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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next The Retooled Ranger for 5e: Because Rangin' ain't just Hunting an' Beastin'!



T.G. Oskar
2020-05-04, 05:41 PM
Yes. This is not a drill, this is not a hallucination you're having. I haven't abandoned homebrewing, but I've just kept it to whatever I feel like. Haven't done that a lot nowadays.

That said - there's a rising trend to see how to "fix" the Ranger, and while it's not as bad to work with, it definitely could work a lot better. Even WotC has attempted a lot of fixes to it, as it recognizes it did...wrong. So, you might be asking...well, will you do something? (As in, you asking me if I'll do something.) And the answer is...

...I actually did something before, but it wasn't as great. But, due to the lockdown and utter boredom, I decided to recheck it, using aspects from the Retooled Ranger and the overall class fix...and pretty much ignore them for the most part, except for what actually seems to work.

Now, while I could post a pretty table and stuff, I decided to do something a bit more fancy and creative. And that is...doing it at the Homebrewery. So, instead of showing the table and everything...


How about a pretty link? (https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/TnLyUuqWf)

That said...the explanations for every change will be done, as usual, under a spoiler tag for your benefit.
Proficiencies
The Ranger gains access to Cartographer's Tools (!!) and the Herbalism Kit. The former is basically to work the navigator aspect by allowing them to be the map-maker, while the Herbalism Kit is useful to create not just potions, but natural remedies. They also gain Medicine as a potential skill proficiency, because it's strange not to see Rangers as having natural healing skills.

Natural Explorer
Decided to keep it, but added the caveat that you can replace it after a month of downtime, because...let's face it, one of these days, you won't be crossing forests anymore.

Ranger's Quarry
This is the main change I introduced. Most fixes I've seen resort to the class fix of adding Hunter's Mark as a free, non-concentration effect (i.e. Favored Foe), but while it's pretty creative, it's a copout IMO. It doesn't address the issue with Favored Enemy - meaning, it's a defining trait of the Ranger, no matter what WotC tries to say, but it's too situational. Hence, why I decided - of all possible choices - to reintroduce something that the 4e Ranger (you know, the non-spellcasting one) had, and that's Hunter's Quarry. (Note that also the PF Ranger, the 1st Edition one at least, and in a way the 2e one with Hunt Prey, has it.) In essence - you spend your bonus action to "tag" one creature, and that creature is easier for the Ranger to pursue. The key element here is that the Ranger also gets a damage boost a la Sneak Attack, which only triggers once per turn (meaning, it triggers on an Opportunity Attack). This change makes the Ranger specifically tailored to fight one creature against all others, but still capable of changing their primary target in mid-battle. The effects last for an entire day, or until you change your "tagged" creature at least. Damage-wise, it may seem more powerful than Sneak Attack at first...and in a way, it is, but it's mostly 1 extra point of damage on average, the extra damage doesn't grow as fast as Sneak Attack, and while it's easier to apply than SA, it also applies to one creature at a time (with some exceptions that you'll see later). This, alongside a specific trait you'll see later, makes the Ranger a bit more Roguish.

Ranger Trail Signs
This is a ribbon ability I decided to add them, because it fits their personality as trailblazers and explorers. This functions in a way like Thieves' Cant, but it applies mostly to informing other travelers that may be aware of danger or supplies. It makes Rangers feel more community-minded. To be honest, I found the idea that they don't have this kind of ribbon ability strange.

Spellcasting
Mostly remained the same, but there's one BIG change - I decided to return Rangers to be prepared spellcasters. To be honest, I insist that Paladins should have been the spontaneous spellcasters, because their powers are granted by the forces of Good, whereas Rangers should have been the prepared casters, because they're supposed to be the people that need to be prepared for everything. Their spell list also improved, adding a few trap spells (seriously, no Entangle), a lot of nice buffs (like Blur and Haste), solid movement spells (like Dimension Door and Thunder Step) and even a few attack spells (again, Thunder Step). This should make them very interesting casters.

Expertise
Indeed - Rangers get Expertise, again for that "roguish" feel. They only get it once, though, but it also applies to Cartographer's Supplies or the Herbalism Kit.

Camouflage, Land's Stride, Feral Senses
Because I decided that Hide in Plain Sight is pretty pointless, and because I don't wanna steal the Gnome's Fade Away feat spark (then again, it's only 1/day, so it's not like there's too much sparkle to steal), I decided to lower Vanish to 6th level and merge the two. That makes the Ranger brutal at stealth, which is great if you're a hunter-tracker. Land's Stride is boosted to 10th level rather than keep it at 8th level, replacing Hide in Plain Sight, whereas Feral Senses was dropped to 14th level so it can see a bit more use. Considering that both Natural Explorer and Favored Enemy (see below) both increase at the same level, contrasting to the original, there's no need to pad 18th level with anything.

Favored Enemy
Alright, so I didn't drop Favored Enemy completely. However, I decided to tag it to the Ranger's Quarry feature, in that it treats creatures of a specific type as if they're always "tagged", meaning they can add their extra damage to creatures of that type, and they always get the benefits of advantage to certain Wisdom checks, in addition to Intelligence checks. The language bit was also improved, allowing the Ranger to learn one of their languages or allow a rudimentary form of communication akin to Wild Empathy (remember that feature!?), tying it to the Ranger Trail Signs feature. This makes Favored Enemy far more interesting.

