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Paladin and Ranger Are Backward
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<blockquote data-quote="doctorbadwolf" data-source="post: 8251052" data-attributes="member: 6704184"><p>Okay, so my ideas so far, with feedback taken into account.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ranger: </strong></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Favored Enemy: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Communicate and Understand simple ideas with favored enemies regardless of language. Perhaps give beasts <em>and</em> one other type as favored enemies. All rangers know about beasts, that's how you train to even become a ranger.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Craft poisons during short rest or by spending ten minutes. Wis mod number of poisons, prof mod times per day. Each favored enemy has a poison, which simply makes that type of enemy easier to take down. There would be a base poison as well, that does something minor that is sort of generically useful. Ignores poison resistence and negates any advantage against being poisoned. At level 11 it also ignores immunity. The poisons would be usuable against any creature, but is designed with that creature type in mind.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Stuff like for giants causing vertigo, causing them to have to make dex saves whenever they attack a creature further away than 5ft or move more than half their speed, or fall prone. Or reduce a damage immunity to resistance, or negate a resistance, but that would likely also be what it'd be for dragons. Undead might gain vulnerable radiant, or make them weaker against being turned, or something? </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The key here is that it makes the enemy more vulnerable to the whole team, not just the ranger.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Once per day starting at level 6, you can cast hunter's mark without concentration as long as the target is a favored enemy.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You can gain a new favored enemy during play, by studying a member of the creature type. I'm tempted to make this a thing that you have a chance to fail at, involving essentially a skill challenge, and restrict it to adding a specific race of creatures, like trolls and white dragons, rather than a broad type.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Lastly, you can study a creature that you can see, or that you have seen within the last 24 hours and is within range while using Primeval Awareness (see below). If you do, you gain advantage on attacks and wisdom ability checks against the target for 1 hour, and treat that creature as a favored enemy for the next 24 hours. This takes an action, and you can do it prof mod times per day, after which you can spend a spell slot to regain a single use.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Natural Explorer:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Add the first part of Canny at level 1, but no additional language. The rest of Deft Explorer gets added as is.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tone down the auto-success stuff, and add the ability to give the whole group a bonus to stealth and to con saves while traveling in your favored terrain.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Introduce a better travel system that makes this stuff more interesting, if possible. If not, do a second pass that puts this more into non-travel exploration.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Prof mod per day, allow yourself and up to X allies to ignore difficult terrain even while not traveling, for up to 1 minute.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Maybe the Ranger can Help an ally while also doing something else, under specific circumstances?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Make it explicit that "related to your favored terrain" does not mean "while in your favored terrain", but instead gives broad narrative authority to the ranger player to say, "this is also a thing in forests, so my Natural Explorer feature applies", barring the DM saying "that makes no sense. no."</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Primeval Awareness<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Completely rewrite this entire ability, and combine it with Primal Awareness</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Once per day, and then you can spend a spell slot to regain a use</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You learn what general kind of creature is in the area, in what numbers, how fast they're moving if traveling, and in what direction. Lasts for 10 minutes, and has a range of 6 miles in wilderness, 1/2 a mile in a settlement, 60ft within a building. Creatures within the range have disadvantage on checks to hide from you or ambush you, and you can make wisdom (perception or survival) checks against them even if you cannot see them, while the effect lasts. If you concentrate, you retain this sense for a scaling amount of time. 1 hour, then 8 hours, then 24 hours, like hunter's mark.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Add Hunter's Mark to your "always prepared" spells, and you can cast it once per day without a spell slot. If you're concentrating on Primeval Awareness, you can also concentrate on Hunter's Mark, and cast it on a creature you have seen within the last 24 hours, as long as they are withing the range of Primeval Awareness.