D&D 5E Is it possible that the Revised Ranger is not dead?

Mistwell · Jun 20, 2019

CapnZapp said:
Interesting. The first time I've seen any official WotC person mention 6E (though I may be late to the party).

Saying "it's far off", of course, is exactly what they say when they HAVE started thinking about the new edition, and it actually isn't that far off.

The same with console generations.

The only time it really IS far off is when you hear absolutely nothing about it.

The minute they start telling you how far off it is, it isn't.

He was asked by the interviewer and didn't bring it up on his own. He laughed about the question and then thought about it like it was novel.

Gladius Legis · Jun 20, 2019

6e won't be talked about in earnest until 5e sales start to massively slow down. That doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon.

Horwath · Jun 20, 2019

I want ranger without favored terrain/enemy.

This is the worst feature in the game as it is 100% into "DMs charity" category.

It is either great or does not work at all.

Sad thing is that "scout rogue subclass" is better ranger than a ranger.

Gladius Legis · Jun 20, 2019

Horwath said:
Sad thing is that "scout rogue subclass" is better ranger than a ranger.

The Scout is *extremely* overrated. Its good features don't come until Lv. 13 and above, which is beyond the levels where most D&D games are played.

5ekyu · Jun 20, 2019

Horwath said:
I want ranger without favored terrain/enemy.

This is the worst feature in the game as it is 100% into "DMs charity" category.

It is either great or does not work at all.

Sad thing is that "scout rogue subclass" is better ranger than a ranger.

My homebrew for ranger takes favored terrain and makes it include "local terrain" after 24 hours. Its more getting to know the lay of the land. So, pretty much,except for short transition periods its there.

For enemies, its more about familiarity and study.

CapnZapp · Jun 20, 2019

Parmandur said:
The spell slot equivalency summoning system should do for balance and flexibility: though in the event of a total Ranger redesign, I think the Beastmaster is toast.

I don't know what you mean here.

If it is the spells a Ranger gets that holds back the animal companion, the obvious solution is to remove them from the core Ranger chassi, and instead hand them out to select subclasses.

Not including the Beastmaster, of course.

My guess, however, that even with the loss of magic, the Beastmaster with a proper combat pet will still need DM opt-in. My feeling is that even if you reduce the master to a poor-man's bare bones Fighter in medium armor, no Extra Attack, and no real (non-ribbon) abilities (unless companion-focused), the character build will STILL appear overshadowed.

Why? Because I am convinced the animal companion needs to be close to a full fighter in itself to be truly viable.

In other words, no, I'm not holding my breath either. I think MMearls is entirely clueless as to what a Beastmaster needs for basic functionality, given the high-lethality position a melee companion finds itself in.

Paul Farquhar · Jun 20, 2019

I would just like to point out that rangers didn't get animal companions until 3rd edition, and even then they where inferior to druid animal companions.

I don't consider it an essential feature of the class.

CapnZapp · Jun 20, 2019

Paul Farquhar said:
I would just like to point out that rangers didn't get animal companions until 3rd edition, and even then they where inferior to druid animal companions.

I don't consider it an essential feature of the class.

If you mean animal companions aren't essential to Rangers, okay.

If you mean animal companions aren't essential to D&D, I disagree.

CapnZapp · Jun 20, 2019

Paul Farquhar said:
I would just like to point out that rangers didn't get animal companions until 3rd edition, and even then they where inferior to druid animal companions.

I don't consider it an essential feature of the class.

Plus: the main reason people didn't care about ranger ACs was indeed that anyone wanting one obviously selected the Druid class.

Not only did you companion get better, you yourself upgraded a low-tier martial to a high-tier caster class.

A win-win situation if there ever was one.

Of course, the 3E companion was STILL squishy (iirc) so any minmaxing druid player simply became the beast himself and dropped the AC idea altogether. (I could be wrong but I can't remember any ACs in my d20 days)