D&D 5E So what are the (other) ranger archetypes?

[EzekielRaiden]

It wasn't that bad. It just had so many trap options. Niche protection and believability filters kept it from getting many good control and AOE effects. It got tons of both soft control and zone AOE so you had to filter through garbage to find gems.

Well, to be perfectly honest, "the vast majority of your choices are " pretty much IS the definition of a "bad class" in 4e. The only way to be worse than that is to be the Vampire, Bladesinger, or Binder...pretty much in that order. At the very least, it's agreed that Seekers are something of a challenge to play and optimize, which makes them unlike most 4e classes (where it often matters little what you choose, as long as you pick up the feat taxes).

With 5th going back to the "long form" explanation of effects, you could simply put proper magic effects on their attacks

Seeker Spirits
Some of the spirits you bond with attach themselves on your attacks. Once per turn when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can as a bonus action has a spirit leaps out of your weapon and casts a spell on the creature. After you do this two times, you must take a short or long rest before you do it again. You automatically succeed on any saving throw on spells casted by your spirit and take no damage from the spell.
Flaming spirit: The spirit cast burning hands as a 1st level spell.
Vine spirit: the spirit casts entangle as a 1st level spell.

etc etc...

Oh yeah, totally. A 5e-ized Seeker would probably be just fine. Especially if you gave it, as you have, actual spells.

 

[Minigiant]

Well, to be perfectly honest, "the vast majority of your choices are " pretty much IS the definition of a "bad class" in 4e. The only way to be worse than that is to be the Vampire, Bladesinger, or Binder...pretty much in that order. At the very least, it's agreed that Seekers are something of a challenge to play and optimize, which makes them unlike most 4e classes (where it often matters little what you choose, as long as you pick up the feat taxes).



Oh yeah, totally. A 5e-ized Seeker would probably be just fine. Especially if you gave it, as you have, actual spells.

Well at least the seeker can function. Its just avoiding the traps and the fact that it was made right before the edition died. The bizarro vampire if you will.

The seeker could take the Ranger Mage archetype in 5th. They don't compete with wizards and druids anymore in favor or mechanics. You could even make them melee and ranged.

 

[aramis erak]

So 5th edition gave rangers 2 subclasses to act as archetypes for the class:

What are your ideas?

The Military Scout. His goal is to find the evil beings, and lead the army to them. Subclass features would include being able to leave markings for specific others, being able to travel faster, and to withdraw toward allied forces.

The Protector Woodsman. His goal is to protect travelers from the woods and the woods from travelers. Instead of a favored enemy, knows those who are alien... and can tell when those from the woods threaten outsiders, and when outsiders threaten the woods as a whole.

 

[Evenglare]

I want them to come up with a Horizon Walker type of ranger. One that travels the different planes and stuff.

 

[aramis erak]

Not only that, but it really hasn't ever been an archetype in D&D anyway. Rangers have always had spells.

in AD&D, it wasn't until name level (8th), tho'. (Similar with the Paladin, tho' ninth.)

The only pre-3rd edition that had spells from level 1 was BECMI/Cyclopedia - in that one of the GAZ modules allowed humans to take the elf class (except for the detects and sleep/charm immunities), and called it a ranger.

And the original edition didn't have them at all in official released supplements, tho' they did (supposedly) appear in Strategic Review #2. Those rangers gained spells at 8th level.

 

[Minigiant]

The Military Scout. His goal is to find the evil beings, and lead the army to them. Subclass features would include being able to leave markings for specific others, being able to travel faster, and to withdraw toward allied forces.

The Protector Woodsman. His goal is to protect travelers from the woods and the woods from travelers. Instead of a favored enemy, knows those who are alien... and can tell when those from the woods threaten outsiders, and when outsiders threaten the woods as a whole.

That's the Hunter subclass mostly. The Hunter specializes in fighting certain enemies and the base ranger can move faster and detect aliens.

in AD&D, it wasn't until name level (8th), tho'. (Similar with the Paladin, tho' ninth.)

The only pre-3rd edition that had spells from level 1 was BECMI/Cyclopedia - in that one of the GAZ modules allowed humans to take the elf class (except for the detects and sleep/charm immunities), and called it a ranger.

And the original edition didn't have them at all in official released supplements, tho' they did (supposedly) appear in Strategic Review #2. Those rangers gained spells at 8th level.

But they always eventually get them or (like 4th edition or the new spell-less version) get all their combat abilities jacked up.

Because that's how D&D works. Either you cast spells, are a combat monster, or are the rogue class.

 

[Tony Vargas]

A Delver, a spelunker ranger who explores the underdark, none of that woodsy stuff. Could have a different spell list, or at least some variation on the usual spell list. Drow and Dwarves might be particularly suited to the class somehow.

