The Ranger

Ranger

Clothed in furs and booted in oiled leather, a human trudges through the muck of the swamp. He pauses for but a moment to inspect small oddities—a clawmark here, a stray feather or tuft of fur there—that would go overlooked by any less-travelled folk. He kneels to inspect a pellet of bone and fur, and knows that that his quarry is very, very close.

The orcs shout their conversations around a small fire. Perched in a tree barely a stone's throw away, a half-elf draws back her bow. an arrow nocked to the string. In her head, she thanks the gods that orcs are always as unobservant as they are loud, and lets the arrow fly.

Dodging an icy blast of frost, a half-orc yells out commands. At his word, a massive panther leaps into the fray, claws digging deep into the dragon's scaly white hide and fangs tearing at its flesh. The half-orc draws his longsword, and, shield ready, goes in for the kill.

As the goblins charge forward, shrieking and screaming, an elf stands calm and ready. As the foul creatures enter her bow-range, she fires off shot after shot, each arrow erupting into prickly vines and deadly showers of thorns. The horde draws near and the elf drops her bow, muttering ancient words as she does so. The goblins begin to regret their assault when they see a blade of fire spring forth in the elf's hands.

The rangers of the world wander far, ensuring that the dangers of the darkness do not encroach on the safety of civilization. Some form organizations, taking in new recruits as needed, while others fall into this path almost by accident, standing alone as the bulwark between the wild and the innocent folk of the world. Whatever their origins or methods, rangers find a sense of unity in their common cause, standing together in spirit as they keep their unending watch.

Born Explorers

Whether wood or field, city or plain, tundra or jungle, rangers have the skill set to not just survive, but thrive, in any hostile environment. When a ranger establishes themselves in a region, they become so familiar with the landscape that they gain a level of knowledge of the region that would seem almost supernatural to common folk.

Rangers can read trails and track their preferred targets through terrain that lesser hunters would not even consider possible. They move with ease through bramble and water, over fence and under branch, noticing the tiny things that are out of place—for even the smallest sign is still a sign to follow, and all creatures leave clues to their passage, if only you know where to look.

Independent Hunters

Warriors of the world, rangers fight best when the battle happens on their terms. The methods of rangers vary wildly depending on their background and training, but all rangers know that the most effective strategies can win the battle before they even draw their weapons.

_

Some rangers use stealth to strike before the enemy ever knows they are there then slip away into the darkness, wearing down their through through fear and helplessness. Others rely on speed and agility to overwhelm their opponents before quickly retreating out of range of their prey's frustrated attacks. There are rangers who take wild beasts as partners in the hunt, working together and using their numbers to distract and harass deadlier foes. And some rangers, particularly those who work alongside druidic circles, utilize ancient magicks to complement and enhance their martial abilities.

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 Constitution modifier per ranger level after 1st

Proficiencies

---

• Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
• Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
• Tools: Choose one from alchemist's supplies, herbalism kit, poisoner's kit, or trapper's supplies

---

• Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
• Skills: Survival, and choose two from Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, and Stealth

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 a quiver of 20 arrows

Ranger Archetype

At 1st level, you choose an archetype that you strive to emulate: Hunter, Beast Master, or Spellstrider, all of which are detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 1st, 3rd, 7th, 11th, and 15th level.

Survivalist Dice

Beginning at 1st level, your rugged skills and will to survive expresses itself across many aspects of your life. You gain a pool of d6s called survivalist dice. The number of survivalist dice in your pool increases with your level, as noted on the ranger table.

Many of your ranger class and archetype features will allow you to spend or roll one or more of these dice to accomplish a variety of effects. When you do so, the number of survivalist dice available to you in your pool is reduced by that amount until the end of your turn.

Terrain Specialist

Starting when you take your 1st level of this class, you are particularly familiar with one type of natural environment and are adept at traveling and surviving in such regions. Choose one type of favored terrain: arctic, coast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain, swamp, underground, or urban.

While traveling for an hour or more in your favored terrain, you gain the following benefits:

• Difficult terrain doesn't slow your group's travel.
• Your group can't become lost except by magical means
• Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
• If you are traveling with four other creatures or fewer, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
• When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.
• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.

You choose additional favored terrain types at 6th and 10th level.

Environmental Expertise

Starting at 2nd level, your ability to know and interact with the environment has improved. Choose either animal handling, athletics, nature, or survival; your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make with that skill.

Favored Enemy

By 2nd level, you have acquired significant experience studying, tracking, hunting and fighting, or even talking to a certain type of enemy.

Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants. or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoids (such as gnolls and orcs) as favored enemies. You may also opt to select a class of favored enemy defined by other shared characteristics - citizens of a specific nation, or a general job type, such as soldiers, criminals, or the like.

When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all. If you choose a group that has no primary language, or one you already have, you may become familiar with a jargon they use (such as thieves' cant).

When you roll your Survivalist dice to deal damage to your favored enemy, you can roll twice and use the higher result.

You choose one additional favored enemy, as well as an associated language or jargon, at 9th and 14th level. As you gain levels, your choices should reflect the types of foes you have encountered on your adventures.

Primeval Awareness

Beginning at 3rd level, after travelling for an hour, you have picked up enough signs and clues in the world around you to know if the following types of creatures are within 3 miles of you (or within up to 6 miles if you are in your favored terrain, and you know the specific distance in miles): aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature doesn't reveal the creatures' location or number.

If you travel for multiple hours, you can use this feature at the end of each hour.

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.

Survivalist's Step

Starting at 5th level, on your turn when you take damage from falling or natural hazards (thorns, lava, avalanches, etc.), you can roll one or more survivalist dice and reduce the damage by an amount equal to the result.

Survivor's Rest

Beginning at 6th level, you can gather small herbs and berries to soothe aches, relieve illness, and counteract poisons. Whenever you finish a short rest, you can roll your survivalist dice to generate a pool of Hit Points, which you can distribute out to any friendly creatures that you can physically reach in one minute of travel.

If you use this feature while in your favored terrain type, you can reroll each survivalist die roll of 1 (you must abide by the second roll.)

You can forego rolling one of your survivalist dice for this feature in order to help a friendly creature you can affect with this feature overcome a disease or poison. That creature may make another saving throw against the disease or poison. If the disease or poison is non-magical, they make their saving throw with advantage.

Land's Stride

Starting at 9th level, moving through nonmagical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement.

You can also pass through nonmagical plants without being slowed by them and without taking damage from them if they have thorns, spines, or a similar hazard. Climbing no longer costs you extra movement, you gain a swimming speed equal to your movement speed, and you can hold your breath for twice as long as normal.

Hide In Plain Sight

Starting at 10th level, you can spend 1 minute creating camouflage for yourself. You must have access to fresh mud, dirt, plants, soot, and other naturally occurring materials with which to create your camouflage.

Once you are camouflaged in this way, you can try to hide by pressing yourself up against a solid surface, such as a tree or wall, that is at least as tall and wide as you are. You gain a +10 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks as long as you remain there without moving or taking actions. Once you take an action or a reaction, you must camouflage yourself again to gain this benefit.

While in your Favored Terrain, you may also gain a + 10 bonus to Charisma (Deception) checks to pass yourself off as an inconspicuous or harmless resident of the area, as long as your disguise is not out of place in the area you are hiding. You can don these disguises in l minute (unless doing so would take even less time), provided you have the appropriate disguise in your possession.

Vanish

Starting at 13th level, you can't be tracked by non-magical means. Additionally, any creature that magically attempts to locate you must succeed on a spellcasting ability check or be unable to locate you. The DC for this check is equal to 8 + your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus.

Ready For Anything

Starting at 14th level, when you roll for initiative, you can roll one or more of your survivalist dice and add the highest result on any single die to your Initiative roll.

Ranger's Warning

Starting at 17th level, when you roll for initiative, you can move a number of feet equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum +1) × 5. You cannot be surprised.

Feral Senses

At 18th level, you gain preternatural senses that help you fight creatures you can’t see. When you attack a creature you can't see, your inability to see it doesn't impose disadvantage on your attack rolls against it.

You are also aware of the location of any invisible creature within 30 feet of you, provided that the creature isn't hidden from you and you aren't blinded or deafened.

Perfect Survivor

Once per turn after you reach 20th level, when you roll one or more of your survivalist dice, you can roll twice and use the higher result.

Ranger Archetypes

The ideal of the ranger has three classic expressions: the Hunter, the Beast Master, and the Spellstrider.

Hunter

Emulating the Hunter archetype means accepting your place as a bulwark between civilization and the terrors of the wilderness. As you walk the Hunter's path, you learn to strike preemptively, before the threat forces you to fight on any other terms than your own.

Hunter Tactics

At 1st level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.

Skirmisher. You dash in and out, striking enemies in a vicious assault before fleeing beyond their reach. When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you can roll one or more of your survivalist dice and add them to the damage of that attack if you started your turn at least 15 feet away from that creature.

