The Practical Ranger

## The Practical Ranger
Rough and wild looking, a human stalks alone  
through the shadows of trees, hunting the dire  
wolf he knows has been raiding a nearby farm.  
Clutching a spear in his hand, he stalks through the  
underbush, advancing upon his foe.

After tumbling away from a cone of freezing air, an elf  
finds her feet and draws back her bow to loose an arrow  
at the white dragon. Shrugging off the wave of fear that emanates from the dragon like the cold of its breath, she sends one arrow after another to find the gaps between the dragon's thick scales.

A half-elf whistles to the panther that is keeping watch from the treetops, calling the beast back to his side. Whispering instructions in Elvish, he points to the orcs that are closing in around them. As the ranger readies his bow, the panther lunges forward, swiping at the creatures are advancing upon them.

Far from the bustle of cities and towns, past the hedges that shelter the most distant farms from the terrors of the wild, amid the dense-packed trees of trackless forests and across wide and empty plains, the ranger roams.

### WISDOM OF NATURE
Rangers specialize in surviving the rigors of the outdoor and using nature to their advantage. Their skills reflect their place in the wild. Some can hunt stealthily through terrain, hiding themselves in brush and rubble. Some study their enemies, creating tactics to quickly subdue their foes. Others have befriended beasts and work alongside them as companions.

The unbeaten paths rangers walk allow them to find elusive knowledge hidden within nature, which takes the form of spellcasting. When harnessed, this power is can be used to command nature and and enhance combat.

### PRIMAL CALLING
All rangers are inherently drawn to nature. It is this calling that defines their place in the wild. Some rangers take a solitary approach and cut themselves off from society, often finding new homes in the fringes of the world. Others work hand in hand with civilization, acting as guides, explorers, and when needed, warriors. Rangers are often essential bridges between the known world and the the wilderness. The time they have spent in the wild hones their instincts allowing them to navigate groups through rough terrain and react swiftly to danger.

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##### The Ranger
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features |  Spells Known | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 
|:---:|:---:|:---|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| 1st | +2 | Natural Explorer, Hunter's Eye | - | — | — | — | — | — | — | 
| 2nd | +2 | Fighting Style, Spellcasting | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 
| 3rd | +2 | Call of the Wild, Expertise | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 6th | +3 | Primal Instinct | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 7th | +3 | Call of the Wild Feature | 7 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement, Land's Stride | 7 | 4 | 3 |  — | — | — | 
| 9th | +4 | — | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 
| 10th | +4 | Expertise, Hunter's Eye Improvement  | 9 |4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 
| 11th | +4 | Call of the Wild Feature | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 
| 13th | +5 | — | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 
| 14th | +5 | Resilient | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 
| 15th | +5 | Call of the Wild Feature | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | 
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | 
| 17th | +6 |  — | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 
| 18th | +6 | Feral Senses | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 13 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 
| 20th | +6 | Master of the Hunt | 13 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 
</div>

### Creating a Ranger
As you create your ranger character, consider the nature of the training that gave you your particular capabilities. Did you train with a mentor, wandering the wilds together until you mastered the ranger’s ways? 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.

What’s your connection to the nature? Do you roam the woods tracking and hunting a certain creature? Do you hunt for sustenance or for sport? Is your goal to bring back food to your village or glory? Do you roam the wilderness to root out a certain kind of enemy? Did a monster kill someone you loved or destroy your home village? Do you work alongside animals? Have you been raised by them since birth or have you learned to work alongside them as friends? What made you join up with a band of adventurers? Do you find it challenging to teach new allies the ways of the wild, or do you welcome the relief from solitude that they offer?

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#### Quick Build

You can make a ranger quickly by following these suggestions. First, make either Dexterity or Strength your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. Second, choose the outlander background.

## 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:** Herbalism Kit
___
* **Saving Throws:** Dexterity, Strength
* **Skills:** Choose three from Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival

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#### Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
*	(a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
*	(a) two shortswords or (b) a martial weapon
*	(a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
*	A long bow and a quiver of 20 arrows

### Natural Explorer
Beginning at the 1st level, you are adept at traversing the natural world. You gain the following benefits:

* Climbing and swimming do not cost you extra movement.
* You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks

### Hunter's Eye
Beginning at 1st level, as a bonus action, you can designate a creature you can see within 100 feet of you to mark it. Alternatively, when you attack a creature, you can mark the target of the attack. Regardless of how you mark an enemy, you can you use this ability only once during your turn. The target remains marked up up to 1 minute or until you use this feature again.