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spellcasting<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You become a prepared caster, and any feature that adds to your spells known instead adds to your prepared spells without counting against your number of prepared spells. You also gain ritual casting, with the special ability that you can learn druid spells as rituals during play, and can only cast them as rituals unless they are also a ranger spell, and you don't have to have a ritual prepared to cast it. Your ritual spells you can learn are limited to spells of 1/2 your ranger level, rounded down. If you have levels of Druid, those levels count toward your total ranger level for this feature. <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This does mean that you can do druidic rituals that are of a level that you do not have the ability to cast. That's intended.</li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul><p></p><p>So, that package of abilities means that you can prepare for a group of enemies in several ways, you make your whole team better at traveling and surviving, and the class abilities function a bit better as a whole. Your toolkit is perhaps the broadest of any non-full caster in the game, as it should be, but your combat power isn't really increased much. Just enough to put you into the top third of weapon-based classes, I reckon, which is fine. </p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Paladin</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spellcasting<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I want to reduce Paladins to Spells Known, but add ritual casting, but I'd be okay with just adding ritual casting, as well. Normal ritual casting, though. Paladins are already good at too many things, it just feels weird that they can't do ceremony or detect magic as rituals.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Definitely reduce overall spellcasting a bit. Perhaps that means fewer spells prepared, or trimming the spell list a bit, not sure yet.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Divine Sense<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This ability becomes passive, and always on.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Lay on Hands<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This is added to the Cleric, and the Paladin version is reduced significantly. Otherwise, this stays Paladin only, and Paladins lose most healing spells. Don't worry, I'd be changing the Cleric more into a priest as well.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Add a new ability<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> that allows the Paladin to basically turn mortals, making them rethink their life and potentially flee. This would be wholly unique in that it would explicitly state that the rethinking their life is genuine, and last after they save out of the primary effect, and that while it won't likely make them attack their allies or risk their life for the PCs, they might retreat or otherwise remove themselves from the fight. <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This is radical, I know. The idea is that the Paladin is someone whose words and deeds are difficult to ignore, and who has an almost tangeable effect on people. When the Paladin gives you a "you need to go to church" talk, it's nearly impossible to not actually give their words some thought. But it is up to the DM whether someone actually turns their life around, leaves the service of the dark lord or the crime boss, or whatever, or if they shake it off and are just a bit shaken by the experience. A wya to give it mechanical wieght might be that targets who fail the initial save have disadvantage against the ability in the future.</li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul><p></p><p>That's it for them, I think, other than adding some new spells for both classes, and maybe making Find Steed available at a lower level. Perhaps a small class feature that works like a Find Lesser Steed or something.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="doctorbadwolf, post: 8251052, member: 6704184"] Okay, so my ideas so far, with feedback taken into account. [B]Ranger: [/B] [LIST] [*]Favored Enemy: [LIST] [*]Communicate and Understand simple ideas with favored enemies regardless of language. Perhaps give beasts [I]and[/I] one other type as favored enemies. All rangers know about beasts, that's how you train to even become a ranger. [*]Craft poisons during short rest or by spending ten minutes. Wis mod number of poisons, prof mod times per day. Each favored enemy has a poison, which simply makes that type of enemy easier to take down. There would be a base poison as well, that does something minor that is sort of generically useful. Ignores poison resistence and negates any advantage against being poisoned. At level 11 it also ignores immunity. The poisons would be usuable against any creature, but is designed with that creature type in mind. [LIST] [*]Stuff like for giants causing vertigo, causing them to have to make dex saves whenever they attack a creature further away than 5ft or move more than half their speed, or fall prone. Or reduce a damage immunity to resistance, or negate a resistance, but that would likely also be what it'd be for dragons. Undead might gain vulnerable radiant, or make them weaker against being turned, or something? [*]The key here is that it makes the enemy more vulnerable to the whole team, not just the ranger. [/LIST] [*]Once per day starting at level 6, you can cast hunter's mark without concentration as long as the target is a favored enemy. [*]You can gain a new favored enemy during play, by studying a member of the creature type. I'm tempted to make this a thing that you have a chance to fail at, involving essentially a skill challenge, and restrict it to adding a specific race of creatures, like trolls and white dragons, rather than a broad type. [*]Lastly, you can study a creature that you can see, or that you have seen within the last 24 hours and is within range while using Primeval