Redesigning the ranger class from the ground up is going to be a core part of the next book. Follow the Kickstarter project, so you don't miss out.

So, rangers are good at Survival checks, exceptional even, but what if they never come up?

Player agency was one of the areas the 2014 ranger really fell flat. It required a lot of GM involvement and the right type of campaign for the ranger to shine. There are a fair number of rules for exploration, but if they don't get used the ranger plays second fiddle on their capabilities to the other classes.

A design decision I've made is to use Survival checks in their other abilities. We saw this at level 3, where they can use Survival to make a trap. We don't need a resource, we already have one.

I went into detail on the level 1 features here:

🧿Ranger Foundation

What should the 5E/5.5E ranger get as their foundational features?

Tome RaiderKnight Vision Creative (Brendan)

The two we need to reference are Prey Preparation and Survivalist.

Prey Preparation

• +1 to attack rolls against creatures.
• Extra damage on your chosen creature type.
• Can change creature type after a Long Rest.
• Always great. Sometimes exceptional.

Survivalist

• Super Advantage on Survival checks.

These two core features give the ranger their identity. It doesn't matter whether you want to play a Sherlock Holmes investigator in the city or Aragon protecting the wilds; you are a dangerous individual that is extremely resourceful in any environment.

Field Adaptation

Field adaptation continues with the survivalist theme and lets you apply it to your Prey Preparation feature.

• Ability to change your chosen creature type as a bonus action with a DC26 Survival check.
  • Super Advantage is coming in handy!
  • Since it can be done in combat, you could change to a different creature type after the one you initially selected was killed.
  • Putting points into Wisdom continues to have benefits for all three pillars of the game: combat, exploration, social.
• Ability to change your chosen creature type with 10 minutes of prep.
  • Think ritual casting timeline.
• These mechanically let you match the thematic, but problematic, ability of your character knowing better than you what you are going to fight.
  • If the GM tells you what you're likely to face, it limits the GM with the creature types they can use.
    • "Hey, remember that graveyard back in town that we meant to explore 6 sessions ago? Let's head there now. We know there aren't any Undead, so should be a breeze!"

We're still discussing other ways of accomplishing this in Discord, so if you want to join the discussion (even just to lurk!) head on over:

Discord - Group Chat That’s All Fun & Games

Discord is great for playing games and chilling with friends, or even building a worldwide community. Customize your own space to talk, play, and hang out.

Discord

Next week, we'll dive into the Adventure's Calling 6th level features.

I've been playtesting the ranger redesign for several months. Here are the sessions if you'd like to see how it has evolved over time:

Want to catch up with the previous post with the ranger level 3 features?

🧿Ranger Redesign Subclasses

Level 3 ranger redesign features: Subclasses and Trapper

Tome RaiderKnight Vision Creative (Brendan)