The Ranger, Unchained

Rough and wild looking, a human stalks alone through the shadows of trees, hunting the orcs he knows are planning a raid on a nearby farm. Clutching a shortsword in each hand, he becomes a whirlwind of steel, cutting down one enemy after another.

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.

Holding his hand high, a half-elf whistles to the hawk that circles high above him, calling the bird back to his side. Whispering instructions in Elvish, he points to the owlbear he's been tracking and sends the hawk to distract the creature while he readies his bow.

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, rangers keep their unending watch.

Quick Build

You can make a ranger quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. (Some rangers who focus on melee weapon fighting make Strength higher than Dexterity.) Second, choose the outlander background.

Class Features

As a ranger, you gain the following class features.

Ranger's Quarry

When you hit a creature with an attack roll, you can call on your mystical bond with nature to mark the target as your quarry. Your quarry remains marked by you for 1 hour, until you or your quarry dies, or until you use this feature to mark another target.

You have advantage on any Wisdom (Perception) check you make to locate your quarry, and the first time on each of your turns that you hit your quarry and deal damage to it, including when you mark it, you can increase that damage by 1d4. This extra damage changes as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Ranger's Quarry column of the Ranger table.

Once you mark a creature as your quarry, you can't mark that same creature again until you finish a long rest.

Natural Explorer

You can quickly adapt to new and unfamiliar environments. When you finish a long rest after traveling for at least 3 consecutive days in one type of natural environment (such as a desert, forest, mountain, or the Underdark), you can form a mystical bond with your surroundings. That environment then becomes your favored terrain until you use this feature again.

While you are in your favored terrain, you are considered proficient with the Survival skill if you aren't already, and you double your proficiency bonus for any Wisdom (Survival) check you make to navigate, forage for food, or track other creatures within the area.

Spellcasting

By the time you reach 2nd level, you have learned to use the magical essence of nature to cast spells, much as a druid does. See chapter 10 of the PHB for the general rules of spellcasting, and "Ranger Spells" at the end of the class description for the ranger spell list.

Thrown Weapon Fighting

You can draw a weapon that has the thrown property as part of the attack you make with the weapon.

In addition, when you hit with a ranged attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Ranger Conclave

At 3rd level, you choose a conclave that you strive to emulate from the list of available conclave. Your choice grants features at 3rd level, and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th level.

Primal Awareness

Beginning at 3rd level, you can focus your awareness through the interconnections of nature. You learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class if you don't already know them, as shown in the Primal Awareness Spells table. These spells don't count against the number of ranger spells you know.

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.

If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.

Additionally, whenever you reach a level in this class that grants this feature, you can do one of the following, representing a change of focus or attitude in the face of new experiences:

• Replace one of your favored enemy choices with another type of eligible creature (or two races of humanoid).
• Replace a Fighting Style you know with another Fighting Style available to this class.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Roving

At 5th level, your time exploring the wilderness provides a boon to your fitness and hunting skills. Your walking speed increases by 5 feet, and you gain a climbing speed and a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

Swift Tracker

Starting at 6th level, you can track other creatures while traveling at a fast pace, and you can move stealthily while traveling at a normal pace (see Chapter 8, "Adventuring", in the PHB for rules on travel pace).

Additionally, your honed instincts make you hard to pin down during an ambush. If you are surprised at the beginning of combat and aren't incapacitated, you can move normally on your first turn, but you can't take any actions.

Land's Stride

Starting at 9th level, moving through nonmagical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement. You can also pass through nonmagical 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, such those created by the entangle spell.

Nature's Veil

At 10th level, you learn to draw on the powers of nature to hide yourself from view briefly. As a bonus action, you can magically become invisible, along with any equipment you are wearing or carrying, until the start of your next turn.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Tireless

By 13th level, you can endure debilitating fatigue without the need for extended rest. As an action, you can give yourself a number of temporary hit points equal to 1d10 + your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1 temporary hit point). You can use this action twice, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.

In addition, whenever you finish a short rest, your exhaustion level, if any, is decreased by 1.

Vanish

Starting at 14th level, you can use the Hide action as a bonus action on your turn. Additionally, you can't be tracked by nonmagical means, unless you choose to leave a trail.

