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Has anyone run a PHB only table?
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<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 9033190" data-attributes="member: 7006"><p>Although I'd say that if a player is at a table that isn't really full of power players during combat... I have found that the Beastmaster can actually be viable with just allowing the Ranger's beast to take its own action (rather than the Ranger giving up theirs), and you "level up" the beast every once in a while by increasing its stats (a few HD, a bonus to AC, maybe adding a special ability taken from a different "more powerful" animal.)</p><p></p><p>Sure, the Ranger still won't be near the top in terms of "RAW POWAH!!!"... but my Ranger player never felt like they were running behind anyone else more often than not. She was still the strongest "at-range DPR" character in the party (at a table of players who are admittedly <em>not</em> min-maxers when building characters) and while she wouldn't use her animal companion as a tank and rushing it headlong into battle with the other front-liners... it did become a viable shield to her character by engaging with any enemies that got past the front line and went after her.</p><p></p><p>I don't know how viable the BM would be if the companion WAS asked to be a front-liner alongside a melee Ranger build (and you might have to "level" the creature at the same time the Ranger character levels up <em>and</em> poke the Ranger player to use their available spells to buff their companion rather than use the spells on other things to do so)... but at least the archery BM Ranger that played at my table for one of our campaigns never felt bad about her choice (with a little assist from me to help the companion out.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 9033190, member: 7006"] Although I'd say that if a player is at a table that isn't really full of power players during combat... I have found that the Beastmaster can actually be viable with just allowing the Ranger's beast to take its own action (rather than the Ranger giving up theirs), and you "level up" the beast every once in a while by increasing its stats (a few HD, a bonus to AC, maybe adding a special ability taken from a different "more powerful" animal.) Sure, the Ranger still won't be near the top in terms of "RAW POWAH!!!"... but my Ranger player never felt like they were running behind anyone else more often than not. She was still the strongest "at-range DPR" character in the party (at a table of players who are admittedly [I]not[/I] min-maxers when building characters) and while she wouldn't use her animal companion as a tank and rushing it headlong into battle with the other front-liners... it did become a viable shield to her character by engaging with any enemies that got past the front line and went after her. I don't know how viable the BM would be if the companion WAS asked to be a front-liner alongside a melee Ranger build (and you might have to "level" the creature at the same time the Ranger character levels up [I]and[/I] poke the Ranger player to use their available spells to buff their companion rather than use the spells on other things to do so)... but at least the archery BM Ranger that played at my table for one of our campaigns never felt bad about her choice (with a little assist from me to help the companion out.) [/QUOTE]
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Has anyone run a PHB only table?
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