Hmm...
I could probably make it work but it depends on the exact situation and what I'm up against. An intelligent creature probably patrols around. A beast-like creature moves instinctively. If it's on guard, it can be distracted.
Sure. I’m not saying there’s no way to use the feature, just that in my experience the opportunities to use it are extremely rare at best.
So if I said "I want to determine if my player knows or can guess what might lure the creature somewhere. Then, I want to use that to set up an ambush while using my Hide in Plain Sight ability." How would you rule that? (Assuming a beast-like creature ig)
Well, one action at a time. It sounds like you first of all have a goal of determining a way to lure the creature to a particular location. I would normally ask what your character does to try and accomplish that goal - perhaps if you have some relevant training or experience you might draw on that. I imagine if your character is a ranger, you very likely have such training or experience. Depending on the specifics (the creature in question and the experience or training you draw on), such an action would almost certainly be able to succeed and might or might not have a chance of failure, so I might just give you the information or I might ask you to make an Intelligence check, to which your approach would likely suggest a relevant proficiency.
Assuming that you do gain this information, either automatically, with a successful roll, or simply by guessing correctly (I mean, if we’re talking about a beast, I feel like using food is a pretty safe bet for how to lure it somewhere), it sounds like you want to set up an ambush. Again, I’d need to know your approach to properly adjudicate it, but it sounds like you intend to use the information you gained about how to lure it. So, a good approach might be to place the appropriate bait in a location you expect to find the creature, then use your Hide in Plain Sight to hide, and wait for it to show up. If there’s no time pressure, this is likely to work without chance of failure - eventually, the creature is bound to come by. If there is time pressure (which in my games there almost always is; if nothing else, there’s usually at least a mounting chance of a complication occurring), you would need to make a roll of some sort, the specifics of which I would work out based on the circumstances and your approach.
But this all just strikes me as not the kind of thing that would be likely to come up in my games. Again, you’re usually delving dungeons, trekking across dangerous wilderness, or in town selling your loot, resupplying, and otherwise spending downtime.