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Strormer
2011-09-06, 12:25 PM
Right, so here's what I've got right now.
I wanted to redesign the Druid and Ranger so that the Druid would be a little less god-like and the Ranger a little less six-year-old-girl-with-pigtails-like.
My current plan is this:
I keep the Druid as a full caster and shapechanger, but completely remove the animal companion from the mix. Then I grant the ranger a fully featured animal companion and remove all casting from him. Now the Druid is a shapeshifting caster (take note that I'm using the Strain/Tolerance magic system (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11488284#post11488284)) and the Ranger is a combat character with a powerful beast by his side. I'm thinking of expanding the Ranger to get secondary companions, but if I do that then he'll basically become the beastmaster PrC.

Not a terribly large change for either one, but I wanted thoughts before I messed with them further because this is the core of my redesign.

paddyfool
2011-09-06, 02:47 PM
The Druid fix is, of course, a flat nerf, and a quite justifiable one (the Druid would remain a perfectly decent Tier 1 without the AC, just a little less broken out of the box).

The Ranger fix I'm not so sure about. Although it gets a much better deal than the standard Low Magic Ranger, it's worth noting that a lot of the power in an AC comes from shared buffs, and a Ranger without spells can't really self-buff. Also, there are already three pretty decent Ranger fixes outside of homebrew (Wildshape Ranger ACF gives much more versatility and some more combat ability, especially with Master of Many Forms; Mystic Ranger ACF gives many more spells, which are basically the most powerful thing to have in the game; and multiclassing with Scout while taking the Swift Hunter feat gives more skill points and damage). And that's before you get into creative fixes for different concepts of what the class should be, such as playing some more effective combatant, such as a Whirling Frenzy variant Barbarian with the Wild Cohort feat, and just calling yourself a Ranger.

Prime32
2011-09-06, 02:50 PM
I keep the Druid as a full caster and shapechanger, but completely remove the animal companion from the mix.This is exactly the Shapeshifter ACF from PHB2, which also has a shapeshifting ability that modifies your ability scores rather than replacing them (so that you can't ignore Str/Dex if you want to fight in melee). Plus no Natural Spell.

jiriku
2011-09-06, 03:09 PM
The shapeshift variant is indeed a worthy fix to the druid. +1 to that.

Ranger w/o spells is really a wussy barbarian, IMO. You'll find many ranger fixes already on these boards - looking through them could give you some good ideas for a fix tailored to your own campaign. You might even find one you like enough to steal completely, which would save you some trouble. I'm obviously totally biased on this one, but I do recommend my ranger fix.

Strormer
2011-09-07, 01:46 AM
Right, first off, I haven't gotten to look closely at much phb2 outside the knight so I'm not familiar with the druid fix, but I'll take your word on it. As for my ranger, I want to go more fighter with animal guardian than magic so I can see where a ranger would be a weak barbar in that respect. If I keep the basic no magic full AC, what could I add to bump up his power sans casting? (Btw, there is a reason, in my homebrew cs, for why rangers wou,d have no casting.)

paddyfool
2011-09-07, 06:01 AM
How to do this within the rules as they stand:

Route 1:

1) Go for a Low Magic Ranger from Complete Warrior (the alternative benefits are much weaker than the spells they replace, but not negligible), swapping out the Animal Companion for Distracting Attack (PHBII) or Spiritual Guide (CC).
2) Multiclass with Scout (PHB2) using the Swift Hunter feat (Complete Scoundrel). See here for ideas on how to make this work well. (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19872750/The_Swift_Hunters_Handbook_--_2007)
3) Take the Wild Cohort feat (I forget the source). Swift hunters are pretty feat-hungry, but if it's key to your concept, go for it.

Route 2:

1) Barbarian or Ranger 2/Barbarian
2) Wild Cohort feat