T.G. Oskar
2010-08-24, 05:35 PM
Missies n' gents, boys and girls big n' small! Y'all otherworldly strangers and sons-only-their-mother-could-love are welcome too!
I presume you guys must have missed me. Did you? Didn't you? Oh well, a lapse of three months isn't something to brag upon, and there's some brew that if I don't post, it'll get stale.
Take the Ranger. The concept of the Ranger is bizarre: from the very first edition of the Ranger, this fella is a warrior with some magical knowledge and some animal affinity, but in the end, it has always been associated with the range. Both the range and the range. Don't know what I'm speaking of? Well, I mean the range (as in the plains, the vast and extense territory) and the range (fighting from distance using one or more ranged weapons). This should evoke various archetypes.
Sadly, only two images usually present themselves:
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:gvWFSAW5UQBSBM:http://arwen-undomiel.com/images/legolas/Legolas_bow.jpg&t=1
One is of the bow-wielding archer ranger, deft in shooting several arrows from the quiver, usually from high atop a tree. Elven friend Legolas is a good example of this.
Then there's the opposite. Yes, the opposite. You'll hate me for this:
http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070618040404/forgottenrealms/images/e/e7/Drizzt_Do'Urden_-_SoD_-_Todd_Lockwood.jpg
The other is the guy who wields two weapons, dancing majestically while delivering death with two impossibly sharp weapons. And yes, to play with the opposition, Drizzt Do'Urden, often imitated but never equaled Dark Elf, is the poster boy of this fighting style.
But...what happened to the other rangers? I mean, we won't certainly consider rangers like these guys:
http://jeffsandquist.com/images/posts/LookingforYogiBear_1189F/ranger.gif
Sorry Mr. Ranger, but you can't survive on a real range. You know, that with owlbears and aberrations.
https://bridgeproject.wikispaces.com/file/view/power_rangers_2.jpg/89093309/power_rangers_2.jpg
No offense guys: I still do a mighty arm-pump when I see ya, but you're just too unrealistic for a D&D game. Maybe if Sentai rules were implemented (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140247)...
http://i3.3djuegos.com/juegos/1612/pokemon_ranger/fotos/analisis/pokemon_ranger-250157.jpg
Well, exceptions can be made, no? Pet Rangers could be useful, but then again, that's why you have Druids, no?
So, what are we looking on a ranger? What happened to desert rangers, or sea rangers, or even underground rangers!? What happened to Walker, or Geronimo, or the gauchos, or the pirates!? They could be Rangers, not that hard enough to be precise; it just needs some imagination.
Thus, after the moderate success of the Samurai, and the implementation of the Bez-Kismet which has certainly caused...little impression, but hey, it's available around, I have decided to take my tools and work on the Ranger. Will it be good? Will it be bad? Will it be ugly...?
Only time will tell...meanwhile, get a good Morricone song (it can be Ecstasy of Gold, but it can also be something else) and enjoy the...
RANGER
http://th06.deviantart.net/fs45/PRE/i/2009/098/3/4/Twisted_Princess__Pocahontas_by_jeftoon01.jpg
Pocahontas: Twisted Princess by jeftoon01. Original can be seen here (http://jeftoon01.deviantart.com/art/Twisted-Princess-Pocahontas-118583763).
"Let the shaman speak to you of the bounty of saving nature. I will teach you what happens when you spoil it..."
MAKING A RANGER (or, what has and hasn't changed):
Abilities: A ranger is a melee combatant first and foremost, so you'll want Strength and/or Dexterity to be quite high; however, regardless of what path you choose, Dexterity will always be a strong choice. Constitution is also important, as you want a strong Fortitude save and the consequent amount of Hit Points. Wisdom is a minimal requirement: it helps your spellcasting and your Will saves, but no more than a 14 is necessary to take advantage of this class.
Races: Regardless of the baggage, elves make excellent rangers. They have a hit on Constitution, but also a strong Dexterity which helps. Half-orcs, oddly, make also excellent rangers, if they focus on the ability to grapple or use throwing weapons. Dwarves may seem a bit off, but what they actually lose is Charisma; they prefer to use axes, and deal with underground or mountain creatures, and most specifically against the enemies of their people.
Amongst other savage humanoids, expect orcs, most large goblinoids such as hobgoblins and bugbears, and others as rangers. Usually, while the barbarian is the warrior of the savage lands, the ranger is the "rogue-type" of the savage lands.
Alignment: The Ranger has no alignment restrictions, because no alignment has restrictions against Rangers. Good Rangers usually focus their abilities towards protection of their range (be it the always-present forest, the waste, or even the seven seas in command of a ship), while evil Rangers exploit the concept of their favored enemy as a concept of pure enmity.
Starting Age: As PHB Ranger
Starting Gold: As PHB Ranger
Class Skills
The ranger class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Can you believe in last-minute changes? Then do so.
Originally, the list was basically a carbon-copy of the Ranger skill list, with the odd addition of Balance. Certainly, you might see a Ranger with proper balance: Rangers are pretty athletic on what they do, which is traversing the range to and fro. Tree-hugging Rangers travel through thin branches, trying their best not to fall. Same as plains Rangers traveling through bridges, and so forth. So, why not add Balance?
Then I figured out two more things. Tumble usually represents the athletic ability to do rolls and moving erratically amongst the terrain, but we all know it's code for "not getting Attacks of Opportunity". So, why not add it to the Ranger, since most skill-monkeys (of which a Ranger belongs to) have them? Also, why Disable Device and not Open Lock? Well, Rangers can be expected to mount traps and search for them; the idea of making them capable of disarming said traps makes a heckuva lot of sense.
These last two weren't in the list of skills. After a brief stint, I thought to myself: "Self, what the heck? You thought of that, so why not give it to them?"
And thus, now Rangers can disable traps and other mechanical maladies, not to mention tumble their way out of trouble like the little daredevils they are. They still don't eclipse the Rogue, but hey, it's a proper start, no?
Hit Die: d8
The Ranger
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
0lvl
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
1st
+1
+2
+2
+0
Combat Style, Favored Enemy +2, Track, Wild Empathy
2
-
-
-
-
2nd
+2
+3
+3
+0
Trapfinding
3
-
-
-
-
3rd
+3
+3
+3
+1
Fast Movement (10 ft.)
3
-
-
-
-
4th
+4
+4
+4
+1
Animal Companion, Bonus Feat
3
0
-
-
-
5th
+5
+4
+4
+1
Favored Enemy +4, Uncanny Dodge
3
1
-
-
-
6th
+6/+1
+5
+5
+2
Improved Combat Style
3
1
-
-
-
7th
+7/+2
+5
+5
+2
Swift Tracker, Woodland Strikde
4
1
-
-
-
8th
+8/+3
+6
+6
+2
Bonus Feat, Camouflage
4
2
0
-
-
9th
+9/+4
+6
+6
+3
Evasion
4
2
1
-
-
10th
+10/+5
+7
+7
+3
Favored Enemy +6, Favored Terrain +2
4
2
1
-
-
11th
+11/+6/+1
+7
+7
+3
Combat Style Mastery, Improved Uncanny Dodge
5
2
1
0
-
12th
+12/+7/+2
+8
+8
+4
Bonus Feat, Hide in Plain Sight
5
3
2
1
-
13th
+13/+8/+3
+8
+8
+4
Trackless Step, Uncanny Tracker
5
3
2
1
-
14th
+14/+9/+4
+9
+9
+4
Improved Evasion
5
3
2
2
0
15th
+15/+10/+5
+9
+9
+5
Favored Enemy +8, Favored Terrain +4
5
3
3
2
1
16th
+16/+11/+6/+1
+10
+10
+5
Bonus Feat, Combat Style Supremacy
5
4
3
2
1
17th
+17/+12/+7/+2
+10
+10
+5
Survival Mastery
5
4
3
3
2
18th
+18/+13/+8/+3
+11
+11
+6
Undetectable
5
4
4
3
2
19th
+19/+14/+9/+4
+11
+11
+6
5
4
4
3
3
20th
+20/+15/+10/+5
+12
+12
+6
Bonus Feat, Favored Enemy +10, Favored Plane +2, Favored Terrain +6
5
4
4
3
3
Mostly the typical Ranger setup. If you've played a Ranger, it should be pretty familiar.
Still, you'll notice some changes. The first and the foremost is the 0-level spell slots. This is because the Ranger can cast spells right from the beginning, even if only orisons. This is good, since it also means the...well, lemme explain on the spell section, right?
The other is that there are more bonus feats than before. That is because of a big change in how the Combat Style works. You'll see once we get there.
The biggest disappointment might be the d8 instead of a proper d10. Thing is, Rangers are half-and-half in terms of HP potential: nothing like the actual Fighters, but nothing like the Rogues. So it's a medium term. Don't expect this to change so suddenly, since the Ranger works fine with a d8 (it's the Cleric which shouldn't have a d8, but that's me).
