Ranger

The woman pulls her hood back, pointed ears betraying elven ancestry. She can pick up on the forest's slightest signs. Mould gnaws at the edge of leaves. Foul colours dance in puddles. Rot touches the air. She spins a blade in each hand, lip curling. Time to hunt a monster.

His beard’s gone untrimmed for weeks and his feet ache in their boots, but he's finally caught up with the orcs who’ve been launching raids on mountain caravans. The cloaked dwarf ducks behind a boulder as one of them laughs. His eyes widen. He knows their ugly tongue. They have prisoners.

A gang of gnolls creep toward the silent tents and extinguished fire, but the dark erupts into yowls as one steps into a razor-toothed snaptrap. Its comrade giggles in terror and takes an arrow through the eye. Another whirls around, only to be slammed to the ground by a snarling wolf. The last flees. In the night, a halfling smiles.

Unlooked for and often unthanked, across cursed deserts and in the heart of ancient forests, high in icy mountains and deep in stinking swamps, beyond the warm fires of civilization, the rangers keep the peace.

Deadly Hunters

The greatest rangers are legendary warriors of the wilderness, but even they fight more like predators than soldiers. A ranger tracks their quarry, lays subtle traps and ambushes, and waits for the perfect moment to strike. In their endless war against the savage hordes and terrible monsters that threaten the edge of civilization, they make sure not to fight battles they can’t win.

The wild is a harsh teacher, and its lessons form an obsession that makes rangers particularly effective against specific favoured enemies. They often know their foes better than their friends, and are relentless in their pursuit.

Self-Sufficient Adventurers

Whether they travel between towns on an endless patrol or make their home deep in the wilderness itself, rangers are well-used to a life with more creatures than creature comforts. This makes them well-suited to acting as guides, shepherding more urbane companions away from starvation, exhaustion and deprivation.

Some of the tricks rangers learn to survive border on magic, passed down by secretive circles or taught by spirits who shun the civilized world. These mysteries often baffle coddled city-folk, but they quickly learn to appreciate the expertise of a true wayfarer.

The Wanderer

This new version of the Ranger is a martial class intended to pull off the role of strategic support, using skills and Knacks to keep the party healthy and on-track, without the explosive and on-demand support abilities of the Cleric or Paladin.

In exchange, it gives up the sheer power of the original Natural Explorer feature, as well as its Spellcasting capability. If you want to make use of both versions of this class in the same game, you can rename this version the Wanderer.

Creating a Ranger

When you create your ranger character, consider the origin of your restless vigil. Are you pursuing some bitter grudge or family oath? Do you belong to an order of outriders or monster hunters? Did you grow up in a nomadic tribe or hermit clan? Did you choose to leave civilization, or were you driven out, banished by unjust laws?

What’s the nature of your affinity for a particular kind of creature or landscape? Are you fascinated by their savage beauty, or do you simply despise them, driven by the need to avenge a deep loss? Did you learn to live in the wasteland out of necessity, or a love for its deadly beauty?

Are you adventuring as part of guarding the borderlands, perhaps to slay some legendary monster? Or is your new role as an adventuring guide a change in direction?

Why did you join up with a band of adventurers? Do you find their company a struggle, or do you welcome the newfound camaraderie and fresh perspectives?

Quick Build

You can make a ranger quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. (Some rangers who focus on close-range fighting make Strength higher than Dexterity.) Second, choose the outlander background.

Class Features

As a ranger, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d10 per ranger level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constituion modifier per ranger level after 1st

Proficiencies

• Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
• Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
• Tools: None

• Saving Throws: Strength, Dexerity
• Skills: Choose three from Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Stealth and Survival.

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
• (a) two shortswords or (b) two simple melee weapons
• (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
• (a) longbow and 20 arrows or (b) a martial weapon

Hunter's Mark

You have a keen predator’s eye. Starting at 1st level, you may use a bonus action to apply a hunter’s mark to a single creature you can perceive within 100 feet. This mystic mark remains in place for one hour or until the target is reduced to 0 hit points.

Whenever you hit a marked target with a weapon attack, your focus adds your Wisdom modifier to the damage. You also have advantage on Wisdom and Intelligence checks that directly relate to a marked target. You cannot remove the mark early, and cannot maintain more than one mark.

