DracoDei
2019-06-13, 05:02 PM
While less complex than many of my ideas, this sub-class still considers the complexity of the material in the PHB to be a floor, rather than a ceiling. Most of this will only come up when leveling up, since it is the large number of options or contingencies for specific cases that generate most of the word-count.
In three locations I include an especial questions to reviewers in double parentheses. The fourth is just a note to myself.
Mama Bear / Papa Wolf
Even rangers who do not choose to spend much time in "civilized" areas often seek to protect those same areas from threats. Others may associate with fae, magical creatures (for instance unicorns), or members of rare (especially endangered) species who they feel are highly prized.
Mama Bears/Papa Wolves are more direct about this protection, for instance, escorting travelling parties through dangerous areas, or serving as informal "body guards" to the aforementioned creatures. Of the latter group some spend most of their time near their charges, and some merely remain available for the creature to run to if they detect a threat to them.
Rarely members of this sub-class will join official body-guard squads to a specific individual or small group, specializing, of course, in times when their charge is in natural areas, but often remaining with them just as much as any other bodyguard. Those who do not usually prefer the title "(Chief) Huntsman" rather than "Guard" for their skill at making sure their charge encounters no misfortune while hunting wild game such as deer, boar, pheasant, turkey, etc.
Still others serve in scouting squads of armies, their abilities directed towards fiercely ensuring that their squadmates will return home alive.
Feral Growl
At 3rd level:
If are not proficient in Intimidate you gain proficiency in it.
If you were already proficient in Intimidate, you gain expertise in it (you double your proficiency modifier for Intimidate checks).
If you already had expertise in Intimidate, you gain proficiency in any skill from the basic ranger class list of skills.
When attempting to Intimidate, you may replace your charisma modifier with your strength or constitution modifier provided the verbal aspect, if any, is no more complex than "Get away from the gnome, you B****!" or "You can not enter here!".
After you have used this modifier substitution ability you may not do so again until you have finished a short or long rest. ((Make this At-Will?))
Vengeance Hunter / Justice Hunt ((Omit?))
Still at 3rd level, you gain advantage on Wisdom(Survival) checks to track any creature that has attacked one or more of your allies that you know well. If you succeed on such a check, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
Deflect or Dispatch
As the final 3rd level feature of this archetype you gain one of the following features of your choice:
Improved Protection Fighting Style When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
You also gain an additional reaction each round that can only be used for this ability.
At 17th level, if you have additional reactions* that could otherwise only be used for opportunity attacks, you may use them for this as well. There is still only one set of additional reactions, and this feature does not increase the number of reactions granted.
*See Drive Away the Mated Dire Foxes (available at 7th or 11th level) and its sequel Drive Away the Jackal Horde (available at 11th level, and only if you already have Drive Away the Mated Dire Foxes).
Guardian's Bite. When you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, you can elect to increase the damage by your ranger class level. You can use this feature a number of times equal to the higher of your Strength or Wisdom modifiers. When you finish a short or long rest, you regain all expended uses.
If you have the Mage Slayer feat then you may only use this feature in combination with it if the spell they are casting would directly harm one of your allies. You do not count as your own ally for this purpose.
Murder* of Crows Defends Their Nests. ((This MAY need serious re-balancing.)) When making ranged attacks at one or more creatures who made a melee attack at one of your allies since the start of your last turn, you add your wisdom modifier to your damage roll(s).
*A flock of crows is also known as a "murder".
At 9th level, this increases to twice your wisdom modifier.
The damage bonus increases to your wisdom SCORE -10. In other words even odd points of wisdom count, rather than being lost in rounding to derive the Wisdom bonus from the Wisdom score.
Passionate Protector
Starting at 7th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice:
Steel Will. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Drive Away the Mated Dire Foxes. You gain an additional reaction each round that may only be used for an opportunity attack.
Pierce the Skin of the Crocodile That Would Lay In Wait to Ambush My Cub as She Drinks.* When making an opportunity attack roll to hit you add your Wisdom modifier.
*Pierce the Crocodile's Skin for short.
Potent Protector
At 11th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice:
Drive Away the Jackal Horde. (Requires Drive Away the Mated Dire Foxes) Your number of additional reactions per round increases to your Wisdom modifier. These may still only be used for opportunity attacks.
Tireless Teeth of the Mother Bear / Papa Wolf. (Requires Guardian's Bite) You may now use Guardian's Bite at will.
Hamstring the Pursuer of My Child. (Requires Murder of Crows Defends Their Nests.) Each attack any other feature of this subclass provides bonuses to that hits reduces the each of the target's speeds (Normal speed, swim speed, fly speed, etc) by 10 feet for 1 round.
