Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
Wanted to post weekly about my UA Ranger in SKT so people have a balance idea. Please also check out [MENTION=97077]iserith[/MENTION] 's excellent post http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?490858-UA-Ranger-Actual-Play-Report
We just started STK, with the DM starting us at 5th with an uncommon magic item. He's also heavily customizing encounters so hopefully they won't be too spoilery, and I'll try to be minimally spoilery about what I talk about. But if you what to know knowing then skip this.
We're playing at a FLGS after work so the sessions aren't going to be too long. This session was character building, getting introduced to Goldenfields, and one fight.
I'm running a Human (variant) UA Ranger (Hunter) 5. I know everyone is dripping about the beastmaster, but the changes to the class framework effect hunter even if the hunter specific features are mostly the same. Just for a minimal introduction to the build in combat, I'm going for a hand crossbow archer. 18 Dex, Crossbow expertise, Archery style and Horde Breaker plus a +1 crossbow for my item give me +10 to Hit (highest in the group) with a base damage of d6 + 5 (+4 dex, +1 magic) with a possible +2 more from favored enemy: humanoids. AC 16 which is not a lot.
The other players are running: A goliath barbarian (totem), a human paladin (not sure which oath) with a 19 base AC, a half elven storm sorcerer, and a halfling satire bard. We're low on healing but have a lot of punch.
First combat was with the party not really knowing each other, so there wasn't a lot of planned synergy. 30 goblins, broken into groups of 5, were stealing corn, while a group of 5 bugbears guarded ropes over the wide wall. The halfling discovered them and called for help, and started cut off from everyone else.
Easily won init with the highest modifier and advantage from Natural Explorer.
First round was spent getting to the combat, at which point I had cast darkvision on myself using a 2nd level slot. Note this stopped from getting the Nature Explorer bonus of attacking with advantage if they haven't acted yet because I literally could not see them. Storm sorc thunderwaved a group, barbarian engaged another, paladin galloped up and engaged the bugbears. At the end of the round, a really buff (heavily modified) high giant showed up on top of the wall. Because of favored enemy I spoke goblin, so I was able to overhear them shouting and get some interesting intel. (Which I'll leave out to minimize spoilers, no idea if it was base SKT or our DM.)
Second round was spike growth at the base of the ropes, which also trapped two of the bugbears about to go after the paladin. And because most of the goblins were in the (taller-than-them) corn fields they didn't see it cast and would need to make a perception check vs DC 13 to notice. More fighting and stuff from the rest of the party, including the paladin attacking then backing off a bit, causing some bugbears to take spike growth damage to run up and engage.
Brief aside, yes, most of this so far would be same for PHB ranger except for init and knowing goblin. That'll change 3rd round.
Third round I ran towards the bugbears but couldn't get within short range except for one that was helping some goblins, so I fired at that one part way through my move. Let's jst say that attack & extra attack hit and killed the (already damaged?) bugbear, hordebreaker killed a neighboring goblin, and my bonus action attack killed another goblin. This was because my damage was juiced by an extra +2 with favored enemy. That's the same as the barbarian was getting from her rage and it's going to go up to +4 and add a group next level.
Fourth round was similar. Four attacks, four hits, two more bugbears killed. Oh, the high corn fields was difficult terrain I would have been able to ignore with Natural Explorer but it didn't come up.
Somewhere in there goblins made a run for ropes and met spike growth. Not pretty. (Though I had blown all my 2nd level slots for the day between darkvision and spike growth.)
Fifth round was against the buff hill giant, whom the satire bard and the paladin had been keeping busy and wearing down. Three shots (no hordebreaker) all hit, but without favored enemy damage was much lower. I could have cast hunter's mark first instead of a bonus action attack, but the spike growth was still serving a tactical purpose and both are concentration spells.
Everyone ganged up on the giant with the barbarian being wonderful and then the paladin getting a crit and using a 3d8 smite with it and dropped it.
At this point I had blown though a lot of spells but they served well. I couldn't use hunter's mark because I had up another concentration. And hordebreaker against hordes of low CR creatures that are also my favored enemy just rocked their world. I was getting four attacks and doing 1 hit kills on goblins, 2 hit kills on bugbears. Also I didn't miss even once.
Except for the happy not missing once, this absolutely hit my build sweet spot - lots of favored enemy who are close together. That is exactly where my character would shine the most in combat.
On the other hand, while I was helpful against the hill giant, the single-target characters were more successful against it. And I didn't have the AC if I had to tank.
We saw some ogres on the other side and plan to follow. Between the ranger's skill selection and natural explorer's last bullet point I expect to be able to track well, and if there are more goblins or bugbears with them then primeval awareness ability to attune senses for favored enemy will also be able to detect them if within 5 miles - I plan to rely on the first and then use the second as early warning system or if I lose the trail, since there seems to be no limit on doing it except time spent.
So far off to a good start. One question I have is how it will continue if the barbarian and paladin are the targets of a twinned haste from the sorcerer, since their base damage is much higher than mine. On the other hand, my ranged attacks vs. their melee in a light healing party will also be a factor.
