Nero24200
2018-01-29, 02:24 PM
So I love the revised ranger - it gives the class some much needed oomph! Though there are primarily two things I'm not too sure about...
Favoured Enemy is one. This might be more due to 3.5 experience, but generally it's either really great to have or almost useless, and I can't see it being too different in D&D Next. Imagine picking "Beasts" as a favoured enemy then getting stuck in a zombie infested city. The DM might only intend the zombie part to last a short while, but that's a while where the Revised Ranger's main damage boost goes to waste. Granted "Humanoids" seems like a good, go-to option, but it's likely to make me feel like all the rangers played will be the same.
And what was the second point? Well this is less to do with the Favoured enemy and more to due with the overall feel of the ranger. Previously the ranger had a similar niche to the Paladin - it gained up to 6th Level Spells but also used it's spell casting to fuel Class Features. The Paladin uses Smity goodness and the Ranger previously used this via Primeval Awareness... it was far from an overpowered ability. WOC obviously felt the same way, making PA just simply work all the time provided the Ranger spends time using it and it only works on Favoured Enemies. This isn't an issue, though losing the ability to channel spells into a Class Feature is actually something I didn't like. I felt it gave the Ranger a unique niche - a skill monkey who channels magic into their skillmonkey-ness. It made the Ranger a tracking-variant of the Paladin in a sense. I kinda liked it in that,
if needed, you could do a ranger without spells simply by channelling all spell slots into the ability. Was it weak? Yes, though the option was nice.
...so to fix these there was an idea I plan to implement, though hoping for a little feedback to ensure it isn't too OTT.
NATURAL ADAPTATION
At 2nd Level your magical insight enables you to tailor your skills far more easily. At the start of your Turn you may spend a Bonus Action and expend a Ranger Spell Slot to alter your Favoured Enemy ability. You temporarily replace your Favoured Enemy with another type - A creature of the chosen type must either be visible to you or you must possess a trophy/trinket related to the creature type (such as a pouch of Fairy Dust for Fey, or a Dragon's Tooth for Dragons etc). You only gain the benefits of your new Favoured Enemy for a set Duration based on the Spell Level used.
1st Level - 5 Rounds
2nd Level - 1 Minute
3rd Level - 10 Minutes
4th Level - 1 Hour
5th Level - 5 Hours
6th Level - 24 Hours
How does it look? Is it maybe a little too much? Should the action required/Durations be amended?
Favoured Enemy is one. This might be more due to 3.5 experience, but generally it's either really great to have or almost useless, and I can't see it being too different in D&D Next. Imagine picking "Beasts" as a favoured enemy then getting stuck in a zombie infested city. The DM might only intend the zombie part to last a short while, but that's a while where the Revised Ranger's main damage boost goes to waste. Granted "Humanoids" seems like a good, go-to option, but it's likely to make me feel like all the rangers played will be the same.
And what was the second point? Well this is less to do with the Favoured enemy and more to due with the overall feel of the ranger. Previously the ranger had a similar niche to the Paladin - it gained up to 6th Level Spells but also used it's spell casting to fuel Class Features. The Paladin uses Smity goodness and the Ranger previously used this via Primeval Awareness... it was far from an overpowered ability. WOC obviously felt the same way, making PA just simply work all the time provided the Ranger spends time using it and it only works on Favoured Enemies. This isn't an issue, though losing the ability to channel spells into a Class Feature is actually something I didn't like. I felt it gave the Ranger a unique niche - a skill monkey who channels magic into their skillmonkey-ness. It made the Ranger a tracking-variant of the Paladin in a sense. I kinda liked it in that,
if needed, you could do a ranger without spells simply by channelling all spell slots into the ability. Was it weak? Yes, though the option was nice.
...so to fix these there was an idea I plan to implement, though hoping for a little feedback to ensure it isn't too OTT.
NATURAL ADAPTATION
At 2nd Level your magical insight enables you to tailor your skills far more easily. At the start of your Turn you may spend a Bonus Action and expend a Ranger Spell Slot to alter your Favoured Enemy ability. You temporarily replace your Favoured Enemy with another type - A creature of the chosen type must either be visible to you or you must possess a trophy/trinket related to the creature type (such as a pouch of Fairy Dust for Fey, or a Dragon's Tooth for Dragons etc). You only gain the benefits of your new Favoured Enemy for a set Duration based on the Spell Level used.
1st Level - 5 Rounds
2nd Level - 1 Minute
3rd Level - 10 Minutes
4th Level - 1 Hour
5th Level - 5 Hours
6th Level - 24 Hours
How does it look? Is it maybe a little too much? Should the action required/Durations be amended?