Mastery of Basic Protective Technique. You gain any one option that this archetype grants at 3rd or 7th level that you do not already have.
Intercepting Arrows. You may use a reaction to enter "interception mode" provided: You took the Attack action on your turn to only make ranged weapon attacks or do nothing at all and ended your turn holding at least one ranged weapon. This mode lasts until you complete your next action. If you are in interception mode you gain a number of special reactions equal to 1 + the maximum number of ranged weapon attacks you COULD have made, but DIDN'T. Any time you see a projectile (even one that does not involve an attack roll) pass within 20' of you you may use one of these special reactions to try to intercept it. You make a ranged attack on it. If your attack roll beats that of the original attack with that projectile then the attack strikes your own projectile at a point of your choosing along its intended path of travel within 20' of you. If the attack did not originally involve an attack roll (a magic missile or one of the orbs of a Meteor Swarm) then the attacker rolls one for this purpose. Note that in the case of the Meteor Swarm this doesn't keep the orb from exploding, only causes it to explode higher up that it normally would (as it plummets down and strikes your counter-shot, rather than its intended point of explosion). You may only attack a given projectile once with this ability. You may, however react to generate these special reactions at the same instant you then spend one of them to attack a projectile.
Never Too Far From My Brood
At 15th level you learn Helping Hand and Status (see end of this post). These do not count against your spells known and they count as ranger spells for you.
Starting at 15th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice:
Father Wolf Hears His Cubs Cries. You may cast Status (See below) a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Expended uses are regained upon finishing a long rest.
Mother Bird Gathers Her Chicks. You may cast Helping Hand (See below). Each casting generates up to your Wisdom modifier separate hands, each of which may be tasked to find a different person. However only people you know well and are well disposed towards may be sought by the hand(s) and each hand must be assigned to find a specific individual. After using this ability, you must complete a long rest before you may use it again.
Roleplay Note: Despite the names, characters of either gender are equally likely to take each of these.
Protector's Perfection
Also at 15th level, you also gain one of the following features of your choice:
Inescapable Bite. Just before rolling to hit with an opportunity attacks you may choose to gain advantage on it and all further opportunity attacks you make until the start of your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to the higher of your Strength or Dexterity modifiers. When you finish a short or long rest, you regain all expended uses.
GET OFF OF THEM!!!.(Requires Drive Away the Jackal Horde and thus also Drive Away the Mated Dire Foxes.) This technique is more formally known as Brushing Away the Swarming Ants. It uses both your action and your movement for your turn. Move up to half your speed if you wish. Then move up to half your speed. During this second set of movement you are protected against opportunity attacks as if you were using the Disengage action and may make a single melee attack at each enemy that meets all of the following conditions:
They are within your reach at any point during this portion of your movement.
They are currently within their own reach of at least one of your allies.
They made at least one melee attack against your allies (not including yourself) since the end of your last turn.
If you have Guardian's Bite you may use it on the individual attacks of this ability to apply half its normal damage bonus. This consumes uses as normal.
Unerring Beaks of the Murder. (Requires Murder of Crows Defends Their Nests) You add your Wisdom bonus to attack rolls that Murder of Crows Defends Their Nests applies to.
Impenetrable Protection. You gain the Sentinel feat (PHB p.169-170).
Helping Hand
3rd-level Evocation (Ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 miles
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 5 hours
You create the ghostly image of a hand, which you can send to find a creature within 5 miles. You then specify a person (or any creature) by physical description, which can include race, gender, and appearance but not ambiguous factors such as level, alignment, or class. When the description is complete, the hand streaks off in search of a subject that fits the description. The hand then beckons to that creature and leads it to you if the creature is willing to follow.
If the subject is within 1,000 ft the hand finds them in 1 minute. Beyond this range it takes 1 hour per of mile distance (rounded up).
Status
2nd-level Divination
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 hour
This spell only works on willing creatures and beasts of intelligence 3 or less.
You touch a single creature. You are aware of direction and distance to the creature and any conditions affecting them: unharmed, fatigued (including level of fatigue), wounded, incapacitated, staggered, unconscious, dying, nauseated, panicked, stunned, poisoned, diseased, or the like. Examples of conditions it does NOT reveal include charmed, frightened, grappled, prone, and restrained. Once the spell has been cast upon the subject, the distance between them and the caster does not affect the spell as long as they are on the same plane of existence. If a subject leaves the plane, or if it dies, the spell ceases to function for it.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a slot of 3rd level or higher, you may target one additional willing creature for each slot level above 3rd. If you use a slot of at 5th to 7th level then the duration increases to 8 hours. If you use a slot of 8th level the duration increases to 24 hours, and if you use a 9th level spell slot the duration increases to 7 days.