At 4th level your mark lasts for 8 hours, and you may remove it early after a minimum duration of one hour. At 10th level, this maximum duration increases to 24 hours. At 16th level, it increases to one week. At 20th level, you may maintain it indefinitely.

Wayfarer

You’re well-practiced with wandering the land, venturing even beyond the borders of the map. Starting at 1st level you remain alert to danger even when engaged in another activity while traveling, such as foraging, navigating or tracking. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for Wisdom (Survival) and Intelligence (Nature) checks.

Outsider Affinity

You have spent your life dealing with strange places, beasts and peoples, but some stand out in particular.

At 1st level, choose a type of creature other than humanoid (such as undead, beasts or dragons), or up to two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and humans), or a background (such as criminals, nobles and cultists) or a type of environment (such as arctic, mountain or jungle). This is your outsider affinity.

You learn one language commonly spoken by your affinity, or those who study and hunt it, or those who live in such an area. You also treat all examples of your affinity as bearing your hunter’s mark. You receive an additional outsider’s affinity at 5th, 9th, 13th and 17th level.

Campfire Knacks

Lonely practice has immersed you in the mysteries of the wild, and your knack for surviving beyond civilization straddles the line between untaught magic and campfire skill.

Starting at 2nd level, you may use a knack you know whenever you finish a short rest. When you finish a long rest you can use any combination of three knacks, including repeated uses of the same knack. The dice rolled for knacks increases when you reach certain levels in this class: to 1d8 at 6th level, 1d10 at 14th level, and 1d12 at 18th level.

You know a total number of knacks up to your proficiency bonus. Whenever you gain a ranger level, you can choose one knack you know and replace it with another you could learn.

At 2nd level, you know two of the following knacks.

• Ascetic Intuition. You can analyze 1d6 creatures or objects within reach as though using the identify spell.
• Curious Lacquer. You choose one damage type from acid, cold, fire, lightning, and poison, and up to 1d6 weapons within reach. Ammunition counts as a quarter of a weapon. Once in the next eight hours, the weapon’s wielder can use a bonus action to convert that weapon’s damage into damage of the chosen type for one minute.
• Dauntless Healing. Any friendly creatures who regain hit points at the end of the short rest by spending one or more Hit Dice regain 1d6 extra hit points. In a long rest, you may instead distribute half this many additional Hit Dice among friendly creatures resting with you (minimum 1).
• Elemental Wax. This knack works like Curious Lacquer, except that you choose up to 1d6 creatures within reach. They may use the bonus action to become resistant to the relevant damage type.
• Hideaway. You may use this knack at the start of a rest, causing other creatures to take a -1d6 penalty to Wisdom (Perception) checks to notice your campsite. At 9th level, you can instead apply the effects of the nondetection spell to your campsite while you rest.
• Live Off the Land. You quietly forage and stretch meals a little further, acquiring a day’s worth of food and water rations for 1d6 people. In areas where food is not scarce, add your Wisdom modifier to this roll.
• Personal Remedy. You apply the effects of the lesser restoration spell to 1d6 friendly creatures resting with you, removing the same condition from each. In a long rest, you can choose a single creature who would lose exhaustion at the end of the rest, and have them lose an extra level.
• Ready Weapons. You choose 1d6 weapons. Once in the next eight hours, a creature wielding that weapon can roll 1d4 and add the number rolled to an attack or damage roll using that weapon. They can roll this die before or after making the roll, but it is not affected by your knack dice.
• Travel Plans. You count as 1d6 characters for determining whether a group Wisdom (Survival) or (Perception) check fails. This lasts for eight hours or until you travel more than 2d6 miles from your camp, whichever comes first.
• Stitch in Time. You make repairs or improvise weapons, armour or items of adventurer’s gear worth a total of no more than 1d6gp. Improvised items fall apart after eight hours, and cannot provide sustenance.
• Scout Ahead. You acquire knowledge of an area immediately connected to your camp as though you had surveyed it with the commune with nature spell. This area has a radius of 1d6 x 1000 feet, or 1d6 x 20 feet in dungeons, cities and other densely-contained areas. This distance doubles in areas you have an affinity for.
• Without a Trace. You cause other creatures to take a -1d6 penalty to Wisdom (Survival) checks to identify your campsite or track creatures who rested there from it. This lasts for eight hours or until you travel more than 2d6 miles from your camp, whichever comes first.