One with the Wild

At 17th level, your survival skills make it impossible for you to be impeded. While you are mystically linked to your surroundings with your Natural Explorer feature, you can't become lost by any means, and your speed can't be reduced unless you are incapacitated.

Feral Senses

At 18th level, you gain preternatural senses that help you fight creatures you can't see. Your inability to perceive a creature doesn't impose disadvantage on your attack rolls against it. You are also aware of the precise location of every creature within 30 feet of you that isn't hidden from you, provided that you aren't blinded or deafened.

Foe Slayer

At 20th level, you become an unparalleled hunter of your enemies. Whenever you make an attack against a creature marked by your Ranger's Quarry, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the attack roll or damage roll of that attack (your choice each time you make an attack). You can use this feature before or after the roll, but before any effects of the roll are applied.

Drake Warden

Drake Wardens are rangers who use their magical connection with nature to form an enduring bond with a minor dragon know as a drake. This bond allows the ranger to summon the drake to their side and to share in the awe-inspiring power wielded by dragons.

Consider how your ranger gained their bond with the drake. The Drake Warden Origin table offers some examples.

Drake Companion

Small dragon, unaligned

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• Armor Class 14 + PB (natural armor)
• Hit Points 5 + five times your ranger level (the drake has a number of Hit Dice [d6s] equal to your ranger level)
• Speed 40 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	12 (+1)	15 (+2)	8 (-1)	14 (+2)	8 (-1)

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• Damage Immunities one determined by the drake's Draconic Essence
• Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
• Languages Draconic
• Proficiency Bonus (PB) equals your bonus

---

Draconic Essence. When you summon the drake, choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison. The chosen type determines the drake's damage immunity, the damage of its bite, and the damage of its Infused Strikes.

Primal Bond. You can add your proficiency bonus to any ability check or saving throw that the drake makes.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + 3 piercing damage, plus PB damage of a type determined by the drake's Draconic Essence.

Reactions

Infused Strikes. When another creature within 30 feet of the drake that it can see hits with a weapon attack, the drake infuses the strike with its essence, causing the attack to deal an extra 1d6 damage of the type determined by its Draconic Essence.

Perfected Bond

At 15th level, your bond to your drake reaches the pinnacle of its power. While your drake is summoned, you and the drake gain the following benefits:

• The drake grows to Large size, and its Hit Dice become d10s.
• The drake's bite attack deals an extra 1d6 damage of the type chosen for its Draconic Essence (for a total of 2d6 extra damage).
• When either you or the drake takes damage while you're within 30 feet of each other, you can use your reaction to give yourself or the drake resistance to that instance of damage.

Fey Wanderer

A fey mystique surrounds you, thanks to the boon of an archfey, the shining fruit you ate from a talking tree, the magic spring you swam in, or some other auspicious event. However you acquired your fey magic, you are now a Fey Wanderer, a ranger who represents both the mortal and the fey realms. As you wander the multiverse, your joyful laughter brightens the hearts of the downtrodden, and your martial prowess strikes terror in your foes, for great is the mirth of the fey and dreadful is their fury.

You also possess a preternatural blessing from a fey ally or a place of fey power. Choose your blessing from the Feywild Gifts table or determine it randomly.

Gloom Stalker Spells

Dread Ambusher

At 3rd level, you master the art of the ambush. You can give yourself a bonus to your initiative 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.

Umbral Sight

Also at 3rd level, you gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. If you already have darkvision from your race, its range increases by 30 feet.

You are also adept at evading creatures that rely on darkvision. While in darkness, you are invisible to any creature that relies on darkvision to see you in that darkness.

Iron Mind

By 7th level, you have honed your ability to resist the mind-altering powers of your prey. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. If you already have this proficiency, you instead gain proficiency in Intelligence or Charisma saving throws (your choice).

Stalker's Flurry

At 11th level, you learn to attack with such unexpected speed that you can turn a miss into another strike. Once on each of your turns when you miss with a weapon attack, you can make another weapon attack as part of the same action.

Shadowy Dodge

Starting at 15th level, you can dodge in unforeseen ways, with wisps of supernatural shadow around you. Whenever a creature makes an attack roll against you and doesn't have advantage on the roll, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on it. You must use this feature before you know the outcome of the attack roll.

