Table of Contents
The Alerion Ranger
Class Introduction -------------------------------------------------------3 Class Table ----------------------------------------------------------------4 Class Features ----------------------------------------------------------5-7
Ranger Companies
Ghost ---------------------------------------------------------------------8 Marksman -----------------------------------------------------------------9 Pathfinder ----------------------------------------------------------------10 Vanguard -----------------------------------------------------------------11
Ranger Spell List
Ranger Spells --------------------------------------------------------19 New Spell Descriptions -------------------------------------------20-26
Appendices
Appendix A: Exploring the Wilderness -----------------------------21 Appendix B: New Weapons and Equipment ----------------------22
Legal Information
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document.
The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
Lady Sienna Erren's Rules of Ranging, 1745 AR
- I. Always keep your equipment, arms and armor in fighting order, and be prepared for any eventuality.
- II. Remember the past and learn from it. Be willing and able to adapt to changes in your environment.
- III. Protect the helpless and the innocent to the bitter end. We are the bastion that stands between civilization and the unexplored wilderness.
- IV. When you kill a creature, do so only in self-defense, or in defense of your cause. Do not commit atrocities in the name of justice, for you will eventually become like the very monsters you have sworn to destroy.
- V. Take from nature only that which is needed to survive.
- VI Not all beasts of the wilds are enemies of civilization. If you befriend and protect them, they will protect you in kind.
- VII. Always weigh the risks before choosing to engage the enemy. There is no sense committing to a fight you are sure to lose badly.
- VIII. Always study the enemy before committing to a fight.
- IX. When reporting what you observed on a scout or patrol, be honest and spare no detail. Your allies are depending on you.
- X. Never announce your presence while on patrol. Always cover your tracks.
- XI. If you are allowed to dictate where a battle is to be fought, do not waste the opportunity you have been given. Use the terrain and the surrounding environment to its fullest advantage.
- XII. Don't expose yourself unnecessarily. Use cover and hit the enemy from the where they least expect it.
- XIII. If an enemy forces you to fight, use every resource at your disposal to defeat him.
- XIV. Likewise, when presented with an opportunity to exploit an enemy, do so swiftly and decisively.
- XV. Face your enemies with courage and resolve. Do not give in to fear or adversity.
- XVI. When faced with superior adversaries, it is not cowardly to retreat and recollect your forces. Better to keep the cause alive than to die needlessly in a fool's errand.
- XVII. If you are driven from the field, take time to replenish and resupply before returning to the fight. Do not allow vengeance to consume your thoughts.
- XVIII. An enemy's unguarded supplies are free resources. Claim them whenever possible, to prevent the foe from successfully waging war.
- XIX. When fighting a monstrous foe, the rules of war come second to the rules of survival.
- XX. Complacency is a killer. Always complete a task thoroughly and to the best of your ability.
The Alerion Ranger
Wearing a determined expression on his face, a grizzled human in an Eyrian uniform stalks alone through the shadows of trees, hunting the band of raiders he knows are planning a raid on a local settlement. Affixing a sword bayonet to the muzzle of his rifle, he becomes a whirlwind of steel and shot, firing into the marauders before engaging his enemies in close-quarters.
A Kingsguard officer suddenly tumbles from his mount, an arrow lodged squarely in the base of his skull. From two-hundred yards away, a concealed elf lowers her bow, ducks back into the underbrush, and prepares to ambush her next enemy.
Holding his hand high, a dwarven scout signals to his companions, directing them to remain silent. At his command, the group ducks out of sight of the massive troll, narrowly avoiding its gaze. After it passes by, the dwarf motions to his companions to return to the trail and continue on their way.
Across the Realm of Alerion, rangers stand as eternal guardians of civilization, defending the common-folk from marauding raiders, savage monsters, and the threat of hostile armies. From the northern wastes of Cirillion to the southern plains of Cathadrion, the rangers of the Realm keep their eternil vigil.