Also, you gain proficiency with the Acrobatics skill, and when you make a melee attack against a creature, you don’t provoke opportunity attacks from that creature for the rest of the turn, whether you hit or not.

Stalker. Your movements are silent, your form obscured, your attacks coming before the enemy even knows you are there. When you hit a creature from which you are hidden with a weapon attack, you can roll one or more of your survivalist dice and add them to the damage of the attack.

Also, you gain proficiency with the Stealth skill, and when you hit with an attack while hidden, characters have a +5 bonus on Perception checks to find you until the start of your next turn, but do not instantly know your location.

Fighting Style

At 3rd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. 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.

Defense. While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

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 to the damage of the second attack.

Hunter's Advantage

At 3rd level, you can take advantage of the surrounding terrain when you fight. You gain one of the following features of your choice.

Stumble and Fall. Your solid stance gives you the edge when fighting enemies on uneven and unstable surfaces. You have advantage on ability checks to shove a creature when that creature is standing on difficult terrain.

If you hit a creature that is prone with a weapon attack, you can roll one or more of your survivalist dice and add them to the damage of the attack.

High Ground. You can quickly turn height and positioning into an offensive advantage. When you damage a creature with a weapon attack on your turn, you can roll one or more of your survivalist dice and add it to that attack's damage if you began your turn at an elevation least 10 feet higher than that creature.

Tactical Cover. Half-cover counts as three-quarters cover for you against attack rolls that originate from a point that is 10 feet or further away from you. When a creature hits you with a melee attack and you have at least half cover against the attack, you can roll one or more of your survivalist dice as a reaction and subtract the result from the damage.

Hunter's Quarry

At 7th level, your experienced eye can quickly pick out the biggest threats in the whirl of battle. When you roll for initiative, you can ask the DM which creature has the highest challenge rating out of all the creatures you can see within 90 feet of you. If two or more creatures have the highest challenge rating, the DM decides which one to tell you.

On your first turn after you roll for initiative, you can use a bonus action to designate a single creature within 90 feet of you as your Hunter's Quarry. The first time each turn you hit this creature with a weapon attack, you gain an additional survival die that you can use this round (including on the triggering attack). At level 13, you can gain this bonus more than once per turn.

This effect lasts until your Hunter's Quarry is dead, or until 10 minutes have passed.

Tactical Expertise

At 7th level, you have learned from your mistakes and improved your combat strategies. You gain one of the following benefits, depending on which option you chose for Hunter's Tactics at 3rd level.

Skirmisher. Your movement speed increases by 10 feet, and opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage. You double your proficiency bonus when you make ability checks for the Acrobatics skill.

Stalker. You double your proficiency bonus when you make ability checks for the Stealth skill. If you are hidden from a creature at the start of your turn, you can move up to 10 feet without being heavily obscured and remain hidden from that creature.

Multiattack

At 11th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.

Volley. You can use your action to make a ranged attack against any number of creatures within 10 feet of a point you can see within your weapon's range. You must have ammunition for each target, as normal, and you make a separate attack roll for each.

Whirlwind Attack. You can use your action to make a melee attack against any number of creatures within 5 feet of you, with a separate attack roll for each target.

Hunter's Defense

At 15th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.

Evasion. When you are subjected to an effect, such as a red dragon's fiery breath or a lightning bolt spell, 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.

Stand Against the Tide. When a hostile creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to force that creature to repeat the same attack against another creature (other than itself) of your choice.

Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack's damage against you.

Beast Master

The Beast Master archetype embodies a friendship between the civilized races and the beasts of the wild. United in focus, beast and ranger fight the monsters that threaten civilization and the wilderness alike.

Ranger's Companion

At 1st level, you gain a beast companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is trained to fight alongside you. Choose a beast that has a challenge rating of l/4 or lower. If its size is Large or bigger, then it may not have any attack bonus higher than +3. Add your proficiency bonus to the beast's Armor Class and saving throws, as well as to any skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals its normal maximum or four times your ranger level, whichever is higher.

The beast obeys your commands as best as it can. It takes its turn directly before or after yours (you chose when at the beginning of your turn,) and works to protect you and itself.

On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move (no action required by you).

You can use your action to verbally command it to do one of the following things:

• Make an attack using the Attack action against a specific target. You must issue a new command each time you want your beast companion to attack a new target.
• Protect a creature, object, or location, using its action to attack, interact, or do whatever it deems necessary to prevent physical harm from coming to its charge.
• Retrieve an object that it can drag.
• Attempt to Detect the location of an unseen creature. The beast uses whatever senses are most appropriate.

