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<blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 7683079" data-attributes="member: 3586">I was not kind in my comments about the UA ranger. I liked them thinking outside the box, but parts of the box (broken by 2d6 HD and Ambuscade) are there for a reason.My suggestion is that the ranger should begin as a fighter with wilderness skills, and then the paths should diverge it: spellcaster, hunter, beast master, nature paladin. Some may overlap, but they're still distinct. I tend to start with Aragorn and the Dunedain as the archetypal rangers; I try to distinguish Aragorn's background from his ranger abilities, but I still end up with good fighting, good tracking, good wilderness, some herbalism. I don't end up with animal companions, but can see a ranger archetype that uses them.The major suggestion I made was to not worry so much about animal companion/summoned monster balance. Having an ability that produces something that doesn't matter in combat or that uses all your actions to use just isn't fun. Yes, the ranger with companion may be better than other fighters for a while; the trick is to limit it in other ways. Perhaps an action to start it attacking (but it works independently afterwards), or it flees at half hit points, etc. But if I have an animal in combat, I want it to matter and not stop me from acting myself.Cheers!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MerricB, post: 7683079, member: 3586"] I was not kind in my comments about the UA ranger. I liked them thinking outside the box, but parts of the box (broken by 2d6 HD and Ambuscade) are there for a reason. My suggestion is that the ranger should begin as a fighter with wilderness skills, and then the paths should diverge it: spellcaster, hunter, beast master, nature paladin. Some may overlap, but they're still distinct. I tend to start with Aragorn and the Dunedain as the archetypal rangers; I try to distinguish Aragorn's background from his ranger abilities, but I still end up with good fighting, good tracking, good wilderness, some herbalism. I don't end up with animal companions, but can see a ranger archetype that uses them. The major suggestion I made was to not worry so much about animal companion/summoned monster balance. Having an ability that produces something that doesn't matter in combat or that uses all your actions to use just isn't fun. Yes, the ranger with companion may be better than other fighters for a while; the trick is to limit it in other ways. Perhaps an action to start it attacking (but it works independently afterwards), or it flees at half hit points, etc. But if I have an animal in combat, I want it to matter and not stop me from acting myself. Cheers! [/QUOTE]

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