Air elemental ranger variant - advice?

[DamionW]

Hello again people. In my series of elemental variant classes, I’ve drafted up a wind/air variant ranger build. As with the paladin I made, http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=151601, I’m looking for some balance advice from the experts on here. These classes are for a campaign world where the Elemental Planes have partially fused with the Material plane and dominated all of the cultures there. Some of the rangers in that world fall under the Air category, and that’s how I designed them. I wanted them to reflect speed and maneuverability as their primary attribute, and change their spell lists to match that. I’ll outline the “crunchy” changes I’ve made up top, but I included the full class description and flavor afterwards for anyone who wants to read it and/or use it in their campaign world.

Basically, my mechanics changes boil down to:

1) Alignment restricted to non-lawful
2) Replaced Heal, Knowledge (dungeoneering), Knowledge (geography), and Swim with Balance, Escape Artist, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble as class skills.
3) Favored enemies restricted to specific species of creatures instead of overall types. This tightened focus translates into an offensive bonus as well as a defensive bonus as in Masters of the Wild (i.e., for each favored enemy, the ranger gets +2 to Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival skills, as well as +2 to damage and to AC)
4) Improved Initiative replaces Endurance as a bonus feat at 3rd level
5) Animal companions chosen from plains, desert, and cold forest environments, the only terrains in the campaign world where air rangers are from.
6) Spell list majorly revised to focus on air spells, including some direct damage wind/lightning type spells (Some I only know of from the 3.0 splat books I own, and I only have Complete Divine for 3.5. If anyone knows if they’ve been updated to a 3.5 “Complete” book, or if there’s a reason to exclude them from a 3.5 game, please note that for me).
7) Evasion gained at 7th level instead of 9th
8) Removed Woodland Stride ability
9) Add Improved Evasion as the rogue special ability at 13th level.
10) Moved Camouflage ability to 14th level
11) Moved Hide in Plain Sight to 18th level

That’s how the class stands right now. Is combining the offensive and defensive bonuses too much as a tradeoff for having specific favored enemies? Also, I’m kind of ambivalent to the camouflage and hide in plain sight abilities. They could fit the stealthy aspect of the character, but I’m thinking of replacing them with air-based spell-like abilities, like Feather Fall X/day or Control Winds X/week. That would increase the air aspects of the character, but make them less useful in the typical hunter role. I’m still not sure. The spell lists also have the same problem I had with the paladin spell list, including some offensive spells. What are others’ thoughts on the class?

Ok, here’s the full class description with flavor. Thanks for reading and for any advice!


