D&D 5E Ranger - revisions for Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer

[clearstream]

Favoured Enemy (choose two enemies, at 3rd power-attack)
Choose two types of favoured enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, humanoids, monstrosities, oozes, plants or undead. Each time you choose humanoids, choose two races (such as elf and orc). Gain one language from among those your favoured enemies speak. At 6^th and 14^th level, choose two more types of favoured enemy and gain one more language from among those your favoured enemies speak. You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favoured enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
At 3^rd level, once per turn you can choose to take a −5 penalty to attack roll against favoured enemies. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack’s damage.

Why this? A design flaw with PHB Favoured Enemy is that it is narrow, so its benefits are forced to be stronger in order to matter. Increasing to two types makes the feature apply more often so its benefits need not be as strong. The power-attack is intended to allow Ranger to compete with other martials: against a favoured enemy this pushes an 11th Archery SS Ranger just above an Archery SS Fighter. This power-attack is flexible: Ranger can use it with any Fighting Style. I prefer it to a fixed bonus or a dice add because it is exciting and encourages imaginative use. 3rd level stops it being an OP MC dip.

Natural Explorer (choose two, at 3rd advantage on initiative and against slower foes)
Choose two types of favoured terrain: aquatic, arctic, coast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain, swamp or subterranean. At 6^th and 10^th level, choose two additional favoured terrain types. While traveling for an hour or more in your favored terrain, you gain the following benefits:

• Difficult terrain doesn't slow your group's travel
• Your group can't become lost except by magical means
• Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger
• If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace
• When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would
• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area

At 3^rd level, in favoured terrain you have advantage on initiative rolls, and on attack rolls against creatures that have not yet acted.

Why this? A design problem with PHB Natural Explorer is - again - that it is narrow. Increasing to two types makes the feature apply more often. The 3rd level benefit stacks with favoured enemy nicely, giving Ranger chances to shine against favoured enemies found in favoured terrain.

 

[Bolares]

I don't like the "you NEVER get lost" part... it sucks for survival and exploration games, an limits the stories the group can tell. The ranger already gets double proficiency in survival checks, isn't it enough to demonstrate its tracking powers?

 

[Mephista]

Why not just use the Revised Ranger versions? They're really good.

 

[clearstream]

Why not just use the Revised Ranger versions? They're really good.

Yes, I think you are right that Revised Ranger has a lot of good ideas. It is nearly there, but has some issues that I try to address.

-- Foremost, Revised Ranger is way OTT as an MC dip. Those front-loaded abilities don't need to be front-loaded.
-- I dislike splitting up favoured enemies the way they have, offering two lots of narrow choices: better to broaden that. I can expand on the balancing implications if you're interested.
-- Their damage adds feel broadly correct (albeit I believe they're over-estimating applicability), but as flat adds they are kind of uninteresting. They duplicate the Dueling fighting style in a way that makes that feature seem less awesome too. Better to make it something that fosters imaginative play.
-- The terrain bonuses are uninteresting and imba in equal measure (that's assuming their intent was that the first set of benefits apply in all terrain). They mildly step on Assassin and I believe we should pull back a bit on that.

My feeling is that these two features form a flavourful foundation for Ranger, so it is important to get them spot on. Revised Ranger offered a lot of good ideas. The critical flaw is front-loading.

 

[clearstream]

I don't like the "you NEVER get lost" part... it sucks for survival and exploration games, an limits the stories the group can tell. The ranger already gets double proficiency in survival checks, isn't it enough to demonstrate its tracking powers?

You know, I never really focused on that but I feel you are right! I need to look at the implications of that.

 

[Horwath]

Revision for favored terrain(natural explorer) and favored enemy?

REMOVED!

any class feature that depends that heavy from DMs charity should be removed.

instead of favored terrain add Hunters mark feature.

When you hit a creature with weapon attack you can add +1d6 damage to the attack. All other attacks on that creature add +1d6 damage.

you can use this feature a number of times per day equal to your proficiency bonus plus your wisdom modifier.


For natural explorer just add expertise for survival and nature at 1st level and stealth and perception at 6th.

At 3rd level gain advantage on survival checks for tracking creatures.

 

[clearstream]

any class feature that depends that heavy from DMs charity should be removed.

Yup, that can be an issue. Compare Sentinel with Shield Master, for instance. The latter, the player calls for the check. The former, the DM decides who the foe attacks and if they attempt to move away. It's hard to ensure a good feeling of objectivity. On the other hand, players should trust their DMs and DMs should respect that trust.

instead of favored terrain add Hunters mark feature.

When you hit a creature with weapon attack you can add +1d6 damage to the attack. All other attacks on that creature add +1d6 damage.

you can use this feature a number of times per day equal to your proficiency bonus plus your wisdom modifier.

On the good side, plays a bit better with the action economy. On the downside, seems tactically narrow... ?

For natural explorer just add expertise for survival and nature at 1st level and stealth and perception at 6th.

At 3rd level gain advantage on survival checks for tracking creatures.

Should be tied to nature, though.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

For natural explorer just add expertise for survival and nature at 1st level and stealth and perception at 6th.

I think the ranger can do without that much expertise. It's not the rogue or bard, after all, and I worry about "expertise inflation" diluting the special impact of the effect. Now, Survival expertise is a given, of course. Of the other three -- and I know this might be contentious -- I'd keep Perception and do without Nature and Stealth. In the core class, anyway. Rangers aren't necessarily the sneakiest nor have the most book-learnin', but I've never known a ranger-type character in fiction who wasn't at all times preternaturally aware of his or her surroundings.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Oh, and here's roughly how I handle favored enemy and favored terrain.

Quarry: You get [various bonuses] against creatures who are your quarry. To determine your quarry, choose a hunting style from the following list:

Favored Enemy: Pick a creature type. All creatures of the chosen type are always your quarry.

Favored Terrain: Pick a terrain type. All creatures in the chosen terrain are always your quarry.

Ranger's Mark: As an action, choose a creature you can see or whose tracks you can see. That creature is your quarry. You can only have one quarry at a time.

When you reach [certain levels], you can choose an additional hunting style, or choose an additional option from the same hunting style, or if you have ranger's mark, gain the ability to mark an additional creature.​

(Natural Explorer ought to be an all-terrain feature, like in the revised ranger. A ranger being tied down to a particular terrain type should be optional -- most rangers roam far and wide.)

 

[clearstream]

Oh, and here's roughly how I handle favored enemy and favored terrain.

Quarry: You get [various bonuses] against creatures who are your quarry. To determine your quarry, choose a hunting style from the following list:

Favored Enemy: Pick a creature type. All creatures of the chosen type are always your quarry.

Favored Terrain: Pick a terrain type. All creatures in the chosen terrain are always your quarry.

Ranger's Mark: As an action, choose a creature you can see or whose tracks you can see. That creature is your quarry. You can only have one quarry at a time.

When you reach [certain levels], you can choose an additional hunting style, or choose an additional option from the same hunting style, or if you have ranger's mark, gain the ability to mark an additional creature.​

(Natural Explorer ought to be an all-terrain feature, like in the revised ranger. A ranger being tied down to a particular terrain type should be optional -- most rangers roam far and wide.)

I feel like this narrows Ranger too far into Hunter, whereas I think of the Alpini and such, that Aragorn was modelled on. The rangers of the wilds, guarding the borders of civilisation, finding the lost and guiding them home. Some rangers also value and protect those wilds (hence the connection with Druids).

So for me, it's not all about quarries, marking etc. There needs to be familiarity with the terrain and creature types. A knowledge of their ways.