The Wonderful Ranger
A savage looking half-orc makes way past the thicket, scouting the badlands for their tribe with their trusty bear companion "Misha". They are inseperable. Even when Misha falls in the line of duty, the half-orc calls on their powerful bond of man and beast to bring the loyal animal back to life.
A refined and deadly drow looks past a glowing mushroom to an unsuspecting squadron of duregar. They snickers, and a rear sentry turns their head towards the drow. Though the duregar looks straight at them, the duregar's darkvision betrays them as the drow walks right by, unseen due to her shadow trickery.
A fearsome legion marches as a human looks on from the view of a nearby cliff. He serves his nation proudly, often with little thanks for the days and sometimes weeks of scouting ahead of the moving army. Though few of the soldiers know it, it is because of him that they avoided a dangerous rockslide and a flooding river. Every day he saves resources, and more importantly, he saves lives.
These warriors of the wild come from different walks of life and different ideological perspectives, but all of them know the outdoors and, more importantly, the thrill of the hunt.
Deadly Predators
Rangers are masters of the wilderness. They are not simply scouts, they are warriors who have unlocked the potential of nature's wrath to twist into serving their purpose. Where a druid might also take this approach in bringing down powerful maelstroms, a ranger utilizes primal magic to hone their senses with the predatory senses of all of the most ferocious creatures in the wild.
Rangers channel this mastery of the wilderness in countless ways, what purpose they serve unique to their part of the world. Despite the great tales told about some of the most famous rangers in all of history, they are not simply protectors against dangerous creatures that prowl civilization's edge.
In drow tradition, rangers serve their houses in heading the efforts to chase down escaped slaves. Gensai born to noble families are expected to devote themselves to protecting the planar boundaries between the Elemental Planes and the Prime Material.
Independent Adventurers
Though rangers can be made through training, often a person becomes a ranger not out of a sense of duty, but out of necessity, making rangers perfect adventurer material.
Often rangers find themselves alone, fending for themselves before being inducted into or discovering the way of a conclave on their own. Despite their skills being based in self reliance, a ranger tends to seek out and cherish the company of others, if for no other reason than the age old wisdom of strength in numbers. Coddled city-slickers may be obnoxious or puzzling to a ranger at times, but they know that the city is an ecosystem like any other, and those that have grown accustomed to paved streets have valuable skills and abilities of their own.
Creating a Ranger
As you create your ranger, consider how you developed your connection to primal magic that made you an adept hunter. Did you develop your abilities on your own after left alone in the wilderness? Did you encounter a spirit of the forest that opened your mind to your inner predator? Were you mentored by a successful ranger that met their premature end? Perhaps you learned your skill while training to serve a druidic circle as one of their guardians.
Rangers and Two-Weapon Fighting
Consider allowing players in your game to make an off-hand attack without using a character's bonus action. The ranger is a bonus action heavy class, and a player that might be tempted to choose the two-weapon fighting style because they feel it fits their character might be disuaded from taking it as a result. This won't effect damage output from a ranger too much, but it will allow them a lot more versatility. As another alternative, consider giving a character using two-weapon fighting to make two attacks when they use their bonus action to make an off-hand attack.
The Wonderful Ranger
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Prey Creature Types | Spells Known | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Predator, Creature of the Wilds, Traveler | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +2 | Fighting Style, Spellcasting | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | +2 | Ranger Archetype, Primeval Awareness | 1 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 1 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 6th | +3 | Savage Skirmisher, Multiple Improvements | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 7th | +3 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 9th | +4 | Raw Precision | 1 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 10th | +4 | Shadowmeld | 1 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 11th | +4 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — |
| 13th | +5 | Vicious Velocity | 2 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 14th | +5 | Enhanced Predation, Traveler Improvement | 2 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 15th | +5 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 2 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 2 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 17th | +6 | Enhanced Predation Improvement | 2 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 18th | +6 | Feral Senses | 2 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 2 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | +6 | Warrior of the Wilds | 2 | 11 | 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 + 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: None
Savings Throws: Strength, Wisdom
Skills: Choose three from 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) 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
Predator
Beginning at 1st level, you have developed a connection with primal magic that hones your senses against the weaknesses of your chosen prey.
