D&D General What is a Ranger? A miserable pile of secrets! (+)

[CreamCloud0]

Thread title. We all like to talk about the Ranger. How it's crap, how it lacks an identity, how it's great, how it's supposed to have magic, how it used to be crap but now it's great, how it's perfectly fine, how its identity is clear, how its not supposed to be magical, how it used to be great but now it's crap, the usual. With all the polls going on, let's have a knockdown dragout fight poll over what the actual identity of the Ranger is! Pick the three most central ideas! Mix and match to make your perfect Ranger! It's just like Build-a-Bear, except instead of a teddy bear filled with love, you're making Drizzt. Build-a-Drizzt.

Oh and this is a (+) thread for the following reasons:
(a) It's actually worthwhile to figure out what a Drizzt Ranger is supposed to look like. Especially with a half edition on the horizon; half-editions love tinkering with Rangers!
(b) This thread isn't about critiquing any individual iteration of the class. This isn't about whether 6e droolz and 2.5 rulez or whatever. Argue aspects, not editions
(c) Keep it civil. All ideal Rangers Drizzts are valid. Everything listed has been a part of some kind of Drizzt at some point or another, and that Drizzt has at lease one mother who loves him. Advocate for your position, don't tear other factors down.

Let me know if I've missed anything. Or you know what? Just throw out any random idea. "I think Rangers brew potions!" "I think Rangers should be psionic!" "I think dogs should vote!" Whatever it is, I'll toss it on the poll. The court of public opinion* will decide.

NEW OPTIONS WILL BE ADDED!
Please change your votes if you like some of the stuff others have added better. I'm not going to stop you!

*public opinion being ENworlders, so take that with all the grains of salt in China

‘Nature’ ‘Stealth’ ‘Magic/Mini-druid’
But honestly I don’t know if there is a perfect selection of three I could pick here for my quintessential platonic ideal of what the ranger is.

A big part of the ranger identity is being a crazy good survivalist-explorer (if this is what ‘environmental adaptation’ is meant to mean that’s not obvious to me) but the thing about that is that it’s sort of a jack of all trades area of nonmagic skills and abilities: combat, stealth, herbs and healing, they’re slightly lacking in knowledge outside of the nature-and-monsters stuff but for the best part they’re on the ball in most areas, and they even get to dip into primal/divine magic too!

While I do love all the magic weapon spells the ranger gets but I don’t feel like they’ve especially nailed the ranger-y feel in concept for some of them.

Bows and animal companions are quite iconic for the ranger but not essential to their core identity.

Classwise the combination for the ranger for me is fighter + rogue + druid, conceptually it’s ‘jack of all trades survivalist’ + ‘magic and nonmagic nature’ + ‘stealthy tracker’

While the poll choices are ranger-ish things i don’t think they’re all ranger things on the same conceptual level, dual-wielding is hyper specific, micro-druid and katniss are both thematic in different ways but overlap with other more species poll options.

 

[TwoSix]

Ranger, for me, is a broad spectrum with "magical elf girl with a bow and a tiger" on one end and Geralt on the other end.

 

[Minigiant]

Is environmental adaptation significantly different from nature-y to warrant a separate option?

EDIT: Same for stealth vs. “like a rogue.”

Is conjuring a sand spirit to create a sandstorm and being the only one other than the sand spirit who can see in said sandstorm then piercing your quarry with an arrow of lava and glass nature-y?

Because that's what I'd expect from a 10th level desert ranger.

 

[Krachek]

Miss my favorite one Indiana Jones!

 

[Charlaquin]

Is conjuring a sand spirit to create a sandstorm and being the only one other than the sand spirit who can see in said sandstorm then piercing your quarry with an arrow of lava and glass nature-y?

Because that's what I'd expect from a 10th level desert ranger.

That’s not “environmental adaptation.” That’s summoning magic.

 

[Minigiant]

1) The Hunter subclass features ideally would be base classes features of the ranger.

2) The ranger's magic wouldn't necessarily be druid. Ironically a ranger is allowed to dislike, hate, or despise nature and has the option to abuse nature as a means to an end. In the pursuit of giants or the hunt of dragons, a ranger is allowed to bind nature, arcana, or divinity as hunting and survival devices to slay quarries, break obstacles, and hinder pursuers.

In the pursuit of a + topic, some don't realize when survival is key, you don't limit yourself to one source of strength or resource.

The Ranger is Fighter + Barbarian + Rogue+ Cleric + Druid + Wizard + Bard

 

[Minigiant]

That’s not “environmental adaptation.” That’s summoning magic.

We are playing D&D

If the world is magic, you must either be fantastic or summon the fantastic.

D&D wilderness haves dragons and giants in it that warp nature around them just be them staying in the same spot too long.

Battle was lost when we added "lair actions". Rangers summon magic now to counter magic environment.

 

[Kinematics]

While I picked Stealth as one of my choices, I'd actually prefer something slightly different, which is: Hunter. Essentially, stealth is used by rogues to not be caught, while it's used by rangers as a way to hunt. So stealth is kind of important, but more as a means to an end, with the end being different than a rogue's purpose in using it.

If I had a fourth pick, I'd add in the animal companion. It's not a core part of ranger as a whole, but it's a pretty big chunk of real estate in the minds of many who play it.

Also, I really like @Undrave's description based on the "frontier". I think that can act as a core for a lot of ways of describing the ranger.

 

[Charlaquin]

We are playing D&D

If the world is magic, you must either be fantastic or summon the fantastic.

D&D wilderness haves dragons and giants in it that warp nature around them just be them staying in the same spot too long.

Battle was lost when we added "lair actions". Rangers summon magic now to counter magic environment.

Ok. If you consider magic (or summoning) to be an essential component of the ranger, go ahead and vote for that. Doesn’t change the fact that “environmental adaptation” doesn’t mean the same thing as “summoning magic.”

 

[Minigiant]

Ok. If you consider magic to be an essential component of the ranger, go ahead and vote for that. Doesn’t change the fact that “environmental adaptation” doesn’t mean the same thing as “magic.”

It is both magical and nonmagical adaptations.

The desert ranger can nonmagically fight blind due to adapting to fighting in blinding sun and sand but would ensure that this Adaption is worth by blinding all his foes as well.

The forest ranger would magically summon thorns and bush then run through them unharmed.

The arctic ranger would bring the slowing chilling cold while being used to it herself.