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the ranger.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A ranger is proficient with all simple and martial weapons plus the bolas and net, with light and medium armor, and with light shields.
Two massive changes. First, bolas and net: why so? Because they're awesome. Because they're classic capturing weapons, which might help and give a better flavor to good-aligned Rangers.
But the second is more important: medium armor. Rangers suffer a lot because they are light-armor warriors, but they may be expected on the front row. A breastplate, or a chain shirt, might not be too cumbersome nor too spectacular a change on a ranger, and in any case, people might go for mithral breastplates or mithral chainmail in the very end. I mean, even Aragorn, a supposed Ranger (of the North, I might add) uses a full-plate in the end, and unless he multiclassed or something, he shouldn't have worn full-plate armor. Unless he had proficiency in medium armor and wore a mithral fullplate, which may be the choice. In any case, medium armor is seldom loved (again, except for the breastplate) and it's time to give it some love.
Spells: A ranger casts divine spells, which are drawn from the druid spell list plus a few spells added to the list below. A ranger must choose and prepare his spells in advance (see below).
To prepare or cast a spell, a ranger must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a ranger’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the ranger’s Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a ranger can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Ranger. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Wisdom score. When Table: The Ranger indicates that the ranger gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his Wisdom score for that spell level.
A ranger prepares and casts spells the way a druid does, though he cannot lose a prepared spell to cast a Summon Nature's Ally spell in its place. A ranger may prepare and cast any spell on the druid spell list (see Player’s Handbook), with the following exceptions: a ranger may not prepare spells from the evocation or necromancy schools (with a few exceptions). A ranger, however, may prepare spells that are not available on the druid spell list and that are unique to him. A ranger may prepare and cast any spell on his spell list, provided that he can cast spells of that level, but he must choose which spells to prepare during his daily meditation.
If you guys saw the Bez-Kismet, I mentioned you could cast spells from the Sorcerer/Wizard spellbook, with a few exceptions. The Ranger gets the same from the Druid.
So people might have asked, why keep the spellcasting ability of the Ranger? The reasons are simple, but effective; there's a MASSIVE support for Ranger spells virtually everywhere, and they aren't painful in any case. Doing some minor healing, calling animals, getting awareness of location and whatnot. Up until 4th Edition, which changed everything, the Ranger has had a reasonable amount of spellcasting; in fact, the very 1st Edition Ranger had 1st and 2nd level Wizard spells, for crying out loud!
Now, Rangers get most of their pull from Druid spells, which are a mixed blessing. They aren't the uber-buffing spells Clerics get, but they are a nice bunch of spells in any case. Most of the old Ranger faves are still around, including those in many of the supplements; what the Ranger gets is the low-level Druid spell list as well. The biggest hit is Evocation (since the Druid spell list is full of high-damaging Evocations), but Rangers are best served by buffing themselves to high-heaven.
Oh, and they get 0-level spells. They also get caster level equal to their character level. This helps minimize their insane "sucky spellcasting" problem, even though in the end they'll still cast 4th level spells when the Druid and the Cleric and the Sorcerer and the Wizard are casting 9th level spells and so forth, but they are dedicated spellcasters, of course.
Combat Style (Ex): Rangers are hunters at heart. Whether the ranger learns his trade on the forest, the plain, the desert, or even the open sea, each learns similar tactics. They observe the dominant predators of nature, the tactics they use, and how their quarry adopts typical traits of the common prey. Rangers learn these tactics from the very source, refine them as the hunters have done in earlier times, and improve upon them as only a few are capable of.
At 1st level, the ranger may choose from one of the following combat styles. Each combat style grants a set of benefits related to the weapons or tactics used:
Archery: A ranger that follows this combat style uses the humble bow and arrow, a common tool used by the earliest hunters. He gains Rapid Shot as a bonus feat even if he doesn’t meet the prerequisites.
Capture: A ranger that follows this combat style seeks not to kill, but to capture; some would say play with or humiliate their quarry. He gains Improved Grapple and Improved Trip as bonus feats, even if he doesn’t meet the prerequisites.
Throwing: A ranger that follows this combat style prefers using light throwing weapons, covering a close range but remaining useful within melee. He gains Point Blank Shot and Far Shot as bonus feats.
Two-Weapon Fighting: A ranger that follows this combat style uses a weapon in each hand, in order to face several enemies within range. He gains Two-Weapon Fighting as a bonus feat even if he doesn’t meet the prerequisites.
You might recognize Combat Style. Usually, it's a collection of specific combat abilities focused in the use of specific weapons. As usual, Archery and Two-Weapon Fighting are here: the Archery line is the classic hunter/forest dweller/native line, while Two-Weapon Fighting deals mostly with dervishes and desert-dwellers. However, there are two new Combat Styles around, which are also useful to have.
One, of course, is Capture. A ranger of this kind is your cowboy, your gaúcho, or your law enforcement citizen. Capture works roughly along the lines of using the bolas or the net (hence, why they are Ranger weapons now) along with the quintessential grapple. They also have Improved Trip, so as to prevent their escape.
The other is Throwing. Thrown weapons are red-headed stepchildren in D&D; you rarely see a character using thrown weapons. Think of Native Americans using tomahawks; despite using rare weapons for a Ranger, in everything else they resemble the class (they have favored enemies, communion with nature, and so forth). Throwing also makes for a rare kind of Ranger, the one that can exist in urban settings or in carnivals, delighting people with their throwing finesse but usually protecting the city or the tent at night.
There might be other combat styles around, but these are the four essential ones to my consideration. However, the resemblance to the old combat styles ends here. If you've seen the retooled Samurai, you know what I speak of.
Favored Enemy (Ex): At 1st level, a ranger may select a type of creature from among those given on Table: Ranger Favored Enemies. The ranger gains a +2 bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against creatures of this type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on attack rolls and weapon damage rolls against such creatures.
At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th level), the ranger may select an additional favored enemy from those given on the table. In addition, at each such interval, the bonus against all favored enemies (including the one just selected) increases by 2.
If the ranger chooses humanoids or outsiders as a favored enemy, he must also choose an associated subtype, as indicated on the table. If a specific creature falls into more than one category of favored enemy, the ranger’s bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.
Ranger Favored Enemies
Type (Subtype)
Type (Subtype)
Aberration
Humanoid (reptilian)
Animal
Magical beast
Construct
Monstrous humanoid
Dragon
Ooze
Elemental
Outsider (air)
Fey
Outsider (chaotic)
Giant
Outsider (earth)
Humanoid (aquatic)
Outsider (evil)
Humanoid (dwarf)
Outsider (fire)
Humanoid (elf)
Outsider (good)
Humanoid (goblinoid)
Outsider (lawful)
Humanoid (gnoll)
Outsider (native)
Humanoid (gnome)
Outsider (water)
Humanoid (halfling)
Plant
Humanoid (human)
Undead
Humanoid (orc)
Vermin
At 10th level, a ranger gains the ability to replace one of his favored enemies by another. To do so, the ranger must spend an entire week studying about and training on the battle techniques of the favored enemy to be chosen. Once chosen, the ranger chooses which of the favored enemies to replace. By accepting a voluntary penalty of -2 on the bonus, the exchange may be done after a day; the penalty vanishes after a week in which the ranger has exchanged his favored enemy bonus.
First, you'll notice some fundamental changes. The list of skills in which the favored bonus applies has changed to something less idiotic. Urban Trackers might get a better kick out of Bluff or Sense Motive; real trackers will always get their quarry, and will rarely, if ever, be surprised by it. Thus, while they keep their Spot and Listen bonus, as well as their Survival bonus, they get bonuses against them in terms of Hide and Move Silently.
The second is adding the favored enemy bonus to attack rolls. This is also something reasonable: if you are capable of beating the living daylights out of your favored enemy, why the heck you don't know the places where they have less protection, or even their preferred evasive tactics? Thus, favored enemies now also boost your attack.
Aside from that, Favored Enemy is the same loved and hated ability that Rangers had since...1st Edition. Except 1st Edition favored enemies were brutally restricted.
UPDATE: Now, favored enemies have an exchange clause. Sort of like how a martial adept changes a learned maneuver, a ranger can exchange his favored enemy with some time of training, or with a penalty for rushed exchanges. That way, the ranger is always ready for whatever it comes, but it can either change at the moment or change with some time to learn the ropes appropriately.
UPDATE (the second): If you've played DDO, you might have noticed that the ranger gains the bonus on all favored enemies instead of just a specific bonus. While a bonus of +10 seems insanely strong (and it is, actually), it's nothing compared to...say, having creatures with 20 or 30 times that amount. With the exchange clause, you can twink your ranger to face the threats ahead, and with five favored enemies...
