Andrian
2016-11-09, 10:54 PM
The setup
So, I recently started working toward adding a new player to one of my 5e games. He created what I think is an interesting concept, though the rules do not really support him very well. He wants to play a survivalist and guide with a chip on his shoulder. Sounds like a Ranger, right? Well, yeah, but he wants to play a Dragonborn Ranger... which is not the strongest class/race combo. However, he also wants to multiclass a few levels into Sorcerer because he likes the flavor of the draconic bloodline. Essentially, he's playing a dual-blooded Dragonborn. I have tried to convince him of at least half a dozen different directions to take his character, but he doesn't want to budge.
So what's the problem? Well, of all my players, he's going to turn out being the weakest - by a long shot. The stats and classes just don't support what he's trying to accomplish. Rather than punish him for coming up with a creative and unconventional idea, I'd like to try and make it work, which is why I come to you, people of the internet, for advice. I want to homebrew something that combines the flavor of both the Ranger and Sorcerer classes. Even if I don't use it in my game, I think it would be neat to see what I can come up with.
Initial thoughts on the build
At first, it might be tempting to go with something like the Arcane Archer. However, the goal isn't necessarily to make this character good at casting spells and shooting a bow. He's likely to do both of those things, but those aren't the aspects of the classes that my player is interested in. If they were, I might encourage him to simply take a level of Warlock, flavor Eldritch Blast as some kind of magic bow, and have him go Sorcerer the rest of the way.
He wants to be a tough-as-nails survivalist with a hatred for certain races and an eldritch heritage. He's likely to use a ranged weapon primarily, and so should have a Fighting Style to support that.
Here was my first thought: I'd start off with the Revised Ranger from Unearthed Arcana as the basic chassis for this class (Regular Ranger is underpowered to begin with from what I understand, so this shouldn't be a controversial move.) I'd then change the spellcasting stat from Wisdom to Charisma, and use the Ranger's spell progression with the Sorcerer's spell list. This has a number of advantages. For one, my player gets to take advantage of his Dragonborn's stat boost to charisma, and it keeps some of the flavor of the sorcerer intact.
However, many of the skills that are core to the Ranger class (namely Perception and Survival) are Wisdom-based, and so moving the casting stat to Charisma, while flavorful (and useful, considering this player's intended build), is going to cut down on the effectiveness of this homebrew by a lot. I feel like the class is having an identity crisis already, and I've just started. Granted, the Revised Ranger's Natural Explorer makes up for some of this, but I don't think it's enough to turn a mediocre survivalist into a pro. In addition, I'm taking away the Ranger's survival-boosting spells, such as Goodberry, which is definitely tipping the balance of the class away from "Survival Expert."
My first stab at the class
My thinking is this: I'd take the Ranger's Hit die and reduce it to 1d8 (a multiclass Ranger/Sorcerer might well end up with a similar number of hit points anyway). I'd leave the weapon, armor, and skill proficiencies the same. Then I'd replace the Ranger's more martial abilities with Sorcerer abilities. As mentioned above, the casting stat becomes Charisma and the spell list switches to that of the Sorcerer. Let's try this and see how it would look.
Level 1 could remain unchanged. Natural Explorer and Favored Enemy are perfect for this concept.
Level 2 would be our first big deviation from Ranger, replacing Fighting Style with Dragon Ancestor and Draconic Resilience from the Draconic bloodline. Since this is also our first spellcasting level, we should get some cantrips, too. I'm thinking 2.
Level 3 would give us Primeval Awareness, another flavorful ability from Ranger, and marks the point where normally we'd start down the path of a subclass. As the thought of trying to balance two or more subclasses is really daunting, I think I'll stick to just one path (it is a custom class, after all) and use it to introduce some more spellcasting abilities from the Sorcerer line. I'm really not sure what to do here. A weaker version of Font of Magic might be a good way to go, since it would open up metamagic later on.
Level 4 is easy. ASI, just like everyone gets.
Level 5 would be another subclass feature. If I go for something like Font of Magic for level 3, Metamagic has to go here. For Ranger, this is where they'd get Extra Attack, so the upgrade has to be big.
Level 6 gives us Greater Favored Enemy. This is the first Ranger ability that I'm not sure about keeping. While useful, I don't know if it makes sense with my player's vision of the character. It might, it might not. For now, I'll keep it.
