I thought it might be nice to have a thread where people can share their builds for the playtest. If anyone wants to make one for Rogue and Bard, please feel free. If not, I'll probably do them too.
For the Ranger, my main goal was to see if they still had the flavor I was looking for. So I built it mostly using the suggestions they give in the document. To make it the way they envision it. My other goal for all my characters is to try out some of the more contentious feats, spells, etc. I want to see if they really are overpowered or weak. These builds won't necessarily be optimized because of that.
At first I made this Ranger a Wood Elf because it fit the theme so well. But then I realized it might fit it TOO well, and my perception of the Ranger might be skewed because the Wood Elf abilities really just enhance it so much. So I switched it to a Dwarf. I love Dwarves, and I love Rangers, and the two combined have always appealed to me. Plus, tremorsense is very cool for a scout to have.
So here's my build, planned for levels 1-5:
Dwarf Ranger, background Guide (but swapped the Feat)
AC 15 (studded leather), 16 at level 4
HP each level - 13 / 22 / 31 / 40 / 49
Stats and skill proficiencies (Using Standard Array):
Strength 12 - Athletics +3
Dexterity 17 (18 at level 4) - Stealth +7 (expertise)
Feats - level 1 Savage Attacker, level 4 Sharpshooter or Dual Wielder
Fighting Style level 2 - Two Weapon Fighting
Spells - I'll start with the ones they suggest, to see if it feels good. The only change is taking the Message cantrip instead of Thorn Whip. When I realized I could scout ahead and then silently send a message back to the party, I knew I wanted it.
I'm thinking more of how the Ranger class would build with an NPC. Especially a hostile one.
Considering that I have to add classes on to my NPC encounters in order to challenge my min-max player (who just cuts through everything vanilla I throw at him) I am envisioning an encounter where an Orc Ranger uses Hunter's Mark on the healer or spellcaster in the back row, Zephyr Strikes past the tanks, and proceeds to wipe out the squishies before the damage players can turn around and deal with it.
I mean, the current DMG does say we're supposed to add levels of a class onto monster templates in order to make them challenging, right?
Yeah, it will be interesting to see if they break the spell from other books down into their categories. Per RAW, the UA Ranger can't take Zephyr Strike since their rules specifically state that they can only take spells from the Primal Spell List. I would allow it as a DM, but I am interested to see how WotC is going to handle things like this.
Considering how DnD Beyond still lets accounts who own the old books keep playing with them as "legacy" while also adding the new stuff to their character, I assume this will stay messy.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
~not a "lazy dungeon master"
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I thought it might be nice to have a thread where people can share their builds for the playtest. If anyone wants to make one for Rogue and Bard, please feel free. If not, I'll probably do them too.
For the Ranger, my main goal was to see if they still had the flavor I was looking for. So I built it mostly using the suggestions they give in the document. To make it the way they envision it. My other goal for all my characters is to try out some of the more contentious feats, spells, etc. I want to see if they really are overpowered or weak. These builds won't necessarily be optimized because of that.
At first I made this Ranger a Wood Elf because it fit the theme so well. But then I realized it might fit it TOO well, and my perception of the Ranger might be skewed because the Wood Elf abilities really just enhance it so much. So I switched it to a Dwarf. I love Dwarves, and I love Rangers, and the two combined have always appealed to me. Plus, tremorsense is very cool for a scout to have.
So here's my build, planned for levels 1-5:
Dwarf Ranger, background Guide (but swapped the Feat)
AC 15 (studded leather), 16 at level 4
HP each level - 13 / 22 / 31 / 40 / 49
Stats and skill proficiencies (Using Standard Array):
Strength 12 - Athletics +3
Dexterity 17 (18 at level 4) - Stealth +7 (expertise)
Constitution 14
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 14 - Survival +6 (expertise), Animal Handling +4, Perception +4
Charisma 8
Weapons - Shortsword and Scimitar, Longbow
Feats - level 1 Savage Attacker, level 4 Sharpshooter or Dual Wielder
Fighting Style level 2 - Two Weapon Fighting
Spells - I'll start with the ones they suggest, to see if it feels good. The only change is taking the Message cantrip instead of Thorn Whip. When I realized I could scout ahead and then silently send a message back to the party, I knew I wanted it.
I'm thinking more of how the Ranger class would build with an NPC. Especially a hostile one.
Considering that I have to add classes on to my NPC encounters in order to challenge my min-max player (who just cuts through everything vanilla I throw at him) I am envisioning an encounter where an Orc Ranger uses Hunter's Mark on the healer or spellcaster in the back row, Zephyr Strikes past the tanks, and proceeds to wipe out the squishies before the damage players can turn around and deal with it.
I mean, the current DMG does say we're supposed to add levels of a class onto monster templates in order to make them challenging, right?
~not a "lazy dungeon master"
Zephyr Strike is such a cool, dramatic spell. Is wish we could have more things that inspiring. An enemy ranger would be scary!
Yeah, it will be interesting to see if they break the spell from other books down into their categories. Per RAW, the UA Ranger can't take Zephyr Strike since their rules specifically state that they can only take spells from the Primal Spell List. I would allow it as a DM, but I am interested to see how WotC is going to handle things like this.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Considering how DnD Beyond still lets accounts who own the old books keep playing with them as "legacy" while also adding the new stuff to their character, I assume this will stay messy.
~not a "lazy dungeon master"