A lot of this would help if spell sharing happened before 15th level.
In any case, at least for that first bonus spell, here are some possible spells I'd throw out there:
Enlarge/Reduce
Heroism
Aid
Bless
Of all of those, Enlarge/Reduce is my favorite. Not just because adding d4 damage to the beast would be a good shot in the arm, but also because making your companion large would provide some other battlefield benefits.
Re: interbreeding of Awakened beasts. That would be a fascinating experiment.
Re: other point of a world run by beasts with human intelligence, I'm not so sure. On some days, it feels to me like one of the reasons we have such problems In Real Life is Because we are so intelligent. Like how we have an economic system few people understand, or how we have lawsuits for almost everything under the sun.
Funny, I just discovered DND Beyond's message forum a few weeks ago, which was when I was also working on a spell list for the PHB Rangers.
Here are my thoughts, assuming that we make few or no changes to the base Ranger class:
The Hunter is comparably strong to the XGTE subclasses of Ranger except for lack of additional spells. I therefore chose spells Not on the regular Ranger spell list, but which manage to focus on the "protect civilization from the horrible threats beyond it" theme.
Hunter:
3rd sanctuary
5th spider climb
9th enemies abound
13th staggering smite
17th dispel evil and good
Whereas I feel that the Beastmaster requires more reworking due to the the survivability and action economy concerns made by many others. But a few more spells would be helpful, focusing on those that boost hp and resistance for the Ranger, the Animal Companion (AnCompa for short) and possibly nearby party members. Though I feel the Warding Bond spell somewhat fits with the sub-class, I also think that resistance to ALL damage is a bit overboard for an archetypal Ranger - an outdoorsy tracker and survivalist with some limited druidic/shamanic training. The boost I'm thinking of would be a non-spell always "on" ability that is just part of the sub-class. Goodness knows, Rangers get a paltry number of spells as it is (unlike Wizards and their Mage Armor). "Of One Spirit" is how I would handle the hit point and hp recovery issues that folks had with the AnCompa in the PHB.
Of One Spirit
While the Ranger and the Animal Companion are within 150 feet of each other, you each gain +1 to armor class and saving throws.
Starting when you get this feature at R. level 3, you and your fellow beast share a common hit dice pool that equals your total level + 3. At R. level 7, this increases to total level + 4. At R. level 11, this increases to total level + 5. At R. level 15, this increases to total level + 6. After each long rest, you choose how to divvy up the HD between you and your AnCompa, though neither you nor your AniCompa can have less than 3 HD or 1/3 your Ranger level + 2 HD after Ranger level 9.
If you spend dice to recover hit points during a short rest, you may choose to readjust how you divide your shared HD pool, but neither you nor your AnCompa can have less than 3 HD or or 1/3 your Ranger level + 2 in HD after Ranger level 9.
Your AnCompa benefits from your level proficiencies to all attacks and saving throws. Unless blinded or deafened, its passive perception is never less than yours. At level 8, it gains one of your skill proficiencies. If you change your AnCompa after level 8, your new companion has to adventure with you for at least 2 Ranger levels before being able to learn one of your skills.
After a long rest, you can choose both you and your AnCompa to gain resistance to either slashing, piercing or bludgeoning damage until the next long rest.
Hmmm, yes, I can see how Staggering Smite could be a bit too much in the melee direction. My thinking re: Dispel Good & Evil is that at high levels, most major threats will be on the order of fiends, elementals, giants, NPC armies or aberrations. So from that, fiends, elementals and NPC summoners are likely to be affected by this spell.
Re: Beastmaster subclass spells
I changed 3rd level to Command after I realized that Heroism is a concen spell.
I had trouble with theme of Thunder Step as well. I would have prefered a version of the spell that left behind a fog cloud similar to the 1st level spell, but that does not yet exist in official material. Being able to transport you and your animal companion to get out of a tight spot is the main intent. If Misty Step could be upcast to carry 2, I would have chosen that for 2nd level and something more mundane for 3rd level, like Fear.
