I've always liked to think of a Ranger as a survivalist who relies on his abilities rather than some sort of "Druidic Rogue/Fighter." I've been looking for a long time for homebrews that put Favored Enemy and Natural Explored to good use (I've never liked seeing those unique mechanics replaced by Favored Foe and Deft Explorer). And I've found multiple amazing ideas spread throughout the community. So I have decided to start this little project. Using the ideas that the community has had, I will balance them and apply them to a Ranger who does not have Spellcasting, but rather focuses on his survival talent.
I'm also very sorry if you see any grammatical errors. English is not my first language, any correction would be appreciated.
My main objectives are the following.
Not a Skill Monkey: It's very easy to go overboard and think about giving the class a lot of Proficiencies to fit them into the all-knowing adventurer archetype from his experience in the wild. But that archetype is already taken, by the Rogue, and I do not plan or seek to replace it. What I want is for the Ranger to have its own flavor, not be the improved version of another class.
Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer: I have always liked these skills, but I completely understand your problem. They are too situational. Not to mention that, at the maximum level, an Explorer will only have 3 Favored Enemies from an entire list of more than 10. It's... Absurd. Something similar happens with Favored Terrain. My goal is to make them more useful and, if possible, provide new ways for a Ranger (a warrior and hunter who adapts and learns quickly) to add more Favored Enemies. Furthermore, these traits always characterized the Ranger and made it a more unique class.
Traits, not Spells: I hope to be able to make up for the absence of spells with new traits that cover the Ranger's new shortcomings. Things like adding a version of "Hunter's Mark" as a trait, or using the AU version of Primeval Awareness that allowed some communication with animals.
Not ALL of the magic is gone: There are subclasses that are very good at using Spellcasting or having abilities that indicate they have some magic. For these subclasses in particular, a unique Spellslots and Spells table will be added.
Start OP: I'm going to give free rein to everything I've read and imagined about Ranger homebrews. Most likely (almost certainly) when the first version of this New Ranger comes out, he will be too powerful. The idea is that the comments and opinions you give me will help make it a version of Ranger that can be played and accepted at the table, as long as the previous points are maintained. Why this? Because I know myself well. It's always been easier for me to start at the top and start reducing things little by little rather than starting moderately and then having to add things because the result is too weak.
First Questions: From the beginning I already have some doubts. And I think there is no one better than the community to answer them. What hombrew subclasses (created from scratch) would you like to see for this non caster ranger? And which subclasses do you think should necessarily have spellcasting? In the current version, none of the subclasses have spellcasting, but it's also true that I haven't added all the existing subclasses.
With what you tell me and advise me, I hope to create a fully martial ranger that can please the majority of the community. I hope that together we can start and finish this path. You can read the current version here.
I've always liked to think of a Ranger as a survivalist who relies on his abilities rather than some sort of "Druidic Rogue/Fighter." I've been looking for a long time for homebrews that put Favored Enemy and Natural Explored to good use (I've never liked seeing those unique mechanics replaced by Favored Foe and Deft Explorer). And I've found multiple amazing ideas spread throughout the community. So I have decided to start this little project. Using the ideas that the community has had, I will balance them and apply them to a Ranger who does not have Spellcasting, but rather focuses on his survival talent.
I'm also very sorry if you see any grammatical errors. English is not my first language, any correction would be appreciated.
My main objectives are the following.
Not a Skill Monkey: It's very easy to go overboard and think about giving the class a lot of Proficiencies to fit them into the all-knowing adventurer archetype from his experience in the wild. But that archetype is already taken, by the Rogue, and I do not plan or seek to replace it. What I want is for the Ranger to have its own flavor, not be the improved version of another class.
Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer: I have always liked these skills, but I completely understand your problem. They are too situational. Not to mention that, at the maximum level, an Explorer will only have 3 Favored Enemies from an entire list of more than 10. It's... Absurd. Something similar happens with Favored Terrain. My goal is to make them more useful and, if possible, provide new ways for a Ranger (a warrior and hunter who adapts and learns quickly) to add more Favored Enemies. Furthermore, these traits always characterized the Ranger and made it a more unique class.
Traits, not Spells: I hope to be able to make up for the absence of spells with new traits that cover the Ranger's new shortcomings. Things like adding a version of "Hunter's Mark" as a trait, or using the AU version of Primeval Awareness that allowed some communication with animals.
Not ALL of the magic is gone: There are subclasses that are very good at using Spellcasting or having abilities that indicate they have some magic. For these subclasses in particular, a unique Spellslots and Spells table will be added.
Start OP: I'm going to give free rein to everything I've read and imagined about Ranger homebrews. Most likely (almost certainly) when the first version of this New Ranger comes out, he will be too powerful. The idea is that the comments and opinions you give me will help make it a version of Ranger that can be played and accepted at the table, as long as the previous points are maintained. Why this? Because I know myself well. It's always been easier for me to start at the top and start reducing things little by little rather than starting moderately and then having to add things because the result is too weak.
First Questions: From the beginning I already have some doubts. And I think there is no one better than the community to answer them. What hombrew subclasses (created from scratch) would you like to see for this non caster ranger? And which subclasses do you think should necessarily have spellcasting? In the current version, none of the subclasses have spellcasting, but it's also true that I haven't added all the existing subclasses.
With what you tell me and advise me, I hope to create a fully martial ranger that can please the majority of the community. I hope that together we can start and finish this path. You can read the current version here.
All credits are at the end of the homebrew.
This is great. Definitely going to be stealing some of this stuff for my home games!