What if Rangers got a little more magic

[Saelethil]

This afternoon I was thinking about Rangers and spellcasting. I know there are a lot of opinions about whether rangers should have spells at all but that's not what I'm here for.
If you want to play the spell-less nature person the Scout Rogue works pretty well, or the Battlemaster with the Skill Expert feat, or whatever with the Outlander background. Not to say there aren't fun looking homebrews for spell-less Rangers but these work pretty well for me. For a slight step up from that I made the Woodland Wanderer fighter subclass that fits my personal concept of Ranger pretty well. A step up from that and you have the actual Ranger class which, don't get me wrong, can be fun and thematic and the Tasha's options opened up some choices that I like. However... I have a problem with them being a spells known class. I'm fine with making them prepared casters like the other half-casters and Wisdom casters but I enjoy the design concept of them just picking up tricks that will be useful for survival, travel, and ambushing so here's my thought. Give them a spellbook and ritual casting. Obviously a couple of their features may need to be moved around or adjusted for balance but I think it fits the original theme while still giving a bit more flexibility and utility. You could give them the spellbook at 1st level with 2 1st level Ritual spells in it then at level 2 they would get to add 2 more spell to it and they would begin acquiring spell slots at the normal progression, after this you add 1 spell from the Ranger list to your spellbook at every level up and can prepare Wis. mod + half Ranger level every day (I think I might prefer this). Or you could give them the Artificer slot/cantrip progression from level 1, starting with a spellbook containing 4 spells with 1 added at each level up (same preparation rule as before) with a newly curated list of cantrips from the druid and wizard lists. Either way, if they come across a spell scroll from their list they would be able to study that "trick" and use it later.

Now, this feels like a pretty substantial change which would likely require some adjustments to other abilities, first of which would be having the spells given by subclasses be added to the spellbook instead of always being known. I would probably also expand the Ranger's spell list even further to include spells that wilderness guides and scouts would have figured out, such as Find Familiar and Tiny Hut, but I've been thinking about doing that anyway.
So what do y'all think? How much (if anything) would need to be shaken up/trimmed to keep things balanced after giving Ranger's a spellbook and ritual casting? What spells might you want to add to their spell list?
The spells that I would think about adding would be those that help with scouting, ambushing, being a guide through the wilderness, or that could give them more Druidic flair in combat without feeling too far out of the traditional Ranger's wheelhouse. Most Ranger spells come from the druid and wizard lists so I've just gone over those. A few of these don't quite fit these parameters but felt like something they might have figured out anyway so I threw them on the pile. If a spell seems like an improved version of one they already have on their list its probably worth adding to their options in my opinion.

1st level
-Comprehend Languages
-Create or Destroy Water
-Expeditious Retreat
-Faerie Fire
-Find Familiar
-Illusory Script

2nd level
-Alter Self
-Flock of Familiars
-Gentle Repose
-Kinetic Jaunt
-Misty Step
-Moonbeam
-Skywrite
-Spider Climb
-Warding Wind
-Web

3rd level
-Catnap
-Dispel Magic
-Erupting Earth
-Haste
-Leomund’s Tiny Hut
-Phantom Steed
-Sending
-Tongues

4th level
-Banishment
-Charm Monster
-Elemental Bane
-Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound
-Mordenkainen’s Private Sanctum

5th level
-Antilife Shell
-Awaken
-Cloudkill
-Far Step
-Hold Monster
-Legend Lore
-Rary's Telepathic Bond
-Reincarnate
-Transmute Rock

[Skrum]

Hmm I've personally never liked ranger spellcasting. Each time I've made a ranger build, the spells always feel very artificial to the concept. I end up reflavoring stuff to be more subtle.

Not really sure how to do that, though, without giving them an entire different set of spells that are more....ranger-y.

Haven't really thought it out, but I'm kinda liking the idea of giving them a spellcasting set that's closer to the tomb-lock. Several rituals to do their subtle nature magic with, and limited slots to do really cool, sword-magic type stuff with.

[heavyfuel]

The problem with the Ranger (in regards to spells, at least) isn't that they don't have enough spell on their spell list, it's that they get next to none spells known, especially when you consider the few """mandatory""" ones, like Hunter's Mark, and Pass Without a Trace.

