That's hilarious, but it's true.
The PHB ranger can hold their own against challenges of their CR all the way through the game.
Of course, this is done through very specific builds (archery + hiding), but it does work. The problem is that most people want to use swowdz, and rangers can't. As a result when someone want to play a quiet guy that clubs people to death with a 15" rusted nail or chops them up with a silver machete can't accomplish that in a manner that is acceptable.
Ranger
"The golem flexes at the joints in its arms and legs, right? I can break it no problem. Pass me a sledge-hammer and let's get the Artifact of Mass Resurrection that it's guarding. Just don't get in front of me when I'm channeling my Bear companion spirit, it wouldn't be pretty."
Playing a Ranger: You have a goal. It involves doing things. Sometimes killing things is part of it, so you've learned some basics on ending the existence of things. At the same time, you know that getting into fights will get you killed, so you've learned how to avoid what fights you can. Sometimes it involves moving through places with no nearby towns, inns or even roads, so you've learned how to get around in places that most people aren't familiar with.
Alignment: Rangers tend towards lawful; usually they have a specific goal that they are moving towards. Staying with a specific goal tends to make a person able to stick to what they say they wanted to do.
Rangers also tend to not be good. They tend to stick to pre-determined goals and are not unwilling to commit ungood acts towards furthering their goals completion. For many rangers, the goal justifies any method used to acheive it.
Races: Races that live in or by unexplored or uninhabited territory, Races that can live in isolation from others of the same species. Pretty much any race could have rangers, so long as individuals of the species are able to travel apart or alone from the bulk of their race's society.
Starting Gold: As Ranger.
Starting Age: As Ranger.
Hit Die: d8
Class Skills: The Ranger's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Craft (Int)
Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex) Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skills/Level: 6 + Intelligence Bonus
BAB: Good (1/1), Saves: Fort: Poor; Reflex: Good; Will: Good
Level Benefit
- 1 Know Your Foes, Ranger Lore, Killing Knowledge, Track, Spiritual Communion, Spell Casting
- 2 Unencumbered Attack +1
- 3 Great Fortitude, Totem
- 4 Companion Spirit [Animal, Vermin, Magical Beast, Fey]
- 5 Wild Empathy, Totem
- 6 Swift Tracker,
- 7 Companion Spirit [Giant, Humanoid, Ooze], Totem
- 8 Unencumbered Attack +2
- 9 Woodland Stride, Totem
- 10 Evasion
- 11 Totem
- 12 No sheild to hide behind, Unencumbered Attack +3
- 13 Companion Spirit [Dragon, Aberration, Outsider], Totem
- 14 Universal Empathy, Improved Communion
- 15 Totem
- 16
- 17 Totem
- 18
- 19 Totem
- 20
As an Immediate action a Ranger can Identify enemies by making a lvl check against a a DC of 10 + the creature's racial CR (that is, CR before any class levels).
This identification check garners the exact same information as an appropriate Knowledge check would. Additionally, the rules from Dead Book (tm) for identifying a Monster's Special Attacks, Special Qualities and Vunerabilities may also be used. The check made to identify a monster's various features are seperate Knowledge checks with the same DC as the Identification check.
Ranger Lore: You may make untrained Knowledge skill checks. You add your Ranger class levels to any knowledge check that you make. If you have at least 1 rank in any knowledge skill you gain the Skill Focus Feat for that Knowledge Skill.
Killing Knowledge: A Ranger's Skill Ranks can help them determine the best way to destroy their enemies. Rangers may add their skill ranks in damage against the appropriate Foes, up to a maximum of their Ranger class levels +3. This bonus damage only applies to BaB derived attacks. This damage is added after all other sources of damage are caclulated on a target and cannot be multiplied by any method.
Below is the list of skills and the enemies that they are effective against.
Note: Some creatures appear under more than one heading. You may only use one skill's ranks to determine bonus damage.
Heal : Humanoids, Giants, Animals, Magical Beasts, Monsterous Humanoids
Knowledge (Arcana): Constructs, Dragons, Magical beasts
Knowledge (Architecture and engineering): Buildings, Bridges, Fortifications, Siege Engines, Mechanical Devices, Constructs
Knowledge (Dungeoneering): Aberrations, Oozes, Vermin*
Knowledge (Nature): Animals, Fey, Giants, Monstrous humanoids, Plants, Vermin, Humanoids
Knowledge (Religion): Undead, Divine Beings, Outsiders (With Alignment Subtype only)
Knowledge (The Planes): Outsiders, Elementals, Any creature with a Planar
*Note: Vermin are usually identified by the Knowledge (Nature) skill; however Vermin in D&D land are not insects in that they have Darkvision, lack Scent and are mindless; all things that are the opposite of real life insects (real life insects rely on light to see, scent to follow trails and not only learn, but some species can be trained).