Once during your turn, you can make an additional weapon attack against the marked creature. You also have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect the marked creature.

You have a number of uses of this ability equal to half your ranger level (min 1), and regain all expended uses when you complete a long rest.

> ##### Hunter's Mark 
> **Lost Mark.** This rework opts out of using the Hunter's Mark spell in favor of the Hunter's Eye class feature. This allows greater compatibility with combat spells and better scaling as you level up. When using this rework, remove the Hunter's Mark spell from the ranger's spell list.

### 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.

#### 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.

#### Defense
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

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#### Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, 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.

#### Spell Slots
The Ranger table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your ranger 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.

#### Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
You know three 1st-level spells of your choice from the ranger spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Ranger table shows when you learn more ranger spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the ranger spells you know and replace it with another spell from the ranger spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

#### 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.

<div style='margin-top:20px'></div>
 
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 <center> 
 
 **Spell save DC** </font> = <font face='scalysans' size='2'> 8 + your proficiency bonus + 
 
 </center>
 
 <div style='margin-top:-8px'></div>
 
 <center> your Wisdom modifier </center>
 
 <div style='margin-top:12px'></div>
 
 <center>
 
 **Spell attack modifier** </font> = <font face='scalysans' size='2'> your proficiency bonus + 
 
 </center>
 
 <div style='margin-top:-8px'></div>
 
 <center> your Wisdom modifier </center>
 
 </font>
 
<br>

### Call of the Wild
At 3rd level, you choose a calling that reflects your  
place in the nature: Call of the Slayer, Call of the  
Beast Kin, or Call of the Huntsman, all detailed  
at the end of the class description. Your choice  
grants you features at the 3rd level and again at  
the 7th, 11th, and 15th level.

\pagebreak

#### Wilderness Spells
Each ranger call of the wild has a list of associated spells. You gain access to these spells at the levels specified in the call of the wild description. Once you gain access to a wilderness spell, you always have it known. These spells don't count against the number of spells you know. If you gain a  wilderness spell that doesn't appear on the ranger spell list, the spell is nonetheless a ranger spell for you.

### Expertise
At 3rd level, choose two of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.

At 10th level, you can choose two more of your proficiencies to gain this benefit.

### 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
Starting at the 5th level, when you take the attack action you can make two attacks.

### Primal Instinct
By 6th level, you have advantage on initiative rolls. Additionally, even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.

### Land's Stride
Starting at 8th level, moving through non-magical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement. You can also pass through non-magical plants without being slowed by them and 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.

### Hunter's Eye Improvement
By the 10th level, you act decisively to take down your foes. Your weapon attacks deal bonus damage equal to your Wisdom modifier (min 1).

Additionally, add this bonus to all saving throws made against effects created by creatures marked by Hunter's Eye.

### Resilient
By the 14th level, you have gained greater physical fortitude. You gain proficiency in Constitution saving throws.

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### Feral Senses
At the 18th level, you gain preternatural senses that help you fight creatures you can't see. You are 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 blinded or deafened.

When you attack a creature you can't see, your inability to see it doesn't impose disadvantage on your attack rolls against it.

### Master of the Hunt
At the 20th level, as an action you can regain half of your expended uses of Hunter's Eye (rounded up). Once you use this feature you must take a long rest before you can use it again.

## Call of the Wild
The ideal of the ranger has three classic expressions: Call of the Slayer, Call of the Beast Kin, and Call of the Huntsman

### Call of the Slayer
To heed the call of the slayer means accepting your place as a bulwark between civilization and the terrors of the wilderness. You actively seek out your enemies, going to the furthest bounds of the wilds to root them out.

#### Wilderness Spells
##### Call of the Slayer Spells
| Level | Spell Gained |
|:----:|:-------------|
| 3rd  | Longstrider |
| 5th  | Enhance Ability |
| 9th | Crusader’s Mantle |
| 13th | Locate Creature |
| 17th | Banishing Smite |

#### Sworn Enemy 
At the 3rd level, you have significant experience interacting, studying, or hunting a certain type of creature.

Choose a type of creature from: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and orcs). You have advantage on Intelligence Checks to recall information about them.

You gain an additional sworn enemy at the 9th and 15th levels.

#### Slayer Tactics
At 3rd level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.

**Colossus Slayer.** Your tenacity can wear down the most potent foes. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, the creature takes an extra damage equal to 1d8, if it's below its total hit points. You can deal this extra damage only once per turn.

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**Giant Killer.** When a large or larger creature within range of your weapon hits or misses you with an attack, you can use your reaction to attack that creature immediately after its attack, provided that you can see the creature.

