D&D (2024) What type of ranger would your prefer for 2024?

[Emberashh]

They say Survival to limit your suffering is 'seamless', so I'll believe it when I see it. PCs tend to just eat the mosnters from the random encounters that are the other tedious part of the exploration pillar.

Thats a good way to get Super Kuru. You don't know where that Goblins been Vaal.

 

[Horwath]

It can mean any character can try make a Wisdom (Medicine) Check to apply a Cure Wounds effect.

I am ok with this.

Certain simple spell effects, including Cure, Charm, Fear, Detect Poison, Detect Disease, Create Food and Water, and so on, should be available via ability checks.

all or maybe ranger only.
But ranger with medicine would be better at it.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Thats a good way to get Super Kuru. You don't know where that Goblins been Vaal.

Worth it to avoid counting rations!

 

[James Gasik]

5e rangers are spellcasters because way back in the very first days of the D&D Next project, before playtesting had even started, WotC ran several polls about what elements people thought were essential to each of the core classes. One of these polls was regarding the ranger and spells, and IIRC had options for “the ranger should not cast spells,” “the ranger should cast spells,” and “the ranger should cast some spells, but only a few and only at at high levels.” I actually voted for a few spells at high levels, but I’m pretty sure that was the least popular option; people who wanted no spells obviously didn’t like it because it some spells is more than no spells, and people who did want spells didn’t like it because if you only get a few spells at high level, they won’t be of any use anyway.

From what I remember, spells won by like 2/3, but it was a long time ago so my memory of the numbers is probably not accurate. Regardless, at the time more people wanted spells than not, but there was still enough desire for no spells that they at least tried spelless ranger twice in Unearthed Arcana. Predictably, people didn’t like the specific execution of the concept so WotC dropped the concept entirely. Like they do.

It was actually a complaint that the 4e Ranger was no longer "magical" (save for a small handful of Primal Powers they got in Essentials, to address this very gripe). Enough people wanted a magic Ranger for WotC to flip them from wholly Martial to Martial/Primal in 5e.

 

[Yaarel]

Re Ranger spell casting features.

The mechanical balance is currently unclear, but concept is viable:

Instead of spending slots per day (long rest), what if the Ranger makes ability checks to cast a spell. On the one hand, the spell can fail. On the other hand, the Ranger can keep on casting the same spells over and over again.

I notice the Shadowdark game engine does something like this. (It is a recent kickbacker that has a buzz, featuring old school simplicity and art but new school mechanics and cultural sensitivity.) So there is proof of concept.

If mechanical balance requires it, switch to short-rest spell points, because this is easy to flavor as mundane "stamina" or similar. Meanwhile, eschew all spell components, replace it with some kind of off-camera crafty action, like igniting a smoke bomb.

 

[CreamCloud0]

It can mean any character can try make a Wisdom (Medicine) Check to apply a Cure Wounds effect.

I am ok with this.

Certain simple spell effects, including Cure, Charm, Fear, Detect Poison, Detect Disease, Create Food and Water, and so on, should be available via ability checks.

while i am not objecting with the concept of skill check based spellcasting and have suggested something similar myself before i would still want the ranger the have cabilities that put them a just cut above the baseline capabilities of anyone else who can do those things (or at least, anyone who's hasnt also picked class/feat abilities that specialises them for healing, you know what i mean).
ranger ability Nature's Regrowth "a number of 1s you roll on your cure wounds medicine check become 2s equal to your WIS mod"

 

[Emberashh]

Worth it to avoid counting rations!

But it is worse than neglecting your skills (and thus your Level Ups and Class Resources).

As I've been speaking to, integrating all these gameplay loops and making them highly efficient is key.

 

[Horwath]

while i am not objecting with the concept of skill check based spellcasting and have suggested something similar myself before i would still want the ranger the have cabilities that put them a just cut above the baseline capabilities of anyone else who can do those things (or at least, anyone who's hasnt also picked class/feat abilities that specialises them for healing, you know what i mean).
ranger ability Nature's Regrowth "a number of 1s you roll on your cure wounds medicine check become 2s equal to your WIS mod"

I get what you are trying to do, but ability to turn 1's into 2's is so weak that I do not believe it is worth it.
maybe a flat +1 per die roll?

 

[Yaarel]

How about a Hunting and Foraging minigame that blends seamlessly into your travel sequences and helps you level up your character?

Unless foraging for food is somehow interesting to spell caster players, good luck with that ever happening in a reallife game.

 

[Yaarel]

They say Survival to limit your suffering is 'seamless', so I'll believe it when I see it. PCs tend to just eat the mosnters from the random encounters that are the other tedious part of the exploration pillar.

I have to admit, the most detail I have ever offered for "foraging" is, "You find berries nearby."

Fishing or hunting deer or rabbit could be an encounter, but what is the point? (Not a rhetorical question.)