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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Willie the Duck" data-source="post: 9467599" data-attributes="member: 6799660">Going by the oD&D version, the lower surprise threshold was "Because of their ability to track Rangers also are difficult to surprise."I think this is all going to go down to subjective perspective. Especially which version seemed more 'Aragorn-ish.' When I played 1E, it did seem odd for them to be wearing plate. However, but honestly that's more of a strange conceit of D&D (that you would wear battlefield armor while wandering about in the wilderness) that Tolkien simply didn't share. Aragorn in the novels wears armor appropriate to the situation (as does Conan, for that matter). Regardless, the ranger definitely started out trying to be an Aragorn expy. Which version captured that best, IMO, is really an exercise in what you consider important. AD&D 2E certainly made the ranger more dissimilar to a fighter, especially in the mobile striker vs. durable tank or aggro framing OP references. In PHB AD&D 1E, they acted very much the same as fighters, minus the who they could work with and what followers they attracted. Unearthed Arcana had started something by requiring them to take proficiency in weapons that worked with 1Es 2wf rules, but that really didn't make them much less front-line-ish. 2E codified that into natural 2wf ability, but only if they were more lightly armored (in 2e a strict durability downgrade, since you could get full dex bonus to AC in any armor). That, plus 2 thief abilities that were armor-dependent. So I guess that was the first mechanical thing which started incentivizing a strike-over-tank characterization. Even then, they likely fought very much the same as a fighter, since all martials of the time were ranged/melee switch-hitters. D&D 3E made more skills a ranger would take be armor dependent*, and narrowed the AC difference between strong hero in plate and dexterous hero in leather by capping dex bonus to AC for heavier armor. 5e really just takes that just a little bit further by making dex to combat damage automatic for ranged and most 2wf weapons, so a ranger isn't trying to split the difference between high-str and high-dex. Also 5e just makes mobile fighting overall easier to do, by not having to sacrifice second attacks to move more than 5'.*or in swimming's case, such that you might reasonably swim in leather, but not plate.</blockquote>

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