Ranger Alternative Class Feature for EtCR - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Sysane Dec 27, 2006 13:20:25	Greetings all, Looking for input on an alternative class feature for the ranger in EtCR. Comments and suggestion are welcome. Know Thy Enemy As a ranger, you understand the undead menace and the blight it is to the land. Your hatred of the walking dead instills you with a fervor and understanding unknown by most. Through study and the honing of your skills you are accomplished in combating the undead. Level: 1st. Replaces: You lose your favored enemy ability. Benefit: Your insight and perception of the undead mind is without peer. It is due to this intimate knowledge that you are better able to fight the living dead. You receive a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against the undead. Additionally, you receive a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls and your armor class against undead adversaries. Lastly, you gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against the special attacks and abilities of undead creatures. These bonuses increase by 2 when you reach 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th level). This is an extraordinary ability.
#2 The_Jester Dec 27, 2006 20:17:46	It kinda sucks. From a gaming perspective. It's trading the favoured enemy ability for +2 to saving throws and AC. While the skill and damage bonuses are identical to the base ability the ranger loses the ability to select more favoured enemies. A fifteenth level ranger would have +8 against one enemy, +6 against another, +4 against another and a final bonus of +2. The substitution class only receives +8 against one enemy but also +8 AC and +8 to saves. In an undead heavy game it might be interesting, but any game with a range of creatures and it suddenly becomes less impressive. Even EtCR has a variety of creatures from shapechanges and undead and (mostly) outsiders and aberrations. A normal ranger playing EtCR could pick all four and have bonus damage and abilities in every fight but the specialty ranger would lose abilities and have no bonuses 3/4 of the time.
#3 Sysane Dec 27, 2006 21:39:10	Much like the other alternate abilities offered in EtCR. They trade one ability to focus on combating the undead. This ability is very much in the same vein as those ones (read more on the Lightbringers in EtCR). Now, if you want to say those abilities suck as well I have no further arguement. Thats your personal opinion and I can't do much to change it. From what I've read of EtCR thus far, this ability would be very useful. Sure, not every creature in the adventure is of the undead type, but they are encountered more often than not.
#4 lord_of_the_seven_towers_dup Jan 02, 2007 4:35:24	My group is playing through the adventure as a one-off, ie the characters were created at 6th level and aren't being used afterward (probably). As such that Ranger mod would work really well, as they know undead are the order of the day. Such as bonus to all saves could be the difference between life and death (and undeath)
#5 The_Jester Jan 04, 2007 18:57:28	For EtCr it would be alright. It's a very kick-in-the-door mod so there are far fewer examples where Bluff, Sense Motive and Survival would come into play and Spot and Listen only really apply to half the battles, if even that (since there's pretty much something in every room its hard to be surprised). The bonus to AC and saves is impressive as it's replacing a half-dozen skill bonuses and 2-8 AC is alot. At 10th level when it raises to +6 this is almost doubling a ranger's base saves (tripling they're weak will save). Against undead (which make up the bulk of the mod's first half) the ranger would be a force to be reckoned with. In the later half when outsiders and aberrations are more common the ranger is far less effective. In a social game when other skills would be useful it would hurt. And in a game where there are few undead it would be less than useless.
#6 Sysane Jan 05, 2007 8:10:47	In other games I would change the mechanic in that a ranger could select other creature types other than undead. ;)

Post/Author/DateTime

Post

Sysane

Dec 27, 2006 13:20:25

Greetings all,

Looking for input on an alternative class feature for the ranger in EtCR.

Comments and suggestion are welcome.

Know Thy Enemy
As a ranger, you understand the undead menace and the blight it is to the land. Your hatred of the walking dead instills you with a fervor and understanding unknown by most. Through study and the honing of your skills you are accomplished in combating the undead.
Level: 1st.
Replaces: You lose your favored enemy ability.
Benefit: Your insight and perception of the undead mind is without peer. It is due to this intimate knowledge that you are better able to fight the living dead.

You receive a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against the undead. Additionally, you receive a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls and your armor class against undead adversaries. Lastly, you gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against the special attacks and abilities of undead creatures.

These bonuses increase by 2 when you reach 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th level). This is an extraordinary ability.

The_Jester

Dec 27, 2006 20:17:46

It kinda sucks. From a gaming perspective.

It's trading the favoured enemy ability for +2 to saving throws and AC. While the skill and damage bonuses are identical to the base ability the ranger loses the ability to select more favoured enemies.

A fifteenth level ranger would have +8 against one enemy, +6 against another, +4 against another and a final bonus of +2. The substitution class only receives +8 against one enemy but also +8 AC and +8 to saves.
In an undead heavy game it might be interesting, but any game with a range of creatures and it suddenly becomes less impressive. Even EtCR has a variety of creatures from shapechanges and undead and (mostly) outsiders and aberrations.
A normal ranger playing EtCR could pick all four and have bonus damage and abilities in every fight but the specialty ranger would lose abilities and have no bonuses 3/4 of the time.

Sysane

Dec 27, 2006 21:39:10

Much like the other alternate abilities offered in EtCR. They trade one ability to focus on combating the undead. This ability is very much in the same vein as those ones (read more on the Lightbringers in EtCR).

Now, if you want to say those abilities suck as well I have no further arguement. Thats your personal opinion and I can't do much to change it.

From what I've read of EtCR thus far, this ability would be very useful. Sure, not every creature in the adventure is of the undead type, but they are encountered more often than not.

lord_of_the_seven_towers_dup

Jan 02, 2007 4:35:24

My group is playing through the adventure as a one-off, ie the characters were created at 6th level and aren't being used afterward (probably).

As such that Ranger mod would work really well, as they know undead are the order of the day. Such as bonus to all saves could be the difference between life and death (and undeath)

The_Jester

Jan 04, 2007 18:57:28

For EtCr it would be alright.

It's a very kick-in-the-door mod so there are far fewer examples where Bluff, Sense Motive and Survival would come into play and Spot and Listen only really apply to half the battles, if even that (since there's pretty much something in every room its hard to be surprised).
The bonus to AC and saves is impressive as it's replacing a half-dozen skill bonuses and 2-8 AC is alot. At 10th level when it raises to +6 this is almost doubling a ranger's base saves (tripling they're weak will save). Against undead (which make up the bulk of the mod's first half) the ranger would be a force to be reckoned with.

In the later half when outsiders and aberrations are more common the ranger is far less effective.

In a social game when other skills would be useful it would hurt. And in a game where there are few undead it would be less than useless.

Sysane

Jan 05, 2007 8:10:47

In other games I would change the mechanic in that a ranger could select other creature types other than undead. ;)