Level 7 is another level for the subclass. This time, I'm going to go with Elemental Affinity.
Level 8 gives Rangers Fleet of Foot and an ASI. I don't see a problem with this, though I'd also be happy to switch Fleet of Foot out for something else.
Level 9 is barren for the ranger, but they get 2nd-level spells, so that's cool.
Level 10 gives Hide in Plain sight, which with the Revised version of the Ranger is pretty decent. I'll keep it.
Level 11 is another subclass feature. Interestingly, I don't know what to do here. It's too late for a Fighting Style, and Sorcerer doesn't really have much to offer, as most of their power is coming from spells. Maybe an upgrade to Font of Magic or Metamagic would be appropriate?
Level 12 is another ASI.
Level 13 is another empty level as far as features go, but getting 4th-level spells is exciting.
Level 14 gives Rangers Vanish. Nothing to do here.
Level 15 is another subclass feature, and I've been looking forward to this one, because it's Dragon Wings. 'Nuff said.
Level 16 is another ASI.
Level 17 gives access to 5th-level spells and nothing else.
Level 18 gives Feral Senses, which I see no reason to change.
Level 19 is the final ASI.
Level 20 is Foe Slayer for Rangers, which is a lame capstone. Even switching Wisdom for Charisma, I don't know if this is really that valuable. Let's see if Sorcerer has anything cool to offer us... Well, the options aren't great. All Sorcerer has left is Draconic Presence, which could be neat, or Sorcerous Restoration, which probably doesn't fit too well with what we've built. Let's go with Draconic Presence.
Final thoughts
For a first pass, I think this is an... okay class build at best. While I feel like it has a pretty strong identity as a draconic spellcaster survivalist, I'm worried that it won't work well in practice. For one thing, I've taken away any incentive to use weapons from the class, while still leaving it a half caster with a d8 hit die. I don't think those survival, stealth, and scouting abilities from the Revised Ranger are going to make up for the fact that this class isn't really GOOD at anything. It's not a good spellcaster, and it's definitely not a good fighter.
I know that levels 1-5 are going to be what makes or breaks this build. That's where you get all your basics. I'm worried that I've given too many powerful abilities up front, while at the same time crippling the class overall because of a lack of focus in any one area, which is going to result in the class being useless at mid to late game.
I think that if I'm going to improve this build, I will have to find a way to integrate magic and combat, similar to (but hopefully better than) Pathfinder's Magus. If I can do that, this class'll really shine. I think the way forward is going to be trashing Font of Magic and Metamagic in favor of gishing. That's gonna mean giving this class back its Fighting Style and improving its action economy.
I'll change it back to a d10 HD, because that would keep this class in line with other half casters. I'll leave spellcasting and proficiencies as they were in my first attempt.
Level 1 would grant the UA Revised Ranger's Favored Enemy and a Fighting Style.
Level 2 would grant Natural Explorer (UARR) and Expertise, as well as 2 cantrips.
Level 3 will see us drop Primeval Awareness in favor of Dragon Ancestor and Dragon Resilience.
Level 4 would give an ASI.
Level 5 would grant Spell Combat, an ability that would allow spells to be delivered by weapon attacks, like Pathfinder's Magus. I don't know the specifics of this ability yet, but it should be as good or better than Extra Attack, and gives this class a unique feel for 5e. It would also somewhat mimic the feel of the Sorcerer's Metamagic.
Level 6 is another tough place to think about. The UARR gets Greater Favored Enemy here, but it's far from my favorite ability for this class. The Homebrew Revised Ranger also upgrades Favored Enemy, though in a different way. Personally, I'm not a fan of either approach. Instead, I think I'll borrow from the Hunter archetype and offer Hunter's Prey.
Level 7 seems like a good time to put in Elemental Affinity.
Level 8 grants an ASI and to a normal Ranger would grant Fleet of Foot. However, I think it might be better to replace Fleet of Foot with the Hunter's Defensive Tactics.
Level 9 just gives 3rd-level spells. Probably fair, as this would boost the effectiveness of Spell Combat.
Level 10 gets Hide in Plain Sight
Level 11 is a great time to introduce the Hunter's Multiattack. I didn't know what to do here before, but now with Spell Combat, a Fighting Style, and the Hunter's other two options woven in here, this is an obvious choice.
