Reincarnation of an old character; Roleplaying and PC help.

[Nishant]

So, a bit of back story; the character this is pertaining to is actually my first PC I had ever made, and my old DM recently moved into my area (weird thing, I moved away years ago. Now we're neighbors.), so this brought up some old stuff. To get an idea of whats happening, I'll give you a bit of the background of the character.

I played a half-drow somewhere in the lines of neutral and chaotic good named Silvarius Alandair. He was born to a drow mother, left for dead in a failed surface raid, and a human father, who couldn't help but fall for her, and wished to learn from her. Many years and squabbles later, his father managed to prove himself to her, and they were wed. His father would die not but ten years into the child's life after being conscripted into the duke's army. At the age of 18 his home was sacked once more by the drow, and while the initial wave was beaten down, it was at the cost of many, including his mother. Enraged by the loss of his only remaining family, prayed to the Moon for strength, as his mother often would before departing to the depths, where he would take the fight to his mother's former kin. This was of course, a foolish crusade, and it took not but a week before he was captured by the Fangs and Eyes of Lolth. Three days later, an adventuring party would come and free him whilst on there way to retrieve a boon and get a pardon from a faraway lord.

He would come to befriend the odd group of adventurers (A half-giant, a Genasi, a catfolk, and a changling), and together they would roam the lands seeking fortune and prestige; But what Silvarius truly wanted was a home, and a family; One he would find in a Shifter tribe. Over the course of many events (And about three years in-game time.), he was treated as one of their own, and given the secondary name 'Moonfang', and when not traveling with his companions, he would act as a stalwart gaurd of their tribe, protecting the forest and the fey within it.

Two years after his indoctrination into the tribe, the group of adventurers were told that someone wished to use the forest he called home and it's connection to the fey to power an ancient artifact, draining all the life from the area to restore it as a mighty weapon in which to take over the neighboring kingdoms. (Tying into a my moving away from the area.) The battle was won, and the artifact was destroyed, but at the cost of Silvarius's life, which he gave to protect Algol(the Half-giant.) His body was brought back to the tribe, and the local fey bound his spirit to the forest, claiming in three hundred years time, that his the forest would bring him back to the living.

So, here we are are, and after getting the blessing from my old DM, I'm planning on replaying this character.

The question is, though, what would/should he be brought back as? There is some stuff that happened post my move, that made the tribe a sort of haven for half-breeds, and this was back in 3.0/3.5 so conversion will be fun... I assume at that point he could be either a Shifter or Half-drow again, but there is still a bit of an argument for a homebrewed Fey race, or any (viable) halfbreed.

Any thoughts, advice?

[Flashy]

Neither shifter nor half-drow is officially in the game currently. Shifter has been published in ongoing playtest material (http://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/UA_Eberron_v1.pdf), but is unfinished and doesn't have a full stat spread. The closest you're going to get to half-drow is either taking straight drow or standard half-elf.

If you really want to capture that very specific flavor you might have to homebrew something, though shifter could work depending on how invested you are in that aspect of the character.


EDIT: Wood elf refluffed as a fey spirit?

[Temperjoke]

Well, with re-incarnation, it gives a lot of possible variations. One option is that the spirit of the character remains, but the body he's in is totally new, so it could be in whatever race would fit for the area, and he experiences memories of his past life, with an odd tendency to like the same sort of things, same sort of skills. His old weapons that were put away for safekeeping 300-years ago feel familiar to him, feel somehow right in his hands. Shifters aren't in game at least, although I can't recall if half-drow were added in SCAG or not. What class was he before? Being reborn through the power of the forest could have an affect on that as well. If he was a spellcaster before, perhaps now he's a circle of land druid as an example. Did he have any children? A bloodline connection could help with creating the character.

[EvanescentHero]

The closest you're going to get to half-drow is either taking straight drow or standard half-elf.

Or a variant half-elf with the drow racial traits option outlined in the SCAG? That's a completely official version of half-drow.

Edit: I know not everyone has the SCAG, so mechanically, you trade out the half-elf Skill Versatility for Drow Magic instead.

[Nishant]

Or a variant half-elf with the drow racial traits option outlined in the SCAG? That's a completely official version of half-drow.

Edit: I know not everyone has the SCAG, so mechanically, you trade out the half-elf Skill Versatility for Drow Magic instead.