Once you have given your beast a command, it follows it on each of your subsequent turns without requiring any direction from you, unless otherwise noted.

If you are incapacitated or absent, the beast acts on its own, focused on protecting you and itself. The beast never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.

Your beast doesn’t count against the number of creatures you are travelling with for the purposes of the Exploration Specialist feature.

When your beast is reduced to O hit points, it begins to make death saving throws like a player character. It the beast dies, you can obtain another one by spending 8 hours magically bonding with another beast that isn't hostile to you, either of the same type of beast as before or a different one.

Superiority Of The Pack

Starting at 3rd level, you learn maneuvers that are fueled by your survivalist dice.

Maneuvers. You learn two maneuvers of your choice, which are detailed under "Maneuvers," below. Many maneuvers enhance your or your beast companion's attacks in some way. You can only use one maneuver per attack. Some maneuvers require you to be of a certain level before you can learn them. You learn one additional maneuver of your choice at 7th, llth, and 15th level.

Saving throws. Some of your maneuvers require your target to make a saving throw to resist the maneuver's effect. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:

Exceptional Training

Beginning at 7th level, you can use a bonus action to verbally command your beast to:

• Use its action to Help another creature
• Shove a hostile creature using the Attack action

Additionally, you now add your proficiency bonus to all the beast's attack rolls.

Magic Fang

Beginning at 11th level, when you finish a long rest, you can perform a short, 10-minute ritual to imbue your beast's natural weapons with magical energy. For 24 hours, your beast's attacks count as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks and damage.

Bestial Fury

Starting at 15th level, when your beast has been commanded to Attack a creature, it can make two attacks if it does not have the Multiattack action.

If it has the Multiattack action and it has been commanded to Attack a creature, it can take the Multiattack action instead. If it has been commanded to Shove a creature, it can make a single attack as a bonus action.

Maneuvers

The maneuvers are presented in alphabetical order.

Alpha defense. When your beast companion takes damage, you can roll one or more of your survivalist dice as a reaction and reduce the damage by that amount.

Bestial mobility. When your beast companion attacks a creature to which you are adjacent as an action on its turn, you can spend one of your survivalist dice as a reaction to move up to your speed. If you spend a second survivalist die, this movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Go for the throat. Requires 7th level. When you make an attack against a creature that is adjacent to your beast companion and you have advantage on the attack, you can roll one or more of your survivalist dice and add the highest result of any single roll to the damage of the attack.

Honed senses. When your beast companion makes an ability check to Detect a hidden creature, you can roll one or more of your survivalist dice and add the highest result of any single roll to the beast's check.

Natural stealth. Requires 7th level. When your beast companion damages a creature to which you are adjacent, you can spend two of your survivalist dice as a reaction to move up to half your speed and attempt to Hide.

Seek and slay. Requires 7th level. When your beast companion successfully Detects a hidden creature, you can spend one your survivalist dice as a reaction to make a weapon attack against that creature.

Tactical retrieval. When you command your beast companion to retrieve an object, you can spend one of your survivalist dice on its turn to increase its speed by 15 feet. You can use this maneuver on each of your beast’s subsequent turns while it is trying to fulfill this command, spending survivalist dice as normal.

Wolves’ tactics. Requires 11th level. When your beast companion knocks a creature prone, you can spend one of your survivalist dice to make a weapon attack against the creature as a reaction.

Alternatively, if you knock a creature prone, you can spend one of your survivalist dice as a bonus action to allow your beast companion to make an attack against the creature using its reaction.

Spellstrider

The Spellstrider archetype combines the ranger's mastery of bushcraft with ancient magics to supplement and support the ranger's own combat prowess. A Spellstrider can literally move through the trees, fire a volley with a single shot. and call the beasts of the Wild to aid them in the fight.

Spellcasting

Starting when you choose this archetype at 1st level, you gain the ability to cast ranger spells. See chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook for the general rules of spellcasting. Remove the spell hunter's mark from the ranger spell list.

Cantrips. At 1st level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the ranger spell list. You learn additional ranger cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Spellstrider Spellcasting table.

Spell Slots. The Spellstrider Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of those spells, you must expend a spell 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 cure wounds and have a 1st-level and 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast cure wounds using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st-Level and Higher. You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the ranger spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Spellstrider Spellcasting table shows when you learn more ranger spells of your choice. For instance, when you reach 7th level, you can learn one spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Additionally, whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the ranger spells you know with another spell of your choice from the ranger 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 ranger spells, since you learn your spells through intuition and an understanding of the world around you. You use Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a ranger spell you cast and when you make an attack roll with one.