Awareness (see below). If you do, you gain advantage on attacks and wisdom ability checks against the target for 1 hour, and treat that creature as a favored enemy for the next 24 hours. This takes an action, and you can do it prof mod times per day, after which you can spend a spell slot to regain a single use. [/LIST] [*]Natural Explorer: [LIST] [*]Add the first part of Canny at level 1, but no additional language. The rest of Deft Explorer gets added as is. [*]Tone down the auto-success stuff, and add the ability to give the whole group a bonus to stealth and to con saves while traveling in your favored terrain. [*]Introduce a better travel system that makes this stuff more interesting, if possible. If not, do a second pass that puts this more into non-travel exploration. [*]Prof mod per day, allow yourself and up to X allies to ignore difficult terrain even while not traveling, for up to 1 minute. [*]Maybe the Ranger can Help an ally while also doing something else, under specific circumstances? [*]Make it explicit that "related to your favored terrain" does not mean "while in your favored terrain", but instead gives broad narrative authority to the ranger player to say, "this is also a thing in forests, so my Natural Explorer feature applies", barring the DM saying "that makes no sense. no." [/LIST] [*]Primeval Awareness [LIST] [*]Completely rewrite this entire ability, and combine it with Primal Awareness [*]Once per day, and then you can spend a spell slot to regain a use [*]You learn what general kind of creature is in the area, in what numbers, how fast they're moving if traveling, and in what direction. Lasts for 10 minutes, and has a range of 6 miles in wilderness, 1/2 a mile in a settlement, 60ft within a building. Creatures within the range have disadvantage on checks to hide from you or ambush you, and you can make wisdom (perception or survival) checks against them even if you cannot see them, while the effect lasts. If you concentrate, you retain this sense for a scaling amount of time. 1 hour, then 8 hours, then 24 hours, like hunter's mark. [*]Add Hunter's Mark to your "always prepared" spells, and you can cast it once per day without a spell slot. If you're concentrating on Primeval Awareness, you can also concentrate on Hunter's Mark, and cast it on a creature you have seen within the last 24 hours, as long as they are withing the range of Primeval Awareness. [/LIST] [*]Spellcasting [LIST] [*]You become a prepared caster, and any feature that adds to your spells known instead adds to your prepared spells without counting against your number of prepared spells. You also gain ritual casting, with the special ability that you can learn druid spells as rituals during play, and can only cast them as rituals unless they are also a ranger spell, and you don't have to have a ritual prepared to cast it. Your ritual spells you can learn are limited to spells of 1/2 your ranger level, rounded down. If you have levels of Druid, those levels count toward your total ranger level for this feature. [LIST] [*]This does mean that you can do druidic rituals that are of a level that you do not have the ability to cast. That's intended. [/LIST] [/LIST] [/LIST] So, that package of abilities means that you can prepare for a group of enemies in several ways, you make your whole team better at traveling and surviving, and the class abilities function a bit better as a whole. Your toolkit is perhaps the broadest of any non-full caster in the game, as it should be, but your combat power isn't really increased much. Just enough to put you into the top third of weapon-based classes, I reckon, which is fine. [B]Paladin[/B] [LIST] [*]Spellcasting [LIST] [*]I want to reduce Paladins to Spells Known, but add ritual casting, but I'd be okay with just adding ritual casting, as well. Normal ritual casting, though. Paladins are already good at too many things, it just feels weird that they can't do ceremony or detect magic as rituals. [*]Definitely reduce overall spellcasting a bit. Perhaps that means fewer spells prepared, or trimming the spell list a bit, not sure yet. [/LIST] [*]Divine Sense [LIST] [*]This ability becomes passive, and always on. [/LIST] [*]Lay on Hands [LIST] [*]This is added to the Cleric, and the Paladin version is reduced significantly. Otherwise, this stays Paladin only, and Paladins lose most healing spells. Don't worry, I'd be changing the Cleric more into a priest as well. [/LIST] [*]Add a new ability [LIST] [*] that allows the Paladin to basically turn mortals, making them rethink their life and potentially flee. This would be wholly unique in that it would explicitly state that the rethinking their life is genuine, and last after they save out of the primary effect, and that while it won't likely make them attack their allies or risk their life for the PCs, they might retreat or otherwise remove themselves from the fight. [LIST] [*]This is radical, I know. The idea is that the Paladin is someone whose words and deeds are difficult to ignore, and who has an almost tangeable effect on people. When the Paladin gives you a "you need to go to church" talk, it's nearly impossible to not actually give their words some thought. But it is up to the DM whether someone actually turns their life around, leaves the service of the dark lord or the crime boss, or whatever, or if they shake it off and are just a bit shaken by the experience. A wya to give it mechanical wieght might be that targets who fail the initial save have disadvantage against the ability in the future. [/LIST] [/LIST] [/LIST] That's it for them, I think, other than adding some new spells for both classes, and maybe making Find Steed available at a lower level. Perhaps a small class feature that works like a Find Lesser Steed or something. [/QUOTE]
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