Fighting Style

You develop a specialty in a particular fighting style. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

• Archery. You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons
• Dueling. When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
• Two-Weapon Fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier. Two-weapon fighting is not great.
• Versatile. When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack made with a versatile melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2.

Blade in Both Hands

The dual-wielding ranger is an iconic image, launching into battle in a flurry of blows, but this version of the class makes much more extensive use of bonus actions than its original counterpart, which hampers any use of two-weapon fighting. As an alternative, you may use the following rules, which exploit the combat options described in the Dungeon Master's Guide, pp. 271-272.

Two-Weapon Fighting

If you are wielding two one-handed light melee weapons, you are two-weapon fighting. When you make a melee attack on your turn while two-weapon fighting, you may use a bonus action to perform one of the following "off-hand blows", targeting a creature within reach.

• You may mark any one creature.
• You may perform a disarm attack.
• You may perform a shove attack.

Two-Weapon Fighting (Fighting Style)

You no longer need to use a bonus action to perform an off-hand blow when engaged in two-weapon fighting. You can still only perform one off-hand blow per melee attack. You gain an additional option when you use a bonus action to make an off-hand blow, which allows you to double your ability modifier when rolling for damage on your melee weapon attacks this turn.

Ranger Legend

At 3rd level, you choose a legend to live up to. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th level. Ranger Legends are detailed at the end of the class description: the Hunter, the Beast Master, and the Wyrd.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Sharp Instincts

By 6th level, your subconscious is like a tightened bowstring. You cannot be surprised at the start of an encounter. If you would not normally be surprised, after rolling initiative you receive a special turn that takes place before other creatures can act. You can only use this turn to Attack, Hide, or deploy a trap (e.g. ball bearings, springtrap). If another creature has a similar feature, you each take your special turns in order of initiative.

Strider

Starting at 8th level, moving through non-magical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement, exhaustion does not reduce your movement, and you cannot be paralyzed. In addition, you can move stealthily at a normal pace, though any non-stealthy companions will disrupt your stealth.

When moving through terrain you have an affinity for, you extend the advantage provided by Outsider Affinity to saving throws against non-magical hazards native to that area. This does not assist against deliberately-constructed hazards such as traps.

Primeval Senses

Starting at 10th level your instincts roam wild, allowing you to use your action to focus deeply on the region around you. You immediately learn whether any creatures bearing your hunter’s mark exist within a mile’s radius. You learn the nature of your affinity for these creatures (if any), but not their location or number.

At 18th level your experienced instincts and heightened senses fuse to a preternatural degree. You can attack creatures you cannot see without suffering disadvantage, and they no longer receive advantage on attacks against you. This ability depends on a combination of scent and sound, so you lose it when deafened.

Ambush

Starting at 14th level you combine speed and stealth to avoid detection. You can Hide or deploy a trap (e.g. ball bearings, springtrap) as a bonus action, and you can try to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by blurring with the terrain. Once per action, you can make an attack that does not automatically give away your position.

Beyond the Walls

At level 20, your mastery of everything the world has to throw at you gives you proficiency in all saving throws, and allows you to ignore the effects of exhaustion until it kills you.

Ranger Legend

Rangers wander beyond the borders of civilization, fighting to survive in places empty of authority. This often-lonely life breeds a common familiarity with the threats and opportunities offered by the land, but rangers are an individualistic lot, and among them are those whose deeds become legend even on the frontier.

Some become attuned to the spirits of nature or oath-bound to a proud vigil, while others lose themselves in the thrill of the hunt or find better company among beasts than those of their race.

Legend of the Hunter

Those who embody the legend of the Hunter direct their focus toward martial pursuits, aiming for ever-more daunting prey as they keep the terrors of the wilderness from civilization’s door.

Seldom appreciated but always necessary, Hunters learn specialized techniques for combating huge monsters, cruel dragons, and savage throngs.

Immediately upon adopting this legend at 3rd level you learn the following knack, in addition to any others you know.