Grove Sentinel

Rangers of the Grove Sentinel conclave follow ancient traditions rooted in powerful druidic magic. These rangers learn to become one with nature, allowing them to channel shamanistic aspects of various beasts and plants in order to overcome their foes.

Grove Sentinel rangers dwell in the elder forests of the world, especially in forgotten ruins bearing the hallmarks of primal magic. While most are bound by sacred duty to guard the druidic grove they serve, some venture out into the world in search of other sites, with the goal of protecting the ancient trees that have watched over
the world since its earliest days.

Druidic Weapon

Also at 3rd level, you learn an ancient druidic technique for enchanting weaponry. You can transform a simple or martial weapon into your druidic weapon by performing a special ritual while you hold the weapon. (You can't perform this ritual on an artifact or a sentient weapon.) You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short or long rest. At the end of the ritual, the weapon becomes your druidic weapon, and it gains the following benefits while you are holding it:

• The weapon becomes magical if it isn't already.
• You can use your Wisdom modifier, instead of your Strength or Dexterity modifier, for the weapon's attack and damage rolls.
• If the weapon's damage die is normally 1d4 or 1d6, it instead becomes 1d8.
• You can't be disarmed of the weapon unless you are incapacitated.

The weapon ceases to be your druidic weapon if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different weapon, or if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 hour or more.

Guardian Soul

Starting at 7th level, you gain the ability to briefly manifest the magic of the elder forests. As a bonus action, choose one of the following guardian forms to assume: Arbor or Menhir. The form you choose changes your appearance and gives you special benefits, and it lasts for 1 minute, until you dismiss the form as a bonus action, or until you are incapacitated.

    Arbor. You assume the form of an ancient tree spirit, covered with leaves and bark and growing long branches from your torso. You also undergo the following changes.

• You gain a +2 bonus to AC, your reach increases by 10 feet, and your speed is reduced by 10 feet.
• As a bonus action on each of your turns, including when you assume this form, you can magically summon twisting roots and vines to ensnare a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. Make a ranged spell attack against the target; on a hit, the target takes piercing damage equal to 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier, and it must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or its speed is halved until the end of its next turn.

    Menhir. You assume the form of an ancient rock spirit, your flesh becoming hard as stone and your limbs inscribed with simple, shamanistic carvings. You also undergo the following changes:

• You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, and your speed is reduced to 10 feet (unless it is already lower).
• As a bonus action on each of your turns, including when you assume this form, you can gain temporary hit points equal to half your ranger level + your Wisdom modifier. These temporary hit points disappear when the form ends.

Once you use this feature to assume a guardian form, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Primeval Edict

At 11th level, you learn to empower your strikes with ancient, interdictive magic. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with your druidic weapon, you can expend a spell slot to deal force damage to the target in addition to the weapon's damage. The extra damage equals 1d8 per level of the spell slot (up to a maximum of 5d8), and when you deal this extra damage to the target, it must also succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be turned until the end of your next turn or until it takes any damage.

A turned creature must spend its turn trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can't willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can't take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.

Guardian Aura

At 15th level, the form of your Guardian Soul exudes ancient magic that fortifies your injured allies. When a friendly creature starts its turn within 30 feet of your guardian form, it regains hit points equal to 5 + your Wisdom modifier if it has no more than half of its hit points left. A creature doesn't gain this benefit if it has 0 hit points.

Horizon Walker

Horizon Walkers guard the world against threats that originate from other planes or that seek to ravage the mortal realm with otherworldly magic. They seek out planar portals and keep 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.

Planar Warrior

Also at 3rd level, you learn to draw on the energy of the multiverse to augment your abilities. When you make a Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on a ranger spell, you gain a bonus to the roll equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of +1).

In addition, once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can have all of that attack's damage become force damage.

Ethereal Step

At 7th level, you learn to step through the Ethereal Plane. As a bonus action, 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.

Distant Strike

At 11th level, you gain the ability to pass between the planes in the blink of an eye. When you take the Attack action, you can teleport up to 10 feet immediately before or after each attack to an unoccupied space you can see, but no more than once per attack.

