Sources of Ranger Goodness

[lunaticfringe]

I have been invited to play in a 4e game this weekend. I have only played once when it was new so I'm not that familiar. I would like play an Archer Ranger which I know is Martial.

Besides the PBH and Martial Books are there other splats worth looking at? I have been told between everyone attending they have pretty much everything. I just would like to save some time creating my character (I have no 4e books).

Oh I don't want a pet if possible.

[dariathalon]

PHB and Martial Power 1 and 2 are the big 3 to look at for ranger powers, though you might want to look at other books for feats and racial choices. There are a few others that have other powers but if you look at those three you'll have seen the majority of the possibilities. The rest would be scattered over a lot of other sources (mostly dragon issues).

A fourth book to check out would be Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdom. I'm not a big fan of essentials classes myself, but some people like their simplicity. They have a ranger option that is categorized as a controller instead of a striker. There are some powers in there that a PHB style ranger could poach, but not all are available for that. The general rule is if the power has a level you can nab it, so mostly utilities are possible from there, I think. Or, you might just choose to go with a Hunter Ranger. It is a variety of archer ranger, which you said you want, and it will come together a lot faster than a PHB ranger.

And don't worry, most varieties of ranger don't get animal companions.

[masteraleph]

Dariathalon is correct- a PHB1 ranger can take HotFK ranger utility powers, as long as they have a level (so they can't take the Hunter's At Wills, for example, because they don't have a level). There are a few Dragon magazines as well.