Giving fast movement to rangers ?

[gpetruc]

I don't want to get in the long lasting discussion about how the ranger should be and how it might be rerwritten.
I was only wandering if it would break balance giving to the ranger the "fast movement" ability (as for the Barbarian, but only when wearing light armour), maybe at 2nd or 3rd level (the ranger is already heavy frontloaded, so that nobody takes more than 1 ranger level)

Also I'm considering to have the player choose between having Ambi + TWF or Point Blank Shot + Precise Shot when they start


Any comments ?

 

[Crothian]

I could see giving a Ranger fast movement at third level. And the optional feat idea is a populiar one.

 

[graydoom]

Giving fast movement to rangers wouldn't be any major imbalance. It'd reward those few who actually took ranger levels past the first, heh. And the idea of switching the virtual feats is a very common idea, and a good idea too.

 

[Crothian]

Another thing you can do for optional feats at level one is Run, Endurance, dodge. I know it's 3 feats instead of the normal 2, but most people consider these to be weaker feats. But with the increased movement you have a Ranger who can get from place to place easily without a horse. THis would be a wilderness runner type Ranger and I think that's a version that few think of.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

I don't like the idea of giving the ranger fast movement. Barbarians and monks already have it. It does not strike me as something all rangers need or would have. Song and Silence has a feat called Dash which adds 5 to your speed. Perhaps the rangers interested in extra speed should take it.

I have added the spell expeditious retreat to the ranger's first level spell list. That gives mid-level rangers short periods of double their normal speed. That is good enough, IMO.

 

[Crothian]

I don't like the idea of giving the ranger fast movement. Barbarians and monks already have it. It does not strike me as something all rangers need or would have. Song and Silence has a feat called Dash which adds 5 to your speed. Perhaps the rangers interested in extra speed should take it.

I have added the spell expeditious retreat to the ranger's first level spell list. That gives mid-level rangers short periods of double their normal speed. That is good enough, IMO.

In a campaign (like the weird one I'm currently in) where Monks and Barbarians are common, I think granting Rangers additional speed is probably a bad idea. Especially, since all one needs to do is multi into barbarian to get it. And there is no way that every Ranger NPC the players run into would be presented as having that ability. But I do like for a few rangers to have the option, especially PC Rangers.

 

[Jack Daniel]

One barbarian level would do the trick here. You could give it to rangers with the stipulation that it doens't stack with barbarian Fast Movement, though.

 

[Crothian]

Isn't a monk's speed considered supernatural at 60? I didn't see it in the PHB but I wasn't looking that hard. REason I ask is if it is at 60, I'd allow the two to stack as a 50 speed would not be supernatural and a barbarian ranger that was really fast would be cool.

 

[Ace]

I like the idea of giving fast movement to rangers.
The only bad thing I can see is it would take away a certain amount of uniquenss from the Barbarian.

One option I have played with is some kind of pass through the woods like it as a road type ability. That fits the ranger realy well IMO.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I'm considering to have the player choose between having Ambi + TWF or Point Blank Shot + Precise Shot when they start

PBS and Precise Shot are decidedly more powerful than Ambidexterity and TWF.