D&D 5E (2014) Tasha's really improved and changed the feel of Rangers

[Charlaquin]

It's not just that, I let's you make a competent Wisdom focused ranger, and still have a good damage output.

That too!

 

[Minigiant]

Sadly 5e isn't very friendly to niche but cool options like the martial ranger

The 4e ranger is a 5e outlander fighter.

People don't like hearing that 4e split the D&D fighter 4 ways and made 4 classes out of it.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Sadly 5e isn't very friendly to niche but cool options like the martial ranger

The Echo Knight and Soulknife would like a word.

Seriously there are a lot of niche but cool options in 5e. They just make them subclasses. And there's already in practice one martial ranger in the Scout. There should possibly one for the fighter as well.

 

[NotAYakk]

Thesaurus: Ranger, non-spellcasting:

Spoiler

Rover

HD: d10
Armor: Light, Medium, Shields
Weapons: Simple, Martial
Tools: Pick one
Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
Skills: Perception, and choose 2 from Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Stealth, and Survival

Features:
Awareness: Starting at 1st level you have a d4 awareness die. This die grows in size as you gain levels in the Rover class; d6 at level 5, d8 at level 9, d10 at level 13 and d12 at level 17.

Whenever you make an Intelligence(Investigation) or Wisdom(Perception) check you may add your awareness die to the roll.

Focus: You can choose to Focus on a single creature. You can do this as a bonus action if you can see or otherwise perceive the creature, or you can do it after succeeding on a Wisdom(Survival) check to follow a creature's tracks.

If you are Focused on a creature and Focus on another creature, you lose Focus on the first creature.

You can use your Focus on a creature to do a number of things. When you do so, you cannot use the Focus again until you spend a bonus action refocusing; you do not, however, have to be able to see the creature to refocus on it.

• If you miss a creature you have Focused, you can roll your Awareness die and add it to your attack roll.
• If you hit a creature with a weapon you have Focused and do not like a weapon die roll, you can roll your Awareness die to replace a weapon damage die roll.

Fighting Style: Starting at 2nd level, you can pick a fighting style. You gain an additional benefit

Archery: In addition, during a short or long rest you can enhance up to 20 pieces of ammunition that gives you a +1 bonus to damage when you hit with them. This bonus lasts until the next time you take a rest, and the ammunition can be recovered unharmed from a foe you reduce to 0 HP.
Defense: During a long or short rest you can tend to up to your proficiency bonus creature's wounds. When someone spends a hit die during a rest, they can reroll the hit die, but must keep the result.
Dueling: Your movement speed increases by 5', and when a creature makes an opportunity attack on you, you may expend a reaction to make a melee weapon attack on them afterwards.
Two-Weapon Fighting: During a short or long rest you can craft a two doses of poison. When applied to a weapon, the first time this weapon hits a creature they also take your awareness die poison damage. This poison lasts until the next time you take a rest.

Explorer:
At 2nd level, pick one:

• You gain a climb speed equal to your speed
• You gain a swim speed equal to your speed
• You ignore the first 2 levels of exhaustion, and recover 2 levels of exhaustion when you complete a long rest; it requires 8 levels of exhaustion to kill you.
• You have advantage on wisdom and charisma checks on beasts and monsters

Archtype
At 3rd level you pick a Rover archtype. It grants further features at 7th, 11th and 15th level.

Improved Awareness
At 3rd level, pick one skill you are proficient in. You add your Awareness die to all checks with that skill.

ASI
At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level level you pick an ability score improvement.

Extra Attack
At 5th level, when you take the attack action, you can attack twice instead of once.

In addition, the first time you hit a creature on your turn, you can choose to either shove or grab them with the weapon or ammunition. If ammunition is used to grab, it can hold creatures up to medium sized, and the ammunition has an AC of 10 and 1 HP.

Favored Enemy
At 6th level you can pick a Favored Enemy creature type. Creatures that are your Favored Enemy are always considered Focused, and you automatically Refocus on them at the start of your turn.

Improved Explorer:
Starting at 6th level, you gain an additional feature from the Explorer feature. In addition, you now ignore difficult terrain.

