Midnight Ranger

[Harkone]

Inspired by the Midnight setting, here's a new take on the Ranger.

RANGER

HD: d8
Base Attack Bonus: +1
Favored Saving Throws: Fortitude and Reflex

Class Skills (6+Int): Balance, Climb, Craft, Escape Artist, Handle Animal, Heal, Hide, Jump, Knowledge: Dungeoneering, Knowledge: Geography, Knowledge: Nature, Listen, Move Silently, Profession, Ride, Search, Spot, Survival, Swim, Tumble, Use Rope

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Proficient in all simple and martial weapons; proficient in light armor and shields.

Class Abilities:

1st: 1st Favored Enemy
Bonus Feat: Track

2nd: Special Ability

3rd: Skirmish: +1d6

4th: Skirmisher Feat

5th: 2nd Favored Enemy
Special Ability

6th: Skirmish: +2d6

7th: Skirmisher Feat

8th: Special Ability

9th: Skirmish: +3d6

10th: 3rd Favored Enemy
Skirmisher Feat

11th: Special Ability

12th: Skirmish: +4d6

13th: Skirmisher Feat

14th: Special Ability

15th: 4th Favored Enemy
Skirmish: +5d6

16th: Skirmisher Feat

17th: Special Ability

18th: Skirmish: +6d6

19th: Skirmisher Feat

20th: 5th Favored Enemy
Special Ability

Favored Enemy: Player’s Handbook p. 47

Skirmish: The Ranger deals extra damage on all attacks he makes during any round in which he moves at least 10’. This extra damage only applies against living creatures that have a discernable anatomy and are vulnerable to critical hits. This damage may be applied to ranged attacks but only if the target is within 30’. This ability may only be used when the Ranger is wearing light or no armor.

Skirmisher Feat: The Ranger may choose a bonus feat from the following list; he must still meet all pre-requisites for these feats, including ability scores and/or base attack minimums: Blind-Fight, Bounding Assault (PHB II, base attack bonus+11), Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Far Shot, Improved Initiative, Improved Precise Shot, Improved Rapid Shot (Complete Warrior), Mobility, Penetrating Shot (PHB II), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Rapid Blitz (PHB II, base attack bonus+16), Rapid Shot, Shot on the Run, Spring Attack

Special Abilities: pre-requisites are in parentheses

Animal Companion (Wild Empathy): Player’s Handbook p. 36, 48; (effective Druid Level = ½ Ranger level)

Bonus Feat (none): The Ranger may choose a bonus feat from the following list: Acrobatic, Agile, Alertness, Animal Affinity, Athletic, Endurance, Run, Self-Sufficient, Stealthy

Camouflage (Skill Mastery: Hide, Trackless Step): Player’s Handbook p. 48

Evasion (Improved Initiative, Quick Stride): Player’s Handbook p. 48

Hide in Plain Sight (Camouflage): Player’s Handbook p. 48

Improved Evasion (Evasion): Player’s Handbook p. 51

Improved Woodland Stride (Overland Stride): As Woodland Stride, except that now the Ranger may move at his normal speed through terrain and plants that have been magically enchanted or manipulated to impede motion, without taking damage or suffering any other impairment.

Overland Stride (Quick Stride, Woodland Stride): When using the Survival skill and performing tasks that normally require him to move at one-half speed (such as tracking, foraging, or concealing tracks), the Ranger may move at full normal speed without penalty.

Quick Stride (none): The Ranger’s Speed is increased by +10’ when in light or no armor. This ability may be chosen multiple times; however, it may not be chosen twice in a row.

Skill Mastery (none): Upon gaining this ability, the Ranger selects any skill from the Ranger class skill list. He now gains a +3 competence bonus to checks using that skill and may take 10 even if stress and distractions would normally prevent him from doing so. This ability may be chosen multiple times; each time he selects a different class skill with which to gain the bonus.

Trackless Step (Woodland Stride): Player’s Handbook p. 36

Wild Empathy (none): Player’s Handbook p. 47

Wilderness Trapfinding (none): The Ranger can use the Search skill to locate wilderness traps or traps without complicated moving parts when the task has a DC higher than 20. He may also use the Survival skill to disarm such traps. If he beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more with a Survival check he may study the trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with his party) without disarming it.

Woodland Stride (none): Player’s Handbook p. 48

Woodslore (Wilderness Trapfinding): The Ranger gains a sixth sense with regards to avoiding pits, snares, deadfalls, and other wilderness traps. Whenever he is in a natural setting and comes within 5’ of a trap or concealed door, he is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if he were actively looking for it.


I made them a little different at the lowest levels (though still much better than a standard PHB Ranger) but made them much better as a 20-level class. I think the Ranger as presented here will encourage more people to stay with Ranger throughout their careers, which was the goal. Also, this way all Rangers will be very different, which is a good thing, bringing them in line with some of the other, highly variable classes (Fighters with their bonus fighter feats, arcane casters with their spell choices, Clerics with their domains, etc). the Ranger now is all about special abilities and skirmishing, which is as it should be. They shouldn't just be a wierdo nature-boy Fighter in light armor.

One thing I'm still not sure about: I'm tempted to eliminate the "Skirmisher Feat" entirely, and just give them more "Special Abilities." This would decrease the Ranger's combat ability quite a bit (obviously, since all the Skirmisher feats are combat-oriented), but would allow a Ranger to have nearly all of the "Special Abilities" by 20th level, thus providing alot more flavor. I could also just give a Combat Style feat like in the PHB, but I wanted to allow more variation on the feats granted (I could just go back to the two paths I had before: Skirmisher or Archer, with Mobility or Rapid Shot, then Spring Attack or Manyshot, then Bounding Assault or Improved Precise Shot as bonus feats, but I feel that's still too restrictive).

Thoughts?

[Matthew]

Why not make everything optional with prerequisites, as you have done with the Special Ability entry? That way you would have a truly customisable Ranger.

[Hranat]

I think the PHB ranger is already quite powerful... all this extra skirmish damage is a bit unbalancing...

and this ranger can get more feats then a fighter (!)

that's bad... this is overpowered... I say you should cut down on the abilities...

[Zeta Kai]

My, aren't Ranger rewrites popular these days. I'm with Hranat; I don't think there's anything wrong with the RAW ranger. I liked Orzel's Ranger (the Outlander), but that was a class fix done in order to fit a specific campaign. This seems to be an attempt to fix a perceived problem. What that problem might be is beyond me, however.

[Matthew]

I hate the current Ranger, especially the Combat Styles.

[EvilElitest]

Ranger isn't really underpowered, why don't you instead focus upon making this one better at somethings than others? If this is midnight,
1. Midnight already has a ranger class
2. Maybe a ranger focused on combat (as they would have no spells) and get more combat style options?
from,
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