At 18th level, you gain preternatural senses that help you fight creatures you can’t see. When you attack a creature you can’t see, your inability to see it doesn’t impose disadvantage on your attack rolls against it.
Also, as long as you aren’t blinded or defended, creatures within 30 feet of you can not gain advantage on attack rolls against you.
Feel like this is still pretty weak for an 18th feature.
I would still add in the special sense protection.
You are gaining senses here so getting a protection from a special sense doesn’t really fit - maybe put that with vanish to make it stronger?
How about this? Super over powered in my opinion, but probably more along the lines what most of you want
Feral Senses
At 18th level, you gain preternatural senses that help you fight creatures you can’t see. Being unable to see a creature does not impose disadvantage on your attack rolls against them, nor does it grant them advantage on attack rolls against you, even if they are invisible. Moreover, if you are not blinded or defended a creature can not hide or be hidden from you while they are within 30 feet of you.
I was actually happy with your original version with this I think it’s too strong but might be ok if the hidden distance was shrunk to 10’ that is close enough to jump out and attack in melee. If its 30’ away they could use thrown missiles and you would detect them coming out of hiding to throw as well as if they charged to melee. At 10’ you detect the charge but not the thrown weapon and beyond 30 you don’t detect the ranged weapon attacks. Not quite spidersense but really a decent dangersense.
I like the advantage on attack rolls but your still limited to 4(max) out of 13. Granted you can probably make sure you have the main you’ll need between session zero and later clues but cutting down the list or increasing the number would be nice.
3 max. And by now you know I’m biased anyway. That is a LOT of punch to have against anything, let alone three major creature types in the game. In my mind, the moment you gain the ability to change a favored enemy, it ceases to be a favored enemy, which makes zero sense in my head. If that is what people want, just give them something else and rename it. Or just say f$&@ it and add “You can replace one favored enemy with a new one whenever you finish a long rest.” Or something silly like that.
It’s 4 max since one could actually be the 2 humanoids. Also with the TWF it wasn’t clear just how many attacks you could actually get at L5+ it read like it could actually be as many as 5 - bonus action possibly and the main and off hand on both attacks for the attack action. Could you clear that up please frank
You can take two humanoids each time. So as many as 6 humanoids total.
Younget additiaonl attack when two weapon fighting, like normal. Just doesn’t consume the bonus. So we can add a “…once on your turn…” kind of phrase.
So upto 6 humanoids, upto 3 monster types or some mix of the 2 for numbers so no attack on the bonus action but at L5 + you could, with the “ once on your turn” do 3 attacks and do 4 if it was left out - correct? ( just trying to make sure the text says what we intend so our RAW is also our RAI)
My thought is the number if attacks is the same as it is now. The only difference is the remove of the bonus action cost to make the attack with the “off hand”. No matter how many attacks you can take on a turn, even with action surge, TWF only adds one additional attack.
With Feral Senses as long as it both negates your disadvantage and the melee foe’s advantage your actually in really good shape. It doesn’t need anything more really but the 10’ vs hide is not OP while 30’ might be.
I like the advantage on attack rolls but your still limited to 4(max) out of 13. Granted you can probably make sure you have the main you’ll need between session zero and later clues but cutting down the list or increasing the number would be nice.
3 max. And by now you know I’m biased anyway. That is a LOT of punch to have against anything, let alone three major creature types in the game. In my mind, the moment you gain the ability to change a favored enemy, it ceases to be a favored enemy, which makes zero sense in my head. If that is what people want, just give them something else and rename it. Or just say f$&@ it and add “You can replace one favored enemy with a new one whenever you finish a long rest.” Or something silly like that.
It’s 4 max since one could actually be the 2 humanoids. Also with the TWF it wasn’t clear just how many attacks you could actually get at L5+ it read like it could actually be as many as 5 - bonus action possibly and the main and off hand on both attacks for the attack action. Could you clear that up please frank
You can take two humanoids each time. So as many as 6 humanoids total.