Deadly Skirmishers
While the professional soldiers of the Kingsguard and the other standing armies of the world might consider asymmetrical warfare and guerrilla tactics to be uncivilized and even barbaric, the rangers of Alerion hardly consider themselves bound to societal expectations of honor and decorum. To a ranger of Alerion, there is only one rule in a fight: Survive.
Most rangers are excellent shots, capable of wielding a longbow, crossbow, or rifle with deadly precision and efficiency. Using bushes, rocks, trees, and other sources of natural cover, a ranger can easily conceal themselves from sight of the enemy, picking off individual targets from extreme ranges without drawing attention to themselves.
That is not to say, however, that rangers are useless in close-quarters. Many rangers will carry a heavy knife or brush axe with them during their travels, combining tool and weapon together in a single deadly implement. Other rangers, who have received professional military training, will carry sword bayonets to affix to their crossbows or rifles, providing them with a lethal secondary weapon in the event that their primary arm malfunctions or runs out of ammunition.
Due to the Realm's numerous magical leylines and other sources of supernatural energy, it is unsurprising that the rangers of Alerion have learned to add magic to their arsenal. Rangers can use their spells for a variety of purposes: from setting up deadly ambushes and empowering their weapons and ammunition to concealing their presence from their foes. This unique combination of stealth, skirmishing, and spellcasting makes the rangers of Alerion particularly deadly foes, as they are incredibly mobile, unpredictable, and almost impossible to pin down.
Scouts and Survivors
The only thing more impressive than a ranger's combat prowess is their ability to survive and endure the harshness of the wilds. Fiercely independent, the rangers of the Realm are true trailblazers and explorers, venturing beyond the relative safety of civilization to expand the borders of the frontier.
Rangers in Alerion are expert scouts and survivors, capable of spending days, weeks, or even months at a time away from civilization. They can navigate the wilds with relative ease, forage and gather supplies that less experienced travelers might be completely unaware of, and can endure even the harshest of the wilderness's many perils, from extreme temperatures and perilous pitfalls to poisonous foliage and hidden predators. These skills and experiences make rangers expert guides and pathfinders for those seeking passage through the perilous wilds that stretch between the realm's many cities and towns.
Creating a Ranger
As you create your ranger character, consider the nature of the training that gave you your particular capabilities. Did you join one of the Kingsguard's light infantry companies, honing your skills as part of an elite force of skirmishers and scouts? Or perhaps you learned your skills as part of a band of rangers affiliated with a druidic circle, trained in mystic paths as well as wilderness lore. You might be self-taught, a recluse who learned combat skills, tracking, and even a magical connection to nature through the necessity of surviving in the wilds.
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 two-weapon fighting make Strength higher than Dexterity.) Second, choose the outlander background.
The Alerion Ranger
| Level Spell Slots per Spell Level |
Prof. Bonus |
Features | Mark Uses |
Quarry Die |
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Marked for Death, Rules of Ranging, Spellcasting | 2 | 1d4 | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| 2nd | +2 | Martial Prowess, Swift Alacrity | 2 | 1d4 | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| 3rd | +2 | Ranger Company, Reconnoiter | 2 | 1d4 | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 2 | 1d4 | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack | 3 | 1d6 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 6th | +3 | Skirmisher's Step | 3 | 1d6 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 7th | +3 | Ranger Company feature | 3 | 1d6 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | 1d6 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – |
| 9th | +4 | Enduring Survivor | 4 | 1d8 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – |
| 10th | +4 | Fade from Sight | 4 | 1d8 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – |
| 11th | +4 | Ranger Company feature | 4 | 1d8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 1d8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| 13th | +5 | Relentless Focus | 5 | 1d10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – |
| 14th | +5 | Hit and Fade | 5 | 1d10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – |
| 15th | +5 | Ranger Company feature | 5 | 1d10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 | 1d10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – |
| 17th | +6 | Unbound Stride | 6 | 1d12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 18th | +6 | Heightened Senses | 6 | 1d12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 6 | 1d12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | +6 | Master Skirmisher | 6 | 1d12 | 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, flintlock firearms
- Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
- Skills: Choose three from Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival
- Tools: Choose two from Cartographer's Tools, Fletcher's Kit, Herbalism Kit, Hunter's Tools, or Ordinance Kit
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor and a marksman's cloak
- (a) two melee weapons, or (b) a melee weapon and a shield
- (a) a handaxe and a hunter's knife or (b) two hunting traps
- (a) a musket, a socket bayonet, and a pouch of 20 cartridges or (b) a longbow and a quiver of 20 arrows
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- One set of tools that you are proficient with
Marked For Death
(This feature replaces the Hunter's Mark spell on the Ranger spell list)
Starting at 1st level, you can use your bonus action to mark a creature you can see as your Quarry. Alternatively, you can mark a creature by hitting it with an attack roll or by studying its tracks or other traces of its presence for at least 1 minute. The target remains marked until it dies, or until you fall unconscious, finish a short or long rest, or use this feature again to target another creature.
