D&D 5E Why are non-caster Ranger themes so popular?

[Mordhau]

I always think of it in terms of if I wanted to play a spellcaster then that I would play one of the classes that makes full use of spells.

There's also the simple fact that the implementation of Ranger spells has always been bad. They get a lot of spells that would be really useful in niche situations and then get very few spell choices. A Fighter that spent a feat on druid ritual casting is more likely to be able make use of water breathing than a Ranger.

 

[Greg K]

if such spells existed, it would be on any camping aficionado spell list !

Not necessarily. For starters, you are assuming that a) anyone has the capability to learn and cast spells and b) all spells are universally availble both culturally and to practioners of all styles of magics.

 

[humble minion]

I've always found it odd that while the inspiration for the ranger class was clearly Aragorn, the iconic D&D ranger has of course for many many years now been Drizzt. And while it's been a long time and there's many of the later books I haven't read, to the very best of my knowledge Drizzt was never written as casting spells other than those that came inherently to him as a drow. The quintessential D&D ranger doesn't even cast ranger spells.

I'm with @Charlaquin on this one.

 

[Minigiant]

Oh yes, on that we agree.

The thing that baffles me the most with the ranger's spells list is that they have zero spells to create housing or easy item-carrying, such as tiny hut or secret chest. They are suppose to be all about surviving the wilds; if such spells existed, it would be on any camping aficionado spell list !

Summon Log Cabin
Conjure Parkas
Bikini's Instant Bathing suit
Grappling Hook
Horacio's Fantastic Shades
Cargo Pants
Fireskin
Iceskin
Deathskin
Wolfnose
Cure Corruption
Mind Shelter

Bah. These things can be overcome without a spellcaster. You have plenty of tools at your disposal, some magical, some mundane, not to mention your own ability to plan and strategize.

Yes, but are they in the wilderness all far from civilization with no back up for days?

Most nonspellcasting classes can't swap their class features to adapt to the expected.

They also aren’t required to kill demons, they just make it a bit easier.

They are often required to not make demons come back or prevent reinforcements. Or to find them.

That's kinda the whole point of horizon walkers.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yep. People want a survivalist type character who relies on themselves and their knowledge of the natural world, not magic spells. A few preternatural tricks like being able to discern some weirdly specific details from looking at tracks or putting an ear to the ground is probably acceptable, but most spells are just too overtly magical to fit the concept well. The ranger’s abilities should be uncanny, but not outright supernatural, in my opinion,

I’ve always seen it as, nature in D&D is inherently magical, thus the Ranger needs to know how to use and how to counteract that magic.

Id be open to other ways than Spellcasting to do that, but a fully mundane Ranger just doesn’t work, to me. Even “preternatural but not supernatural is…off, IMO”. Rather, Rangers should be like Tolkien’s fairy; supernatural, in that it is the most natural.

 

[niklinna]

The hilarious part is the many fans would never ever allow nonmagical aspects of Arargorn, Jon Snow, Dar, or Aquaman.

Every iconic ranger thing needs to be a spell or a large percentage of the fanbase will riot.

• Healing HP
• Cure Disease
• Cure Poison
• Talk to animals
• Talk to plants
• Charm animals
• Make animals into companions
• Resist extreme elements
• Find meals in the desert or barrens
• Find shelter in the desert or barrens
• Track without footprints
• Heightened sight
• Heightened hearing
• See in the dark
• Arrow trick shots
• Be invisible to magical creatures
• Find lost items
• Find lost people

I can agree that "see in the dark" and "be invisible" would be best implemented mechanically as spells, but all the rest could just be things a ranger can do, as class features.

 

[dave2008]

Magical items and silvered weapons. Neither are guaranteed or required in 5e.

Nor is magic. You can play D&D without spellcasters. I know because we have and it was great fun!

 

[CubicsRube]

I want to be a non-casting ranger because the archetype of "guy who wanders around in the woods" isn't about spellcasting.

EDIT: Also I think WotC spent so much time focused on making the spellcasting system that they felt like any ability that wasn't 100% mundane should be modelled as spellcasting or something close to it.

This is it for me. Why do so many things in D&D have to be a spell?

The rogues sneak attack isn't a spell, so why is hunter's mark?

 

[billd91]

Probably because Aragorn. He's the archetypical Ranger, and he has no explicitly magical powers.

Depends on your interpretation of his healing abilities - are they magical or are they skill? In a Middle Earth, where elven magic is indistinguishable from skill and with Aragorn learning his craft from Elrond, does it really matter?
Either interpretation, magic or skill, is perfectly justifiable given the source material. Games incorporating that influence just need to make a choice - and that's art, not science.

 

[CubicsRube]

I'd prefer the option to play a spellless ranger and have a magic based sub class a la fighter and rogue class structure.

It's much easier to add in than take out.