Melee Ranger Dex/Int question

[UngeheuerLich]

Wow, lots of people here approach character creation so differently than I do!

If someone asks me, "Can I make a Str/Int ranger work?" I start thinking about the issues. Okay, you give up a good ranged attack, falling back on heavy thrown weapons there. Certain dex-related feats are off the table, but that's not the end of the world. Initiative is lower, no biggie. AC and Ref will still be fine. Yep, it works - go for it!

I guess I'm not an optimizer. Heck, my favorite character is my bard, Factotum, who tried to be good at everything. Every feat is a multiclass feat. His stat array is all 13s, with a 14 in Charisma (post-racial 16, since he's a human). He is not a wrecking ball in combat, but he gets by just fine. And he's a blast to play. All of the other LFR players at my store know Factotum and look forward to being at a table with him, rather than dreading the fact that he might not be as razor-sharp in combat. He gets the job done, and he's fun.

So, to the OP: Yes, your Str/Int genasi two-weapon melee ranger can work just fine, and he sounds like a character with lots of cool possibilities. I say go for it!

I usually think not different from you, and i guess, factotum does very fine...
but AC 15 is terribly low for a frontliner, whose saving grace is only his extraordinary attack bonus...
You don´t even get a damage boost, and your extra damage only triggers once per turn (assuming twin strike)
So, while I would not mind playing with this ranger, I would still worry about him, as I assume, his most prominent status is dying, as he will be the most fragile and most threatening combatant on the field.

Low constitution means no hope for improved AC late on, and no stat points to spare to increase wisdom...
So if he asks for an advice, I give it...
And going 18Str, high int and a bit constitution will serve him better, as his character will be highly damaging, tough as nails and extraordinary because of his high int and probable multiclass options/good skills...

 

[OnlineDM]

I usually think not different from you, and i guess, factotum does very fine...
but AC 15 is terribly low for a frontliner, whose saving grace is only his extraordinary attack bonus...
You don´t even get a damage boost, and your extra damage only triggers once per turn (assuming twin strike)
So, while I would not mind playing with this ranger, I would still worry about him, as I assume, his most prominent status is dying, as he will be the most fragile and most threatening combatant on the field.

Low constitution means no hope for improved AC late on, and no stat points to spare to increase wisdom...
So if he asks for an advice, I give it...
And going 18Str, high int and a bit constitution will serve him better, as his character will be highly damaging, tough as nails and extraordinary because of his high int and probable multiclass options/good skills...

For what it's worth, I personally agree with you that 18 Str would be a better choice, although that's personal preference on my part. I like my characters to be a little more well-rounded in general.

But as for the AC question, this is a striker, not a defender. Yes, he's going to be a melee striker, which means he's probably going to take more damage than a ranged striker. But that's the choice that this player is making when he decides to roll up a melee striker. Get used to needing healing, friend! That's okay. He doesn't have to be a one-man army.

This PC is going to be something of a glass cannon. I see no problem with that; it's a valid character type.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Yeah, I kind of agree that 20 STR in this case is probably a bit awkward. I think there are really only a few fairly niche builds that work WELL with a 20. You can do it with some wizard builds, and a pure archer ranger. There are a couple other cases, but not many, and when you're playing off an odd secondary you probably want to spread some stat points around a bit to give you some access to a few key feats or a bit of extra hit points.

 

[mneme]

Abdul: Actually, I'd argue that most builds where the primary stat provides AC make a good argument for that 20. And you have to look at it for heavy armor strikers. Beyond that, though, it depends on your feat requirements and such.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Yes, with Armor stat = attack stat, a 20 is fine... especially if you are not really dependent on secondary attributes...
a thief e.g. has really no reason not to go for 20 dex... 13 in con (or str) and cha (or wis) will make your defenses ok and will even provide you with a little bonus to key skills or HP...
not that you do something wrong, if you just go for 18 Dex and 14/14/13 (or 18/15/15 if you don´t get a bonus to dex...

So really it all depends on what you aim for a 16 in the attack stat is also ok... although with new race options, usually you are better served with an 18 post racial.