I have SCAG :)

[MightyDog16]

Perhaps explain a "history repeats itself" scenario where a human and drow give birth to a child under similar circumstances, thus the reincarnation materializes. Surely you could come up with an interesting story you'll be happy with. And yeah, use the halfelf variant from the SCAG.

[DracoKnight]

Neither shifter nor half-drow is officially in the game currently. Shifter has been published in ongoing playtest material (http://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/UA_Eberron_v1.pdf), but is unfinished and doesn't have a full stat spread. The closest you're going to get to half-drow is either taking straight drow or standard half-elf.

If you really want to capture that very specific flavor you might have to homebrew something, though shifter could work depending on how invested you are in that aspect of the character.


EDIT: Wood elf refluffed as a fey spirit?

Half-Drow is in the Sword Coast Advebturer's Guide

[Flashy]

Half-Drow is in the Sword Coast Advebturer's Guide

Good to know!

[Kane0]

Not seeing much indication of class, but praying to the moon and having the forest priority might lean to Paladin with oath of the ancients or a nature cleric. Fey warlock is also an option, which gives you the choice of spiritual/nature warrior, priest or mage.

Edit: In fact, Moonfang might make good use of the feyknight build. 2 levels of fey warlock on top of X levels ancients paladin will give you plenty of up and go with flavor to match. The Half-elf racial bonusss also match it well, and you can use the Sword Coast guide to swap your two extra skills for Drow racial spells if you wish.

[Nishant]

Not seeing much indication of class, but praying to the moon and having the forest priority might lean to Paladin with oath of the ancients or a nature cleric. Fey warlock is also an option, which gives you the choice of spiritual/nature warrior, priest or mage.

Edit: In fact, Moonfang might make good use of the feyknight build. 2 levels of fey warlock on top of X levels ancients paladin will give you plenty of up and go with flavor to match. The Half-elf racial bonusss also match it well, and you can use the Sword Coast guide to swap your two extra skills for Drow racial spells if you wish.

Classwise he was a scout and knight multiclass; shifted between a greatsword and buckler strapped to his wrist, and a greatbow. horrible synergy, but hey, it was my first character. I've been homebrewing Scout back into 5e, but I'm open to a bit of change, classwise; different circumstances lead to different results.


Perhaps explain a "history repeats itself" scenario where a human and drow give birth to a child under similar circumstances, thus the reincarnation materializes. Surely you could come up with an interesting story you'll be happy with.

Perhaps. I've got a few ideas rolling around in my head :smallsmile:

[Temperjoke]

Classwise he was a scout and knight multiclass; shifted between a greatsword and buckler strapped to his wrist, and a greatbow. horrible synergy, but hey, it was my first character. I've been homebrewing Scout back into 5e, but I'm open to a bit of change, classwise; different circumstances lead to different results.



Well, if you wanted his skills to be affected by the method of his reincarnation, then I'd say go with an Oath of Ancients paladin. You could go with a dex build to use ranged weapons and "finesse" weapons, or a strength build to focus on the greatsword. Or, depending on his stats you could do a mix of both.

[Nishant]

Well, if you wanted his skills to be affected by the method of his reincarnation, then I'd say go with an Oath of Ancients paladin. You could go with a dex build to use ranged weapons and "finesse" weapons, or a strength build to focus on the greatsword. Or, depending on his stats you could do a mix of both.

I'll see how he's rolled. He didn't use his greatsword as intended often; he had it enchanted so that he could hurl it at enemies, it would stick in them and deal damage, then he'd kite around them and mow them with arrows.

To be specific, Moonfang died because the flow of action, so to speak. BBEG and I had the same initiative, and he was going to swing on one of my other party members who was under some heavy debuffs. I argued that since we have the same initiative, theoretically we're moving simultaneously; he agreed, so I used my turn to push my ally out of the way and swing on the BBEG. I got a natural 20, and killed him, but he got a piece of me too. The DM had me roll to see if he hit the artifact, which was vulnerable because it wasn't at full strength; Moonfang hit it, and destroyed it, but the artifact basically exploded and he got caught up in the blast along with his ally. Used the Shield Ally feature to soak up some of the damage, killing Moonfang but leaving his ally alive(albeit barely.) That's the kind of guy he was.

