A 2014 Ranger Rework: Building the Class Around Accuracy

I was transcribing the 2014 D&D 5e classes into Obsidian and noticed that most classes seem to occupy or strongly interact with a particular fundamental part of the game's rules:

• Barbarian: Critical hits, with features that improve or capitalize on them.
• Fighter: Actions, with extensive access to additional actions and multiple attacks.
• Wizard: Spell slots, with Arcane Recovery and higher-level features that improve low-level spellcasting.
• Sorcerer: Spellcasting, with Sorcery Points providing ways to modify and enhance spells.
• Monk: Bonus actions, using Ki to perform various special bonus actions.
• Rogue: Reactions, with Sneak Attack providing a large source of burst damage.
• Warlock: Eldritch Invocations, providing a unique resource and customization system.
• Druid: Temporary hit points, particularly through Wild Shape providing an additional pool of hit points.
• Cleric: Channel Divinity, providing multiple different effects through a shared resource.
• Paladin: Converting spell slots into burst damage through Divine Smite.
• Bard: Bardic Inspiration, providing bonuses to allies' ability checks and other rolls.

However, the Ranger does not seem to occupy any particular fundamental game mechanic in the same way.
This made me think about another direction that fits the Ranger's fantasy quite well: accuracy and combat fluidity .
My understanding of the Ranger is that it is deliberately a combination of several different archetypes. It has proficiency with all weapons, allowing both Strength- and Dexterity-based builds; it is strongly associated with bows and ranged combat; it has spellcasting; it has the nature and wilderness aspects associated with the Druid; and it has some of the stealth and scouting aspects associated with the Rogue.

I do not have extensive play experience with D&D, but I experimented with strengthening several features around the idea of making accuracy and combat fluidity more distinct parts of the Ranger's identity. I may have missed some details or overlooked certain interactions, so some parts of this rework may be incomplete.

(English is not my first language, so I used AI to help translate this post.)

Favored Enemy

• Keep the original Favored Enemy selection.
• Once per turn, when you hit your favored enemy with a weapon attack, you can add one additional weapon damage die to the damage roll.

Natural Explorer

Remove the following effects and treat them as Wisdom (Survival) checks instead:

• Unless affected by magic, your group cannot become lost.
• Difficult terrain doesn't slow your group's travel.

Instead:

• During a long rest, you can spend several hours studying the terrain you are currently in. At the end of the long rest, you can replace one of your favored terrains with the terrain you studied.
• Once you have replaced a favored terrain, you cannot replace another one until you complete another long rest.
• When traveling for one hour or longer in your favored terrain, you have advantage on Perception, Survival, and Animal Handling checks.

Primeval Awareness

You expend one spell slot and use an action to connect your awareness to the primal forces around you. You choose one of the following benefits, which lasts for 1 minute.
The duration increases by 1 minute for each spell slot level above the first.
You can use a bonus action to switch to another benefit during the remaining duration, but doing so does not reset the duration.

• Primal Detection: The original 1-mile creature detection effect of Primeval Awareness.
• Primal Awareness: Your awareness focuses on your surroundings. You can sense the possible locations of creatures within 100 feet of you, or within 300 feet while in favored terrain. The locations detected by this feature are not equivalent to actually seeing the creatures.
• Primal Focus: Your awareness becomes highly concentrated. The first time you make a Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration as a result of taking damage, you have advantage on that saving throw. This benefit then ends, and you must activate this feature again to regain it.

Multiattack / Versatile Combatant — 6th Level

(Playing a ranged Ranger is really frustrating when enemies get up close.)
Once per turn, you can stow a melee weapon and draw a ranged weapon, or stow a ranged weapon and draw a melee weapon.
This does not use your action or your once-per-turn free object interaction.
If you are using two-weapon fighting, you can simultaneously stow or draw two one-handed weapons.

Hide in Plain Sight → Combo — 10th Level

This is actually a general rule in 5.5e, but it seemed like a good fit for representing the Ranger's fluidity, adaptability in the wilderness, and proficiency with a variety of weapons.
When you cast a spell that affects one or more hostile creatures, you can choose one of the affected creatures. Until the end of your next turn, the first attack roll you make against that creature has advantage.

Foe Slayer — 20th Level

I am not entirely satisfied with my version of this feature, but I wanted to keep it as a 20th-level ability. I don't think it is necessarily too powerful for that level, although something about my design still feels off.

• At the start of each of your turns, you gain a number of accuracy bonuses equal to your Wisdom modifier. These bonuses disappear at the end of your turn.
• When making a weapon attack during your turn, you can choose to use this feature before rolling the attack, but before any effects of the roll are applied, including rerolls caused by advantage or disadvantage.
• You can allocate any number of your available accuracy bonuses to the current attack roll.
• Alternatively, you can expend 5 accuracy bonuses to treat a roll of 19 on the d20 as a critical hit.

Beast Master

• When you cast a spell with a range of Touch, if the target is outside your reach, you can deliver the spell through your beast companion, provided that your beast is within 60 feet of you and can clearly hear your verbal commands.
• You can train your beast to protect a designated friendly creature. While doing so, the beast cannot willingly move away from that creature. The protected creature gains temporary hit points equal to 1d6 + the beast's Constitution modifier. When damage exceeds these temporary hit points, the excess damage is dealt to the creature normally. You must complete a short or long rest before using this protection feature again.
• You can use an action or bonus action to command your beast to take an action.