While I don't think the Ranger's problem is "not magic enough", if you decide to go about that route, I suggest extra spells known rather than an expanded list

[Kane0]

So if you take a look at Tashas, Rangers can trade Primeval Awareness for Speak with Animals, Beast Sense, Speak with Plants, Locate Creature and Commune with Nature at the appropriate levels, with a free casting of each. This puts them close to even with the Paladin/Artificer and their bonus spells via subclass (which some Rangers can also benefit from) without actually needing a good Wisdom.

As far as changes go, giving them Wizard-style Ritual casting would be fine, but I prefer other ways. I swap Rangers over from spells known to spells prepared (half level + Wis), and I also make a few adjustments to some of the more lacklustre Ranger spells plus adding some new ones (Obscure Camp, Conjure Raft, Discern Weakness, Rope Bridge, Safeguard Shelter).

If you are going ahead with this, one way to handle it would be to give the Ritual book as a replacement for their Primeval Awareness feature, and have those rituals go from the Druid spell list. That way the Ranger's other casting is completely unaffected (saving you problems with subclass bonus spells) and this option does not stack with Tasha's Primal Awareness.

[JonBeowulf]

A couple years back one of my players wanted to play a ranger w/ more magic, so I copied the way bonus spells are handed out to clerics and paladins. He got a few additional spells and I didn't have to change anything else.

[Saelethil]

Hmm I've personally never liked ranger spellcasting. Each time I've made a ranger build, the spells always feel very artificial to the concept. I end up reflavoring stuff to be more subtle.

Not really sure how to do that, though, without giving them an entire different set of spells that are more....ranger-y.

Haven't really thought it out, but I'm kinda liking the idea of giving them a spellcasting set that's closer to the tomb-lock. Several rituals to do their subtle nature magic with, and limited slots to do really cool, sword-magic type stuff with.

Yeah, there are a lot of ideas about what a Ranger should be doing. Tomelock style casting would be another fun and interesting way of going about it that I'm sure would hit the nail on the head for some people. When I think of a non-D&D Ranger it would usually be some combination of Scout/Battlemaster but I like the flavor of the 5e Ranger even if I might have given it a different name and made the base "Ranger" very differently. FWIW, I've heard that one of the original design goals when they made the Ranger list was for them to look less overtly magical. That's just what I've heard and I haven't fact checked so take that with a grain of salt but I think you're on to something.


The problem with the Ranger (in regards to spells, at least) isn't that they don't have enough spell on their spell list, it's that they get next to none spells known, especially when you consider the few """mandatory""" ones, like Hunter's Mark, and Pass Without a Trace.

While I don't think the Ranger's problem is "not magic enough", if you decide to go about that route, I suggest extra spells known rather than an expanded list

Sorry if my OP wasn't clear. The expanded spell list was a related note that I tacked on at the end. The main change would be giving them a spellbook and ritual casting which should allow for more varied spell choices as well as encourage taking some utility rituals. As far as Hunter's Mark, I really liked the UA Favored Foe and wish it would have made it into Tasha's.


So if you take a look at Tashas, Rangers can trade Primeval Awareness for Speak with Animals, Beast Sense, Speak with Plants, Locate Creature and Commune with Nature at the appropriate levels, with a free casting of each. This puts them close to even with the Paladin/Artificer and their bonus spells via subclass (which some Rangers can also benefit from) without actually needing a good Wisdom.

As far as changes go, giving them Wizard-style Ritual casting would be fine, but I prefer other ways. I swap Rangers over from spells known to spells prepared (half level + Wis), and I also make a few adjustments to some of the more lacklustre Ranger spells plus adding some new ones (Obscure Camp, Conjure Raft, Discern Weakness, Rope Bridge, Safeguard Shelter).

If you are going ahead with this, one way to handle it would be to give the Ritual book as a replacement for their Primeval Awareness feature, and have those rituals go from the Druid spell list. That way the Ranger's other casting is completely unaffected (saving you problems with subclass bonus spells) and this option does not stack with Tasha's Primal Awareness.

I do like the Primal Awareness feature from Tasha's. In fact, the Tasha's options are what got me thinking about having Rangers lean more heavily into their spells. If I were to implement this I would probably do away with Primal/Primeval Awareness. Looking at their current list they have a lot in common with both the Druid and Wizard lists and I enjoy the idea of them being the middle ground between Fighter, Rogue, Druid, and Wizard. I think Making Rangers prepared casters instead of known is the simplest solution but the more I think about it the more I like the idea of them figuring out a variety of magic and being able to prepare from the list they know instead of being able to tap directly into the source. I don't think I've seen this idea before so maybe its just ridiculous and should be thrown in the bin with my other tired ramblings to be readdressed later or forgotten.

