WotC Wants your Feedback On The Revised Ranger

I'm a big fan of the concave Rangers. When they're out in nature they can collect rainwater during a storm... they're great!

*EDIT* Okaaaaaayyy... so the merging of the two threads pretty much made this joke superfluous.

 

[iserith]

I will say I found the whole five mile giant sense thing disconcerting. I as the DM am not often even sure what would be within five miles of the party. I'm just confused by it, but then again maybe I misunderstand something because nobody else seemed to find that odd and it was sort of a feature of the normal 5e ranger with some slightly different range and verbiage. That said, One mile vs Five or Six miles are very different things to me.

I suggest asking the player why he or she wants the information that Primeval Awareness imparts at that particular moment. It may give you good insight on how to respond or indicate that the player is bored and just trying to find the adventure.

 

[Creamsteak]

I suggest asking the player why he or she wants the information that Primeval Awareness imparts at that particular moment. It may give you good insight on how to respond or indicate that the player is bored and just trying to find the adventure.

I mean, it's pretty obvious in Storm King's Thunder, after a city was attacked by giants they're going to be on the lookout for giants pretty much all the time. Thing is, they're overland traveling hundreds of miles, and conveniently checking the giant radar every few miles seems like something you would want to do. I don't want to get caught out by a random stone giant or three (what actually happened that session). They then proceeded to basically track them at a distance while using some things to imitate a larger group of frost giants until the giants were fatigued. Nothing wrong with that in my book, but like... I don't know, five miles is a huge area and there could literally be dozens of different groups of creatures in it at any given time.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I mean, it's pretty obvious in Storm King's Thunder, after a city was attacked by giants they're going to be on the lookout for giants pretty much all the time. Thing is, they're overland traveling hundreds of miles, and conveniently checking the giant radar every few miles seems like something you would want to do. I don't want to get caught out by a random stone giant or three (what actually happened that session). They then proceeded to basically track them at a distance while using some things to imitate a larger group of frost giants until the giants were fatigued. Nothing wrong with that in my book, but like... I don't know, five miles is a huge area and there could literally be dozens of different groups of creatures in it at any given time.

My play experience would back up the idea that the DM doesn't really have perfect knowledge of every creature within 5 miles, and that the ability is hard to run in the moment.

If the ability was more like "Ask the DM a question about your favored enemy, and if they're within 5 miles, the DM gives you a truthful answer," it might significantly improve the ability and still let it achieve its design goals.

 

[iserith]

I mean, it's pretty obvious in Storm King's Thunder, after a city was attacked by giants they're going to be on the lookout for giants pretty much all the time. Thing is, they're overland traveling hundreds of miles, and conveniently checking the giant radar every few miles seems like something you would want to do. I don't want to get caught out by a random stone giant or three (what actually happened that session). They then proceeded to basically track them at a distance while using some things to imitate a larger group of frost giants until the giants were fatigued. Nothing wrong with that in my book, but like... I don't know, five miles is a huge area and there could literally be dozens of different groups of creatures in it at any given time.

Sure, but generally when a player is using an ability like this, he or she is looking for something specific for a reason. Once that's made clear, then you can just decide the best way to respond based on the needs of your plot or whatever best suits the table at that moment. If the player is just spamming it to look for something to do, then that suggests an issue with the pacing or content of the adventure - time to step things up a bit with some dramatic conflict. So while it's realistic to think "Gosh, there could literally be dozens of different groups of creatures in this radius..." the real consideration is to the player's ultimate goal and the demands of the storyline in my view. Once that is clear, the answer should be easy to determine.

 

[isdestroyer]

There's a point here that a couple of people have danced around, but I will come out and say it; why is the Ranger even needed? What does it do that can't be done by another class? The only thing I can see is a dedicated pet feature, but even that can be covered by a feat. Ask yourself, thematically, what niche does the Ranger fill that can't be by other classes, and do it's rules make sense in the world?

 

[Prakriti]

There's a point here that a couple of people have danced around, but I will come out and say it; why is the Ranger even needed? What does it do that can't be done by another class? The only thing I can see is a dedicated pet feature, but even that can be covered by a feat. Ask yourself, thematically, what niche does the Ranger fill that can't be by other classes, and do it's rules make sense in the world?

The Ranger isn't going away. Why even humor the possibility?

 

[isdestroyer]

The Ranger isn't going away. Why even humor the possibility?

Because it needs to be humored. Change doesn't occur unless you try. In my opinion, the only reason the Ranger exists is because it existed in previous editions, as opposed to the game needing it.

 

[The_Gneech]

There's a point here that a couple of people have danced around, but I will come out and say it; why is the Ranger even needed? What does it do that can't be done by another class? The only thing I can see is a dedicated pet feature, but even that can be covered by a feat. Ask yourself, thematically, what niche does the Ranger fill that can't be by other classes, and do it's rules make sense in the world?

I could see "ranger" being a fighter path that gets an animal companion and wilderness bonuses, but it's too ingrained into D&D (going back to Strategic Review) to just chuck rangers out entirely. Might as well chuck magic missile. Sure you could do that, but you'd quickly get into "It's not D&D!" territory, and that's exactly the opposite of what 5E is about.

-The Gneech

 

[Prakriti]

Because it needs to be humored. Change doesn't occur unless you try. In my opinion, the only reason the Ranger exists is because it existed in previous editions, as opposed to the game needing it.

It exists because it fills a thematic niche that many players enjoy, because it's a well-defined archetype found throughout literature (Natty Bummpo, Aragorn, Drizzt, etc.), and because not including it would make many people unhappy, even if you gave them the tools to "assemble" their own Ranger from feats and multi-classing.

 

[isdestroyer]

What does "it's not D&D" even mean? What does Dungeons & Dragons mean? Is it a collection of rules and names that are familiar, or is it a toolbox that allows for epic adventures and interaction? My original argument can be applied to every aspect of D&D. You can play Pathfinder, or Castles & Crusades, and still call it D&D. Heck, you can play Savage Worlds and call it D&D. As long as the mechanics make sense for the world, then they can be anything.