((NOTE TO SELF: Remember to change this in the other place(s) I posted this spell when I have it nailed down.))
In three locations I include an especial questions to reviewers in double parentheses. The fourth is just a note to myself.
Mama Bear / Papa Wolf
Even rangers who do not choose to spend much time in "civilized" areas often seek to protect those same areas from threats. Others may associate with fae, magical creatures (for instance unicorns), or members of rare (especially endangered) species who they feel are highly prized.
Mama Bears/Papa Wolves are more direct about this protection, for instance, escorting travelling parties through dangerous areas, or serving as informal "body guards" to the aforementioned creatures. Of the latter group some spend most of their time near their charges, and some merely remain available for the creature to run to if they detect a threat to them.
Rarely members of this sub-class will join official body-guard squads to a specific individual or small group, specializing, of course, in times when their charge is in natural areas, but often remaining with them just as much as any other bodyguard. Those who do not usually prefer the title "(Chief) Huntsman" rather than "Guard" for their skill at making sure their charge encounters no misfortune while hunting wild game such as deer, boar, pheasant, turkey, etc.
Still others serve in scouting squads of armies, their abilities directed towards fiercely ensuring that their squadmates will return home alive.
Feral Growl
At 3rd level:
If are not proficient in Intimidate you gain proficiency in it.
If you were already proficient in Intimidate, you gain expertise in it (you double your proficiency modifier for Intimidate checks).
If you already had expertise in Intimidate, you gain proficiency in any skill from the basic ranger class list of skills.
When attempting to Intimidate, you may replace your charisma modifier with your strength or constitution modifier provided the verbal aspect, if any, is no more complex than "Get away from the gnome, you B****!" or "You can not enter here!".
After you have used this modifier substitution ability you may not do so again until you have finished a short or long rest. ((Make this At-Will?))
Vengeance Hunter / Justice Hunt ((Omit?))
Still at 3rd level, you gain advantage on Wisdom(Survival) checks to track any creature that has attacked one or more of your allies that you know well. If you succeed on such a check, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
Deflect or Dispatch
As the final 3rd level feature of this archetype you gain one of the following features of your choice:
Improved Protection Fighting Style When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
You also gain an additional reaction each round that can only be used for this ability.
At 17th level, if you have additional reactions* that could otherwise only be used for opportunity attacks, you may use them for this as well. There is still only one set of additional reactions, and this feature does not increase the number of reactions granted.
*See Drive Away the Mated Dire Foxes (available at 7th or 11th level) and its sequel Drive Away the Jackal Horde (available at 11th level, and only if you already have Drive Away the Mated Dire Foxes).
Guardian's Bite. When you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, you can elect to increase the damage by your ranger class level. You can use this feature a number of times equal to the higher of your Strength or Wisdom modifiers. When you finish a short or long rest, you regain all expended uses.
If you have the Mage Slayer feat then you may only use this feature in combination with it if the spell they are casting would directly harm one of your allies. You do not count as your own ally for this purpose.
Murder* of Crows Defends Their Nests. ((This MAY need serious re-balancing.)) When making ranged attacks at one or more creatures who made a melee attack at one of your allies since the start of your last turn, you add your wisdom modifier to your damage roll(s).
*A flock of crows is also known as a "murder".
At 9th level, this increases to twice your wisdom modifier.
The damage bonus increases to your wisdom SCORE -10. In other words even odd points of wisdom count, rather than being lost in rounding to derive the Wisdom bonus from the Wisdom score.
Passionate Protector
Starting at 7th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice:
Steel Will. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Drive Away the Mated Dire Foxes. You gain an additional reaction each round that may only be used for an opportunity attack.
Pierce the Skin of the Crocodile That Would Lay In Wait to Ambush My Cub as She Drinks.* When making an opportunity attack roll to hit you add your Wisdom modifier.
*Pierce the Crocodile's Skin for short.
Potent Protector
At 11th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice:
Drive Away the Jackal Horde. (Requires Drive Away the Mated Dire Foxes) Your number of additional reactions per round increases to your Wisdom modifier. These may still only be used for opportunity attacks.
Tireless Teeth of the Mother Bear / Papa Wolf. (Requires Guardian's Bite) You may now use Guardian's Bite at will.
Hamstring the Pursuer of My Child. (Requires Murder of Crows Defends Their Nests.) Each attack any other feature of this subclass provides bonuses to that hits reduces the each of the target's speeds (Normal speed, swim speed, fly speed, etc) by 10 feet for 1 round.
Mastery of Basic Protective Technique. You gain any one option that this archetype grants at 3rd or 7th level that you do not already have.