• Hunter’s Advice. You choose 1d6 creatures resting with you, and lend these comrades a trick or two. One of your outsider affinities applies its damage bonus to their attacks for up to eight hours.

Hunter’s Prey

At 3rd level, you gain a benefit of your choice based on the prey you’ve chosen to pursue.

• Dragon Slayer. No foe is beyond your reach. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you may choose to clip its wings. You deal no damage, but the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or its flying speed becomes 0 for one minute. The DC of this throw is 8 + any modifiers to your damage roll. If suffer damage from falling as a result, it is stunned until the end of its next turn.
• Giant Killer. When a Large or larger creature that you can see targets you with an attack, you can use your reaction to attack that creature immediately after its attack. If the creature made a melee attack, you can target it regardless of your weapon’s reach, slashing out at its fingers.
• Horde Breaker. Once on each of your turns when you make a weapon attack, you can make another attack against a different creature that is within 5 feet of the original target and within range of your weapon.

Hunter’s Rally

At 7th level, you gain another benefit of your choice. You can choose the same prey you selected previously, or a different one.

• Dragon Slayer. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened. You become immune to being frightened by Large or larger creatures.
• Giant Killer. When a creature hits you with an attack, you gain a +4 bonus to AC against all subsequent attacks made by that creature for the rest of the turn.
• Horde Breaker. Opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage.

Hunter’s Strike

At 11th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice. You can choose the same prey you selected previously or a different one.

• Dragon Slayer. When a creature you can see takes a Lair Action, you may immediately interrupt the creature’s turn to take your own for that round, before the Lair Action comes into effect. Your initiative becomes 20 for the rest of the combat, unless it would be higher. The creature continues its turn as normal after yours is over.
• Giant Killer. You can exploit existing wounds to take down the most potent foes. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can inflict extra dice of damage if the creature is below its hit point maximum. Medium or smaller creatures suffer 1d4 damage, and every size category above medium adds an additional 1d4.
• Horde Breaker. You can use your action to make a weapon attack against any number of creatures within 10 feet of a point you can see within your weapon’s range, or within 5 feet of yourself if you are making a melee attack. You must have ammunition for each target, as normal, and you make a separate attack roll for each target.

Hunter’s Guard

At 15th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice. You can choose the same prey you selected previously or a different one.

• Dragon Slayer. You can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a red dragon’s fiery breath or a lightning bolt spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
• Giant Killer. When you are hit with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack’s damage against you.
• Horde Breaker. At any point in the round, you can use your reaction to force a creature that missed you with an attack this round to repeat the same attack against another creature (other than itself) of your choice within its reach and within 10 feet of you.

Legend of the Wyrd

The Wyrd are warrior-shamans, agents of the natural world’s wrath who clear away dead wood and smother the fires of greed. In this role they are more precise than a tempest or earthquake, but no less deadly.

Some are true believers, misanthropes who seek to preserve balance above all else. Others find it easier to serve nature than fight it, entering a mercenary relationship with spirits who gift them with a touch of druidic magic.

When you adopt this legend at 3rd level you learn the following knack, in addition to any others you may know.

• Borderland Lore. You share certain secrets you've picked up in your hermitage, allowing creatures resting with you to regain spell slots totalling no more than 1d6 levels. You divide these levels between your companions, and no regained spell slot can be higher than 5th level. You can’t use this knack again until you finish a long rest.

Spellcasting

At 3rd level you gain the ability to cast druid spells. See the Player’s Handbook chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting, and chapter 11 for the druid spell list.

Spell Slots. The Wyrd Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, if you know the 1st-level spell charm person and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast charm person using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st-Level and Higher. You know three 1st-level druid spells of your choice. The Spells Known column of the Wyrd Spellcasting table shows when you learn more druid spells of 1st level or higher. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. Spells granted by other Wyrd features do not count toward this.

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the spells you know with another spell of your choice from the druid spell list. The new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your druid spells, since you learn your spells through contact with inhuman nature spirits. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a druid spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

• Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

• Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spirit Mantle

At 3rd level you attract a shapeless force of nature which you wear like a cloak, allowing you to cast the druidcraft cantrip once on your turn without using an action. You also learn a special version of augury, which only communicates whether the course of action will be good for the local balance of nature and never produces random readings.