Track: A ranger gains Track as a bonus feat.
Legacy ability. Rangers are meant to be excellent trackers, and the Swift Tracker special ability helps on that. Thus, they keep this first bonus feat.
Wild Empathy (Ex): A ranger can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person. The ranger rolls 1d20 and adds his ranger level and his Wisdom bonus to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.
To use wild empathy, the ranger and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.
The ranger can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but he takes a –4 penalty on the check.
W-W-Wisdom!?
Yep, Wisdom. Unnecessary need for Charisma, and Wisdom is usually perceived as the base for perception, which may make even a jerk show that it has a heart of gold, even if it has horrible interpersonal skills. It's also so that you don't depend on Charisma anymore. Wild Empathy isn't any different from what it was, however, so it's not a massive change...
Trapfinding: From 2nd level and onwards, a ranger may use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a Difficulty Class higher than 20.
Finding a nonmagical trap has a DC of at least 20, or higher if it is well hidden. Finding a magic trap has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it.
Rangers can use the Disable Device skill to disarm magic traps. A magic trap generally has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it. A ranger who beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check can study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with his party) without disarming it.
This, however, is a big change.
Pretty much EVERYWHERE SANS D&D you've probably seen Rangers be master trap disarmers, usually at a lesser degree than the absolute masters of disarming (Rogues, naturally). So it makes little sense that you couldn't sense traps of a magical kind, considering you are capable of casting trap spells...
Thus, a mild rectification. Trapfinding makes the Ranger more of a scout and skill-monkey than it ever was, and for many a good reason.
Fast Movement (Ex): A 3rd level ranger’s land speed is faster than the norm for his race by +10 feet. This benefit applies only when he is wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the ranger’s speed because of any load carried or armor worn. This method of fast movement stacks with other bonuses to speed (such as the enhancement bonus to speed gained by means of the haste spell)
Another surprise.
Why does the Ranger needs or requires fast movement? Well, one of the reasons is because otherwise their quarry would disappear. Another is because they favor mobility, moving from one spot to another. Another is that they have Longstrider, so it makes sense.
The real reason? Why not?
Umm...the actual real reason is 'why not?', you guys...
Oh well, allow me to explain: there is no real specific reason why a Ranger must have fast movement, but there's also no specific real reason why a Ranger mustn't. They'll wear medium armor (which entails a movement penalty), they are a bit more mobile now what with Tumble and Balance, they have Woodland Stride which is a frickin' movement-related ability (which means a Ranger was actually expected to be mobile), so there's really few reasons why it shouldn't have fast movement.
Now, should you expect this of every other class? Maybe for the Rogue, but the Fighter types are either mounted or in armor so heavy they will barely be capable of running, so they have less reasons than a Ranger does.
Bonus Feat: At 4th level and every four levels afterwards, a ranger gains a bonus feat. The ranger may choose from the list of fighter bonus feats. A ranger is treated as a fighter of his class level minus three for purpose of feats that have a fighter bonus prerequisite.
If you've seen the retooled Monk or the retooled Samurai, you might expect this. Rangers are, much like Paladins, pretty feat-starved, considering that they have a specific feat path to follow. Now, they no longer have a specific path to follow, so they'll be feat-starved even more. Thus, they get bonus feats to compensate.
So what does this imply for combat styles? Read on.
Animal Companion (Ex): At 4th level, a ranger gains an animal companion selected from the following list: badger, camel, dire rat, dog, riding dog, eagle, hawk, horse (light or heavy), owl, pony, snake (Small or Medium viper), or wolf. If the campaign takes place wholly or partly in an aquatic environment, the following creatures may be added to the ranger’s list of options: crocodile, porpoise, Medium shark, and squid. This animal is a loyal companion that accompanies the ranger on his adventures as appropriate for its kind.
This ability functions like the druid ability of the same name, except that the ranger’s effective druid level is equal to his ranger level -3. A ranger may select from the alternative lists of animal companions just as a druid can, though again his effective druid level is equal to his ranger level -3. Like a druid, a ranger cannot select an alternative animal if the choice would reduce his effective druid level below 1st.
For those people that were worried that Rangers would lose their pets, fear not. For those who believe that Rangers don't need pets, well...
One massive difference from the original animal companion is that Rangers now have a less powerful, but still reasonably powerful companion. Class level -3 means the companion will be a tad weaker, but it will grow stronger as the Ranger progresses, becoming a valuable partner as time progresses. Even the oft-mentioned Drizzt has Gwenhwyvar (surprise as how I recall that bit of trivia, huh?), which has all the traits of "animal companion" except it's a tad more powerful. With the change, you can have a throwing-focused ranger mounting a dire bear while launching tomahawks from the air, if you want.
Now, will this imply that players will play pets with Ranger companions? Not necessarily, I hope not, but now Rangers will have a proper battling partner which won't be a nuisance. Like...well, not exactly like a familiar, perhaps as a hexblade's familiar (unless you're using a bez-kismet, in which case disregard that).
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 5th level, a ranger retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If a ranger already has uncanny dodge from a different class, he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead.
Uncanny Dodge?
Yep, Uncanny Dodge. You see, the ranger is usually the hunter, the prey, the one that lays in hiding and leaps to the ambush. Then...why in the Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia does the ranger lack the ability to refuse being caught unaware!? The ranger has a sixth sense formed from constantly seeing the camouflaged prey and nature itself, so why it can't apply this benefit to his fighting style!?
Hence, this was rectified.
Improved Combat Style (Ex): At 6th level, a ranger’s aptitude in his chosen combat style improves.
Archery: A ranger may attack in with any ranged weapon without provoking attacks of opportunity if he is in a threatened area. Furthermore, he deals extra damage with ranged attacks equal to his Dexterity modifier to all creatures except those immune to critical hits (unless the ranger treats the creature as a favored enemy; the extra damage is still negated if the creature has some sort of fortification)
Capture: A ranger is treated as one size larger for purposes of grappling or tripping opponents. Furthermore, he may use his Dexterity modifier or his Strength modifier for purposes of grappling or tripping, whichever is higher.
Throwing: The range increment of all thrown weapons used by the ranger increase by 30 feet. Furthermore, he may attack in with any ranged weapon without provoking attacks of opportunity if he is in a threatened area.
Two-Weapon Fighting: A ranger’s penalties when fighting with two weapons are reduced by 2, to a minimum of 0 penalty on the attack roll. Furthermore, he may use his Dexterity modifier or his Strength modifier for his attack and damage rolls, whichever is higher.
The benefits of the ranger’s chosen improved combat style apply only when he wears armor no heavier than medium. He loses all benefits of his combat style when wearing heavy armor.
As you may have noticed, the improved combat style is now really an improvement, rather than a simple "well, have some more feats now, then run off and play with them". These are actual abilities meant to enhance the use of these weapons.
Archery finally gets to use Dexterity for damage, although it's treated somewhat like Sneak Attack. Still, if you have favored enemy, you can bypass that restriction. This means you won't depend on Strength that much anymore. One note on fortification: when I mean "fortification", I mean the Warforged's light fortification or the fortification armor special property. Constructs are immune to critical hits and sneak attacks, but they also have fortification; if you have constructs as favored enemies, you should deal Dex damage to constructs as usual, even if they are fortified. However, if you're dealing with an elven warrior using Heavy Fortification Mithral armor (to mention an example), the elf still becomes immune to the added Dex modifier to damage, even if you have it as a favored enemy.
Capture makes you focus either on swift and unexpected grapples, or brute strength grapples. You've probably seen this on the Monk and the Samurai retoolings anyways, but one of the best buffs to combat maneuvers is a mini-powerful build benefit. Treating yourself as one size category larger does a world of benefit, believe me.
Throwing allows you to use weapons on a much more reasonable distance. You can get stuff like Quick Draw, TWF, and deliver a rain of attacks from either ground zero or from a reasonable distance.
Finally, Two-Weapon Fighting now allows for higher Dexterity and not much importance on Strength, allowing you to follow the path much more easily. Another big benefit is the total reduction of penalties, at least if you're wielding a light-weapon in the off-hand. It also allows you to use other weapons aside from light weapons or rapiers, which is a big benefit.
Swift Tracker (Ex): Beginning at 7th level, a ranger can move at his normal speed while following tracks without taking the normal –5 penalty. He takes only a –10 penalty (instead of the normal –20) when moving at up to twice normal speed while tracking.
Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 7th level, a ranger may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at his normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment.
However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion still affect him.
Legacy abilities. Not much to speak of them. Swift Tracker makes you track faster, Woodland Stride makes you walk faster and safer on natural hazards.
Camouflage (Ex): A ranger of 8th level or higher can use the Hide skill in any sort of natural terrain, even if the terrain doesn’t grant cover or concealment.