Whenever you complete a long rest, you can choose to select a type of creature to be your prey (except for Constructs) if you have interacted with or have some sort of element related to that type of creature (such as a track or dropping). You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your prey creature as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them. You cannot be surprised by any creatures that are considered your prey. You can only have one type of creature be your prey at a time.
You gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with weapon attacks against a prey creature. At 6th level, this damage bonus becomes a +4. Additionally, at 6th level you have advantage on saving throws against the spells and abilities used by a prey creature.
Creature of the Wilds
You are skilled at navigating the wilderness. At 1st level, you ignore the penalties of non-magical difficult terrain and gain the following benefits when traveling for an hour or more:
- Difficult terrain doesn't slow your group's travel.
- Your group can't become lost except by magical means.
- 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.
Traveler
Your movement across land and sea have allowed you to pick up on the tongues of different peoples. At 1st level you learn a language of your choice, usually associated with the places you've been or the creatures you've seen. You learn an additional language of your choice at 6th, and 14th level.
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 weilding 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.
Spellcasting
By the time you reach 2nd level, you have learned to use the magical essenece of nature to cast spells, much as a druid does. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and chapter 11 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.
Spells Known of 1st level and Higher
You know two 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.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisom modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
Primeval Awareness
Beginning at 3rd level, your mastery of the wilds 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 not to attack.
You cannot use this ability against a creature that you have attacked within the past 12 hours.
Additionally, you can attune your senses to determine if any prey creatures lurk nearby. By spending 1 uninterrupted minute in concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell), you can sense whether any prey creatures are present within 5 miles of you. This feature reveals which prey creatures are present, their numbers, and the creatures' general direction and distance (in miles) from you.
If there are multiple groups of prey creatures within range, you learn this information for each group.
Ranger Conclave
At 3rd level, you choose to emulate the ideals and training of a ranger conclave: the Beast Conclave, the Hunter Conclave, the Stalker Conclave, the Horizon Walker Conclave, and the Slayer Conclave, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th level.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase on 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.
Savage Skirmisher
Starting at 6th level, you have adapted the agility of tricky predators into your fighting style. You can take a bonus action on your turn in combat. You can use this bonus action to take the Dash or the Disengage action.
Raw Precision
At 9th level your time spent adventuring has allowed you to hone a couple of your skills.
Choose two skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.
Shadowmeld
Starting at 10th level, your bond with primeval magic has matured to allow you supreme stealth in the wilderness.
While you are still in place you can use your action to blend in with your surroundings. While you are melded with the environment around you checks based on sight to perceive you have a -10 to the roll (and this also applies to passive perception if your GM uses it). You can end the use of this feature at any time (no action required), and the shadowmeld ends early if you move, take any action, take any damage or make any save.
Vicious Velocity
The wilderness is brutal; move fast or die. Beginning at 13th level, your speed increases by 10ft. and you gain proficiency in Dexterity saving throws.
Enhanced Predation
Starting at 14th level, you can extend your use of your supernatural predatory senses to multiple types of creatures. You now can have two types of prey creatures at a time, and prey creatures have disadvantage on saving throws against your spells. Whenever you change the types of your prey creatures, you can change any number of them you choose.
At 17th level you can hone your predatory senses much quicker than before. Instead of requiring a long rest, you now can change your types of prey creatures as part of a short rest.
Feral Senses
At 18th level, you gain an uncanny sense of danger. Creatures that you cannot see or are hidden from you don't gain advantage on attacks against you, and your inability to see a creature 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 blinded or deafened.
Warrior of the Wilds
At 20th level, you become an unparalleled hunter. You gain the following benefits:
- You have advantage on initiative checks.
- You have advantage on any attacks against a creature who has not yet taken a turn in combat.
- Once per turn, when you declare an attack but before you hit, you can choose for your bonus damage against your prey creature type to double to a +8 for that attack. If the attack is a critical hit, this bonus quadruples to a +16.
Beast Conclave
Many rangers are more at home in the wilds than in civilization, to the point where animals consider them kin. Rangers of the Beast Conclave develop a close bond with a beast, then further strengthen that bond through the use of magic.