Younget additiaonl attack when two weapon fighting, like normal. Just doesn’t consume the bonus. So we can add a “…once on your turn…” kind of phrase.
So upto 6 humanoids, upto 3 monster types or some mix of the 2 for numbers so no attack on the bonus action but at L5 + you could, with the “ once on your turn” do 3 attacks and do 4 if it was left out - correct? ( just trying to make sure the text says what we intend so our RAW is also our RAI)
My thought is the number if attacks is the same as it is now. The only difference is the remove of the bonus action cost to make the attack with the “off hand”. No matter how many attacks you can take on a turn, even with action surge, TWF only adds one additional attack.
That is fine with me I just wanted the language and intent clear - so at L5 you get a bonus action (HM?) and 3 attacks - the 2 from TWF and the extra attack all with the extra HM damage if they hit - looks good.
I like the advantage on attack rolls but your still limited to 4(max) out of 13. Granted you can probably make sure you have the main you’ll need between session zero and later clues but cutting down the list or increasing the number would be nice.
3 max. And by now you know I’m biased anyway. That is a LOT of punch to have against anything, let alone three major creature types in the game. In my mind, the moment you gain the ability to change a favored enemy, it ceases to be a favored enemy, which makes zero sense in my head. If that is what people want, just give them something else and rename it. Or just say f$&@ it and add “You can replace one favored enemy with a new one whenever you finish a long rest.” Or something silly like that.
It’s 4 max since one could actually be the 2 humanoids. Also with the TWF it wasn’t clear just how many attacks you could actually get at L5+ it read like it could actually be as many as 5 - bonus action possibly and the main and off hand on both attacks for the attack action. Could you clear that up please frank
You can take two humanoids each time. So as many as 6 humanoids total.
Younget additiaonl attack when two weapon fighting, like normal. Just doesn’t consume the bonus. So we can add a “…once on your turn…” kind of phrase.
So upto 6 humanoids, upto 3 monster types or some mix of the 2 for numbers so no attack on the bonus action but at L5 + you could, with the “ once on your turn” do 3 attacks and do 4 if it was left out - correct? ( just trying to make sure the text says what we intend so our RAW is also our RAI)
My thought is the number if attacks is the same as it is now. The only difference is the remove of the bonus action cost to make the attack with the “off hand”. No matter how many attacks you can take on a turn, even with action surge, TWF only adds one additional attack.
That is fine with me I just wanted the language and intent clear - so at L5 you get a bonus action (HM?) and 3 attacks - the 2 from TWF and the extra attack all with the extra HM damage if they hit - looks good.
Yes! Basically at level five you get three weapon attacks, all with hunters mark.
Here’s my submission for an update to favored enemy.
Favored Enemy
Beginning at 1st level, you have significant experience studying, tracking, hunting, and even talking to a certain type of enemy.
Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and orcs) as favored enemies.
You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them, and on any attacks rolls made against them.
When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all.
You choose one additional favored enemy, as well as an associated language, at 6th and 14th level. As you gain levels, your choices should reflect the types of monsters you have encountered on your adventures.
The phrase recall information is the entirety of the problem with this feature IMO. to few people can agree what this means. its too dm dependent. some people also complain because of meta interaction. a disguised favored enemy would instantly be reveled (to the pc rolling). I don't see it as a big issue but I have had at least 1 session where i deserved a bonus and the dm took it away because I didn't know I deserved it. they just shrugged and said too late. with a good table these are not problems at an adventures league or random online game it may be different.
With Feral Senses as long as it both negates your disadvantage and the melee foe’s advantage your actually in really good shape. It doesn’t need anything more really but the 10’ vs hide is not OP while 30’ might be.
That’s actually how I run the handbook version of feral senses anyway.
Here’s my submission for an update to favored enemy.
Favored Enemy
Beginning at 1st level, you have significant experience studying, tracking, hunting, and even talking to a certain type of enemy.
Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and orcs) as favored enemies.
You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them, and on any attacks rolls made against them.
When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all.
You choose one additional favored enemy, as well as an associated language, at 6th and 14th level. As you gain levels, your choices should reflect the types of monsters you have encountered on your adventures.
