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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spatzimaus" data-source="post: 748006" data-attributes="member: 3051">I'm with Pax here: they definitely ARE front-loaded.  They're the definition of front-loaded.  Look up "front-loaded" in a dictionary, and there's Drizzt.  Front-loaded isn't the same as overpowered, though; the PHB Ranger is front-loaded, the Monte Cook Ranger is overpowered.It's not only that the class gives way too many abilities up front.  Many other classes give substantial power up front.  Here's the biggest problem, IMO:  If you're a melee character, there's NO downside to taking one level of Ranger, as long as you can avoid an XP penalty.Every other class has some downside to splashing in a level.  Let's look at the classes you mentioned, from the point of view of a Fighter wanting to add a level of something:Cleric: lose 1 BAB and 1 HP.  Also, you now have to follow a code of conduct, since your god has to be happy with your actions to give you spells.  And, to top it off, your skill points are still lousy.Barbarian: alignment limitation.  Raging once per day isn't that incredible.  You can't move fast in heavy armor.Monk: -1 BAB, -2 HP, and you can't wear armor.  You get Evasion, but your Reflex save will still suck so it won't kick in nearly as often as a Rogue or Monk does.  Oh, and you have to be Lawful.  Plus, with the multiclassing restrictions, you can't come back later for a second level.Sorcerer: -1 BAB, -3 HP, and you can't wear armor while you're casting without a high failure rate.  Like Clerics, your skill points still suck, so forget about Concentration checks.Paladin: Lawful Good.  Code of Conduct.  Can't go back later for more levels.Rogue: -1 BAB, -2 HP.  This one's pretty attractive, but the difference here is you have motivation to take a second level, then a third, and so on.Now, look at Ranger.  No alignment or multiclassing limits.  No drop in BAB or HP.  A Fighter who takes a level of Ranger ONLY sacrifices half a bonus Feat to do so, nothing else.But, you get two extra skill points (and a much better class skill list), one Feat (Track), two pseudoFeats (2weap/Ambi) that can only be used in light armor, and a Favored Enemy point.It's a no-brainer to take a level of Ranger, IF you can get around the XP penalty.  Even if you don't want to do 2-weapon fighting or if you wear heavy armor, it's still worth it for the skill points and Track.  And, as others have pointed out, you have no reason to take a second level of Ranger.So, move the 2-weapon/Ambi to levels 2 and 5 (and give more options), drop the hit die to a d8, increase skill points to 6, make the Reflex save the good one, and add more class skills.  There, now it's something you want to take more levels of, but one level isn't that great.  Monte Cook did this, many of us did this, and now 3.5E is doing this.</blockquote>

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