrain:
* Arctic - You gain resistance to cold, and have advantage on checks to maintain footing on ice.
* Coast - You gain a swim speed equivalent to your movement speed, and can hold your breath for twice as long as normal.
* Desert - You gain resistance to fire, and require only half the water of a normal character.
* Forest - You gain a climb speed in trees equivalent to your movement speed, and have advantage on stealth checks.
* Grassland - You gain an additional 10 feet of movement speed, and are never surprised.
* Mountain - You gain a climb speed over rock equivalent to your movement speed, and take 5 times your ranger level less falling damage.
* Swamp - You gain resistance to poison, and have advantage on Stealth checks.
* Underdark - You gain blindsense out to 120 feet.
You select a terrain mastery at 9th and 17th levels.
Revised edition
--------------------------------------------
1st Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer
2nd Fighting Style, Marked Foe
3rd Ranger Archetype, Primeval Awareness
4th Ability Score Improvement
5th Extra Attack, Animal Ken
6th Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer improvements
7th Ranger Archetype feature
8th Ability Score Improvement, Land's Stride
9th Terrain Mastery, Marked Foe
10th Natural Explorer improvement, Hide in Plain Sight
11th Ranger Archetype feature, Fast Movement
12th Ability Score Improvement
13th Favored Critical
14th Favored Enemy improvement, Vanish
15th Ranger Archetype Feature, Natural Explorer Improvement
16th Ability Score improvement
17th Terrain Mastery
18th Feral Senses
19th Ability Score Improvement
20th Foe Slayer
Marked Foe: Once per Long Rest, a ranger may mark a target. To do so, the ranger must spend 3 rounds studying a target within 60 feet, doing nothing other than moving. At the end of the third round, the target is considered Marked. A Marked foe takes an additional 1d6 damage from your attacks. Additionally, you have advantage on checks to locate your mark. This benefit lasts for one hour or until the target is felled.
Starting at 9th level, you may perform this ability once per Short Rest, and you need only spend two rounds studying a target to Mark them.
Primeval Awareness: Once per short rest, you can focus your awareness on the region around you. By concentrating for one minute, you can sense whether the following types of creatures are within 1000 feet of you (1 mile for favored terrain): aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature doesn't reveal the creatures' location or number.
Animal Ken: You have advantage on checks to intuit the demeanor and condition of animals native to your favored terrain.
Terrain Mastery: Select one of the terrains that you have chosen for Natural Explorer. You gain the following benefits when in that terrain:
Arctic - You gain resistance to cold, and have advantage on checks to maintain footing on ice.
Coast - You gain a swim speed equivalent to your movement speed, and can hold your breath for twice as long as normal.
Desert - You gain resistance to fire, and require only half the water of a normal character.
Forest - You gain a climb speed in trees equivalent to your movement speed, and gain an additional +1 AC from cover.
Grassland - You gain an additional 10 feet of movement speed, and are never surprised.
Mountain - You gain a climb speed over rock equivalent to your movement speed, and take 5 times your ranger level less falling damage.
Swamp - You gain resistance to poison, and have advantage on Stealth checks.
Underdark - You gain blindsense out to 120 feet.
You select a terrain mastery at 9th and 17th levels.
Fast movement: Your movement speed increases by 10 feet when you are in your favored terrain and you aren't in heavy armor.
Favored Critical: Your weapon attacks against a favored enemy score a critical hit on a 19 or 20. If the enemy is also Marked, you score a critical hit on an 18, 19, or 20.
Natural Explorer Improvement: You choose an additional favored terrain type at 15th level.
BEAST MASTERY ARCHETYPE
Clever Girl (Replaces Share Spells): The benefits of Marked Foe, Land's Stride, and Favored Critical extend to your beast companion as well. Once per long rest, you can use a bonus action to command the beast to take the Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action on its turn, even if it has attacked on your turn.
If you think anything is off on the power scale, not a great fit, or doesn't make sense, please ask. I appreciate any feedback you all may offer.