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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ellington" data-source="post: 5947023" data-attributes="member: 6692166">A class is a mechanically and thematically strong concept that is the central part of a character. A character who focuses above everything else on martial combat is a fighter. Sure, he may use one or two weapons, focus on melee or ranged combat, be a knight or a commoner, but as long as martial combat is his primary niche, that character is a fighter. A character that uses two weapons and focuses on martial combat is thematically or mechanically distinct enough to warrant its own class, and so it becomes a theme.You can think of classes as food. You can have a pizza (fighter) with various toppings (themes) from various places (backgrounds), but it's still always a pizza. You could also get a sub (wizard) with the same toppings from the same place, but it's still fundamentally different from a pizza.As long as the ranger's primary mechanics revolve around something unique such as its bond with nature, I say the ranger deserves to be its own class. If the ranger's primary mechanics turn out to be martial combat with some wilderness abilities sprinkled on top, I'd move to say it should be a background or theme.</blockquote>