Ranger article: Unseen Path by Mouseferatu! Beastmasters rejoice!

[BobTheNob]

Probably should have been, but Primal wasn't a power source at the start (or at least wasn't the focus until PHB2).

Absolutely. Ranger should have been Primal Striker, leaving the door open for a Martial Controller...

But that boat has alreaday sailed

 

[Klaus]

Hey, guys.

First off, I'm glad some of you are liking it. I wanted to give the beast rangers some love.

Second, I'm really not sure where anyone got the idea that the Feywild is the source of arcane magic. The default D&D setting never states or even implies such a thing. And while it's true that some fey (eladrin, gnomes) have powers that seem vaguely arcane in nature, many other fey have nothing of the sort.

My intent was to give these rangers a stronger connection to nature that seemed vaguely supernatural without quite going so far as to make anything obviously arcane or primal (or whatever). Whether or not I succeeded is, of course, up to you.

Great work as usual, Ari!

I love Beastmasters, specially using tigers (but using bear stats, because the cat stats are very non-tiger/lion).

 

[avin]

First off, I'm glad some of you are liking it. I wanted to give the beast rangers some love.

I like it, was just expecting something different on the crunch part.

Second, I'm really not sure where anyone got the idea that the Feywild is the source of arcane magic.

Faerie is often portrayed as a place of high magic. Heck, bleeding regions smells portals, taste like magic.

First I was thinking it was a thing on myself, but it seems that more people notice that.

Still like the fluff, it's inspiring, even if your envision of Faerie is different than mine... but what should I expect from a guy who hates Modrons?

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Shouldn't Rangers be Primal then, and not Martial? Even Paladins are Divine rather than Martial...

Not necessarily. Primal also indicates an innate connection with the primal spirits. Rangers just know how to survive and thrive in the wilderness and can deal well with animals. Primal Spirits are a different layer.

Of course, that's all dependent on how you want to implement the Ranger (or the Paladin). The 3E Ranger could cast divine spells (a feature that many people complained about, and among the weapon styles one of the major sources for countless alternate Ranger classes ,) ). If such a feature would have been retained, I suspect the Ranger would have become a Primal class.

The Paladin always had supernatural powers with his Smite Evil, Detect Evil and Aura abilities. I guess removing them was really not an option and it makes sense he is a Divine Class.

Ranger should have been Primal Striker, leaving the door open for a Martial Controller...

I don't see how that would open a door for a Martial Controller? If WotC would have had a good idea for a martial controller, they could have created one in PHB 2 or 3.

 

[Jhaelen]

The 3E Ranger could cast divine spells (a feature that many people complained about, and among the weapon styles one of the major sources for countless alternate Ranger classes ,) ). If such a feature would have been retained, I suspect the Ranger would have become a Primal class.

Yep, and IIRC, they could cast arcane spells pre-3e.

But didn't the Seeker class kill the spell-casting rangers and take their stuff?

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Yep, and IIRC, they could cast arcane spells pre-3e.

But didn't the Seeker class kill the spell-casting rangers and take their stuff?

Maybe. It certainly killed the spell-casting archer.

 

[Rechan]

Mouse, I think the assumption of Feywild = Magic is that very little about the Feywild isn't magical in nature. Gnomes and Eladrin and faeries all speak of glamour and all that good stuff.

Hell, Corellan is the patron god of arcane magic AND the fey.

 

[1of3]

It's also insinuated in Primal Power. There is a background that goes like "When you were in the Feywild you were listening to arcane magic. When you came over to the world, you heard the spirits instead." I really liked that part.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Oh, I'm not denying there's a strong arcane component of the Feywild. I'm just saying that

A) The Feywild is not in any way the source of arcane magic, and

B) Not everything related to the Feywild is (or should be) arcane in nature.

And I think there's plenty of precedent in the game to back me up on those.

Like I said above, my intent was simply to create ranger abilities that bordered on the supernatural, without being blatantly magical (be it arcane, primal, or anything else). Obviously, that's not what some people were looking for, and I'm sorry for the disconnect, but that's what I was thinking going into it.

That issue aside, I do hope people are finding both the flavor text and the mechanics inspiring.

 

[Roger]

There was a lot about this article that I really liked.

Bestial Mobility, Beast Rider: I like these, but on their own they feel a bit weakish for a feat. I might be inclined to roll them into a single feat. I feel sorry for the beast that has to lug around a goliath on its back.

Fey Senses: A feat that provides a racial bonus is... a bit weird. I guess I don't mind. Might as well name it "Yo Momma 'Hugged' a Lot of Trees".

Harrying Hunter Stance: This stance is not a Stance stance, it seems. But it still seems pretty good.

Deceptive Steel: Handy when you have a warlord friend with Commander's Strike.

Murderous Aim: Nothing wrong with Brutal-2 Hunter's Quarry.

Questing Blades: The wording seems a bit cumbersome, but I like the effect.

Swooping Raptor: I generally like this one, but the beast charging from adjacent is... a little on the strange side. But I like the image of a boar pouncing 15 feet into the air.

Fleet Hunter's Stance: This is nice, too.

Vengeful Fangs Stance: Haven't crunched the numbers out on how beasts stand up in Epic, but assuming they're alright, this looks good and solid.


Overall, good stuff; I want some more.



Cheers,
Roger