[Malifice]

So, a bit of back story; the character this is pertaining to is actually my first PC I had ever made, and my old DM recently moved into my area (weird thing, I moved away years ago. Now we're neighbors.), so this brought up some old stuff. To get an idea of whats happening, I'll give you a bit of the background of the character.

I played a half-drow somewhere in the lines of neutral and chaotic good named Silvarius Alandair. He was born to a drow mother, left for dead in a failed surface raid, and a human father, who couldn't help but fall for her, and wished to learn from her. Many years and squabbles later, his father managed to prove himself to her, and they were wed. His father would die not but ten years into the child's life after being conscripted into the duke's army. At the age of 18 his home was sacked once more by the drow, and while the initial wave was beaten down, it was at the cost of many, including his mother. Enraged by the loss of his only remaining family, prayed to the Moon for strength, as his mother often would before departing to the depths, where he would take the fight to his mother's former kin. This was of course, a foolish crusade, and it took not but a week before he was captured by the Fangs and Eyes of Lolth. Three days later, an adventuring party would come and free him whilst on there way to retrieve a boon and get a pardon from a faraway lord.

He would come to befriend the odd group of adventurers (A half-giant, a Genasi, a catfolk, and a changling), and together they would roam the lands seeking fortune and prestige; But what Silvarius truly wanted was a home, and a family; One he would find in a Shifter tribe. Over the course of many events (And about three years in-game time.), he was treated as one of their own, and given the secondary name 'Moonfang', and when not traveling with his companions, he would act as a stalwart gaurd of their tribe, protecting the forest and the fey within it.

Two years after his indoctrination into the tribe, the group of adventurers were told that someone wished to use the forest he called home and it's connection to the fey to power an ancient artifact, draining all the life from the area to restore it as a mighty weapon in which to take over the neighboring kingdoms. (Tying into a my moving away from the area.) The battle was won, and the artifact was destroyed, but at the cost of Silvarius's life, which he gave to protect Algol(the Half-giant.) His body was brought back to the tribe, and the local fey bound his spirit to the forest, claiming in three hundred years time, that his the forest would bring him back to the living.

So, here we are are, and after getting the blessing from my old DM, I'm planning on replaying this character.

The question is, though, what would/should he be brought back as? There is some stuff that happened post my move, that made the tribe a sort of haven for half-breeds, and this was back in 3.0/3.5 so conversion will be fun... I assume at that point he could be either a Shifter or Half-drow again, but there is still a bit of an argument for a homebrewed Fey race, or any (viable) halfbreed.

Any thoughts, advice?

Screams half drow Paladin (ancients)/ Fey warlock to me.

[Temperjoke]

I'll see how he's rolled. He didn't use his greatsword as intended often; he had it enchanted so that he could hurl it at enemies, it would stick in them and deal damage, then he'd kite around them and mow them with arrows.

To be specific, Moonfang died because the flow of action, so to speak. BBEG and I had the same initiative, and he was going to swing on one of my other party members who was under some heavy debuffs. I argued that since we have the same initiative, theoretically we're moving simultaneously; he agreed, so I used my turn to push my ally out of the way and swing on the BBEG. I got a natural 20, and killed him, but he got a piece of me too. The DM had me roll to see if he hit the artifact, which was vulnerable because it wasn't at full strength; Moonfang hit it, and destroyed it, but the artifact basically exploded and he got caught up in the blast along with his ally. Used the Shield Ally feature to soak up some of the damage, killing Moonfang but leaving his ally alive(albeit barely.) That's the kind of guy he was.

Yeah, so a paladin would suit him just fine. I don't know if you read about the Oath of Ancients type of paladin, but I think it would fit, given that the forest is the one responsible for reincarnating him. I do think that you should slowly start without any explicit memory of him, with pieces unlocking as you level up, or have certain events happen, like visiting the spot where he died the first time for example. Also, why was he reincarnated right then? Perhaps that can be part of his personal story, finding out why circumstances aligned to bring him back, such as a new threat rising to the forest. Also, when bringing him back, you'll need to take into account his family and such, unless he was born in pod or something, he's going to have a mother and father.

[Kane0]

Screams half drow Paladin (ancients) / Fey warlock to me.

