Sonofapreacherman
Explorer
It's that time again ... to publicly question the printed rules of Wizards of the Coast.
Who am I kidding? It's always that time.
For the moment, my attentions are being directed at the 3.5 edition ranger. Some of you (who just finished reading the title of this thread) will already be frothing at the mouth in flaming anticipation. Others will actually read the attached PDF with an eye towards objectivity. I look forward to latter responses with much more enthusiasm than the former.
For your information, you will need the Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your computer to view the attached PDF. You can easily download the latest version of this program by clicking on the following link and selecting your operating system:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
That said, the reason I have revised the 3.5 edition ranger is because, more than anything, the ranger should exemplify the wilderness warrior archetype, lurking in the forests, scouring the lands, and warding off invaders. And yet none of their latest 3.5 edition abilities truly imbue the ranger with any dominion over their surroundings. The absence of such abilities lead me to create "familiar terrain". The act of doing so also compelled me to restructure the way "favored enemy" works as well. It made no sense that rangers should be forced into choosing 5 different favored enemies by 20th level. They should be able to decide exactly how many enemies they want, or even focus on one enemy in particular.
Moreover, a favored enemy that no longer poses a challenge to the ranger, or a familiar terrain that is no longer explored, should be refocused into a more effectual direction. The attached revision makes all of this possible.
It was also important to give rangers access to their spells sooner rather than later, so that they retain some of their utility before becoming largely redundant. In that vein, I restructured the rate at which rangers gain new spells per day to create a more logical progression (for those of you who are old to Dungeons and Dragons message boards, this is in keeping with my previous revision).
Because rangers cast spells at 1/2 their level, I gave them 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-level spell access at 2nd, 6th, 10th, and 14th level respectively. That way their effective caster level is 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th level each time they gain higher level spells access; the same levels at which the four devoted spellcasting classes (clerics, druids, sorcerers, and wizards) gain access to their higher level spells.
The next problem with the printed ranger is that anybody who takes 1 level of ranger and then multiclasses, can still track with the same proficiency as a dedicated 20th ranger (albeit by taking Survival as a cross-cross skill, but possible nonetheless). Swift Tracker tries to make rangers the "fastest" trackers, but the distinction is not enough to make them the undisputed masters of tracking. To augment their tracking abilities I created two new track feats (one of which is exclusive to rangers), and converted Swift Tracker into an exclusive ranger feat. These track feats evolved into a list of survival-oriented feats designed to make rangers more hardly and resourceful (see below).
My most controversial change was to drop the automatic bow and two-weapon fighting feats like a proverbial brick (and good riddance). Imposing *any* fighting style on rangers defeats the freedom of expression that every character class should enjoy. What about the axe-fighting woodland ranger? What about the sword and shield skirmishing ranger? These options have been effectively neutered. Sure, a character can still fight with those weapons, but it behooves the "printed" ranger to take advantage of their built-in bonus feats. I consider this poor design. Rangers do not need to be hand-held so blatantly.
If a ranger wants to be a bow or two-weapon fighting specialist, they may become as much by spending their regular feats on the appropriate selections, just like any other 1st-level character (excuse me, rangers have to wait until 2nd level) and benefit from "true" bow or two-weapon fighting, rather than the subdued versions offered to lightly-armored rangers in the printed rules. To make up for the loss of these three combat feats, I added five survival-oriented feats (as mentioned above) to more than adequately fill their void.
Rangers should not be pigeoned-holed into any one direction. They should be free to explore the multitude of possibilities that wilderness archetypes embody. No other core character class is "continually" spoon-fed their feat choices. The ranger should be no different. The attached revision only includes the changes I have made to the printed ranger. If a certain feature is not listed, then you can assume I did not change it.
Moreover, reference to certain feats will be made that do not exist in the latest Player' s Handbook. I have included those feats below. All numbered tables refer to the tables found in the attached PDF.
-----
CONFUSE TRACKER [GENERAL]
You can obscure your own trail by using disguise and misdirection tactics.
Prerequisite: Track.
Benefit: You and your tracker make opposed Survival checks for every mile of terrain crossed. If the tracker wins this roll, your tracks may be followed normally (as per the Track feat). If you win this roll, the tracker loses all signs of your tracks, but may attempt to beat your opposed roll again after one hour of searching.
You move at half your normal speed (or at your normal speed with a –5 penalty on the opposed check, or at up to twice your normal speed with a –20 penalty on the opposed check).
A character using this feat may also hide their tracks (+5 to the Survival DC modifier) but takes a –5 penalty on the opposed check (and moves at half speed).
Special: A ranger may select Confuse Tracker as one of their bonus ranger feats
EXTRA FAMILIAR TERRAIN [SPECIAL]
You increase your knowledge of terrains.
