Revlid
2016-07-11, 04:23 AM
So I tried rewriting a spell-less Ranger, inspired in no small part by Darkest Dungeon. Interested? Check out the link ('https://docs.google.com/document/d/14LyQPvNKeW1EbcrOQTg9FxoVjXaUHy3mr4NDQDSdFVw/edit') and leave a comment.
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/15/feb/darkest3.jpg
The basic idea is that - specific problems like the poor design behind Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer aside - Rangers do not have a distinct role or purpose. Sure, there are other classes with overlap: Barbarian and Fighter and Paladin all hit people and take hits. The difference is that these classes each have a clear concept and gimmick that draws players to them. Rangers don't, and the kind of inspiration that could lead to a Ranger is usually better-executed elsewhere.
Their access to spells, while appropriate, didn't really help matters. They could fight, but not as well as other martial classes. They could cast Druid spells (basically) but not as well as a Druid. They had some utility applications, but not as much as a Rogue. They were jacks of all trades, who weren't as good at it as Bards.
So their role in this rewrite aims less at "Fighter/Druid Multiclass" and more at something like "Strategic Rogue". That is to say, if the Rogue offers tactical utility, helping the party overcome obstacles and traps and dire circumstances in the short-term, the Ranger offers strategic utility, keeping the party supplied with food and gear and a sense of direction, steering them away from trouble rather than getting them out of it.
So spellcasting is essentially replaced by a combination of new or improved class features (some stolen from UA, some modified from the PHB, some original), and a new core gimmick called Nomadic Mysteries. These are similar to the Bard's Song of Rest, in that they're effects you apply to enhance a rest, rather than in combat or on the move. Every time you set up camp the Ranger has options to make your lives easier, whether that's extra healing, removing negative conditions, rustling up rations or improvising ammunition, keeping watch without sleep or scouting ahead of the camp, sharpening weapons or confusing enemy pursuit.
There are also three archetypes (or "Wild Legends"). The Beast Master and Hunter, who are improved but not new, and the Wyrd, who picks druid spellcasting back up in the same way as the Arcane Trickster or Eldritch Knight.
My main concerns with balance are the Nomadic Mysteries – I'm relatively confident in the core of the class but ready to be proven wrong, and the archetypes are up for grabs (the way Beast Master works means that even slight changes might make it too good, and the Wyrd could turn out... weird), but there's nothing else in the game to really use as a benchmark for Nomadic Mysteries, besides the Song of Rest and a Feat or two, which makes them damn-near impossible to iron out without actual playtesting (which is unlikely to happen any time soon).
Let me know what you think!
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/15/feb/darkest3.jpg
The basic idea is that - specific problems like the poor design behind Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer aside - Rangers do not have a distinct role or purpose. Sure, there are other classes with overlap: Barbarian and Fighter and Paladin all hit people and take hits. The difference is that these classes each have a clear concept and gimmick that draws players to them. Rangers don't, and the kind of inspiration that could lead to a Ranger is usually better-executed elsewhere.
Their access to spells, while appropriate, didn't really help matters. They could fight, but not as well as other martial classes. They could cast Druid spells (basically) but not as well as a Druid. They had some utility applications, but not as much as a Rogue. They were jacks of all trades, who weren't as good at it as Bards.
So their role in this rewrite aims less at "Fighter/Druid Multiclass" and more at something like "Strategic Rogue". That is to say, if the Rogue offers tactical utility, helping the party overcome obstacles and traps and dire circumstances in the short-term, the Ranger offers strategic utility, keeping the party supplied with food and gear and a sense of direction, steering them away from trouble rather than getting them out of it.
So spellcasting is essentially replaced by a combination of new or improved class features (some stolen from UA, some modified from the PHB, some original), and a new core gimmick called Nomadic Mysteries. These are similar to the Bard's Song of Rest, in that they're effects you apply to enhance a rest, rather than in combat or on the move. Every time you set up camp the Ranger has options to make your lives easier, whether that's extra healing, removing negative conditions, rustling up rations or improvising ammunition, keeping watch without sleep or scouting ahead of the camp, sharpening weapons or confusing enemy pursuit.
There are also three archetypes (or "Wild Legends"). The Beast Master and Hunter, who are improved but not new, and the Wyrd, who picks druid spellcasting back up in the same way as the Arcane Trickster or Eldritch Knight.
My main concerns with balance are the Nomadic Mysteries – I'm relatively confident in the core of the class but ready to be proven wrong, and the archetypes are up for grabs (the way Beast Master works means that even slight changes might make it too good, and the Wyrd could turn out... weird), but there's nothing else in the game to really use as a benchmark for Nomadic Mysteries, besides the Song of Rest and a Feat or two, which makes them damn-near impossible to iron out without actual playtesting (which is unlikely to happen any time soon).
Let me know what you think!