Our DM designed a very minimalist/hardcore Straud campaign. Even though it's only 5 or 6 sessions, I'm having difficulty building a character. On one hand I want to have a character that does well in and out of combat, while on the other I really enjoy the thematic options presented for Ranger in the PHB, but struggle to look past the criticisms of the class as a whole.

Hunter seems to lack flavour but can pretty much fill any need from combat to exploration, whereas Beastmaster provides a lot of flavour, rewards creativity but has serious problems that I've become aware of while researching.

I'm struggling to decide between the PHB Beastmaster and Hunter. He had us all roll 3D6s for stats and I ended up with the following:

15, 12, 5, 15, 11, 9. According to his rules, 5 is the lowest we could roll and 15 is the highest but racial bonuses can push the max to 17. Class selection was restricted depending on the stat rolls with Ranger actually demanding the highest rolls overall. I ended up able to pick any class with my rolls, but decided on Ranger, with Mountain Dwarf being my best option to meet the requirements. 

With Racials my stats are at : Str- 13, Dex- 15, Con- 14, Int- 9, Wisdom- 15, Cha - 5. Pretty strong for a ranger, and the Charisma score works well for RPing a recluse.

Here are my ideas in order of my own interest. I guess this is where I'd appreciate feedback the most. By the way, our party will consist of: Monk (Open hand), Rogue (Assassin), Druid (Land), Warlock; so no frontline character.

1) Ranged Beastmaster with Owl. It's a very cool idea but not effective in combat. Flyby would allow me to pester spellcasters and break their concentration as well as provide the help action whenever needed. It could also scout ahead well which might be very useful in our campaign. The owl also fits the setting; I guess the Straud setting is very alpine and woodsy.

2) Melee/Ranged Beastmaster with Wolf. Also cool, while fitting the setting but with way more combat utility.

3) Hunter. I'd fill the martial character roll, consistently dealing damage at range or in melee. I don't know whether to focus on Melee or Ranged, and whether to go with Duel Wield or a Great Weapon like Aragorn.

4) (*Bonus*) Beastmaster with Raven Swarm - Not official so I'd have to pitch the idea, but it's super cool thematically and does more damage than the Owl.

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply! I'm open to suggestions as long as they fit the setting, so no flying snakes or dinosaurs lol. Cheers!

I find the phb beast master "Problems" are only problems if you let them be problems. I like using an  action rather than a bonus action because of spell conflicts. I played with a tashas beast master and realized they were using their pet alot less in combat than a PHB ranger because of this. I also want to point out PHB beast provide utility that can be huge in Barovia. Blind sight(spiders or snakes), or super wisdom(owl, wolf), even poisons work On strahd(check with your dm about harvesting). As a dwarf you can even negate some of the risk involving harvesting.

There is even an argument that the beast "command rules" and  charm effects cancel out and prevent things like powerful charms(the ones that target creatures over humanoids) from working on pets.

There may even be custom ravenloft style beasts that could be acquired through out the campaign. both Original COS and the new ravenloft book Have custom monsters that a ranger could Acquire at the right time if the ranger could convince them to join his team. 

I would like to point out tashas has Options that include swarm keeper or the new beast that could be changed out to fit the situation. They are also more survivable if you find that to be an issue. 

Hey, thanks for replying!

I haven't played in the Barovian setting so I'm excited to think creatively about how to use a wolf or owl to scout, skirmish and generally aid the party; I just don't see the same variety of utility in the Primal companions. 

Could you rephrase what you meant in your first paragraph? What I understood from it is that commanding a pet to attack/action on your action and then casting a spell with your bonus action is a good strategy. You can technically attack with both your character and your companion in the same round if you use both your action+bonus action right? As far as survivability, I think I understand that pets are not supposed to engage in sustained combat and should be used a flankers to disorrient the enemy, hopefully I can go the whole campaign without losing my pet.

It would be really cool if my DM homebrewed some custom beasties into the campaign! 

Reminder A wolf who can use keen senses has A PP of 21. I find pets usually can take exactly one set of hits before going down. so survivability is possible just watch for AOE. also Check with your dm about death saves on pets. Any good dm will give PHB pets death saves because at the very least they are "special" NPC's. If you or the druid has healing it should be enough to keep from losing it permanently.

So PHB actiion economy (post extra attack) is:

Action: command the beast + "free" attack

Bonus action: Spell to enhance "Free" attack(zephyr strike, Hunters Mark, Volley )

On the custom beasts. I don't consider them homebrew as they are part of the dmg, van Rictens guide, and curse of strahd. Curse of strahd in perticular has them written in the adventure. (adventures league also has a few custom beasts/familiars)

Wow 21 perception?! I guess I really need to keep them in mind every time I enter an environment. I'll also talk to my DM about death saves, to me that makes total sense as they are essentially a party member.

On action economy - you mean that once I've unlocked the extra attack feature for my ranger, I can do what you've laid out. But... until I unlock the extra attack I can only do one attack between the two of us?

Thanks again!