Playtest (A5E) Level Up Playtest Document #7: Ranger

Welcome to the 7th Level Up playtest document. This playtest contains a candidate for the first 10 levels of game’s ranger class. In our initial survey, you asked us for a spell-less ranger -- so here is our playtest candidate for it!

Download the playtest document

And when you're ready --

Take the survey here!

What this is​

This is a playtest document. We’d love you to try out the rules presented here, and then answer the follow-up survey in a few days.

What this is not​

This is NOT the final game. It’s OK if you don’t like elements of these rules; that’s the purpose of a playtest document. Be sure to participate in the follow-up survey in a few days. All data, positive or negative is useful.

What we use this for​

Your survey responses help form the direction of the game as it goes through the development process.

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Continue reading...

 

[Minigiant]

Looking over the whole class, it feels like they took 5e's PHB Ranger, ripped out the spellcasting, and then tried to make up for the loss of spellcasting by buffing everything else the class has.

Isn't that the whole problem with spell-less rangers as a project?

D&D uses spells to do a lot of the little things that rangers do. Healing, herbs and botany, dealing with animals and fey, working with wood, stone, sand, and ice, dealing with the elements. Especially scaling elements and the item versions are either weak or outright magic items.

Therefore the issue with a spell-less ranger is often the designer has to either replicate these spells, create a whole new subsystem, or refocus the spell-less ranger more to combat or roguery. Therefore spell-less rangers rarely get off the ground as they are either not really spell-less or they are fighters in green hoods.

 

[Morrus]

We have a v2 of the ranger going out shortly. That might not be the last one (of all classes, this and warlord both have the biggest playtests planned, as they're the biggest changes/additions).

 

[Faolyn]

OK, as someone who didn't play 4e, what is so different about the warlord that it deserves its own class, with 2+ archetypes of its own, instead of just being a Fighter archetype?

Edit: This is a serious question, not intended to be a diss on the warlord or 4e. But whenever I've asked someone, they've described the warlord in a way that made it sound not that different from the Battlemaster, except more support than action-oriented (and then gotten mad I've asked, because they think I'm saying it's bad). So I guess I'm asking, what's the appeal?

 

[Morrus]

OK, as someone who didn't play 4e, what is so different about the warlord that it deserves its own class, with 2+ archetypes of its own, instead of just being a Fighter archetype?

Edit: This is a serious question, not intended to be a diss on the warlord or 4e. But whenever I've asked someone, they've described the warlord in a way that made it sound not that different from the Battlemaster, except more support than action-oriented (and then gotten mad I've asked, because they think I'm saying it's bad). So I guess I'm asking, what's the appeal?

Well any class could be an archetype. But a warlord is much more supporty and battlefield controlly. In 4E terms I think it might have been a controller like the wizard? Rather than a striker or defender. IIRC, which I might not.

 

[Nikosandros]

Well any class could be an archetype. But a warlord is much more supporty and battlefield controlly. In 4E terms I think it might have been a controller like the wizard? Rather than a striker or defender. IIRC, which I might not.

In 4e the warlord is a leader, like the cleric or the bard. They provide healing, support and buffing.

 

[Morrus]

In 4e the warlord is a leader, like the cleric or the bard. They provide healing, support and buffing.

Right. I knew I'd misremembered!

 

[Morrus]

Please head here for the ranger v2:

Playtest (A5E) - Level Up Playtest: Ranger v2

Welcome to the 7th Level Up playtest document. This playtest contains a second candidate for the game’s ranger class. The survey data indicated that you wanted a spell-less ranger; this is what we’ve attempted to create here. As one of the bigger departures from core 5E, it is especially...

www.enworld.org

 

[Faolyn]

Well any class could be an archetype. But a warlord is much more supporty and battlefield controlly. In 4E terms I think it might have been a controller like the wizard? Rather than a striker or defender. IIRC, which I might not.

Well, not really. A wizard isn't an archetype, unless your class is Spellcaster and wizard is just one type of Spellcaster. Rangers and Paladins could be Fighter archetypes, if you pared them down to their extreme basics, but they also have enough to them that they can be their own class.

I'm looking them up here and they kinda look like bards. Are they just nonmagical, nonmusical bards that can wear heavy armor?

And again, with me, words like Controller and Striker mean nothing to me. I know what they do in 4e, but to me, they only mean "unnecessary limitation designed to mimic video game terminology" and say nothing about what their actual abilities are.

 

[Morrus]

Well, not really. A wizard isn't an archetype, unless your class is Spellcaster and wizard is just one type of Spellcaster. Rangers and Paladins could be Fighter archetypes, if you pared them down to their extreme basics, but they also have enough to them that they can be their own class.

I'm looking them up here and they kinda look like bards. Are they just nonmagical, nonmusical bards that can wear heavy armor?

And again, with me, words like Controller and Striker mean nothing to me. I know what they do in 4e, but to me, they only mean "unnecessary limitation designed to mimic video game terminology" and say nothing about what their actual abilities are.

I’m probably not the person to ask about this. My memory of 4E is limited. Haven’t played it in years.

 

[CM]

To sum up the warlord, it's a nonmagical fighter/bard who makes their allies more effective by granting additional attacks or movement, boosting their rolls, penalizing enemies, and restoring HP (or granting temp HP) via superior tactics and morale-boosting.