Agreed with Malifice. Which is not something heard often :smallamused:


Classwise he was a scout and knight multiclass; shifted between a greatsword and buckler strapped to his wrist, and a greatbow. horrible synergy, but hey, it was my first character. I've been homebrewing Scout back into 5e, but I'm open to a bit of change, classwise; different circumstances lead to different results.


Something like this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?462877-Ranger-Rework-v1-2) mayhap?

[Malifice]

Classwise he was a scout and knight multiclass; shifted between a greatsword and buckler strapped to his wrist, and a greatbow.

Again, this just screams Oath of the Ancients Paladin.

Take Fey warlock to account for your bond with the fey spirits.

[Nishant]

Yeah, so a paladin would suit him just fine. I don't know if you read about the Oath of Ancients type of paladin, but I think it would fit, given that the forest is the one responsible for reincarnating him. I do think that you should slowly start without any explicit memory of him, with pieces unlocking as you level up, or have certain events happen, like visiting the spot where he died the first time for example. Also, why was he reincarnated right then? Perhaps that can be part of his personal story, finding out why circumstances aligned to bring him back, such as a new threat rising to the forest. Also, when bringing him back, you'll need to take into account his family and such, unless he was born in pod or something, he's going to have a mother and father.



Agreed with Malifice. Which is not something heard often :smallamused:



Something like this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?462877-Ranger-Rework-v1-2) mayhap?

This seems to be the consensus. I'll roll him and post the raw rolls without racial ASI's put in. As for your ranger rework, it's not too far off, but it's in the draft stages right now. I promised some folks I'd finish my Inquisitor before I did anything else in the homebrew department.. I have such a backlog.

Okay, rolls are; 15, 10, 15, 15, 13, 17 using 4d6, drop lowest

[Malifice]

Agreed with Malifice. Which is not something heard often :smallamused:

Heh. Indeed :)

[Nishant]

Heh. Indeed :)

Gotta ask, do you two have a rivalry or something, then?

[Lindonius]

This seems to be the consensus. I'll roll him and post the raw rolls without racial ASI's put in. As for your ranger rework, it's not too far off, but it's in the draft stages right now. I promised some folks I'd finish my Inquisitor before I did anything else in the homebrew department.. I have such a backlog.

Okay, rolls are; 15, 10, 15, 15, 13, 17 using 4d6, drop lowest

Would you like some toast with your jam sir? ;)

[Malifice]

Gotta ask, do you two have a rivalry or something, then?

Heh, not particularly. I can be a bit of a terrier at times on here. Alignment and hiding threads in particular.

That said, I have softened my stance with Hiding. The recent FAQ on mask of the wild, and errata on Stealth certainly indicated to me that its easier to hide in combat than I previously assumed.

Im pretty much ruling it as 'As long as your enemy isnt paying much attention to you at the start of your turn, and there is something to hide behind or you can approach you enemy or your hiding spot unseen, you can attempt to hide on your turn.'

Back OT, Ancients Paladin. What supernatural abilities did your character have on account of the fey binding thing?

You sound like a Knight who is 'touched by the Fey and given special powers as a defender or the woods' so Ancients paladin is literally 100 percent what youre after. Maybe some Fey Warlock if you had some abilities that cant be explained away with Ancients paladin stuff.

[Temperjoke]

This seems to be the consensus. I'll roll him and post the raw rolls without racial ASI's put in. As for your ranger rework, it's not too far off, but it's in the draft stages right now. I promised some folks I'd finish my Inquisitor before I did anything else in the homebrew department.. I have such a backlog.

Okay, rolls are; 15, 10, 15, 15, 13, 17 using 4d6, drop lowest

Those are some decent rolls, you can make a nice balanced build with those. Based on discussion, I'd go with:

Dex 17
Str 15
Char 15
Con 15
Wis 13
Int 10

Idea is that you'll be using ranged weapons or finesse melee weapons primarily, with a decent capability to use non-finesse weapons as the circumstance may dictate.

[Nishant]

Heh, not particularly. I can be a bit of a terrier at times on here. Alignment and hiding threads in particular.

Back OT, Ancients Paladin. What supernatural abilities did your character have on account of the fey thing?

