I am planning to play a Dwarf Ranger in an upcoming Forgotten Realms campaign.  It just has a character concept that's perfect for the campaign.

The idea is to make him a STR based Hunter Ranger that uses a 2 handed Maul (shaped like a Tesubo) with a focus on melee and exploration and less on spellcasting (and tree hugging).

I have no specific ideas for a build except I want to get ranger to level 11 to get the whirlwind attack. So unless I find out a good reason not to I'll probably just go pure ranger up to level 11 to get Whirlwind attack ASAP.

This is the stats I've thinking of giving him.

STR 16 (+3) DEX 14 (+2) CON 14 (+2) INT 8 (-1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10 (+-0)

So before I create him I just wanted to get some advice so I don't miss anything.

How does the stats look?

Is the great weapon fighting style from fighter worth multi-classing for? It gonna delay the ranger progression. (Tbh honest after lvl 11 I have no problem multi-classing like mad. Also gonna need to be stealthy so heavy armour is a no go)

Is it worth skipping an ASI for the great weapon feat early on?

Any pitfalls to look out for when making a str based melee ranger instead of following the intended archery class.

Since I'm not using the beast master archetype we were just planning to use the PHB ranger but I just want to make sure it isn't a mistake not to use the revised ranger even for a Hunter?

For stats, since you're not focusing on spellcasting, I would do the following to increase your hardiness since you'll be in melee range:

STR 16 (+3) DEX 14 (+2) CON 16 (+3) INT 8 (-1) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 10 (+-0)

The Great Weapon fighting style is not worth it, especially since you want to get to level 11 as quickly as possible.  The damage increase from the style is usually pretty small.

For ASIs, I would do STR +2 at level 4.  And at level 8 I would get the Great Weapon Master feat.  Use Zephyr Strike to get advantage on your attack, and go to town.

Pitfalls?  I wouldn't ignore archery, because having a good ranged attack is still useful.

The revised ranger is more powerful and arguably more 'flavorful' than the PHB ranger.  If your DM allows it, I'd use the revised ranger.

I love your character build.

Personally I would stay away from revised ranger myself.

I would also be tempted to go dual wield and use 2 warhammers, a couple light hammers for throwing, and remember you can always 2 hand a warhammer for the whirlwind. 

And colossus slayer, especially with dual weild, is a good pick for hunters prey

Have fun!

Quote from Jesse_DND >>

For stats, since you're not focusing on spellcasting, I would do the following to increase your hardiness since you'll be in melee range:

STR 16 (+3) DEX 14 (+2) CON 16 (+3) INT 8 (-1) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 10 (+-0)

The Great Weapon fighting style is not worth it, especially since you want to get to level 11 as quickly as possible.  The damage increase from the style is usually pretty small.

For ASIs, I would do STR +2 at level 4.  And at level 8 I would get the Great Weapon Master feat.  Use Zephyr Strike to get advantage on your attack, and go to town.

Pitfalls?  I wouldn't ignore archery, because having a good ranged attack is still useful.

The revised ranger is more powerful and arguably more 'flavorful' than the PHB ranger.  If your DM allows it, I'd use the revised ranger.

 I have considered giving him 16 CON yet I'm a bit apprehensive since a low WIS would affect skills like a perception and survival.  And even if my focus won't be spell-casting it still will affect the few spells he gets such as conjure barrage for example.

Quote from Gigaflop >>

I love your character build.

Personally I would stay away from revised ranger myself.

I would also be tempted to go dual wield and use 2 warhammers, a couple light hammers for throwing, and remember you can always 2 hand a warhammer for the whirlwind. 

And colossus slayer, especially with dual weild, is a good pick for hunters prey

Have fun!

Was thinking Colossus slayer, Multi-attack defence and of course Whirlwind attack.