D&D (2024) The Lackluster Ranger

[Corinnguard]

This is Level Up's Familiar Terrain feature:

When making an Intelligence or Wisdom check related to a natural terrain, you gain an expertise die if using a skill you’re proficient in. While traveling in a natural terrain, you gain the following benefits:

• Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel.
• Your group can’t become lost except by magical means.
• Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling, you remain alert to danger. Your passive Perception increases by 2.
• If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
• When you Hunt and Gather, you find twice as much Supply as you normally would.
• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.

 

[mellored]

I believe WOTC did it wrong

Thanks to your travels, you are particularly familiar with types of natural environment and are adept at traveling and surviving in such regions. Choose two type of favored terrain: arctic, coast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain, swamp, or the Underdark. You gain a benefit according to the terrain you choose.

• Arctic
• City: Choose one of your skill proficiencies with which you lack Expertise. You gain Expertise in that skill.
• Coast: You gain a Swim speed equal to your Speed and are proficient in Athletics. If you already proficient in or ever become proficient in Athletics, you can add your Wisdom modifier to Athletics checks.
• Desert: Whenever you finish a Short Rest, your Exhaustion level, if any, decreases by 1.
• Forest: You forage for twice as much food and water and are proficient in Stealth. If you already proficient in or ever become proficient in Athletics, you can add your Wisdom modifier to Stealth checks.
• Grassland: Your Speed increases by 10 feet and are proficient in Perception. If you already proficient in or ever become proficient in Perception, you can add your Wisdom modifier to Perception checks.
• Mountain: You gain a Climb speed equal to your Speed and are proficient in Athletics. If you already proficient in or ever become proficient in Athletics, you can add your Wisdom modifier to Athletics checks.
• Swamp
• the Underdark

Whenever you take a long rest or cast the Commune with Nature spell while in natural terrain, you may switch one of your favored terrains to the one you are currently in.

I'd make them like invocations. No reason to limit them to one at a time.

And do similar for Favored Enemy.

Undead Hunter: your attacks deal radiant damage.
Undead Defense: you have Necrotic resistance.
Dragon Hunter: you can use Topple on any attack.
Dragon Defense: you have advantage on dex saves.
Fey Defense: advantage against charm.
Fey Hunter: when you hit a target, it cannot teleport until the end of your next turn.
...

 

[Ashrym]

It could be because Favored Terrain is situational in nature. If you and your party were adventuring in your Favored Terrain, then you would definitely benefit from the feature. But if you aren't, then you are kind of out of luck. So, you would have to ask the DM about what kind of terrain is commonly found within the adventure and work it from there.

Isn't it more likely that a Ranger is going to be ranging through more than one terrain, in and out of an adventure? I think this is where Deft Explorer would more useful than Favored Terrain. As its' benefits don't end the moment you step outside your Favored Terrain.

By permanent bonus I mean an effect thematic to that terrain but useful everywhere.

 

[Minigiant]

I just like the idea that if a DM gives the Ranger downtime, they can attune to a terrain.


It feels very rangery for a ranger to swap terrains but it should not be easy.

I mean rangers range.

Heck rangers should also collect languages like souvenirs.

 

[CreamCloud0]

I just like the idea that if a DM gives the Ranger downtime, they can attune to a terrain.


It feels very rangery for a ranger to swap terrains but it should not be easy.

I mean rangers range.

Heck rangers should also collect languages like souvenirs.

i wouldn't mind the idea of like, 'mastered' terrains and 'attuned(?)' terrains, mastered terrains grant chunkier bonuses that are always in effect and attuned terrains you swap around but grant smaller boons only while in their associated environment

for example:
Forest
mastered: you can move while in stealth at full speed and gain the bonuses from being attuned to forest in all terrains.
attuned: you forage for twice as much food and water and have advantage on stealth checks.
Arctic
mastered: you ignore the penalties of obscurement from effects such as snow, smoke or low light and gain the bonuses from being attuned to arctic in all terrains.
attuned: you have resistance to cold damage and you conceal your party's trail as you travel inflicting disadvantage on anyone tracking you.
City
mastered: you gain proficiency in thieves tools and one other tool, instrument or gaming set (or two if already proficient in thieves tools) and gain the bonuses from being attuned to city in all terrains
attuned: you have advantage on gathering information on and locating people, places or services.

 

[Horwath]

Not in current 5e.

Current ASI and Feats are one of the top bonuses going single class has.

easy avoidable with choice of levels, but I do agree that it somewhat discourages dips for 1-3 levels.

