Alternatives to Favored Enemy?

[Cazaril]

I'm an old 3.5e hand starting a new 5e edition campaign after being away from D&D for several years. I've gotten the core rulebooks but haven't dived into the vast array of arcana out there.

I have a dilemma with the Ranger class: the idea of a "favored enemy" doesn't work well in my low-magic, mostly-human campaign world. Is there a suitable alternative set of playtested class abilities that I could substitute? Maybe something like a favored terrain type, or something completely different. One of my players has expressed interest in being a ranger, and I'd like for them to have an ability that's more suitable for the campaign.

Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks!

[Man_Over_Game]

I'm an old 3.5e hand starting a new 5e edition campaign after being away from D&D for several years. I've gotten the core rulebooks but haven't dived into the vast array of arcana out there.

I have a dilemma with the Ranger class: the idea of a "favored enemy" doesn't work well in my low-magic, mostly-human campaign world. Is there a suitable alternative set of playtested class abilities that I could substitute? Maybe something like a favored terrain type, or something completely different. One of my players has expressed interest in being a ranger, and I'd like for them to have an ability that's more suitable for the campaign.

Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks!

Ah, so the problem is that you have a bunch of humans. Hmm...

I suppose you could break it down into Cultures.

Or you could break it down into something like this:

Favored Combatant:
You have experience with dealing with a particular type of fighting style. When you make an attack against a creature that is a Favored Combatant, you have Advantage on your attack.
Additionally, when they attack you, they have Disadvantage on their attack.

You can apply both Advantage and Disadvantage this way, once each, per every Short Rest or Long Rest.

Favored Combatants types:
Warrior (Melee Combatant)
Scout (Ranged Combatant)
Mage (Casting Combatant)
Exotic (Anything else, like beasts, monsters, or anything that isn't a clear category)

[stoutstien]

Allowing favor enemy to all humans isn't really overpowered.
Natural explorer on the other hand is just a flat out bypass of most of the ways you may try to use the environment to challenge the party.

[Grod_The_Giant]

You could switch it to "favored organization," like the Cityscape web enhancement did.

You could also not worry about it. Rangers are on the lower end of power as it is, and Favored Enemy is on the low end of their class features. If it applied to 100% of rolls to track creatures or recall information about them, it still wouldn't come close to being overpowered.

[KorvinStarmast]

I'm an old 3.5e hand starting a new 5e edition campaign after being away from D&D for several years. I've gotten the core rulebooks but haven't dived into the vast array of arcana out there.

I have a dilemma with the Ranger class: the idea of a "favored enemy" doesn't work well in my low-magic, mostly-human campaign world. Is there a suitable alternative set of playtested class abilities that I could substitute? Maybe something like a favored terrain type, or something completely different. One of my players has expressed interest in being a ranger, and I'd like for them to have an ability that's more suitable for the campaign.
Favored enemy.
What besides humans are in the world, in terms of the humanoid classes?
Are there giants?
Are there Dragons?
Are there Undead?
Fiends?
Celestials?
Fey?

Let's take a look at the ability.

Favored Enemy

Beginning at 1st level, you have significant experience studying, tracking, hunting, and even talking to a certain type of enemy.

Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and orcs) as favored enemies.
Humans are a race of humanoid. So are elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, gnomes...
Adding languages of two (or three) different human groups if you have lots of different languages and countries in your campaign.


You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them. When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all. He's the guy who helps you find the enemy.

You choose one additional favored enemy, as well as an associated language, at 6th and 14th level.
At 6 and 14 you'll have played a while and have an idea for where to go with helping him with those choices.

[saucerhead]

This comes from Xanathar's Guide, in the ranger sub-class Gloomstalker. In a world of humans it is a killer ability. You could limit it for a first level character by calling it night-vision and having it only work outside and never indoors or underground. Just a thought.

"UMBRAL SIGHT

At 3rd level, you gain darkvision out to a range of 60
feet. If you already have darkvision from your race, its
range increases by 30 feet.

You are also adept at evading creatures that rely
on darkvision. While in darkness, you are invisible
to any creature that relies on darkvision to see you in
that darkness."

[Puh Laden]

Ah, so the problem is that you have a bunch of humans. Hmm...

I suppose you could break it down into Cultures.

Or you could break it down into something like this:

Favored Combatant:
You have experience with dealing with a particular type of fighting style. When you make an attack against a creature that is a Favored Combatant, you have Advantage on your attack.
Additionally, when they attack you, they have Disadvantage on their attack.

You can apply both Advantage and Disadvantage this way, once each, per every Short Rest or Long Rest.

Favored Combatants types:
Warrior (Melee Combatant)
Scout (Ranged Combatant)
Mage (Casting Combatant)
Exotic (Anything else, like beasts, monsters, or anything that isn't a clear category)

I'm going to use this as an option in games I run. Possibly allowing it to still be based on creature type, but combatant type sounds like an elegant way of making it a good choice no matter the setting.