D&D 5E (2014) [+] Rangers should have monster fighting spells equivalent to Paladin's Smite spells. Discuss!

[Undrave]

Okay so I’m not the best at Spells, but let’s say something like this for the trolls:

Lifestealer Blade
Level 2 (?) Necromancy spell
Casting time: 1 action
Range: Self
Duration: Instantaneous
Component: S, M (a weapon that inflicts slashing damage)
Effect: You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you. On a hit, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects plus 1d8 necrotic damage, and you now divert any vitality your target might receive for yourself. For the next 5 minutes, whenever the target would regain hit points it does not and instead you regain hit points equal to your spellcasting ability modifier.

For dragons and other flying foes:

Gravity Shot
Level 1 Enchantment (?) spell
Casting time: 1 action
Range: Self
Duration: Instantaneous
Component: S, M (a ranged weapon with the ammunition trait)
Effect: You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a ranged attack against a creature in the normal range of your weapon. On a hit, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects and they are brought down to the ground as if dragged and held down by heavy chains. The target is knocked prone and cannot stand up from prone until the end of your next turn, furthermore, if the target had a flight speed, that flight speed is reduced to 0 for the next 5 minutes.

For slimes and ghosts :

Winter’s Stillness
Level 2 Evocation (?) spell
Casting time: 1 action
Range: Self
Duration: Instantaneous
Component: S, M (a melee weapon)
Effect: You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you. On a hit, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects plus 1d8 cold damage, ignoring the target’s resistance(s) and immunity(ies), and spirits of Winter spring forth from your weapon to take hold of the target. For the next 5 minutes, the target is slowed, can no longer squeeze while moving, and loses the benefits of incorporeal movement and its damage resistance(s)

That sort of thing?

 

[Undrave]

I think you're underrating what this would mean for Battlemaster, in spirit and in practice. You're giving the key to their kingdom to another class. Rangers getting maneuvers from their base class, on-top of maneuvers exclusive to them, that's damaging to Battlemaster's identity in a way that getting maneuvers from a Fighting Style or a Feat, isn't.

The Battlemaster's always felt like a multi class style subclass for a class that doesn't exist. Though, personally I would have made it the Warlord

 

[doctorbadwolf]

The broadness of the creature types is a bit of a problem. For example; I thought it'd be fun to have a spell for Ghosts and similar creatures, that prevents relevant creatures in it's range from entering the Ethereal Plane or utilizing Incorporeal Movement, and maybe slows their movement in general and they take a little more damage on hit? Like a Pac-Man spell! Only problem is, "Undead" is an extremely broad category obviously, a Ghoul or a Vampire wouldn't be much bothered by that spell as is. So it's no good having something like that be the only choice for Undead. So what do you do?

Don’t actually use creature type. Shut down healing and ability to become ethereal, and maybe also shuts down resistence to weapon damage. The fact that it’s also useful against trolls and devils makes sense, because it’s a tool developed to deal with “creature that do XYZ”.

In Level Up, Rangers can gain proficiency in two of six Combat Traditions (Biting Zephyr, Mirror's Glint, Rapid Current, Razor's Edge, Spirited Steed, and Unending Wheel).

This version of the class does ditch spells for Maneuvers. If you still want to cast spells and have these Combat Traditions, there is the spellcasting Wildborn archetype.

One of the things that puts me off level up. I’m not taking a subclass just to have the Ranger use spells like it should.

Only works if Rangers have spellbooks.

Then you can know Charm Undead, Bind Monstrosity, Banish Demon, Hold Aberration. and Dragonbane.


You'd have to create a

Banish X
Blind X
Charm X
Hold X
Locate X
Speak with X
X-Bane
X-Friendship
X Ward

for every applicable monster type

No.

You just make spells that shut down special abilities and features common to monsters.

 

[Shardstone]

Only thing the spells are mention is al ine of flavor text mentioning what creature inspired the spell. That's instrumental IMO.

 

[Minigiant]

Well, that can feasibly be helped? It would be good if the spells were appealing in their own right, but. If that's not enough, it might help if it were more worked into a Ranger's routine. Something I was considering was, giving Rangers their own facet of preparing spells. Maybe letting them switch up a small handful of spells over the course of a short rest or 10 minute meditation. So if you're playing up to your classes' role, checking the tracks and identifying the blood n' all, you know which spell would be helpful shortly.

You'd have to as you said, give rangers knowledge of these spells for free. Otherwise they'd compete with more reliable spells too much for too few slots AND preparations.

 

[Minigiant]

No.

You just make spells that shut down special abilities and features common to monsters

Special abilities are not common enough to ever prepare

It's the "Favored Enemy" problem. If you don't purposely design it with a common tag, it's either always on or always off depending on the DM's placement.

 

[Corinnguard]

It's the "Favored Enemy" problem. If you don't purposely design it with a common tag, it's either always on or always off depending on the DM's placement.

What if you could switch out the monster type you pick for Favored Enemy with each long rest? Level Up does this with it's Studied Adversary feature.

I never really understood why you couldn't switch out monster types with Favored Enemy in 5e.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Special abilities are not common enough to ever prepare

It's the "Favored Enemy" problem. If you don't purposely design it with a common tag, it's either always on or always off depending on the DM's placement.

Okay?

That has no impact on the Ranger having bonus spells that shut down broadly prevalent monster abilities. It isn’t at all the favored enemy problem, because you aren’t just picking 1 and hoping it comes up a lot.

 

[Rocker26a]

Don’t actually use creature type. Shut down healing and ability to become ethereal, and maybe also shuts down resistence to weapon damage. The fact that it’s also useful against trolls and devils makes sense, because it’s a tool developed to deal with “creature that do XYZ”.

I did realize over the course of this thread that actually litigating on what creatures the spells work on would be a misstep, yeah. It just seemed like it would be sensible when feeling out the shape of it in my head.

 

[Quickleaf]

I want to share a house rule I use for "called shots." It's not specific to the Ranger (since I revise bits of the ranger in my homebrew already), rather it is a universal house rule that might serve as inspiration for modding the Ranger in a way that's perhaps less microscopic ("here's the anti-troll spell, here's the anti-flier spell, etc").

You can spend Inspiration to turn a hit into a "called shot." You propose what it does (e.g. "I pierce the spider's venom sac with my arrow so it can't deal poison damage"), and then the GM can either accept or refuse. If they refuse, then it becomes a critical hit.

If you've played White Hack, you might recognize this from the fighter's "mighty blow" in that system (I may be getting the name wrong, but the gist is there).