@AaronWho I don't know about Insect themed spells for a Beastmaster. I mean, yes, insects are animals, but they are also physically and mentally very different from vertebrates, which images of beastmasters seem to center around. Though I think an insect-themed Ranger subclass (that sprouts wings at 15th level??) would be cool!
Ditto about time manipulation spells for the Hunter. Hunter is the most Aragorn-ish of the Ranger subclasses. While Haste matches the Horizon Walker's inter-planar doo bop a rock, I also would have just chosen Blink rather than Haste. It feels weird to me me that Any of the Rangers get time manipulation, to tell you the truth.
Nitpicky, and most probably what is meant here, but Ranger subclasses in XGTE/TCOE get additional spells that don't count against spells known, not extended / expanded spells on their spell list.
Nitpicky, and most probably what is meant here, but Ranger subclasses in XGTE/TCOE get additional spells that don't count against spells known, not extended / expanded spells on their spell list.
Yeah, the intention is to match what Xanthar's does, hoping that the new Drakewarden get updated with a spell list, makes no sense not to give them one
A lot of this would help if spell sharing happened before 15th level.
In any case, at least for that first bonus spell, here are some possible spells I'd throw out there:
Of all of those, Enlarge/Reduce is my favorite. Not just because adding d4 damage to the beast would be a good shot in the arm, but also because making your companion large would provide some other battlefield benefits.
Re: interbreeding of Awakened beasts. That would be a fascinating experiment.
Re: other point of a world run by beasts with human intelligence, I'm not so sure. On some days, it feels to me like one of the reasons we have such problems In Real Life is Because we are so intelligent. Like how we have an economic system few people understand, or how we have lawsuits for almost everything under the sun.
Funny, I just discovered DND Beyond's message forum a few weeks ago, which was when I was also working on a spell list for the PHB Rangers.
Here are my thoughts, assuming that we make few or no changes to the base Ranger class:
The Hunter is comparably strong to the XGTE subclasses of Ranger except for lack of additional spells. I therefore chose spells Not on the regular Ranger spell list, but which manage to focus on the "protect civilization from the horrible threats beyond it" theme.
Hunter:
3rd sanctuary
5th spider climb
9th enemies abound
13th staggering smite
17th dispel evil and good
Whereas I feel that the Beastmaster requires more reworking due to the the survivability and action economy concerns made by many others. But a few more spells would be helpful, focusing on those that boost hp and resistance for the Ranger, the Animal Companion (AnCompa for short) and possibly nearby party members. Though I feel the Warding Bond spell somewhat fits with the sub-class, I also think that resistance to ALL damage is a bit overboard for an archetypal Ranger - an outdoorsy tracker and survivalist with some limited druidic/shamanic training. The boost I'm thinking of would be a non-spell always "on" ability that is just part of the sub-class. Goodness knows, Rangers get a paltry number of spells as it is (unlike Wizards and their Mage Armor). "Of One Spirit" is how I would handle the hit point and hp recovery issues that folks had with the AnCompa in the PHB.
Of One Spirit
While the Ranger and the Animal Companion are within 150 feet of each other, you each gain +1 to armor class and saving throws.
Starting when you get this feature at R. level 3, you and your fellow beast share a common hit dice pool that equals your total level + 3. At R. level 7, this increases to total level + 4. At R. level 11, this increases to total level + 5. At R. level 15, this increases to total level + 6. After each long rest, you choose how to divvy up the HD between you and your AnCompa, though neither you nor your AniCompa can have less than 3 HD or 1/3 your Ranger level + 2 HD after Ranger level 9.
If you spend dice to recover hit points during a short rest, you may choose to readjust how you divide your shared HD pool, but neither you nor your AnCompa can have less than 3 HD or or 1/3 your Ranger level + 2 in HD after Ranger level 9.
Your AnCompa benefits from your level proficiencies to all attacks and saving throws. Unless blinded or deafened, its passive perception is never less than yours. At level 8, it gains one of your skill proficiencies. If you change your AnCompa after level 8, your new companion has to adventure with you for at least 2 Ranger levels before being able to learn one of your skills.