Unfortunately I'm unlikely to get to playtest this so its almost entirely theoretical for me.

[Quietus]

One thing that constantly bugs me is the cantrip fighting style is so bad if you want to lean into being a primarily magic user. A house rule I add for Druidic Warrior style is that if you take a cantrip that does damage, you add your wisdom to damage with that cantrip. Opens up a little more usefulness and a more valuable caster feel.

[Leon]

As the class is written i feel is fine, they are more a utility magic class as in they have useful things to augment what else they do and its not the main event for them, if you feel the need to have cantrips there is a fighting style that covers that but by and large its in a reasonable place. Really the only thing they need is less Concentration spells or some of those that are it not being so.

[Kane0]

One thing that constantly bugs me is the cantrip fighting style is so bad if you want to lean into being a primarily magic user. A house rule I add for Druidic Warrior style is that if you take a cantrip that does damage, you add your wisdom to damage with that cantrip. Opens up a little more usefulness and a more valuable caster feel.

*Writes that down*

[Amnestic]

*Writes that down*

Yeah I'll take that. Might do it for Blessed Warrior on Paladins too, though I don't think it'd make them any more likely to pick it up.

[Willie the Duck]

Hmm I've personally never liked ranger spellcasting. Each time I've made a ranger build, the spells always feel very artificial to the concept. I end up reflavoring stuff to be more subtle.
I never had a problem with the AD&D or 3E rangers or paladins (or basic paladins) and their spellcasting. Getting aside the 'Yes, this was initially an Aragorn analog and they just didn't have a skill system at the time. It has evolved since then.' issue, I just considered them their own thing, and if they pick up some (magical) tricks along the way to the upper power levels, no biggie. With 5e, both the ranger and paladin as 1/2 casters (starting at L2) feels like a very different beast. One that is fine as its' own thing (again), but not the same as the rangers and paladins of old.

To the OP -- I tend to agree that the current ranger has some spell-casting issues. Ritual Caster (druid and wizard) would open that up a bit. As would other spell options. I really think they could use some more 'true utility' spells like Spider Climb and See Invisible -- if only to help the situation of parties without 1/level casters (you could actually have a crew of paladins and rangers and artificers and maybe EKs and ATs instead of non-casting martials and then cleric and wizard, and the game play relatively the same).

I've played a hexblood ranger who went on to grab Fey- and Shadow-touched (for Bless, Disguise Self, Hex, Invisibility, Misty Step, and Silent Image) and the result was a significantly more caster-y feeling ranger. It worked because I had good rolls for stats, having the same concept baked into the ranger (or a subclass) would be interesting


Haven't really thought it out, but I'm kinda liking the idea of giving them a spellcasting set that's closer to the tomb-lock. Several rituals to do their subtle nature magic with, and limited slots to do really cool, sword-magic type stuff with.
I think the whole Warlock-esque build-a-bear model would have worked great for rangers.


One thing that constantly bugs me is the cantrip fighting style is so bad if you want to lean into being a primarily magic user. A house rule I add for Druidic Warrior style is that if you take a cantrip that does damage, you add your wisdom to damage with that cantrip. Opens up a little more usefulness and a more valuable caster feel.
So kinda what magic stone and shillelagh already do, but you get to do it with the other options? I am rather partial to a 'Johnny sticks&stones' character, but produce flame is also rather iconic

[Khrysaes]

Yeah I'll take that. Might do it for Blessed Warrior on Paladins too, though I don't think it'd make them any more likely to pick it up.

With Tasha's Fighters get Martial Versatility at 4th level. I allow EKs to change their fighting style to a Blessed Warrior/Druidic Warrior option, but with wizard cantrips.

[Quietus]

*Writes that down*


Yeah I'll take that. Might do it for Blessed Warrior on Paladins too, though I don't think it'd make them any more likely to pick it up.