Spellstrider Spellcasting

Ranger Level	Cantrips Known	Spells Known	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
1st	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	2	2	2	—	—	—	—
3rd	2	3	3	—	—	—	—
4th	2	3	3	—	—	—	—
5th	2	4	4	2	—	—	—
6th	2	4	4	2	—	—	—
7th	2	5	4	3	—	—	—
8th	2	5	4	3	—	—	—
9th	2	6	4	3	2	—	—
10th	3	6	4	3	2	—	—
11th	3	7	4	3	3	—	—
12th	3	7	4	3	3	—	—
13th	3	8	4	3	3	1	—
14th	3	8	4	3	3	1	—
15th	3	9	4	3	3	2	—
16th	3	9	4	3	3	2	—
17th	3	10	4	3	3	3	1
18th	3	10	4	3	3	3	1
19th	3	11	4	3	3	3	2
20th	3	11	4	3	3	3	2

Spellstrider's Quarry

Beginning at 3rd level, you can expend a 1st-level spell slot as a bonus action to mystically mark a creature you can see within 90 feet of you. For 1 hour, whenever you hit that creature with a weapon attack. you can roll one or two of your survivalist dice and add them to the damage of the attack, and you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Wisdom (Survival) checks you make to find it. If the creature marked in this manner dies before the spell ends, you can use your bonus action to transfer your mystic mark to a new creature.

If you expend a spell slot of 2nd level or higher when you use this feature, you can roll a number of survivalist dice up to the level of the spell slot used + 1.

If you expend a spell slot of 3rd or 4th level, this feature lasts for 8 hours. If you use a spell slot of 5th level or higher, this feature lasts for up to 24 hours.

You must maintain concentration on this feature as if you were concentrating on a spell, but only if the target is farther than 90 feet from you.

Worldly Connection

At 7th level, you begin to see the underlying connections between all living things in the world, and can draw on druidic magic in times of need. Choose one spell of a level for which you have spell slots from the druid spell list. You know that spell, and can cast it using your spell slots.

Additionally, you can choose one spell of 2nd level or lower from the druid spell list that has the ritual tag. You can cast this spell, but only as a ritual.

At 15th level, you may choose one additional spell from the druid spell list for which you have spell slots. You know that spell, and can cast it using your spell slots.

These spells count as ranger spells for you.

Spellhunt

Beginning at llth level, you can use the fundamentals of your ranger training to directly empower your spellcasting. When you cast a ranger spell that requires an attack roll or forces a saving throw, you can roll one or more of your survivalist dice, adding the highest result to the attack roll or subtracting the highest result from a saving throw made by a creature of your choice.

You can use this feature after you roll the spell attack or after the creature rolls its saving throw, but before success or failure is declared.

Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a long or a short rest.

Spellstrider's Focus

By 15th level, you have acquired greater mental fortitude and clarity. You gain proficiency with Wisdom saving throws.

Spellstrider Cantrips

• Control Flames
• Create Bonfire
• Druidcraft
• Frostbite
• Guidance
• Gust
• Magic Stone
• Mending
• Mold Earth
• Poison Spray
• Produce Flame
• Resistance
• Shape Water
• Shillelagh
• Thorn Whip
• Thunderclap

Spellstrider Spells

 

 

Art Credits

• Into the Woods (pages 3 , 9) by Kaisel / Carolina Álvarez.
• The Tracker (page 6) by sandara.
• Human Ranger (page 5) by Jason Rainville.
• Krulkiel Tracker (page 2) by dangercook / Adam Danger Cook.

Art used without permission.

Changelog

Using the base class provided by Howard, I felt that I really wanted beast masters to have their pet right out of the gate. For that matter, I wanted all the archetypes to have some boost to combat effectiveness before level 3 (which is where they first show up in his original version.) By moving their archetype selection to level 1, it necessitated shuffling a few other bits around, but also let me go ahead and add the survivalist dice at level 1.

I love the "they get expertise in Survival," but I dislike when every member of a class has an identical specialization, so instead of forcing survival as a skill there, I gave it at the baseline and let them pick one of a few related skills to take for expertise.

Survivalist's Step is great, but I wanted to give it a slight extra oomph, so I expanded the "reduced damage from" to "from any natural hazards," not just falls.

I dropped fighting style from the spellstrider, and so they definitely need something else (slightly increasing their cantrips and getting spells a level earlier - when the ranger normally did per the PHB - isn't really enough.)

13 January 2017: Edited Hunter archetype's hunter's mark feature to give bonus dice instead of a dice outlet. Made spellstrider's quarry more reliable.