Prerequisite: One familiar terrain bonus.
Benefit: You select an additional familiar terrain from those given on Table 3–16 of the ranger description, or increase the bonuses of an existing familiar terrain by 2.
Special: You can gain Extra Familiar Terrain multiple times. Its effects stack.
A ranger may select Extra Familiar Terrain as one of their bonus ranger feats.
EXTRA FAVORED ENEMY [SPECIAL]
You increase your knowledge of enemies.
Prerequisite: One favored enemy bonus.
Benefit: You select an additional favored enemy from those given on Table 3–14 of the ranger description, or increase the bonuses of an existing favored enemy by 2.
Special: You can gain Extra Favored Enemy multiple times. Its effects stack.
A ranger may select Extra Favored Enemy as one of their bonus ranger feats.
GREATER SKILL FOCUS [GENERAL]
Choose a skill to which you have already applied the Skill Focus feat. Your understanding of that skill is now even more comprehensive than before.
Prerequisite: Skill Focus, 5 ranks in selected skill.
Benefit: You get a +6 bonus on all checks involving that skill. This bonus stacks with other bonuses on that skill roll, including the one from Skill Focus (see below).
Special: You can gain Greater Skill Focus multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new skill.
A ranger may select Greater Skill Focus as one of their ranger bonus feats.
GREATER SKILL SYNERGY [GENERAL]
Choose two complimentary or unrelated skills to which you have already applied the Skill Synergy feat. Your understanding of those skills is now even more comprehensive than before.
Prerequisite: Skill Synergy or one of the following feats (Acrobatic, Agile, Alertness, Animal Affinity, Athletic, Charlatan, Deceitful, Deft Hands, Diligent, Investigator, Magical Aptitude, Negotiator, Nimble Fingers, Self-Sufficient, Shadow, and Stealthy, Trustworthy), 5 ranks in both selected skills.
Benefit: You get a +4 bonus on all checks involving both skills. These bonuses stack with other bonuses on both skill rolls, including the ones from Skill Synergy, or one of the other prerequisite feats (see below).
Special: You can gain Greater Skill Synergy multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new set of skills.
A ranger may select Greater Skill Synergy as one of their ranger bonus feats.
IMPROVED SWIMMING [GENERAL]
You swim faster than you normally could.
Prerequisite: Swim 6 ranks or a swim speed.
Benefit: You swim at one-half of your speed as a move action or at three-quarters of your speed as a full-round action. If you have a swim speed, then you can swim faster by +10 feet instead.
Normal: You swim at one-quarter of your speed as a move action or at one-half of your speed as a full round action
PREDICT TRACKS [SPECIAL]
You can extrapolate the destination of your quarry.
Prerequisite: Track, ranger level 10th.
Benefit: You can skip ahead for 1 mile at maximum speed for every point by which your Survival check (for the Track feat) exceeded the Survival DC. You do not have to find the tracks again at this point, but another Survival check is required to follow them for 1 mile before using Predict Tracks again. You must have been following a set of tracks for at least 1 mile before using this feat. Skipping ahead in this manner never overshoots your quarry, but adjusts to their current location. Any rests your quarry takes are factored into this feat. If an interposing force interrupted your quarry during this time, you must double back in order to find their tracks again.
Special: A ranger may select Predict Tracks as one of their bonus ranger feats.
SKILL SYNERGY [GENERAL]
Choose two complimentary or unrelated skills. You have a special knack with those skills.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all checks involving both skills.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new set of skills, neither of which have already been combined using this feat. For the purposes of this restriction, Acrobatic, Agile, Alertness, Animal Affinity, Athletic, Deceitful, Deft Hands, Diligent, Investigator, Magical Aptitude, Negotiator, Nimble Fingers, Self-Sufficient, and Stealthy are counted as being Skill Synergy feats.
A ranger may select Skill Synergy as one of their ranger bonus feats.
SWIFT TRACKER [SPECIAL]
You can move faster than normal when tracking your quarry across terrain.
Prerequisite: Track, ranger level 6th.
Benefit: You can move at your normal speed without difficulty while following tracks, or at up to twice your normal speed with a –10 penalty on the check.
Normal: A character without this feat takes a –5 penalty on the tracking check for moving at their normal speed and a –20 penalty for moving at up to twice their normal speed.
Special: A ranger may select Swift Tracker as one of their ranger bonus feats.
WAKING SLEEP [GENERAL]
You remain aware of your surroundings while meditating or sleeping.
Prerequisite: Alertness.
Benefits: You can make Listen checks as though awake while still gaining the benefits of sleep (but not complete bed rest).
