D&D (2024) What type of ranger would your prefer for 2024?

[Chaosmancer]

The point was in a certain context.

That Wilderness stuff in D&D not a priority. It is a couple pages in the second options book with a lot of it referring to or reusing old content



Have you seen how civilized people interact and use nature once they no longer fear it?

Tame is... tame.
Dominate is apt.

Rangers tend to sic controlled nature and tribal civilization on wild nature and savage civilization.

Summon vines and wolves on the orc then snipe them with arrows.

And this person totally didn't tame or dominate these panthers, right? They just naturally have glowing magic eyes.

 

[Chaosmancer]

That's the lore of rangers.
Ranger are still civilized, just on the border of civilization. The are not beings of nature like druid. They just have a relationship with it, keeping their humanity.

Let's say this is true. Let's say rangers are WORSE at nature than Druids... then why do they get to at-will talk with beasts? Why are they the ones who are best at finding herbs to make healing items? Why are they the ones best able to track and find their way through a thick jungle?

If Rangers are civilization dominating nature, why is that giving them MORE access to nature than someone who is a friend and ally to nature?

 

[Minigiant]

Let's say this is true. Let's say rangers are WORSE at nature than Druids... then why do they get to at-will talk with beasts? Why are they the ones who are best at finding herbs to make healing items? Why are they the ones best able to track and find their way through a thick jungle?

If Rangers are civilization dominating nature, why is that giving them MORE access to nature than someone who is a friend and ally to nature?

It's not a more or less thing. It's a difference of approach.

The wolf growls at the the druid. The druid uses magic to display that she is part of nature and friends.

The Ranger on the other hand goes meme-Cesar Milan and displays his dominate energy that he is pack leader or literally growling back at the wolf or having some random animal tell the wolf "Chill out or we all will get in trouble" or calm in down with a touch on their head.

Druid: Animal Friend
Ranger: Animal Trainer

The subclass are called Hunter, Beastmaster, Monster Slayer, Swarmkeeper, and Drakewarden.

 

[Shardstone]

It's not a more or less thing. It's a difference of approach.

The wolf growls at the the druid. The druid uses magic to display that she is part of nature and friends.

The Ranger on the other hand goes meme-Cesar Milan and displays his dominate energy that he is pack leader or literally growling back at the wolf or having some random animal tell the wolf "Chill out or we all will get in trouble" or calm in down with a touch on their head.

Druid: Animal Friend
Ranger: Animal Trainer

The subclass are called Hunter, Beastmaster, Monster Slayer, Swarmkeeper, and Drakewarden.

Would be a better use of the druid's energy to do what the ranger did and conserve spell slots for throwing lightning bolts etc.

 

[Incenjucar]

A ranger is not just an incompetent druid who uses weapons to compensate. The classes have different knowledge and skills. The fact that this is even a discussion shows how bad ranger spellcasting is for their identity.

 

[Minigiant]

Would be a better use of the druid's energy to do what the ranger did and conserve spell slots for throwing lightning bolts etc.

Druids can't do that. Druids revere nature and seek to balance nature.

Rangers have no obligation of equality to nature.

A ranger can burn down a forest to kill some orcs. Even evil druids would not do that without ensuring the animals can escape and the endangered plants are safely relocated first.

 

[Shardstone]

Druids can't do that. Druids revere nature and seek to balance nature.

Rangers have no obligation of equality to nature.

A ranger can burn down a forest to kill some orcs. Even evil druids would not do that without ensuring the animals can escape and the endangered plants are safely relocated first.

My druid reveres nature by acting like a dang dog and roaming the wilds with a pack of wild beasts. Keep your traditional views away from my primal worship.

 

[Minigiant]

A ranger is not just an incompetent druid who uses weapons to compensate. The classes have different knowledge and skills. The fact that this is even a discussion shows how bad ranger spellcasting is for their identity.

The problem is people due to other media, don't understand that the D&D ranger's druid magic is a tool. They used to have wizard spells too like blade thrist and still do have wizard spells like flame arrow and ashardalon's stride.

The ranger is allowed to hate nature and take animals, plants, and fey as their enemy. Love of nature in not required. An evil ranger might have fey and elementals locked in their treehouse basement, tortuously extracting them for magic.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Then why are they not a cleric subclass? I know they used to be, but they aren't anymore, and there is an entirely new power source for them since 4e. What is all that pointing to if not them having something to do with nature?

1) Because we're stuck with the 3e core classes plus Warlock forever.

2) Shapeshifting is the priority.

3) Everyone keeps talking about the text when I'm talking about what people are actually looking for and doing with the druid. You guys can stop now.

 

[Chaosmancer]

It's not a more or less thing. It's a difference of approach.

The wolf growls at the the druid. The druid uses magic to display that she is part of nature and friends.

The Ranger on the other hand goes meme-Cesar Milan and displays his dominate energy that he is pack leader or literally growling back at the wolf or having some random animal tell the wolf "Chill out or we all will get in trouble" or calm in down with a touch on their head.

Druid: Animal Friend
Ranger: Animal Trainer

The subclass are called Hunter, Beastmaster, Monster Slayer, Swarmkeeper, and Drakewarden.

1) That Cesar Milan dominant energy/pack leader stuff is bull-crap and doesn't work.

2) Why can't the druid do that? Or, better yet, why can't the druid do that WITHOUT magic?

Like, this entire conversation is about how Ranger's shouldn't need magic spells, that they should just do all of these things with pure skill and know-how. So if an angry animal comes up to them, they can calm it down with their special ability that allows them to charm animals within 30 ft by grunting angrily or whatever. But it is just a skill, they learned in the woods.

Druids LIVE there. Druids are one with nature. But they need to use magic to show they are friends? They CAN'T do this with skills? Because the alpha-male ranger who chews hard tack is dominating nature instead of seeking understanding and cooperation, so they can befriend animals with skill and the druid needs magic? Why?!

Also, like, yes I'm aware of names. Felines are hunters. Slayer is just a word for killing, which is a predator thing. How is a swarm keeper different than a queen bee? Warden literally means protector. Like, they are fun names, but they don't paint the Ranger as a chaining down nature and subjugating it to the will of civilization. That's not what the class fantasy IS.