Level 12 is another ASI.
Level 13 is also an empty level, but the addition of Fourth-level spells combined with Spell Combat and Multiattack will be making this class seriously dangerous at this point.
Level 14 grants Rangers Vanish, which is fine.
Level 15 gives Dragon Wings. This should really push a player toward taking the Archery path, which would allow you to become truly terrifying as you fly around shooting spell-enhanced arrows and raining death from above.
Level 16 is another ASI.
Level 17 gives access to 5th-level spells.
Level 18 gives Feral Senses, which is still okay.
Level 19 gives the final ASI.
Level 20 is another hard level. I'm going to either have to homebrew something or go with Draconic Presence. I'm happy to take suggestions on what would be better here.
So, I finally finished putting together this class's basic structure, up to the point where I think it's ready to be playtested. I still have no subclasses, but there are some customization options. Below is the most recent build.
Eldritch Hunter Version 0.8 (http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/BkGocqM-l)
Changelog:
V 0.8: This is the official starting point for the class. It is almost entirely a mixture of Ranger and Sorcerer features. The only original abilities this class offers are Spell Combat at level 5 and Perfect Spell Combat at level 20. This version should be ready for playtesting, but is far from a complete class homebrew due to the lack of subclasses.
Design goals:
V 1.0: This milestone will be reached when I have at least two subclasses defined.
V 2.0: If I ever get this far, it will be a redesign of the class from the ground up, redefining or outright scrapping many of Version 1.0's abilities and possibly introducing new subclasses. This could mean a shift in flavor for the class, as well, perhaps, to give it more of an identity beyond just being a mix of Sorcerer and Ranger. By the time we reach this version, the class should be balanced so that it can multiclass with Ranger or Sorcerer without overlapping them.
Thoughts going forward:
Someone suggested to me that this be a class about hunting eldritch abominations. While I like this flavor, I don't think it fits well with what my player wanted to do. I think that for V 2.0, I might try to embody this identity, perhaps replacing some of the features I cribbed from the Revised Ranger's Hunter Conclave with abilities that feel more like those of a magical bounty hunter. I'm not sure how I'll do this yet, but it's a ways off. As always, I'd love your input and advice.
So, I recently started working toward adding a new player to one of my 5e games. He created what I think is an interesting concept, though the rules do not really support him very well. He wants to play a survivalist and guide with a chip on his shoulder. Sounds like a Ranger, right? Well, yeah, but he wants to play a Dragonborn Ranger... which is not the strongest class/race combo. However, he also wants to multiclass a few levels into Sorcerer because he likes the flavor of the draconic bloodline. Essentially, he's playing a dual-blooded Dragonborn. I have tried to convince him of at least half a dozen different directions to take his character, but he doesn't want to budge.
So what's the problem? Well, of all my players, he's going to turn out being the weakest - by a long shot. The stats and classes just don't support what he's trying to accomplish. Rather than punish him for coming up with a creative and unconventional idea, I'd like to try and make it work, which is why I come to you, people of the internet, for advice. I want to homebrew something that combines the flavor of both the Ranger and Sorcerer classes. Even if I don't use it in my game, I think it would be neat to see what I can come up with.
Initial thoughts on the build
At first, it might be tempting to go with something like the Arcane Archer. However, the goal isn't necessarily to make this character good at casting spells and shooting a bow. He's likely to do both of those things, but those aren't the aspects of the classes that my player is interested in. If they were, I might encourage him to simply take a level of Warlock, flavor Eldritch Blast as some kind of magic bow, and have him go Sorcerer the rest of the way.
He wants to be a tough-as-nails survivalist with a hatred for certain races and an eldritch heritage. He's likely to use a ranged weapon primarily, and so should have a Fighting Style to support that.
Here was my first thought: I'd start off with the Revised Ranger from Unearthed Arcana as the basic chassis for this class (Regular Ranger is underpowered to begin with from what I understand, so this shouldn't be a controversial move.) I'd then change the spellcasting stat from Wisdom to Charisma, and use the Ranger's spell progression with the Sorcerer's spell list. This has a number of advantages. For one, my player gets to take advantage of his Dragonborn's stat boost to charisma, and it keeps some of the flavor of the sorcerer intact.