AIR VARIANT RANGER
For as long as there have been wild lands, there have been rough men and women patrolling them, hunting down creatures and foes alike. These warriors are known as rangers. Since the coming of the Four Forces, two distinct types of rangers have emerged. The elves and humans of The Wildwood Council continue to pass down the time-honored traditions of the forest stalkers of old. These fit the traditional image of a ranger as in most fantasy games. However, a new type of ranger has come out of the deserts of Sirocco and the clouds of Typhoon like a storm. These swift and stealthy bandits are the scourge of the Earth Realms; killing their champions and stealing their riches in the name of the Air Lords and then scattering to the breezes. They are bastions of all that is free and wild about the wind. These are the windstalkers, or air rangers.
While the traditional Wildwood rangers call upon the forces of nature like the druids they work with, the windstalkers draw their strength from the Air Lords. These warriors value speed over strength and surprise over numbers. They are among the most skilled ranged combatants in the world, amplifying their aim with the guidance of the Wind Lords. They strike fast, and then disappear like dust in the wind. Anywhere the greedy Earth Realms spread their plans, the windstalkers are there to harass and confound their every move.
Adventures: Windstalkers adventure for many reasons. Often they set forth as an obligation to their tribe and to their religion to fight the Earth Lords wherever they can. Some just feel the need to wander far from their homes and join adventuring parties. Like Wildwood rangers, they are penultimate trackers and hunters, and their skills are in demand in many areas.
Characteristics: Windstalkers are skilled combatants, training in many different forms of weapons. They are exceptionally fast and stealthy, sneaking through the savannahs and steppes of the west. They train to pick specific foes from their tribe’s enemies and study them intently to learn how to fight them. Lastly, as the ranger progresses, they gain access to air elemental and nature spells that augment their skills with animals and in combat.
Alignment: Like the Air clerics that they frequently associate with, windstalkers are a wild lot. They value freedom from restrictions and believe the ends justify the means in most ways. Windstalker may not be lawful because the forces the worship are too capricious to be tied down in an orderly fashion.
Religion: Windstalkers do not draw their divine energy directly from the spirits of the land. They study devoutly under the clerics of the Air Lord, and worship in their temples. It is this strength of faith that grants them spells at higher levels.
Background: Most windstalkers train under the elders in their tribes. The clerics of the Air Realms monitor young children to see who has the skill and devotion to follow the path. They then hand them off to the rangers of the tribe to take them into the wild and train them. This training lasts months and years until the youth is prepared to take the tribe’s fights to the wilds and defend the ideals of the Air Lords.
Races: Halflings and humans form the brunt of the windstalkers. Aaracokra are also frequently called to the path. These warriors form the majority of those races’ armies and hunting parties. The gnolls of the savannah have also adapted their hunting styles to match the windstalkers and have heard the voices of the Air Lords on the blowing breezes. However, these gnoll windstalkers aren’t focused on fighting the Earth Lords as much as they are preying on those foolish enough to trespass in their territory.

GAME RULE INFORMATION:
Air-variant rangers have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Dexterity is crucial to a windstalker’s combat abilities. It increases their AC beyond the light armor they wear and improves their ranged attacks. Wisdom determines their spellcasting abilities and the difficulty class of their effects. Wisdom is also important to a windstalker’s ability to track their opponents. Constitution improves their hit points and their ability to press a hunt.
Alignment: Any non-lawful.
Hit Die: (Normal) d8

Class Skills:
The Air Variant Ranger’s class skills are as a normal ranger’s, except that Balance, Escape Artist, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble replace Heal, Knowledge(Dungeoneering), Knowledge (Geography), and Swim.
Skill points: (Normal) 6+Int modifier

Class Features:
All of the following are class features of the Air Variant Ranger.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: (Normal)
Favored Enemy (Ex): At 1st level, a air variant ranger may select a favored enemy from the following list of specific creatures: Ankheg, Bulette, Dragon; Blue, Dragon; Copper, Dragonne, Dwarf; Hill, Dwarf; Mountain, Dwarf; Deep, Earth Elemental, Gargoyle, Genie; Efreet, Genie; Dao, Giant; Stone, Gnoll, Goblin, Human Earth Cleric, Human Monk, Lamia, Orc, Ogre, Salamander, Sauhagin, Troll, Troglodyte, Umber Hulk, Wyvern, Xorn, and Yrthak.
Due to their tightened study of specific foes rather than foe types allows them to gain the offensive bonuses of a normal ranger, plus the defensive bonuses listed in Masters of the Wild book (+2 to Move Silently, Hide, and a +2 dodge bonus to AC). The windstalker’s choices of enemies and the bonuses increase as a normal ranger’s do, at every 5th level.
Track: (Normal)
Wild Empathy (Ex): (Normal)
Combat Style (Ex): (Normal), but it is much more natural for windstalkers to choose archery over two-weapon fighting, and their spells and dexterity greatly improve this style. However, there is no prohibition against choosing two-weapon fighting.
Improved Initiative: At 3rd level the air-variant ranger gains the Improved Initiative feat instead of the Endurance feat of normal rangers.
Animal Companion (Ex): (Normal), but their choices reflect the environment they roam in. At 4th level, the air variant ranger can select a companion from the following list: Baboon, camel, dog(coyote, jackal), dog; riding, eagle, hawk, horse (light or heavy), hyena, owl, pony, or snake; small or medium viper
At 8th level, the list includes: Bison, cheetah, leopard (cougar), Lizard; monitor (gila monster), Snake; constrictor, snake; large viper, wolverine
At 14th level, the list includes: Bear; brown, dire wolverine, lion, rhinoceros, snake; huge viper
At 20th level, the list includes: Dire lion
These lists reflect the windstalker’s territory of plains and deserts. The forest creatures on the list reflect air rangers from the trapping town of Skyfall in the far north.
Spells: (Normal), but the spell list that is granted from the Air Lords are different than the Wildwood ranger list (see below).
Improved Combat Style (Ex): (Normal), but again archery dominates.
Evasion (Ex): At 7th level, the air variant ranger gains the evasion ability that a normal ranger gets at 9th level.
Combat Style Mastery (Ex): (Normal)
Improved Evasion (Ex): At 13th level, the windstalker gains the improved evasion ability, as the rogue’s special ability.
Camoflage (Ex): (Normal), but gained at 14th level.
Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): (Normal), but gained at 18th level.

