D&D 5E Ranger Features to Enhance Natural Explorer and Favored Enemy

[doctorbadwolf]

The Ranger's Favored Enemy (which I'd love to rename to something that speaks of expertise and careful study, rather than xenophobia) and Natural Explorer features are generally considered problematic because they are too situational, and represent the entirety of the Ranger's level 1.

My proposed solution is to give the Natural Explorer options each a defensive or utility (mostly movement) buff that is useful more often, and to give Favored Enemy a generally useful offensive buff.

So, lets throw out some specific ideas. First, just for fun, you are acclimated to the environments represented by your favored terrain.

Arctic - Cold Resistance
Coastal - Swim Speed and ability to hold your breath, maybe an extra bennie since this is still pretty situation? Ignore difficult terrain from loose earth?
Desert - Resist poison, ignore difficult terrain from loose earth
Forest -
Grassland - speed buff, buff to stealth while prone (ie crouched in the tall grass)?
Mountain - climb speed?
Swamp - resist poison or acid or necrotic?
Underdark - darkvision or increased darkvision?


Favored Enemy
Expert Hunter. You know how to bypass the defenses and special abilities of a group of potential enemies. You gain proficiency with Poisoner's Kit, or Herbalism Kit if you already have it. When you make a poison, your favored enemy has no true defense against it. If your favored enemy has immunity to poison damage, it instead has resistence against damage dealt by your poisons, and if it has resistence normally, it loses that resistence. Likewise, if it has immunity against being poisoned, it instead has advantage on saving throws against the condition, and if it has advantage, it loses that benefit against your poisons.
Additionally, you can make a number of specialized poisons equal to your proficiency bonus as part of a long rest. You can make more as part of a short rest, if you spend a spell slot to do so.

Aberration
Beasts
Celestials
Constructs
Elementals
Fey
Fiends
Giants
Monstrosities
Oozes
Plants
Undead
Humanoids
Dragon - slow target, impede fly speed especially, possibly cause target to take poison damage when it uses a breath weapon


Gotta go to work, more ideas later!

 

[Minigiant]

Back when 5e was in pre-playtest form, I suggested that rangers get a list of various bonuses based on their favored enemies or favored terrain. It looked a lot like the 3.5horizon walker. Since it was before playtest the bonuses didn't mean anything.

However I have been contemplating giving it another go.

Type	Runner Rank	Strider Rank	Pathfinder Rank	Ranger Rank
Arctic	Proficiency in Con saving throws	Ignore Stealth penalty in medium or heavy armor	Cold Resistance + ????
Coasts	Proficiency in naviagator's tools and water vehicles	25ft swim speed or increase swim speed by 10 ft
Desert	Proficiency in Acrobatics	Increase speed by 5ft if not wearing medium or heavy armor	Fire Resistance + ????
Forest	Proficiency in Stealth	25ft climb speed or increase climb speed by 10 ft
Grassland	Proficiency in Perception	Increase speed by 5ft if not wearing medium or heavy armor
Hills	Proficiency in Perception	???
Mountain	Proficiency in Athletics	25ft climb speed or increase climb speed by 10 ft
Underground	Proficiency in Stealth	Darkvision 60ft or increase darkvision by 60 ft
Urban	Proficiency in thieves tools and one gaming set	???
Swamp	Proficiency in Stealth	25ft swim speed or increase swim speed by 10 ft

 

[GSHamster]

Heh, I came into this thread to recommend Minigiant's concept from so long ago. Still the best iteration of Ranger that I've seen.

Though I preferred the bonuses based on favored enemy rather than favored terrain. Terrain was effective but bland. But the favored enemy bonuses showed how the ranger tailored her tactics towards her chosen foes.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Back when 5e was in pre-playtest form, I suggested that rangers get a list of various bonuses based on their favored enemies or favored terrain. It looked a lot like the 3.5horizon walker. Since it was before playtest the bonuses didn't mean anything.

However I have been contemplating giving it another go.

