Ranger

The woman pulls her hood back, pointed ears betraying elven ancestry. At a glance, she reads the slight signs that taint the forest. Unnatural 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.

The cloaked dwarf ducks behind a boulder. His beard’s gone untrimmed for weeks and his feet ache in their boots, but he's finally caught up with the orc raiders. His eyes widen as one of them laughs. He knows their ugly tongue like a native. 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, but 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 its talents to keep the party healthy and on-track without the explosive and on-demand support abilities of the Cleric or Paladin.

You can make use of both versions of this class in the same game, you might 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 the wilderness? Are you fascinated by the savage beauty of monsters, 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 simplicity?

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 or folk hero background.

Class Features

As a ranger, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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

Proficiencies

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

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• Saving Throws: Dexerity, Constitution
• Skills: Choose three from Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, 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

Quarry

You may use a bonus action to focus on a creature you’ve found evidence of (e.g. abandoned campsite, clear tracks, seeing it in person) marking it as your quarry. It remains your quarry for a number of hours equal to your ranger level, or until you choose another quarry. You cannot choose a new quarry before at least an hour has passed.

You have advantage on Wisdom and Intelligence checks that directly relate to your quarry. Whenever you hit your quarry with a weapon attack, you may deal extra damage equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Starting at 9th level, your tracking is considered magical when you are tracking your quarry. You may also have this feature inflict your choice of cold, fire, or lightning damage, instead of the normal weapon damage type.

Wayfarer

You’re well-practiced with wandering beyond the borders of the map. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for Wisdom (Survival) checks, and you receive the following benefits.

• You cannot become lost except by magical means, and have advantage on saving throws against such magic.
• You remain alert to danger even when engaged in another activity while traveling.
• You find twice the resources when foraging or scavenging.
• You may count as a number of characters equal to your proficiency bonus for determining whether a group Wisdom (Survival) or (Perception) check fails.

Wild Empathy

You may use your action to try and befriend a beast within 30 feet with a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check opposed by the target’s Wisdom (Insight). The beast has advantage if you are in combat. If you win the contest the creature is charmed for 1 hour, though if its Intelligence is higher than 3 it just regards you as friendly and unthreatening. If you or one of your companions threatens the beast, this condition ends and the beast becomes immune for the next 24 hours.

If you spend 1 minute bonding with a non-hostile beast, you become able to communicate with that specific creature for the next hour, as described in speak with animals.

New Downtime Activity: Taming

Taming a wild beast is a difficult and intensive affair, which requires proficiency in Animal Handling and costs 1 gold per day in addition to lifestyle costs. You may not use a free lifestyle or work to support yourself while taming a beast. Using Downtime to tame a beast represents devoting around eight hours a day towards the beast’s care and discipline.

Taming a captive wild beast normally takes 120 downtime days for each point of challenge rating, plus 20 for every point of Intelligence and every Size Category above Small. This results in a friendly creature which will obey simple verbal commands from yourself, and may also come to obey commands from others it recognises.

Campfire Knacks

Starting at 2nd level, your practice at surviving in the wild straddles magic and skill. You may use one knack whenever you complete a short rest. After a long rest you can use three knacks in any combination, including repeated uses.

The die you roll for knacks increases as you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Knack Die column.

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• Healing Arts. Any friendly creatures who regain hit points at the end of the short rest by spending Hit Dice regain 1d6 extra hit points. In a long rest, you may distribute half this many Hit Dice among resting creatures (minimum 1).
• Crafty Work. You improvise or repair up to 1d6 mundane items, worth a total of up to 5gp for every item you could make. A bulk unit of ammunition is considered a single item. Improvised items fall apart after eight hours.
• Mysterious Remedy. You apply the effects of the lesser restoration spell to 1d6 friendly creatures resting with you, removing the same condition from each. At 15th level, you can use a long rest to instead apply the effects of greater restoration to one creature, using 100gp worth of reagants.

Strider

At 2nd level, you adapt to all manner of rough terrain. You no longer expend extra movement when swimming, climbing, crawling or moving through difficult terrain.

While travelling on a time scale of hours or more (Player's Guide, pp. 181), you can extend this feature to your group.

Spirit Guide

At 3rd level, you attract a spirit of the wild as a guide. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 10th, and 15th level. Three Spirit Guides are detailed at the end of the class description: the Slayer, the Beast, and the Wyrd.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two scores by 1. You can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Honed Senses

At 4th level, your senses expand into a constant awareness of your surroundings. You possess a special form of darkvision which extends out to 60 feet. It also allows you to see through lightly obscured spaces as though they were open. You do not benefit from this feature if you are deafened.