Adaptability
While boring, and I'll freely admit it, Adaptability is quite practical. Sure, reducing the time required to switch between favored enemies or terrains to 1 week may not seem like much, but having a "floating" favored enemy or natural terrain does, because it means you're always prepared for the journey ahead.

HUNTER
The Hunter was almost completely overhauled, but if you notice closely, it remains the same. I like the modularity of the Hunter, but I felt some of the choices were duds, so I played with exchanging them and see if they can make any sense.

Hunter's Prey
Giant Killer is gone. Colossus Slayer now only applies to Large or larger creatures, but since you have Ranger's Quarry as your main damage source, it's less painful than before. (Note that Hunter's Mark remains as a spell.) Horde Breaker remains as-is, potentially more powerful if combined with a later Hunter subclass feature. Stand Against the Tide replaces Giant Killer, using the same trigger as the original ability while granting the benefit of Giant Killer. All in all, they should be competitive options now.

Defensive Tactics
The options from the original Hunter's 7th level and 15th level subclass features were merged, because it's kinda silly to wait for 15th level to get stuff like Uncanny Dodge and Evasion. Again, Stand Against the Tide was made an offensive option, so it was dropped. Almost all options got improved too:
Escape the Horde now allows you to Disengage as a bonus action, with a sweet speed boost.
Evasion remains the same, but can be acquired earlier.
Multiattack Defense is now tied to your proficiency bonus. While you don't get a +4 at the start, you end up with a +6 bonus to your AC, which is huge.
Steel Will now acts exactly like the Gloom Stalker's Iron Mind subclass feature, because it's pretty awesome.
Uncanny Dodge behaves as usual.

Multiattack
Mostly remained the same, except a new option, Rapid Throw, was added in case you like throwing weapons. (It should do nicely if Thrown Weapon Fighting from the class overhaul UA appears one of these days.)

Hunter's Instinct
Because Superior Hunter's Defense was dropped, this is the new feature, and it's a very potent one - you can tag two creatures at once, and you can apply your Ranger's Quarry damage to two creatures at once (kinda like the Scout Rogue's subclass feature). As you can see, this works wonders with Horde Breaker, and since it applies to "tagged" creatures, it explicitly works with Favored Enemy.

BEASTMASTER
While I've defended that Beastmasters have very solid beast companions that can work super well, I do admit that they are still bound. This revision should allow beast companions to shine.

Beast Companion
This feature got a serious rehaul, to make it similar to how WotC is dealing with companion creatures. First and foremost, beasts are meatier - they still have 4x the ranger's Hit Points, but they also add their Constitution modifier and the Ranger's Wisdom modifier. This can add about 2 to 5 HP overall. Second, beast companions can get additional proficiencies if they lack them - Dex or Wis saving throws if they have none, and your choice of Athletics, Perception, Stealth or Survival if they lack skill proficiencies. Third, and perhaps the most important change, beasts' actions now only require your bonus action - same as Wildfire Spirits, Steel Defenders, Homunculus Servants and so on. (They still can't use Multiattack until much later, tho.) Fourth, the beast has slightly more synergy with the Ranger when wandering in favored terrains. And finally, and what I consider the largest change ever - you can get better beast companions as you gain levels. While you start with the basic beast companions the vanilla Beastmaster get, you eventually gain access to more potent ones, including but not limited to Bears. Because I believe Rangers should have bears as beast companions at some point. Again - this is a massive boost to the feature, increasing both the breadth and potential of the Beast Companion, while still keeping it pretty grounded.

Bestial Potency
Replacing the now-redundant Exceptional Training, this feature is a much-needed boost, allowing your beast's attacks to be considered magical (hey, if the Moon Druid's Wild Shape can do it, and if virtually every "pet" companion manages to get this, why not your beast companion?) This also helps creatures such as Panthers, Tigers and so forth with their traits, and also makes Giant Poisonous Snakes and Giant Wolf Spiders insanely good, as their poisons remain quite relevant and dangerous.

Coordinated Attack
While functionally similar to Bestial Fury, this feature uses the name from the Revised Ranger version. In essence, it's Pack Tactics added to Bestial Fury. However, one thing I liked was the additional option to make Two-Weapon Rangers relevant, allowing their beast to get a free attack when the Ranger uses its bonus action to make an additional attack. Two-Weapon warriors don't get that much love, and I figure this could make them more useful. (It also makes the Ranger get four attacks almost every time, making them almost as dangerous as Monks and 20th-level Fighters.)

Share Spells
Remains the same. Why change what works?

Anyways...as usual: questions? Comments? Too OP for your tastes? Needs more work?

Note that I haven't dealt with the Swarmkeeper or the XGtE subclasses (...technically...?) The latter because they're published stuff that should fit nicely in this revision without much trouble, and the former because...it's not exactly official? (Though it'd be pretty fun to work with!)Though, to be honest, I did rework Horizon Walker, because Planar Warrior is pretty painful to work with, and one of the spells was added to the Ranger spell list, so it needs a change.

aimlessPolymath
2020-05-04, 07:48 PM
The right column on the second page is offscreen for me.

T.G. Oskar
2020-05-14, 08:40 PM
The right column on the second page is offscreen for me.

Hmm...I checked the link and the original page and everything seems in order. Maybe it's the screen resolution or something? I often did the table and contents here, so it's actually the first time I deal with The Homebrewery; after all, I like the format, and it looks nice when setting as a PDF or printing. Check if it's fixed now?

aimlessPolymath
2020-05-14, 08:50 PM
The screen resolution suggestion did the trick; I zoomed in and it's fixed now.