**Hordebreaker.** Once on each of your turns when you make a weapon attack, you can make another attack with the same weapon against a different creature that is within 5 feet of the original target and within your range.

#### Defensive Tactics
At 7th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.

**Escape the Horde.** Opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage.

**Multiattack Defense.** When a creature hits you with an attack, you gain a +4 bonus to AC against all subsequent attacks made by that creature for the rest of the turn.

**Steel Will.** You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened and charmed.

#### Decimate
At 11th level, as an action you can choose a point you can see within 60 feet of you. Until the end of your turn, you can make a single weapon attack against each creature within a 10 foot radius of that point. Make each attack as normal, with a separate attack roll for each target. You must have ammunition for ranged weapon attacks.

#### Superior Defense
At 15th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.

**Evasion.** You can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a red dragon's fiery breath or a lightning bolt spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

**Stand Against the Tide.** When a hostile creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to force that creature to repeat the same attack against another creature (other than itself) of your choice.

**Uncanny Dodge.** When an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack's damage against you.

### Call of the Beast Kin
The Beast Kin embodies a partnership between the civilized races and the beasts of the world. United in focus, beast and ranger work as one to survive.

#### Wilderness Spells
##### Call of the Beast Kin Spells
| Level | Spell Gained |
|:----:|:-------------|
| 3rd  | Animal Friendship |
| 5th  | Beast Sense |
| 9th | Conjure Animals |
| 13th | Dominate Beast |
| 17th | Hold Monster |

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<br>

#### Ranger’s Companion
At 3rd level, you learn to use your magic to create a powerful bond with a creature of the natural  world. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 50 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth an animal from the wilderness to serve as your faithful companion.

Select a companion from among the following animals: an ape, a black bear, a boar, a giant badger, a giant weasel, a mule, a panther, or a wolf. However, your DM might pick the animals for you, based on the surrounding terrain and on what types of creatures would logically be present in the area. At the end of the 8 hours, your animal companion appears and gains all the benefits of your Companion’s Bond ability.

You can have only one animal companion at a time. If your animal companion is ever slain, the magical bond you share allows you to return it to life. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 25 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth your companion’s spirit and use your magic to create a new body for it. You can return an animal companion to life in this manner even if you do not possess any part of its body. If you use this ability to return a former animal companion to life while you have a current animal companion, your current companion leaves you and is replaced by the restored companion.

> ##### Variant Companion Rules
> Discuss with your DM to use one or both of the following variant rules to alter your gameplay. 
>
> **Life-Time Bond.** You start with the Ranger's Companion feature at the 1st level. The bonded creature will avoid combat and cannot take the attack or help action. It does not gain the benefits of Companion's Bond till you choose the Call of the Beast Kin subclass at the 3rd level. 
>
> **Till Death.** You do not have access to the Ranger's Companion ritual to bring your animal companion back to life if slain.

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#### Companion’s Bond
Your animal companion gains a variety of benefits while it is linked to you.

On your initiative, you can have your companion move up to its speed as well as take an action, separate from your own action. Your companion however loses its Multiattack action, if it has one. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own to defend itself and you.

Your animal companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. An animal companion also adds your proficiency bonus to its unarmored AC and has proficiency in all saving throws. If any of its abilities include a DC saving throw, its DC is replaced by your spell save DC.

Your animal companion also gains proficiency in up to two skills of your choice, if it does not have proficiencies already. Choose from the following: *Intimidation, Performance, Stealth, Acrobatics, Athletics, Perception or Survival.*

For each level you gain after 3rd, your animal companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.

Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your companion’s abilities also improve. Your companion can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your companion can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise.

#### Combat Adaptation
At 7th level, while your companion can see you, it has advantage on all saving throws. 
Additionally, its attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

#### Storm of Claws and Fangs 
At 11th level, your companion can use its action to make a melee attack against each creature of its choice within its reach, with a separate attack roll for each target.

#### Beastly Coordination
Starting at 15th level, when an attacker that you can see hits your beast companion with an attack, you can call out a warning. If your beast companion can hear you, it can use its reaction to halve the attack’s damage against it.

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### Call of the Huntsman
Huntsmens are skilled trackers and can be instrumental in the acquisition of elusive prey. Walking this path means using stealth and terrain to your advantage to swiftly take down your enemies.

