The Ranger,
Tales from Disordia Edition
Premise
Many 5e players express that they are not satisfied with the PHB version. The official play-test material so far has been largely well received, but is not yet perfected or finished.
This revision attempts to combine the previously released versions from the folks at Wizards, along with some input from my table. The main big change found is the replacement of the old Favored Enemy class feature. In it's place, we have 2 options under the umbrella ability Gift of the Wild. Only one of which should be picked by a single character. They are Martial Exploits, and Primal Trapper
Creating a Ranger
So, you know a ranger is what you would like to play. Now figure out who they are as a person. Why do they have this skill set? How did they choose this lifestyle? Did they choose, or was their lifestyle forced upon them? Where did they receive martial training. Their survival skills? Do they worship deities or commune with nature itself? Are they a ranger of the wilderness or an urban ranger? Are they a guide through nature, or natures answer to civilization? Most importantly, why will you join up with adventurers and cooperate with others? Is it the call of resources, an escape from solitude, necessity, or a common goal?
Beast Master Play notes
The Beast Master archetype of Ranger Revised is intended to be used with this class. It has one modified ability to prevent the ranger from having access to too many attacks.
Beast Master (use Ranger Revised, UA) Modification: Coordinated Attack- Beginning at 5th level, you and your animal companion form a more potent fighting team. When you use the Attack action on your turn, if your companion can see you, it can use its reaction to make a melee attack. You may not use this feature and the Extra Attack feature in the same turn.
Quick Build
You can make a ranger quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. (Some rangers who focus on melee combat make Strength higher than Dexterity.) Second, choose any of the following backgrounds: archeologist, folk hero, hermit, outlander, urban bounty hunter.
The Ranger
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Features | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Gift of the Wild, Natural Explorer | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2nd | +2 | Fighting Style, Spellcasting | 2 | — | — | — | — | |
| 3rd | +2 | Ranger Archetype, Primeval Awareness | 3 | — | — | — | — | |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | — | — | — | — | |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | |
| 6th | +3 | Vanish | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | |
| 7th | +3 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement, Land Strider | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | |
| 9th | +4 | — | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | |
| 10th | +4 | Hide in Plain Sight | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | |
| 11th | +4 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | |
| 13th | +5 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | |
| 14th | +5 | Disperse, | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | |
| 15th | +5 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | |
| 17th | +6 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | |
| 18th | +6 | Feral Senses | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 20th | +6 | Foe Slayer | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Class Features
As a ranger, you gain the following class features
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d10 per ranger level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per ranger level after 1st
Proficiencies
- Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
- Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
- Tools: Choose one of the following: woodcarver’s tools, navigator’s tools, herbalism kit, poisoner’s kit
- Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
- Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
- (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
- (a) two shortswords or (b) two simple melee weapons
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- A longbow and a quiver of 20 arrows
Gift of the Wild
Starting at 1st level, choose one of the following class features: Martial Exploits, or Primordial Trapper.
Martial Exploits
Starting at 1st level, you gain the ability to use your tactical acumen and physical prowess to achieve astounding feats of martial skill.
You gain the ability to use martial exploits. You gain uses of martial exploits equal to half your ranger level (minimum 1). You retain all expenses uses when you complete a long rest. Your Martial Exploits die is a d6 at 1st level, d8 at 6th, d10 at 11th, d12 at 16th.
You can apply the benefits of only one exploit to any given attack. If more than one exploit applies to an attack, you select which one to use.
Some exploits require a creature to make a saving throw. The DC for such a save is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier.
You gain the Adamantine Bones, Crippling Blow, and Masterful Strike exploits.
Adamantine Bones. You focus your mind and grit your teeth, pushing aside pain and drawing on wellsprings of energy that blot out the pain of your wounds.
During your turn, you can expend a martial exploit to gain temporary hit points. You gain temporary hit points equal to your ranger level.
Crippling Blow. You take careful aim at your foe’s head or other sensitive point, unleashing a brutal attack that knocks the target senseless.
When you make a weapon attack, you can expend a martial exploit when you hit with a melee weapon attack. You can roll a martial exploit die and increase the weapon’s damage by the number rolled. The target of the attack must make a Constitution saving throw. If it fails, its speed is reduced to 0. At the end of each of its turns, it can make a Constitution saving throw to end this effect.
Masterful Strike. You strike with overwhelming strength and accuracy, battering aside your foe’s defense to deliver a deadly strike.
When you make an attack, you can expend a martial exploit and roll a martial exploit die.
If the attack misses, you learn the target’s AC and can use the result of the martial exploit die as a bonus to your attack roll, possibly turning the miss into a hit.
Primal Trapper
At 1st level you are adept at using your environment against your enemies with primordial magics.
When you would make a weapon attack on your turn, you may instead call your environment to action. A 10-foot radius, 10-foot-high Cylinder centered on you, becomes difficult terrain for your enemies and normal terrain for your allies until the start of your next turn. You have a number of uses of this feature equal to half your ranger level. You regain all expended uses after a long rest.
As a reaction, you can magically Snare an enemy within the space. They take damage equal to your Trap die. They also must make an Dexterity saving throw against your Ranger spell DC or suffer a status effect on a failed saving throw. This effect ends at the end of your next turn.
When your Primal Trap die increases, you gain a new choice of Snare effect, from the chart, to impose when you use this feature.