However, many of the skills that are core to the Ranger class (namely Perception and Survival) are Wisdom-based, and so moving the casting stat to Charisma, while flavorful (and useful, considering this player's intended build), is going to cut down on the effectiveness of this homebrew by a lot. I feel like the class is having an identity crisis already, and I've just started. Granted, the Revised Ranger's Natural Explorer makes up for some of this, but I don't think it's enough to turn a mediocre survivalist into a pro. In addition, I'm taking away the Ranger's survival-boosting spells, such as Goodberry, which is definitely tipping the balance of the class away from "Survival Expert."
My first stab at the class
My thinking is this: I'd take the Ranger's Hit die and reduce it to 1d8 (a multiclass Ranger/Sorcerer might well end up with a similar number of hit points anyway). I'd leave the weapon, armor, and skill proficiencies the same. Then I'd replace the Ranger's more martial abilities with Sorcerer abilities. As mentioned above, the casting stat becomes Charisma and the spell list switches to that of the Sorcerer. Let's try this and see how it would look.
Level 1 could remain unchanged. Natural Explorer and Favored Enemy are perfect for this concept.
Level 2 would be our first big deviation from Ranger, replacing Fighting Style with Dragon Ancestor and Draconic Resilience from the Draconic bloodline. Since this is also our first spellcasting level, we should get some cantrips, too. I'm thinking 2.
Level 3 would give us Primeval Awareness, another flavorful ability from Ranger, and marks the point where normally we'd start down the path of a subclass. As the thought of trying to balance two or more subclasses is really daunting, I think I'll stick to just one path (it is a custom class, after all) and use it to introduce some more spellcasting abilities from the Sorcerer line. I'm really not sure what to do here. A weaker version of Font of Magic might be a good way to go, since it would open up metamagic later on.
Level 4 is easy. ASI, just like everyone gets.
Level 5 would be another subclass feature. If I go for something like Font of Magic for level 3, Metamagic has to go here. For Ranger, this is where they'd get Extra Attack, so the upgrade has to be big.
Level 6 gives us Greater Favored Enemy. This is the first Ranger ability that I'm not sure about keeping. While useful, I don't know if it makes sense with my player's vision of the character. It might, it might not. For now, I'll keep it.
Level 7 is another level for the subclass. This time, I'm going to go with Elemental Affinity.
Level 8 gives Rangers Fleet of Foot and an ASI. I don't see a problem with this, though I'd also be happy to switch Fleet of Foot out for something else.
Level 9 is barren for the ranger, but they get 2nd-level spells, so that's cool.
Level 10 gives Hide in Plain sight, which with the Revised version of the Ranger is pretty decent. I'll keep it.
Level 11 is another subclass feature. Interestingly, I don't know what to do here. It's too late for a Fighting Style, and Sorcerer doesn't really have much to offer, as most of their power is coming from spells. Maybe an upgrade to Font of Magic or Metamagic would be appropriate?
Level 12 is another ASI.
Level 13 is another empty level as far as features go, but getting 4th-level spells is exciting.
Level 14 gives Rangers Vanish. Nothing to do here.
Level 15 is another subclass feature, and I've been looking forward to this one, because it's Dragon Wings. 'Nuff said.
Level 16 is another ASI.
Level 17 gives access to 5th-level spells and nothing else.
Level 18 gives Feral Senses, which I see no reason to change.
Level 19 is the final ASI.
Level 20 is Foe Slayer for Rangers, which is a lame capstone. Even switching Wisdom for Charisma, I don't know if this is really that valuable. Let's see if Sorcerer has anything cool to offer us... Well, the options aren't great. All Sorcerer has left is Draconic Presence, which could be neat, or Sorcerous Restoration, which probably doesn't fit too well with what we've built. Let's go with Draconic Presence.
Final thoughts
For a first pass, I think this is an... okay class build at best. While I feel like it has a pretty strong identity as a draconic spellcaster survivalist, I'm worried that it won't work well in practice. For one thing, I've taken away any incentive to use weapons from the class, while still leaving it a half caster with a d8 hit die. I don't think those survival, stealth, and scouting abilities from the Revised Ranger are going to make up for the fact that this class isn't really GOOD at anything. It's not a good spellcaster, and it's definitely not a good fighter.
I know that levels 1-5 are going to be what makes or breaks this build. That's where you get all your basics. I'm worried that I've given too many powerful abilities up front, while at the same time crippling the class overall because of a lack of focus in any one area, which is going to result in the class being useless at mid to late game.