Glamour Eyes

At 7th level you can use the free turn offered by your Sharp Instincts to cast a spell. You also become immune to fey attempts to charm or frighten, and learn a special, second-level version of true seeing which only reveals fey creatures.

Wyrd Hunt

Beginning at 11th level, when you use your action to cast a spell while hidden, you can make a weapon attack as a bonus action. In addition, creatures bearing your hunter’s mark have disadvantage on Charisma, Intelligence and Wisdom saving throws made against your druid spells, as well as checks to notice their effects.

Feywild Eruption

Starting at 15th level, you learn lightning arrow. You also learn one other spell that you would not normally be able to learn, chosen from the following: conjure fey, insect plague, maelstrom, transport via plants, wall of thorns, wind walk. You cast this spell without using a spell slot, but after doing so you cannot cast any druid spells until you finish a long rest.

Legend of the Beast Master

The legend of the Beast Master is a testament to the role of the ranger as a link between civilization and the wilderness, animal and adventurer working together to hunt the monstrous foes that threaten both of their kind.

The name is one given by onlookers, who often mistake this relationship for that of a pet and owner, but those who adopt the mantle of the Beast Master commit themselves to a true union, one that fuses the very souls of man and beast.

Among all rangers, only the Beast Master is never alone.

Bonus Proficiencies and Knacks

You gain proficiency in Animal Handling when you adopt this legend at 3rd level, and learn the following knack in addition to any others you know.

• Gather Animals. You may use this knack at the start of the rest, luring one or more beasts to your camp as though you’d cast the conjure beasts spell. These are not fey spirits, so they must be drawn from nearby species and do not disappear when killed. They are friendly, but do not automatically obey you, and disperse at the end of the rest.

Beast Partner

At 3rd level you bond with a loyal beast, transforming it into a living spirit. You can use an action to call your bond-beast, which appears at your side. It has a walking speed of 30 feet and can travel a maximum of 20 feet away from you for each of your ranger levels. It disappears if it is beyond this range for more than 1 minute, or you call it again.

You and your bond-beast share souls, so it is completely loyal to you. It understands any languages you do, though it cannot speak them, and the two of you share emotions and ideas through telepathy. It can communicate normally with other creatures of the same basic breed.

If your bond-beast dies, its body disappears and you are stunned for the rest of that turn. You cannot call it again until you have completed a long rest, or used the Gather Animals knack to revive it with 1 hit point.

Your bond-beast uses your Wisdom, Intelligence and Charisma modifiers, and adds your proficiency bonus to its AC and any checks, attack rolls or saving throws it is able to make. Its hit points and other traits depend on its Size. If you regain hit points during a rest, it regains the same amount.

Beast Tricks

In combat, your bond-beast's movements perfectly align with your own. It does not take its own turn. Instead it moves independently on your turn, and allows you to use a bonus action on your turn to take a special action within its reach, called a trick. Attack rolls are made using your bond-beast's modifiers.

• You perform a Search.
• You Mark another character.
• You Help a character in a way suited to your bond-beast's breed. You may Help yourself.
• You Shove, Disarm, or Grapple another character. Your bond-beast's modifiers are used for the attack roll.
• Your bond-beast may Dash, Disengage, Dodge or Hide.
• You Ready another trick. This does not use your reaction.

Bond-Beast Traits

Your bond-beast also has two "creature features" of your choice. These reflect its natural characteristics or special talents. It develops two more features of your choice at 7th, 11th, and 15th level. You can replace one feature for another every time your bond-beast gains new features.

Beast Bond

Beginning at 7th level, your bond-beast shares all the benefits of your Hunter’s Mark. It also benefits from your Wayfarer, Primeval Senses, Strider, Ambush and Beyond the Walls features, and automatically benefits from any knacks you use.

Beast Transformation

Starting at 11th level, your bond-beast develops a new trick, which allows you to increase or decrease its Size by one category, for 10 minutes. This changes its base traits as described, though any gained hit points are temporary and lost hit points are restored when the transformation ends.

It may perform this trick multiple times, but cannot go beyond Tiny or Large. You can permanently change your bond-beast's base Size upon acquiring this feature.

Beast Spirit

Starting at 15th level, when you see your companion hit with an attack you can use your reaction to halve the damage they suffer. Additionally, whenever you regain hit points outside of a rest your companion regains the same amount.