A Scout, a non-casting ranger, like the 3.5 Scout (thus the name) with even moar skillz, and more of an emphasis on skirmishing combat, and less on being specifically woodsy (equally capable in a variety of environments, including underground & urban, for instance, or with a list of proficient environments that he can expand as he levels).

A ranger who seeks to explore, codify, exploit and/or tame the wilderness, rather than live in harmony with it. Uses pragmatic Arcane spells rather than druidy nature magic. Maybe the nastier ones even use Dark Sun style 'Defiler' magic...

 

[Quickleaf]

The Urban Ranger [though I hate that name, it's the one people would recognize/use]: Often, mistakenly in my opinion, just treated as a normal Ranger in an urban "terrain", this is the Ranger who is more skilled/knowledgeable about the lands of Men [or their respective races] and protection/defense of settlements than wilderness terrains. Focus on the operating within and defending the Civilization, than the areas outside it. They know their local areas like the backs of their hand, but don't rove that far afield. Faramir's "Rangers of Gondor" vs. the "Dunedain/Rangers of the North", exemplify this nicely...as might more "knightly"-styled ranger orders.

The "Vestige" Ranger: The Ranger who upholds the knowledge/secrets of some fallen land, people, or nation...whether they are of that civilization themselves or somehow found/learned/were entrusted with them in their wide travels. A Hunter style ranger but MORE magic-focused [though still a fraction of their lost land/people/nation were] with access to actual Wizard and Druid spell lists [as the original 1e class] and/or expanded magic item use. Gain Ritual Casting at some point? A master of Lore, history and knowledge, blurring the lines to Lore Bard, maybe. As skilled as other rangers in tracking and battling ancestral enemies, but maintaining knowledge & skill long forgotten by more "civilized" men/peoples of the current/local civilization.

I meant to XP you, not laugh! These are both great ideas

During the playtest I made a ranger who had a Scouting/Reconnaissance feature. While it requires a bit of abstraction in play, it is a terrific way to handle the classic scenario of ranger going off to scout, getting into trouble alone and away from the rest of the party, and the other players twiddling their thumbs while the combat resolves. Moreover, some kind of recon feature *feels* like something the ranger should have. A Military Scout or Urban Ranger sub-class could definitely be a place to fit it in.

 

[Lanefan]

in AD&D, it wasn't until name level (8th), tho'.

Ayup, so not much spellcasting through the levels at which the game was/is actually played.

As for archetypes, I look more to what makes one become a Ranger:

- those who are simply born into the lifestyle - exceptional individuals, say, from a hunter-gatherer culture; or wandering remnants of a culture that has dissolved (example being Strider/Aragorn)
- those who are forced into the lifestyle and must live off the land or perish (Robin Hood, I'm looking at you)
- those who deliberately choose the lifestyle, be it from love of nature, a desire to be alone most of the time, a self-test of courage and-or hardiness, or whatever

I can easily see them getting Druid spells at higher level, thoguh I'll admit I've never quite understood why they also get MU spells at higher level in 1e. But I could just as easily live with them never getting spells at all; they have lots of other things going for them as it is.

Lan-"I intentionally ignore the Drizz't archetype and the wreckage it has brought upon a once-great class"-efan

 

[aramis erak]

Ayup, so not much spellcasting through the levels at which the game was/is actually played.

As for archetypes, I look more to what makes one become a Ranger:

- those who are simply born into the lifestyle - exceptional individuals, say, from a hunter-gatherer culture; or wandering remnants of a culture that has dissolved (example being Strider/Aragorn)
- those who are forced into the lifestyle and must live off the land or perish (Robin Hood, I'm looking at you)
- those who deliberately choose the lifestyle, be it from love of nature, a desire to be alone most of the time, a self-test of courage and-or hardiness, or whatever

I can easily see them getting Druid spells at higher level, thoguh I'll admit I've never quite understood why they also get MU spells at higher level in 1e. But I could just as easily live with them never getting spells at all; they have lots of other things going for them as it is.

Lan-"I intentionally ignore the Drizz't archetype and the wreckage it has brought upon a once-great class"-efan

Their initial appearance was (ahem) rather munchkined.

Name level was 8th, rather than 9th like every other class to that point.

XP received a bonus earned of 4/3rds to 8th level. (why the * not simply reduce the XP table to 75%!!!)

Alternated Cleric and Wizard Spell levels. When it came out, Druids weren't out yet. (SR 2 predates Supplement 2.)

Note: I don't have SR issue 2... but it's reprinted in Best of Dragon 1, which is on the Dragon CD's.