After a long rest, you can choose both you and your AnCompa to gain resistance to either slashing, piercing or bludgeoning damage until the next long rest.
Beastmaster
3rd command
5th aid
9th thunder step
13th find greater steed
17th circle of power
What do you all think?
I have my list made up here, https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/ranger/6664-revised-ranger?page=5, see post #90. it also has a lot of work on a Revised Ranger starting with the post above and below
As for your list:
3rd sanctuary, kind of an odd choice, I guess from a protection standpoint, but not very Hunter
5th spider climb, interesting choice
9th enemies abound, kinda weird to me
13th staggering smite, not a fan of giving them Smites that only work with melee builds, a lot of Rangers are ranged
Beastmaster
3rd heroism, weird and uses your concentration, so now your pet is also ruining your Hunters Mark
5th aid, ok, but without being able to cast spells above 5th, and how slow the Ranger spellcasting grows, this becomes really useless really fast
9th thunder step, not very thematic
13th find greater steed, might be ok
17th circle of power, interesting, I see where that could help you and your pet
17th dispel evil and good, kind of interesting, but again, not particularly thematic
Re: Hunter subclass spells
Hmmm, yes, I can see how Staggering Smite could be a bit too much in the melee direction. My thinking re: Dispel Good & Evil is that at high levels, most major threats will be on the order of fiends, elementals, giants, NPC armies or aberrations. So from that, fiends, elementals and NPC summoners are likely to be affected by this spell.
Re: Beastmaster subclass spells
I changed 3rd level to Command after I realized that Heroism is a concen spell.
I had trouble with theme of Thunder Step as well. I would have prefered a version of the spell that left behind a fog cloud similar to the 1st level spell, but that does not yet exist in official material. Being able to transport you and your animal companion to get out of a tight spot is the main intent. If Misty Step could be upcast to carry 2, I would have chosen that for 2nd level and something more mundane for 3rd level, like Fear.
@AaronWho I don't know about Insect themed spells for a Beastmaster. I mean, yes, insects are animals, but they are also physically and mentally very different from vertebrates, which images of beastmasters seem to center around. Though I think an insect-themed Ranger subclass (that sprouts wings at 15th level??) would be cool!
Ditto about time manipulation spells for the Hunter. Hunter is the most Aragorn-ish of the Ranger subclasses. While Haste matches the Horizon Walker's inter-planar doo bop a rock, I also would have just chosen Blink rather than Haste. It feels weird to me me that Any of the Rangers get time manipulation, to tell you the truth.
Nitpicky, and most probably what is meant here, but Ranger subclasses in XGTE/TCOE get additional spells that don't count against spells known, not extended / expanded spells on their spell list.
My Homebrew: Magic Items | Monsters | Spells | Subclasses | My house rules
Playing D&D since 1st edition. DMs Guild Author: B.A. Morrier Twitter: @benmorrier he/him
Yeah, the intention is to match what Xanthar's does, hoping that the new Drakewarden get updated with a spell list, makes no sense not to give them one
I could have sworn I posted my list of bonus spells here, but maybe it was in a different thread. Anywho, here they are:
Beast Master Magic:
3rd-level: command
5th-level: find steed
9th-level: feign death
13th-level: Mordenkainen's faithful hound
17th-level: awaken
Hunter Magic:
3rd-level: heroism
5th-level: see invisibility
9th-level: haste
13th-level: phantasmal killer
17th-level: scrying
The important thing for me was making sure none of these spells were already on the ranger spell list. That's how every other archetype handles it.
These are my lists:
Hunter Spells
Ranger Level
Beast Master Spells
RANGER LEVEL
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I don't think they are broken or need a fix, but I like this kind of theory crafting.
Hunter:
3rd Hunter’s Mark
5th Magic Weapon
9th Haste
13th Locate Creature
17th Hold Monster
Beast Master:
3rd Speak with Animals
5th Beast Sense
9th Conjure Animals
13th Death Ward
17th Destructive Wave