Spell List:

1st Level:
Alarm
Animal Messenger
Animal Trick (3.0 Masters of the Wild, 3.5 version anywhere?)
Bloodhound (3.0 MotW, 3.5?)
Calm Animals
Camouflage (Complete Divine)
Charm Animal
Dawn (3.0 MotW, 3.5?)
Detect Animals & Plants *(Limited to animals only)
Detect Snares and Pits
Endure Elements
Entropic Shield
Expeditious Retreat
Feather Fall
Hawkeye (CD)
Hide from animals
Jump
Know Direction
Longstrider
Magic Fang
Naturewatch (CD)
Pass Without Trace
Read Magic
Speak with Animals
Summon Nature’s Ally I *(Limited to eagles, hawks, snake; small viper)
Traveller’s Mount (CD)

2nd Level:
Augury
Bear’s Endurance
Cat’s Grace
Cure Light Wounds
Filter (3.0 Tome and Blood, 3.5 version anywhere?)
Gust of Wind
Hold Animal
Locate Object
Nature’s Favor (CD)
Owl’s Wisdom
Scent (CD)
Snare
Speed of the Wind (3.0 MotW, 3.5?)
Summon Nature’s Ally II *(Limited to Small Air Elementals, Dire Bats, Hippogriffs, snake; medium viper, or wolverines)
Wind Wall

3rd Level:
Blessed Aim (3.0 Defenders of the Faith, 3.5 version anywhere?)
Cure Moderate Wounds
Darkvision
Detect Favored Enemy (CD)
Embrace the Wild (3.0 MotW, 3.5?)
Fly
Forestfold (CD)
Gaseous Form
Harrier (3.0 DoF, 3.5?)
Magic Fang, Greater
Mark of the Hunter (CD)
Protection from Arrows
Reduce Animal
Remove Disease
Repel Vermin
Summon Nature’s Ally III *(Limited to lions, giant owls, giant eagles, snake; large viper, snake, constrictor)
Whispering Wind

4th Level:
Air Walk
Animal Growth
Bane Bow (CD)
Camouflage, Mass (CD)
Cure Serious Wounds
Freedom of Movement
Implacable Pursuer (CD)
Lightning Bolt
Nondetection
Summon Nature’s Ally IV *(Limited to brown bears, dire wolverines, juvenile arrowhawks, air mephits, dust mephits, and medium air elementals)



Alright, fire the criticisms away!

 

[Kisanji Arael]

Not that I'll necessarily have a chance, but would you prefer that this be balanced only against the PHB ranger or the oh-so delightful Paladin you created?

What you've already done looks really solid. The spell lists look balanced at first glance, and you've accounted for number crunching nicely.