Skirmisher:
Starting at 8th level, your movement speed increases by 5'. In addition, before or after you make an attack you can move 5'.

Exploration Leader:
At 9th level, you gain all of the benefits of the Explorer feature. In addition, creatures of your choice within 20' of you ignore difficult terrain.

Forager: Starting at 10th level, you can craft up to your proficiency bonus in salves and poisons from natural ingredients. While taking a short or long rest in a natural environment you can forage for supplies to craft such equipment.

These salves and poisons require tending at least every hour or become ineffective, and you can only maintain up to your proficiency bonus at once.

Healing salve: Can be applied to yourself or an adjacent creature as a bonus action. The creature regains your awareness die in HP and can spend a HD to regain additional HP, and gains temporary HP equal to the damage healed. In addition, an effect Lessor Restoration could restore is cured over the next 1d6 minutes.
Contact Poison: When applied to a weapon or piece of ammunition, the next time a creature is damage by it they suffer additional damage equal to your awareness die. In addition, they must make a constitution save against DC 8+your wisdom bonus+your proficiency bonus or become poisoned until the end of their next turn.

When applied to an object, the next creature who picks up or handles the object takes the damage and must make the save against being poisoned.

Toughness: Starting at 12th level, when you make a saving throw, add your Awareness die to the result.

Pass Without Trace: At 13th level, you become unable to be tracked. Making attacks does not cause you to be revealed, and you can hide while lightly obscured.

If you are hidden from a creature, that creature has disadvantage on perception checks to see creatures you have helped hide within 60' of you.

Finally, you are immune to divination spells.

Focused Hunter:
Starting at 14th level, you can pick a 2nd Favored Enemy creature type at the end of a long rest. This remains a Favored Enemy until you replace it.

Weapon attacks on your Favored Enemies score critical hits on a 18, 19 or 20.

Leader of the Pack: At 17th level, as a reaction to a different creature you can see making an attack roll, ability check or saving throw, you can roll your awareness die and add or subtract it from its roll.

Feral Senses: At 18th level, you gain either blindsense 20' or tremorsense 40'.

Combat Reflexes: At 19th level, you gain a 2nd reaction, but can use no more than one per turn. When a creature attacks you and it isn't their turn, their attack is at disadvantage. If a creature forces you to make a save and it isn't their turn, your save is at advantage.

Apex Preditor: At 20th level, you always add your Awareness die to your weapon attack and damage rolls.

It needs more back-10 non-combat features that feel rangery. I mean, it isn't bad, but needs more.

 

[Undrave]

That is not true, backgroundsdo the things you are talking about.

Backgrounds are backgrounds, classes are classes. EVERYBODY gets a background so it's completely useless to bring it up in a discussion about CLASSES. And they're not a 'fix-all cure-all' solution either.

That's stealth, baby.

Jazz hands!

The 4e ranger is a 5e outlander fighter.

People don't like hearing that 4e split the D&D fighter 4 ways and made 4 classes out of

3 classes: Fighter, Ranger, and Warlord. The Rogue isn't a Fighter.

Sadly, the 5e Fighter only took archery back from the 4e Ranger, and left him behind with the Warlord...

 

[ECMO3]

Ok. I don’t want to argue about what is or isn’t a “wilderness ability.” Whatever you want to call them, his post contained many good examples of the sorts of abilities I would like to see on a non-spellcasting ranger

Most of them are already in the Tasha's Ranger or available as a background a tool or a Ranger subclass. This is really easy. Just play a RAW Ranger, choose your background and subclass carefully and never cast spells and you have 90% of this!

Track: you have advantage on Survival checks made for tracking. - Already part of the Ranger class for favored enemies, additional bonuses beyond this are available in favored terrain or with tool proficiences.

Fieldcraft: you can track and forage at the same time while staying alert to danger - Available with a background

Endurance: you halve(round down) your effective exhaustion levels. that is, you die at 12 exhaustion levels. You remove one exhaustion level on Short rest and all on Long rest. - The Ranger class already includes what is in red.