He was given the ability to speak with animals at will, some minor fast movement, and, before the events of his death, was working with moonspeakers and the surrounding Fey to take on aspects of animal totems (wild shape or shifting) himself, but it never got that far. In death, he was bound to the forest and it's gate to the feywild as a gaurdian spirit; basically after so many years of service, he would be brought back into the world. No memories, no prior knowledge outside of local legend. At the time, he wasn't really religous, despite his reverance to the moon. He was getting there. The other adventurer's basically didn't know what would become of him in the afterlife, and thought he was cut short, so they went with an option that they knew would make him happy.

So with the Racial ASI it would look something more like this?

Dex 18
Str 15
Con 16
Cha 17
Wis 13
Int 10

[Malifice]

Those are some decent rolls, you can make a nice balanced build with those. Based on discussion, I'd go with:

Dex 17
Str 15
Char 15
Con 15
Wis 13
Int 10

Idea is that you'll be using ranged weapons or finesse melee weapons primarily, with a decent capability to use non-finesse weapons as the circumstance may dictate.

I wouldnt. He claims to be a heavyish armor using 'knight/ scout' who primarily uses a greatsword. As a Half elf I would probably go:

S: 15 (16)
D: 15
C: 15 (16)
I: 10
W: 13
Ch: 17 (19)

At 4th I would take GWM and at 8th bump Cha and Dex by +1. Maybe take lucky at 12th (to reflect his fey charm). Alert also works for the Scout vibe.

I'd also dip Feylock at some point, probaly blade-lock. Although maybe his Fey patron blessed him with a Faerie dragon companion so Chain isnt out of the question (great for scouting). He can get some nice scouting abilities from the Fey patron and invocations also, and Eldritch blast can be fluffed as 'magical energy ghost bow of silvery moonlight; a blessing from Elistrae'.


He was given the ability to speak with animals at will, some minor fast movement, and, before the events of his death, was working with moonspeakers and the surrounding Fey to take on aspects of animal totems (wild shape or shifting) himself, but it never got that far.

Beast totem Barbarian. They get fast movement, can cast speak with animals at will as a ritual, and take on physcial aspects of their totem when they enter a rage. It mechanically matches up with Paladin amazingly too (you cant cast when you get taken over by the spirits of the feywild [rage], but smites are fair game).


In death, he was bound to the forest and it's gate to the feywild as a gaurdian spirit; basically after so many years of service, he would be brought back into the world. No memories, no prior knowledge outside of local legend. At the time, he wasn't really religous, despite his reverance to the moon. He was getting there. The other adventurer's basically didn't know what would become of him in the afterlife, and thought he was cut short, so they went with an option that they knew would make him happy.

Just screams ancients Paladin.


So with the Racial ASI it would look something more like this?

Dex 18
Str 15
Con 16
Cha 17
Wis 13
Int 10

Half elves get +2 Cha, +1 to two others.

You use a Greatsword (and need to be in melee as a Paladin to be effective). If youre splashing barbarian for (fast movement, minor beast form and speak with animals) then prioritise Str over Dex.

What armor did you used to wear, and could you cast spells or use any supernatural abilities of any sort?

Also what was your background?

[Temperjoke]

I wouldnt. He claims to be a heavyish armor using 'knight/ scout' who primarily uses a greatsword. As a Half elf I would probably go:

S: 15 (16)
D: 15
C: 15 (16)
I: 10
W: 13
Ch: 17 (19)

At 4th I would take GWM and at 8th bump Cha and Dex by +1. Maybe take lucky at 12th (to reflect his fey charm). Alert also works for the Scout vibe.

I'd also dip Feylock at some point, probaly blade-lock. Although maybe his Fey patron blessed him with a Faerie dragon companion so Chain isnt out of the question (great for scouting). He can get some nice scouting abilities from the Fey patron and invocations also, and EB can be fluffed as 'magical energy ghost bow of silvery moonlight; a blessing from Elistrae'.

Except that he described himself as not using his greatsword normally, he'd throw the sword which had a special enchantment, then dodge out of range to use his greatbow. So I interpreted that as primarily fighting from range.

[Malifice]

Except that he described himself as not using his greatsword normally, he'd throw the sword which had a special enchantment, then dodge out of range to use his greatbow. So I interpreted that as primarily fighting from range.

If we are dipping Feylock, then his 'Bow' can be fluffed as a 'Mystical blessing from the moon godess' [eldritch blast].

Also, as a Paladin, he needs to be in melee to be most effective. Especially if he is also dipping Barbarian (for fast movement, animal speech and minor shifting).