Here's an offering, if you should feel inclined toward wind-based combat styles. You don't have to use them, but here are my contributiond to a Wind based ranger:

Combat Style (Ex): At 2nd level, a ranger must select one of two combat styles to pursue: Spring Breeze or Autumn Cyclone combat. This choice affects the character’s class features but does not restrict his selection of feats or special abilities in any way.
If the ranger selects the Spring Breeze as his combat style, he begins to focus more on the subtle aspects of representing the wind. He may literally turn the wind against any opponent he studies without attacking for 2 rounds. He gains either a +2 bonus to AC against them or a bonus to attack equal to 1/3 of his ranks in Sleight of Hand (ranger's choice). While he concentrates on this enemy, however, he suffers -3 AC against all other enemies.
If the ranger selects Autumn Cyclone as his combat style, he learns to use much the air around him much more obviously. For every three ranks he has in tumble, the ranger may once/day make a mid-air tumble. This is similar to tumbling at half speed past an enemy, except that the DC is 15, and that he literally tumbles through solid air. If the enemy is Huge or larger, this DC increases by 3/size category.
The benefits of the ranger’s chosen style apply only when he wears light or no armor. He loses all benefits of his combat style when wearing medium or heavy armor.

Improved Combat Style (Ex): At 6th level, a ranger’s aptitude in his chosen combat style (Spring Breeze or Autumn Cyclone) improves.
If he selected Spring Breeze, then he begins to follow the currents surrounding others with increasing skill. He is not considered flanked unless more than two opponents surround him.
If he selected Autumn Cyclone, he may focus even when under pressure. He can take 10 on Balance, Jump, and Tumble checks, even when stress and distractions would normally prevent her from doing so.
The benefits of the ranger’s chosen style apply only when he wears light or no armor. He loses all benefits of his combat style when wearing medium or heavy armor.

Combat Style Mastery (Ex): At 11th level, a ranger’s aptitude in his chosen combat style (Spring Breeze or Autumn Cyclone) increases again.
If he selected Spring Breeze, then he can simulate a feather fall spell on himself once/day. He is not considered flanked unless threatened by more than three opponents.
If he selected Autumn Cyclone, he may now use the wind to guide him in a charge. He may at will use the wind to spring him into the air, and use a melee weapon to assault his enemy on the way down. He bypasses all enemies within 15 feet of his target, and on falling, he attacks wth a 1.5 Str modifier. After using this ability, the ranger is considered winded for three turns. The benefits of the ranger’s chosen style apply only when he wears light or no armor. He loses all benefits of his combat style when wearing medium or heavy armor.

 

[Thia Halmades]

*stares a moment at Kisanji*

I don't know off the top of my head if that's actually balanced, but it sounds really ****ing cool. That's the sort of thing I tend to say when I hadn't even considered something like that yet. Amusingly, I was wondering where you were going to go with the weapon design from 3.5, but now I know. You'll go with that.

Bearing that in mind, I'd also like to suggest beefing up their Ranged capabilities and making it more Wind/Lightning based. Some options are:

At X level (say, 9th) windstalkers may add Lightning Damage to their arrows a number of times per day equal to their level, in the form of 1d6. At 18th level, this damage bonus increases to 2d6.

You may wish to add Shocking Grasp to the spell list.

You may want to create a new Feat: Spell Shot. The Ranger/Windwalker may cast any spell up to 3rd level on an arrow, then deliver the spell via the arrow to the target. The arrow deals normal damage, and the spell acts as a normal spell of its type. So, for example, if you cast Shocking Grasp, you'd deal d8 bow damage, then follow it immediately with the Shocking Grasp spell. This is similar too the Divine Reach feat from either CD or the PHB, I forget which.

You can run this as the traditional Feat, thus only using touch attacks, or (which I thought was more interesting) any spell up to 3rd level from the Ranger spell list. Foom. Instant range.

