So I've been thinking about this question since I saw it posted last night, and I have the way *I* would make a melee ranger. Is it optimized? Absolutely not. Would it be fun? For me, yes. So thanks for the prompt.
Concept: a Wisdom-based melee ranger, using Shillelagh (partly because I personally dislike GWM and the -5/+10)
Stats: Alt Human, With Wisdom as the main stat, Dex at 14, Con as high as it can go; the rest to taste. Using the standard Array, that would give me 16 Wis, 14 Con, 14 Dex with a 12 10, 8 to be assigned. With point-buy, you could have 16/16/14, with 10/8/8. I'd probably just take 16/14/14/10/10/10.
Feat: The bonus feat would be Magic Initiate, Druid, which gives Shillelagh, another cantrip (Guidance, perhaps, or Produce Flame for a ranged attack), and a first-level spell (good spells in the druid list: Goodberry, Entangle, Healing Word, Longstrider etc.).
Fighting Style: Duelling gives +2 damage, so your 1-H Shillelagh attack does 1d8+5 magical bludgeoning damage. Eventually you'll wear a breastplate for AC 18 with a shield.
Dip?: I agree a 1-level fighter dip may be worthwhile. For this build, it gives the Con save (if taken first), Second Wind, and another fighting style. If I pursued this route, I would only do it if I had access to the Mariner fighting style from the Waterborne pdf (if allowed); AC with shield now 19, and you have a swim speed and a climb speed, which gives great maneuverability, and synergies if the spell taken was Longstrider.
Level 4: If your Shillelagh is empowering a quarterstaff being used 1-handed, you could increase the fun with Polearm Master (giving 1d8+5, 1d4+5 attacks), and extra opportunity attacks.
I think this this all works -- not super powerful, but I think it would be completely playable and fun.
Concept: a Wisdom-based melee ranger, using Shillelagh (partly because I personally dislike GWM and the -5/+10)
Stats: Alt Human, With Wisdom as the main stat, Dex at 14, Con as high as it can go; the rest to taste. Using the standard Array, that would give me 16 Wis, 14 Con, 14 Dex with a 12 10, 8 to be assigned. With point-buy, you could have 16/16/14, with 10/8/8. I'd probably just take 16/14/14/10/10/10.
Feat: The bonus feat would be Magic Initiate, Druid, which gives Shillelagh, another cantrip (Guidance, perhaps, or Produce Flame for a ranged attack), and a first-level spell (good spells in the druid list: Goodberry, Entangle, Healing Word, Longstrider etc.).
Fighting Style: Duelling gives +2 damage, so your 1-H Shillelagh attack does 1d8+5 magical bludgeoning damage. Eventually you'll wear a breastplate for AC 18 with a shield.
Dip?: I agree a 1-level fighter dip may be worthwhile. For this build, it gives the Con save (if taken first), Second Wind, and another fighting style. If I pursued this route, I would only do it if I had access to the Mariner fighting style from the Waterborne pdf (if allowed); AC with shield now 19, and you have a swim speed and a climb speed, which gives great maneuverability, and synergies if the spell taken was Longstrider.
Level 4: If your Shillelagh is empowering a quarterstaff being used 1-handed, you could increase the fun with Polearm Master (giving 1d8+5, 1d4+5 attacks), and extra opportunity attacks.
I think this this all works -- not super powerful, but I think it would be completely playable and fun.