Yet Another Ranger Quick Fix Idea

[foobar1969]

Three small changes that make the class more effective AND easier to deal with (for both player and DM).

Level 10: Replace Natural Explorer Improvement with Paragon Explorer: favor ALL the terrains!

Level 14: Replace Favored Enemy Improvement with Paragon Hunter: advantage ALL the creature checks! And learn a language.

Level 20: As a side effect of the previous change: Slay ALL the foes!

Why yes, I am a fan of Allie Brosh, why do you ask?

Also, replace Spell Slots Spells Known with Prepared Spells = Wis mod + half level (like Paladin).

[Gurka]

Three small changes that make the class more effective AND easier to deal with (for both player and DM).

Level 10: Replace Natural Explorer Improvement with Paragon Explorer: favor ALL the terrains!

Level 14: Replace Favored Enemy Improvement with Paragon Hunter: advantage ALL the creature checks! And learn a language.

Level 20: As a side effect of the previous change: Slay ALL the foes!

Why yes, I am a fan of Allie Brosh, why do you ask?

Also, replace Spell Slots with Prepared Spells = Wis mod + half level (like Paladin).

None of these are individually bad ideas, though I'm not convinced that the ranger needs any blanket improvements. To my mind, it's really just the BM archetype that's lacking, and none of these really address any of those issues.

I could see most of these things being part of an Archetype focused on those skills though. Call it the Master Tracker or some such.

[Sindeloke]

None of these are individually bad ideas, though I'm not convinced that the ranger needs any blanket improvements. To my mind, it's really just the BM archetype that's lacking, and none of these really address any of those issues.

The BM is lacking only in logic, not in DPR or even utility, really. If anything its peak combat performance is markedly OP (though many pets are indeed overweak trap options). It doesn't need buffs, it needs a complete rework.

The base ranger chassis, however, is severely lacking in several things, chief among these the significant out-of-combat utility and tracking/hiding/survival skills that are supposed to define the whole class. They're supposedly a fighter/druid/rogue hybrid. Their combat skills are quite solid, so they're good fighters. Their spells are insanely limited and the good ones are all very damage-oriented and even Beastmasters have no special connection to nature or other animals beyond their own, so they're terrible druids. Favored enemy/terrain and Hide in Plain Sight are pretty much a bad joke, so they're terrible rogues.

Buffing their skill use by making favored enemy and terrain apply their meager bonuses more widely is a great start to making the class able to justify its own existence.

[Warwick]

I always liked the idea of favored enemy granting some utility bonuses or abilities, especially since favored enemy is kind of weak on it's own. The idea being that the Ranger has picked up some of the tactics their favored enemy uses or something like that. So, e.g. favored enemy: goblinoids might give you a bonus to both hiding and detecting hidden enemies. Or whatever.

[EvanescentHero]

I think I'm the only person on this forum that's glad about rangers being spontaneous casters instead of prepared ones in this edition. But that's just because as a player I hate having to prepare spells. I do also like the thought of rangers as mostly martial, but with just a bit of magical power to help them out, so I suppose this version fits my vision of rangers better.

[djreynolds]

I had proposed on another thread about ability and skill checks, hypothetically of course, if you had no skills that rangers would get expertise on any ability check in their terrains. I know about natural explorer, but advantage doesn't show expertise.

Why not give rangers expertise on any skill in their chosen terrain? Or jack of all trades in those terrains. I mean no one should out do a ranger on their turf. Is that too much instead of natural explorer's advantage in wisdom and intelligence checks. Or advantage on all ability checks.

All these survival show guys on TV always have one terrain, like the desert or temperate forest, that they excel in. Should a wizard know more about the grasslands than his ranger guide.

No ranger, ability scores aside, should know more about history or arcana than a bard, but he should know about the arcana or history of his terrain, I don't think advantage is enough.

And even allow a bonus to his comrade's skill checks in his terrain. It makes the ranger a more desirable class in terms of team building.

Like you need him like a cleric for healing, or thief for traps.

[PoeticDwarf]

Three small changes that make the class more effective AND easier to deal with (for both player and DM).

Level 10: Replace Natural Explorer Improvement with Paragon Explorer: favor ALL the terrains!

Level 14: Replace Favored Enemy Improvement with Paragon Hunter: advantage ALL the creature checks! And learn a language.

Level 20: As a side effect of the previous change: Slay ALL the foes!

Why yes, I am a fan of Allie Brosh, why do you ask?

Also, replace Spell Slots with Prepared Spells = Wis mod + half level (like Paladin).

For me it sounds all like good ideas, especially the last idea.