If ranged with Bow is the mechancis of it, then Ranger (they get pass without trace, longstrider and speak with animals as spells) + Ancients paladin (just a 6 level dip) is probably more appropriate.

Actually He did describe himself as a (Knight + Scout) so (Paladin + Ranger) is the closest to that.

[Temperjoke]

If we are dipping Feylock, then his 'Bow' can be fluffed as a 'Mystical blessing from the moon godess' [eldritch blast].

Also, as a Paladin, he needs to be in melee to be most effective. Especially if he is also dipping Barbarian (for fast movement, animal speech and minor shifting).

If ranged with Bow is the mechancis of it, then Ranger (they get pass without trace, longstrider and speak with animals as spells) + Ancients paladin (just a 6 level dip) is probably more appropriate.

Actually He did describe himself as a (Knight + Scout) so (Paladin + Ranger) is the closest to that.

I agree, a combo of Paladin and Ranger would be a good fit.

[Malifice]

I agree, a combo of Paladin and Ranger would be a good fit.

Mechanically they dont really go together that well though.

Paladins suck badly at ranged in 5E.

[Dimolyth]

If we are dipping Feylock, then his 'Bow' can be fluffed as a 'Mystical blessing from the moon godess' [eldritch blast].

Also, as a Paladin, he needs to be in melee to be most effective. Especially if he is also dipping Barbarian (for fast movement, animal speech and minor shifting).

If ranged with Bow is the mechancis of it, then Ranger (they get pass without trace, longstrider and speak with animals as spells) + Ancients paladin (just a 6 level dip) is probably more appropriate.

Actually He did describe himself as a (Knight + Scout) so (Paladin + Ranger) is the closest to that.

Barbarian is 5 level dip for fast movement. Minor shifting is 3rd level, so does speak with animals.
Warlock is 2 level dip for "solid eldritch blast bow". For familiar/blade/whatever else - that is 3rd level+
So, by theorycrafting, we would get Paladin13/Warlock2/Barbarian5 - but what level your half-drow begins, and what abilities do you really want?

Pehaps, not having "totem shifting/animal speaking" - is fine for you. So, you concrntrate on "fey bond" theme for paladin/warlock. Note, that Ansient Oath of Paladin would give you Speak with Animals - as a spell. And you can mimic some "shifting" by warlock spells and invocations.

Or, that shifting abilities that are exactly what you want from character? So, you can make a "strange" (by general optimization) multiclass of Barbarian/Warlock. You are using Eldritch blast from range, and in mellee you swing your greatsword with shifter powers - no much synergy, but a lot of fluff.

Or maybe, just maybe, Ranger with his terrain (forests) mastery and favored (drow) enemy - is a thing for you? Take Ranger, maybe dip for mellee in Paladin (fey knight powers) or barbarian (totem shifter powers)...

And don`t forget, background in 5e - is core adding fluff mechanics. Your Paladin/Warlock is not "scouting" enough? Take Outlander. Your barbarian/ranger is not "fey bound" enough? - look for some backgrounds in SCAG (inheritor/outsider for example).

[Kane0]

Warlock also offers a speak with animals option in an invocation IIRC. P

[Temperjoke]

Mechanically they dont really go together that well though.

Paladins suck badly at ranged in 5E.

Well, he's got a stat spread that can support odd multiclassing. Sure, the paladin doesn't have a lot of abilities to directly attack from range, but it brings a lot of support spells that would be useful, such as Misty Step, which the Ancients paladin gets, which will help him keep his distance. On the other side, paladin abilities can provide a boost to melee combat if he's forced to close with enemies, using smites to supplement his use of a greatsword, despite his str being lower than his dex.

I would think of him as being more of a ranger with paladin support.

[Nishant]

Sorry it took me so long to reply! So going on things one at a time.

1) As far backgrounds go, it was 3.5, and backgrounds weren't really a thing. So in terms of this character, it'll really depend on circumstances of birth and other experiences.

2) I'll likely go either Ancient Pally, Feylock, or both. It's a shame I won't be able to work in skirmish damage, but it's not really a huge qualm in the first place. Ranger in this edition just doesn't appeal to me- it's not a 'bad' class, I guess, but my favorite thing for rangers back in 3.5e was to mount my animal companion. It's fun to play the mounted archer, and I never got into two weapon fighting.