Please do! I do the same for Blessed Warrior, but this thread wasn't about Paladins so I left it off. Definitely didn't simply forget the name of that fighting style when writing that and bail out, absolutely not! :smalltongue:


So kinda what magic stone and shillelagh already do, but you get to do it with the other options? I am rather partial to a 'Johnny sticks&stones' character, but produce flame is also rather iconic

Magic Stone and Shillelagh are great for doing this, but their action economy makes things weird. Why Magic Stone when you can just fire your longbow? And what about those Ranger classes that are relying on their bonus action for their subclass? Beastmaster, Drakewarden, and Horizon Walker all come to mind, even disregarding whether you're using Hunter's Mark.

I originally came to this thought of adding wis to damage with Druidic Warrior cantrips, because I am playing a Beastmaster, with the Tasha's Primal Beast. It really incentivizes you to raise your Wisdom, since the Primal Beast's attacks run off of your spellcasting attack mod. I found myself wanting to lean into that, raise Wisdom first/entirely over Dex, and lean into summon spells and the like. But it's really hard to convince yourself to do the Magic Stone dance, going back and forth between attack/beast attack/bonus action magic stone -> 2x attack/bonus action beast attack -> repeat. Using Produce Flame, or Primal Savagery, would have paired well with a Primal Beast/summoned beast setup, even if it would threaten to fall slightly behind in tier2 damage over a subpar archery setup. And that's before you consider some of the other tricks Beastmasters can do with Shared Spells, which lets you do a few silly things.

[Kane0]

Using Produce Flame, or Primal Savagery, would have paired well with a Primal Beast/summoned beast setup, even if it would threaten to fall slightly behind in tier2 damage over a subpar archery setup. And that's before you consider some of the other tricks Beastmasters can do with Shared Spells, which lets you do a few silly things.

Yes when the style first came out someone pointed out Primal Savagery + Share spells, which caught my interest but I haven't had a chance to try as yet.

[Mastikator]

IMO they should be spells prepared, like paladin. Number of spells prepared being low is fine if you can change out a dud on a long rest rather than on a level up.

[Willie the Duck]

Magic Stone and Shillelagh are great for doing this, but their action economy makes things weird. Why Magic Stone when you can just fire your longbow? And what about those Ranger classes that are relying on their bonus action for their subclass? Beastmaster, Drakewarden, and Horizon Walker all come to mind, even disregarding whether you're using Hunter's Mark.

There could be some edge-benefits (you'd need a way to keep them at the ready, but in theory you could use your magic stones while still holding your shield), or a thematic benefit (get some glamoured armor and be that wild hermit that survives in Owlbear-infested woods with just sticks and stones), but the primary reason for a ranger to be using Magic Stone and Shillelagh would be so they could stick with a 14 Dex (assuming medium armor) and just power-crank that Wis up to 20. It's never going to keep pace with a (ex) Sharpshooting Dex-based ranger with Hunter's Mark and bonus action effects, but then again it's not really meant to. Given how few Ranger spells are 'save vs.' or 'spell attack'-style, it's kinda niche. Best archetype I would think would be fey wanderer, plus any build where you get additional spells (ranger/druid, Fey/Shadow-touched, or similar).


I originally came to this thought of adding wis to damage with Druidic Warrior cantrips, because I am playing a Beastmaster, with the Tasha's Primal Beast. It really incentivizes you to raise your Wisdom, since the Primal Beast's attacks run off of your spellcasting attack mod. I found myself wanting to lean into that, raise Wisdom first/entirely over Dex, and lean into summon spells and the like. But it's really hard to convince yourself to do the Magic Stone dance, going back and forth between attack/beast attack/bonus action magic stone -> 2x attack/bonus action beast attack -> repeat. Using Produce Flame, or Primal Savagery, would have paired well with a Primal Beast/summoned beast setup, even if it would threaten to fall slightly behind in tier2 damage over a subpar archery setup. And that's before you consider some of the other tricks Beastmasters can do with Shared Spells, which lets you do a few silly things.

That's definitely a cool concept, and one would be hard-pressed to say it would be overpowered with an extra +3-5 damage per round from the ranger (deliberately forgoing the benefits of being a multi-attack class)'s normal action attack.

[Quietus]

Yes when the style first came out someone pointed out Primal Savagery + Share spells, which caught my interest but I haven't had a chance to try as yet.

That's part of the plan. Primal Savagery and Produce Flame both work that way. If you can get a Wis-powered Sorcerer/Wizard cantrip (via Arcana cleric dip, or something like the new Mordenkainen's version of Kobold), you can also use Lightning Lure or Sword Burst. And if you can somehow get your Primal Beast to have proficiency with a weapon, the blade cantrips join the crew. I've been idly toying with the idea of building this out for an entry in the Eccentric and Effective Builds thread.