The phrase recall information is the entirety of the problem with this feature IMO. to few people can agree what this means. its too dm dependent. some people also complain because of meta interaction. a disguised favored enemy would instantly be reveled (to the pc rolling). I don't see it as a big issue but I have had at least 1 session where i deserved a bonus and the dm took it away because I didn't know I deserved it. they just shrugged and said too late. with a good table these are not problems at an adventures league or random online game it may be different.
So maybe change that line to read something like: “intelligence checks for information about them …” ? That pretty much allow the ranger to get advantage on any item checks about their favored foe solving the “recall” issue.
You become particularly familiar with one type of environment after spending time in it, and are adept at traveling and surviving in it. After spending at least 8 hours in one of the following environments: arctic, coast, desert, forest, hills, open water, grassland, mountain, swamp, urban, or the Underdark, it becomes familiar to you and you gain the ability to add your wisdom modifier to any ability check you make while in it. Moreover, when traveling for an hour or more in this familiar environment, you gain the following benefits:
Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel.
Your group can’t become lost except by magical means.
Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.
While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
These abilities last until you spend at least 8 hours in a different environment, at which point you replace your familiarity of the previous environment with the new one. At 6th and 10th level you gain the ability to become familiar with an additional environment at the same time. When you spend 8 hours in a new environment, you choose which previous familiar environment to replace.
This version completely removes the "functional expertise" which ( to be fair gets more complaints than the rest of the features) and instead gives wisdom as a bonus. this is problematic for two types of builds the ranger already had. wisdom dumpers and intelligence check manipulators. with phb i could build a ranger that dumps wisdom and only take spells that use dex. this allows me to put those extra points into intelligence strength or charisma. with double prof and possibly advantage (also spells and pets) I could cover for my low wis and hope to succeed on checks or at least perform well under known conditions . Intelligence works kind of the same way The question is what do you want to be good at and what do you want ok chances with.
unclear definitions of what terrain is what is still a big part of the problem. also note how "terrain" and "biome" seem to be intermixed. This is why urban makes zero sense to me(not to mention slightly off for narrative theming). terrain in a urban environment is either flat streets or rooftops
Here’s my submission for an update to favored enemy.
Favored Enemy
Beginning at 1st level, you have significant experience studying, tracking, hunting, and even talking to a certain type of enemy.
Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and orcs) as favored enemies.
You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them, and on any attacks rolls made against them.
When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all.
You choose one additional favored enemy, as well as an associated language, at 6th and 14th level. As you gain levels, your choices should reflect the types of monsters you have encountered on your adventures.
The phrase recall information is the entirety of the problem with this feature IMO. to few people can agree what this means. its too dm dependent. some people also complain because of meta interaction. a disguised favored enemy would instantly be reveled (to the pc rolling). I don't see it as a big issue but I have had at least 1 session where i deserved a bonus and the dm took it away because I didn't know I deserved it. they just shrugged and said too late. with a good table these are not problems at an adventures league or random online game it may be different.
So maybe change that line to read something like: “intelligence checks for information about them …” ? That pretty much allow the ranger to get advantage on any item checks about their favored foe solving the “recall” issue.
is poison harvesting using information even though its a physical skill not just information? I say yes many dms say no. is an investigation? what about discerning illusions? I say your knowledge gives you a boon other people don't.
With Feral Senses as long as it both negates your disadvantage and the melee foe’s advantage your actually in really good shape. It doesn’t need anything more really but the 10’ vs hide is not OP while 30’ might be.
Starting at 10th level, you can try to hide without needing any obscurement by pressing yourself up against any naturally occurring surface, such as a tree, rocky surface, or even the ground, that is at least as tall and wide as you are. When hidden this way, you can not move or take any actions or reactions.
Not really a fan of this one as a dip to rogue gets you cunning action which let's you do this and also dash or disengage as a BA.
If you add back the +10 then it's better IMO
a rogue needs obscurement or another feature to actually hide.
my re-write and basically how I run it now(I believe mine changes nothing from current raw just cleans it up.)