Primal Trap Die
| Level | Primal Trap | Snare Effect | Radius |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | 1d4 | Restrained | 10-foot radius, 10-foot-high |
| 6-9 | 1d6 | Poisoned | - |
| 10-13 | 1d8 | Blinded | 15-foot radius, 15-foot-high |
| 14-17 | 1d10 | Stunned | - |
| 18-20 | 1d12 | Paralyzed | 20-foot radius, 20-foot-high |
Natural Explorer
You are a master of navigating the world, and you react with swift and decisive action when attacked. This grants you the following benefits:
- You have advantage on survival and nature checks related to terrain.
- You add your wisdom bonus to initiative rolls.
You are skilled at navigating the wilderness. You gain the following benefits when traveling for an hour or more:
- Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel.
- Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
- If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
- When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.
- While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
Fighting Style
At 2nd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
Archery
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.
Defense
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Great Weapon Fighting
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
Whirling Blades
When you engage in two-weapon fighting while wearing light or no armor, you do not expend your bonus action. You can still gain the benefits of two-weapon fighting once during your turn by making a special melee attack with your off hand weapon when you take the attack action. You can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Spellcasting
By the time you reach 2nd level, you have learned to use the magical essence of nature to cast spells, much as a druid does. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and end of this document for the ranger spell List.
Spell Slots
The Ranger table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell animal friendship and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast animal friendship using either slot.
Preparing and Casting Spells
The Ranger table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your ranger spells. To cast one of your ranger spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
You prepare the list of ranger spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the ranger spell list. When you do so, choose a number of ranger spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + half your ranger level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
For example, if you are a 5th-level ranger, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Charisma of 14, your list of prepared spells can include four spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell cure wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.
You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of ranger spells requires time spent in prayer and meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.
Spellcasting Ability
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your ranger spells, since your magic draws on your attunement to nature. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a ranger spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus +
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus +
Ranger Archetype
At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you strive to emulate: detailed in the Players Handbook at the end of the ranger class description, and in other published materials. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th level.
Primeval Awareness
Beginning at 3rd level, your mastery of ranger lore allows you to establish a powerful link to beasts and to the land around you.
You have an innate ability to communicate with beasts, and they recognize you as a kindred spirit. Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas to a beast as an action, and can read its basic mood and intent. You learn its emotional state, whether it is affected by magic of any sort, its short-term needs (such as food or safety), and actions you can take (if any) to persuade it to not attack.
You cannot use this ability against a creature that you have attacked within the past 10 minutes.
Additionally, you can attune your senses to determine what creatures lurk nearby. By spending 1 uninterrupted minute in concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell), you can sense whether the following types of creatures are present within 5 miles of you, and their general direction: aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature doesn't reveal the creatures' precise location or number.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Vanish
Starting at 6th level, you gain the following:
- You can use the Hide action as a bonus action on your turn.
- You can't be tracked by nonmagical means, unless you choose to leave a trail.
- You have advantage on saving throws against spells and abilities that would reveal your location when hidden.
Land Strider
Starting at 8th level, moving through magical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement. You can also pass through nonmagical plants without taking damage from them if they have thorns, spines, or a similar hazard.
In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against plants that are magically created or manipulated to impede movement, such those created by the entangle spell.
Hide in Plain Sight
Starting at 10th level, you can remain perfectly still for long periods of time to set up ambushes.
When you attempt to hide on your turn, you can opt to not move on that turn. If you avoid moving, creatures that attempt to detect you take a −10 penalty to their Wisdom (Perception) checks until the start of your next turn. You lose this benefit if you move or fall prone, either voluntarily or because of some external effect. You are still automatically detected if any effect or action causes you to no longer be hidden.
If you are still hidden on your next turn, you can continue to remain motionless and gain this benefit until you are detected.
Disperse
Starting at 14th level you gain the following:
- You can use the Dash action as a bonus action on your turn.
- Moving through magical difficult terrain does not require extra movement.
Feral Senses
At 18th level, you gain preternatural senses that help you fight creatures you can’t see. When you make an attack roll against a creature you can’t see, your inability to see it doesn't impose disadvantage on your attack rolls against it.
You are also aware of the location of any invisible creature within 30 feet of you, provided that the creature isn't hidden from you and you aren't deafened.
Apex Predator
At 20th level, you become an unparalleled hunter.
- Once on each of your turns, you can add your Proficiency bonus to the attack roll or the damage roll of an attack you make. You can choose to use this feature before or after the roll, but before any effects of the roll are applied.
- You have advantage on initiative rolls.
Ranger Spells
Cantrips (0 Level)
1st Level
- Absorb Elements
- Alarm
- Animal Friendship
- Beast Bond
- Cure Wounds
- Detect Magic
- Detect Poison and Disease
- Ensnaring Strike
- Fog Cloud
- Goodberry
- Hail of Thorns
- Hunter's Mark
- Jump
- Longstrider
- Snare
- Speak with Animals
- Zephyr Strike
2nd Level
- Animal Messenger
- Barkskin
- Beast Sense
- Cordon of Arrows
- Darkvision
- Find Traps
- Healing Spirit
- Lesser Restoration
- Locate Animals or Plants
- Locate Object
- Pass without Trace
- Protection from Poison
- Silence
- Spike Growth
3rd Level
- Conjure Animals
- Conjure Barrage
- Daylight
- Flame Arrows
- Lightning Arrow
- Nondetection
- Plant Growth
- Protection from Energy
- Speak with Plants
- Water Breathing
- Water Walk
- Wind Wall
4th Level
- Conjure Woodland Beings
- Freedom of Movement
- Grasping Vine
- Guardian of Nature
- Locate Creature
- Stoneskin
5th Level
- Commune With Nature
- Conjure Volley
- Steel Wind Strike
- Swift Quiver
- Tree Stride
- Wrath of Nature