Ranger
When you have lived in the wilderness for so long, studied all the creatures that reside there with tireless precision, tracked down many unwelcome guests, fought great dangers with just a branch or bone, then you start to become a ranger.
--- Ranger Gewarald.
A group of adventurers is trailing through the woods as a pack of goblins has prepared an ambush up ahead. Loosening the straps around his swords a hooded elf leads the party. Already having scouted ahead he informed the party about the ambush. Therefore, they are preparing themselves without making it too obvious for the goblins, that the party knows the goblins will attack from behind the fallen tree up on the hill. At the end of a long day march, this information came as a welcomed distraction. Not aware of being robbed of the element of surprise, the goblins are about to meet their demise.
Tightly worn animal skin keeps the human warm during a blizzard, as she has her arms crossed and slogs trough knee deep snow. There is not much to see except for the looming figures of the mountains as she passes between them. Distant howling is barely audible above the raging wind, but it appears to come closer. It does not take long before the figure of a wolf appears at the edge of her field of vision. She reaches for her belt as the wolf leaps towards her. Joyfully the wolf licks her face as she gives the wolf some dried meat, rewarding the wolf for finding a cave to find shelter.
Far from cities, at the edge of distant farmland, bordering areas of barbarian tribes and nature protected by druids, rangers stride the borders of the wilderness to keep their unending watch.
Home in the Wilderness
Rangers are dwellers of the wilderness which is represented by the time they have spent in such environment. Some rangers have been born in the wilderness. Some rangers became lost in the wilderness and were raised by natures vagaries. Other rangers secluded themselves finding comfort in a place where natures laws still determine who is the strongest. However, some people had no choice but to gain the skills of a ranger necessary to survive, being banished from their former living place (and life).
Rangers excel in the hunt and act with precision. During the many years spent in the wilderness they gather knowledge about both plants and creatures. This enables them to develop a certain set of skills. They use specific materials found in their natural habitat to the point where their hunt is always successful. Beasts acknowledge rangers as the top of the food chain and often leave rangers alone. However, in some unique cases, a beast is looking for a friendly relationship.
View of the World
An outsider might think that rangers and druids share the common goal of protecting nature, but this is a misconception. Druids protect nature and receive powerful spells from nature in return, but a ranger’s view is to keep natures natural order in balance. This includes hunting creatures to keep them in their natural environment, where the strongest rule. For this reason, rangers can often be found at the edges of the wilderness, hunting down creatures that cross the border to either side.
Skilled Fighters
In the same line of thought they do not think highly of the survival chance of any city people, considering them easy prey for the creatures that dwell in the wilderness. A logical perspective for a ranger who excels in weapon combat, both long and short ranged, using weapons of large variety added upon with what they can find in the wilderness. Therefore, they consider it their job to protect the border of civilization and the wilderness.
Adventuring
When picking ranger as your class, consider why you have left the wilderness to head out on adventure. These are a few examples; A creature has terrorized the natural order and you have decided to hunt the creature down. You could even be convinced to team up, if this would increase the chances of slaying the creature. Another example is a great threat, civilization or creature, that is trying to claim the wilderness you live in as their own. Or it could be that your home was destroyed, and you had no other option then to find a new purpose.
You can choose one of these or use them as inspiration to come up with your own circumstance for why your character has decided to go on an adventure. It is possible to work together with your DM to define the circumstances concerning the wilderness you call home and how they have affected the setting of the campaign. For example, you could be the guide of the party at the start of the campaign, guiding a party of adventurer’s through the wilderness you have known for years.
Creating a Ranger
While creating your character background, consider how living in the wilderness has influenced your personality. How do you view the other adventurers? Protective, because you consider them incapable of surviving on their own. Maybe you just let them do all the talking, so you don’t have to be involved in social interaction. Or are you just using the others to achieve your goal? Furthermore, which ideals drive you to be a ranger. What is your attitude about sharing your knowledge? Are you naive and just share everything even if not asked for? Or the opposite, do you keep your knowledge a secret and only use it yourself, staying mysterious to the other adventurers.
