Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in- Marketplace
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in
What if there were a new Ranger class feature that came online around level 5 that allowed you to move Hunter's Mark to a new target without using a Bonus action? Let's say something like this:
Rapid Targeting. If the target of your Hunter's Mark drops to 0 hit points before the spell ends, you can move the mark to a new creature without using a Bonus action. You can still only move the mark once per turn.
The intent would be to get the Hunter's Mark bonus action out of the way of things like the Dual Wielder bonus action or the bonus action required by a Beastmaster Ranger to control their companion. Both of these things can already be used with Hunter's Mark, but the combo takes some time to set up, and the setup can be undone in an instant if the target suddenly dies. The new feature would come online at about the time the Ranger starts to struggle compared to other martial classes, and also around the time when there is more competition for the bonus action from feats and subclass features.
Can't that just be a feature of the spell? Would solve 1 out of 9 problems with it.
Hunter's Mark, used in conjunction with even a small amount of cheese, can allow you to do anywhere from six to eight additional d6's of damage per turn for an hour. That the spell is allowing you to functionally re-cast it for free is actually crazy, so the "limitation" that you need to functionally re-cast it is a small price to pay in exchange for functionally re-casting it.
Personally, I think Hunter's Mark is already bordering on too powerful. If I had my way, it would not be movable to additional targets - but alas, I am not one of the Devs. As such, I would not support such a change.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (original Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
Most people seem to say its underpowered!
Or maybe the problem is actually scaling. Because my own experience is that its very good at lower levels, but once you're into tier 2 or higher an extra 2d6 damage per turn at the cost of your concentration is really not a great pay-off when there are so many better concentration spells out there.
Hunter's Mark is a pretty decent spell when you first get it, but it fails to scale well as you increase in levels. Once you get to 2nd 3rd, or 4th level spells, its effectiveness compared to other options drops considerably. Even if I could move the spell for no action, I double I would use it very often when there are better options available such as Summon Fey or Conjure Woodland Beings. Mostly it would just get used as it already is by a lot of players - as a low-cost option for extra damage in easy fights or during the cleanup phase of a big fight.