I think that if I'm going to improve this build, I will have to find a way to integrate magic and combat, similar to (but hopefully better than) Pathfinder's Magus. If I can do that, this class'll really shine. I think the way forward is going to be trashing Font of Magic and Metamagic in favor of gishing. That's gonna mean giving this class back its Fighting Style and improving its action economy.
I'll change it back to a d10 HD, because that would keep this class in line with other half casters. I'll leave spellcasting and proficiencies as they were in my first attempt.
Level 1 would grant the UA Revised Ranger's Favored Enemy and a Fighting Style.
Level 2 would grant Natural Explorer (UARR) and Expertise, as well as 2 cantrips.
Level 3 will see us drop Primeval Awareness in favor of Dragon Ancestor and Dragon Resilience.
Level 4 would give an ASI.
Level 5 would grant Spell Combat, an ability that would allow spells to be delivered by weapon attacks, like Pathfinder's Magus. I don't know the specifics of this ability yet, but it should be as good or better than Extra Attack, and gives this class a unique feel for 5e. It would also somewhat mimic the feel of the Sorcerer's Metamagic.
Level 6 is another tough place to think about. The UARR gets Greater Favored Enemy here, but it's far from my favorite ability for this class. The Homebrew Revised Ranger also upgrades Favored Enemy, though in a different way. Personally, I'm not a fan of either approach. Instead, I think I'll borrow from the Hunter archetype and offer Hunter's Prey.
Level 7 seems like a good time to put in Elemental Affinity.
Level 8 grants an ASI and to a normal Ranger would grant Fleet of Foot. However, I think it might be better to replace Fleet of Foot with the Hunter's Defensive Tactics.
Level 9 just gives 3rd-level spells. Probably fair, as this would boost the effectiveness of Spell Combat.
Level 10 gets Hide in Plain Sight
Level 11 is a great time to introduce the Hunter's Multiattack. I didn't know what to do here before, but now with Spell Combat, a Fighting Style, and the Hunter's other two options woven in here, this is an obvious choice.
Level 12 is another ASI.
Level 13 is also an empty level, but the addition of Fourth-level spells combined with Spell Combat and Multiattack will be making this class seriously dangerous at this point.
Level 14 grants Rangers Vanish, which is fine.
Level 15 gives Dragon Wings. This should really push a player toward taking the Archery path, which would allow you to become truly terrifying as you fly around shooting spell-enhanced arrows and raining death from above.
Level 16 is another ASI.
Level 17 gives access to 5th-level spells.
Level 18 gives Feral Senses, which is still okay.
Level 19 gives the final ASI.
Level 20 is another hard level. I'm going to either have to homebrew something or go with Draconic Presence. I'm happy to take suggestions on what would be better here.
So, I finally finished putting together this class's basic structure, up to the point where I think it's ready to be playtested. I still have no subclasses, but there are some customization options. Below is the most recent build.
Eldritch Hunter Version 0.8 (http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/BkGocqM-l)
Changelog:
V 0.8: This is the official starting point for the class. It is almost entirely a mixture of Ranger and Sorcerer features. The only original abilities this class offers are Spell Combat at level 5 and Perfect Spell Combat at level 20. This version should be ready for playtesting, but is far from a complete class homebrew due to the lack of subclasses.
Design goals:
V 1.0: This milestone will be reached when I have at least two subclasses defined.
V 2.0: If I ever get this far, it will be a redesign of the class from the ground up, redefining or outright scrapping many of Version 1.0's abilities and possibly introducing new subclasses. This could mean a shift in flavor for the class, as well, perhaps, to give it more of an identity beyond just being a mix of Sorcerer and Ranger. By the time we reach this version, the class should be balanced so that it can multiclass with Ranger or Sorcerer without overlapping them.
Thoughts going forward:
Someone suggested to me that this be a class about hunting eldritch abominations. While I like this flavor, I don't think it fits well with what my player wanted to do. I think that for V 2.0, I might try to embody this identity, perhaps replacing some of the features I cribbed from the Revised Ranger's Hunter Conclave with abilities that feel more like those of a magical bounty hunter. I'm not sure how I'll do this yet, but it's a ways off. As always, I'd love your input and advice.