Legacy ability. You can Hide like nobody does. What's not to love about this?
UPDATE: Now accessible from earlier levels. Makes sense, since the ability is a modifier to Hide but by this moment you have more than one distraction to hide yourself.
Evasion (Ex): At 9th level, a ranger can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If he makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the ranger is wearing armor no heavier than medium. A helpless ranger does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Remember when I mentioned that the Ranger was great for mobility? Usually, a great mobile character has Evasion on its list of class abilities. Thus, if you can roll out of damage or move swiftly out of damage, why not have Tumble or fast movement? Aside from that, same legacy ability.
Favored Terrain (Ex): At 10th level, a ranger may select a type of terrain or environment from among those given on Table: Ranger Favored Terrains. Due to the ranger's experience in that terrain or environment, he gains a +2 bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills in that environment. He also gains the same bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks made in association with that environment (or on Knowledge (dungeoneering) checks made in association with underground environments, if the ranger has selected underground as a favored environment). Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on attack rolls and weapon damage rolls against any creature native to the environment; this bonus to attack rolls and weapon damage rolls applies even if the creature is outside the chosen terrain or environment, but not when the creature currently remains within the terrain and isn’t native to the environment.
At 15th level and again at 20th level, the ranger may select an additional favored terrain from those given on the table and gains an identical bonus on the appropriate skill checks in that environment, as well as attack rolls and weapon damage rolls against creatures native to the environment. In addition, at each such interval, the bonuses in all favored terrains (including the one just selected) increase by 2.
If the ranger chooses desert or forest, he must also choose a climate type, as indicated on the table (either "cold" or "temperate or warm" for desert, or "cold or temperate" or "warm" for forest). If a creature native to the environment is also a favored enemy, the bonuses on skills, attack rolls and damage rolls stack.
Table: Ranger Favored Terrains
Aquatic
Desert, cold
Desert, temperate or warm
Forest, cold or temperate
Forest, warm
Hills
Marsh
Mountains
Plains
Underground
At 15th level, a ranger gains the ability to replace one of his favored terrains by another. To do so, the ranger must spend an entire week studying about the favored terrain to be chosen. Once chosen, the ranger chooses which of his favored terrains to replace. By accepting a voluntary penalty of -2 on the bonus, the exchange may be done after a day; the penalty vanishes after a week in which the ranger has exchanged his favored terrain bonus.
This is my proposal of favored terrain. Basically, you choose a terrain within the Material Plane with which you're familiar with, and then you gain bonuses while at it. You don't merely get bonuses on the area; you also get bonuses against the local fauna and flora, which means you can by those levels replace your Favored Enemies with better ones and get the benefit from a terrain. If you spend most of the time underground, then you can specialize on being underground (Dwarven "cavers", ahoy! This means you can play the explorer type with little to no problem), or you can specialize in a cold desert (for you Frostfell dwellers). It's a natural expansion from Favored Enemy, and rightfully so.
UPDATE: Since Favored Enemy was buffed, Favored Terrain was buffed in equal regard. This makes the poor favored enemy facing an Archery-specced Ranger on the favored terrain a dead creature...but it also allows you to diversify a bit.
Combat Style Mastery (Ex): At 11th level, a ranger’s aptitude in his chosen combat style improves again.
Archery: The ranger improves his aim when using multiple arrows or shooting with increased speed. He may ignore the penalties when using the Rapid Shot or Manyshot feats. If he uses the Improved Rapid Shot feat, he may make one extra attack when using a full attack action; this is added to the benefit of the Rapid Shot feat.
Capture: The ranger’s capture techniques seemingly blend; creatures facing the ranger often end up tangled and in the floor. If the ranger succeeds on grappling or tripping an opponent, the creature is treated as if entangled until the beginning of the ranger’s next turn (even if it escapes or rises from prone). If a creature is entangled by means of a weapon, spell or special ability, the ranger gains a free trip attempt against it. If the ranger fails the trip attempt with a weapon, the creature cannot initiate a trip maneuver against him.
Throwing: The ranger throws weapons with such skill that they return to its hand. If a weapon is thrown within its first ranged increment, the weapon returns to the ranger as a free action (as if it had the returning special quality), ready to be used again. Thus, a ranger may make full ranged attacks with the same weapon.
Two-Weapon Fighting: The ranger strikes with both of his weapons using a fluid motion. At any moment a ranger makes a melee attack against an opponent, he attacks with both of his weapons, but takes a -2 penalty on the attack roll. If the attack roll is successful, the creature takes damage from both of the weapons, plus 1-1/2 times his Strength modifier. This benefit applies to attacks of opportunity, extra attacks gained by spells or special abilities (such as the extra attack gained by the Improved Trip feat), but does not apply to full attacks (including full attacks as part of a charge by means of the pounce ability); instead, he gains the benefit of the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, as usual. Whenever the ranger attacks with his two weapons in this way, he is treated as if holding a weapon with two hands for purposes of feats and abilities (such as the Power Attack feat). If the ranger is capable of dealing precision damage (such as sneak attack, and including the ranger’s favored enemy bonus damage), it deals such damage as if using one weapon.
As before, the benefits of the ranger’s chosen style apply only when he wears armor no heavier than medium. He loses all benefits of his combat style mastery when wearing heavy armor.
More love for our combat styles. Here's a clear divergence from what I did to the retooled Samurai: while the latter had supernatural abilities at that moment, the Ranger has full extraordinary abilities.
Archery adds more punch to the volley. You can ignore penalties when using Rapid Shot (not that important, although a -2 might hurt), when using Manyshot (so you throw a volley of arrows with absolutely no penalty), and Improved Rapid Shot grants you an extra attack that stacks with Rapid Shot (so that means...by this moment, five attacks with a bow).
Capture makes both grappling and tripping much easier. If you grapple, you can trip; if you trip, you can grapple. Well...more like if you grapple or entangle, you can attempt to trip and if you trip, you can entangle for a while. Entangle is a nasty ability, which prevents movement and hinders some actions; coupled with grapple, it can be pretty troubling. Freedom of Movement, of course, is the bane of this kind of ability, but remember that while those FoM users can't work that well on an antimagic field, you can. Well, at least a bit better.
Throwing now adds returning to the list. But not just ANY returning; FREE-ACTION returning. So you can now get a single weapon, make it as you like, and attack with a full attack. Better yet; why not use two? Furthermore, this works in an Antimagic Field, remember that.
Two-Weapon Fighting gains an ability that will make people smile. yes, as you can figure out, you're essentially making a standard action attack with two weapons as if they were used in two hands. The Strength modifier (or Dexterity modifier, that is) applies only once, but for those of you whom love TWF and Strength, you can apply Power Attack with TWF! Not only that, you can make the attack whenever you gain a melee attack, so it ignores Dual Hit and Two-Weapon Attack of Opportunity and those other feats. This is a big change, of course.
A bit of legacy is that you can't use these attacks on heavy armor. Still, you have medium armor to work out, so it's not that bad.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 11th level and higher, a ranger can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the ranger by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has ranger levels. If a character already has uncanny dodge from a second class, the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum level a rogue must be to flank the character.
And just as the Ranger gets Uncanny Dodge, he also gains Improved Uncanny Dodge. I find that the Ranger was meant to have this ability instead of the Barbarian, but the Barbarian got the ability and the ranger didn't. More justice for the ranger!
Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): While in any sort of natural terrain, a ranger of 12th level or higher can use the Hide skill even while being observed.
After some careful consideration, Hide in Plain sight was placed on an earlier level. You won't have much chances to use Hide in Plain Sight, so might as well get it while it still counts. It's a great ability, but acquired far too late.
Trackless Step (Ex): Starting at 13th level, a ranger leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. He may choose to leave a trail if so desired.
A bit late, but makes perfect sense. Since when do you see a hunter leaving his tracks right at the open? By this level, a ranger should leave NO TRACKS WHATSOEVER. So yeah...
Uncanny Tracker (Su): Starting at 13th level, a ranger may track a creature moving under the effect of a pass without trace spell, the trackless step class ability or a similar feature, though he takes a -20 penalty to Survival checks to do so.
This ability is a cool cookie. The Ranger is the master of all trackers, the ultimate tracker in history...then why does his tracking mastery stops at...7th level? Now, not only does the Ranger leave no tracks, it can detect when other guys leave no tracks, effectively canceling his own ability.
Improved Evasion (Ex): At 14th level, a ranger’s evasion ability improves. He still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth he takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless ranger does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.
Surprise! Not only the Ranger gets Evasion, it gets the big brother too!
I'll admit, I got the idea from the Bez-Kismet (and other classes around, including the Monk). If you already have Evasion, why not take it one step further? Thus, Improved Evasion.
