What do you know with Favored Enemy?

[Frostmarrow]

I was thinking about how uninteresting the ranger ability Favored Enemy is. It gives the ranger increased ability to harm his enemies and to some extent it makes it easier for the ranger to dupe them. I find it pretty meaningless. Most of the time you are more than likely to forget about the bonus or sometimes you don't even know that it is an aberration you are fighting in the first place.

"Hey, DM, is that we are fighting an aberration or a magical beast?"
"Sorry, you don't know."
"But... If it's an aberration I hate it *sob*"

So I asked myself what does the ability tell the ranger about his enemies?

In D&D there is no ability or skill that let the character know something about monsters encountered. However there are several abilities that sort of works that way. Bardic Knowledge and Knowledge (Undead) comes to mind. So either the skill is missing or the above mentioned abilities are broken.

Now what if Favored Enemy gave you clues on how to defeat the enemies in lieu of handing out a damage bonus? Let's say that a ranger with Favored Enemy (Magical beasts) could make a Wilderness Lore check against the monsters CR. If the ranger is successful the DM gives him information that could be useful for the ranger in a fight ...or friendly debate. The DM can chose what information to give the player but typically a successful check should reveal either the monster's special attack or special qualities. If the ranger scores a critical success the DM could let the player read the entire entry in Monster Manual. If the ranger scores a critical failure the DM would supply the ranger with false information.

"Yes, vampires are extra suceptible to damage from silver weapons."

Of course an experienced player or avid reader of the MM is likely to know these things anyway so it might not be much of a bonus, one might argue. However, the constant flow of new monsters from WotC and third party publishers pretty much ensures the ability's usefulness for years to come. All monsters fit one of the types of monsters the ranger can favor readily.

"You have never seen anything like this before but it reminds you of all those constructs you've destroyed in your days. It's probably immune to electricity. Moreover it's nostrils smell of sulphur."

Every time you get a new Favored Enemy you can roll to see if you know it's strengths or weaknesses. In this version of the Favored Enemy-ability Humanoids is considered one category. (There is not much to be known about a human enemy.

"Yeah, your enemy has lots of skill points and one extra feat."
"Great."

Using Favored Enemy in this way might also grant the ranger player some attention around the games table. I mean most classes have something they excel at. The bard for example excel at attention. The ranger works silently and efficiently but he doesn't supply the party with anything the party doesn't already have. If the ranger knew the secrets of the monsters you wouldn't venture into the wilderness without one. Additionally the wilderness lore check (which the DM makes) ensures that the players don't know stuff the DM doesn't want them to.

I think that knowledge about his enemies is a much more efficient weapon against his hated foe than a measly +1-+5 to damage. Provided the player knows how to use the information, that is. What do you think?

 

[Mixmaster]

Makes a lot of sense logically. It should be more than just a simple bonus. I've got three rangers in my group, and this is a good idea.

Thank you and a *BUMP* for others to see

 

[omedon]

Originally posted by Frostmarrow
In D&D there is no ability or skill that let the character know something about monsters encountered. However there are several abilities that sort of works that way. Bardic Knowledge and Knowledge (Undead) comes to mind. So either the skill is missing or the above mentioned abilities are broken.

I don't think that this is a very big leap what is included under wilderness lore is left to the DM's discretion. mating habits, favorite terrain, abilities and vulnerabilities, symbiotic relationships, enemies, number usually found together, clan structures, etc. All of these things could probably be included under wilderness lore.

For instance if you have wilderness lore shouldn't you have a good chance of knowing that bears have claws, are powerful predators, can climb trees quickly, are strong swimmers, and feed on fish?

Well all of these same things should apply for monsters like werewolves too. Perhaps the DM may want to set the DC a little higher for you to know that they are extra suceptible to damage from silver weapons, but this would only be because it is less common knowlege or you have little experience with such beasts.

If my characters had never been to the underdark I would probably require a higher DC for them to know the intricacies of drow elves than what they would need to know about the intricacies of goblins.

 

[darkbard]

i like this idea. one change i would make, however, is to set the DC at 10 + CR to make it less of a sure thing. a first level ranger with maximum ranks in wilderness lore (+4) and an average wisdom score for the class (say 12 for a class with a number of wisdom dependent skills, for a total bonus of +5) would have a 50% or greater chance of remembering/noticing useful information about creature of up to CR4. most level 1 characters will not be encountering creatures above that CR anyway, and it will ensure that rangers continue to pump points into wilderness lore as the challenges they face increase in rating.

 

[darkbard]

alright, i'm slightly fevered here (have a cold) and don't think i made myself entirely clear or thought this all the way through. what i'm proposing is retaining favored enemy as it stands, allow wilderness lore checks (DC 10 + CR) to discern info about any creature and allow the favored enemy bonus as a bonus to wilderness lore checks against creatures of that type. it certainly adds more oomph to the sometimes dull ranger class, but does this make them too powerful?

 

[Frostmarrow]

I agree that the DC should be CR+10. Slight oversight on my part. I don't think it will make the rangers too powerful. The ranger has some leeway in this department compared to other classes. (The ranger has no instakill spells for example). Bear in mind that the ranger can only roll Wilderness Lore when it concerns his favored enemies. That means that the ranger needs Favored Enemy (Animals) to remember that bears have Improved Grab for example. It should be clear to most people regardless of class that bears have claws. You need Favored Enemy (Undead) to know vampires return in mist-form to their coffins when reduced to zero hitpoints. If it's common knowledge that werewolves can be harmed by silver I think the individual DM should decide.

The best part about this ability is that it gives the player a valid reason to ask the DM what type the monster is (that is less munchkiny than asking for a damage bonus).

Anyway, I'm glad you like it.

 

[Frostmarrow]

Have you ever played a low-level character and asked yourself if your character is likely know something that you take for granted? For example your new character encounters a troll and you know that it only takes damage from acid or fire. However, does your character konw this? What usually happens when I wind up in this position is I start out valiantly and role-play my ignorance. That is, I attack the troll with the regular weapons. Later on, when I'm rapidly approaching death at the hands of said troll I get a flash of "inspiration" (meta-gaming) and starts to torch the beast.

Well, if rangers know these things the problem is solved. You have an excuse to run away from the troll shouting at the top of your lungs "WE NEED A RANGER!!!"