Intercepting Arrows. You may use a reaction to enter "interception mode" provided: You took the Attack action on your turn to only make ranged weapon attacks or do nothing at all and ended your turn holding at least one ranged weapon. This mode lasts until you complete your next action. If you are in interception mode you gain a number of special reactions equal to 1 + the maximum number of ranged weapon attacks you COULD have made, but DIDN'T. Any time you see a projectile (even one that does not involve an attack roll) pass within 20' of you you may use one of these special reactions to try to intercept it. You make a ranged attack on it. If your attack roll beats that of the original attack with that projectile then the attack strikes your own projectile at a point of your choosing along its intended path of travel within 20' of you. If the attack did not originally involve an attack roll (a magic missile or one of the orbs of a Meteor Swarm) then the attacker rolls one for this purpose. Note that in the case of the Meteor Swarm this doesn't keep the orb from exploding, only causes it to explode higher up that it normally would (as it plummets down and strikes your counter-shot, rather than its intended point of explosion). You may only attack a given projectile once with this ability. You may, however react to generate these special reactions at the same instant you then spend one of them to attack a projectile.
Never Too Far From My Brood
At 15th level you learn Helping Hand and Status (see end of this post). These do not count against your spells known and they count as ranger spells for you.
Starting at 15th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice:
Father Wolf Hears His Cubs Cries. You may cast Status (See below) a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Expended uses are regained upon finishing a long rest.
Mother Bird Gathers Her Chicks. You may cast Helping Hand (See below). Each casting generates up to your Wisdom modifier separate hands, each of which may be tasked to find a different person. However only people you know well and are well disposed towards may be sought by the hand(s) and each hand must be assigned to find a specific individual. After using this ability, you must complete a long rest before you may use it again.
Roleplay Note: Despite the names, characters of either gender are equally likely to take each of these.
Protector's Perfection
Also at 15th level, you also gain one of the following features of your choice:
Inescapable Bite. Just before rolling to hit with an opportunity attacks you may choose to gain advantage on it and all further opportunity attacks you make until the start of your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to the higher of your Strength or Dexterity modifiers. When you finish a short or long rest, you regain all expended uses.
GET OFF OF THEM!!!.(Requires Drive Away the Jackal Horde and thus also Drive Away the Mated Dire Foxes.) This technique is more formally known as Brushing Away the Swarming Ants. It uses both your action and your movement for your turn. Move up to half your speed if you wish. Then move up to half your speed. During this second set of movement you are protected against opportunity attacks as if you were using the Disengage action and may make a single melee attack at each enemy that meets all of the following conditions:
They are within your reach at any point during this portion of your movement.
They are currently within their own reach of at least one of your allies.
They made at least one melee attack against your allies (not including yourself) since the end of your last turn.
If you have Guardian's Bite you may use it on the individual attacks of this ability to apply half its normal damage bonus. This consumes uses as normal.
Unerring Beaks of the Murder. (Requires Murder of Crows Defends Their Nests) You add your Wisdom bonus to attack rolls that Murder of Crows Defends Their Nests applies to.
Impenetrable Protection. You gain the Sentinel feat (PHB p.169-170).
Helping Hand
3rd-level Evocation (Ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 miles
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 5 hours
You create the ghostly image of a hand, which you can send to find a creature within 5 miles. You then specify a person (or any creature) by physical description, which can include race, gender, and appearance but not ambiguous factors such as level, alignment, or class. When the description is complete, the hand streaks off in search of a subject that fits the description. The hand then beckons to that creature and leads it to you if the creature is willing to follow.
If the subject is within 1,000 ft the hand finds them in 1 minute. Beyond this range it takes 1 hour per of mile distance (rounded up).
Status
2nd-level Divination
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 hour
This spell only works on willing creatures and beasts of intelligence 3 or less.
You touch a single creature. You are aware of direction and distance to the creature and any conditions affecting them: unharmed, fatigued (including level of fatigue), wounded, incapacitated, staggered, unconscious, dying, nauseated, panicked, stunned, poisoned, diseased, or the like. Examples of conditions it does NOT reveal include charmed, frightened, grappled, prone, and restrained. Once the spell has been cast upon the subject, the distance between them and the caster does not affect the spell as long as they are on the same plane of existence. If a subject leaves the plane, or if it dies, the spell ceases to function for it.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a slot of 3rd level or higher, you may target one additional willing creature for each slot level above 3rd. If you use a slot of at 5th to 7th level then the duration increases to 8 hours. If you use a slot of 8th level the duration increases to 24 hours, and if you use a 9th level spell slot the duration increases to 7 days.
((NOTE TO SELF: Remember to change this in the other place(s) I posted this spell when I have it nailed down.))