D&D General What is a Ranger? A miserable pile of secrets! (+)

[Vaalingrade]

Augh... but pets in DnD ALWAYS suck >< do we HAVE to include them?

Yes.

The secret is 1) not making them super killable, and 2) letting the action economy work with them, not against them.

 

[James Gasik]

Augh... but pets in DnD ALWAYS suck >< do we HAVE to include them?

Yes.

The secret is 1) not making them super killable, and 2) letting the action economy work with them, not against them.

But then you get the 3.5 Druid problem. Which I didn't think was a problem at all, until I saw the Fleshraker Dinosaur/Venomfire combo in action....but even without it, a strong case could be made for the starter Wolf to be nearly as good as another player character, and certainly way better than a Leadership cohort.

 

[Medic]

Can a non-casting ranger disable or withstand a natural obstacle created by magical beings or features that might naturally occur there?

Sure. The only reason why they couldn't is if they were designed not to.

 

[Yaarel]

For me, the "Ranger" is more like an army ranger or navy seal.

It is the "tip of the spear" covert ops.

It combines Stealth, Intelligence, mobility and crazy tough Constitution.

 

[Vaalingrade]

But then you get the 3.5 Druid problem. Which I didn't think was a problem at all, until I saw the Fleshraker Dinosaur/Venomfire combo in action....but even without it, a strong case could be made for the starter Wolf to be nearly as good as another player character, and certainly way better than a Leadership cohort.

Well you would o course have to make the class that shall not be named actually good, and standardize companions from all sources.

Also, not make animal companions literal animals from the MM for no good reason. They can be stat blocks; mostly just the player's primary attack, AC and saves, modified by the type of creature with some animals abilities.

 

[Minigiant]

Sure. The only reason why they couldn't is if they were designed not to.

It's usually not a design problem but an allowance problem.

If a fey circle traps a party in an illusion, will the DM let the ranger roll Intelligence/Nature/Wisdom/Survival to break the party free or do he need to cast dispel magic? How does a ranger track a creature with pass without trace on itself or has no natural footsteps like a ghost or floating being?

"What is a Ranger" should be a question for all levels of play. However many examples are purely low level D&D-wise.

 

[Shardstone]

Why can't my ranger have an imp its "tamed" into a pet?

 

[James Gasik]

Why can't my ranger have an imp its "tamed" into a pet?

Might be a good option for a Planar Ranger, who roams the Outlands, but it doesn't quite fit the popular (admittedly, very loosely-defined) Ranger archetype.

 

[Charlaquin]

It's usually not a design problem but an allowance problem.

If a fey circle traps a party in an illusion, will the DM let the ranger roll Intelligence/Nature/Wisdom/Survival to break the party free or do he need to cast dispel magic?

If they have a class feature that allows them to do that? i would certainly hope so.

How does a ranger track a creature with pass without trace on itself or has no natural footsteps like a ghost or floating being?

How does the rogue know the location of any hidden or invisible creature within 10 feet of them? How does the fighter ignore failed saving throws? How is the monk immune to aging? The answer is, they have class features that say so.

"What is a Ranger" should be a question for all levels of play. However many examples are purely low level D&D-wise.

I simply don’t agree that high level play needs to mean high magic. Look at the other non-casting classes. They do just fine at high levels. A non-casting ranger could too.

 

[GuyBoy]

Always thought that Hawkeye, Uncas and Chingachgook from Last of the Mohicans were good examples of rangers. Skilled in the wilderness, hunters, respected the animals, helped those in need.