Trouper Character Theme?
Looking at the Character Themes in the Compendium... here are a few that seem to fall into what you are looking for:
Athasian Minstrel
Beguiler
Fatedancer
Harper Agent
The closest one of these seems to be Athasian Minstrel. From the first paragraph:
The minstrels of Athas are entertainers to the wealthy and powerful elite of the city-states. Singers, acrobats, poets, dancers, and storytellers, minstrels tour the cities of Athas in troupes or individually, making a living with their wits and talents. The civilized peoples of Athas have long celebrated minstrels, and by tradition all but the poorest or most suspicious of hosts are proud to open their doors to traveling performers. Hosting a minstrel or sponsoring a troupe’s performance reflects well on the host, and most Athasians are eager to forget their troubles with a few hours of song and dance. Nobles often send troupes of minstrels to one another as gifts; it is seen as a great insult to refuse such a gift, even when all involved know that minstrels are often spies or assassins.
Obviously you would probably need to strip out all the Dark Sun references (as Athas is from DS)... but the actual theme makes sense for a trouper or entertainer. And all the powers and abilities you get are all focused around melee and ranged weapons vs. AC, which would go along with your desire for an archer ranger. You can either pick up the 4E Dark Sun Campaign Setting or sign up for DDI for a month to get the info.
(Obviously I won't copy and paste all the abilities here as that is probably against the ToS of either ENWorld or WotC or both).
Athasian Minstrel
Beguiler
Fatedancer
Harper Agent
The closest one of these seems to be Athasian Minstrel. From the first paragraph:
The minstrels of Athas are entertainers to the wealthy and powerful elite of the city-states. Singers, acrobats, poets, dancers, and storytellers, minstrels tour the cities of Athas in troupes or individually, making a living with their wits and talents. The civilized peoples of Athas have long celebrated minstrels, and by tradition all but the poorest or most suspicious of hosts are proud to open their doors to traveling performers. Hosting a minstrel or sponsoring a troupe’s performance reflects well on the host, and most Athasians are eager to forget their troubles with a few hours of song and dance. Nobles often send troupes of minstrels to one another as gifts; it is seen as a great insult to refuse such a gift, even when all involved know that minstrels are often spies or assassins.
Obviously you would probably need to strip out all the Dark Sun references (as Athas is from DS)... but the actual theme makes sense for a trouper or entertainer. And all the powers and abilities you get are all focused around melee and ranged weapons vs. AC, which would go along with your desire for an archer ranger. You can either pick up the 4E Dark Sun Campaign Setting or sign up for DDI for a month to get the info.
(Obviously I won't copy and paste all the abilities here as that is probably against the ToS of either ENWorld or WotC or both).
RMcCall
Explorer
While I did forget to look at the Dark Sun book (odd since that's where themes originated), minstrels in Athas are more assassin and less singing, at least when looking at the powers. Fatedancer requires using Fortune Cards, which my group doesn't.
The Harper Agent and Beguiler themes could definitely work, though, with a little reflavoring. The Harper Agent has powers from three different power sources, which could represent a trouper's experience and flexibility from traveling so much and fitting into different roles on stage. Thanks for the help!
The Harper Agent and Beguiler themes could definitely work, though, with a little reflavoring. The Harper Agent has powers from three different power sources, which could represent a trouper's experience and flexibility from traveling so much and fitting into different roles on stage. Thanks for the help!
Let's also not forget that the 4E Bard itself does have a ranged weapon option... the Prescient Bard build. While the Bard is technically a Leader and not a Striker (and thus your damage dealt would be less and you'd have a healing ability in its place)... you'd get both things that you wanted-- a focus on performance and singing, while at the same time being a ranged weapon user.
Perhaps not exactly what you are looking for, but at least its another option to consider if the Themes you were looking at didn't float your boat.
*EDIT* You can also always add in the Warrior of the Wild multiclass ranger feat to the bard, giving you training in one of the ranger's skills, plus a use of Hunter's Quarry once per encounter (to get that extra damage you desire.)
Perhaps not exactly what you are looking for, but at least its another option to consider if the Themes you were looking at didn't float your boat.
*EDIT* You can also always add in the Warrior of the Wild multiclass ranger feat to the bard, giving you training in one of the ranger's skills, plus a use of Hunter's Quarry once per encounter (to get that extra damage you desire.)
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