...And apparently I speak far too much. I'll use the other post to add the remaining abilities...
I presume you guys must have missed me. Did you? Didn't you? Oh well, a lapse of three months isn't something to brag upon, and there's some brew that if I don't post, it'll get stale.
Take the Ranger. The concept of the Ranger is bizarre: from the very first edition of the Ranger, this fella is a warrior with some magical knowledge and some animal affinity, but in the end, it has always been associated with the range. Both the range and the range. Don't know what I'm speaking of? Well, I mean the range (as in the plains, the vast and extense territory) and the range (fighting from distance using one or more ranged weapons). This should evoke various archetypes.
Sadly, only two images usually present themselves:
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:gvWFSAW5UQBSBM:http://arwen-undomiel.com/images/legolas/Legolas_bow.jpg&t=1
One is of the bow-wielding archer ranger, deft in shooting several arrows from the quiver, usually from high atop a tree. Elven friend Legolas is a good example of this.
Then there's the opposite. Yes, the opposite. You'll hate me for this:
http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070618040404/forgottenrealms/images/e/e7/Drizzt_Do'Urden_-_SoD_-_Todd_Lockwood.jpg
The other is the guy who wields two weapons, dancing majestically while delivering death with two impossibly sharp weapons. And yes, to play with the opposition, Drizzt Do'Urden, often imitated but never equaled Dark Elf, is the poster boy of this fighting style.
But...what happened to the other rangers? I mean, we won't certainly consider rangers like these guys:
http://jeffsandquist.com/images/posts/LookingforYogiBear_1189F/ranger.gif
Sorry Mr. Ranger, but you can't survive on a real range. You know, that with owlbears and aberrations.
https://bridgeproject.wikispaces.com/file/view/power_rangers_2.jpg/89093309/power_rangers_2.jpg
No offense guys: I still do a mighty arm-pump when I see ya, but you're just too unrealistic for a D&D game. Maybe if Sentai rules were implemented (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140247)...
http://i3.3djuegos.com/juegos/1612/pokemon_ranger/fotos/analisis/pokemon_ranger-250157.jpg
Well, exceptions can be made, no? Pet Rangers could be useful, but then again, that's why you have Druids, no?
So, what are we looking on a ranger? What happened to desert rangers, or sea rangers, or even underground rangers!? What happened to Walker, or Geronimo, or the gauchos, or the pirates!? They could be Rangers, not that hard enough to be precise; it just needs some imagination.
Thus, after the moderate success of the Samurai, and the implementation of the Bez-Kismet which has certainly caused...little impression, but hey, it's available around, I have decided to take my tools and work on the Ranger. Will it be good? Will it be bad? Will it be ugly...?
Only time will tell...meanwhile, get a good Morricone song (it can be Ecstasy of Gold, but it can also be something else) and enjoy the...
RANGER
http://th06.deviantart.net/fs45/PRE/i/2009/098/3/4/Twisted_Princess__Pocahontas_by_jeftoon01.jpg
Pocahontas: Twisted Princess by jeftoon01. Original can be seen here (http://jeftoon01.deviantart.com/art/Twisted-Princess-Pocahontas-118583763).
"Let the shaman speak to you of the bounty of saving nature. I will teach you what happens when you spoil it..."
MAKING A RANGER (or, what has and hasn't changed):
Abilities: A ranger is a melee combatant first and foremost, so you'll want Strength and/or Dexterity to be quite high; however, regardless of what path you choose, Dexterity will always be a strong choice. Constitution is also important, as you want a strong Fortitude save and the consequent amount of Hit Points. Wisdom is a minimal requirement: it helps your spellcasting and your Will saves, but no more than a 14 is necessary to take advantage of this class.
Races: Regardless of the baggage, elves make excellent rangers. They have a hit on Constitution, but also a strong Dexterity which helps. Half-orcs, oddly, make also excellent rangers, if they focus on the ability to grapple or use throwing weapons. Dwarves may seem a bit off, but what they actually lose is Charisma; they prefer to use axes, and deal with underground or mountain creatures, and most specifically against the enemies of their people.
Amongst other savage humanoids, expect orcs, most large goblinoids such as hobgoblins and bugbears, and others as rangers. Usually, while the barbarian is the warrior of the savage lands, the ranger is the "rogue-type" of the savage lands.
Alignment: The Ranger has no alignment restrictions, because no alignment has restrictions against Rangers. Good Rangers usually focus their abilities towards protection of their range (be it the always-present forest, the waste, or even the seven seas in command of a ship), while evil Rangers exploit the concept of their favored enemy as a concept of pure enmity.
Starting Age: As PHB Ranger
Starting Gold: As PHB Ranger
Class Skills
The ranger class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Can you believe in last-minute changes? Then do so.
Originally, the list was basically a carbon-copy of the Ranger skill list, with the odd addition of Balance. Certainly, you might see a Ranger with proper balance: Rangers are pretty athletic on what they do, which is traversing the range to and fro. Tree-hugging Rangers travel through thin branches, trying their best not to fall. Same as plains Rangers traveling through bridges, and so forth. So, why not add Balance?
Then I figured out two more things. Tumble usually represents the athletic ability to do rolls and moving erratically amongst the terrain, but we all know it's code for "not getting Attacks of Opportunity". So, why not add it to the Ranger, since most skill-monkeys (of which a Ranger belongs to) have them? Also, why Disable Device and not Open Lock? Well, Rangers can be expected to mount traps and search for them; the idea of making them capable of disarming said traps makes a heckuva lot of sense.
These last two weren't in the list of skills. After a brief stint, I thought to myself: "Self, what the heck? You thought of that, so why not give it to them?"
And thus, now Rangers can disable traps and other mechanical maladies, not to mention tumble their way out of trouble like the little daredevils they are. They still don't eclipse the Rogue, but hey, it's a proper start, no?
Hit Die: d8
The Ranger
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
0lvl
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
1st
+1
+2
+2
+0
Combat Style, Favored Enemy +2, Track, Wild Empathy
2
-
-
-
-
2nd
+2
+3
+3
+0
Trapfinding
3
-
-
-
-
3rd
+3
+3
+3
+1
Fast Movement (10 ft.)
3
-
-
-
-
4th
+4
+4
+4
+1
Animal Companion, Bonus Feat
3
0
-
-
-
5th
+5
+4
+4
+1
Favored Enemy +4, Uncanny Dodge
3
1
-
-
-
6th
+6/+1
+5
+5
+2
Improved Combat Style
3
1
-
-
-
7th
+7/+2
+5
+5
+2
Swift Tracker, Woodland Strikde
4
1
-
-
-
8th
+8/+3
+6
+6
+2
Bonus Feat, Camouflage
4
2
0
-
-
9th
+9/+4
+6
+6
+3
Evasion
4
2
1
-
-
10th
+10/+5
+7
+7
+3
Favored Enemy +6, Favored Terrain +2
4
2
1
-
-
11th
+11/+6/+1
+7
+7
+3
Combat Style Mastery, Improved Uncanny Dodge
5
2
1
0
-
12th
+12/+7/+2
+8
+8
+4
Bonus Feat, Hide in Plain Sight
5
3
2
1
-
13th
+13/+8/+3
+8
+8
+4
Trackless Step, Uncanny Tracker
5
3
2
1
-
14th
+14/+9/+4
+9
+9
+4
Improved Evasion
5
3
2
2
0
15th
+15/+10/+5
+9
+9
+5
Favored Enemy +8, Favored Terrain +4
5
3
3
2
1
16th
+16/+11/+6/+1
+10
+10
+5
Bonus Feat, Combat Style Supremacy
5
4
3
2
1
17th
+17/+12/+7/+2
+10
+10
+5
Survival Mastery
5
4
3
3
2
18th
+18/+13/+8/+3
+11
+11
+6
Undetectable
5
4
4
3
2
19th
+19/+14/+9/+4
+11
+11
+6
5
4
4
3
3
20th
+20/+15/+10/+5
+12
+12
+6
Bonus Feat, Favored Enemy +10, Favored Plane +2, Favored Terrain +6
5
4
4
3
3
Mostly the typical Ranger setup. If you've played a Ranger, it should be pretty familiar.
Still, you'll notice some changes. The first and the foremost is the 0-level spell slots. This is because the Ranger can cast spells right from the beginning, even if only orisons. This is good, since it also means the...well, lemme explain on the spell section, right?
The other is that there are more bonus feats than before. That is because of a big change in how the Combat Style works. You'll see once we get there.
The biggest disappointment might be the d8 instead of a proper d10. Thing is, Rangers are half-and-half in terms of HP potential: nothing like the actual Fighters, but nothing like the Rogues. So it's a medium term. Don't expect this to change so suddenly, since the Ranger works fine with a d8 (it's the Cleric which shouldn't have a d8, but that's me).