Gain darkvision of 60ft or improve existing by 60ft. - Part of a Ranger subclass. Also it is hard to swallow "we want a less magical Ranger .... but we want to see in darkness."

You ignore any natural difficult terrain and have advantage on saves vs any effect that impedes movement.- First part is already part of the Ranger class, second part is part of the Ranger class for anything plant-based.

You can Hide as a Bonus action. - Already part of the Ranger class

You can Hide in any natural terrain without needing cover or concealment. - Already part of the Ranger class

You gain climb speed. - Already part of the Ranger class

You gain swim speed. - Already part of the Ranger class

You gain Scent ability. - "scent" is not a thing in 5E AFAIK, but feral sense, which is part of the Ranger class, includes what was "scent" in older editions (and more in addition).

You can Hide with Stealth skill vs. targets that have Scent, Blindsight, Blindsense, Tremorsense or similar ability. - "Blindsense" and "scent" are not a thing in 5E. Any character of any class can attempt hide from someone with blindsight, nothing in the rules stops this. With a Horizon Walker Ranger you can hide against creatures with tremorsense as well.

Nature salves: you can craft a number of potions equal to your proficiency bonus during long rest. As an action they heal 1d6 per two ranger level, round up. They also heal one disease and one poison. They last 24hrs. - Similar ability is available with tool proficiency

Poison crafter: you can craft a number of poison doses equal to your proficiency bonus during long rest. attack with poisoned weapon deals 1d6 poison damage and poisoned condition for 1 min. Damage increases to 2d6 at 5th level, 3d6 at 11th level, 4d6 at 17th level. CON save, DC is wisdom based for half damage and negating condition. - Any character can craft poisons with poisoners kit

Also, 1 or more expertise for Stealth, Perception, Survival, Nature, Medicine, Animal Handling is always an option. - Already part of Ranger class

 

[Charlaquin]

Most of them are already in the Tasha's Ranger or available as a background a tool or a Ranger subclass:

Track: you have advantage on Survival checks made for tracking. - Already part of the Ranger class for classes of enemies, additional bonuses beyond this are available in favored terrain or with tool proficiencies.

Favored enemies and terrain are too reliant on the particular adventure in my opinion. Applying these benefits broadly would be a big improvement. Not sure what you mean about tool proficiencies, they are proficiencies, just like skills.

Fieldcraft: you can track and forage at the same time while staying alert to danger - Available with a background

That doesn’t mean it can’t also be a ranger feature, freeing the ranger up to take other backgrounds instead of spending their background choice to gain an ability that should be fundamental to being a ranger.

Endurance: you halve(round down) your effective exhaustion levels. that is, you die at 12 exhaustion levels. You remove one exhaustion level on Short rest and all on Long rest. - The Ranger class already includes what is in red.

And the red part is cool to have! So would the rest of the ability be.

Gain darkvision of 60ft or improve existing by 60ft. - Part of a Ranger subclass. Also it is hard to swallow we want a less magical Ranger, but we want to see in darkness.

Part of a subclass. Could be part of the base class. And I don’t think Darkvision is an inherently magical ability in 5e, where every nocturnal animal has it inherently.

You ignore any natural difficult terrain and have advantage on saves vs any effect that impedes movement.- Already part of the Ranger class

Cool.

You can Hide as a Bonus action. - Already part of the Ranger class

Huh?

You can Hide in any natural terrain without needing cover or concealment. - Already part of the Ranger class

Where?

You gain climb speed. - Already part of the Ranger class

You gain swim speed. - Already part of the Ranger class

Again, where?

You gain Scent ability. - "scent" is not a thing in 5E, but feral sense, which is part of the Ranger class, is the same thing (and more).

You can Hide with Stealth skill vs. targets that have Scent, Blindsight, Blindsense, Tremorsense or similar ability. - "Blindsense" and "scent" are not a thing in 5E. Any character of any class can already attempt hide from someone with blindsight, nothing in the rules stops this. With a Horizon Walker Ranger you can hide against creatures with tremorsense as well.

Bit of an odd example there, sure.

