D&D 3E/3.5 3.5 Eberron TWF ranger ideas

[Casey-13]

I'm usually a magic-user type, so melee is new for me. I'm jumping into a game where my character starts at 12. I'm making a human two weapon ranger. I'm thinking ranger 10/fighter 2 (fighter for the extra feats).

Any suggestions for feats?
Weapon suggestions? I'm leaning towards scimitars...

 

[Shin Okada]

Improved Shield Bash (PHB)
Oversized Two-Weapon Fighting (Complete Adventurer)

Then use any one handed weapon of your choice and a spiked heavy shield.

If I were you I will go straight Ranger 12 instead. As you are actually using Combat Style feature, you only wear light armor. So you don't need heavy armor proficiency. 2 more Fighter feats may be useful. But you will get Combat Style Mastery at Ranger 11. Also, if you are using various supplements including Spell Compendium, Ranger spells are actually useful. So, maxing out Ranger class level is not a bad idea.

Or, you may try Tempest prestige class in Complete Adventurer.

 

[Casey-13]

I have access to pretty much any 3.5 books (my friends are uber-geeks), and I own the Spell Compendium. I do have a WIS score of 15, so I have full access to the ranger spells.

I should also say that the only PrC that I'm avoiding is Dervish because a friend of mine has a Dervish in another game we play in (pretty much the same folks in both games, just different DMs).

I'm really open to anything

 

[almagest]

Eberron, eh? Valenar Elf Ranger/Revenant Blade, Valenar Double Scimitar. Great flavor, really good 2 weapon fighting abilities. You can find the relevant information in the Player's Guide to Eberron, starting on pg. 140.

It's only a 5 level prestige class, so you have room to work with afterwards. I'd suggest a level of Exotic Weapon Master for flurry, Tempest, Swordsage (Desert Wind), Warblade (Tiger Claw) for Blood in the Water, and maybe Lion Totem Barbarian for Pounce.

 

[kyrand]

Good to see you made it over here.

The Tempest PrC looks like a good one, since it can provide you with an AC bonus (good, since you'll have no shield w/o using Shin's bash method), lesser two-weapon penalties, and the ability to use both weapons when your Spring Attack (check PHB for that one, if unfamiliar). On the other hand, it does slow down your ranger abilities, like favored enemy, combat style, spells, and animal companion.

I can definitely recommend Combat Reflexes, Mobility, Weapon Focus (good if you use two of the same type weapon), and possibly Spring Attack.

If you can afford it with your starting gold, a Mithral Breastplate (which counts as light, yay!) would be useful. For weapons, the Bane property has the potential to be devastating when the target is also a favored enemy.

Having never played a ranger myself, that's the best I can do right this moment. I 'll let you know at the party if any other ideas crop up.

 

[blargney the second]

Valenar elf ranger 2/fighter 4/revenant blade 5/tempest 1
Feats: Weapon Focus (double scimitar), TWF, Bladebearer of the Valenar, Dodge, Mobility, ITWF, Weapon Specialization (double scimitar), Melee Weapon Mastery (slashing), Spring Attack.

Over the next 8 levels, you could consider taking 3 of scout, 4 more of tempest, then 1 of exotic weapon master. Future feat ideas with those classes would be Swift Hunter and Bounding Assault.
-blarg

 

[Casey-13]

Valenar elf ranger 2/fighter 4/revenant blade 5/tempest 1
Feats: Weapon Focus (double scimitar), TWF, Bladebearer of the Valenar, Dodge, Mobility, ITWF, Weapon Specialization (double scimitar), Melee Weapon Mastery (slashing), Spring Attack.

Over the next 8 levels, you could consider taking 3 of scout, 4 more of tempest, then 1 of exotic weapon master. Future feat ideas with those classes would be Swift Hunter and Bounding Assault.
-blarg

What of this would work for a human? I'm plopped into ranger because I joined this game saying "I don't care what I play, I just want this pc to be related to someone else"....so this character has two siblings that she adventures with.

 

[blargney the second]

It doesn't work for a human, but it could certainly be workable as a half-elf.

If you're set on being a human, things would change a little:
Human ranger 2/fighter 4/tempest 5/exotic weapon master 1
Feats: Exotic Weapon (spinning sword), Dodge, Mobility, TWF, Weapon Focus (spinning sword), Spring Attack, Weapon Specialization (spinning sword), ITWF, Melee Weapon Mastery (slashing), Oversized TWF.

Spinning sword is from Secrets of Sarlona - it's a one-handed exotic melee weapon that has reach and can hit adjacent targets. 1d6 damage with 19-20 crits.

 

[kyrand]

It doesn't work for a human, but it could certainly be workable as a half-elf.

If you're set on being a human, things would change a little:
Human ranger 2/fighter 4/tempest 5/exotic weapon master 1
Feats: Exotic Weapon (spinning sword), Dodge, Mobility, TWF, Weapon Focus (spinning sword), Spring Attack, Weapon Specialization (spinning sword), ITWF, Melee Weapon Mastery (slashing), Oversized TWF.

Spinning sword is from Secrets of Sarlona - it's a one-handed exotic melee weapon that has reach and can hit adjacent targets. 1d6 damage with 19-20 crits.

Out of curiosity, which stunt are you suggesting for the exotic weapon master? The two-weapon one is redundant, as Tempest, Oversized TWF and regular TWF drop the penalties to 0.

 

[blargney the second]

Good catch! I originally made a double weapon wielder, then switched to spinning swords when I realized that there was no reason to stick with double scimitar anymore.

Just switch exotic weapon master with a level of scout.
-blarg