This is my take on the "Dragon Hunter" idea for a Ranger Subclass and also my attempt to fix the biggest issue with the 2024 Ranger (imo), while also adding some unique flavor and features that make you especially powerful when fighting Dragons (as a Dragon Hunter should be).
This is really good, but I have a few suggestions to make it better and more in line with official content:
The smite-like ability of Hunter's enchantment should scale with the spell slot used to work like all other similar abilities.
Draconic knowledge is kind of weird. First, most of the information in the stat block won't help the party. Maybe make it knowledge of resistances/immunities, Breath Weapon shape, and which spells it can cast.
Grand Hunt Tactics should simply be: You have advantage on any saving throw a Dragon forces you to make. Currently, it gives advantage on ALL saves while you are fighting a dragon, which is weird.
Draconic Trap is overpowered. CANCELING a breath weapon AND stunning the dragon, with no save is wildly unbalanced.
This is really good, but I have a few suggestions to make it better and more in line with official content:
The smite-like ability of Hunter's enchantment should scale with the spell slot used to work like all other similar abilities.
Draconic knowledge is kind of weird. First, most of the information in the stat block won't help the party. Maybe make it knowledge of resistances/immunities, Breath Weapon shape, and which spells it can cast.
Grand Hunt Tactics should simply be: You have advantage on any saving throw a Dragon forces you to make. Currently, it gives advantage on ALL saves while you are fighting a dragon, which is weird.
Draconic Trap is overpowered. CANCELING a breath weapon AND stunning the dragon, with no save is wildly unbalanced.
Thanks for the feedback. Let me respond and explain my reasoning.
The "smite" from Hunter's Enchantment was meant to stay at 2d8 to avoid it becoming just a better Divine Smite. Like sure it doesn't count as a Spell nor does it use your Bonus Action like Divine Smite, BUT it doesn't scale. That's the only way I could implement the feature without completely stepping on the Paladin's toes. One unique thing about it though it that it works with Ranged Weapon attacks, something no Smite Spell currently does. This and the upgrade at Level 7 is to encourage the Ranger to use both Melee and Ranged weapons for improved versatility when fighting a very unpredictable foe.
Draconic Knowledge is definitely weird and is meant to be as Niche as possible but powerful when it's actually useful. I like your suggestion, though the main purpose of the feature is to let the ranger know everything that the Dragon can do.
Your suggestion for Grand Hunt Tactics is really good. That's much better wording that limits the power of the feature in a good way. Good idea!
I considered adding a WIS save to Draconic Trap but here's why I didn't. This is something you can only use for free 1 time a day, and a Dragon of CR 15 or higher can use their Breath Weapon multiple times in a fight, and potentially wasting your Capstone feature if the enemy succeeds would feel awful. Sure you could regain your use of it by spending a 4th level spell slot, but you only have 2 of those at this level and might want to use them to actually cast spells. Plus the feature requires both your Bonus Action and a Reaction, so the cost of doing this is huge. And another thing, let's be honest, Ranger is probably one of the worst classes in late Tier 3 and Tier 4, so making sure the Subclass capstone was VERY Powerful was part of my attempt to remedy that, and making it Niche and very costly was my way of balancing it. However, I'd be open to making it a Magic action instead of a Bonus Action to increase the cost a bit more. Keep in mind that outside of a Dragon fight, your chances of getting to use this are very low.
This is really good, but I have a few suggestions to make it better and more in line with official content:
The smite-like ability of Hunter's enchantment should scale with the spell slot used to work like all other similar abilities.
Draconic knowledge is kind of weird. First, most of the information in the stat block won't help the party. Maybe make it knowledge of resistances/immunities, Breath Weapon shape, and which spells it can cast.
Grand Hunt Tactics should simply be: You have advantage on any saving throw a Dragon forces you to make. Currently, it gives advantage on ALL saves while you are fighting a dragon, which is weird.
Draconic Trap is overpowered. CANCELING a breath weapon AND stunning the dragon, with no save is wildly unbalanced.
Draconic Knowledge is definitely weird and is meant to be as Niche as possible but powerful when it's actually useful. I like your suggestion, though the main purpose of the feature is to let the ranger know everything that the Dragon can do.
If you know their immunities, spells, and breath weapon shape, that's basically everything you need to know, apart from legendary actions, which I think should stay as a surprise. Knowing damage and HP is unimmersive and would kind of ruin the fun. Take this scenario: The dragon has been doing a TON of damage to the party. If you don't know the dragon's stat block, you'll think "This is a tough fight, we've been taking a bunch of damage." If you know the enemy's stat block, you might think "The dragon has been getting above average damage almost every attack, I think the DM's cheating." Also, knowing enemy HP will likely lead to the players tracking the dragon's health and metagaming (possibly unintentionally), trying to use the perfect resource to finish it off.
Good points, I agree that knowing the HP and AC of the Dragon would be a bit much.
Resistances, Immunities, Vulnerabilities, Movement Speed, Breath Weapon damage type and shape, Traits, and Spells known. This is what I want the player to know about the Dragon, nothing else. I'll try to figure out the best way to word that if I make a Version 2.
Don't let this Ranger near a Drakewarden!
This is my take on the "Dragon Hunter" idea for a Ranger Subclass and also my attempt to fix the biggest issue with the 2024 Ranger (imo), while also adding some unique flavor and features that make you especially powerful when fighting Dragons (as a Dragon Hunter should be).
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/2631981-dragon-hunter
Check it out. Give it a try. Tell me what you think if you have constructive feedback. I hope you enjoy it.
This is really good, but I have a few suggestions to make it better and more in line with official content:
The smite-like ability of Hunter's enchantment should scale with the spell slot used to work like all other similar abilities.
Draconic knowledge is kind of weird. First, most of the information in the stat block won't help the party. Maybe make it knowledge of resistances/immunities, Breath Weapon shape, and which spells it can cast.
Grand Hunt Tactics should simply be: You have advantage on any saving throw a Dragon forces you to make. Currently, it gives advantage on ALL saves while you are fighting a dragon, which is weird.
Draconic Trap is overpowered. CANCELING a breath weapon AND stunning the dragon, with no save is wildly unbalanced.
Thanks for the feedback. Let me respond and explain my reasoning.
If you know their immunities, spells, and breath weapon shape, that's basically everything you need to know, apart from legendary actions, which I think should stay as a surprise. Knowing damage and HP is unimmersive and would kind of ruin the fun. Take this scenario: The dragon has been doing a TON of damage to the party. If you don't know the dragon's stat block, you'll think "This is a tough fight, we've been taking a bunch of damage." If you know the enemy's stat block, you might think "The dragon has been getting above average damage almost every attack, I think the DM's cheating." Also, knowing enemy HP will likely lead to the players tracking the dragon's health and metagaming (possibly unintentionally), trying to use the perfect resource to finish it off.
Good points, I agree that knowing the HP and AC of the Dragon would be a bit much.
Resistances, Immunities, Vulnerabilities, Movement Speed, Breath Weapon damage type and shape, Traits, and Spells known. This is what I want the player to know about the Dragon, nothing else. I'll try to figure out the best way to word that if I make a Version 2.