You'd have to rejigger classes to give them a new reason to monoclass.

interesting features at higher levels or just upgrades and more usages of low level features?

 

[Horwath]

I believe WOTC did it wrong

Thanks to your travels, you are particularly familiar with types of natural environment and are adept at traveling and surviving in such regions. Choose two type of favored terrain: arctic, coast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain, swamp, or the Underdark. You gain a benefit according to the terrain you choose.

• Arctic
• City: Choose one of your skill proficiencies with which you lack Expertise. You gain Expertise in that skill.
• Coast: You gain a Swim speed equal to your Speed and are proficient in Athletics. If you already proficient in or ever become proficient in Athletics, you can add your Wisdom modifier to Athletics checks.
• Desert: Whenever you finish a Short Rest, your Exhaustion level, if any, decreases by 1.
• Forest: You forage for twice as much food and water and are proficient in Stealth. If you already proficient in or ever become proficient in Athletics, you can add your Wisdom modifier to Stealth checks.
• Grassland: Your Speed increases by 10 feet and are proficient in Perception. If you already proficient in or ever become proficient in Perception, you can add your Wisdom modifier to Perception checks.
• Mountain: You gain a Climb speed equal to your Speed and are proficient in Athletics. If you already proficient in or ever become proficient in Athletics, you can add your Wisdom modifier to Athletics checks.
• Swamp
• the Underdark

Whenever you take a long rest or cast the Commune with Nature spell while in natural terrain, you may switch one of your favored terrains to the one you are currently in.

agree with the idea, but I would not add Wis for everything. Expertise describes thing better.

Arctic: cold resistance, advantage on Acrobatics checks and Dex saves for maintaining balance
Urban: 3 skills from History, Insight, Deception, Persuasion, Intimidation, Perform, + 2 languages
Aquatic: Swim speed and water breathing
Desert: Fire resistance, you need only half food and water to survive
Forest: Climb speed, ignore natural difficult terrain
Plains: +10 ft speed, Dash as a bonus action
Mountain: Climb speed, Cold resistance, altitude adaptation
Swamp; resistance to poison damage, advantage vs poison and disease.
Underdark: +60ft darkvision, climb speed

favored enemy:

Aberration: psychic resistance, telepathy 60ft
Beast: pick 2;
+1 AC, climb speed, swim speed, +10ft move, natural weapon 1d8, poison resistance,
Celestials: radiant resistance, light cantrip
constructs: ignore DR with piercing, slashing and bludgeoning attacks.
Dragons: resistance to one damage type of dragons breath weapon, advantage on Dex saves vs AoE attacks
Elementals: resistance to one damage type of elementals, deal +1d6 elemental damage prof bonus/day
Fey: advantage vs enchantment and illusion spells, Fey step 1/day
Fiends: fire and necrotic resistance
Giants: you count as one size larger for grapple and similar effects. Enlarge 1/day
Monstrosities: alter self prof bonus/day
Undead: necrotic resistance, immune to ability score and max HP reduction

still:
I would like to see all that as optional and that Ranger has a system like warlock with invocations.

 

[Corinnguard]

You'd have to rejigger classes to give them a new reason to monoclass.

PF1 tried to do this with their classes by having fewer dead levels, more interesting class features and an appropriate capstone at 20th level for each class.

 

[Horwath]

PF1 tried to do this with their classes by having fewer dead levels, more interesting class features and an appropriate capstone at 20th level for each class.

honestly, capstone at 20th level is so irrelevant for that as it is not seen in 99% of the games.
Capstone should be at 11th level with possible improvements or extra usages later.
11th level means it cannot be taken by 2 classes for multiclass character.

now when I think about it, I now remembered that @DND_Reborn did with his variant:

D&D 5E - The "Faster Features" Variant (+)

Have you played a PC to level 20, to obtain your capstone feature and rejoice in newly found power and ability, only to have the adventure... end? Have you played many campaigns, making it to level 10 or 12 even, just to find the adventure is suddenly over, and look at those higher lofty levels...

www.enworld.org

all NEW abilities should come before 11th level, maybe at reduced power, so you can enjoy them in most of campaigns.

 

[Minigiant]

The problem with combat bonuses by type is that 5e doesn't enforce resistance, immunity, and damage bonus by creature type like older edition.

I once pondered a game where each monster type had a strength and weakness like plants having fire vulnerability but lightning resistance.

There the ranger analog could spend magic to swap damage types.