D&D (2024) Ranger playtest discussion

[fluffybunbunkittens]

I am kind of dreading seeing what we'll get for the pet feature this time. You'd think it'd be the primal companion, but...

 

[Neonchameleon]

My issue with the ranger as an expert is it doesn't seem to be an expert at anything.

Agreed. This is why I call it the Hedge Wizard from the School of Hard Knocks. It's kinda good at a lot of things - but doesn't really go above and beyond.

But rather than just complain about what the ranger lacks, here's some ideas of how to make it better without just resorted to 'more spells'.
Favored Terrain: You get one terrain choice equal to your PB. So starting with 2. The ability gives you a static and a triggered ability. Static ability is good no matter where you go. Triggered abilities are the standard ignore difficult terrain, find more food, etc. So static examples:

Swamp: Immunity to non-magical diseases
Mountain: Resistant to cold
Aquatic: Swim Speed
Desert: Ignore fatigue from heat
Forest: Climb Speed
Fort Worth: Speak with cows

I've been thinking along similar lines - but what I found key was that the ranger shouldn't just get a personal ability but a party buff. So in my version Mountain gave Climb Speed - and advantage on athletics checks to allies either following a trail marked by the ranger or being guided by the ranger. Because you have a ranger helping you everyone has an easier time - and that to me makes the ranger.

 

[Remathilis]

Fort Worth: Speak with cows.

[emoji38]

Alter Hunter's Mark so it's not just an automatic ability every single combat. Go favored enemy, at the end of a long rest choice a creature type and subrace (orc, bear, dinosaur, thoul). Then the hunter's mark applies to all those creatures until the next long rest. This represents you studying up on the anatomy, applying certain toxins to weapons, or just adapting to your prey.

I think they are trying to get away from "favored enemy" for two reasons.

1. It requires foreknowledge of what you are fighting. If you know you're fighting giants (because you either gathered rumors, scouted, or saw the cover of the module the DM is running) you will pick that foe. If you don't know, you're picking wildly and hoping you're correct. If you guess wrong, the DM fakes you out, or you are facing other monsters allied with your FE, your FE is useless and you've lost a significant class feature.

2. There is a long-standing meme that Favored Enemy = racist. It's mostly been run as a joke (Bob irrationally hates goblins and finds any excuse to kill them) but it does paint the ranger as a little icky if taken in a serious light. You might be able to justify certain creatures (dragons, undead, fiends, fey, aberrations) but it kinda seems really unsettling when you think of your ranger studying elf anatomy or brewing orc-killing poison.

I personally don't mind the change to hunter's mark as the new "hunter/prey" since it's divorced from the weird "I kill orcs real good" fluff and it's useful regardless of if you are fighting orcs, giants, dragons or cows.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Because you have a ranger helping you everyone has an easier time - and that to me makes the ranger.

This is why I like the “magical monster hunter” (aka Witcher) take on the Ranger. Sure, competent on their own, but their real value is in making everybody else more effective, because Rangers know how to fight monsters.

 

[SkidAce]

And yet, he's held up as an archetypical Wizard, along with that Tiefling, Merlin...

...Cambion, Merlin...

 

[Minigiant]

1. It requires foreknowledge of what you are fighting. If you know you're fighting giants (because you either gathered rumors, scouted, or saw the cover of the module the DM is running) you will pick that foe. If you don't know, you're picking wildly and hoping you're correct. If you guess wrong, the DM fakes you out, or you are facing other monsters allied with your FE, your FE is useless and you've lost a significant class feature.

That's why I and many others have suggested shifting Favored Enemy to Colossus Slayer, Hordebreaker, and Giant Killer as the replacement for +4 damage to orc for years.

Shifting Ranger to spamming Hunter's Mark works but is a lot less flavorful.

 

[James Gasik]

one of the 3.5 DMs we lost going to 4e went to PF, and for years those playing with him would joke (as we did in 3.5) don't travel in his games...

I know 3 times the lightning rail derailed in his ebberon games (twice in 1 campagain) I know that every boat he has ever had players on has been hit by at least 3 encounters... and at least 1 pirate attack.

He ran a 5e game before his passing and in it we spent 4 real life months of weekly games to play out a 2 1/2 week trip in game.

It's like some unwritten rule of D&D- if the PC's get on a boat, pirates, a shipwreck, or a rampaging sea monster is almost assuredly in your future- once, I even had the trifecta, all three at once!

 

[James Gasik]

...Cambion, Merlin...

I mean if you want to be technical, yes. But at least Tieflings are playable characters!

 

[The Glen]

I think they are trying to get away from "favored enemy" for two reasons.

1. It requires foreknowledge of what you are fighting. If you know you're fighting giants (because you either gathered rumors, scouted, or saw the cover of the module the DM is running) you will pick that foe. If you don't know, you're picking wildly and hoping you're correct. If you guess wrong, the DM fakes you out, or you are facing other monsters allied with your FE, your FE is useless and you've lost a significant class feature.

2. There is a long-standing meme that Favored Enemy = racist. It's mostly been run as a joke (Bob irrationally hates goblins and finds any excuse to kill them) but it does paint the ranger as a little icky if taken in a serious light. You might be able to justify certain creatures (dragons, undead, fiends, fey, aberrations) but it kinda seems really unsettling when you think of your ranger studying elf anatomy or brewing orc-killing poison.

I personally don't mind the change to hunter's mark as the new "hunter/prey" since it's divorced from the weird "I kill orcs real good" fluff and it's useful regardless of if you are fighting orcs, giants, dragons or cows.

You could make the favored enemy selection change on a short rest then the penalty for guessing wrong is minimized. I prefer the favored enemy because I picture your standard ranger having an uncomfortably large knowledge of how to kill EVERYTHING. It gives the impression this guy has seen it all, and has a contingency plan to put down the entire party if necessary. If done right they can make any preparation scary.

"Okay, here's the plan. Bake a dozen cookies, mix in hazelnuts in three of them. Most common food allergy for halflings. Gives us a 35% chance of dropping him right there. If not, mix in these three plants into three different cookies, by themselves, they're harmless taken together and it's light out. Little trick I learned when I interned over on Athas."

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I am kind of dreading seeing what we'll get for the pet feature this time. You'd think it'd be the primal companion, but...

I'm fairly certain that it will be more or less identical to how they work post-Eberron: Rising from the Last War. Commanding your pet as a bonus action works pretty well and works even better now that you can actually kind of play Drizzt (because Dual Wielding doesn't take a bonus action anymore).