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

[Minigiant]

I can't say that I ever recalled this happening once in my years playing 3e or Pathfinder

At least 50% of the rangers I've encountered in 3e and PF were Batman in Green, Grey Aquaman, or Dark Green Arrow with tons of magic potions, wands, and scrolls. All with the hatred, paranoia, and/or craziness hidden deep in their character backgrounds like a 90s Antihero.

All while begging the DM for more special arrows. Explosive and Freezing arrows being the most common homebrew.

 

[Aldarc]

At least 50% of the rangers I've encountered in 3e and PF were Batman in Green, Grey Aquaman, or Dark Green Arrow with tons of magic potions, wands, and scrolls. All with the hatred, paranoia, and/or craziness hidden deep in their character backgrounds like a 90s Antihero.

All while begging the DM for more special arrows. Explosive and Freezing arrows being the most common homebrew.

Most of the ones I saw liked shooting things with a bow and having an animal companion.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

So, what's on your fighter's spell list so he can go toe to toe with dragons and demons?

Depends on the subclass, not that the question is even relevant to the topic.

 

[Minigiant]

Most of the ones I saw liked shooting things with a bow and having an animal companion.

Most of the one l saw focused on tracking does, killing monsters, and protecting an area.

I think that's the divide. Ranger as a job vs Ranger as a look.

 

[ECMO3]

Easy: Kensai Monk with outlander background. Done.

Actually a single class Kensai fits very well with the modern Drizzt, especially with how he is using a longbow now.

The only difficulty is timing, he was a master swordsman, one of the best in Ferun, long before he knew martial arts, so while a 20th level Kensai is arguably a perfect representation of the modern Drizzt, his "journey" to get there would not be supported by his history.

I really like the thought though!

 

[Charlaquin]

Sure everyone's different. I just know the "ranger" in our group is actually a Scout. I remember there was a Fighter Scout UA. Was that more what you are looking for (I don't remember what it was like).

It has Natural Explorer, but that’s really it in terms of ranger-like features, and also Natural Explorer sucks…

 

[ECMO3]

I'm not fearmongering that the fanbase will riot without the spellcasting ranger.

I'm reminding everyone that we when 4e gave rangers nonmagical healing, special movement, and other fantastical ranger elements, the edition got awhole lotta complaints. Same thing in the 5e playtest. Same thing when WOTC made a "ranger with no spells" mock-up. Tones of criticism.

And in 3e, rangers were some of the biggest wand and scroll users in the party. "Hold on. Before we go to the next room, I take out 2-5 scrolls and wands of 1st and 2nd level ranger spells and buff myself and Boris"

This is before you get to the fact that many asking for a 5e spell-less ranger describe either a 5e fighter with ranger skills OR a 5e ranger who has all of ranger's spells buffs on them but doesn't cast the spells.

I must say that while I am (or was) genuinely curious about the interest in a non-magical ranger, if they were to actually put me on the other side of this and implement it as a class I would be grabbing my pitchfork and joining the rioters..

 

[ECMO3]

Our current party has a half fighter/cleric. And a paladin. Both are mechanically great characters, but they play in very different ways. The fighter/cleric wades into the centre of combat, drops spirit guardians, and soaks up the enemies in the centre of the combat. Occasionally throwing out a healing word to get people on their feat. The paladin targets vital enemies, and deletes them via smites.

The thing I like about 5E is there are so many ways to do things.

Paladins and clerics are rare in the games I play. Right now out of the 5 games I am a player in only 1 has a Paladin and there is no real cleric. We do have a Rogue with a 2-level cleric dip in one game. The reason he dipped cleric is he was cursed with lycantheropy and went looking for a way to cure it. The Wizard in the party picked up remove curse first though so he only went 2 levels.

 

[ECMO3]

It has Natural Explorer, but that’s really it in terms of ranger-like features, and also Natural Explorer sucks…

If your DM hand waves exploration it sucks. If your DM plays exploration by the RAW it is pretty OP and will make challanging tasks either irrelevant or much easier.

 

[Charlaquin]

If your DM hand waves exploration it sucks. If your DM plays exploration by the RAW it is pretty OP and will make challanging tasks either irrelevant or much easier.

If your DM plays exploration by the RAW, natural explorer completely trivializes the challenge of exploration in your favored terrain and is useless everywhere else. Both outcomes “suck,” in my opinion, though in different ways.