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the ranger.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A ranger is proficient with all simple and martial weapons plus the bolas and net, with light and medium armor, and with light shields.
Two massive changes. First, bolas and net: why so? Because they're awesome. Because they're classic capturing weapons, which might help and give a better flavor to good-aligned Rangers.
But the second is more important: medium armor. Rangers suffer a lot because they are light-armor warriors, but they may be expected on the front row. A breastplate, or a chain shirt, might not be too cumbersome nor too spectacular a change on a ranger, and in any case, people might go for mithral breastplates or mithral chainmail in the very end. I mean, even Aragorn, a supposed Ranger (of the North, I might add) uses a full-plate in the end, and unless he multiclassed or something, he shouldn't have worn full-plate armor. Unless he had proficiency in medium armor and wore a mithral fullplate, which may be the choice. In any case, medium armor is seldom loved (again, except for the breastplate) and it's time to give it some love.
Spells: A ranger casts divine spells, which are drawn from the druid spell list plus a few spells added to the list below. A ranger must choose and prepare his spells in advance (see below).
To prepare or cast a spell, a ranger must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a ranger’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the ranger’s Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a ranger can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Ranger. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Wisdom score. When Table: The Ranger indicates that the ranger gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his Wisdom score for that spell level.
A ranger prepares and casts spells the way a druid does, though he cannot lose a prepared spell to cast a Summon Nature's Ally spell in its place. A ranger may prepare and cast any spell on the druid spell list (see Player’s Handbook), with the following exceptions: a ranger may not prepare spells from the evocation or necromancy schools (with a few exceptions). A ranger, however, may prepare spells that are not available on the druid spell list and that are unique to him. A ranger may prepare and cast any spell on his spell list, provided that he can cast spells of that level, but he must choose which spells to prepare during his daily meditation.
If you guys saw the Bez-Kismet, I mentioned you could cast spells from the Sorcerer/Wizard spellbook, with a few exceptions. The Ranger gets the same from the Druid.
So people might have asked, why keep the spellcasting ability of the Ranger? The reasons are simple, but effective; there's a MASSIVE support for Ranger spells virtually everywhere, and they aren't painful in any case. Doing some minor healing, calling animals, getting awareness of location and whatnot. Up until 4th Edition, which changed everything, the Ranger has had a reasonable amount of spellcasting; in fact, the very 1st Edition Ranger had 1st and 2nd level Wizard spells, for crying out loud!
Now, Rangers get most of their pull from Druid spells, which are a mixed blessing. They aren't the uber-buffing spells Clerics get, but they are a nice bunch of spells in any case. Most of the old Ranger faves are still around, including those in many of the supplements; what the Ranger gets is the low-level Druid spell list as well. The biggest hit is Evocation (since the Druid spell list is full of high-damaging Evocations), but Rangers are best served by buffing themselves to high-heaven.
Oh, and they get 0-level spells. They also get caster level equal to their character level. This helps minimize their insane "sucky spellcasting" problem, even though in the end they'll still cast 4th level spells when the Druid and the Cleric and the Sorcerer and the Wizard are casting 9th level spells and so forth, but they are dedicated spellcasters, of course.
Combat Style (Ex): Rangers are hunters at heart. Whether the ranger learns his trade on the forest, the plain, the desert, or even the open sea, each learns similar tactics. They observe the dominant predators of nature, the tactics they use, and how their quarry adopts typical traits of the common prey. Rangers learn these tactics from the very source, refine them as the hunters have done in earlier times, and improve upon them as only a few are capable of.
At 1st level, the ranger may choose from one of the following combat styles. Each combat style grants a set of benefits related to the weapons or tactics used:
Archery: A ranger that follows this combat style uses the humble bow and arrow, a common tool used by the earliest hunters. He gains Rapid Shot as a bonus feat even if he doesn’t meet the prerequisites.
Capture: A ranger that follows this combat style seeks not to kill, but to capture; some would say play with or humiliate their quarry. He gains Improved Grapple and Improved Trip as bonus feats, even if he doesn’t meet the prerequisites.
Throwing: A ranger that follows this combat style prefers using light throwing weapons, covering a close range but remaining useful within melee. He gains Point Blank Shot and Far Shot as bonus feats.
Two-Weapon Fighting: A ranger that follows this combat style uses a weapon in each hand, in order to face several enemies within range. He gains Two-Weapon Fighting as a bonus feat even if he doesn’t meet the prerequisites.
You might recognize Combat Style. Usually, it's a collection of specific combat abilities focused in the use of specific weapons. As usual, Archery and Two-Weapon Fighting are here: the Archery line is the classic hunter/forest dweller/native line, while Two-Weapon Fighting deals mostly with dervishes and desert-dwellers. However, there are two new Combat Styles around, which are also useful to have.
One, of course, is Capture. A ranger of this kind is your cowboy, your gaúcho, or your law enforcement citizen. Capture works roughly along the lines of using the bolas or the net (hence, why they are Ranger weapons now) along with the quintessential grapple. They also have Improved Trip, so as to prevent their escape.
The other is Throwing. Thrown weapons are red-headed stepchildren in D&D; you rarely see a character using thrown weapons. Think of Native Americans using tomahawks; despite using rare weapons for a Ranger, in everything else they resemble the class (they have favored enemies, communion with nature, and so forth). Throwing also makes for a rare kind of Ranger, the one that can exist in urban settings or in carnivals, delighting people with their throwing finesse but usually protecting the city or the tent at night.
There might be other combat styles around, but these are the four essential ones to my consideration. However, the resemblance to the old combat styles ends here. If you've seen the retooled Samurai, you know what I speak of.
Favored Enemy (Ex): At 1st level, a ranger may select a type of creature from among those given on Table: Ranger Favored Enemies. The ranger gains a +2 bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against creatures of this type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on attack rolls and weapon damage rolls against such creatures.
At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th level), the ranger may select an additional favored enemy from those given on the table. In addition, at each such interval, the bonus against all favored enemies (including the one just selected) increases by 2.
If the ranger chooses humanoids or outsiders as a favored enemy, he must also choose an associated subtype, as indicated on the table. If a specific creature falls into more than one category of favored enemy, the ranger’s bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.
Ranger Favored Enemies
Type (Subtype)
Type (Subtype)
Aberration
Humanoid (reptilian)
Animal
Magical beast
Construct
Monstrous humanoid
Dragon
Ooze
Elemental
Outsider (air)
Fey
Outsider (chaotic)
Giant
Outsider (earth)
Humanoid (aquatic)
Outsider (evil)
Humanoid (dwarf)
Outsider (fire)
Humanoid (elf)
Outsider (good)
Humanoid (goblinoid)
Outsider (lawful)
Humanoid (gnoll)
Outsider (native)
Humanoid (gnome)
Outsider (water)
Humanoid (halfling)
Plant
Humanoid (human)
Undead
Humanoid (orc)
Vermin
At 10th level, a ranger gains the ability to replace one of his favored enemies by another. To do so, the ranger must spend an entire week studying about and training on the battle techniques of the favored enemy to be chosen. Once chosen, the ranger chooses which of the favored enemies to replace. By accepting a voluntary penalty of -2 on the bonus, the exchange may be done after a day; the penalty vanishes after a week in which the ranger has exchanged his favored enemy bonus.
First, you'll notice some fundamental changes. The list of skills in which the favored bonus applies has changed to something less idiotic. Urban Trackers might get a better kick out of Bluff or Sense Motive; real trackers will always get their quarry, and will rarely, if ever, be surprised by it. Thus, while they keep their Spot and Listen bonus, as well as their Survival bonus, they get bonuses against them in terms of Hide and Move Silently.
The second is adding the favored enemy bonus to attack rolls. This is also something reasonable: if you are capable of beating the living daylights out of your favored enemy, why the heck you don't know the places where they have less protection, or even their preferred evasive tactics? Thus, favored enemies now also boost your attack.
Aside from that, Favored Enemy is the same loved and hated ability that Rangers had since...1st Edition. Except 1st Edition favored enemies were brutally restricted.
UPDATE: Now, favored enemies have an exchange clause. Sort of like how a martial adept changes a learned maneuver, a ranger can exchange his favored enemy with some time of training, or with a penalty for rushed exchanges. That way, the ranger is always ready for whatever it comes, but it can either change at the moment or change with some time to learn the ropes appropriately.
UPDATE (the second): If you've played DDO, you might have noticed that the ranger gains the bonus on all favored enemies instead of just a specific bonus. While a bonus of +10 seems insanely strong (and it is, actually), it's nothing compared to...say, having creatures with 20 or 30 times that amount. With the exchange clause, you can twink your ranger to face the threats ahead, and with five favored enemies...