Hide in plain sight.
You may spend 1 minute crafting a camouflaged suit to match a surface texture. you must be carrying or collect materials to make a reasonable approximation of that surface. while you are wearing that suit you can press against a surface of that same texture and slow your body functions to remain hidden even without any other securement. this grants a +10 to stealth checks and tremorsense and blindsight provide no bonus to detecting you while hidden. This may be used in combat as long as you are not seen Or perceived directly when you take the hide action.
I still think a temporary spell is the way to fix terrain or foe quantity issues.
2nd level spell. NO concentration. NOT a ritual . target self. divination magic. Ranger only (and bards?) For 1 hour you gain insight into a terrain or Foe: choose one benefit
Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select One race of humanoid (such as gnolls and orcs) as favored enemies.
You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks which they are the target or originator .
Choose one type of favored terrain: arctic, coast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain, swamp, or the Underdark. When you make an Intelligence or Wisdom check about a creature, lore, or material originating from that terrain, your proficiency bonus is doubled if you are using a skill that you’re proficient in.
While traveling for an hour or more in your favored terrain, you gain the following benefits:
Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel.
Your group can’t become lost except by magical means.
Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.
While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
I don’t like using a spell for favored enemy and terrain - as a ranger you have so few spells to begin with having to use 2 of those known spots for features that are the core to the class seems to be cutting out features that should be part And available to every ranger even if they aren’t a “mountain man” type. One other thing I would do is add “urban” to the list of terrains. As I suggested earlier the foes list could be shrunk down to about 10 from the present 13 (+assorted humanoids). Beasts (maybe along with, plants, oozes and monstrosities) could be moved into the terrain checks leaving you with humanoids, undead, abberations, Fey, Dragons, fiends/celestials ( either but not both - there are evil rangers after all), giants and constructs. Getting 3 (or 4 with 2 humanoids) from the shortened list should set up the vast majority of rangers in the vast majority of campaigns if they pay attention to session 0 and the DM’s clues. of the humanoids there really only 5I can think of for the surface or underdark that should considered: Surface - humans, elves(including drow), goblinoids, gnolls and orcs Underdark: elves (Drow), duregar, snirveblin, goblinoids, and Orcs
I still think adding urban is a mistake because it propagates the ideas that the bonus's of the surrounding terrain (or items moved from other terrains) do not count in a city.
Think about it do you really "travel" in urban environments to get the bonus's assigned to terrain. If you aren't traveling you loose like half the benefits.
how about a bonus to foraging in the urban environment. ( a hobo ranger feels wrong but might work. )
what about survival: tracking foot prints only last so long (or don't even exist) instead you might to investigation checks or possibly perception.
what about desert rangers in a wild west town or swamp rangers in a hut village. to their abilities suddenly turn off when entering city limits.
if the intent is that urban is a separate terrain it needs to be cleaned up and explained.
as for the spell....... you still have normal terrains. as far as i can tell not every ranger player needs the additional terrains. (many people function just fine without it) it also could be added as a free one to every ranger as part of the new class. there are also spell scrolls.
I was trying to take a minimalist change approach kind of like what was originally suggested with the beastmaster """"fix""""" By adding new custom creatures with exceptions to the general rule it means less has to change or be analyzed for balance purposes.
I ran a campaign entirely set in a city and I just ruled that the Rangers Favored terrain (coasts) applied to the city since it was on the coast. It was fun. It didn't break the game, the Ranger player felt useful the whole way through. It was overall a great experience.
Ok first of all yes urban needs some definition but while some standard terrains like Envoy’s port city campaign can be played without problems his king’s assassin might have done better with an urban terrain than three non-urban terrains, or not. To me urban is a large city places like Waterdeep, Shade, Suizail, Zhentil Keep, and Calimport would qualify. Some place like Shadowdale, Scarsdale perhaps even Yhaunn would not. second, I play woodsy, robinhood/Aragorn/mountain man style rangers regularly and losing those iconic features from the class would really p**s me off. They are a significant part of what I love about rangers (in case you couldn’t tell 😁). Rather than simply accepting that the exploration and travel leg is gone never to return (and to me that is what turning them into spell means since no one - even the ranger is going to take them) I would like to bring it back and revised/updated/exploration improved ranger effectively has to be a big part of that. So to turning them into spells not only NO but HELL NO!