Animal 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. You normally select you 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 one of these 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.
Companion Bond
Also at 3rd level your animal companion loses some of its feral nature to better serve you.
The animal companion loses its Multiattack action, if it has one and your animal companion's Intelligence score raises to a 6 if it was not already. The companion obeys your commands as best it can. It rolls for initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own. When using your Creature of the Wilds feature, you and your animal companion can both move stealthily at a normal pace.
Your animal companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own.
In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, an animal companion also adds its proficiency bonus to its AC and to its damage rolls, and it has the same bonuses against your prey creatures that you do.
Your animal companion has proficiency in whatever saving throws you have, and if you gain another at a different level it gains those as well. For each level you gain in this class after 3rd, your animal companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.
Additionally, whenever you take the Attack action, you can choose to sacrifice one of your attacks to imbue your animal companion with primal energy, allowing it to immediately take an attack as a reaction.
Be respectful of your companion. If your animal companion feels mistreated enough, it can willingly break the bond you've made and abandon you.
Mimicry
At 7th level, your companion has studied you quizzically, and to your surprise, have developed some tricks on their own! Your companion gains proficiency in two skills with which you have proficiency.
Storm of Claw and Fang
At 11th level your animal companion becomes exceptionally adept at combat. Your companion can use its action to make a melee attack against each creature of its choice within 5 feet of it, with a separate attack roll for each target.
Exceptional Bond
At 15th level your bond with your animal companion has become powerful enough to manifest new abilities. You have formed a telepathic bond with your animal companion that allows for two-way communication at any distance as long as you and your companion are on the same plane of existence.
Your animal's communication is simplistic but easy to grasp as long as it doesn't approach a concept too difficult for it to understand.
Additionally, whenever you cast a spell on yourself you can choose to have the same effect be twinned onto your companion.
Stalker Conclave
Stalkers, or Gloom Stalkers as they are more commonly named, are at home in the darkest places: deep under the earth, in dim alleyways and in primeval forests, wherever the light dims. Embracing the darkness, gloom stalkers use their connection with the pitch black to their advantage. Gloom Stalkers, by virtue of their exsistence, tend to be made up of more dastardly figures such as: experienced scouts serving the drow aristocracy or duregar slavers that use their unforgiving subterranian environment to aid in their capture of slaves. However, not all Gloom Stalkers are evil, some might belong to upstanding communities in the Underdark that seek to halt the scourge of the evil elves and dwarves, and some communities of humans and elves are rumored to exist in the Shadowfell, a place sure to have a few dark-faring rangers of its own.
Gloom Stalker Magic
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Gloom Stalker Spells table.
Gloom Stalker
| Ranger Level | Spell |
|---|---|
| 3rd | disguise self |
| 5th | shadow blade |
| 9th | fear |
| 13th | greater invisibility |
| 17th | seeming |
Trick of the Light
At 3rd level, your experience lurking in the darkest of places has given you insight into how darkvision can be developed, and how it can be exploited.
You gain darkvision out to 60 feet. If you already have darkvision from you race, its range increases by 30 feet. While in darkness, you are invisible to any creature that relies on darkvision to see you in that darkness.
If a creature has this feature, or one similar enough to produce the same effect, it has no effect on you. You can choose any creature to be immune to this effect (only from you), and can end that immunity at any time (without using an action).
Dread Ambusher
At 3rd level, you master the art of the ambush. You can give yourself a bonus to your intiative rolls equal to your Wisdom modifier.
At the start of your first turn of each combat, your walking speed increases by 10 feet, which lasts until the end of that turn. If you take the Attack action on that turn, you can make one additional weapon attack as part of that action. If the attack hits, the target takes an extra 1d8 damage of the weapon's damage type.
Umbral Hunter
At 7th level, you've learned to connect your experience in the gloom to the creatures you hunt. On your first turn in a combat you have advantage on the attack granted to you by the Dread Ambusher feature against a target that is your prey creature.
Additionally, if you are invisible to a prey creature as a result of your Trick of the Light feature, your critical hit range is extended to 19-20 against them.
Darkeater
By 11th level, the shadows you sulk within have become soothing to your body. While taking a short rest in darkness you gain the following benefits:
- When rolling hit dice to recover hit points, you can roll the hit die twice instead of once, taking the higher of the two results as your hit point recovery.