Track: A ranger gains Track as a bonus feat.
Legacy ability. Rangers are meant to be excellent trackers, and the Swift Tracker special ability helps on that. Thus, they keep this first bonus feat.
Wild Empathy (Ex): A ranger can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person. The ranger rolls 1d20 and adds his ranger level and his Wisdom bonus to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.
To use wild empathy, the ranger and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.
The ranger can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but he takes a –4 penalty on the check.
W-W-Wisdom!?
Yep, Wisdom. Unnecessary need for Charisma, and Wisdom is usually perceived as the base for perception, which may make even a jerk show that it has a heart of gold, even if it has horrible interpersonal skills. It's also so that you don't depend on Charisma anymore. Wild Empathy isn't any different from what it was, however, so it's not a massive change...
Trapfinding: From 2nd level and onwards, a ranger may use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a Difficulty Class higher than 20.
Finding a nonmagical trap has a DC of at least 20, or higher if it is well hidden. Finding a magic trap has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it.
Rangers can use the Disable Device skill to disarm magic traps. A magic trap generally has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it. A ranger who beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check can study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with his party) without disarming it.
This, however, is a big change.
Pretty much EVERYWHERE SANS D&D you've probably seen Rangers be master trap disarmers, usually at a lesser degree than the absolute masters of disarming (Rogues, naturally). So it makes little sense that you couldn't sense traps of a magical kind, considering you are capable of casting trap spells...
Thus, a mild rectification. Trapfinding makes the Ranger more of a scout and skill-monkey than it ever was, and for many a good reason.
Fast Movement (Ex): A 3rd level ranger’s land speed is faster than the norm for his race by +10 feet. This benefit applies only when he is wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the ranger’s speed because of any load carried or armor worn. This method of fast movement stacks with other bonuses to speed (such as the enhancement bonus to speed gained by means of the haste spell)
Another surprise.
Why does the Ranger needs or requires fast movement? Well, one of the reasons is because otherwise their quarry would disappear. Another is because they favor mobility, moving from one spot to another. Another is that they have Longstrider, so it makes sense.
The real reason? Why not?
Umm...the actual real reason is 'why not?', you guys...
Oh well, allow me to explain: there is no real specific reason why a Ranger must have fast movement, but there's also no specific real reason why a Ranger mustn't. They'll wear medium armor (which entails a movement penalty), they are a bit more mobile now what with Tumble and Balance, they have Woodland Stride which is a frickin' movement-related ability (which means a Ranger was actually expected to be mobile), so there's really few reasons why it shouldn't have fast movement.
Now, should you expect this of every other class? Maybe for the Rogue, but the Fighter types are either mounted or in armor so heavy they will barely be capable of running, so they have less reasons than a Ranger does.
Bonus Feat: At 4th level and every four levels afterwards, a ranger gains a bonus feat. The ranger may choose from the list of fighter bonus feats. A ranger is treated as a fighter of his class level minus three for purpose of feats that have a fighter bonus prerequisite.
If you've seen the retooled Monk or the retooled Samurai, you might expect this. Rangers are, much like Paladins, pretty feat-starved, considering that they have a specific feat path to follow. Now, they no longer have a specific path to follow, so they'll be feat-starved even more. Thus, they get bonus feats to compensate.
So what does this imply for combat styles? Read on.
Animal Companion (Ex): At 4th level, a ranger gains an animal companion selected from the following list: badger, camel, dire rat, dog, riding dog, eagle, hawk, horse (light or heavy), owl, pony, snake (Small or Medium viper), or wolf. If the campaign takes place wholly or partly in an aquatic environment, the following creatures may be added to the ranger’s list of options: crocodile, porpoise, Medium shark, and squid. This animal is a loyal companion that accompanies the ranger on his adventures as appropriate for its kind.
This ability functions like the druid ability of the same name, except that the ranger’s effective druid level is equal to his ranger level -3. A ranger may select from the alternative lists of animal companions just as a druid can, though again his effective druid level is equal to his ranger level -3. Like a druid, a ranger cannot select an alternative animal if the choice would reduce his effective druid level below 1st.
For those people that were worried that Rangers would lose their pets, fear not. For those who believe that Rangers don't need pets, well...
One massive difference from the original animal companion is that Rangers now have a less powerful, but still reasonably powerful companion. Class level -3 means the companion will be a tad weaker, but it will grow stronger as the Ranger progresses, becoming a valuable partner as time progresses. Even the oft-mentioned Drizzt has Gwenhwyvar (surprise as how I recall that bit of trivia, huh?), which has all the traits of "animal companion" except it's a tad more powerful. With the change, you can have a throwing-focused ranger mounting a dire bear while launching tomahawks from the air, if you want.
Now, will this imply that players will play pets with Ranger companions? Not necessarily, I hope not, but now Rangers will have a proper battling partner which won't be a nuisance. Like...well, not exactly like a familiar, perhaps as a hexblade's familiar (unless you're using a bez-kismet, in which case disregard that).
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 5th level, a ranger retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If a ranger already has uncanny dodge from a different class, he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead.
Uncanny Dodge?
Yep, Uncanny Dodge. You see, the ranger is usually the hunter, the prey, the one that lays in hiding and leaps to the ambush. Then...why in the Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia does the ranger lack the ability to refuse being caught unaware!? The ranger has a sixth sense formed from constantly seeing the camouflaged prey and nature itself, so why it can't apply this benefit to his fighting style!?
Hence, this was rectified.
Improved Combat Style (Ex): At 6th level, a ranger’s aptitude in his chosen combat style improves.
Archery: A ranger may attack in with any ranged weapon without provoking attacks of opportunity if he is in a threatened area. Furthermore, he deals extra damage with ranged attacks equal to his Dexterity modifier to all creatures except those immune to critical hits (unless the ranger treats the creature as a favored enemy; the extra damage is still negated if the creature has some sort of fortification)
Capture: A ranger is treated as one size larger for purposes of grappling or tripping opponents. Furthermore, he may use his Dexterity modifier or his Strength modifier for purposes of grappling or tripping, whichever is higher.
Throwing: The range increment of all thrown weapons used by the ranger increase by 30 feet. Furthermore, he may attack in with any ranged weapon without provoking attacks of opportunity if he is in a threatened area.
Two-Weapon Fighting: A ranger’s penalties when fighting with two weapons are reduced by 2, to a minimum of 0 penalty on the attack roll. Furthermore, he may use his Dexterity modifier or his Strength modifier for his attack and damage rolls, whichever is higher.
The benefits of the ranger’s chosen improved combat style apply only when he wears armor no heavier than medium. He loses all benefits of his combat style when wearing heavy armor.
As you may have noticed, the improved combat style is now really an improvement, rather than a simple "well, have some more feats now, then run off and play with them". These are actual abilities meant to enhance the use of these weapons.
Archery finally gets to use Dexterity for damage, although it's treated somewhat like Sneak Attack. Still, if you have favored enemy, you can bypass that restriction. This means you won't depend on Strength that much anymore. One note on fortification: when I mean "fortification", I mean the Warforged's light fortification or the fortification armor special property. Constructs are immune to critical hits and sneak attacks, but they also have fortification; if you have constructs as favored enemies, you should deal Dex damage to constructs as usual, even if they are fortified. However, if you're dealing with an elven warrior using Heavy Fortification Mithral armor (to mention an example), the elf still becomes immune to the added Dex modifier to damage, even if you have it as a favored enemy.
Capture makes you focus either on swift and unexpected grapples, or brute strength grapples. You've probably seen this on the Monk and the Samurai retoolings anyways, but one of the best buffs to combat maneuvers is a mini-powerful build benefit. Treating yourself as one size category larger does a world of benefit, believe me.
Throwing allows you to use weapons on a much more reasonable distance. You can get stuff like Quick Draw, TWF, and deliver a rain of attacks from either ground zero or from a reasonable distance.
Finally, Two-Weapon Fighting now allows for higher Dexterity and not much importance on Strength, allowing you to follow the path much more easily. Another big benefit is the total reduction of penalties, at least if you're wielding a light-weapon in the off-hand. It also allows you to use other weapons aside from light weapons or rapiers, which is a big benefit.
Swift Tracker (Ex): Beginning at 7th level, a ranger can move at his normal speed while following tracks without taking the normal –5 penalty. He takes only a –10 penalty (instead of the normal –20) when moving at up to twice normal speed while tracking.
Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 7th level, a ranger may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at his normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment.
However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion still affect him.
Legacy abilities. Not much to speak of them. Swift Tracker makes you track faster, Woodland Stride makes you walk faster and safer on natural hazards.
Camouflage (Ex): A ranger of 8th level or higher can use the Hide skill in any sort of natural terrain, even if the terrain doesn’t grant cover or concealment.
