Rangers: Your Thoughts and Preferences

[Thaumaturge]

I like to think of rangers as fantasy Special Forces. Rangers are the ones who could wake up in Thay or the Empire of Iuz and make it back to tell the tale.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Dual-weapon fighting, in 1e, was a particularly singular (and meant to be horrifyingly dangerous to PCs) ability of the Drow race.

Maybe dual-wielding scimitars was. But, though it was an obscure paragraph in the 1e DMG, anyone could TWF with a dagger or handaxe as the weapon in their off-hand. It all depended on DEX: you started at a brutal -2/-4 penalty to hit, but added your reaction/attacking bonus (the same one you used for missile weapons, making it a great backup style for archers), so, starting at DEX 17 you got to 0/-2, and it was just plain moar damage.

Most DMs let you take a full attack sequence with each weapon, so 3/2 at 7th level became 3 (with the third attack alternating between primary and secondary) or a very weird 6/2 where you took one attack with each weapon, then two attacks with each weapon on the next round. Layer on Weapon Specialization under UA or 2e, with it's static damage bonus and bump to attacks/per round and you had just out-of-control damage machines.

3.0's iterative full attacks and weird, feat-taxed approach to TWF was all just to nerf that.

 

[ferratus]

Jack of all trades. The ranger is supposed to be a loner, a scout, and a guardian for civilized lands from the dangerous frontier right? So if he needs healing he has to brew up the potion himself. If he needs to counterspell some faerie enchantment he has to read some scrolls or know a little bit of magic. He essentially needs a little bit of everything to survive.

A ranger has to fight, sneak, run. He has to use both long range and closequarters weapons when needed. He has to heal where the closest temple is weeks away. He needs to deal with the supernatural abilities of witches and monsters.

Instead we make the jack of all trades class the bard, who is always going to have people around anyway, and sleeps in the soft beds in inns and castles. Totally wrong.

 

[billd91]

I voted Aragorn, but Robin Hood would be a close second. What matters most are the ranger's role in society and his operating environment, not the weapons or fighting style. He operates in the wilds, can be self-sufficient, and is knowledgeable about his environs. Fighting styles and weapons that work well with those environs should be favored as a practical matter, not by rules.

 

[steeldragons]

Things I would expect/see in a Ranger class [I have no idea what/how 3-4-or-5e worked any of this stuff]:

Non-combat stuff: Stealth (as good as a Rogue/Thief in wilderness and underground areas]
- Tracking
- Survival
- Nature Lore & Healing (which maybe should be "Environs Lore & Healing" so it doesn't matter what kind of terrain your Ranger comes from/is a specialist in they know the flora/fauna/history/stuff about it and they know how to do minor healing/first aid with materials in/from that environment.)
- Perception (or whatever "Keen Senses/Can't Surprise Me!" skill there is).

Combat stuff: Light & Medium armors, auto-proficiency, no Stealth penalty. Heavy armor proficiency available (say, after 3rd level), but Stealth penalties apply.
- Any/all Weapons available.
- Sneak Attack/Surprise/some kind of Ambush attack bonus (usable anywhere)
- AC bonus when fighting in "Favored/Home Terrain" or against "Favored Enemies."
- Attack and/or Damage bonuses vs. "Favored Enemies" (which I would limit to, say, 2 species per Terrain or perhaps 1 species every 2 or 3 levels or something like that. But applicable anywhere the enemy is encountered).

Optional: Animal Husbandry/Handling (with a feat or something, requiring this skill first, to gain an Animal Companion)

At higher [at least 9 or 10+] levels: Magic Item Use: Scrying Devices [EDIT: which, actually, is totally doable from the reverse angle...i.e. make Scrying Magic Items usable by any class. The Ranger doesn't have to get involved this special.]
Magic Item Use: Read [Arcane or Divine, pick one] Scroll [EDIT: I would make this a particular Ranger feature. Maybe allow Rogues Arcane scrolls at high levels again.]
Spell Use [Cantrip through 2nd level only]: choose Divine or Arcane magic

...ummm...Yeah. That looks like a good Ranger to me.

 

[Xodis]

Minor correction: Drizzt's two weapon fighting (with scimitars) is a result of his being a Drow! Dual-weapon fighting, in 1e, was a particularly singular (and meant to be horrifyingly dangerous to PCs) ability of the Drow race.

My basis is from story alone. Even the authors have stated they never really take game mechanics into thought when writing novels.

 

[GrumpyGamer]

I voted other, as the poll seems to be missing a woodsman with magic archetype.

 

[The Human Target]

They're just fighters with flavor text.

 

[Nagol]

Maybe dual-wielding scimitars was. But, though it was an obscure paragraph in the 1e DMG, anyone could TWF with a dagger or handaxe as the weapon in their off-hand. It all depended on DEX: you started at a brutal -2/-4 penalty to hit, but added your reaction/attacking bonus (the same one you used for missile weapons, making it a great backup style for archers), so, starting at DEX 17 you got to 0/-2, and it was just plain moar damage.

Most DMs let you take a full attack sequence with each weapon, so 3/2 at 7th level became 3 (with the third attack alternating between primary and secondary) or a very weird 6/2 where you took one attack with each weapon, then two attacks with each weapon on the next round. Layer on Weapon Specialization under UA or 2e, with it's static damage bonus and bump to attacks/per round and you had just out-of-control damage machines.

3.0's iterative full attacks and weird, feat-taxed approach to TWF was all just to nerf that.

Yeah, here's the passage from the DMG: pg 70

Attacks With Two Weapons:
Characters normally using a single weapon may choose to use one in each hand (possibly discarding the option of using a shield). The second weapon must be either a dagger or hand axe. Employment of a second weapon is always at a penalty. The use of a second weapon causes the character to attack with his or her primary weapon at -2 and the secondary weapon at -4. If the user’s dexterity is below 6, the reaction/attacking Adjustment penalties shown in the PLAYERS HANDBOOK are added to EACH weapon attack. If the user’s dexterity is above 15, there is a downward adjustment in the weapon penalties as shown, although this never gives a positive (bonus) rating to such attacks, so that at 16 dexterity the secondary/primary penalty is-3/-1, at 17 -2/0, and at 18 -1/0.

We generally ruled the extra weapon only got a single attack a round so 3/2 became 5/2,

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Yeah, here's the passage from the DMG: pg 70

Significantly, drow could wield two weapons without penalties, which made them particularly dangerous for this fighting style. Hence Drizzt, dual-wielding drow ranger ...