D&D 5E Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Gloom Stalker Subclass

[Enevhar Aldarion]

The Deepstalker has been my favorite ranger since I saw it in the Underdark UA. I'm happy to see it hitting the shelves as the Gloom Stalker (was Darkstalker trademarked or something?).

Considering there is a series of video games called Darkstalkers, probably?

 

[Li Shenron]

It's more like thermal masking really. They could still be seen, if you bothered to turn on a light.

Yep, and that actually makes it worse than invisibility...

I am not trying to being overly critical here, since I am fine with the archetype at least as I have seen it in UA. It's just that Crafword focuses his presentation so much on this ability as it is something truly special. He's great at marketing, and I'd like to hire him as my PR in job interviews But on second thought, considering he mentions that there will still be other means of detecting the Gloom Stalker, the ability sounds like a lesser form of invisibility (or improved invisibility) that only works in darkness. Someone with (improved) invisibility cast on her would be just as undetectable, plus it would remain so if the light is switched on.

 

[Li Shenron]

The Deepstalker has been my favorite ranger since I saw it in the Underdark UA. I'm happy to see it hitting the shelves as the Gloom Stalker (was Darkstalker trademarked or something?).

My guess is simply that "dark" might have suggested an evil bent which they didn't want.

OTOH, "deep" definitely suggests being underground or at least not in an open space, so I believe that the change to "gloom" is meant to signify that she's supposed to be just as good in a dark forest or city alley as she is in a cave or the actual underdark.

 

[Charles Rampant]

I wasn’t that excited by this class, for some reason. Crawford clearly loves it, but the description he gave here didn’t grab me. It seems to lack interesting story potential (unlike the Zealot or Ancestral Spirits Barbarians, for example), open up new and exciting options (like the Samurai or College of Whispers), and instead just kind of does some mechanically decent things. I can see what a Gloom Stalker would do in a game, and I do find the darkvision invisibility fun and interesting, I just don’t find this class all that exciting sounding.

Somewhat inevitably, this subclass sparks thoughts of the Ranger class itself. I’ve got a pair of them playing in my different games, and they’re, you know, fine. I think that the open fluff potential of the Fighter class just calls to me more than the enforced fluff of the Ranger does. The Horizon Walker is better, since I like the plane-walking-expert vibe on offer there.

The name’s great, though. I wish we had a Gloom Sorcerer, for when you want dank and depressed as a class theme!

 

[gyor]

I found it interesting that it's not clear where the Gloom Stalker gets it's powers, it could be underdark, Shadowfell, the Towers of Night, Dark Gods, or even the dark places of the city.

 

[Li Shenron]

Somewhat inevitably, this subclass sparks thoughts of the Ranger class itself. I’ve got a pair of them playing in my different games, and they’re, you know, fine. I think that the open fluff potential of the Fighter class just calls to me more than the enforced fluff of the Ranger does. The Horizon Walker is better, since I like the plane-walking-expert vibe on offer there.

I suppose that's the fate of classes which originated as variations of an iconic class, or anyway as a narrow concept in the first place. The Ranger already has strong connotations with the wilderness abilities and the spellcasting, and a lighter connotation with the favored enemy. It's actually a bit more loose than in 3e when it also forced an animal companion and two-weapon fighting or archery.

With the current set of available archetypes, there is actually quite a decent spread of concepts, and not so big overlapping:

- Hunter: focus on combat, especially against certain types of encounters
- Monster Slayer: again focus on combat, this time in terms of identifying strength and weaknesses
- Beastmaster: animal training
- Horizon Walker: planar travel and teleportation
- Gloom Stalker: stealth

 

[gyor]

The difference I see between Slayer and Hunter is I see Hunter more as a soldier fighting hordes of humanoids, giants, dragons, and so on, I see Slayer focusing on Undead like Vampires, Fiends, Werecreatures, and other horror movie type creatures.

Gloom Stalkers obviously focus on Drow, Dark Dwarves, Derro, Abberants, creates from the Shadowfell, and back alley killers.

Horizon Walkers focus on fighting extra planar creatures of all types.

 

[gyor]

I wasn’t that excited by this class, for some reason. Crawford clearly loves it, but the description he gave here didn’t grab me. It seems to lack interesting story potential (unlike the Zealot or Ancestral Spirits Barbarians, for example), open up new and exciting options (like the Samurai or College of Whispers), and instead just kind of does some mechanically decent things. I can see what a Gloom Stalker would do in a game, and I do find the darkvision invisibility fun and interesting, I just don’t find this class all that exciting sounding.

Somewhat inevitably, this subclass sparks thoughts of the Ranger class itself. I’ve got a pair of them playing in my different games, and they’re, you know, fine. I think that the open fluff potential of the Fighter class just calls to me more than the enforced fluff of the Ranger does. The Horizon Walker is better, since I like the plane-walking-expert vibe on offer there.

The name’s great, though. I wish we had a Gloom Sorcerer, for when you want dank and depressed as a class theme!

I see Gloom Stalker having great potential, I mean your the creepy motherf***er that creepies out the creepy things that hide in darkness. Your the nightmare that nightmares have. You the one as a Gloom Stalker that the Whisper Bard, Shadow Sorceror, Evil blooded Divine Soul, Grave/Death cleric, and Great Old Ones/Internal Warlocks gets creeped out by.

You the one that the all powerful Drow Matrcharch doesn't even know is there until she feels your breath on her neck, but unlike an assassin, you don't kill her quickly, you make her death an example to other Drow that prey on your Elven home lands.

 

[Charles Rampant]

I see Gloom Stalker having great potential, I mean your the creepy motherf***er that creepies out the creepy things that hide in darkness. Your the nightmare that nightmares have. You the one as a Gloom Stalker that the Whisper Bard, Shadow Sorceror, Evil blooded Divine Soul, Grave/Death cleric, and Great Old Ones/Internal Warlocks gets creeped out by.

You the one that the all powerful Drow Matrcharch doesn't even know is there until she feels your breath on her neck, but unlike an assassin, you don't kill her quickly, you make her death an example to other Drow that prey on your Elven home lands.

I feel like you just described an NPC, not a PC class, really.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Introducing the Gloom Stalker! He sneaks into parties uninvited and bemoans how the world sucks and no one loves him!