Creature Feature

Each bond-beast starts with two features like these, and develops two more at 7th, 11th, and 15th level.

Some features allow a bond-beast to "freely" perform a trick. This allows them to do it once on your turn, even if you do not use a bonus action, and in addition to any other tricks.

• Amphibious. Your bond-beast does not drown, and has advantage on swimming rolls.
• Armored. Your bond-beast has +3 AC.
• Charge. Your bond-beast can freely Shove.
• Darkvision. Your bond-beast gains 30ft darkvision each time you select this feature.
• Dextrous. Your bond-beast's Dexterity modifier increases by +1 each time you select this feature, to a maximum of +5.
• Fast. Your bond-beast increases one of its movement speeds by 15ft. This feature can be selected twice.
• Finesse. Your bond-beast may use its Dexterity modifier for attack rolls.
• Guard. Your bond-beast gains a new trick: You choose another creature within reach and grant them the benefits of a Dodge action until your next turn.
• Grappler. When your bond-beast grapples a creature, they are instead restrained.
• Keen Senses. Your bond-beast has advantage when searching, and grants a +2 bonus if helping another do so.
• Herd & Pack. Your bond-beast can freely Help.
• Movement. Your bond-beast gains access to flying, burrowing, swimming or climbing movement equal to its walking speed each time you select this feature.
• Poisonous. Your bond-beast gains a new trick: Make an attack roll using its modifiers, and if it hits the target creature is poisoned until your next turn.
• Prowler. Your bond-beast can freely Hide.
• Racer. Your bond-beast can freely Dash.
• Resistance. Your bond-beast gains resistance to one type of damage each time you select this feature.
• Slippery. Your bond-beast can freely Disengage.
• Spell-Eater. Your bond-beast gains a new trick: Force a spellcaster within reach to make a Concentration check.
• Strong. Your bond-beast's Strength modifier increases by +1 each time you select this feature, to a maximum of +5.
• Vicious. The damage of attacks your bond-beast helps with increase based on its Size. Tiny, Small, Medium and Large beasts increase the damage by 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, and 1d12.

Design Philosophy

I'm left with an extra half-page to play with! This isn't enough to go into subclasses like the Deep Stalker or Strange Gourmand, so instead I'll take a page (well, half-page) out of Unearthed Arcana's book and explain my decisions here.

Why?

First off, why rewrite the Ranger? It's well-known that the class is underpowered compared to its martial or caster peers, but that wasn't the reason for this rewrite, and my solution wasn't to just tweak the numbers upward.

Firstly, Rangers lacked a distinct role or conceit. They weren't fighters, or casters, or even a good jack of all trades. Secondly, their distinct features (Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer) were so dependent on context that they could be useless or grossly dominating depending on the campaign.

Makeover

I settled on the Ranger's new role by looking at examples of the archetype in fiction, and harking back to the rest mechanics of Darkest Dungeon. As a result, this rewrite focuses on "strategic support".

While the Paladin or Rogue offer tactical utility, helping the party heal or overcome obstacles in the immediate short-term, the Ranger aims to keep the party supplied, rested, and on-track.

The Ranger doesn't get the party out of trouble, she keeps them away from trouble.

Explain Yourself

I had to cut spells, to restrict the class to what I wanted them to do. Despite being refreshed strategically, spells are a tactical resource, used on the go. As a result, they had to be replaced.

Instead, Rangers receive Campfire Knacks, an idea that went through a number of permutations before arriving at its current form, inspired mainly by the Bard's Song of Rest feature.

These powers allow Rangers to show off their wanderer's know-how and cushion the party against the perils of dungeons and wastelands with helpful tips or secret remedies. They are not, however, something you can toss out in combat.

I also removed a few features that belonged under the new knack umbrella, and compensated for the lost tactical power of spellcasting with some new or improved class features.

Notably, Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer became the more universal and dip-worthy Hunter's Mark and Wayfarer, with the new Outsider Affinity retaining the same level of personal flavour.

Peach

I welcome criticism, so get in touch with your thoughts on whichever forum brought you here. I'd love to know if you used this class in a game!

• Writer: Revlid
• Art: Douglas Herring & various videogames