If you attack at least two different creatures with the action, you can make one additional attack with it against a third creature.

Spectral Defense

At 15th level, your ability to move between planes enables you to slip through the planar boundaries to lessen the harm done to you during battle. When you take damage from an attack, you can use your reaction to give yourself resistance to all of that attack's damage on this turn.

Monster Slayer

Rangers who join this brotherhood have dedicated themselves to hunting down creatures of the night and wielders of grim magic. A Monster Slayer seeks out vampires, dragons, evil fey, fiends, and other magical threats. Trained in supernatural techniques to overcome such monsters, slayers are experts at unearthing and defeating mighty, mystical foes.

Swarm Keeper

Feeling a deep connection to the environment around them, some rangers reach out through their magical connection to the world and bond with a swarm of nature spirits. The swarm becomes a potent force in battle, as well as helpful company for the ranger.

Some Swarm Keepers are outcasts or hermits, keeping to themselves and their attendant swarms rather than dealing with the discomfort of others. Other Swarm Keepers enjoy building vibrant communities that work for the mutual benefit of all those they consider part of their swarm.

Swarm Keeper Spells

Gathered Swarm

When you join this conclave at 3rd level, a swarm of intangible nature spirits has bonded itself to you and can assist you in battle. Until you die, the swarm remains in your space, crawling on you or flying and skittering around you within your space. You determine its appearance, or you generate its appearance by rolling on the Swarm Appearance table.

Wild Hunter Magic

Starting when you join this conclave at 3rd level, you learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Wild Hunter Spells table. Each spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of ranger spells for you.

Hunter's Prey

At 3rd level, you learn techniques to pinpoint the vital areas of your prey. When you hit one of your favored enemies, or a creature marked by your Ranger's Quarry, with a weapon attack, you can deal maximum damage with that attack, instead of rolling.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Thinning the Herd

Starting at 3rd level, you can quickly contend with multiple foes at once. 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 range of your weapon.

Defensive Tactics

Starting at 7th level, your cunning and resolve allows you to shake off menacing threats. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened, and opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage.

Horde Breaker

Starting at 11th level, your prowess lets you strike simultaneously at groups of enemies. As an action, you can make a weapon attack against any number of creatures within 10 feet of a point you can see within your weapon's range. You make a separate attack roll for each target, and you can move up to 5 feet immediately before or after making each attack. If an attack requires ammunition, you must provide it for each target as normal.

Wild Defense

At 15th level, the wilderness empowers your ability to stave off injury. You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see, such as traps and spells, provided that you aren't blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.

Additionally, when you take damage from a hostile creature you can see, you can use your reaction to halve that instance of damage against you.

Class Changes

Due to broadly-held sentiments that its features are underwhelming and poorly applied, the ranger is the class most frequently highlighted in discussions about rebalancing and feature change in 5th edition; attempts to revise the class have been thoroughly released for play-tested, with some (such as the options in TCE) having been officially published. The changes presented in this handbook also seek to revise the ranger and improve its lackluster features, but to do so in a way that allows the ranger to occupy its existing party roles while providing greater depth with which to use its niche abilities.

Favored Enemy. The ranger retains the original version of this feature, and gains an additional favored enemy at 20th level. Additionally, the Favored Foe optional replacement feature has been integrated into Ranger's Quarry (see below).

Ranger's Quarry. This is a new feature, inspired by the Favored Foe optional replacement feature, which provides the ranger with scaling damage. This change is intended to function as the ranger's defining combat ability and also to free up their spellcasting, as it allows the ranger to deal the extra damage they require to keep pace with other martial classes at higher levels, without relying on concentration spells such as hunter's mark.

Natural Explorer. This feature has been rebalanced entirely, and now allows the ranger to adapt to any environment in which they have been surrounded themselves for a significant period of adventuring time.

(Deft Explorer.) The ranger gains a modified form of this feature's benefits (see below).

Canny. The ranger gains this feature, identical to the benefit of the same name from the Deft Explorer optional replacement feature, at 2nd level, instead of 1st level. The feature now restricts its benefit to one of the ranger's skill proficiencies gained from their class, instead of any skill proficiency the ranger possesses, and the ranger can swap their additional languages for one tool proficiency.