#### Wilderness Spells
##### Call of the Huntsman Spells
| Level | Spell Gained |
|:----:|:-------------|
| 3rd  | Fog Cloud |
| 5th  | Locate Animals or Plants |
| 9th | Meld into Stone |
| 13th | Locate Creature |
| 17th | Tree Stride |

#### Hunting Party
At the 3rd level, you and friendly creatures within 30 feet of you that do not have proficiency in Dexterity (Stealth) checks can add half your proficiency bonus (rounded down) to their stealth rolls.

Additionally, you can take the hide action as a bonus action.

#### Honed Focus
At the 3rd level, you have a natural aptitude for precise strikes. Once during each of your turns, the first creature you hit with a weapon attack takes an additional 1d6 damage.

#### Ambuscade
By the 7th level, your talent for camouflage and stealth improves. You can attempt to hide from creatures when only lightly obscured from them and have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks when hiding in natural terrain.

#### Debilitating Strike
At the 11th level, whenever you have advantage on an attack roll you make with a weapon and hit, you can halve the target's speed if the lower of the two d20 rolls would also hit the target.

#### Hunter's Privilege
Starting at the 15th level, when you are hit by by a creature marked by Hunter's Eye you can use your reaction to make a single weapon attack against the creature. You make this attack prior to taking damage from the enemy creature. On hit, the enemy's damage is halved, in addition to your attack's normal effects.

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## Design Choices

### Base Class

#### Natural Explorer (Lv.1)
NE is simplified to ease its use. Advantage in survival makes you broadly useful in exploration, without the clunkiness of multiple passive features. Swimming and climbing are improved so that you can make better use of your terrain.

#### Hunter's Eye (Lv.1)
Provides an active core mechanic to the ranger's kit. Compatible with the ranger's combat spells and scales with level. This is solely meant to be a combat feature as NE already provides a strong exploration ribbon.

#### Fighting Style (Lv.2)
Same as phb.

#### Spellcasting (Lv.2) 
I kept the ranger as a known caster, but increased the number of spells they can learn. By level 5 you learn 5 spells instead of 3. This increase combined with Hunter's Eye as a class feature and additional subclass spells, offset the lack of spell choice rangers previously faced.

#### Call of the Wild (Lv.3)
Each subclass option represents a character's place in the wild, giving the ranger a greater connection to nature. At the 3rd level each subclass provides additional spells, a ribbon, and a combat feature.

#### Expertise (Lv.3)
Gives rangers the same versatility and choice of other skill classes. Given at levels 3 and 10 to follow the bard expertise progression.

#### Primal Instinct (Lv.6)
React faster. Given at a similar level to the barbarian's Feral Instinct.

#### Land's Stride (Lv.8)
Same as phb. Allows for greater mobility through terrain.

#### Expertise (Lv.10)
More skills!

#### Hunter's Eye Improvement (Lv.10)
Adds a scaling damage boost to the ranger's kit. Similar to the Divine Smite Improvement that paladins get.

#### Resilient (Lv.14)
Proficiency in Con saves helps reduce need for Con making you less MAD.

#### Feral Senses (Lv.18) 
Same as phb.

#### Master of the Hunt (Lv.20)
Another improvement to Hunter's Eye. Allows you to use it more often.

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### Subclasses
#### Call of the Slayer (Hunter Revised)
Similar to the phb Hunter subclass. The flavour of this subclass is now more geared towards hating a particular set of creatures. Favored enemy was added as a ribbon. Quality of life improvements were added to some of its features.

#### Call of the Beast Kin 
This is largely based on the revised ranger. Changes here were made to simplify combat. By giving your companion its own action during your turn, its much easier to coordinate your actions and act as one. Its attacks are now magical at the 7th level, making its damage is more reliant.

Your choice companions is kept limited. I felt that additional subclasses were needed to address other animal types, such as birds, smaller pets, and critters.

#### Call of the Huntsman
This is a dedicated stealth subclass. Its features help you and your team hunt enemies and lay ambushes. Ennables and rewards the use of stealth in combat.

> ##### Credit
> A big thanks to everyone at r/UnearthedArcana and r/DnD5CommunityRanger for feedback and ideas for this write-up.  
> <br>
> ##### Formatting Guides Used  
> - Formatting on the Homebrewery by Aeron Drake 
> - Watercoloring in the Homebrewery by QalarValar  
> <br>
> ##### Artwork
> Artwork cited in order of appearance:
> - Forest Art by wildflower1555  
> - The Elf Who Left the Watch by Harrison Searles  
> - Bird, Kite by Logun  
> - The Everfrost by ZigLucky  
> - Female Ranger with Wolf by Pathfinder RPG  
> - Jungle Biome by Conan Exiles