Spell-less Ranger/ Fighter subclass

[paladinn]

This was inspired by the "subclass that belongs with a different class" thread.

Many of the posts about a spell-less ranger class have concluded that "a spell-less Ranger is a Fighter." I tend to agree. So what would a "Ranger" subclass of Fighter look like?

Using the Fighter class chassis, I would consider features from the following:

The Rogue base class (limited)
The Scout Rogue subclass
The Hunter Ranger subclass
The Scout Fighter UA subclass

I don't want to bring in an extra mechanic like the Battlemaster superiority dice, which seems to be the distinguishing factor of many spell-less Ranger concepts.

Care to chime in?

Thanks in advance!

[Droppeddead]

This was inspired by the "subclass that belongs with a different class" thread.

Many of the posts about a spell-less ranger class have concluded that "a spell-less Ranger is a Fighter." I tend to agree. So what would a "Ranger" subclass of Fighter look like?

Using the Fighter class chassis, I would consider features from the following:

The Rogue base class (limited)
The Scout Rogue subclass
The Hunter Ranger subclass
The Scout Fighter UA subclass

I don't want to bring in an extra mechanic like the Battlemaster superiority dice, which seems to be the distinguishing factor of many spell-less Ranger concepts.

Care to chime in?

Thanks in advance!

I would disagree. A Fighter is someone trained in the art of warfare and/or individual combat to a very high degree. A Ranger is first and foremost an explorer and survival expert. Their martial knowledge comes from the fact that in those enviroments they will sometimes need to defend themselves, and others using deadly force. Therefor, a spell-less Ranger wouldn't be a Fighter. The closest we get is a Scout, which is a very fitting representation of a spell-less Ranger.

[ZRN]

I would disagree. A Fighter is someone trained in the art of warfare and/or individual combat to a very high degree. A Ranger is first and foremost an explorer and survival expert. Their martial knowledge comes from the fact that in those enviroments they will sometimes need to defend themselves, and others using deadly force. Therefor, a spell-less Ranger wouldn't be a Fighter. The closest we get is a Scout, which is a very fitting representation of a spell-less Ranger.

Fighter and rogue multiclass pretty smoothly, so it makes sense to say that if you want to play a "spell-less ranger" you can just mix and match scout rogue with battlemaster fighter.

[Dienekes]

So Fighter class by its nature already has very good combat potential with Action Surge, Fighting Style, and it’s Extra Attacks.

What it doesn’t have is basically anything vaguely related to exploration, tracking, observing, animals, and survival which are all kinda what makes a Ranger a Ranger.

Were I making the Fighter:Ranger I may just give them something like a Hunter’s Mark/Quarry ability or a pet that scales in damage as it levels up just to keep the balance hounds happy. And then everything else goes straight into making nature survival features.

Honestly my first place I’d look would be the Ranger and Druid’s spell list. See what utility spells they have which can be reworked into class features. Something like Goodberry being turned into a forage for healthy food ability. Pass Without Trace refluffed to some sort of ambush leader. Perhaps even drawing inspiration from Locate Object like effects to make a sort of super tracking.

Plus of course additional nature-y skills and maybe expertise on a select few of them.

[paladinn]

So looking at the base Ranger abilities, and thinking of where they might fit in the Fighter archetype features:

Lvl 3 : Favored Foe (from TCoE), Expertise (Canny from TCoE), some form of Primeval Awareness?

Lvl 7 : Favored Foe improvement, Land's Stride

Lvl 10 : Tireless (from TCoE), Hide in Plain Sight

Lvl 15 : Favored Foe improvement

Lvl 18 : Feral Senses

I think this lets the ranger benefit from the fighter's combat abilities, gives a little roguishness, and just enough wilderness stuff. Contemplating swapping out the Primeval Awareness for Tasha's Primal Awareness spells (packaged as class features).