Knowledge (Arcana): Constructs, Dragons, Magical beasts
Knowledge (Architecture and engineering): Buildings, Bridges, Fortifications, Siege Engines, Mechanical Devices, Constructs
Knowledge (Dungeoneering): Aberrations, Oozes, Vermin*
Knowledge (Nature): Animals, Fey, Giants, Monstrous humanoids, Plants, Vermin, Humanoids
Knowledge (Religion): Undead, Divine Beings, Outsiders (With Alignment Subtype only)
Knowledge (The Planes): Outsiders, Elementals, Any creature with a Planar
*Note: Vermin are usually identified by the Knowledge (Nature) skill; however Vermin in D&D land are not insects in that they have Darkvision, lack Scent and are mindless; all things that are the opposite of real life insects (real life insects rely on light to see, scent to follow trails and not only learn, but some species can be trained).
Spiritual Communion: Rangers are in touch with the worlds between other worlds, and can use this extra persective to give them an extra advantage in thier struggles to acheive their goals.
As a swift action, a Ranger may establish a connection with the spirits that are in their current surroundings. This communion allows the Ranger to re-roll any dice roll that they make, but are then forced to take the result of this new roll. A Ranger is able to maintain this communion as a Non-Action gor a number of rounds equal to their Ranger level.
Track: You can track and gain the Track [Skill] Feat.
Great Fortitude: As the [Combat] feat
Unencumbered Attack: When wearing armour that has an Armour Check Penalty lower than 1/2 their Ranger level, a Ranger gets an extra attack at their highest attack bonus when attacking with ranged weapons or when fighting with one melee weapon in each hand. A Ranger gains more Unencumbered Attacks as their gain in levels.
Companion Spirit: Rangers are in touch with the very spirits of the megaverse. Often these spirits will coalese into a creature to aid the Ranger. A Companion Spirit takes on the form of a creature whose CR is the Ranger's CR-2. If the creature form that the Companion Spirit takes is killed, the Ranger may recall it with a 1 hour ritual.
Wild Empathy: A Ranger may make Diplomacy checks with creatures that cannot normally speak, but are alive (Essentially everything that is not a Construct or Undead, and cannot normally speak). A Ranger may add their class levels and Wisdom modifier to this Diplomacy check.
Woodland Stride: A Ranger is not slowed down by difficult terrain or other effects that make the terrain that they are crossing more difficult to cross
Swift Tracker: A Ranger can move at his normal speed while following tracks without taking the normal -5 penalty. They take only a -10 penalty (instead of the normal -20) when moving at up to twice normal speed while tracking.
Evasion: A Ranger can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If they make a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, they instead take no damage. Evasion can be used only if the Ranger is wearing armour whose armour check penalty is greater than 1/2 their Ranger levels. A helpless Ranger does not gain the benefit of evasion. If the Ranger already has Evasion from an other source, this ability becomes upgraded to Improved Evasion. This ability works like evasion, except that while the Ranger still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks henceforth they take only half damage on a failed save. A helpless Ranger does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.
No sheild to hide behind: As long as a Ranger is not using any form of sheild, they may add the enchancement bonus of any weapons that they are currently wielding as a enhancement bonus to their sheild Armour Class.
Universal Empathy: A Ranger's Wild Empathy ability may be used on anything with a charisma score.
Totems
Hide like a Black Panther: Burn your Communion to gain +X to your hide and move silently checks for one round. At level A, you are affected as by the Invisibility spell, at level B as if by Improved Invisibility. at level C as if by the Blink spell, with no miss chance on your own attacks.
Tiger's Ferocity: If you expend your Spirtial Communion, you gain, for one round, the following benefits: Any time you strike in melee, you may initiate a grapple. While in a grapple, you may attack as much as you could as if you weren't in the grapple. While grappling, your armour class is counted as full, while those you are grappling with count as if they are flatfooted. At level A, you count as if all of your extremities and mouths are natural weapons that deal damage appropriate for a creature one size category smaller than yourself. At level B, your
Speed of the Deer: If you expend your Spiritual Communion, for one roung you gain an insight bonus to your speed of +30', and all of your jump checks are divided by 5. Additionally, at level A, you may cast Dimension Door with a caster level equal to your Ranger level, at level B you may cast Plane Shift with a limitation on the target that it can only be yourself and willing creatures.
Eyes of the Eagle: Expend your Spiritual Communion to gain +1/2 your class level to spot and search checks for one round. At level A, you also gain the benefit of the See Invisible spell, at level B you gain the benefit of the Arcane Eye spell, at level C you can the benefit of the True Seeing spell.
Tough as a bear: Expend SC, Gain gain +X AC, At level A, gain DR X/-, at level B gain Fast Healing X, at level C gain Regeneration (only "unaligned natural attacks" (?) deal lethal damage to you
Strong as a bull: Expend SC, gain +X to all Strength-based rolls and skill checks, at level A you may charge through occupied squares, you must make a successful bullrush or overrun attempt to continue moving through an occupied square and can only continue with your charge if the creature is moved out of your way, or is continuing to move out of your way. At level B you may
Brave as a Wolverine: Expend SC, gain a +X bonus to all saving throws, at level A
Jaws of the crocodile:
Relentlessness of the Wolf
Cunning like a Fox
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Spell List:
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Added some more abilities, and yeah, it's looking a lot like the fighter and/or monk. A bit of both really. The "fighting styles" scale, but are set in stone (maybe make a list of them? allow selection of them) and are fueled by "combat focus."
