When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, Archer combines martial prowess with cunning wilderness survival knowledge, and the rugged outdoorsmen lifestyle that would be expected by someone who hunts and builds over buying.  They can disappear in the wilderness, become masters of nature, focus their attention for hours on a single prey until the perfect opportunity to strike presents itself, all without knowing an ounce of magic.  The origin of a true ranger.

Inspired by Ranger originally being a fighter subclass, let's revisit that concept and condense the idea of being a cool archer from everything we like about the Ranger class into a narrative about a fighter who chooses a bow over a sword.  Note, this subclass worked out so well, it is my personal Ranger replacement at my table, and we have our own homebrew system for animal companions that both simplify and make companions more fun.
This subclass will have no spells, but instead have non-magical abilities inspired by ranger spells.  Keeping the favored enemies, I've also expanded and improved the original "favored terrain" concept for both in combat and out of combat.

- Homebrew by Cmikepro

Into the Wild

On your journey as a warrior, you found yourself drawn to the bow instead of the sword.  Hunting, gathering, using the forest & wind to your advantage is key to your survival & strategies.  Starting when you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in three from the Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival. You gain proficiency with light armor, medium armor, shields, Strength & Dexterity Saving Throws. You also have advantage on initiative rolls and travel related rolls

Detect & Cure Poison (Non-Magical Ability): As a non magical ritual, you roll for a three stage skill challenge (detecting, forging, and curing) .  

• Detecting: Roll with advantage to sense the presence and location of poisons, poisonous creatures and diseases  that you can see within 30ft of you.  You also identify the kind of poison, poisonous creature, or disease in each case. 
• Forging: Once identified, roll with advantage on forging the necessary ingredients to cure that poison or disease and its effects.
• Curing: Finally roll (without advantage) to craft & apply the cure to a creature or store it for later in an empty vile.  If you or an ally has proficiency with the herbalism kit & have the kit, the third roll has an advantage.

Hunter’s Mark (Non-Magical Ability): As a non-magical ability, you may use a bonus action to focus your attention & concentrate on a single target that you can see for up to 90 ft, and for 1 hour have advantage on Perception & Survival checks to find them. Your attacks against this target gain 1d6 piercing damage.  Every time you take damage while concentrating, you roll a constitution saving throw, DC 10, but for every successful save, the DC increases by 1 until you fail, then the DC resets.  You can do this for as many times equal to your Fighter Level until a Long Rest.

Natural Explorer

Favored Terrain
At 3rd level, You are particularly familiar with one type of natural environment that you have visited for more than 1D4 days and thus have become adept at traveling and surviving in it.  Choose a favorite terrain.  You choose additional favored terrain at 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 18th, & 20th level.
While in your favorite terrain:

• You ignore difficult terrain, and in addition, when traveling, your group has advantage against difficult terrain.
• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their size, and long ago they passed through the area.

Favored Enemy
At 3rd level, You have significant experience studying, tracking, hunting, talking, and combating a certain type of enemy commonly encountered in the wilds.  Choose a type of favored enemy: beasts, fey, humanoids, monstrosities, or undead.  You gain +2 bonus to damage rolls with weapon attacks against creatures of the chosen type.  Additionally, you have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favorite enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.  

Greater Favored Enemy
At 6th level, you are ready to hunt even deadlier game.  Choose a type of greater favored enemy: aberrations, celestials, constructs, dragons, elements, fiends, or giants.  Your favored enemy bonuses apply to both chosen enemies, and your damage bonus increased to +4.  You also have advantage on saving throws against the spells and abilities used by a greater favored enemy.

Vanishing Hunter
At 9th level, You can use the hide action as a bonus action and creatures have disadvantage on tracking you & your group by non magical means.  If you’re traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal walking and running speed. 

• You gain an Bonus Action Surge per day
• If you use the hide action in your favorite terrain, you may “Camp”, where you opt out of moving on your turn, creatures attempting to detect you take a -10 penalty to their perception checks until the start of your next turn. If you’re still hidden on your next turn and choose to remain motionless, you continue to gain this effect until you are detected. Normal hidden rules still apply, if you make an attack, you reveal yourself.

Bonded Bow

You are committed to mastering the bow, start looking for the right wood, string, accessories, and master bowyer to work with so you can make your "bonded bow," a bow made just for you.

At 5th level you may create from scratch your bonded bow, and once you have all the required materials, you and a bowyer work together for an 8 hour long ritual to craft it.  The master bowyer will work with you and guide you as you make your new weapon.  You are considered proficient with this weapon, you get a +2 on attack rolls, the weapon’s range is increased by 10ft, on your first turn of combat, you have advantage on attack rolls with this bow against creatures that have not yet acted. 

At 8th level, when you hit a creature under Max Hp, you deal an extra 1D6.

Primeval Awareness

When you reach 7th level, you add your proficiency bonus to your initiative, and you learn to communicate with animals (mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles)  and favored enemies through simple gestures, reading basic mood and intent via a Wisdom (Insight) check & the Parley with Monster Table.  You can also tell if an animal is affected by magical effects.

Charm a Monsters: Once per short rest, you may attempt to charm a monster,  you roll on the Parley with Monster Table to know it’s short term needs & know what action you can make (if any) to persuade it to not attack. It makes a wisdom saving throw against your check (deception, intimidation, persuasion, animal handling, survival).  If you are successful, it is considered charmed.

Improved Hunter’s Mark: Hunter’s Mark (non-Magical) now lasts up to 8 hours and you know their general location up to 5 miles. If the creature is moving, you know the direction of its movement.  If the creature is in a different form, such as wild shape or polymorph, you only know it’s last known general direction or location. You can do this for as many times equal to your Fighter Level until a Long Rest.

Animal Messenger: As an Action, you can use an animal companion to deliver a message of up to twenty-five words.  You specify a location, which you must have visited, and a recipient who matches a general description, such as “a type of person dressed in a specific way”.  In a day, the animal covers about 50 miles if flying, or 25 miles if not flying.

 

Survival Expert

Upon reaching 10th level, your skill proficiencies chosen at 3rd level,  double You can’t be surprised while in your favorite terrain, and you find twice as much food or water as you normally would when forging in your favorite terrain.  You also gain two abilities that you can use once per day:

• Uncanny Dodge: As a reaction, when an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can halve the damage. You can use this before or after the attack roll is made, but must be used before the outcome of the roll is determined.
• Giant Killer: When a large or larger creature within 5ft of you hits or misses with a melee attack, and you have a dagger equipped, you can use your reaction to attack that creature immediately after its attack with the equipped dagger.

Sharp Shooter

At 15th level, you've become a master at ranged attacks, and others now count on you to get the shot before its too late and if you’re hidden from a creature and miss it with a ranged attack, the attack doesn’t reveal your position. 

Steady Shot:  As a bonus action, you give yourself advantage on your next attack roll on the current turn. 
You can only use this bonus action if you haven’t moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is 0 until the end of the current turn. 
Benefits of using Steady Shot:

• Melee attacks against you until your next turn to have advantage on attack rolls
• Dim light doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged attacks
  
• You can ignore the distance penalty to attacks at long range.
• You ignore half cover while in short or long range and you ignore 3/4 cover while in short range
• You deal critical damage on 19-20 on your ranged attacks.

 

Masterful Hunter's Mark

Upon reaching 18th level, your non-Magical Hunter’s Mark ability now lasts up to 24 hours and you know their general location up to 5 miles. If the creature is moving, you know the direction of its movement.  If the creature is in a different form, such as wild shape or polymorph, you only know it’s last known general direction or location. You may do this as many times equal to your Fighter Level per Long Rest.