gloryblaze
2021-10-25, 01:11 PM
Ranger Archetype: The Lawman
While cities are often protected by soldiers and knights, there's no better person than a ranger to patrol the wild territories on the fringes of civilization. Many governments hire ranger corps to bring the law to the frontier, relying on these rangers' skill as horsemen, trackers, gunfighters, and detectives to serve them well in law enforcement and paramilitary roles, even in the harshest and most lawless environments.
Lawman Magic:
Starting at 3rd Level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Lawman Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of ranger spells you know.
Lawman Spells
Ranger Level
Spell
3rd
command
5th
find steed
9th
slow
13th
find greater steed
17th
hold monster
Bonus Proficiencies:
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn how to shoot, track, and go undercover. You gain proficiency with firearms, the disguise kit, and the Investigation and Survival skills. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make using Investigation or Survival.
Lawman's Eye:
Also at 3rd level, you've become adept at using your magic to track down fugitives. When you cast a ranger spell of the divination school, you can choose one of the following benefits to apply to it:
If the spell requires concentration, you don't need to concentrate on it, and it instead lasts for its full duration.
You cast the spell without expending a spell slot.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest. If you apply one of these benefits to a spell cast using a 2nd-level spell slot or higher, you must expend a number of uses equal to the spell slot's level.
Rough Rider:
By 7th level, you learn to exploit the size and physicality of any steed you ride. While you're mounted, attacks against you have disadvantage if they were made by a creature smaller than your mount.
Big Iron:
By 11th level, you can gun down an outlaw before they even clear leather. When a creature makes an attack against you, you can use your reaction to make a ranged weapon attack against them. Your attack resolves before the triggering attack.
One Riot, One Ranger:
By 15th level, you are adept at handling crowds of enemies. Whenever a hostile creature targets you with an attack, spell, or other ability, you gain a bonus to your AC and to any saving throw you are forced to make equal to your Wisdom modifier if a different hostile creature has targeted you with an attack, spell, or ability since the start of your last turn.
When designing subclasses for a Wild West setting, it would be downright weird if the Ranger Archetype wasn't chock full of references to the territorial rangers of the Old West, like the Texas Rangers and Arizona Rangers—hence, the Lawman archetype! This is meant to be a mounted ranger, and it follows the usual ranger pattern of offensive feature at 3, defensive feature at 7, offensive feature at 11, defensive feature at 15. The 3rd level feature is meant to let you use hunter's mark without concentration so you can play with some of the ranger's other fun toys, like hail of thorns or ensnaring strike.
While cities are often protected by soldiers and knights, there's no better person than a ranger to patrol the wild territories on the fringes of civilization. Many governments hire ranger corps to bring the law to the frontier, relying on these rangers' skill as horsemen, trackers, gunfighters, and detectives to serve them well in law enforcement and paramilitary roles, even in the harshest and most lawless environments.
Lawman Magic:
Starting at 3rd Level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Lawman Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of ranger spells you know.
Lawman Spells
Ranger Level
Spell
3rd
command
5th
find steed
9th
slow
13th
find greater steed
17th
hold monster
Bonus Proficiencies:
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn how to shoot, track, and go undercover. You gain proficiency with firearms, the disguise kit, and the Investigation and Survival skills. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make using Investigation or Survival.
Lawman's Eye:
Also at 3rd level, you've become adept at using your magic to track down fugitives. When you cast a ranger spell of the divination school, you can choose one of the following benefits to apply to it:
If the spell requires concentration, you don't need to concentrate on it, and it instead lasts for its full duration.
You cast the spell without expending a spell slot.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest. If you apply one of these benefits to a spell cast using a 2nd-level spell slot or higher, you must expend a number of uses equal to the spell slot's level.
Rough Rider:
By 7th level, you learn to exploit the size and physicality of any steed you ride. While you're mounted, attacks against you have disadvantage if they were made by a creature smaller than your mount.
Big Iron:
By 11th level, you can gun down an outlaw before they even clear leather. When a creature makes an attack against you, you can use your reaction to make a ranged weapon attack against them. Your attack resolves before the triggering attack.
One Riot, One Ranger:
By 15th level, you are adept at handling crowds of enemies. Whenever a hostile creature targets you with an attack, spell, or other ability, you gain a bonus to your AC and to any saving throw you are forced to make equal to your Wisdom modifier if a different hostile creature has targeted you with an attack, spell, or ability since the start of your last turn.
When designing subclasses for a Wild West setting, it would be downright weird if the Ranger Archetype wasn't chock full of references to the territorial rangers of the Old West, like the Texas Rangers and Arizona Rangers—hence, the Lawman archetype! This is meant to be a mounted ranger, and it follows the usual ranger pattern of offensive feature at 3, defensive feature at 7, offensive feature at 11, defensive feature at 15. The 3rd level feature is meant to let you use hunter's mark without concentration so you can play with some of the ranger's other fun toys, like hail of thorns or ensnaring strike.