D&D 2E [COMPLETE] Looking back at the leatherette series: PHBR, DMGR, HR and more!

[Voadam]

I prefer my rangers to have spells. I wasn't a fan of lord of the rings so never knew that it was loosely based on strider. Because of that, and running into the ranger first in 2e, I always considered spellcasting a part of the class.

Just like all those archetypal rangers from the 2e PH

"The ranger is a hunter and woodsman who lives by not only his sword, but also his wits. Robin Hood, Orion, Jack the giant killer, and the huntresses of Diana are examples of rangers from history and legend."

 

[cbwjm]

Just like all those archetypal rangers from the 2e PH

"The ranger is a hunter and woodsman who lives by not only his sword, but also his wits. Robin Hood, Orion, Jack the giant killer, and the huntresses of Diana are examples of rangers from history and legend."

I didn't really care about the examples, I cared about the class and the class had spells so for me, that was an important part of the ranger.

 

[Orius]

Ranger's is another of my favorites. The later class handbooks usually feel more focused, and I think they're better structured. Stuff I liked in particular about this one ate the terrain focused enemies and followers, the demihuman kits, in particular the dwarven mountain man, and the various survival and wilderness equipment. And the material on falconry wasn't too bad either.

Note that where a 1e ranger gets two HD at level 1, it's a 2d8. The 1e ranger will generally have more hp in the lower levels, but the 2e ranger eventually catches up. And IIRC, does the 1e ranger go to a flat +2 hp from name level onward? The 2e ranger OTOH, gets the same +3 as the other warriors.

 

[Mannahnin]

So anyway, D&D's ranger is basically Aragorn, which is a much nicer way of describing them than "militant survivalists who, for some reason, voluntarily spend most of their time deep in the wilderness." And, of course, they can cast a smattering of spells, which has been giving people who want to play Strider a hard time for several editions now. For some reason, the fact that Aragorn was never followed around by a small zoo's worth of animals the way the AD&D ranger is never seemed to be nearly as much of a problem.

The animal companion thing I suspect was originally inspired mostly by Tarzan (1E Rangers only got them potentially as random followers at high level, right?), though I think there may be other fantasy/literary heroes with animal friends. Then by the time 2E came around, of course, the Beastmaster movie was very well known among D&D players.

 

[Voadam]

Note that where a 1e ranger gets two HD at level 1, it's a 2d8. The 1e ranger will generally have more hp in the lower levels, but the 2e ranger eventually catches up. And IIRC, does the 1e ranger go to a flat +2 hp from name level onward? The 2e ranger OTOH, gets the same +3 as the other warriors.

1e rangers get +2 per level instead of +3 at name level, but their name level is also at level 10 instead of 9 like the 2e ranger. So at level 11 a 1e ranger will have 11d8+2 (+any con bonus x11) versus a 2e ranger's 9d10+6 (plus any con bonus x9). The 1e fighter and paladin were similar to the 2e ranger on these numbers.

1e rangers did have a weird ahead and then behind progression.

First level is probably the most useful time to have that comparative advantage in hp.

 

[el-remmen]

I didn't really care about the examples, I cared about the class and the class had spells so for me, that was an important part of the ranger.

But they didn't get them until which level?

 

[Voadam]

But they didn't get them until which level?

0D&D in The Strategic Review #2, AD&D 1e, & 2e - Level 8
3e, 3.5, Pathfinder 1e - Level 4
4e - NA
5e - Level 2

 

[Stormonu]

Wow, I’d forgotten about the late levels Paladin and rangers got spells In old editions - like an afterthought.

There is a definate shift between the first four Complete books and the rest of the series - as I recall, the Complete Fighter, Rogue, Priest and Wizard were written in conjunction with the rewrite going on for 2E, and the later books just “went to town” as folks became more proficient with writing for the game.

And while its been over 20 years since I’ve sat down with these books, my memory was that my favorite was Wizards, Bards & Paladins, and my least was Humanoids. The reason for the latter, as I recall was the stiff penalties (Superstitions and “they’ll kill you in civilized areas”, as I recall) attached to running any of those races within. There was a similar problem with Orcs of Thar as I recall - the DM’s book had some rather dark connotations on the origins of the goblinoids (they were elves and other humanoids being punished with reincarnation into this horrid lifestyle for past evils), but the player-facing information was (annoyingly) comedic levels of slapstick.

 

[el-remmen]

0D&D in The Strategic Review #2, AD&D 1e, & 2e - Level 8

Maybe it is just that even in the longest campaign I ever ran in any edition 8th level was about 3 or 4 levels from campaign end (beyond that I find D&D is less fun for me) but that seems just about right for when Paladins and Rangers should start getting spells.

 

[cbwjm]

But they didn't get them until which level?

Not until level 8 back then, but they were still part of the progression. You'd look at the tables and see that eventually they get spells to aid them in their travels.