Type	Runner Rank	Strider Rank	Pathfinder Rank	Ranger Rank
Arctic	Proficiency in Con saving throws	Ignore Stealth penalty in medium or heavy armor	Cold Resistance + ????
Coasts	Proficiency in naviagator's tools and water vehicles	25ft swim speed or increase swim speed by 10 ft
Desert	Proficiency in Acrobatics	Increase speed by 5ft if not wearing medium or heavy armor	Fire Resistance + ????
Forest	Proficiency in Stealth	25ft climb speed or increase climb speed by 10 ft
Grassland	Proficiency in Perception	Increase speed by 5ft if not wearing medium or heavy armor
Hills	Proficiency in Perception	???
Mountain	Proficiency in Athletics	25ft climb speed or increase climb speed by 10 ft
Underground	Proficiency in Stealth	Darkvision 60ft or increase darkvision by 60 ft
Urban	Proficiency in thieves tools and one gaming set	???
Swamp	Proficiency in Stealth	25ft swim speed or increase swim speed by 10 ft

I really like those. Mind if I steal some ideas as I work on this?

Heh, I came into this thread to recommend Minigiant's concept from so long ago. Still the best iteration of Ranger that I've seen.

Though I preferred the bonuses based on favored enemy rather than favored terrain. Terrain was effective but bland. But the favored enemy bonuses showed how the ranger tailored her tactics towards her chosen foes.

Yeah I like Ranger tactics based on Favored Enemy, as well...but the specialized poisons...perhaps I’ll leave it a bit more open, to where some FA options are more “tactics” heavy with more minor poisons. Hell, just the “no immunity to my specialized poison” feature and prof with the kit is pretty good, so if undead don’t get a special poison as such, and instead get a tactic type benefit...

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Aberration
Beasts
Celestials
Constructs
Elementals - While poisoned, the target has disadvantage on saving throws to avoid being banished, stunned, or against taking a damage type of your choice, chosen when the poison is applied. Additionally, if an elemental creature dies while poisoned by one of your poisons, you can gather components from it to make even better poisons? Potions of resistance?
Fey - While poisoned the target must make a wisdom saving throw in order to use any ability that changes it's appearance or causes it to become invisible, and has disadvantage on saving throws against being banished.
Fiends - While poisoned, the target has disadvantage on saving throws to avoid being banished or turned, and if it takes radiant damage, it must make a constitution saving throw to avoid taking extra radiant damage equal to your wisdom modifier.
Giants - no clue
Monstrosities - no clue
Oozes - what even...maybe they become more brittle somehow?
Plants - burn from the inside, taking fire damage when hit?
Undead - while poisoned, if the target takes radiant damage, it takes extra radiant damage equal to your wisdom modifier. If the target is bound to another creature by magic, such as having been animated by them, that creature must make a constitution saving throw or take the same damage. Additionally, if a creature is currently controlling an undead creature or concentrating on a spell that animates or controls undead, they count as Undead for the purposes of your poisons and other class abilities.
Humanoids - slow down, and something tactical involving hitting more than one enemy? extra damage when you hit two or more targets in a round?
Dragon - Your poison harms the target when they use a breath weapon or take the dash action or move willingly outside of their turn. Additionally, whenever you hit the target with a weapon attack, they must save vs losing all their speed on their next turn?

Perhaps there should also be an addition to natural explorer that lets ranger collect useful ingredients from creatures, with easier checks for favored enemies, and like...extra chance to get rare ingredients to make potions and such? Keep it simple, and have a short list (roll a d6) of ingredients for each type of favored enemy, except maybe humanoids because...that is gonna squick some folks out.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I'd want this to synergize with the hunter ranger, not replace it. So, humanoid would be a damage bonus when you hit a second target in a turn, which the hunter would then benefit from very well. Problem there is, only dual wielders and hunters with horde breaker would benefit from it at all before level 5. Maybe this is a good level 6 upgrade? Or level 11 upgrade?

Okay, so a poison and/or tactic at level 1 that is roughly in line with fighting styles and second wind (ie in line with the fighter's level 1), with beefy upgrades around level 11.

Maybe decrease the number of choices a bit, by combining some choices?

So, oozes and plants can be one group, giants are probably fine since they cover trolls, ogres, ettins, etc as well as actual giants, dragons are fine although I'm tempted to say that they for this feature kobolds and dragonborn should count as both humaoids and dragons. Humanoids should just be one group.

Combine all the outsiders into one group?

Combine beasts and monstrosities?