Alternate rangers

[jester47]

Besides Malhavoc and Necromancer ranger variants, what are some others that you use or like?

I am asking this to find out what different versions of the ranger are out there.

Aaron.

 

[mmadsen]

You've already posted to the What's a Monte Ranger? thread, so I assume you've seen Monte Cook's Ranger and the Ranger Project site, with its 25 alt.rangers.

I'll repeat my recommendation from that thread (for anyone who hasn't read it):

For a very different take on the Ranger, one I still recommend for the Scout archetype, I suggest an alt.Rogue with the Ranger's skill list. With the Rogue's skill points, these Scouts can max out (more of) the skills you expect them to have: Spot, Listen; Hide, Move Silently; Wilderness Lore, Intuit Direction; Climb, Jump, Swim; etc. And the Sneak Attack fits Elven sentries, Goblin scouts, Faramir's men, Indian savages, etc.

If you want to go a step further, you can replace the Rogue's Special Abilities with Bonus Feats (some taken from other classes' Special Abilities' lists): Alertness, Endurance, Improved Critical, Point Blank Shot (Far Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Shot on the Run), Quickdraw, Run, Skill Focus (Class Skill), Track, Weapon Focus; Nature Sense, Animal Companion, Woodland Stride, Trackless Step; Sneak Attack, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge.

 

[Tsyr]

My current favorite is the Outdoorsman in FFG's "Path of the Sword".

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Salutations,

Out of all the ones I have seen, this is the best one I have seen-

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19923

It is the one proposed by mattcolville.

FD

 

[Crothian]

There are some great one's in AEG's Mercenaries.

 

[jester47]

I took a look at the ranger project, and while they seem quite nice I am looking for rangers that are published by d20 companies. I have seen the malhavoc (Monte Cook) and necropolis (necromancer games) versions. I am just looking for more. Thanks for the suggestions so far.

Aaron.

 

[mmadsen]

Out of all the ones I have seen, this is the best one I have seen-http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19923

It is the one proposed by mattcolville.

For anyone who doesn't want to look it up on the other thread, here are the abilities mattcolville gives his Ranger:

Creature Lore: A ranger can make a Wilderness Lore check to learn the secrets of any creatures of the following type: Animals (DC: 10), Beasts (DC: 10), Dragons (DC: 25), Fey (DC: 20), Giants (DC: 15), Humanoids (goblinoids and reptilian only) (DC: 10), Magical Beasts (DC: 15), Monstrous Humanoids (DC: 15), Plants (DC: 10), or Vermin (DC: 10). If successful, the player may examine the creature's entry in the Monster Manual during play. Furthermore, the ranger instinctively knows if a specimen he encounters is unusual in some way, though he does not know in what manner the creature is unusual.

When using this ability, the player should not simply read the numbers out of the MM, but rather find a way to communicate the data to the party ‘in character.’ For instance, a Bugbear with more HP than the party’s toughest fighter might be described as “tougher than any of us” or “a little bit tougher than you, Dave.” A creature with the incorporeal ability might be described as “immune to any of our weapons” or “a creature susceptible to magic weapons only.”

Live Off The Land: The Ranger never wants for food. By spending one hour hunting, he can provide a day's food for a number of people equal to his ranger levels without making a Wilderness Lore check. If he is accompanied by anyone other than another ranger, this ability will not function.

Studied Hunter: Whereas track allows a ranger to follow a set of tracks, Studied Hunter allows a ranger, after a successful Creature Lore check, to examine an area in which a group or individual he is tracking have passed and know what they did while there. A successful Search check tells the ranger how many creatures passed this way, what type of creatures they were, and what they did. He would recognize that two groups met and talked, met and fought, that one group ambushed the other, or that one group subdued the other without a fight. If there was a battle, the ranger knows what weapons were employed and how the battle progressed, including who was victorious.

The search check for this ability is opposed by the hide result and modified by terrain and time as follows.

New Use For Hide: A character or group can use Hide to thwart a ranger’s Studied Hunter ability. By declaring their intent to ‘cover their tracks,’ an individual or group can make a Hide test. The result acts as the DC for Studied Hunter.

Wilderness Awareness: The others talk, ride, make jokes, pass the time. But a Ranger is always acutely conscious of his surroundings. He can detect the presence of any predatory creature or fellow humanoid at a maximum range equal to 50' plus 10' for every ranger level. This is automatic. By concentrating for one round, he knows how many there are. By concentrating for two rounds, he knows what size creatures they are. After three rounds of concentration, he may make a Creature Lore check to determine exactly what kind of creatures they are. After four rounds of concentration, he knows if they're closing in, maintaining their distance, or fleeing and he knows if they are aware of the group's presence or not.

Free Climber: At 4th level, the ranger gains +10 to any attempt to climb a tree or any natural rock.

Studied Combatant: At 5th level, creatures affected by his Creature Lore ability cannot flank a ranger. His weapons are considered keen against these creatures if they are not keen already, and he is not subject to critical hits by these creature types.

Unhindered Movement: At 7th level, the ranger ignores terrain penalties to movement.

Camouflage: at 11th level, a ranger moves as though wearing boots of elvenkind and a cloak of elvenkind. This is a supernatural ability.

Master Hunter: At 13th level, the ranger's Hunter ability can be used against those who hide their traces using magical or supernatural means such as pass without trace.

Master Combatant: at 15th level, the ranger gains an extra attack per round against any of the creatures affected by his Creature Lore ability.

Find The Weakness: at 17th level, a Ranger can, once per day, make a Coup De Grace attack against any creature affected by his Creature Lore ability. The creature need not be stunned or helpless, the attack must be armed, but can be a melee or ranged attack.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Take a look at the darksun ranger, at www.athas.org. Certainly one of the better rangers IMHO.

 

[Chun-tzu]

I have seen the malhavoc (Monte Cook) and necropolis (necromancer games) versions. I am just looking for more.

In Rokugan, spellcasting rangers are rare (only Nagas and those from the Fox clan gain spells). So Rangers get a bonus feat (selected from the Fighter's list, excluding Weapon Specialization) any time he would have normally gotten access to a new spell level (i.e., 4 more bonus feats over 20 levels).

It's an elegant solution if the spellcasting thing seems incongruent with the character.

 

[mmadsen]

I am asking this to find out what different versions of the ranger are out there.

Is there anything in particular you're looking for? Do you want, for instance, a ranger more like Aragorn, or more like Robin Hood, or more like the 1st-edition Ranger, or simply more powerful?