Whenever you damage your quarry with a weapon attack or a ranger spell that requires an attack roll, you can increase that damage by one roll of your Quarry Die. This die starts as a d4 and scales with you as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Ranger table.
In addition, you can add your Quarry Die to any Intelligence or Wisdom checks you make to locate your quarry or recall information about it.
You can use this feature the number of times shown for your ranger level in the Mark Uses column of the ranger table. You regain one expended use when you finish a short rest and all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Rules of Ranging
You are particularly familiar with bushcraft and wilderness survival and are adept at surviving the dangers of the untamed wilds. Choose two skill or tool proficiencies from the Ranger class that you are proficient in. Your Proficiency Bonus is doubled for any ability checks you make that uses either of the chosen skills.
In addition, while traveling for an hour or more in a natural environment, you gain the following benefits:
- Adapt and Overcome. You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks made to navigate the wilderness, as well as on ability checks and saving throws made to identify and overcome wilderness hazards.
- Cover your Tracks. While traveling alone or with an animal companion (if you have one), you can move stealthily at a normal pace and other creatures have disadvantage on ability checks to locate you.
- Live Off the Land. When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would if you succeed on the Wisdom (Survival) check. If you fail, you still find enough supplies to sustain yourself for one day.
- Remain Vigilant. You don't suffer the -5 penalty to your passive Wisdom (Perception) score while traveling at a fast pace, and even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
- Study the Foe. While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
Starting at 6th level, you can extend these benefits to include a number of allies equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Spellcasting
Your connection with the natural world allows you to channel primal magic through your mundane herbalism and bushcraft, granting you the ability to cast spells.
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 Wisdom 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 animal friendship, 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 communing with the natural world: 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 you’ve honed your magic through an instinctual connection with nature. You use your Wisdom whenever a ranger 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
Spell attack modifier
Instinctual Casting
You have a pool of Instinct Points equal to your proficiency bonus. Once on each of your turns, you may spend a number of Instinct Points equal to the spell's level to cast that spell without a spell slot if that spell has the Instinct tag and you have the spell prepared. If you do, the spell is modified in the manner described in the Instinctual Casting section of the spell's description.
You regain all expended Instinct Points when you finish a long rest.
Spellcasting Focus
You can use a set of tools or a weapon that you are proficient with as a spellcasting focus for your Ranger spells.
Martial Prowess
By 2nd level, you have undergone extensive training to bolster your skill at arms. Choose one of the following Fighting Style options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
In addition, you can use the Martial Exploits associated with two weapons of your choice. You can select different weapons when you finish a long rest.
Archery
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with bows and crossbows.
Bayonet Fighting APC
You get a +2 bonus to attack rolls made with affixed bayonets and can attack with a bayonet using your Dexterity modifier as though it had the Finesse property.
