D&D 5E Ranger and underdark as favored terrain opinions wanted

[auburn2]

So there is a deep gnome ranger in one of the games I DM, currently 5th level. He has underdark as his favored terrain, but this is not an underdark campaign so he has never been able to use it.

The character is an exile and the player does a really good job with role playing but he has ran into some issues. First ranger is an underpowered class to start with, second he had a string of really bad luck with survival checks in a swamp area .... not his favored terrain but he was still the go to guy because he is the ranger and he really let the party down. Anyway he is feeling kind of useless to some degree.

Now to my question: this is not an underdark campaign at all, but there are some standard caves, dungeons etc. You know the kind you go in for a couple hours and clear out. He has argued recently that those should be favored terrain for him. Thematically I would tend to disagree the underdark is different than a cave/dungeon, but for balance reasons I am considering allowing it. Also he has argued that if those are not part of the underdark then what terrain are they. Would a ranger with forest terrain be in favored terrain inside a cave that lets out into a forrest? He has a pretty good argument here in my mind

Anyway what do you think, should I allow it.

 

[KahlessNestor]

I think anything underground would fall into Underdark as FT.

Sent from my SM-G900P using EN World mobile app

 

[iserith]

Anyway what do you think, should I allow it.

Sure. Honestly, what harm could it really do?

You might also consider checking out the Unearthed Arcana revised ranger.

 

[jaelis]

I too would have any underground area count, absolutely.

 

[Azurewraith]

Go for it wont hurt fun is more important than raw any day. Also Rangers ain't underpowred they just require knowledge to use. Don't forget the sharpshooter Xbox expert fighter is broken and not a good benchmark for balance.

 

[BookBarbarian]

I actually like the PHB Ranger, but I do think the UA Revised Ranger is just enough better in just enough areas that I like it even better. It's worth trying. Also, Yes, considering anything underground as Underdark terrain won't hurt a thing.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I concur. Anything underground counts and the UA Ranger is better, although it needs a couple of minor tweaks before they print it.

Sent from my LG-D852 using EN World mobile app

 

[auburn2]

Thanks for the replies ... I think I am going to go with anything underground as "underdark" terrain

I also read UA, thanks for the tip. I think it is better but I actually think it goes too far. I think I am going to use it but modify it as follows:

1. Natural explorer: In UA this seems to have gotten rid of the connection to FT. I am going to put that back in, you get these benefits in FT only along with the wis/int double proficiency bonus in FT which was removed. I think being able to do this everywhere is not good. A ranger typically has good survival which apples everywhere, so he is already good at foraging in the desert even if he has never seen a desert before but he shouldn't get any more bonuses. Also the advantage on initiative and advantage on the first round of attacks to anyone you beat (which is probably everyone) is pretty overpowering if allowed everywhere.

2. favored enemies/Primeval awareness: The +2 bonus is great although I think picking 2 humanoid types as original instead of all humanoids is better. The ranger I mentioned above is elves and goblins as FE for example (both common underdark humanoids). All humanoids is a bit overpowering in any civilized campaign, especially when combined with primevial awareness. RAW you could pretty much figure out where every single humanoid group is inside a castle, city etc, including their numbers with an at will ability. This would allow the party to very easily avoid guard posts, ambushes etc. By limiting to two humanoid types it is not as useful in a setting where you have mixed races although it is still extremely powerful in a niche/corner situation. I would also consider making the detection part of PA once per SR instead of at will.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Thanks for the replies ... I think I am going to go with anything underground as "underdark" terrain

I also read UA, thanks for the tip. I think it is better but I actually think it goes too far. I think I am going to use it but modify it as follows:

1. Natural explorer: In UA this seems to have gotten rid of the connection to FT. I am going to put that back in, you get these benefits in FT only along with the wis/int double proficiency bonus in FT which was removed. I think being able to do this everywhere is not good. A ranger typically has good survival which apples everywhere, so he is already good at foraging in the desert even if he has never seen a desert before but he shouldn't get any more bonuses. Also the advantage on initiative and advantage on the first round of attacks to anyone you beat (which is probably everyone) is pretty overpowering if allowed everywhere.

2. favored enemies/Primeval awareness: The +2 bonus is great although I think picking 2 humanoid types as original instead of all humanoids is better. The ranger I mentioned above is elves and goblins as FE for example (both common underdark humanoids). All humanoids is a bit overpowering in any civilized campaign, especially when combined with primevial awareness. RAW you could pretty much figure out where every single humanoid group is inside a castle, city etc, including their numbers with an at will ability. This would allow the party to very easily avoid guard posts, ambushes etc. By limiting to two humanoid types it is not as useful in a setting where you have mixed races although it is still extremely powerful in a niche/corner situation. I would also consider making the detection part of PA once per SR instead of at will.

I think your fixes are almost certainly how it will be modified before it sees print (that and avoiding the stackable nature of advantage-on-initiative AND advantage-on-attacking-those-you-act-before. BOTH is a bit much at level one. (And I speak as someone who plays a UA Ranger!)

Sent from my LG-D852 using EN World mobile app

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I'd certainly count natural underground areas as your Ranger's favoured terrain. Not sure about actual dungeons though.