Special: A ranger may select Waking Sleep as one of their ranger bonus feats.
Who am I kidding? It's always that time.
For the moment, my attentions are being directed at the 3.5 edition ranger. Some of you (who just finished reading the title of this thread) will already be frothing at the mouth in flaming anticipation. Others will actually read the attached PDF with an eye towards objectivity. I look forward to latter responses with much more enthusiasm than the former.
For your information, you will need the Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your computer to view the attached PDF. You can easily download the latest version of this program by clicking on the following link and selecting your operating system:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
That said, the reason I have revised the 3.5 edition ranger is because, more than anything, the ranger should exemplify the wilderness warrior archetype, lurking in the forests, scouring the lands, and warding off invaders. And yet none of their latest 3.5 edition abilities truly imbue the ranger with any dominion over their surroundings. The absence of such abilities lead me to create "familiar terrain". The act of doing so also compelled me to restructure the way "favored enemy" works as well. It made no sense that rangers should be forced into choosing 5 different favored enemies by 20th level. They should be able to decide exactly how many enemies they want, or even focus on one enemy in particular.
Moreover, a favored enemy that no longer poses a challenge to the ranger, or a familiar terrain that is no longer explored, should be refocused into a more effectual direction. The attached revision makes all of this possible.
It was also important to give rangers access to their spells sooner rather than later, so that they retain some of their utility before becoming largely redundant. In that vein, I restructured the rate at which rangers gain new spells per day to create a more logical progression (for those of you who are old to Dungeons and Dragons message boards, this is in keeping with my previous revision).
Because rangers cast spells at 1/2 their level, I gave them 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-level spell access at 2nd, 6th, 10th, and 14th level respectively. That way their effective caster level is 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th level each time they gain higher level spells access; the same levels at which the four devoted spellcasting classes (clerics, druids, sorcerers, and wizards) gain access to their higher level spells.
The next problem with the printed ranger is that anybody who takes 1 level of ranger and then multiclasses, can still track with the same proficiency as a dedicated 20th ranger (albeit by taking Survival as a cross-cross skill, but possible nonetheless). Swift Tracker tries to make rangers the "fastest" trackers, but the distinction is not enough to make them the undisputed masters of tracking. To augment their tracking abilities I created two new track feats (one of which is exclusive to rangers), and converted Swift Tracker into an exclusive ranger feat. These track feats evolved into a list of survival-oriented feats designed to make rangers more hardly and resourceful (see below).
My most controversial change was to drop the automatic bow and two-weapon fighting feats like a proverbial brick (and good riddance). Imposing *any* fighting style on rangers defeats the freedom of expression that every character class should enjoy. What about the axe-fighting woodland ranger? What about the sword and shield skirmishing ranger? These options have been effectively neutered. Sure, a character can still fight with those weapons, but it behooves the "printed" ranger to take advantage of their built-in bonus feats. I consider this poor design. Rangers do not need to be hand-held so blatantly.
If a ranger wants to be a bow or two-weapon fighting specialist, they may become as much by spending their regular feats on the appropriate selections, just like any other 1st-level character (excuse me, rangers have to wait until 2nd level) and benefit from "true" bow or two-weapon fighting, rather than the subdued versions offered to lightly-armored rangers in the printed rules. To make up for the loss of these three combat feats, I added five survival-oriented feats (as mentioned above) to more than adequately fill their void.
Rangers should not be pigeoned-holed into any one direction. They should be free to explore the multitude of possibilities that wilderness archetypes embody. No other core character class is "continually" spoon-fed their feat choices. The ranger should be no different. The attached revision only includes the changes I have made to the printed ranger. If a certain feature is not listed, then you can assume I did not change it.
Moreover, reference to certain feats will be made that do not exist in the latest Player' s Handbook. I have included those feats below. All numbered tables refer to the tables found in the attached PDF.
-----
CONFUSE TRACKER [GENERAL]
You can obscure your own trail by using disguise and misdirection tactics.
Prerequisite: Track.
Benefit: You and your tracker make opposed Survival checks for every mile of terrain crossed. If the tracker wins this roll, your tracks may be followed normally (as per the Track feat). If you win this roll, the tracker loses all signs of your tracks, but may attempt to beat your opposed roll again after one hour of searching.
You move at half your normal speed (or at your normal speed with a –5 penalty on the opposed check, or at up to twice your normal speed with a –20 penalty on the opposed check).
A character using this feat may also hide their tracks (+5 to the Survival DC modifier) but takes a –5 penalty on the opposed check (and moves at half speed).
Special: A ranger may select Confuse Tracker as one of their bonus ranger feats
EXTRA FAMILIAR TERRAIN [SPECIAL]
You increase your knowledge of terrains.