Defense
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon or pistol in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
Guerrilla Fighting APC
You get a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls you make while hidden or receiving the benefits of at least half-cover.
Light-Infantry APC
While wearing light or medium armor, if you move at least 15 feet away from your starting position prior to making a weapon attack, you get a +2 bonus to the damage roll for that attack.
Musketry APC
You get a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls you make with firearms.
Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Swift Alacrity
By 2nd level, your speed and agility make you difficult to pin down during a fight. You can use your bonus action to take either the Disengage, Hide, or Scout action.
If you hit your Quarry with an attack during your turn, you can also move up to half your speed as a part of the same bonus action. This movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks.
New Action: Scout
When you take the Scout action on your turn, you make an appropriate Intelligence or Wisdom check (determined by the GM) to learn specific information about a particular location, object or enemy.
Ranger Company
Also at 3rd level, you choose to emulate the ideals and training of a ranger Company, such as the Ghost, Marksman, Pathfinder, or Vanguard. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th level.
Reconnoiter
By 3rd level, your keen eye for detail allows you to momentarily surveil your surroundings. While in natural terrain, you can use your action and expend a Ranger spell slot to survey the wilderness within 1 mile of you.
For the next minute, you learn whether a number of the following features equal to the level of the expended spell slot are present, as well as the approximate direction and distance to each of those features relative to your location:
- A reliable source of fresh food and clean water.
- A strategically advantageous natural position (such as dense cover or a natural chokepoint.)
- An area with major environmental hazards (such as poisonous plants, unstable terrain, or slippery ice.)
- A settlement or camp with 5 or more occupants.
- An abandoned man-made structure (such as ruins.)
- One or more creatures of a specific type, or members of a specific faction, that are native to, active within, or occupying the region.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
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.
Skirmisher's Step
Beginning at 6th level, while you aren't wearing heavy armor, your walking speed increases by 10 feet and moving through nonmagical difficult terrain – as well as climbing, crawling, and swimming – costs you no extra movement.
Further, while in an area of nonmagical difficult terrain, you are considered to be lightly obscured and under the effects of half-cover.
Enduring Survivor
Beginning at 9th level, you can use your action to give yourself or an ally you can see a number of temporary hit points equal to 1d8 + your ranger level.
You can use this action a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
In addition, whenever you finish a short or long rest, your exhaustion level, if any, is reduced by 1.
Fade From Sight
By 10th level, you can call upon primal forces to shroud yourself from danger. You can’t be tracked by nonmagical means unless you choose to leave a trail.
Moreover, when you use your Swift Alacrity feature to take the Hide action, you can magically become invisible, along with any equipment you are wearing or carrying, until the end of your next turn.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once), You regain one expended use when you finish a short rest and all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Relentless Focus
By 13th level, you have learned to maintain your focus even during the heat of battle. While a creature is marked by your Marked for Death feature, taking damage can't break your concentration on your Ranger spells.
Hit and Fade
Starting at 14th level, when you use your Swift Alacrity feature, you can make one weapon attack as part of the same bonus action.
In addition, while in nonmagical difficult terrain, you can attempt to hide even when you aren't obscured or are being directly observed by another creature.
Unbound Stride
By 17th level, you are unparalleled in your ability to traverse the wilderness. While you aren't surprised or incapacitated, you can add your Quarry Die to saving throws you make against spells or effects that would reduce your speed or impede your movement.
Heightened Senses
Starting at 18th level, your preternatural senses grant you blindsight and tremorsense out to a range of 30 feet.
If you already have either of these senses, its range instead increases by 30 feet.
Master Skirmisher
By 20th level, you have become a master of the wilderness and a skilled hunter of your enemies. You gain the following benefits:
- Your Strength or Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score also increases by 2. Your maximum for those scores also increases by 2.
- You can add your Wisdom modifier to attack and damage rolls you make against your Quarry.
- You are immune to the Poisoned condition, and you no longer suffer the adverse effects of extreme heat, cold, or altitude.