The Ranger
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Ranger's Instinct |
Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | 1d4 |
Primeval Awareness, Ranger's Instinct |
| 2nd | +2 | 1d4 |
Fighting Style, Homemade brews, Vital Strike |
| 3rd | +2 | 1d4 |
Nature Calls, Ranger Specialization |
| 4th | +2 | 1d4 |
Ability Score Improvement |
| 5th | +3 | 1d6 |
Extra Attack |
| 6th | +3 | 1d6 |
Hunter's Agility, Primeval Awareness improvement |
| 7th | +3 | 1d6 |
Ranger Specialization feature |
| 8th | +3 | 1d6 |
Ability Score Improvement |
| 9th | +4 | 1d6 |
Tireless Hunter |
| 10th | +4 | 1d6 |
Ranger's Teachings |
| 11th | +4 | 1d8 |
Ranger Specialization feature |
| 12th | +4 | 1d8 |
Ability Score Improvement, Primeval Awareness improvement |
| 13th | +5 | 1d8 |
Natural Tenacity |
| 14th | +5 | 1d8 |
Ability Score Improvement |
| 15th | +5 | 1d8 |
Ranger Specialization feature |
| 16th | +5 | 1d8 |
Ability Score Improvement |
| 17th | +6 | 1d10 |
Vital Strike improvement |
| 18th | +6 | 1d10 |
Ghost Hunter |
| 19th | +6 | 1d10 |
Ability Score Improvement |
| 20th | +6 | 1d10 |
Ultimate Hunter |
Finally, what flaws have you developed because you were a lone wolf for such a long time? Are you even capable of working in a team? Or do you have a tunnel vision when on the hunt, not paying attention to anyone else? Or maybe you forget to tell your companions about traps you find to be obviously visible when scouting an area, causing hazards for the others.
Quick Build
You can make a ranger quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity 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: Strength, Dexterity.
- Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Investigation, Medicine, 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, a quiver of 20 arrows and a herbalism kit.
Primeval Awareness
Beginning at 1st level, your dominance over beast has developed beyond the bounds of the wilderness.
Your knowledge allows you to communicate simple ideas with beasts using sign language. As an action, you can read
a beast, which reveals it's mood, intent, whether it is affected by magic of any sort and its short-term needs.
Additionally, when you use this ability you can expend one use of this feature to intimidate the beast. If the beasts CR is equal or higher then your ranger level, it can make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC to be unaffected. Beasts immune to the frightened condition are also unaffected. A beast intimidated in this way will not attack you or your companions, and retreat to a safe distance. If you or your companions ever attack it, it will no longer be intimidated.
You cannot use this feature against a beast that was in a fight the past 10 minutes or against a beast that has been intimidated by this feature before. You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
At 6th level, you can also use your Primeval Awareness feature on fey, humanoids or monstrosities and at 12th level you can use it on aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fiends and giants.
Ranger's Instinct
You are able to focus all your senses on a creature using your skills to interact with it and if needed hunting it down. As an action you can make a Wisdom (Perception) check to focus on one or multiple creatures that you see or hear. Alternatively, you can focus on one or multiple creatures after you made a Wisdom (Survival) check to successfully investigate tracks. You remain focused on a creature, until it dies, you fall unconscious or you finish a short or long rest.
Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any Wisdom check you make concerning a creature you focus on, if you are using a skill that you’re proficient in. You deal an extra 1d4 damage to a creature you focus on whenever you hit it with a weapon attack, which increases as you gain levels as a ranger, as shown in the Ranger's Instinct column of the Ranger table.
You can focus on a total number of creatures at the same time equal to halve your ranger level (rounded up).
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.
Homemade Brews
Beginning at 2nd level, your knowledge allows you to make Healing Decoctions with the Herbalism Kit.
You can spent 1 hour to gather all the ingredients for and make a Healing Decoction, provided that the direct surroundings contain the natural ingredients you need and you have the possibility to boil some water.
A Healing Decoction takes 1 minute to digest and that creature regains 1d6 hit points for every two ranger levels you have (rounded up). After 24 hours, any Healing Decoction that you have not used loses its potency.
Additionally, gathering the ingredients has made you exceptional in traveling trough the wilderness. You can pass through nonmagical Plants without being slowed by them and without taking damage from them if they have thorns, spines, or a similar hazard.
Vital Strike
Starting at 2nd level, you can gain supernatural precision for a moment, to take down your quarry. When you roll damage for a weapon attack, you can use this feature to deal maximum damage, instead of rolling.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Starting at 17th level, you regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.
Nature Calls
By the time you reach 3rd level, you have learned to slowly use the magical essence from nature and gain the ability to cast spells, but only as rituals, as described in chapter 10, "Spellcasting". Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells and your spells save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier. You gain spells at the ranger levels listed, which are considered as spells known for you and you can cast them as rituals even if they don't have the ritual tag.
| Ranger Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | alarm, detect magic, detect poison and disease, longstrider, snare, speak with animals |
| 5th | animal messenger, beast sense, locate animals or plants |
| 9th | nondetection, plant growth, speak with plants, water breathing, water walk |
| 13th | freedom of movement, locate creature |
| 17th | commune with nature, tree stride |
Ranger Specialization
At 3rd level, your tireless precision and experience are combined in a specialized way of hunting. Choose a specialization: Trapper, or one from another source.
