Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana: Modifying Classes & Spell-less Rangers

WotC's Rodney Thompson takes a look at how to customize and modify character classes in the latest Unearthed Arcana article, including an example of a spell-less ranger similar to Lord of the Rings' Strider (an often asked-for class option). There are aslo notes about each of the other classes, discussing what to be careful about changing.

The article is here.

SaveSave​

 

[DEFCON 1]

Also, poultices: it strikes me as absurd that a 20th level druid or cleric trained in medicine can't make these, but every ranger can. I don't hate the mechanic, but it seems odd. Why not just give no-spell rangers a version of second wind, like the fighter gets?

Because with the no-spell Ranger already getting Battle Master maneuvers, you give it Second Wind too, at some point you have to ask when this Ranger just turns into a Fighter.

And if the poultices thing really bothers a person (and all poultices are is just a non-magical fluff reason for letting the Ranger keep healing spells), then go ahead and give the cleric and druid them as well by swapping out another cleric or druid feature. But then again... since the cleric and druid already have healing spells, what does poultice use really gain them?

 

[doctorhook]

Since the extra spells of the Favored Soul seem to overpower the other two Sorcerer bloodlines, maybe they should have done something like this:

Create a third bloodline, a Celestial Bloodline, and have it roughly mirror the Draconic Bloodline in abilities.

At 1st level, you gain proficiency in light armor, medium armor, shields, and simple weapons.

At 6th level, you add your Charisma modifier when dealing Radiant damage, and you can spend 1 sorcery point to gain resistance to Necrotic damage for 1 hour.

At 14th level, you get Angelic wings.

At 18the level, you get a Celestial Presence ability similar to the Draconic Presence ability.

(this is just a rough sketch of ability ideas, it can be altered as necessary)

So, that gives you three Sorcerer Bloodlines: Draconic, Wild Magic, and Celestial.

Now, each Bloodline also gets to pick Domain spells. Maybe the Draconic Sorcerer gets to pick from War or Trickery. The Wild Magic Sorcerer gets to pick from Knowledge or Tempest. And the Celestial Sorcerer gets to pick from Life or Light.

In this way, the three bloodlines are all roughly balanced, and all get bonus spells.

I dunno man, your ideas aren't bad, but the sorcerer is pretty weak already, so why not try to boost it a bit? Also, is this significantly different enough from the Dragon Sorcerer to justify its existence? Thematically, "favoured soul" isn't really the same as a celestial bloodline, either; bloodlines are genetic, but the FS is supposed to get their powers from a sliver of a spark of divine fiat. (Then again, maybe I just don't like the, "everything's babies are sorcerers"-approach to fantasy genetics, Pathfinder.)

 

[Warbringer]

Great article!

At first glance, I kinda wonder about the favoured soul though: the section about the FS says, "Give it a cleric domain!" but the section about the cleric says, "Make sure domain spells are mostly from outside the cleric list." Without running the numbers, isn't there a good chance that the FS is just gaining back some sorcerer spells?

Also, poultices: it strikes me as absurd that a 20th level druid or cleric trained in medicine can't make these, but every ranger can. I don't hate the mechanic, but it seems odd. Why not just give no-spell rangers a version of second wind, like the fighter gets?

Aragorn.

 

[doctorhook]

Because with the no-spell Ranger already getting Battle Master maneuvers, you give it Second Wind too, at some point you have to ask when this Ranger just turns into a Fighter.

And if the poultices thing really bothers a person (and all poultices are is just a non-magical fluff reason for letting the Ranger keep healing spells), then go ahead and give the cleric and druid them as well by swapping out another cleric or druid feature. But then again... since the cleric and druid already have healing spells, what does poultice use really gain them?

I get ya, but it seems like we're in a corner here: either we accept poultices despite their absurdity, or we admit that Medicine is underutilized and useless and that the no-spell ranger steps on the fighter's toes.

I want a third option.

 

[Minigiant]

The favored soul sortal fills out the sorcerer.

Draconic Bloodline- Power
Wild Magic - Accuracy
Favored Soul - Versatility

 

[DEFCON 1]

I get ya, but it seems like we're in a corner here: either we accept poultices despite their absurdity, or we admit that Medicine is underutilized and useless and that the no-spell ranger steps on the fighter's toes.

I want a third option.

Well... then your options are either to make up some options yourself, or because this article was specifically mentioned as a kind of "playtest" version... send Rodney an email going over your concerns and possible solutions so that if this is ever published officially, it will have received the same testing as the books themselves did.

 

[famousringo]

Great article!

At first glance, I kinda wonder about the favoured soul though: the section about the FS says, "Give it a cleric domain!" but the section about the cleric says, "Make sure domain spells are mostly from outside the cleric list." Without running the numbers, isn't there a good chance that the FS is just gaining back some sorcerer spells?

For the cleric, domains are the subclass, and their job is to make different religions distinct and play differently.

For the favoured soul, the domain spells are a magic boost to just one subclass, and a pretty huge one. Even if every domain spell comes from the sorcerer list, a favoured soul with almost twice as many spells known as the dragon sorcerer next to him is going to have pretty distinct capabilities.

 

[Minigiant]

Cleric and druids don't use poultices nor know how to make and maintain them because they don't need them as much, they have magic.

Merfolk don't create scuba gear, right.

 

[Dausuul]

Also, poultices: it strikes me as absurd that a 20th level druid or cleric trained in medicine can't make these, but every ranger can. I don't hate the mechanic, but it seems odd. Why not just give no-spell rangers a version of second wind, like the fighter gets?

Why would druids and clerics learn to make these? They have healing spells. If you have a calculator, you don't waste time learning to use an abacus.

 

[Sir Brennen]

At first glance, I kinda wonder about the favoured soul though: the section about the FS says, "Give it a cleric domain!" but the section about the cleric says, "Make sure domain spells are mostly from outside the cleric list." Without running the numbers, isn't there a good chance that the FS is just gaining back some sorcerer spells?

True, but if they get it for "free" from the domain, that allows them to pick something else from the Sorcerer list for their "regular" known spells.

Regarding the Favoured Soul, some people are claiming the additional spells known make it overpowered. I'm just wondering, does it really make the FS that much more powerful if the number of spells it can cast remains the same? Some additional flexibility is given, but it's not going to increase the character's damage output during any individual combat. I'm not saying it's not any better, but it's not that much better.

Also, poultices: it strikes me as absurd that a 20th level druid or cleric trained in medicine can't make these, but every ranger can. I don't hate the mechanic, but it seems odd. Why not just give no-spell rangers a version of second wind, like the fighter gets?

To answer the second question, because the feature was clearly intended to replace the Ranger's few Healing spells. Second Wind allows restoring HP to the individual only, where the spells and poultices can be used on others. Also, natural remedies seem to fit the outdoor ranger theme better, which is one of the points of consideration in the main article.