Prerequisite: One familiar terrain bonus.
Benefit: You select an additional familiar terrain from those given on Table 3–16 of the ranger description, or increase the bonuses of an existing familiar terrain by 2.
Special: You can gain Extra Familiar Terrain multiple times. Its effects stack.
A ranger may select Extra Familiar Terrain as one of their bonus ranger feats.
EXTRA FAVORED ENEMY [SPECIAL]
You increase your knowledge of enemies.
Prerequisite: One favored enemy bonus.
Benefit: You select an additional favored enemy from those given on Table 3–14 of the ranger description, or increase the bonuses of an existing favored enemy by 2.
Special: You can gain Extra Favored Enemy multiple times. Its effects stack.
A ranger may select Extra Favored Enemy as one of their bonus ranger feats.
GREATER SKILL FOCUS [GENERAL]
Choose a skill to which you have already applied the Skill Focus feat. Your understanding of that skill is now even more comprehensive than before.
Prerequisite: Skill Focus, 5 ranks in selected skill.
Benefit: You get a +6 bonus on all checks involving that skill. This bonus stacks with other bonuses on that skill roll, including the one from Skill Focus (see below).
Special: You can gain Greater Skill Focus multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new skill.
A ranger may select Greater Skill Focus as one of their ranger bonus feats.
GREATER SKILL SYNERGY [GENERAL]
Choose two complimentary or unrelated skills to which you have already applied the Skill Synergy feat. Your understanding of those skills is now even more comprehensive than before.
Prerequisite: Skill Synergy or one of the following feats (Acrobatic, Agile, Alertness, Animal Affinity, Athletic, Charlatan, Deceitful, Deft Hands, Diligent, Investigator, Magical Aptitude, Negotiator, Nimble Fingers, Self-Sufficient, Shadow, and Stealthy, Trustworthy), 5 ranks in both selected skills.
Benefit: You get a +4 bonus on all checks involving both skills. These bonuses stack with other bonuses on both skill rolls, including the ones from Skill Synergy, or one of the other prerequisite feats (see below).
Special: You can gain Greater Skill Synergy multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new set of skills.
A ranger may select Greater Skill Synergy as one of their ranger bonus feats.
IMPROVED SWIMMING [GENERAL]
You swim faster than you normally could.
Prerequisite: Swim 6 ranks or a swim speed.
Benefit: You swim at one-half of your speed as a move action or at three-quarters of your speed as a full-round action. If you have a swim speed, then you can swim faster by +10 feet instead.
Normal: You swim at one-quarter of your speed as a move action or at one-half of your speed as a full round action
PREDICT TRACKS [SPECIAL]
You can extrapolate the destination of your quarry.
Prerequisite: Track, ranger level 10th.
Benefit: You can skip ahead for 1 mile at maximum speed for every point by which your Survival check (for the Track feat) exceeded the Survival DC. You do not have to find the tracks again at this point, but another Survival check is required to follow them for 1 mile before using Predict Tracks again. You must have been following a set of tracks for at least 1 mile before using this feat. Skipping ahead in this manner never overshoots your quarry, but adjusts to their current location. Any rests your quarry takes are factored into this feat. If an interposing force interrupted your quarry during this time, you must double back in order to find their tracks again.
Special: A ranger may select Predict Tracks as one of their bonus ranger feats.
SKILL SYNERGY [GENERAL]
Choose two complimentary or unrelated skills. You have a special knack with those skills.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all checks involving both skills.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new set of skills, neither of which have already been combined using this feat. For the purposes of this restriction, Acrobatic, Agile, Alertness, Animal Affinity, Athletic, Deceitful, Deft Hands, Diligent, Investigator, Magical Aptitude, Negotiator, Nimble Fingers, Self-Sufficient, and Stealthy are counted as being Skill Synergy feats.
A ranger may select Skill Synergy as one of their ranger bonus feats.
SWIFT TRACKER [SPECIAL]
You can move faster than normal when tracking your quarry across terrain.
Prerequisite: Track, ranger level 6th.
Benefit: You can move at your normal speed without difficulty while following tracks, or at up to twice your normal speed with a –10 penalty on the check.
Normal: A character without this feat takes a –5 penalty on the tracking check for moving at their normal speed and a –20 penalty for moving at up to twice their normal speed.
Special: A ranger may select Swift Tracker as one of their ranger bonus feats.
WAKING SLEEP [GENERAL]
You remain aware of your surroundings while meditating or sleeping.
Prerequisite: Alertness.
Benefits: You can make Listen checks as though awake while still gaining the benefits of sleep (but not complete bed rest).
Special: A ranger may select Waking Sleep as one of their ranger bonus feats.
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