One More alt.ranger

[comrade raoul]

This one was inspired by seasong's thread below, which discusses whether or not rangers are necessary. I think they are, in the sense that they can be made to fill a worthwhile niche of the scout or skirmisher, aided by instinct, skill, and a bit of magic. You'll notice that this ranger tries to avoid any specific archetype: he's not married to archery, dual-wielding, or even specifically "wilderness" skills (although wilderness lore is still a class skill ambush and uncanny dodge are especially useful in wilderness settings, and many of the spells in the ranger's [expanded] spell list are nature-oriented).

I think of this version as a kind of "utility infielder" -- a bit of fighter, rogue, and druid blended together in a coherent whole that differs from existing multiclass combinations in important ways. My ranger can fight reasonably well (but the d8 hit die and reliance on Dexterity and Wisdom makes him a bit more frail than, say, fighters, paladins, or barbarians), has lots of skills (but not so much as the rogue), and limited druidical magic -- that is, he's got versatility at the cost of specialization. He's especially good at quick surprise attacks -- a ranger might detect a group of enemies without being seen, cast a buff spell or three, deliver a surprise attack and fight for a couple of rounds before escaping. I think it's a unique and worthwhile role, and I'd appreciate feedback.

 

[Witch Doctor]

I like it, pretty good split between favor enemy/terrain and bonus feats. Some of the spells are pretty powerful, tho, but the new spell sounds cool.

Might be stepping on the rogue's toes with Ambush, perhaps limit it to first round of combat only? Also adding search to skill list isn't making any rogue friends either. The 6 skill points a level is a good idea.

All in all, looks pretty good to me.

 

[comrade raoul]

Thanks for the comments. Note that Search is a class skill for the standard, PH ranger (my ranger doesn't gain any new class skills). And also note that Ambush is more or less limited to the first round of combat, as it applies only to flat-footed opponents -- it can be used much less frequently than sneak attack can.

 

[seasong]

The "seasong's thread below" referred to is here. For shame, comrade raoul, not posting in that thread and pointing us at this . With that said, this ranger does look interesting.

Is this OGC? I may adapt this for a 10 level PrC, for an elite, special forces for the King kind of guerilla warrior.

 

[comrade raoul]

I'm glad you're interested in it, and you're welcome to adapt it in whatever way you'd like.

 

[Stalker0]

I also like it. I've always thought that a ranger and a rogue were in many ways two sides of the same coin. The added restriction on ambush is good to, makes it so that its nowhere near as good as the rogue's sneak attack so its not a copycat ability, more just a fringe benefit.

From a balance standpoint, the ranger loses some hp, some favored enemy (although not much), and TWF. HE gains ambush, new spells, new ranger abilities, and uncanny dodge. the ranger in my opinion comes out much stronger than previously- the question is, is it too much stronger?