D&D (2024) Ranger playtest discussion

[Ruin Explorer]

multi attack used to be:

• Volley. You can use your action to make a ranged attack against any number of creatures within 10 feet of a point you can see within your weapon’s range. You must have ammunition for each target, as normal, and you make a separate attack roll for each target

now it's
You now always have Conjure Barrage prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of Spells you can prepare. You can also cast the Spell with 1st- and 2ndlevel Spell Slots. When you do so, the Spell’s damage is reduced

You throw a nonmagical weapon or fire a piece of nonmagical ammunition into the air to create a cone of identical weapons that shoot forward and then disappear. Each creature in a 60-foot cone must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d8 damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The damage type is the same as that of the weapon or ammunition used as a component

It's actually so dumb I'm not even worried about it. It'll get absolutely SHREDDED by the surveys. The sheer laziness of "Oh your multiattack ability? I guess a spell?!" is just absolutely galling, the downcasting mechanic, which is novel, is cute, but just means that it would be literally useless by the time you got it.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Similar to how you could gain generally applicable abilities related to your chosen terrain (movement speed for plains etc), you could get abilities related to your favored enemy (fey hunter has advantage vs illusions/charms, giant hunter has access to oversized weaponry etc)

One can wish.

 

[Gammadoodler]

I like that ability on top of hunter's mark. I'd also like a similar ability that lets the ranger attune to a surrounding in a few days.

The benefits could be, that when you prepare for a foe, you automatically gain the effect of hunter's mark without casting the spell and when you prepare for a surrounding, you get advantage on some checks.

I suppose keeping a resource cost way to get access to the benefits for unselected enemy types makes a kind of sense (even if I kinda hate hunters mark for being gamist spellcating rather than thematic spellcasting).

I like the idea of prepping for an environment too. Like Natural Explorer's issue is that it's not flexible enough to prevent long stretches of total uselessness but its so good when it applies that it removes all tension from exploration activities. It shouldn't be that hard to fix. Move the decision point to the adventuring day level rather than at level up, and replace some of the auto-wins with advantaged die rolls. Seems ezpz.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Downcasting spells could be a cool mechanic for the Sorcerer though. It'd help with the few spells known if you could up/down-cast Fireball and change its elemental type with metamagic!

For a Volley or Multi-attack, I'd make it that, as an Action, a ranger can do a single attack against each creature within X radius centered on them, moving without AoO between targets if necessary. Like a low-key Steelwind Strike, if you will. Pretty bad for focused damage, but pretty cool for mob slaying.

 

[Bill Zebub]

A ranger without spellcasting is a fighter.

A fighter with spellcasting is a Gish. Sooo….

 

[Tutara]

Downcasting spells could be a cool mechanic for the Sorcerer though. It'd help with the few spells known if you could up/down-cast Fireball and change its elemental type with metamagic!

I like the idea of the sorcerer having many more low level spell slots, but progressing slower in terms of getting higher level slots. Different to the wizard, and very different to the warlock's 'few but powerful' spell slots.

The ability to downcast would fit that really well. You're all about quantity not quality. Shabby 4D6 fireballs for days.

 

[Haplo781]

But that's the trick, it's ALL spells.

Spells are what they use to cover 90%* of magical effects. It's why many invocations end up being access to a spell (slow, bane, mage armor). It's why a robust psionics was abandoned for psionic spells and subclasses. Spells are a known quantity, an understood mechanic, and an easy way to expand the game later. In short, they are the hammer WotC has elected to use, and everything else is just a nail.

If it helps, think of spells akin to 4e powers, save they are explicitly magical.

Hey remember how people complained (and still do) that 4e classes are lIteRallY aLl thE SamE because they had a unified progression?

Well now every ability that isn't swinging a pointy stick is "a wizard did it."

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

It's actually so dumb I'm not even worried about it. It'll get absolutely SHREDDED by the surveys. The sheer laziness of "Oh your multiattack ability? I guess a spell?!" is just absolutely galling, the downcasting mechanic, which is novel, is cute, but just means that it would be literally useless by the time you got it.

Hybrids really need their own spell lists, otherwise all damage spells are trash by the time they can be cast. Making me roll multiple saves for a piddly d8 damage at 11th freakin level level is a waste of everyone's time.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Hey remember how people complained (and still do) that 4e classes are lIteRallY aLl thE SamE because they had a unified progression?

Well now every ability that isn't swinging a pointy stick is "a wizard did it."

Hey now, sometimes a cleric or druid did it!

 

[Neonchameleon]

Hybrids really need their own spell lists, otherwise all damage spells are trash by the time they can be cast. Making me roll multiple saves for a piddly d8 damage at 11th freakin level level is a waste of everyone's time.

And the spell in question would still not be taken often against fireball as a third level spell if you literally doubled the damage it did. (6d8<8d6. And a 60ft cone covers only about 1.5 times the area of a 20ft radius sphere while the sphere with its 150ft range is far far easier both to deploy against cover and to deploy without inflicting friendly fire). As it only does 3d8 damage it's an awful example of a third level spell.

But it is an example of a hybrid having their own spell list; the spell in 5e is ranger-exclusive. Which only adds insult to injury.