At 18th level, you can attack creatures you cannot see without disadvantage, and they do not have advantage on attacks against you.

Extra Attack

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

Take Cover

Starting at 5th level, you receive the benefits of half cover while you are prone or at least lightly obscured from your attacker. You receive the benefits of three-quarters cover while you are in actual half cover.

You may use your reaction when attacked to dive prone, or receive the benefits of a piece of cover within five feet. After the attack, you immediately move to that cover.

Hide in Plain Sight

Starting at 6th level, you can Hide as a bonus action on your turn. In addition, you can try to hide even when you are only lightly obscured, blurring with the terrain.

Sharp Instincts

By 7th 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, immediately after rolling initiative you take a special turn that occurs before other creatures can act. You can only use this turn to Attack, Dash, Hide, or Use an Object. You may not take a bonus action, or move unless you Dash. If another creature has a similar feature, you each take your turns in order of initiative.

Primal Lore

Starting at 9th level, you can focus deeply to sound out your surroundings, receiving information identical to that provided by commune with nature. This process takes one minute of concentration, and has a maximum range of 100 feet for each of your ranger levels.

This range is reduced by a factor of 20 in cramped areas such as dungeons or densely-packed cities.

You can extend your meditation to 10 minutes, or shorten it to a pulse that just requires an action. Doing so increases or decreases the range by a factor of 10, respectively.

Swift Attack

Starting at 11th level, you may use a bonus action on your turn to make a weapon attack against a target in reach.

You may use this feature to make two weapon attacks, but only if you are two-weapon fighting or could otherwise use a bonus action to perform an additional attack on your turn.

Hit and Run

Beginning at 11th level, opportunity attacks made against you suffer disadvantage. You may freely choose a new quarry whenever you Dash or Disengage.

Implacable

By 13th level, your body develops a wild vigour. You need half as much sleep, and you do not suffer the negative effects of the first five levels of exhaustion.

Survivalist

Starting at 13th level, you have advantage on saving throws against poison, disease, and natural hazards native to your surroundings, such as blizzards or snapvines. You can also hold your breath twice as long, and fall a number of feet equal to your ranger level without falling damage.

Without a Trace

Beginning at 17th level, you cannot be tracked unless you choose to deliberately leave a trail.

In addition, you cannot be targeted by divination magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors unless you deliberately make your spirit visible to such methods.

Beyond the Walls

At 20th level, your mastery of the wasteland's mysteries become a thing of legend. You may use an additional knack of your choice when taking a short or long rest. You cannot do so again until you have completed a long rest.

Spirit Guide

Rangers wander beyond the borders of the map, drawing the attention of wild spirits unrecognized by any civilized faith or conjurer's tome. Some rangers encounter a spirit guide during their travels, or intrigue one with their deeds. Others deliberately call upon a spirit guide with wild rites, or join formal orders sworn to partnership with a vigilant spirit.

Whatever their source, these guides can act as tutors, companions, or sources of silent power to a seasoned ranger.

Spirit of the Slayer

The ranger's profession is steeped in violence, but there are those who truly dedicate their lives to the destruction of their enemies. Such feared warriors often attract a vengeful ghost, accept a predatory totem, or tread the path of a steel-willed guardian spirit.

Driven by a need for revenge or simply locked into constant battle against the terrors of the wilderness, these wandering executioners are feared as dark legends among monstrous tribes, and treated with a wary respect by those they protect.

Immediately upon adopting this spirit guide at 3rd level you gain access to the following knack.

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• Slayer’s Creed. You choose 1d6 creatures resting with you, and brief them on your enemy. They receive the benefits of your Quarry feature when attacking your quarry. This benefit lasts for eight hours, or until your quarry changes.

Strive to Slay

At 3rd level, your spirit grants you three abilities that are fueled by special dice called spirit dice. You gain two additional abilities at 7th, 10th and 15th level. You may not use more than one of these abilities to enhance an attack.

Superiority Dice. You have four spirit dice, which are equal to your current Knack dice. A spirit die is expended when you use it. You regain all of your expended spirit dice when you finish a short or long rest.

