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<blockquote data-quote="Squire James" data-source="post: 36736" data-attributes="member: 548">My thoughts in altering the Ranger class are as follows:1.&nbsp; At 1st level, Rangers gain the Track feat (something I think most would agree IS applicable to all Rangers) and ONE chosen bonus feat from &quot;the Ranger list&quot;.&nbsp; I'm not going to specify &quot;the Ranger list&quot; here, except to say that it should be a lot smaller than the Fighter list and it must not contain Weapon Specialization (I don't think Psychic Warriors should get it either, but that's another issue...).2.&nbsp; At 2nd level, and every 2 levels thereafter, the Ranger may choose a new &quot;favored enemy&quot; at +1, or add +1 to an existing &quot;favored enemy&quot; up to a maximum of +5.&nbsp; This bonus is applied to attack rolls, save DC's, and skill checks applied in an adversarial manner against such creatures (essentially the skills mentioned in the PHB, though other situations may exist).&nbsp; The bonus does not apply to damage, which neatly sidesteps the &quot;monsters immune to crits&quot; issues.&nbsp; If the Ranger wants a damage bonus, he should be encouraged to choose the Power Attack feat (which may or may not be on &quot;the Ranger list&quot;).I particularly like the delay to level 2 here (whether you agree with applying it to save DC's and attack rolls or not), because it removes some of the &quot;front loading&quot; and gives the Ranger a chance to either make an enemy or see if the DM employs a certain type of monster at all.&nbsp; Also, the &quot;+1 per 2 levels&quot; approach means the Ranger's first decision doesn't necessarily hang a weight on the character if his first decision was a bad one.3.&nbsp; At 3rd level, the Ranger gets to choose his second bonus feat from &quot;the Ranger list&quot;.&nbsp; If a Ranger forgoes his spellcasting ability, he may select another bonus feat from &quot;the Ranger list&quot; every 3 levels thereafter.&nbsp; Otherwise, this second bonus feat is the last one he will get (unless he multi-classes, of course).This, of course, is another &quot;eliminate the front loaded&quot; change.&nbsp; It is not particularly unbalancing to push it up to level 2 or even level 1, since yeah Monks and Barbarians are front-loaded too (I might add that ALL the good front-loaders have alignment requirements, the more the tougher!).&nbsp; This one &quot;bunches up&quot; the feats a bit, because a single-classed Ranger with no spell ability would always be picking 2 feats or none.&nbsp; I don't consider that a problem, but some DM's might.All the other stuff (BAB, Hit Dice, saves, all the skill stuff) remains the same.&nbsp; Still a pretty simple class with sparse high-level abilities, but the &quot;favored enemy&quot; revision will put at least SOME carrot in front of the single-classed Ranger (and even add some utility for a Ranger/spellcaster multiclass, because +5 to save DC's vs. Dragons is good!).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Squire James, post: 36736, member: 548"] My thoughts in altering the Ranger class are as follows: 1. At 1st level, Rangers gain the Track feat (something I think most would agree IS applicable to all Rangers) and ONE chosen bonus feat from "the Ranger list". I'm not going to specify "the Ranger list" here, except to say that it should be a lot smaller than the Fighter list and it must not contain Weapon Specialization (I don't think Psychic Warriors should get it either, but that's another issue...). 2. At 2nd level, and every 2 levels thereafter, the Ranger may choose a new "favored enemy" at +1, or add +1 to an existing "favored enemy" up to a maximum of +5. This bonus is applied to attack rolls, save DC's, and skill checks applied in an adversarial manner against such creatures (essentially the skills mentioned in the PHB, though other situations may exist). The bonus does not apply to damage, which neatly sidesteps the "monsters immune to crits" issues. If the Ranger wants a damage bonus, he should be encouraged to choose the Power Attack feat (which may or may not be on "the Ranger list"). I particularly like the delay to level 2 here (whether you agree with applying it to save DC's and attack rolls or not), because it removes some of the "front loading" and gives the Ranger a chance to either make an enemy or see if the DM employs a certain type of monster at all. Also, the "+1 per 2 levels" approach means the Ranger's first decision doesn't necessarily hang a weight on the character if his first decision was a bad one. 3. At 3rd level, the Ranger gets to choose his second bonus feat from "the Ranger list". If a Ranger forgoes his spellcasting ability, he may select another bonus feat from "the Ranger list" every 3 levels thereafter. Otherwise, this second bonus feat is the last one he will get (unless he multi-classes, of course). This, of course, is another "eliminate the front loaded" change. It is not particularly unbalancing to push it up to level 2 or even level 1, since yeah Monks and Barbarians are front-loaded too (I might add that ALL the good front-loaders have alignment requirements, the more the tougher!). This one "bunches up" the feats a bit, because a single-classed Ranger with no spell ability would always be picking 2 feats or none. I don't consider that a problem, but some DM's might. All the other stuff (BAB, Hit Dice, saves, all the skill stuff) remains the same. Still a pretty simple class with sparse high-level abilities, but the "favored enemy" revision will put at least SOME carrot in front of the single-classed Ranger (and even add some utility for a Ranger/spellcaster multiclass, because +5 to save DC's vs. Dragons is good!). [/QUOTE]

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