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

[Gorck]

Non-magical abilities can easily be mostly "you do a thing anyone else can do but better and faster". A fighter is making normal melee attacks anyone can do at level 1, but up to 8x as fast. A ranger climbing and swimming is totally normal, except they can get climbing amd swimming speeds. A ranger setting up a trap is something anyone can do, except a ranger can make a snare that can catch a dragon out of twine, paper clips, and chewing gum.

Most people don’t realize that MacGyver was a Ranger

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

I think a better example than dropping a preset bear trap on the ground would be improvising a snare on the spot. That seems like an ability that would be Ranger exclusive (or maybe shared with the Druid, or a specific Druid subclass).

How does this work in a mundane fashion? And why wouldn't a rogue (expert at traps), or a druid or barbarian (wilderness survivalists), or some other class with an appropriate background, be able to do the same thing? Let's have an exercise that provides a challenging situation.

• DM: You are being pursued across the desert by the gnoll hunting party, maybe a dozen of them, who are about 1000 feet behind you. You are cresting a low dune and are about to be out of their site for maybe 1 minute. As you crest the dune, you see that the terrain continues for another mile before you reach the oasis camp. You have allies awaiting you there. Would you like to keep running? Or use the dune as a bit of cover to come up with a plan? You have maybe 1 minute of planning/preparation before the gnolls get to the point where they will be able to see you again.
• Gnome Illusionist: I'm not as fast as you guys. I'm a wheezing whizard, here. I'm not going to make it a mile.
• Human Life Cleric: We're running because their archers have been very effective and I'm low on healing. We need to get the macguffin to the oasis. But Gnomerun is right.
• Dwarf Champion: I agree with Hugh, man. I say we stop here and make our stand, surprising those dudes as they come over the dune.
• Elf Hunter: Dwar, friend, you are right. We fight. DM, I want to improvise some sort of snare to hinder them as best I can.
• DM: You are running through sand and there is no vegetation nearby. Despite the ground being sand, I'll rule that if you have pitons and a cord in your inventory, you can make a tripwire and hope it slows 1 down, knocking them prone on a failed save, and they have to stand back up. But that's it. You might prevent 1 round of attacks from that one guy if they fail their save.
• Elf Hunter: Can I set a snare that immobilizes one for longer?
• DM: You have a rope, pitons, and sand with no trees, and 1 minute. Wow me with an idea.
• Gnome Illusionist: Can't you use the Snare spell, "El Forester"? Wait, did you get those bear traps?
• Elf Hunter: The Snare spell sucks. I've never prepared it. And no to the bear traps. Why would I carry an extra 20 lbs of wrought iron? That's inelegant.
• Gnome Illusionist: Either would be useful now. It'd be awesome if the Snare spell took only an action so you could set a couple magic snares that lifted them in the air.
• Elf Hunter: Make that suggestion to the designers of the primal universe. sigh I guess I make a tripwire in the sand.

How does one write a mundane improvised "trap/snare" ability that works in any terrain? What does it do, and why? Remember in order for it to be a rule, it has to be written to make sense in any appropriate environment.

Now if you make it a Primal supernatural ability, that is fine! But what makes that different than a spell?

 

[Incenjucar]

Make Snare
You can build a snare using 1gp of material in 10 minutes with the DC set by a Survival check.

Ranger Snare Skillz
You can build a snare using 5sp of material in 1 minute. You can find this material using a Survival check after 10 minutes. You have advantage when setting the DC of the snare.

Hyper Ranger Skillz
You can build and maintain preset snares, up to your proficiency bonus per long rest. You can drop these snares as a bonus action.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

Make Snare
You can build a snare using 1gp of material in 10 minutes with the DC set by a Survival check.

Ranger Snare Skillz
You can build a snare using 5sp of material in 1 minute. You can find this material using a Survival check after 10 minutes. You have advantage when setting the DC of the snare.

Hyper Ranger Skillz
You can build and maintain preset snares, up to your proficiency bonus per long rest. You can drop these snares as a bonus action.

That isn't a complete rule.

What does "snare" even mean? What do they do? Do you mean that it works just like the spell? If that is the case, I'll try my hand a merging your ideas with the effect of the Snare spell.

Snare Setter​

Basic Snare Setter: You can purchase a Snare Kit, or make a Snare Kit costing 1gp worth of material during downtime. You can set a snare in 10 minutes, with a Dexterity saving throw with a DC set by a Wisdom (Survival) check.​

Expert Snare Setter: As Basic Snare Setter, except you can set the snare in 1 minute, and you have advantage when setting the DC of the snare. You can also find the appropriate materials using a DC 15 Survival check after 10 minutes.​

Master Snare Setter: As Expert Snare Setter, except you can build and maintain preset snares, up to your proficiency bonus per long rest. You can drop these snares as a bonus action.​

Snare effect: The triggering creature must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or fall prone and be hoisted into the air until it hangs upside down 3 feet above the protected surface, where it is restrained. The restrained creature can make a Dexterity saving throw with disadvantage at the end of each of its turns and ends the restrained effect on a success. Alternatively, another creature that can reach the restrained creature can use an action to make an Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check against your save DC. On a success, the restrained effect also ends.​

First, I would not allow any version of that mundane ability in an open field or a location without trees/walls/verticality. The game doesn't work on video game logic. Environment matters.

Second, I will never again allow ability checks to determine the save DCs of combat effects. Ability check modifiers and totals are on a completely different level that saving throw modifiers and totals. It was a bad idea for grappling (I hope they keep the UA changes for grappling DCs), and a bad idea for traps.

• 3rd level Ranger, or the DM using an enemy ranger: OK, you trip the snare. I rolled a.... 24 for their Wisdom Survival check. That is the Dex save DC to break free. Good luck.

 

[Incenjucar]

Why on earth would I make a complete rule as an example in a forum? Specific details need to be carefully balanced and compared. I'm just showing how easy it is to contrast dedicated skill sets versus things random farmers cam do.

 

[Minigiant]

Make Snare
You can build a snare using 1gp of material in 10 minutes with the DC set by a Survival check

50% of D&D DMs would make sure that never leaves playtest.

 

[Minigiant]

Why on earth would I make a complete rule as an example in a forum? Specific details need to be carefully balanced and compared. I'm just showing how easy it is to contrast dedicated skill sets versus things random farmers cam do.

Your version makes sense as an example.

However the actual version would have to be as long as @Mirrorrorrim 's version.

Doing that to every Rangery thing would balloon the Ranger class section to 10 or more pages.

 

[Incenjucar]

50% of D&D DMs would make sure that never leaves playtest.

WotC isn't the only source of rules.

 

[Incenjucar]

Your version makes sense as an example.

However the actual version would have to be as long as @Mirrorrorrim 's version.

Doing that to every Rangery thing would balloon the Ranger class section to 10 or more pages.

Oh noes?

We used to devote whole books to single classes on the regular.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

Why on earth would I make a complete rule as an example in a forum? Specific details need to be carefully balanced and compared. I'm just showing how easy it is to contrast dedicated skill sets versus things random farmers cam do.

But that isn't what you did. In fact, what you did was create the idea of a subsystem that is not a class ability. There is no reason that what you wrote was a Ranger-only ability.

Your idea has merit in a certain context, in that it deserves to be built out to cover different types of traps and snares and effectiveness. A Trap subsystem.

But with how much design would need to go into it to give a variety of appropriate and balanced options for varying terrains and circumstances, it does not warrant being a ranger-only ability. It doesn't fit into a class structure. The theme/functionality also doesn't deserve being a primary class ability like superiority dice or invocations.

Remember, we're talking about what can be implemented for 5E.