We just started STK, with the DM starting us at 5th with an uncommon magic item. He's also heavily customizing encounters so hopefully they won't be too spoilery, and I'll try to be minimally spoilery about what I talk about. But if you what to know knowing then skip this.
We're playing at a FLGS after work so the sessions aren't going to be too long. This session was character building, getting introduced to Goldenfields, and one fight.
I'm running a Human (variant) UA Ranger (Hunter) 5. I know everyone is dripping about the beastmaster, but the changes to the class framework effect hunter even if the hunter specific features are mostly the same. Just for a minimal introduction to the build in combat, I'm going for a hand crossbow archer. 18 Dex, Crossbow expertise, Archery style and Horde Breaker plus a +1 crossbow for my item give me +10 to Hit (highest in the group) with a base damage of d6 + 5 (+4 dex, +1 magic) with a possible +2 more from favored enemy: humanoids. AC 16 which is not a lot.
The other players are running: A goliath barbarian (totem), a human paladin (not sure which oath) with a 19 base AC, a half elven storm sorcerer, and a halfling satire bard. We're low on healing but have a lot of punch.
First combat was with the party not really knowing each other, so there wasn't a lot of planned synergy. 30 goblins, broken into groups of 5, were stealing corn, while a group of 5 bugbears guarded ropes over the wide wall. The halfling discovered them and called for help, and started cut off from everyone else.
Easily won init with the highest modifier and advantage from Natural Explorer.
First round was spent getting to the combat, at which point I had cast darkvision on myself using a 2nd level slot. Note this stopped from getting the Nature Explorer bonus of attacking with advantage if they haven't acted yet because I literally could not see them. Storm sorc thunderwaved a group, barbarian engaged another, paladin galloped up and engaged the bugbears. At the end of the round, a really buff (heavily modified) high giant showed up on top of the wall. Because of favored enemy I spoke goblin, so I was able to overhear them shouting and get some interesting intel. (Which I'll leave out to minimize spoilers, no idea if it was base SKT or our DM.)
Second round was spike growth at the base of the ropes, which also trapped two of the bugbears about to go after the paladin. And because most of the goblins were in the (taller-than-them) corn fields they didn't see it cast and would need to make a perception check vs DC 13 to notice. More fighting and stuff from the rest of the party, including the paladin attacking then backing off a bit, causing some bugbears to take spike growth damage to run up and engage.
Brief aside, yes, most of this so far would be same for PHB ranger except for init and knowing goblin. That'll change 3rd round.
Third round I ran towards the bugbears but couldn't get within short range except for one that was helping some goblins, so I fired at that one part way through my move. Let's jst say that attack & extra attack hit and killed the (already damaged?) bugbear, hordebreaker killed a neighboring goblin, and my bonus action attack killed another goblin. This was because my damage was juiced by an extra +2 with favored enemy. That's the same as the barbarian was getting from her rage and it's going to go up to +4 and add a group next level.
Fourth round was similar. Four attacks, four hits, two more bugbears killed. Oh, the high corn fields was difficult terrain I would have been able to ignore with Natural Explorer but it didn't come up.
Somewhere in there goblins made a run for ropes and met spike growth. Not pretty. (Though I had blown all my 2nd level slots for the day between darkvision and spike growth.)
Fifth round was against the buff hill giant, whom the satire bard and the paladin had been keeping busy and wearing down. Three shots (no hordebreaker) all hit, but without favored enemy damage was much lower. I could have cast hunter's mark first instead of a bonus action attack, but the spike growth was still serving a tactical purpose and both are concentration spells.
Everyone ganged up on the giant with the barbarian being wonderful and then the paladin getting a crit and using a 3d8 smite with it and dropped it.
At this point I had blown though a lot of spells but they served well. I couldn't use hunter's mark because I had up another concentration. And hordebreaker against hordes of low CR creatures that are also my favored enemy just rocked their world. I was getting four attacks and doing 1 hit kills on goblins, 2 hit kills on bugbears. Also I didn't miss even once.
Except for the happy not missing once, this absolutely hit my build sweet spot - lots of favored enemy who are close together. That is exactly where my character would shine the most in combat.
On the other hand, while I was helpful against the hill giant, the single-target characters were more successful against it. And I didn't have the AC if I had to tank.
We saw some ogres on the other side and plan to follow. Between the ranger's skill selection and natural explorer's last bullet point I expect to be able to track well, and if there are more goblins or bugbears with them then primeval awareness ability to attune senses for favored enemy will also be able to detect them if within 5 miles - I plan to rely on the first and then use the second as early warning system or if I lose the trail, since there seems to be no limit on doing it except time spent.
So far off to a good start. One question I have is how it will continue if the barbarian and paladin are the targets of a twinned haste from the sorcerer, since their base damage is much higher than mine. On the other hand, my ranged attacks vs. their melee in a light healing party will also be a factor.
