D&D General Ranger Tank Armor

[Gorck]

I guess I'll just hold off on the magic item for now and see how things transpire. We've already had a situation where their Hobgoblin Scout guide was knocked unconscious during a battle by a crit*. I wound up rolling a nat 20 on his death save, so he awoke with 1 HP. After the battle, the Druid and Bard proceeded to have a full blown argument over who had to cast a healing spell on him (neither one wanted to). Technically, according to the adventure, if he dropped below half HP in a single encounter, he was supposed to abandon the party unless they could convince him not to. Arguing over who had to heal him was not a convincing argument. But, looking at the strength of the combats in the adventure, they're going to need him to survive.

*The Swarm of Poisonous Snakes had disadvantage and I rolled a pair of 20s The Hobgoblin has 2 attacks per turn, and on the first 2 rounds of combat I rolled single digits on all 4 of his attacks. It's a good thing I didn't throw the second Swarm of Poisonous Snakes at them as well or it would have been a TPK.

 

[billd91]

Magic armor of some sort, particularly something useful to foreshadow adventures you’re planning on prepping, still isn’t a bad idea. It may help give the ranger player confidence to step up into the tank position when they feel they need it.

 

[cbwjm]

If they are going full dex-based, maybe just decent studded leather armour. It might take a while, but their dex will increase with levels to get to a respectable 17 at level 8. They can also use a shield to get an additional +2. Assuming they have a +3 dex, studded leather and shield already puts them at 17 AC which is nice at low levels.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I guess I'll just hold off on the magic item for now and see how things transpire. We've already had a situation where their Hobgoblin Scout guide was knocked unconscious during a battle by a crit*. I wound up rolling a nat 20 on his death save, so he awoke with 1 HP. After the battle, the Druid and Bard proceeded to have a full blown argument over who had to cast a healing spell on him (neither one wanted to). Technically, according to the adventure, if he dropped below half HP in a single encounter, he was supposed to abandon the party unless they could convince him not to. Arguing over who had to heal him was not a convincing argument. But, looking at the strength of the combats in the adventure, they're going to need him to survive.

*The Swarm of Poisonous Snakes had disadvantage and I rolled a pair of 20s The Hobgoblin has 2 attacks per turn, and on the first 2 rounds of combat I rolled single digits on all 4 of his attacks. It's a good thing I didn't throw the second Swarm of Poisonous Snakes at them as well or it would have been a TPK.

What would happen if you just ran it as presented? The scout leaves. The party has no tank. They face encounters that are very strong. Someone dies. Maybe that person rolls a new character that is better in melee or they're more generous with their healing next time. Or, even better, they learn how to retreat. How to use the land. How to recruit NPC's. How to determine where to have their encounters.

IDK, obviously if this would be a bad experience that would make them grumpy, this isn't the best idea, but D&D is a game with a lot of tools, and they chose these tools, and it's either on them to make these tools work, or to choose different tools, right?

I'm reminded of the designers of Breath of the Wild. They noticed players would sometimes die when they fell off the first tower. Some said, hey, let's make it so that people don't die here. Others said, essentially, "Let them die." The latter won out, and it helps add to that game's feeling of autonomy and player empowerment.

Maybe....let them die?

 

[DeviousQuail]

If no one is on the front line then everyone is on the frontline. You can let them learn this the hard way. It doesn't even have to be "hard". Just hit them with an encounter where all the baddies are melee focused. Three goblins with spears with each one focusing on a different PC works. Let them learn a lesson in how being entirely ranged presents difficulties that they have to account for.

If you want to go the tanking route I would probably give them all items that can help them "tank" in their own way. Forcing the Ranger player to do it might be logical, but it's hardly fun or fair. Some cool items that could work:
Thorn Armor: Studded Leather that gives the wearer 1d6 temporary hit points once per round when they take damage. Any melee attacks against the wearer take damage equal to the THP. Sort of a mini armor of agathys.
Dancing Shoes: Has X charges. Use a charge as a reaction to add prof bonus to AC and move half speed without taking opportunity attacks until start of next turn.
Nature's Endurance (necklace): Once per day you get an extra wild shape.

 

[Clint_L]

[deleted]

 

[Clint_L]

What would happen if you just ran it as presented? The scout leaves. The party has no tank. They face encounters that are very strong. Someone dies. Maybe that person rolls a new character that is better in melee or they're more generous with their healing next time. Or, even better, they learn how to retreat. How to use the land. How to recruit NPC's. How to determine where to have their encounters.