Have you considered giving them invisibility at 4th level? This would remove your "hide in plain sight" problem and you could argue it as a cloaking wind. Or. You could call the spell Cloaking Wind and call it good from there.

See also: Storm Lord for higher end lightning abilities.

My $0.02.

 

[Nyaricus]

wow, another solid and impressive class; i can't wait to see the last two - earth monk and fire barbarian (!!).

As it is, i am in school right now, and i can't respond in too much detail without my books . . . as it is, here are a few points:

Not that I'll necessarily have a chance, but would you prefer that this be balanced only against the PHB ranger or the oh-so delightful Paladin you created?

The Ocean Paladin was balanced against the core pally, so i think it would be fine to balance this ranger against the core one. We want the same flavour, but with additions (in this case, Air for a "windstalker").

other than that, i like what i see. Kisanji, i like the detail you put into your "Combat Styles," - I will have to check 'em over later for balance.

later

 

[DamionW]

*stares a moment at Kisanji*

I don't know off the top of my head if that's actually balanced, but it sounds really ****ing cool. That's the sort of thing I tend to say when I hadn't even considered something like that yet. Amusingly, I was wondering where you were going to go with the weapon design from 3.5, but now I know. You'll go with that.

I'm with Thia on this. I really like the thought train you've got here Kisanji, I just may have to tweak it. In the end, I want a balanced core class. There are still "vanilla" rangers in the world, and I don't want these guys overshadowing them, just taking a wind-flavored route to being a hunter/stalker.

Bearing that in mind, I'd also like to suggest beefing up their Ranged capabilities and making it more Wind/Lightning based. Some options are:

At X level (say, 9th) windstalkers may add Lightning Damage to their arrows a number of times per day equal to their level, in the form of 1d6. At 18th level, this damage bonus increases to 2d6.

You may wish to add Shocking Grasp to the spell list.

You may want to create a new Feat: Spell Shot. The Ranger/Windwalker may cast any spell up to 3rd level on an arrow, then deliver the spell via the arrow to the target. The arrow deals normal damage, and the spell acts as a normal spell of its type. So, for example, if you cast Shocking Grasp, you'd deal d8 bow damage, then follow it immediately with the Shocking Grasp spell. This is similar too the Divine Reach feat from either CD or the PHB, I forget which.

You can run this as the traditional Feat, thus only using touch attacks, or (which I thought was more interesting) any spell up to 3rd level from the Ranger spell list. Foom. Instant range.

Have you considered giving them invisibility at 4th level? This would remove your "hide in plain sight" problem and you could argue it as a cloaking wind. Or. You could call the spell Cloaking Wind and call it good from there.

See also: Storm Lord for higher end lightning abilities.

My $0.02.

All of these are good ideas, I just am afraid of them being too powerful for basic classes. With the paladin, I tried to make as near a 1-1 swap of abilities so that it was comparable to a normal "light and law" paladin, just "water and compassion" oriented. All of this stuff are things I might use, I just may adapt the Consecrated Harrier or Holy Liberator PrCs to grant the special abilities. And you can bet there are a lot of Air Character Stormlords.

 

[Thia Halmades]

I thought you were going for more of a damage dealer, which is what Rangers are technically slated as; a low staying power fast striker (because they have the AC of a sitting duck compared to your average tricked out fighter). I was suggesting things which went with the Lightning/Kaboom theme. By all means, balance as you see fit, take what you like, put the rest in a bag and leave it in the fridge.

Comparatively, yes, this looks fine. I don't think you did much that was over the top, hence my confusion. Your Paladin build has some distinct differences; all I really noticed here was a change in the Spell Progression.

 

[DamionW]

I thought you were going for more of a damage dealer, which is what Rangers are technically slated as; a low staying power fast striker (because they have the AC of a sitting duck compared to your average tricked out fighter). I was suggesting things which went with the Lightning/Kaboom theme. By all means, balance as you see fit, take what you like, put the rest in a bag and leave it in the fridge.