Saving Throws. Some of your abilities require your target to make a saving throw to resist their effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:

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

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• Precision Strike. When you make a weapon attack roll against your quarry, you can expend one spirit die to add it to the roll. You can use this maneuver before or after making the attack roll, but before any effects of the attack are applied.
• Unbalancing Strike. When you hit your quarry with a weapon attack, you can expend one spirit die to knock them off-balance. Once before the end of their next turn, you may roll the spirit die and subtract it from one of the target's rolls. You can do so before or after the roll, but before any of its effects are applied.
• Crippling Strike. When you hit your quarry with a weapon attack, you can expend one spirit die to attempt to cripple them. You add the spirit die to the attack’s damage roll, and the target must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, its speed is reduced to 0 until the end of its next turn.

Fearful Reputation

Your iron reputation precedes you by 7th level, as your unnatural presence casts a pall on your enemies. You extend the advantage of your Quarry feature to Intimidation rolls.

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• Menacing Blow. When you hit your quarry with a weapon attack you can expend one spirit die to frighten them. You add the spirit die to your damage roll, and the target makes a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it is frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
• Goading Blow. When you hit your quarry with a weapon attack you can expend one spirit die to enrage them. You add the spirit die to your damage roll, and the target makes a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, it is enraged with you until the end of your next turn.

New Condition: Enraged

• An enraged creature has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls when it is not attacking or trying to reach the source of its anger.

• The creature can't willingly move away from the source of its anger.

Favoured Enemy

Beginning at 10th level, your spirit guide's ire at a particular foe allows you to choose a specific type of enemy, such as undead, beast, or fiend. You may not choose humanoids, but may choose up to two specific types of humanoid instead, such as gnolls or orcs.

You treat all members of this group as your quarry, in addition to your actual quarry. You also learn a language appropriate to this group, such as Abyssal for aberrations.

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• Counter Attack. When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction and expend one spirit die to make a weapon attack against your quarry. If you hit, you add the spirit die to the attack's damage roll.
• Steeled Spirit. You may expend one spirit die and add it to the result of any saving throw you make to avoid being frightened or charmed by your quarry. You can use this maneuver before or after making the saving throw, but before the effects of the roll are announced.

Grudgebearer

Starting at 15th level, your spirit guide begins to accept your enemies as the sacrifices they are. You regain a single spirit die whenever you reduce your quarry to 0 hit points. You may do so only once per hour.

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• Whirlwind. You may use your action to expend and roll a spirit die. You then make one weapon attack against your quarry, and any number of creatures surrounding them within a number of feet equal to your roll. Your targets must each be within range of your weapon, and you make a separate attack roll for each target.
• Bulwark. You can expend one spirit die when you make a Dexterity or Constitution saving throw to take only half damage from your quarry. If you fail, you reduce the damage by the number you roll on your spirit die + your Ability modifier. You take no damage if you succeed.

Spirit of the Wyrd

Some rangers who find themselves defending nature against civilization, more often than the reverse. Such warriors easily attract the attention of the fey, who bestow them with gifts that allow them to act as agents of the world's wrath. In this role they are more precise than a tempest or earthquake, but no less deadly.

Some who take a wyrd spirit as their guide are true believers who seek to preserve balance above all else. Others simply find it easier to serve nature than fight it, entering a mercenary partnership with the fey.

When you adopt this spirit guide at 3rd level you learn the following knack.

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• Wyrd 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 of a higher level than your Wisdom modifier. 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.

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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

Fey Mantle

At 3rd level you attract a shapeless fey entity, whose presence lets you use the druidcraft cantrip once on your turn without using an action, and adds your Wisdom modifier to your spell attack damage rolls against your quarry.

You also learn a special version of augury, which only communicates whether your action will be good for the local balance of nature. It does not produce random readings.

Glamour Eyes

Starting at 7th level you can use the free turn offered by your Sharp Instincts to cast a druid spell. You also learn a special, second-level version of true seeing which only reveals fey creatures and magic.

Feywyld Trickery

Beginning at 10th level, your spirit guide's advice grants you proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. In addition, your quarry has disadvantage on Charisma, Intelligence and Wisdom saving throws made against your druid spells, as well as checks to notice their effects.

Wyrd Hunt

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 can cast this spell without using a spell slot, but doing so exhausts your spirit guide, using up all the other spell slots offered by your ranger levels.