I respect your opinions on most stuff here but on this I think you are absolutely off the target.
Ok first of all yes urban needs some definition but while some standard terrains like Envoy’s port city campaign can be played without problems his king’s assassin might have done better with an urban terrain than three non-urban terrains, or not. To me urban is a large city places like Waterdeep, Shade, Suizail, Zhentil Keep, and Calimport would qualify. Some place like Shadowdale, Scarsdale perhaps even Yhaunn would not. second, I play woodsy, robinhood/Aragorn/mountain man style rangers regularly and losing those iconic features from the class would really p**s me off. They are a significant part of what I love about rangers (in case you couldn’t tell 😁). Rather than simply accepting that the exploration and travel leg is gone never to return (and to me that is what turning them into spell means since no one - even the ranger is going to take them) I would like to bring it back and revised/updated/exploration improved ranger effectively has to be a big part of that. So to turning them into spells not only NO but HELL NO!
I respect your opinions on most stuff here but on this I think you are absolutely off the target.
opinion may not be fact: none of the terrain mechanics directly relate to urban enviroments. even sewers you are really looking at swamp mechanics. the mushrooms that grow there came from a real terrain(probably swamp but maybe the local one). understanding how walking in water for long periods is either swamp or coast. A fruit tree in a city is actually a "forest terrain" plant. a small field of grass on an estate is grassland. the birds could be from any terrain. tracking across slate roofs would be mountain but a grass roof would not.
for the spell
I am not saying take away the terrain keep them part of the base class. IF 5e makes tashas options the 5.5 default (no terrain or enemies) I would quit 5e and go play something else. (I am actually quite fond of some PBTA rpg stuff). However adressing the need some people have to get them all or are stuck with "unusable" ones is also a real concern for some players.
my solution: IF a ranger needs an option that they dont have(a desert ranger in the forest) the best mode is to make a system for their nature magic to allow temoraraly "'"attuning"" to the the new one. hence make it a spell that takes a resource to get the benifit and carries the narative weight of suddenly learning a "new ecosystem"
solution 2:it could also be done by a feat that grants an extra terrain but that seems a bigger waste than a slot and possibly a known spell(1) .
solution 3: maybe if when you cast primal awareness the terrain you are in becomes a favored terrain for a while and then sensing the terrain directly leads to checks to detirmine things like rough numbers or direction of creatures.
solution 4: something i havent thought of.convinve me.
Ok first of all yes urban needs some definition but while some standard terrains like Envoy’s port city campaign can be played without problems his king’s assassin might have done better with an urban terrain than three non-urban terrains, or not.
I am assuming you are refering to the rangers aprentice series. I must say I started reading it after you recomended and enjoy the series.
..........but my library has been slow due to holds so I am not at the kings assasin yet.so I cant speak to how it mechanically relates to 5e builds.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I was actually happy with your original version with this I think it’s too strong but might be ok if the hidden distance was shrunk to 10’ that is close enough to jump out and attack in melee. If its 30’ away they could use thrown missiles and you would detect them coming out of hiding to throw as well as if they charged to melee. At 10’ you detect the charge but not the thrown weapon and beyond 30 you don’t detect the ranged weapon attacks. Not quite spidersense but really a decent dangersense.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
My thought is the number if attacks is the same as it is now. The only difference is the remove of the bonus action cost to make the attack with the “off hand”. No matter how many attacks you can take on a turn, even with action surge, TWF only adds one additional attack.
