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<blockquote data-quote="TheCosmicKid" data-source="post: 6666016" data-attributes="member: 6683613">I think, if taken seriously and handled well, it's potentially an interesting question of speculative fiction:&nbsp; what if there's an intelligent species that really is irreconcilably hostile?&nbsp; What would that look like?&nbsp; How would that change the moral equation?&nbsp; It's challenging, to a modern audience.&nbsp; And you have to admit that given the premise that there are evil gods, it kind of makes sense that they would do this.In my campaign, I split the difference:&nbsp; orcs are accursed and violently psychotic, goblins aren't.&nbsp; (This also helps to distinguish two enemy types that often blur together conceptually, in my experience -- perhaps because they were the same in Tolkien.)&nbsp; Your campaign may vary, of course.&nbsp; And it's important that D&amp;D doesn't hard-code any assumptions like this in the rules.&nbsp; 5E does say that the evil races are always evil, yes, but that's in a throwaway line that can be easily disregarded if you prefer.&nbsp; The actual rules for the orc are amenable to all sorts of different interpretations.&nbsp; As it should be.&nbsp; Just like with the ranger class.What would you think of a bonus to attack rolls instead of damage?&nbsp; To me, that would emphasize the ranger's precision and tactical skill over brute strength.&nbsp; Just as a starting point, what if the ranger killed the avenger and took his Vow of Enmity?&nbsp; That's a suitably fitting effect for &quot;Hunter's Quarry&quot;, I think.&nbsp; Maybe condition it on something other than a short-rest resource.&nbsp; Action to activate?&nbsp; That would encourage unseen observation of the enemy before jumping into the fight.&nbsp; Then maybe once your Quarry drops you can switch the effect to a new enemy of the same type as a reaction.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="TheCosmicKid, post: 6666016, member: 6683613"] I think, if taken seriously and handled well, it's potentially an interesting question of speculative fiction: what if there's an intelligent species that really is irreconcilably hostile? What would that look like? How would that change the moral equation? It's [I]challenging[/I], to a modern audience. And you have to admit that given the premise that there are evil gods, it kind of makes sense that they would do this. In my campaign, I split the difference: orcs are accursed and violently psychotic, goblins aren't. (This also helps to distinguish two enemy types that often blur together conceptually, in my experience -- perhaps because they were the same in Tolkien.) Your campaign may vary, of course. And it's important that D&D doesn't hard-code any assumptions like this in the rules. 5E does say that the evil races are always evil, yes, but that's in a throwaway line that can be easily disregarded if you prefer. The actual rules for the orc are amenable to all sorts of different interpretations. As it should be. Just like with the ranger class. What would you think of a bonus to attack rolls instead of damage? To me, that would emphasize the ranger's precision and tactical skill over brute strength. Just as a starting point, what if the ranger killed the avenger and took his Vow of Enmity? That's a suitably fitting effect for "Hunter's Quarry", I think. Maybe condition it on something other than a short-rest resource. Action to activate? That would encourage unseen observation of the enemy before jumping into the fight. Then maybe once your Quarry drops you can switch the effect to a new enemy of the same type as a reaction. [/QUOTE]

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