There could be some edge-benefits (you'd need a way to keep them at the ready, but in theory you could use your magic stones while still holding your shield), or a thematic benefit (get some glamoured armor and be that wild hermit that survives in Owlbear-infested woods with just sticks and stones), but the primary reason for a ranger to be using Magic Stone and Shillelagh would be so they could stick with a 14 Dex (assuming medium armor) and just power-crank that Wis up to 20. It's never going to keep pace with a (ex) Sharpshooting Dex-based ranger with Hunter's Mark and bonus action effects, but then again it's not really meant to. Given how few Ranger spells are 'save vs.' or 'spell attack'-style, it's kinda niche. Best archetype I would think would be fey wanderer, plus any build where you get additional spells (ranger/druid, Fey/Shadow-touched, or similar).



That's definitely a cool concept, and one would be hard-pressed to say it would be overpowered with an extra +3-5 damage per round from the ranger (deliberately forgoing the benefits of being a multi-attack class)'s normal action attack.

You can theoretically use Magic Stones with Sharpshooter, if you launch them from a sling - you can even get any +x bonus the sling offers. This could absolutely work with one of the subclasses that doesn't rely on its bonus action. You could even use the Archery fighting style to compound on top of this. I just get tunnel vision because my specific experience is with Beastmaster in particular.

[Kane0]

That's part of the plan. Primal Savagery and Produce Flame both work that way. If you can get a Wis-powered Sorcerer/Wizard cantrip (via Arcana cleric dip, or something like the new Mordenkainen's version of Kobold), you can also use Lightning Lure or Sword Burst. And if you can somehow get your Primal Beast to have proficiency with a weapon, the blade cantrips join the crew. I've been idly toying with the idea of building this out for an entry in the Eccentric and Effective Builds thread.


Only real problem is there isnt much variation you can put into the build, since beastmaster scales your pet based off ranger level and share spells kicks in at 15. It mostly comes down to race, stat/asi spread and if you choose to MC in tier 4.

[Aalbatr0ss]

IMO they should be spells prepared, like paladin. Number of spells prepared being low is fine if you can change out a dud on a long rest rather than on a level up.

I've let the hunter ranger have a SINGLE prepared spell, allowing them to swap out one primal awareness spell per day. It helps a lot. There are so many situational spells on the ranger list that it just makes zero sense to commit to for a level. Being able to take Animal Messenger, Locate Object, Protection from Poison, Snare on the day you think you might need it makes sense. Actually committing to these for a level? No way.

Letting ALL the primal awareness slots be changeable would probably be a bit much, but there is half the ranger spell list that I'm convinced no-one ever uses.

[Quietus]

Only real problem is there isnt much variation you can put into the build, since beastmaster scales your pet based off ranger level and share spells kicks in at 15. It mostly comes down to race, stat/asi spread and if you choose to MC in tier 4.

I am well aware. There's plenty of interesting things that can be done with a single class setup - see the Wood Elf Commando from that thread - but I've been toying with how exactly I would want to make this interesting and different up until that point.

[BoutsofInsanity]

This afternoon I was thinking about Rangers and spellcasting. I know there are a lot of opinions about whether rangers should have spells at all but that's not what I'm here for.
If you want to play the spell-less nature person the Scout Rogue works pretty well, or the Battlemaster with the Skill Expert feat, or whatever with the Outlander background. Not to say there aren't fun looking homebrews for spell-less Rangers but these work pretty well for me. For a slight step up from that I made the Woodland Wanderer fighter subclass that fits my personal concept of Ranger pretty well. A step up from that and you have the actual Ranger class which, don't get me wrong, can be fun and thematic and the Tasha's options opened up some choices that I like. However... I have a problem with them being a spells known class. I'm fine with making them prepared casters like the other half-casters and Wisdom casters but I enjoy the design concept of them just picking up tricks that will be useful for survival, travel, and ambushing so here's my thought. Give them a spellbook and ritual casting. Obviously a couple of their features may need to be moved around or adjusted for balance but I think it fits the original theme while still giving a bit more flexibility and utility. You could give them the spellbook at 1st level with 2 1st level Ritual spells in it then at level 2 they would get to add 2 more spell to it and they would begin acquiring spell slots at the normal progression, after this you add 1 spell from the Ranger list to your spellbook at every level up and can prepare Wis. mod + half Ranger level every day (I think I might prefer this). Or you could give them the Artificer slot/cantrip progression from level 1, starting with a spellbook containing 4 spells with 1 added at each level up (same preparation rule as before) with a newly curated list of cantrips from the druid and wizard lists. Either way, if they come across a spell scroll from their list they would be able to study that "trick" and use it later.