- You can choose to regain 2 levels worth of spell slots. When you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you take a long rest.
- If you have no hit dice, you gain one which you can spend during the same rest.
Additionally, you can see through magic darkness.
Blackout
You have learned how to utilize the pitch black in a more direct fashion.
At 15th level, you can use your reaction when a creature makes an attack roll against you to force the shadows around them to cascade into their eyes, giving them disadvantage on the roll if they didn't have advantage.
Whether the creatures hits or misses you can choose to teleport in a blast of dusk up to ten feet away. If you teleport into darkness, you become invisible until the end of your next turn. The invisbility ends early if you attack, cast a spell, or physically interact with an object or person.
When you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you take a short or long rest. You regain the use of this feature instantly if you bring a prey creature to 0 hit points.
Legionnaire Conclave
Legionnaires are rangers that have devoted themselves to martial combat. Unlike other rangers that may expand their magical knowledge and devotion to spellcraft, Legionnaires are the most skilled martial combatants of the ranger conclaves. They tend to serve as parts of elite military units: scouting for armies or defending vast swathes of territory for their country.
Iron Warden
Your martial excellence combined with your predatory senses allows you to smite your prey with surgical precision.
Starting at 3rd level, once per turn when you hit a prey creature with a weapon attack you may deal an additional 1d8 damage of the weapon's type.
Offensive Strikes
Starting at 3rd level you've developed a series of blows that compliments your combat style. You gain one of the following features:
Giant Killer. When a Large or larger creature misses you with an attack, you can immediately use your reaction to attack that creature immediately after its attack, provided that you can see the creature.
Horde Breaker. 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 range of your weapon.
Opportunist. Whenever a creature that you can see does not attack you during their turn, you gain a bonus to your next damage roll against the target equal to your proficiency bonus. You may deal this extra damage only once per turn.
Defensive Movements
At 7th level you've learned a series of defensive maneuvers or mindsets that compliments your combat style. You gain one of the following features:
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.
Advanced Offensives
At 11th level, you gain one of the following multiattack features of your choice.
Volley. You can use your action to make a ranged attack against any number of creatures within 10 feet of a point you can see within your weapon’s range. You must have ammunition for each target, as normal, and you make a separate attack roll for each target.
Whirlwind Attack. You can use your action to make melee attacks against any number of creatures within 5 feet of you, with a separate attack roll for each target.
Superior Movement
At 15th level you've learned to move with a legendary agility:
Evasion. When you are subjected to an effect, such as a red dragon’s fiery breath or a lightning bolt spell, that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on a 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.
Horizon Walker Conclave
Rangers of the Horizon Walker Conclave guard against threats that originate from other planes. They seek out planar portals and watch over them, venturing to the Inner Planes and the Outer Planes as needed to pursue their foes. These rangers are also friends to any forces in the multiverse - especially benevolent dragons, fey, and elementals - that work to preserve life and the order of the planes.
Horizon Walker Magic
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Horizon Walker Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of ranger spells you know.
Horizon Walker
| Ranger Level | Spell |
|---|---|
| 3rd | protection from evil and good |
| 5th | misty step |
| 9th | haste |
| 13th | banishment |
| 17th | teleportation circle |
Planar Traveler
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to detect the presence of planar portals. As an action, you detect the distance and direction to any planar portals within 1 mile of you. You also sense which plane of existence each portal leads to. However, if magic obscures any details of a portal, this feature doesn’t reveal them.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
See the “Planar Travel” section in chapter 2 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for examples of planar portals.
Siphoned Energy
At 3rd level your affinity to planar gateways has you realize that the borders between worlds are everywhere and exploitable.
As a bonus action you can infuse your weapon with crackling planar energy. The next attack you hit with this turn has all of its damage turned into force damage and you deal an additional 1d8 force damage on the attack. When you reach 11th level in this class the extra damage increases to 2d8, and 3d8 at 19th level.
Ethereal Step
At 7th level, you learn to step through the Ethereal Plane. As a bonus action on your turn, you can cast the etherealness spell with this feature, without expending a spell slot, but the spell ends at the end of the current turn.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest. (Maybe put instant recharge upon downing a prey creature.)
