Dragon #308 previews new ranger and barbarian!

[Olive]

Well, that cinches it. Dwarves are to third edition what elves were to second edition. Guess every edition has to have a fair-haired son.

anyone else remember the arguments that gnomes should be a ECL+1 race?

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

And more on favored enemies from Andy Collins:

The 3.5 ranger gets a +2 bonus vs. a chosen enemy at 1st.

At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th, the ranger gets a new +2 bonus, and also may increase any bonus (including the brand new one) by +2.

When you do the math, you find out that it's actually significantly better than the 3.0 ranger at every point.

1st: +2 (3.5) vs. +1 (3.0).
5th: +4/+2 vs. +2/+1.
10th: 4/4/2 vs. 3/2/1.
15th: 4/4/4/2 vs. 4/3/2/1.
20th: 6/4/4/2/2 vs. 5/4/3/2/1.

Not only is the total of bonuses higher (+18 vs. +15 at 20th), but the flexibility factor is pretty huge--at 20th, you could have 10/2/2/2/2 if you really wanted to.

 

[Felon]

Well, considering that the stereotypical dwarf image is the stout tank with thick full plate... It would be nice to allow them to move some in their common armor.

Well, I said the same thing in another thread, but it applies equally here as well:

I'm not trying to argue that it would be nice for dwarves to move faster. I will argue, however, that dwarves as they currently stand have enough racial benefits that there ought to be some give and take at this point, not just give give give.

 

[Lela]

I'm starting to wonder if 3.5 is going to be a whole lot of give, give, give for everyone.

 

[Felon]

Well, that's the big question isn't it? With the barbarian and ranger getting class features every level and 4-6 skill points, that will run the risk of diminishing the appeal of a class that only gets a feature every two levels and only a couple of skill points--like the fighter.

But unless the impression given so far is radically off-base, it doesn't like there's love going around for every race or class.

 

[bertman4]

Huh? When did Fighters get d8 HD in AD&D, not in 1st, 2nd or 3rd Editions thats for sure. Maybe in DnD Basic/Expert rules they did or in the 0 edition(the old set with little white books), but never in Ad&d 1st thru 3rd editions.

I would like to point out that in 1E Rangers got 2d8 at 1st level.

Bertman

 

[bertman4]

The 3.5 ranger gets a +2 bonus vs. a chosen enemy at 1st.

At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th, the ranger gets a new +2 bonus, and also may increase any bonus (including the brand new one) by +2.

When you do the math, you find out that it's actually significantly better than the 3.0 ranger at every point.

1st: +2 (3.5) vs. +1 (3.0).
5th: +4/+2 vs. +2/+1.
10th: 4/4/2 vs. 3/2/1.
15th: 4/4/4/2 vs. 4/3/2/1.
20th: 6/4/4/2/2 vs. 5/4/3/2/1.

Not only is the total of bonuses higher (+18 vs. +15 at 20th), but the flexibility factor is pretty huge--at 20th, you could have 10/2/2/2/2 if you really wanted to.

True, but why not 18/0/0/0/0? If you really wanted to be a Dragonslayer, why not be one? Instead, it forces you to choose some other favored enemies. That's what I don't like about it.

Bertman

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Huh? When did Fighters get d8 HD in AD&D, not in 1st, 2nd or 3rd Editions thats for sure. Maybe in DnD Basic/Expert rules they did or in the 0 edition(the old set with little white books), but never in Ad&d 1st thru 3rd editions.

It was pre 1E, but everybody brings up at some point, that rangers originally had a d8. If you go back far enough, so did fighters.

 

[Fenes 2]

Could you be a little more specific? What makes him overpowered? Compare with the Monk in terms of abilities and realize that some of these Ranger abilities are going to be useless most of the time (Ex. Woodland Stride). I just don't see it.

I banned the monk IMC, except for NPC villains. When I wanted a monkish NPC as a cohort NPC for a player I built a fighter/rogue with several unarmed combat feats.

As far as the new ranger is concerned, I have a beef with
- the 6 skill points, especially compared to my baseline, the fighter, but also creeping up on the rogue
- the favored enemy bonus, in my campaign most enemies are humans
- the evasion ability
- hide in plain sight, which is very powerful in a campaign where you can't just buy rings of invisibility
- the combat styles, which lessens the fighter bonus feats (and heavy armor is impractical in my main campaign, due to weather, social stigma etc.)

When you take all that, and add spells and other nature abilities, it blows away the fighter IMC.

 

[Kershek]

When you take all that, and add spells and other nature abilities, it blows away the fighter IMC.

I think it's safe to say they didn't have your nonstandard game in mind when making these changes.