Legacy ability. You can Hide like nobody does. What's not to love about this?
UPDATE: Now accessible from earlier levels. Makes sense, since the ability is a modifier to Hide but by this moment you have more than one distraction to hide yourself.
Evasion (Ex): At 9th level, a ranger can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If he makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the ranger is wearing armor no heavier than medium. A helpless ranger does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Remember when I mentioned that the Ranger was great for mobility? Usually, a great mobile character has Evasion on its list of class abilities. Thus, if you can roll out of damage or move swiftly out of damage, why not have Tumble or fast movement? Aside from that, same legacy ability.
Favored Terrain (Ex): At 10th level, a ranger may select a type of terrain or environment from among those given on Table: Ranger Favored Terrains. Due to the ranger's experience in that terrain or environment, he gains a +2 bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills in that environment. He also gains the same bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks made in association with that environment (or on Knowledge (dungeoneering) checks made in association with underground environments, if the ranger has selected underground as a favored environment). Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on attack rolls and weapon damage rolls against any creature native to the environment; this bonus to attack rolls and weapon damage rolls applies even if the creature is outside the chosen terrain or environment, but not when the creature currently remains within the terrain and isn’t native to the environment.
At 15th level and again at 20th level, the ranger may select an additional favored terrain from those given on the table and gains an identical bonus on the appropriate skill checks in that environment, as well as attack rolls and weapon damage rolls against creatures native to the environment. In addition, at each such interval, the bonuses in all favored terrains (including the one just selected) increase by 2.
If the ranger chooses desert or forest, he must also choose a climate type, as indicated on the table (either "cold" or "temperate or warm" for desert, or "cold or temperate" or "warm" for forest). If a creature native to the environment is also a favored enemy, the bonuses on skills, attack rolls and damage rolls stack.
Table: Ranger Favored Terrains
Aquatic
Desert, cold
Desert, temperate or warm
Forest, cold or temperate
Forest, warm
Hills
Marsh
Mountains
Plains
Underground
At 15th level, a ranger gains the ability to replace one of his favored terrains by another. To do so, the ranger must spend an entire week studying about the favored terrain to be chosen. Once chosen, the ranger chooses which of his favored terrains to replace. By accepting a voluntary penalty of -2 on the bonus, the exchange may be done after a day; the penalty vanishes after a week in which the ranger has exchanged his favored terrain bonus.
This is my proposal of favored terrain. Basically, you choose a terrain within the Material Plane with which you're familiar with, and then you gain bonuses while at it. You don't merely get bonuses on the area; you also get bonuses against the local fauna and flora, which means you can by those levels replace your Favored Enemies with better ones and get the benefit from a terrain. If you spend most of the time underground, then you can specialize on being underground (Dwarven "cavers", ahoy! This means you can play the explorer type with little to no problem), or you can specialize in a cold desert (for you Frostfell dwellers). It's a natural expansion from Favored Enemy, and rightfully so.
UPDATE: Since Favored Enemy was buffed, Favored Terrain was buffed in equal regard. This makes the poor favored enemy facing an Archery-specced Ranger on the favored terrain a dead creature...but it also allows you to diversify a bit.
Combat Style Mastery (Ex): At 11th level, a ranger’s aptitude in his chosen combat style improves again.
Archery: The ranger improves his aim when using multiple arrows or shooting with increased speed. He may ignore the penalties when using the Rapid Shot or Manyshot feats. If he uses the Improved Rapid Shot feat, he may make one extra attack when using a full attack action; this is added to the benefit of the Rapid Shot feat.
Capture: The ranger’s capture techniques seemingly blend; creatures facing the ranger often end up tangled and in the floor. If the ranger succeeds on grappling or tripping an opponent, the creature is treated as if entangled until the beginning of the ranger’s next turn (even if it escapes or rises from prone). If a creature is entangled by means of a weapon, spell or special ability, the ranger gains a free trip attempt against it. If the ranger fails the trip attempt with a weapon, the creature cannot initiate a trip maneuver against him.
Throwing: The ranger throws weapons with such skill that they return to its hand. If a weapon is thrown within its first ranged increment, the weapon returns to the ranger as a free action (as if it had the returning special quality), ready to be used again. Thus, a ranger may make full ranged attacks with the same weapon.
Two-Weapon Fighting: The ranger strikes with both of his weapons using a fluid motion. At any moment a ranger makes a melee attack against an opponent, he attacks with both of his weapons, but takes a -2 penalty on the attack roll. If the attack roll is successful, the creature takes damage from both of the weapons, plus 1-1/2 times his Strength modifier. This benefit applies to attacks of opportunity, extra attacks gained by spells or special abilities (such as the extra attack gained by the Improved Trip feat), but does not apply to full attacks (including full attacks as part of a charge by means of the pounce ability); instead, he gains the benefit of the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, as usual. Whenever the ranger attacks with his two weapons in this way, he is treated as if holding a weapon with two hands for purposes of feats and abilities (such as the Power Attack feat). If the ranger is capable of dealing precision damage (such as sneak attack, and including the ranger’s favored enemy bonus damage), it deals such damage as if using one weapon.
As before, the benefits of the ranger’s chosen style apply only when he wears armor no heavier than medium. He loses all benefits of his combat style mastery when wearing heavy armor.
More love for our combat styles. Here's a clear divergence from what I did to the retooled Samurai: while the latter had supernatural abilities at that moment, the Ranger has full extraordinary abilities.
Archery adds more punch to the volley. You can ignore penalties when using Rapid Shot (not that important, although a -2 might hurt), when using Manyshot (so you throw a volley of arrows with absolutely no penalty), and Improved Rapid Shot grants you an extra attack that stacks with Rapid Shot (so that means...by this moment, five attacks with a bow).
Capture makes both grappling and tripping much easier. If you grapple, you can trip; if you trip, you can grapple. Well...more like if you grapple or entangle, you can attempt to trip and if you trip, you can entangle for a while. Entangle is a nasty ability, which prevents movement and hinders some actions; coupled with grapple, it can be pretty troubling. Freedom of Movement, of course, is the bane of this kind of ability, but remember that while those FoM users can't work that well on an antimagic field, you can. Well, at least a bit better.
Throwing now adds returning to the list. But not just ANY returning; FREE-ACTION returning. So you can now get a single weapon, make it as you like, and attack with a full attack. Better yet; why not use two? Furthermore, this works in an Antimagic Field, remember that.
Two-Weapon Fighting gains an ability that will make people smile. yes, as you can figure out, you're essentially making a standard action attack with two weapons as if they were used in two hands. The Strength modifier (or Dexterity modifier, that is) applies only once, but for those of you whom love TWF and Strength, you can apply Power Attack with TWF! Not only that, you can make the attack whenever you gain a melee attack, so it ignores Dual Hit and Two-Weapon Attack of Opportunity and those other feats. This is a big change, of course.
A bit of legacy is that you can't use these attacks on heavy armor. Still, you have medium armor to work out, so it's not that bad.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 11th level and higher, a ranger can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the ranger by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has ranger levels. If a character already has uncanny dodge from a second class, the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum level a rogue must be to flank the character.
And just as the Ranger gets Uncanny Dodge, he also gains Improved Uncanny Dodge. I find that the Ranger was meant to have this ability instead of the Barbarian, but the Barbarian got the ability and the ranger didn't. More justice for the ranger!
Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): While in any sort of natural terrain, a ranger of 12th level or higher can use the Hide skill even while being observed.
After some careful consideration, Hide in Plain sight was placed on an earlier level. You won't have much chances to use Hide in Plain Sight, so might as well get it while it still counts. It's a great ability, but acquired far too late.
Trackless Step (Ex): Starting at 13th level, a ranger leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. He may choose to leave a trail if so desired.
A bit late, but makes perfect sense. Since when do you see a hunter leaving his tracks right at the open? By this level, a ranger should leave NO TRACKS WHATSOEVER. So yeah...
Uncanny Tracker (Su): Starting at 13th level, a ranger may track a creature moving under the effect of a pass without trace spell, the trackless step class ability or a similar feature, though he takes a -20 penalty to Survival checks to do so.
This ability is a cool cookie. The Ranger is the master of all trackers, the ultimate tracker in history...then why does his tracking mastery stops at...7th level? Now, not only does the Ranger leave no tracks, it can detect when other guys leave no tracks, effectively canceling his own ability.
Improved Evasion (Ex): At 14th level, a ranger’s evasion ability improves. He still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth he takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless ranger does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.
Surprise! Not only the Ranger gets Evasion, it gets the big brother too!
I'll admit, I got the idea from the Bez-Kismet (and other classes around, including the Monk). If you already have Evasion, why not take it one step further? Thus, Improved Evasion.
...And apparently I speak far too much. I'll use the other post to add the remaining abilities...