Border Walker
At 11th level, you gain the ability to manipulate planar borders just slightly enough to pass between places in the blink of an eye. When you take the Attack action, you can teleport up to 10 feet before each attack to an unoccupied space you can see.
If you attack at least two different creatures with the action you can make one additional attack with it against a third creature.
Realm Runner
At 15th level you've grasped enough about planar travel to open a portal temporarily. As an action, you can cast the plane shift spell with this feature without expending a spell slot. Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you take a long rest.
Slayer Conclave
There are creatures of fearsome presence that hide amongst the wilds, and Slayers seek to destroy them. Although all rangers are exceptional in their ability to hunt and track prey, rangers vary wildly in the duties they undertake. Slayers were and still are the quintiessential monster hunters of stories from ages past that serve as the basis for some cultures myths surrounding the ranger profession. While other rangers might excel in dispatching more numerous enemies or manipulating certain magicks, Slayers excel in one thing: annihilating the fearsome monsters that endanger us all.
Slayer Magic
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Slayer Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of ranger spells you know.
Slayer Magic
| Ranger Level | Spell |
|---|---|
| 3rd | protection from evil and good |
| 5th | zone of truth |
| 9th | magic circle |
| 13th | banishment |
| 17th | hold monster |
Slayer's Sense
At 3rd level you gain the ability to peer at a creature and magically discern how best to hurt it. As an action, choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. You immediately learn whether the creature has any damage immunities, resistances, or vulnerabilities and what they are. If the creature is hidden from divination magic, you sense that it has no damage immunities, resistances, or vulnerabilities.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest. If you use this on a prey creature it does not expend a use of the feature.
Marked For Death
Starting at 3rd level, you aim to utterly annihilate a creature. As a bonus action, you designate one creature you can see within 60 feet of you as the target of this feature. For one minute, you gain advantage on all attack rolls against this creature. If the the target is a prey creature, then you also gain the following benefits:
- Your critical range is extended to 19-20.
- When you hit, you can deal an additional weapon die in damage once per turn.
You cannot use this feature again until you take a short or long rest.
Weakened for Destruction
At 7th level, your mark hampers your foe's abilities used against you. Whenever the target of your Marked for Death feature forces you to make a saving throw or engages in a contested ability check with you, you can add a 1d6 to your roll.
Magic of the Monsters
At 11th level, your hunt of terrible creatures has exposed you to the inner workings of their magic, deadly information in your hands. When you see a creature casting a spell or teleporting within 60 feet of you, you can use your reaction to try to foil it.
The creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC, or its spell or teleport fails and is wasted. If the target is a prey creature, they have disadvantage on the save. If the target is under the effects of your Marked for Death feature, it automatically fails the save.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Countered and Quartered
At 15th level, you gain the ability to counterattack when your mark attempts to sabotage you. If the target of your Marked for Death feature forces you to make a saving throw, you can use your reaction to make one weapon attack against the target.
You make this attack before the saving throw is adjudicated. If your attack hits, your save automatically succeeds, in addition to the attack's normal effects.
Art Credits
- "Fantasy Forest" by Magdalena Świderska, https://www.artstation.com/artwork/mqWAy
- "Wasteland" by ehecod, https://img00.deviantart.net/b844/i/2013/126/2/d/wasteland__commission__by_ehecod-d64attr.png
- "Nightbreeze" by Astri-Lohne, https://www.deviantart.com/astri-lohne/art/Nightbreeze-C-663544864
- "Guardian of the Realm" by Wes Talbot, http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/188/9/5/guardian_of_the_realm_by_wes_talbott-d3lc5tc.png
- "Enchantress" by noiprox, https://www.deviantart.com/noiprox/art/Enchanteress-326680310
- "Rangers" by LASAHIDO, https://www.deviantart.com/lasahido/art/Rangers-202636234
- "Interplanar Tunnel" by TitusLunter, https://www.deviantart.com/tituslunter/art/Interplanar-Tunnel-326503776
- "Letho" by Scratcherpen, https://www.deviantart.com/scratcherpen/art/Letho-446178275