With Feral Senses as long as it both negates your disadvantage and the melee foe’s advantage your actually in really good shape. It doesn’t need anything more really but the 10’ vs hide is not OP while 30’ might be.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
That is fine with me I just wanted the language and intent clear - so at L5 you get a bonus action (HM?) and 3 attacks - the 2 from TWF and the extra attack all with the extra HM damage if they hit - looks good.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Yes! Basically at level five you get three weapon attacks, all with hunters mark.
The phrase recall information is the entirety of the problem with this feature IMO. to few people can agree what this means. its too dm dependent. some people also complain because of meta interaction. a disguised favored enemy would instantly be reveled (to the pc rolling). I don't see it as a big issue but I have had at least 1 session where i deserved a bonus and the dm took it away because I didn't know I deserved it. they just shrugged and said too late. with a good table these are not problems at an adventures league or random online game it may be different.
That’s actually how I run the handbook version of feral senses anyway.
So maybe change that line to read something like: “intelligence checks for information about them …” ? That pretty much allow the ranger to get advantage on any item checks about their favored foe solving the “recall” issue.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
This version completely removes the "functional expertise" which ( to be fair gets more complaints than the rest of the features) and instead gives wisdom as a bonus. this is problematic for two types of builds the ranger already had. wisdom dumpers and intelligence check manipulators. with phb i could build a ranger that dumps wisdom and only take spells that use dex. this allows me to put those extra points into intelligence strength or charisma. with double prof and possibly advantage (also spells and pets) I could cover for my low wis and hope to succeed on checks or at least perform well under known conditions . Intelligence works kind of the same way The question is what do you want to be good at and what do you want ok chances with.
unclear definitions of what terrain is what is still a big part of the problem. also note how "terrain" and "biome" seem to be intermixed. This is why urban makes zero sense to me(not to mention slightly off for narrative theming). terrain in a urban environment is either flat streets or rooftops
is poison harvesting using information even though its a physical skill not just information? I say yes many dms say no. is an investigation? what about discerning illusions? I say your knowledge gives you a boon other people don't.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n42dboiQeOY&t=1207
Invisibility condition is weird vs being unseen. so i don't think it negates foes advantage. and makes the rogue one almost useless.
a rogue needs obscurement or another feature to actually hide.
my re-write and basically how I run it now(I believe mine changes nothing from current raw just cleans it up.)
Hide in plain sight.
You may spend 1 minute crafting a camouflaged suit to match a surface texture. you must be carrying or collect materials to make a reasonable approximation of that surface. while you are wearing that suit you can press against a surface of that same texture and slow your body functions to remain hidden even without any other securement. this grants a +10 to stealth checks and tremorsense and blindsight provide no bonus to detecting you while hidden. This may be used in combat as long as you are not seen Or perceived directly when you take the hide action.
I still think a temporary spell is the way to fix terrain or foe quantity issues.
2nd level spell. NO concentration. NOT a ritual . target self. divination magic. Ranger only (and bards?) For 1 hour you gain insight into a terrain or Foe: choose one benefit
You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks which they are the target or originator .
Choose one type of favored terrain: arctic, coast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain, swamp, or the Underdark. When you make an Intelligence or Wisdom check about a creature, lore, or material originating from that terrain, your proficiency bonus is doubled
if you are using a skill that you’re proficient in.While traveling for an hour or more in your favored terrain, you gain the following benefits:
I don’t like using a spell for favored enemy and terrain - as a ranger you have so few spells to begin with having to use 2 of those known spots for features that are the core to the class seems to be cutting out features that should be part And available to every ranger even if they aren’t a “mountain man” type. One other thing I would do is add “urban” to the list of terrains. As I suggested earlier the foes list could be shrunk down to about 10 from the present 13 (+assorted humanoids). Beasts (maybe along with, plants, oozes and monstrosities) could be moved into the terrain checks leaving you with humanoids, undead, abberations, Fey, Dragons, fiends/celestials ( either but not both - there are evil rangers after all), giants and constructs. Getting 3 (or 4 with 2 humanoids) from the shortened list should set up the vast majority of rangers in the vast majority of campaigns if they pay attention to session 0 and the DM’s clues.
of the humanoids there really only 5I can think of for the surface or underdark that should considered:
Surface - humans, elves(including drow), goblinoids, gnolls and orcs
Underdark: elves (Drow), duregar, snirveblin, goblinoids, and Orcs
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
I still think adding urban is a mistake because it propagates the ideas that the bonus's of the surrounding terrain (or items moved from other terrains) do not count in a city.
