Rocker26a
Explorer
I'm still picking away at this Ranger homebrew, and one feature that's been giving me some trouble is an aspect of their Spellcasting I was considering.
The premise being; there are certain spells that are both thematically relevant to the Ranger's identity, and are just mechanical main-stays to the extent that it's pointless having them count against their prepared/known total (similar to what Eldritch Blast is for Warlock, they might as well just get it). The premier example of this is obviously Hunter's Mark, to the point that even WOTC agree and have rendered it an out-and-out class feature in certain versions of the class, for better or worse. Then there was Primal Awareness from the OCFs, adding a free spell (or two free spells in the UA) each level you gain access to new spell slots, and you get a free daily casting of each. Nice idea, only problem being, the spells offered were relatively niche. I think marrying those two concepts, to create one feature better than those two, could work nicely.
Only problem being; what spells! Hunter's Mark and Pass Without Trace are the easy picks for 1st and 2nd level, but after that is tricky.
I have a few things that prevent me from considering certain spells.
The premise being; there are certain spells that are both thematically relevant to the Ranger's identity, and are just mechanical main-stays to the extent that it's pointless having them count against their prepared/known total (similar to what Eldritch Blast is for Warlock, they might as well just get it). The premier example of this is obviously Hunter's Mark, to the point that even WOTC agree and have rendered it an out-and-out class feature in certain versions of the class, for better or worse. Then there was Primal Awareness from the OCFs, adding a free spell (or two free spells in the UA) each level you gain access to new spell slots, and you get a free daily casting of each. Nice idea, only problem being, the spells offered were relatively niche. I think marrying those two concepts, to create one feature better than those two, could work nicely.
Only problem being; what spells! Hunter's Mark and Pass Without Trace are the easy picks for 1st and 2nd level, but after that is tricky.
I have a few things that prevent me from considering certain spells.
- Can you imagine a Ranger from a relatively soft/low magic setting, such as Aragorn, inducing the effect of a given spell? If no, I would consider that undesirable (for example; Hunter's Mark and Pass Without Trace fit pretty seamlessly, whereas something like Fog Cloud is more of a stretch that requires a justification like "oh he used a smoke-bomb", and something like Magic Missile is pretty much a non-starter).
- Does a given spell serve to reinforce the stereotype that Rangers are predominantly Archers? If yes, I would consider that undesirable (less of a problem for some I'm sure, but yeah I'd just like to move beyond the arrow spells).
- Is a given spell only worth considering with the carrot of a free daily casting? If yes, I would consider that undesirable (I don't know for sure whether I'd keep the free daily casting thing from Primal Awareness, but even if I did I'd rather it didn't open the way for lame spells. Buffing such spells is not out of the question, but it'd of course be better if they're appealing out of the box).
- Not appearing on the Ranger spell list isn't an issue (I was considering Haste being the spell for 9th level for example, it not being a Ranger spell already doesn't meaningfully bother me).
- Competing for Concentration isn't an issue (Hunter's Mark specifically, just pretend it isn't concentration and so you can actually use some other interesting spells).
- Being from an expansion or supplemental isn't an issue (I'm sure this'd go without saying for most people but thought I'd mention it anyway. Like for example, if I was going to try and follow the UA Primal Awareness model and grant two spells per, the first two would be Hunter's Mark and Zephyr Strike).
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