IDK, obviously if this would be a bad experience that would make them grumpy, this isn't the best idea, but D&D is a game with a lot of tools, and they chose these tools, and it's either on them to make these tools work, or to choose different tools, right?

I'm reminded of the designers of Breath of the Wild. They noticed players would sometimes die when they fell off the first tower. Some said, hey, let's make it so that people don't die here. Others said, essentially, "Let them die." The latter won out, and it helps add to that game's feeling of autonomy and player empowerment.

Maybe....let them die?

The stakes are a lot higher in a game of D&D with beginners than in a video game where dying is a 10 second inconvenience.

 

[FrogReaver]

My campaign consists of a Bard, Druid, and Ranger (all currently at level 1). The players are relatively new to D&D and aren't aware of the nuances of a typical party makeup. So far the Druid has been sitting back and casting ranged spells and the Bard has been sitting back and casting buffs. The party currently has an NPC Scout chaperoning them who has been also pulling tanking duty, but he's only temporarily in the party. Once he's gone, the party is going to need a full-time tank to protect the ranged members, which would fall to the Ranger (if the Druid doesn't go Circle of the Moon). But there's no guarantee the Ranger won't choose to go ranged instead of melee. As the DM, I was thinking about having the party find a suit of magical armor that would encourage the Ranger to jump up into melee, without me having to come right out and overtly suggest it (I want to maintain some semblance of player agency without leaving them in a vulnerable position).

Does anybody have any suggestions other than generic +1 Armor? I tried to use my Google-fu, but I got 75 billion answers that had nothing to do with what I was asking (most of the results were for player optimization rather than DM rewards). My initial thought was Mithril Full Plate which would give her a 17 AC (she doesn't use a shield), but I was looking for something with a active effect, or something that was more Ranger-themed.

ETA: Homebrew suggestions are welcome. I'm just not experienced enough to judge whether something is too powerful. I was looking to keep it in the Uncommon, maybe Rare, range, since their still Level 1.

IMO. They need to experience level 1 without the NPC tank so they have some idea of what kinds of things they should focus on. Having him around is warping their experience and expectations.

The Ranger will not really make a good tank no matter what you do.

The Druid can do so as a moon druid or with minions, but very much his call. His control options like entangle, spike growth, plant growth, etc all can eliminate the need for a tank in most situations as well.

If you wanted to give them some magic items to help, let it be as a choice from a quest reward. Maybe some option between melee weapons, better armors, or gear that helps them skirmish better (say something that grants them a few uses of misty step or expeditious retreat or just extra speed, etc).

A few suggestions for dealing with no 'true tank'. Player that gets focused should take defensive actions like dodge/dash/disengage. Casters should use spells to help push enemies off allies or to prevent enemies from getting to them. Entangle/Dissonant Whispers both help there. If they get good at this style then they will probably be better off than if they had a single dedicated tank.

Ultimately they are in a no tank needed party comp as long as they discover how to use their abilities to support that style.

 

[I'm A Banana]

The stakes are a lot higher in a game of D&D with beginners than in a video game where dying is a 10 second inconvenience.

It depends on the players and the game, though, right?

Like, yes, it takes longer to make a character, but also, making a D&D character is intrinsically a fun experience, so much so that people will make characters that they never play. And it's much quicker in 5e than it has been since the '90's. Hell, half the reason I like that D&D still lets PC's actually die is because making new characters that you get to play is a frickin' treat that only usually happens like once a year or so.

And, it's not a homebrew game where the DM's plans may rest on specific bits of character lore, it's a published adventure.

And, maybe they won't die! The team has a lot of resources, a lot of potential healing and buffing. What's to say they won't find a way that works for them?

These folks are new to D&D, so I'd think it kind of depends on what draws them to the game, but I do think there's a side to this where you feel kind of disempowered as a player, if the DM keeps making changes to keep you alive/viable.

So they have no tank. So what? They made their choices. Don't take those choices away from them by removing consequences or encouraging different choices. Let the chips fall as they may.

Obviously, of course, if someone is very attached to their character or something, you can change tack, but why assume that it'll be a problem if the PC's die? Maybe death will be fine. Fun, even!

 

[Hawk Diesel]

I would start by asking the player what kind of powers or abilities might be cool, or which ones they already possess that they might like to enhance. This is good practice to do with all your players. And just because you ask them, doesn't mean they will get it. But it should give you plenty of ideas for homebrew magic items.

As for the other stuff, I completely agree and second @FrogReaver 's take.