Nature salves: you can craft a number of potions equal to your proficiency bonus during long rest. As an action they heal 1d6 per two ranger level, round up. They also heal one disease and one poison. They last 24hrs. - Similar ability is available with tool proficiency

Tool proficiency is just proficiency. What you can or can’t do with it is up to DM fiat. With an ability like this, the ranger could simply do the thing and know it’s going to work like it says it does. You know, like spellcasters get to be able to do.

Poison crafter: you can craft a number of poison doses equal to your proficiency bonus during long rest. attack with poisoned weapon deals 1d6 poison damage and poisoned condition for 1 min. Damage increases to 2d6 at 5th level, 3d6 at 11th level, 4d6 at 17th level. CON save, DC is wisdom based for half damage and negating condition. - Any character can craft poisons with poisoners kit

See above.

Also, 1 or more expertise for Stealth, Perception, Survival, Nature, Medicine, Animal Handling is always an option. - Already part of Ranger class

Sure.

 

[ECMO3]

Part of a subclass. Could be part of the base class. And I don’t think Darkvision is an inherently magical ability in 5e, where every nocturnal animal has it inherently.

If you are playing a race that biologically can't see in the darkness, then you are by definition not a nocturnal animal.

Huh?

Vanish

Where?

Hide In Plain Sight

Again, where?

Deft Explorer

 

[Charlaquin]

If you are playing a race that biologically can't see in the darkness, then you are by definition not a nocturnal animal.

Ok? My point is, seeing in the dark doesn’t have to be a magical ability. It certainly doesn’t need to be a spell.

Vanish

Hide In Plain Sight

Those features are mutually exclusive. That said, more things like them in place of spells would be something I would like to see (though personally I would prefer fewer of them to be X times/day, which to me feels very spell-like.)

Deft Explorer

Great. Again, more things like it in place of spells = good in my opinion.

 

[Minigiant]

3 classes: Fighter, Ranger, and Warlord. The Rogue isn't a Fighter.

Sadly, the 5e Fighter only took archery back from the 4e Ranger, and left him behind with the Warlord

The Finesse Fighter was given to the 4e Rogue and taken back by the 5e Fighter.

The Brawny and Rattling Rogues were dangerously close to being the Finesse Fighter.

Basically

3e=> 4e
The 3e Fighter got split. The 3e Ranger had it's head cut off and the body tossed. The Rogue was mostly only enhanced,

Sword and Shield, Great Weapon, Brawler, Polearm, and Exotic stayed with the Fighter.

Two Weapon, Archery, and Throwing went to Ranger.
Beastmastery and Horizon stayed with Ranger.
Magic Archer and Magic Melee died.

Sneak stayed with Rogue
Aerialist come came from Pre3e and went to Rogue
Finesse go downgraded and went to Rogue
Brawny, Dodger, and Cuttthroat were invented and added to Rogue.

Inspiring came back from Pre3e and went to the new Warlord.
Tactical, Bravura, and Resourceful were invented and went to Warlord.

4e=>5e

Sword and Shield, Great Weapon, Brawler, Polearm, and Exotic stayed with the Fighter.
Finesse, Two Weapon, Archery, and Throwing went back to Fighter
Eldritch, Echo, Arcane Archer, Rune, Psi Fighting went to Fighter

Beastmastery and Horizon stayed with Ranger
Magic Archer and Magic Melee came back for Ranger
Fey, Gloom, Swarm, and Drake went to Ranger

Sneak, Aerialist, Brawny, Cutthroat, and Dodger stayed with Rogue.
Phantom, Scout, Mastermind, and Soul went to Rogue

Warlord died.

Basically. When 4e decided to shunt utility magic into its own subsystem, it had to kill the Traditional Ranger. In order to still have a ranger class, 4e chopped the 3e Fighter in three pieces and brought back parts of the OG fighter to make the Warlord.

When utility magic returned in 5e, the Ranger got its utility magic back. The 4e Ranger and the Finesse Rogue were reabsorbed back into the Fighter to make the 5e Fighter.

Unfortunately, the design teamand many fans were wizard biased so the Ranger was woefully weak on the skill and magic front until TCOE.