Now, this feels like a pretty substantial change which would likely require some adjustments to other abilities, first of which would be having the spells given by subclasses be added to the spellbook instead of always being known. I would probably also expand the Ranger's spell list even further to include spells that wilderness guides and scouts would have figured out, such as Find Familiar and Tiny Hut, but I've been thinking about doing that anyway.
So what do y'all think? How much (if anything) would need to be shaken up/trimmed to keep things balanced after giving Ranger's a spellbook and ritual casting? What spells might you want to add to their spell list?
The spells that I would think about adding would be those that help with scouting, ambushing, being a guide through the wilderness, or that could give them more Druidic flair in combat without feeling too far out of the traditional Ranger's wheelhouse. Most Ranger spells come from the druid and wizard lists so I've just gone over those. A few of these don't quite fit these parameters but felt like something they might have figured out anyway so I threw them on the pile. If a spell seems like an improved version of one they already have on their list its probably worth adding to their options in my opinion.

1st level
-Comprehend Languages
-Create or Destroy Water
-Expeditious Retreat
-Faerie Fire
-Find Familiar
-Illusory Script

2nd level
-Alter Self
-Flock of Familiars
-Gentle Repose
-Kinetic Jaunt
-Misty Step
-Moonbeam
-Skywrite
-Spider Climb
-Warding Wind
-Web

3rd level
-Catnap
-Dispel Magic
-Erupting Earth
-Haste
-Leomund’s Tiny Hut
-Phantom Steed
-Sending
-Tongues

4th level
-Banishment
-Charm Monster
-Elemental Bane
-Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound
-Mordenkainen’s Private Sanctum

5th level
-Antilife Shell
-Awaken
-Cloudkill
-Far Step
-Hold Monster
-Legend Lore
-Rary's Telepathic Bond
-Reincarnate
-Transmute Rock


I like where your heads at right? I think Rangers could use a bit more magic. I will say, after Tasha's especially, Rangers are currently very, very strong in Tier's 2 to 3 with the right item support. So I'm hesitant to give them more "Combat" Power.

What I would like to see is a few high level spells like Warlocks get, where they can one a day them that enable travel. I would be thinking things like...


Teleport
Plane Shift
Teleportation Circle
Transport Via Plants



along with things like

Legend Lore
Scrying



and other spells that determine where a creature is. Something shouldn't be able to plane shift or teleport away from a Ranger if they are being hunted. Especially at higher levels. I'd like to see some very specific, very limited spells that Rangers could opt into if the DM is running a higher magic game.

[Jervis]

The problem with the Ranger (in regards to spells, at least) isn't that they don't have enough spell on their spell list, it's that they get next to none spells known, especially when you consider the few """mandatory""" ones, like Hunter's Mark, and Pass Without a Trace.

While I don't think the Ranger's problem is "not magic enough", if you decide to go about that route, I suggest extra spells known rather than an expanded list

That feeling when rangers have almost as many spells known as a sorcerer. When that first clicked with me I realized just how bad sorcerers have it.

[loki_ragnarock]

That feeling when rangers have almost as many spells known as a sorcerer. When that first clicked with me I realized just how bad sorcerers have it.

It is my biggest pet peeve about sorcerers. Phenomenal cosmic power, itty bitty living space.

(And the phenomenal cosmic power is mostly theoretical.)


I've let the hunter ranger have a SINGLE prepared spell, allowing them to swap out one primal awareness spell per day. It helps a lot. There are so many situational spells on the ranger list that it just makes zero sense to commit to for a level. Being able to take Animal Messenger, Locate Object, Protection from Poison, Snare on the day you think you might need it makes sense. Actually committing to these for a level? No way.

Letting ALL the primal awareness slots be changeable would probably be a bit much, but there is half the ranger spell list that I'm convinced no-one ever uses.
That's the kind of lateral thinking I appreciate. Threads the needle of enhancing utility without making things too samey.