I can't say I agree with that at all. I played a lot of ranger in 2e, and to me it was because they dual wielded better than fighters, and they got move silently/hide in shadows. Other than that, it was a fighter. I never felt like ranger was super unique compared to fighters; it mostly had a touch of rogue. To say that it's lost it's uniqueness over editions, I just can't agree. What's changed is the players. Back in the day, DMs just did things that they don't do anymore. We checked rations and ammo religiously back in the day. We drew maps on graph paper. I dont think I've done either of those things in 30 years. We had random encounters that DMs rolled for.
Things are a lot more narrative now. DMs build encounters that make sense to the story he's trying to tell. We don't see 1d4 giant rats anymore. And that also leads to a lack of exploration in the middle. The DM skips ahead to the parts in the story that the DM is interested in, and the players certainly are not complaining about that overland travel that they don't really care about, or the 1d4 giant rats which drop no loot of note. My current party has never once been like, oh man, I sure wish we had a ranger, and they may have not wanted the one that I played in 4e (although he provided quality entertainment).
Nostalgia for old rangers is just that...nostalgia. They were not particularly different from fighters back in the day, and the 'features' that people trot out are things that...nobody at my current table even misses.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
With or without spells ranger as an archetype is desirable and it needs mechanics that support the a breadth of the playstyles rangers enjoy at a dnd table. Not just Suvival, not just combat, not just fast pace stream entertainment, not just dungeon crawling. Just like all classes it needs to function at all levels of play.
If they don't support it as a separate entity from other classes it should be removed (a wrong choice but an honest one) support could come from spells but the track record is so poor I don't see spells being the main ranger mechanic this "edition."
I can't say I agree with that at all. I played a lot of ranger in 2e, and to me it was because they dual wielded better than fighters, and they got move silently/hide in shadows. Other than that, it was a fighter. I never felt like ranger was super unique compared to fighters; it mostly had a touch of rogue. To say that it's lost it's uniqueness over editions, I just can't agree. What's changed is the players. Back in the day, DMs just did things that they don't do anymore. We checked rations and ammo religiously back in the day. We drew maps on graph paper. I dont think I've done either of those things in 30 years. We had random encounters that DMs rolled for.
Things are a lot more narrative now. DMs build encounters that make sense to the story he's trying to tell. We don't see 1d4 giant rats anymore. And that also leads to a lack of exploration in the middle. The DM skips ahead to the parts in the story that the DM is interested in, and the players certainly are not complaining about that overland travel that they don't really care about, or the 1d4 giant rats which drop no loot of note. My current party has never once been like, oh man, I sure wish we had a ranger, and they may have not wanted the one that I played in 4e (although he provided quality entertainment).
Nostalgia for old rangers is just that...nostalgia. They were not particularly different from fighters back in the day, and the 'features' that people trot out are things that...nobody at my current table even misses.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
With or without spells ranger as an archetype is desirable and it needs mechanics that support the a breadth of the playstyles rangers enjoy at a dnd table. Not just Suvival, not just combat, not just fast pace stream entertainment, not just dungeon crawling. Just like all classes it needs to function at all levels of play.
If they don't support it as a separate entity from other classes it should be removed (a wrong choice but an honest one) support could come from spells but the track record is so poor I don't see spells being the main ranger mechanic this "edition."