Comparatively, yes, this looks fine. I don't think you did much that was over the top, hence my confusion. Your Paladin build has some distinct differences; all I really noticed here was a change in the Spell Progression.

Yeah, I knew there were less substanstive differences between here and a standard ranger than there were for the paladin conversion. Part of that was there were more abilities in the base paladin to swap out logically. I didn't mean to make the air rangers completely lightning kaboom, because I don't want to lose the wilderness/ranger feel of them completely. I just want to make them faster strikers with some more wind spells and ranged combat prowess. The two combat styles Kisanji gave are definately a springboard of ideas for me, I like them. I'm just in the same boat of wondering how to balance them vs the 2 weapon/archery styles of a generic ranger. It's the difficulty of house rules and unfounded territory. How do you invent a cool class with nice mechanics to match that doesn't nerf a basic fighter or a basic rogue (which any elemental culture could still have as a character choice)? If I can test that out on this thread and get a feel, that's what I'll offer up to the players.

 

[Kisanji Arael]

I suppose that these are my thoughts on the elements:

Wind is in between fire and water not only on an imaginary elemental wheel, but also in what it does. Water, in its natural state, is healing, and doesn't hurt people unless affected by storms (wind). Fire in its natural state is harming, but is intrinsically linked to its fuel source (earth). But both earth and wind are different. Earth and wind in their natural states are neither harming nor healing. When earth combines with fire, it makes earthquakes; when it combines with water, it makes life. When wind combines with water, it makes rain; when it combines with fire, it makes lightning.

So when I think of an air-based fighter, there are three possibilities. First, he uses either Rain, Mists, and Storms(water-air), Lightning (fire-air), or he can be pure wind, like your paladin was pure water. If you decide to go this route, then you might consider making track into a smell (fragrance) based skill. Possibly give them immunity to the animal scent power as well, in the same vein as (but not replacing) Hide in Plain Sight. Also, there need to be more flying animals in your animal companion lists.

 

[DamionW]

I suppose that these are my thoughts on the elements:

Wind is in between fire and water not only on an imaginary elemental wheel, but also in what it does. Water, in its natural state, is healing, and doesn't hurt people unless affected by storms (wind). Fire in its natural state is harming, but is intrinsically linked to its fuel source (earth). But both earth and wind are different. Earth and wind in their natural states are neither harming nor healing. When earth combines with fire, it makes earthquakes; when it combines with water, it makes life. When wind combines with water, it makes rain; when it combines with fire, it makes lightning.

So when I think of an air-based fighter, there are three possibilities. First, he uses either Rain, Mists, and Storms(water-air), Lightning (fire-air), or he can be pure wind, like your paladin was pure water. If you decide to go this route, then you might consider making track into a smell (fragrance) based skill. Possibly give them immunity to the animal scent power as well, in the same vein as (but not replacing) Hide in Plain Sight. Also, there need to be more flying animals in your animal companion lists.

I usually stick with the convention that fire plus air equals smoke. Also, pure water can be just as deadly as pure fire. My overall associations that I use are: Water=Creation, Fire=Destruction, Wind=Change, Earth=Stability. So, for a wind based ranger, I want him to be fast and fluid as his primary traits. The combat styles you suggested are great ideas towards this end, I just have to think about the mechanics carefully. I still might try and make the division such that Spring Breeze sticks with ranged combat and Autumn Cyclone is a melee combat style. This would be easier to balance against the standard Archery/Two-weapon styles; they simply would be more fluid versions. As for track by scent, that could make sense, as well as the lack of a scent to counter tracking. If there were more flying animals, and not magical beasts, that I had to pick from, I'd put them on the list. Are there any good references for that I could look at? Right now I'm just working with the core Monster Manual.

 

[DamionW]

For those who are interested, I've posted the Fire Barbarian:

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=153213