Ranger's Favored Enemy question

[FlimFlam]

This is more of a comment/concern then a question, but here it goes anyway. I've noticed that when you choose a Favored Enemy, the category can either be broad or narrow. What I mean is this...

You can choose Abberations or Magical Beasts (for example) as a Favored Enemy, and this includes a broad range of creatures. Yet, you can't pick something like "Humanoid". You are stuck choosing "Orc" or "Human" or "Elf" or whatever. A very narrow category. I don't know, this just doesn't make much sense to me here.

On a side note, I tend to use the language list for Favored Enemies. So if I choose Dragons as a favored enemy (more like choosing Draconic), I would be able to hit kobolds as well as Dragons. It's like choosing a Solar as a favored enemy when you can just choose Celestial and get a broader range.

Again, just a minor gripe I have.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

It comes down to how often you could be expected to encounter a particular favored enemy, and how powerful that would make a significant damage and skill bonus.

Most players don't encounter a owlbears or beholders often enough that even a +5 bonus against abberations would be unbalancing (and I double-dog dare you to try and bluff the beholder!). A +2 against any humanoid, however, would be almost the equivalent of multiple feats (weapon specialization, skill focus X, etc), since I suspect in most campaigns the majority of interaction takes place against humanoids.

In the cases of giants, dragons, and some of the other categories, the additional benefits of the FE bonus are acceptable when considering the challenge presented by those monsters.

The bigger problem with the FE bonus is that it ends up functioning in reverse. Taking 'goblinoids' as your first favored enemy makes sense, since you will likely be facing them often at low levels. By the time that bonus gets to +5, it's pretty useless. Conversely, +1 for your last FE taken against demons or dragons is also pretty useless. The system foolishly encourages you to take as your first FE things you expect to be fighting at 20th level.

I've generally done one of two things:

1. House-rule that the favored enemy bonus advances independent of the categories. For example, your first FE is goblins, and you have a +1. At 5th level, your bonus against all FE's is +2, and you get to add a second category. This encourages the player to take things as FE's that are level appropriate, and helps make the class ability useful throughout his career.

2. Mixing the purely numeric bonuses with other feats that apply. For example, I used to add a version of 'improved critical' that only applied to the FE (l now use the Favored Critical feat from MotW),

Also, as Monte Cook put it. "I was always worried about the ranger. The fact that his abilities kick in when the DM wants them to (when the adventure contains his favored enemies) rather than when the player wants them to, like the barbarian, always seemed to me to be a drawback"

 

[Plane Sailing]

The system foolishly encourages you to take as your first FE things you expect to be fighting at 20th level.

I've noticed a number of people mention this as a "problem", but a quick glance at the monster manual shows that Dragons and outsiders (elementals, devils etc) are actually available at most CR's - all the way through the characters likely career, in fact.

It is quite possible to take as your first FE something which comes up as enemies all the way through (although Undead isn't a good choice unless the DM allows your damage bonus to count against it...)

1. House-rule that the favored enemy bonus advances independent of the categories. For example, your first FE is goblins, and you have a +1. At 5th level, your bonus against all FE's is +2, and you get to add a second category. This encourages the player to take things as FE's that are level appropriate, and helps make the class ability useful throughout his career.

I noticed that this is the way it is done in Neverwinter Nights.

How has this worked out in practice for you? What is the highest level Ranger so far?

Cheers

 

[Crothian]

What's more common in your game: An elf ot a owlbear? For most people it's elves. That's why some catagories seem smaller, but in reality they are not.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

It is quite possible to take as your first FE something which comes up as enemies all the way through (although Undead isn't a good choice unless the DM allows your damage bonus to count against it...)

In theory, true. However, it has been my experience that dragons, demons, etc, are usually singular encounters in any given 'adventure', whereas lesser undead, orcs, goblins, etc., are more frequently encountered. The 8th level group I'm running now has encountered one dragon and one demon-type. Any ranger that had one of those as a FE would have been most distressed. It goes back to the DM needing to tailor the campaign to play to the ranger's strengths. A similar (although IMHO lesser) problem has to do with Paladin's mounts, druids' pets, etc. in that those abilities can be severly minimized by design or by accident. Or maybe I'm the aberration?

I noticed that this is the way it is done in Neverwinter Nights.

How has this worked out in practice for you? What is the highest level Ranger so far?

The highest I've had a ranger get has been around 10-12th (3rd FE), although I've had a couple get the 2nd FE. It has worked pretty well, I think. The rangers actually looked forward to getting a new one, and it encouraged a couple who probably otherwise would have done the single-level ranger thing to stick with it instead of doing Rgr1/Barb7 or something similar. It certainly hasn't unbalanced anything; the damage bonuses are nice, but since the HPs scale up pretty fast, the extra 3 or 4 pts of damage in a fight don't make that big a difference. And the bonuses to social skills only apply when you are trying to actually interact with it (beyond smashing its skull) which is not exactly my groups strong suit.

 

[mikebr99]

And don't think of 'Favoured enemies' in the 2e way... like it is based on some kind of hatred or something.

3e Ranger's Favoured Enemy bonuses are based on training... to get better at fighting something.

So please choose your 1st couple of enemies wisely... like Giants, Dragons, or Cult of the dragons... etc. Something that you are going to encounter later in life and that'll last through your career.

 

[Crothian]

And don't think of 'Favoured enemies' in the 2e way... like it is based on some kind of hatred or something.

3e Ranger's Favoured Enemy bonuses are based on training... to get better at fighting something.

So please choose your 1st couple of enemies wisely... like Giants, Dragons, or Cult of the dragons... etc. Something that you are going to encounter later in life and that'll last through your career.

Any of the choices can be encountered at high and low levels. There are no wrong choices here. So, the choice should be character based.