Think about it do you really "travel" in urban environments to get the bonus's assigned to terrain. If you aren't traveling you loose like half the benefits.
how about a bonus to foraging in the urban environment. ( a hobo ranger feels wrong but might work. )
what about survival: tracking foot prints only last so long (or don't even exist) instead you might to investigation checks or possibly perception.
what about desert rangers in a wild west town or swamp rangers in a hut village. to their abilities suddenly turn off when entering city limits.
if the intent is that urban is a separate terrain it needs to be cleaned up and explained.
as for the spell....... you still have normal terrains. as far as i can tell not every ranger player needs the additional terrains. (many people function just fine without it) it also could be added as a free one to every ranger as part of the new class. there are also spell scrolls.
I was trying to take a minimalist change approach kind of like what was originally suggested with the beastmaster """"fix""""" By adding new custom creatures with exceptions to the general rule it means less has to change or be analyzed for balance purposes.
I ran a campaign entirely set in a city and I just ruled that the Rangers Favored terrain (coasts) applied to the city since it was on the coast. It was fun. It didn't break the game, the Ranger player felt useful the whole way through. It was overall a great experience.
Ok first of all yes urban needs some definition but while some standard terrains like Envoy’s port city campaign can be played without problems his king’s assassin might have done better with an urban terrain than three non-urban terrains, or not. To me urban is a large city places like Waterdeep, Shade, Suizail, Zhentil Keep, and Calimport would qualify. Some place like Shadowdale, Scarsdale perhaps even Yhaunn would not.
second, I play woodsy, robinhood/Aragorn/mountain man style rangers regularly and losing those iconic features from the class would really p**s me off. They are a significant part of what I love about rangers (in case you couldn’t tell 😁). Rather than simply accepting that the exploration and travel leg is gone never to return (and to me that is what turning them into spell means since no one - even the ranger is going to take them) I would like to bring it back and revised/updated/exploration improved ranger effectively has to be a big part of that. So to turning them into spells not only NO but HELL NO!
I respect your opinions on most stuff here but on this I think you are absolutely off the target.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
opinion may not be fact: none of the terrain mechanics directly relate to urban enviroments. even sewers you are really looking at swamp mechanics. the mushrooms that grow there came from a real terrain(probably swamp but maybe the local one). understanding how walking in water for long periods is either swamp or coast. A fruit tree in a city is actually a "forest terrain" plant. a small field of grass on an estate is grassland. the birds could be from any terrain. tracking across slate roofs would be mountain but a grass roof would not.
for the spell
I am not saying take away the terrain keep them part of the base class. IF 5e makes tashas options the 5.5 default (no terrain or enemies) I would quit 5e and go play something else. (I am actually quite fond of some PBTA rpg stuff). However adressing the need some people have to get them all or are stuck with "unusable" ones is also a real concern for some players.
my solution: IF a ranger needs an option that they dont have(a desert ranger in the forest) the best mode is to make a system for their nature magic to allow temoraraly "'"attuning"" to the the new one. hence make it a spell that takes a resource to get the benifit and carries the narative weight of suddenly learning a "new ecosystem"
solution 2:it could also be done by a feat that grants an extra terrain but that seems a bigger waste than a slot and possibly a known spell(1) .
solution 3: maybe if when you cast primal awareness the terrain you are in becomes a favored terrain for a while and then sensing the terrain directly leads to checks to detirmine things like rough numbers or direction of creatures.
solution 4: something i havent thought of.convinve me.
I am assuming you are refering to the rangers aprentice series. I must say I started reading it after you recomended and enjoy the series.
..........but my library has been slow due to holds so I am not at the kings assasin yet.so I cant speak to how it mechanically relates to 5e builds.