Spirit of the Beast

The ranger's affinity for savage animals is a thing of superstitious legend, but those who take on a beast spirit as their guide are a testament to the link between the wilderness and civilization. Animal and adventurer work as one, to hunt the monstrous foes that threaten both.

Some rangers awaken the loyal and living spirit of a beloved animal companion, while others tame a bestial spirit like a wild creature, or receive a faithful beast-ally from a greater power. Whatever their origin, they commit to a truer union that any other warrior.

Bonus Proficiencies and Knacks

Upon adopting this spirit guide at 3rd level, you learn the following knack.

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• Gather Animals. You may use this knack at the start of the rest, luring one or more local beasts to your camp with a total challenge rating no greater than half of your roll. These beasts are friendly, but not automatically obey loyal.

Beast Totem

At 3rd level you acquire a loyal fey partner in the form of a beast-spirit. It understands your languages, but cannot speak them. It can communicate normally with creatures of the same basic breed, and you each share emotions and ideas through telepathy.

You can use an action to conjure your beast, which appears at your side. It has a walking speed of 30 feet and can travel up to 20 feet away for each of your ranger levels. It disappears if you dismiss it with an action, or it is beyond this range for more than 1 minute.

If your beast dies, it disappears and you are stunned until your next turn. You cannot call it again until you complete a long rest, after which its hit points are fully restored.

Beast Traits

Your beast does not use its normal traits. It uses your Wisdom, Intelligence and Charisma scores, and its hit points and other traits depend on its Size. It adds your proficiency bonus to its AC and any checks, attack rolls or saving throws. It regains the same hit points as you during a short rest.

In combat, your beast's movements perfectly align with your own. It does not take its own turn. Instead, it moves on your turn. You may use a bonus action to cause one of the following effects, within its reach.

• Your beast performs a Search, or Marks another creature.
• Your beast Helps another creature in a suitable fashion.
• Your beast Attacks, Shoves, Disarms, or Grapples a creature within reach. If you have the Swift Attack feature, it may do so in addition to your one weapon attack.
• Your bond-beast may Dash, Disengage, Dodge or Hide.
• You Ready one of the previous effects.

Bond-Beast Traits

Size	Str/Con modifier	Dex modifier	Hit points per ranger level	Damage Dice
Tiny	-2	+3	4	1
Small	+0	+2	6	1d4
Medium	+2	+1	8	1d6
Large	+4	+0	10	1d8

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 8th, 12th, and 18th 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 Hide in Plain Sight, Hit and Run, Honed Senses, Quarry, Sharp Instincts, Strider, Survivalist, Wayfarer and Without a Trace features.

Beast Endurance

Starting at 10th level, when your beast is 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.

Beast Transformation

Starting at 15th level, you may use your action to increase or decrease your beast's Size by any number of categories, though it cannot transform beyond Tiny or Large. This change lasts for 10 minutes, and alters its base traits as described, though gained hit points are temporary and lost hit points are restored when the transformation ends.

You can permanently change your beast's base Size upon acquiring this feature.

Creature Features

Choose from these features to represent your beast's qualities. Some features allow a bond-beast to "freely" perform an action. This allows them to do it on your turn, even if you do not use a bonus action.

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• Amphibious. Your beast does not drown, gains a swimming speed equal to its walking speed, and ignores underwater penalties.
• Armored. Your beast has +3 AC.
• Charge. Your beast can freely Shove.
• Constrictor. When your beast grapples a creature, they are instead both restrained.
• Darkvision. Your beast gains 60ft darkvision.
• Dextrous. Your beast's Dexterity modifier increases by +1 each time you select this feature, to a maximum of +5.
• Fast. Your beast increases one of its movement speeds by 15ft. This feature can be selected twice.
• Finesse. Your beast may use its Dexterity modifier for attack rolls.
• Keen Senses. Your beast has advantage when searching, and grants a +5 bonus if helping another do so.
• Herd & Pack. Your beast can freely Help.
• Movement. Your beast gains flying or burrowing speed equal to its walking speed.
• Poisonous. When your beast hits another creature, you may forgo damage to poison it until the end of its next turn.
• Prowler. Your beast can freely Hide.
• Racer. Your beast can freely Dash.
• Resistance. Your beast gains resistance to one type of damage each time you select this feature.
• Slippery. Your beast can freely Disengage.
• Strong. Your beast's Strength modifier increases by +1 each time you select this feature, to a maximum of +5.
• Vicious. Attacks your beast helps with add its damage dice to their damage roll.