Where are the Rangers of the hills? [ Natural Explorer]

[HappyDaze]

Natural Explorer: "Choose one type of favored terrain: arctic, coast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain, swamp, or the Underdark."

Looking at the encounter tables from Xanathar's Guide, all of the above terrain types appear, but there are three more entries on the encounter tables. Hill, Underwater, and Urban are not on the Natural Explorer list. I can see why Urban isn't considered a viable "natural" setting, but Hill seems like a very reasonable choice for a great many Rangers, while Underwater is likely a fairly common choice for water-breathing races (aquatic elves, tritons, etc.). Is there any good reason why these terrain types do not appear as selections for Natural Explorer?

[saucerhead]

It seems the writers presumed the hills were covered in either grass or trees...
I haven't heard of swamp hills, but desert hills work too.

[Unoriginal]

Like saucerhead said, hills generally count as grassland. Or small mountains. Or covered in forest/desert/arctic terrain

[rbstr]

Except for mountain, most of these are sort of independent of topography. Which seems like it might be somewhat intended. Its also clear that these terrains overlap considerably. Grassland can be hilly or flat. Alaska has plenty of semi-forested marshland in mountainous areas above the arctic circle.

And then Urban is not "Natural" which is probably why it was excluded. (Of course, there's a whole argument of naturalness. Frankly, "natural" becomes nearly meaningless when you try to apply strict definition)

The whole thing is a bit wishy-washy, really.

[stoutstien]

Except for mountain, most of these are sort of independent of topography. Which seems like it might be somewhat intended. Its also clear that these terrains overlap considerably. Grassland can be hilly or flat. Alaska has plenty of semi-forested marshland in mountainous areas above the arctic circle.

And then Urban is not "Natural" which is probably why it was excluded. (Of course, there's a whole argument of naturalness. Frankly, "natural" becomes nearly meaningless when you try to apply strict definition)

The whole thing is a bit wishy-washy, really.

I had an issue like this not to long ago. Are ruins in a jungle that has inhabitants that have utilized the old buildings considered jungle or urban?

[Unoriginal]

Except for mountain, most of these are sort of independent of topography. Which seems like it might be somewhat intended. Its also clear that these terrains overlap considerably. Grassland can be hilly or flat. Alaska has plenty of semi-forested marshland in mountainous areas above the arctic circle.

And then Urban is not "Natural" which is probably why it was excluded. (Of course, there's a whole argument of naturalness. Frankly, "natural" becomes nearly meaningless when you try to apply strict definition)

The whole thing is a bit wishy-washy, really.


I had an issue like this not to long ago. Are ruins in a jungle that has inhabitants that have utilized the old buildings considered jungle or urban?

A terrain can be of two types. A forest doesn't stop being a forest because it's near a coast or in an arctic climate.

[Floogal]

I'm disappointed by the lack of ocean option (unless coast was supposed to cover that?).

Imagine a pirate/sailor:
- could only get lost due to magic
- not be slowed by stormy weather
- double-sized fishing yields
- always alert to danger (sea-monster, pirates, navy)
- precise data when tracking ships/marine life..?

Go Beastmaster, choose a parrot (refluffed raven) as your companion.

[saucerhead]

Ah, those would be the water covered hills.:smallsmile:

[HappyDaze]

It seems the writers presumed the hills were covered in either grass or trees...
I haven't heard of swamp hills, but desert hills work too.

Do you believe that hills were intentionally excluded from the list rather than it being an oversight?
What about underwater?

[Arkhios]

To be honest, the name of the feature leaves it rather vague whether it actually speaks of an explorer of natural environments or that the ranger is a person with innate talent for exploring. Personally, I think it's the latter.

For reference:


natural
/ˈnatʃ(ə)r(ə)l/

noun
a person having an innate talent for a particular task or activity.

explorer
/ɛkˈsplɔːrə/

noun
a person who explores a new or unfamiliar area.

That said, I do agree that all terrains should be included, though I have to admit that hills might not be distinct enough to warrant its own terrain option. But Underwater and Urban should.

[Ninja_Prawn]

It would be easy for you to houserule those three terrains back into the ranger options. Like, I probably wouldn't approve an urban ranger in a high fantasy game, but I might in a modern setting. Underwater makes total sense for water-breathing races, but not really for land dwellers.

Hills are a funny one. Over here in the UK, we definitely have landscapes that are dominated by hills and wouldn't really fall under the 'grassland', 'mountain' or 'desert' categories. We call them heathlands, moorlands and downlands. 'Hill-walking' is a common hobby here. That said, these landscapes are not natural; most would have been temperate forest before humans intervened.

[Naanomi]

Urban, Underwater, and Extraplanar environments also don’t get any love