Who do rangers get TWF? What makes them special for it?

[Jdvn1]

--Since a ranger already specializes in mobility, TWF is useful over sword and board, or two-handed weapons

That's how I see it. They're already dextrous and mobile, TWF is a fighting style that lends itself naturally to that.

 

[Wild Gazebo]

I'm more interested in why rangers are raging bigots--why all the hate? I mean, I think I can reason similar fighting styles to location and tradition, but species enemies...come on. One is enough and it should be one of many options, not forced on every ranger.

 

[orsal]

I'm more interested in why rangers are raging bigots--why all the hate? I mean, I think I can reason similar fighting styles to location and tradition, but species enemies...come on. One is enough and it should be one of many options, not forced on every ranger.

That, of course, is an issue with player habits, not with the rules. Why all the hate, indeed? Why must so many players develop backstories that represent the favoured enemy feature as racial hatred? Why, even if playing a NG ranger with a 16 wisdom?

 

[Numenorean]

Favored enemy or special enemy does not = hateful raging bigot. Just to clarify, when a ranger encounters his favored enemy he does not turn in to a beserking mad idiot filled with rage. My ranger is quite the opposite, he becomes very focused and cunning, relying on his skills in battling those select foes.

What it represents is a creature that the ranger has lots of experience fighting, or has decided to hone his fighting skills required to combat that creature.

For example my ranger character has orcs, giants, and (evil) humans as his favored enemies. He has spent lots of time fighting orcs, giants, and evil men such as bandits, brigands, Dragon cultists, Zhentarim men-at-arms, etc.

It doesn't mean he hates humans, or hates all giants. But he does have quite a disdain for evil giants, and I have to admit he doesn't like orcs one bit. They're evil, they are usually up to no good in the wilds and hence they are a true enemy of his.

But none of this means squat. The bottom line is he knowledgeable in how to fight giants and orcs, and against many of the evil men he battles, they see him as a deadly foe who can cut them down quickly.

 

[Numenorean]

That, of course, is an issue with player habits, not with the rules. Why all the hate, indeed? Why must so many players develop backstories that represent the favoured enemy feature as racial hatred? Why, even if playing a NG ranger with a 16 wisdom?

LOL because Orcs are LE and that NG ranger generally doesn't care for evil creatures whose pursuits include evil activity.

Sure maybe every once in a while you come across a non-evil orc, but thats very rare in the standard campaign. Hence, that ranger doesn't like orcs, and his reasons are well founded.

It cracks me up with some of the moral relativism-shady grey stuff I see on here time to time on topics like this.

 

[iwatt]

Just to clarify, when a ranger encounters his favored enemy he does not turn in to a beserking mad idiot filled with rage.

In 2e rangers got penalties to many rolls when confronted to their favored enemy. Rules wise they were "forced" into bigotry IIRC.

Since we're airing our problems with the ranger, I dislike the rule that you can only have favored enemy (own race) if the ranger is evil.

So human LN bounty hunters in a kingdom were bounty hunting is an accepted and honorable proffesion can't have favoerd enemy human? Isn't favoerd enemy supposed to represent a "cunning study" and "special knowledge" of the chosen foe :\

This was houseruled IMC.

NOTE: I distinctly remember this was true in 3.0, don't know if it changed in 3.5.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Since we're airing our problems with the ranger, I dislike the rule that you can only have favored enemy (own race) if the ranger is evil.

NOTE: I distinctly remember this was true in 3.0, don't know if it changed in 3.5.

It's 3.0, and gone in 3.5, as you suspect.

 

[FireLance]

From the game mechanics point of view, the Favored Enemy damage bonus synergizes very well with multiple attacks. A ranger using a two-handed weapon has the chance to apply his Favored Enemy damage bonus up to four times per round. A ranger fighting with two weapons has the chance to apply his Favored Enemy damage bonus up to seven times per round. Given that the damage bonus can be up to +10 for a high-level ranger, it's not difficult to see why a ranger might want to get as many attacks as possible.

 

[iwatt]

It's 3.0, and gone in 3.5, as you suspect.

Hah. Vindicated at last

 

[Storm Raven]

--Aragorn, one of the most famous rangers, had one or two instances of TWF in the books.

If by "one or two" you mean "zero" you would be right.

The most likely explanations boils down to Drizz'zt, whose showed up in novel form a little less than a year before 2e was published.