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, 14th, 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.
Hunter's Agility
When you reach 6th level, you can use the Dash action as a bonus action on your turn and you gain advantage on initiative rolls.
Tireless Hunter
Starting at 9th level, you can use a bonus action, instead of an action, to focus on a creature with Ranger's Instinct.
Additionally, you gain the following benefits against a creature you focus on:
- Your ranged weapon attacks against the creature ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
- The creature cannot make opportunity attacks against you.
- You have advantage on Intelligence checks to recall information about the creature.
Ranger's Teachings
Starting at 10th level, you have learned how to move around unseen and how to cope with difficult terrain. When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, your proficiency bonus is doubled if you are proficient and you can’t be tracked by nonmagical means, unless you choose to leave a trail. Also, you are not affected by non-magical difficult terrain.
Additionally, you use your knowledge to guide your allies. While within fifteen feet of you, friendly creatures can use your Dexterity (Stealth) bonus when making a Dexterity (Stealth) check to move stealthily and they are not affected by non-magical difficult terrain. You must be conscious to grant these benefits.
Natural Tenacity
By 13th level, your body has acquired great resilience. You gain proficiency in Constitution saving throws.
Additionally, you have advantage on saving throws against poison and have resistance to poison damage.
Ghost Hunter
By the time you reach 18th level, your hunters senses have become so honed that you gain a +5 bonus to your passive Wisdom (Perception) score.
Additionally, provided that you are not blinded or deafened, creatures do not gain advantage on their attack roles against you as result of your inability to see them and when you attack a creature you can’t see, your inability to see it doesn’t impose disadvantage on your attack rolls against it.
Unseen Attackers and Targets
"Combatants often try to escape their foes' notice by hiding, casting the invisibility spell, or lurking in darkness.
When you attack a target that you can't see, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. This is true whether you're guessing the target's location or you're targeting a creature you can hear but not see. If the target isn't in the location you targeted, you automatically miss, but the GM typically just says that the attack missed, not whether you guessed the target's location correctly.
When a creature can't see you, you have advantage on attack rolls against it. If you are hidden–both unseen and unheard–when you make an attack, you give away your location when the attack hits or misses."
(Player's Handbook, 2014, page 194-195)
Ultimate Hunter
At 20th level, you can open your hunter's instinct as a bonus action to hunt all your enemies at once.
When you target a creature you focus on for an attack, you can instead target all creatures you focus on and perceive within 60 feet of you. Make a normal weapon attack roll which does not benefit from any advantage or disadvantage, and use that to determine which creatures you hit, rolling damage for all of them at once. Any benefits that would apply for your initial attack or damage applies for this special attack as well and are then considered used.
This ultimate hunter state lasts for one minute, or until you are incapacitated. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a long rest.
Ranger Specializations
Your way of hunting is defined by your chosen methods. Officially released specializations can be found in the Player's Handbook and Xanathar's Guide To Everything. Alternatives for the Player's Handbook archetypes were presented as the Revised Ranger. You can also check this helpful overview of homebrew rangers, of which many include new subclasses.
Practice
Safe
Homebrewing
Ranger was my favorite from the start when we played a few games of 3.5e. Although, I have enjoyed playing other classes as well, the memories of the Ranger's Apprentice and Aragorn had me always return to playing ranger. However, the ranger class has been known for specializing a bit to much, which causes the ranger from the Player's Handbook to feel underwhelming. And so my journey began.
Disclaimer: This class has not yet been play tested and therefore the features are not considered balanced to their respective levels.
Cover Art: Pinterest
When you're hyped to give it a try, discuss the possibility with your Dungeon Master.
Design Decisions
Interested in the creation progress of this class description, check out the notes for all the features here and the previous versions below:
- 1st version - spell replacing features
- 2nd version - 5e like condensed features
- 3rd version - revising according to flavor
- 4th version - Multiple creatures Hunter's Mark
- 5th version - feature progression compared to other 5e PHB classes
Inspiration along my journey
Before this journey started I had used this thread from EvilAnagram, already countless of times. Also, I have had the possibility to try out the Revised Ranger.
As a start, I read the previous editions and the pathfinder hunter. Together with my interest of creating a ranger without spells and the help of some insightful critique most of the groundwork was created.
To get the details straight I compared my approach with the many good ideas already published using GM Binder Search and another great platform which shows acknowledged ranger homebrew can be found here.
On a final note my friends have expressed their honest opinion, which I have taken into consideration to further improve the class.
For alternative features to play a ranger without spell casting, check this out.