Spell-less Ranger confirmed by Mearls

[Mercule]

Yep, I agree, I like rangers to be smelly, Green Beret types.

On this, we agree.

Now, if you'd just accept humanocentric worlds.

 

[Steely Dan]

Now, if you'd just accept humanocentric worlds.

Well, I accept homoerotic worlds…

 

[Darth Cyric]

However, arrow mind, lightfoot, burrow, bears endurance, arrow storm, tremorsense, listening lorecall, swift haste, barkskin, the primal series- all great spells, and some of them saved my character from certain death more than once.

Shooting and moving without provoking AoO's, blindsight and tremorsense, burrowing, +5 unnamed bonus to initiative, spot, listen, jump, climb, swim etc. are useful at all levels.

Look at my post above. A lot of those Spell Compendium spells are combat maneuvers in every way but name and mechanic.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I don't mean to be snarky, but have any of you guys actually played a ranger? Hearing someone say that ranger spells are lame really seems strange.

It doesn't matter how useful the spells are. If spellcasting doesn't fit the ranger class, the players won't use the spells.

 

[IanB]

It doesn't matter how useful the spells are. If spellcasting doesn't fit the ranger class, the players won't use the spells.

You apparently have EXTRAORDINARILY different players than I do.

 

[SSquirrel]

I've always felt that the reason ranger spellcasting feels so tacked-on is because 3e magic is very flavorless.

Ranger spells blew in 2E as well. I'm excited to see Ranger spells go away

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

You apparently have EXTRAORDINARILY different players than I do.

Maybe. But I've cycled through three groups that exhibited that behavior.

 

[drothgery]

It doesn't matter how useful the spells are. If spellcasting doesn't fit the ranger class, the players won't use the spells.

I think you mean 'if you have to be 14th level before you can cast more than 5 spells a day without focusing on wisdom ahead of Str, Con, or Dex, AND you have to prepare spells', then players won't use the spells.

A lot of Ranger and Paladin spells are quite nice. But you can't do them enough to get into the habbit of using them in combat; the most useful thing the classes typically get out of being spellcasters is the ability to use wands of cure X wounds.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I think you mean

Nope. I meant what I said.

 

[Greylock]

I don't mean to be snarky, but have any of you guys actually played a ranger? Hearing someone say that ranger spells are lame really seems strange.

Post #127:

I think that's taking it too far. All the spells on the 3.5 Ranger list are all right, and very useful. But Entangle is the only battlefield management spell on there. Just like the only "Offensive" spells are Summonings. The 3.5 Ranger spell list DOES exude flavor, but the spells are handy if you aren't looking for something like a Meteor Strike.

So yeah, I think the spells are NOT lame.