Ranger Conclave. This feature has been renamed from Ranger Archetype; in addition, the Hunter conclave has been renamed to Wild Hunter, and a new conclave, the Grove Sentinel, has been added.

Primeval Awareness. Despite its name, this feature is identical to the Primal Awareness optional replacement feature, and not the feature bearing the same name from the original ranger class.

Ability Score Improvement. The ranger can replace one of their favored enemies each time they gain this feature from this class.

Roving. The ranger gains this feature, which is identical to the benefit of the same name from the Deft Explorer optional replacement feature, at 5th level, instead of 6th level.

Swift Tracker. This is a new feature, which strengthens the ranger's affinity for hunting and tracking.

Land's Stride. The ranger gains this feature at 9th level, instead of 8th level.

(Hide in Plain Sight.) The ranger no longer gains this feature, and instead gains Nature's Veil (see below).

Nature's Veil. The ranger gains this feature, originally an optional replacement feature, instead of Hide in Plain Sight.

Grove Sentinel

While it draws inspiration from the Primeval Guardian (a playtest-exclusive ranger conclave that was never officially published), the Grove Sentinel is a new conclave included to give rangers a different choice of subclass. As such, there are no changes to official material to be detailed here.

Horizon Walker

The changes to the Horizon Walker conclave are listed below.

Planar Warrior. This feature has been changed in order to account for the damage of Ranger's Quarry, while retaining its force-damage theme. It also provides a bonus to Constitution saving throws made to maintain concentration, acting as a counterpart to the auxiliary benefits of the Gloom Stalker's 3rd-level features.

Monster Slayer

The changes to the Monster Slayer conclave are listed below.

Mystic Sense. Renamed from Hunter's Sense, this feature can now be used a number of times equal to the ranger's proficiency bonus, instead of their Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once).

Slayer's Cunning. This is a new feature which replaces Slayer's Prey, itself now outdated with the introduction of Ranger's Quarry.

Supernatural Defense. This feature now improves Ranger's Quarry instead of Slayer's Prey (see above).

Slayer's Counter. This feature now improves Ranger's Quarry instead of Slayer's Prey (see above).

Swarm Keeper

The changes to the Swarm Keeper are listed below.

Gathered Swarm. One of this feature's effects has been replaced by an effect which improves Ranger's Quarry.

Writhing Tide. This feature can now be used a number of times equal to the ranger's Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once), instead of their proficiency bonus.

Mighty Swarm. One of this feature's effects has been replaced by an effect which improves Ranger's Quarry.

Wild Hunter

Previously known as the Hunter, the changes to the Wild Hunter conclave are listed below.

Hunter's Prey. This feature has been redesigned and offers an entirely new benefit. Additionally, one of its former benefits is now its own feature (see below).

Thinning the Herd. This feature, previously one of the benefit options granted by Hunter's Prey (see above), has been renamed from Horde Breaker, as the latter is the new name for this conclave's 11th-level feature (see below).

Defensive Tactics. This feature now combines two of the benefits previously given by the Hunter feature of the same name, in exchange for omitting the other benefit entirely.

Horde Breaker. Renamed from Multiattack, this feature's options have now been consolidated and streamlined into one benefit. It bears no relation to the former benefit of the same name (see above).

Wild Defense. Renamed from Superior Hunter's Defense, this feature now effectively combines two of the benefits previously granted by the feature, omitting the other benefit entirely. In exchange, the feature now also grants advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects the ranger can see.

Art Credits

The artists below are credited in alphabetical order. Where possible, an art credit includes the website where the artist's work can be found, and the pages on which their illustrations appear.

• Alex Stone (AlexStoneArt; pg 7)
• Kobold Press (© Kobold Press; pg 11)
• Mariusz Kozik / "Lacedemon" (ArtStation; cover)
• Paizo, Inc. (© Paizo; pg 10, 14)
• Wizards of the Coast (© Wizards; pg 2, 17)

Thank You

... for taking the time to read this reimagining of the Ranger class! If you have any feedback or suggestions, please contact the author ─ /u/Ozzifer on Reddit ─ or consider joining their Patreon.

Open Game License

Version 1.0a

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