If your like me then you might think that some classes even races are just inherently good. Albeit chaotic good, neutral good or lawful good. Now I'm probably out on a limb when I say this but I've thought it would be cool to make an evil ranger. I know alignment dictates general personality and conformity to societal standards if any but I'm left wondering why a typical class such as the ranger would even tread down the road to evil causes. It has been done before, will be done in the future and it is a type that is being done right now. But I'm left wondering, exactly why a protector of the woods or perhaps a survivalist becomes a twisted pantheon of a chaotic design and what exactly would you like to include as some features for a evil ranger. For example, a drow could easily take on the mantra of a evil ranger and get away with it but I was around during the 3.5 days and almost assuredly knew that there had to be evil rangers out there. Just never really encountered one.

The idea of a bounty hunter that tracks people down for clink or a mercenary willing to show even an orcish army the fastest way through a forest are types of evil rangers I could see. I could also see a member of a thieves guild being handy in the woods or bandits and highwaymen and poachers.

A warrior who uses martial prowess and nature magic to combat threats on the edges of civilisation - who decides these threats and how to combat them? Surely the ranger at hand - what you see as a threat may differ in some jurisdictions - surly the spreading of civilisation will be a problem for some...less wild lands, less natural magic? The druids are there to watch the balance the ranger(evil) may be a little more direct...

Evil Paladins - check (But not chaotic they have a sacred oath to uphold....could it be done?)

Evil Hobbits - check (Jabba the Hutt - criminal mastermind - likes his food - just a Hobbit)

Good Drow - check (Rare and with a good story but still...)

It's a game - have fun play it how you want - talk with your DM/players and go for it....

If we apply hunting creeds to the idea of Ranger, wanton and wasteful killing could be a hallmark of being evil. Poaching too.

Highwaymen and other bandits can be equally comprised of Fighters, Rogues, and Rangers. 

Manhunters (separate from bounty hunters) could terrorize a woodland

There's lots of possibilities. Just look at some of the mechanics and think about how they could be used for evil purposes. Just the idea that Rangers are hunters and slayers of "things" lends itself well to being used for evil.

Okay, I have 2 ideas for this.

First, an amoral, or flawed hero type- like Black Adam from DC comics. This Ranger would OVER protect the wilderness. Killing litterers. Hunting hunters. Basically extremely over punishing for minor infractions.

Second, the 'anti-Ranger.' This would be the champion of civilization. Deforesting for farmland. Hunting beasts to eliminate livestock predators. Basically, using their powers to help expand cities and farms at the expense of wilderness. A druid's worst nightmare.

I'm playing an evil ranger right now. The idea for the backstory is I'm a wood elf and drow burned down my home and murdered my family, so bent on vengeance I've become a bounty hunter to hone my skills and exact revenge. So I'm working to get better at tracking and killing so I can hunt down the drow (my favored enemy) - but it is possible that the quest has left me  insane (think Memento) and I've actually already caught up with them and now am stuck hunting down people for money bc it is all I know.

I ran a campaign set in the nation of Shar in the World of Greyhawk.  Shar is a Lawful Evil society and is better known to most as the realm of the Scarlet Brotherhood.  There are strict laws in regards to procreation in Shar; effectively all breeding is done selectively to assure that the purest Suloise blood is continued.  But love happens no matter the rules of society and illegal breeding occurs.  The first arc of the campaign was the party of two monks, a rogue/assassin, cleric, psionicist, and a ranger where in charge of tracking down unsanctioned births.  The interesting aspect of all of this was the PCs all thought they were doing the "right" thing based on the structure of their society.  Sure, to the "normal" concepts of society, the Shar are evil, but to these PCs, they were Good and Just.  

Bottom line:  any class can be evil as Nurture typically trumps Nature.  A Lawful Evil PC is particularly easy to justify.  A Chaotic Evil ranger would take a little more explanation, in particular how someone with that kind of Nature survived long enough to reach Level 1 without being lynched/hung/burnt at the stake.

Love the idea of an evil ranger! I would definitely go with the "overprotective of the wilderness" idea. Seems like solitude in the wilderness and seeing how others might betray the ranger's ideals would be a good fit.

Here's 3 concepts for an Evil Ranger.

Beast Master, Swarm Keeper - A Ranger who uses there beasts to fight on their behalf, quite possibly to the death. Or a Beast Master that believes some races are equivalent to animals, using spells to control them or using animals to enslave them. Generally these would be Lawful Evil, but can easily be played Neutral Evil.

Fey Wanderer - Remember how an evil Bard works, and just play that. Use your Charm Person to manipulate people for a small time accompanied with Dispel Magic (if your dm/you are ok with Dispel Magic doing this) and Mislead f*ck up some sh*t. And with Beguiling Twist, they cant charm without maybe getting charmed themselves. Generally Chaotic Evil or Lawful Evil.

Gloom Stalker, Hunter, Horizon Walker and Monster Slayer - These 4 are very obvious for a Bounty Hunter for Hire, could possibly be only doing it so they can kill people.

Rangers aren't just protectors of the woods and survivalists. They're also skilled trackers. An evil Ranger could easily be a Bounty Hunter or Mercenary who aligns himself with the villains to track the party.

You could also have a Ranger radicalized when their hunting grounds were razed by the neighboring kingdom. They could swear revenge on all the citizens of the kingdom and go around hunting random civilians. Or trying to infiltrate the royal court to assassinate the Count who ordered the razing. Bonus points if you pair them with an eco-terrorist Druid.

A Gloomstalker is an easy assassin character. A Hunter of game may have gotten tired of shooting dumb animals and has decided to hunt down the party as an extra challenge. Or maybe they're a poacher and the party needs to protect some kind of endangered species the Ranger is trying to kill (or maybe it's a Captain Ahab/Mody Dick situation.) A Monster Slayer could have gone down the path of "He who fights monsters is doomed to become one" and gone full zealot. Horizon Walker can be an extra-planar mercenary/bounty hunter. Fey Wanderer can be a chaotic neutral tricksy Fey that just ****s with the party because why not? A Swarmkeeper could be a Dhampir or Reborn avatar of plague and disease. I think Beast Master is the hardest to make into a 'villain' because they are, by nature, inherently bonded with a beast they (should) care about. But it's still easy to make them an antagonist; if not an outright bad guy. Maybe the party unwittingly killed their beast's mom in an earlier adventure and the BM is now out for revenge.

one idea could be a ranger who is obsessed with hunting more damgerous creatures. Think Kraven from Spiderman. Using their spells and abilities to track anyone who they deem a worthy hunt. They hunt things like owlbears with only a dagger or handaxe, just for the thrill. They can be used as an npc, who watches the party from a distance, seeing them gain strength and power over time, and studying them to learn how best to counter their moves and spells. Or being hell bent on killing an ally of the party. Like a dragon of some kind.

Reach into the forgotten realms - just as their are clerics and druids of deities like Malar and Umberlee there would be rangers as well all of evil alignments - hunters gone over hedge that just live for the hunt, pirates like Blackbeard that just can’t turn the life loos, etc.