This document features a complete rework of the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition Ranger, created to give the class a unique identity.

Notable features include Intuition, a die the Ranger uses for skills and attacks, as well as other features from subclasses; Preparations, which offer the Ranger a host of unique abilities and effects; and Survivalist, which allows the Ranger to use hit dice proactively for temporary hit points.

This new version of the Ranger also features 5 new subclasses, each representing entirely unique ways to play the class:

The Beastmaster. Fight alongside a beast and gain unique benefits based on the type of animal you command.

The Vigilante. Use intimidation and battlefield manipulation to take on any enemy.

The Skirmisher. Ambushers, snipers, and assassins, this type of Ranger is stealthy, fast, and deadly.

The Trapper. Specialized in the creation and use of intricate and deadly traps.

The Sentinel. Druidic warriors who have learned natural magic.

This rework is being tested in one of my own campaigns, and if you choose to try it as a DM or a player, be sure to let me know in the comments!

The document was created using Homebrewery!

Design Thoughts

What follows is a detailed walk through the thoughts that lead to the creation of the document, including a closer look at some of the features of the new Ranger. I include this because I believe understanding the intention of the design helps to fully understand it; it is not at all required reading — in fact, I do not recommend reading this before downloading and reading the new Ranger class document. So keep scrolling and come back later!

Background

Classes in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition have both a mechanical and aesthetic identity. 

Aesthetically, Monks are ascetic martial artists, who can manipulate a spiritual energy within them; Clerics channel the power of divinity through spells and miracles; and Rogues are stealthy and exploit inattentiveness and distraction.

Mechanically, Monks have a resource called Ki, which they can spend to perform many, many attacks, but only with simple weapons or unarmed strikes, or to defend themselves; and Clerics have access to a list of spells with a holy flavor, which they can change through prayer, and they can manifest divine power directly with Channel Divinity and Divine Intervention.

Subclasses build on these identities and expand the uses of the core mechanics of the class. Monks gain new ways to use Ki, such as Avatar inspired elemental spellcasting, and Dragonball inspired ki-blasts; and Clerics expand their spell lists with spells appropriate to their domain, such as Disguise Self for the Trickery cleric, Lightning Bolt for the Tempest cleric, and Identify for the Knowledge cleric, as well as gaining new, unique Channel Divinity options.

To me, Ranger is a unique outlier, with a weak mechanical identity that does not match its aesthetic identity. Aesthetically, Rangers are trackers, experts in navigating and surviving hostile environments, and very capable monster fighters and hunters. Mechanically, the Ranger's unique features are their specialization in one type of terrain and one type of monster. Outside of that one environment, or against any other monster, Rangers are just Paladins with far fewer class features. 

Additionally, the Ranger's subclasses feel entirely separate from the base class. While thematically very Ranger related, each currently available Ranger subclass could just as easily be a Fighter subclass, or belong to some other class. This is because they do not build upon, expand, or even mention Ranger-specific features.

The 5th Edition Ranger is carrying a lot of baggage from earlier editions of Dungeons and Dragons, and rather than trying to create a new version of the class for their new edition, the designers at Wizards of the Coast decided to adapt previous renditions of the class to the new system. The result feels half baked, which has been recognized by the DND design team, who have created enough Optional Class Features for the Ranger to basically rework the class into something more playable.

I, however, believe that their patchwork fixes of the class is missing the issue entirely: the Ranger is too much like the other classes, and no aspects of its mechanical design makes the player feel like they are playing a Ranger.

The Design

To start, I established the identity I wanted the design to convey. This was based on the same identity I mentioned above, a paraphrasing of the official description of the Ranger: Rangers are trackers, experts in navigating and surviving hostile environments, and very capable monster fighters and hunters. The three key features, Intuition, Survivalist, and Preparations, are expressions of that identity, designed to feel different than the mechanics of other classes.

Intuition

Intuition represents the ways the Ranger can excel at skill checks. It allows the player to fix their skill checks and attacks when they go poorly. It acts as Expertise, but rather than being a flat bonus to certain skills, intuition only works when it needs to and its use is a choice made by the player. The Ranger player at the table may say "I'm going to use my intuition" when the DM tells them a roll failed, which is flavorful and fits the fantasy of scraping by with a bit of luck and intuition.

Intuition also represents a unique character creation challenge for the player, as it only works on skills whose proficiency the Ranger has gained from their class, not those gained from feats or backgrounds. This limitation is arbitrary, not truly for balance reason, but it is made up for by each Archetype providing the Ranger with new proficiencies or new ways to use Intuition.

The Ranger's intuition grows over time alongside their proficiency bonus, and they gain new features that reference the dies size, replenish expended uses, or grant new ways to use it. This is true for both the base class and the Archetypes.

Survivalist

This feature is both a way to increase the Rangers survivability in a fight, similar in purpose to the Fighter's Second Wind feature, and a way to give hit dice additional proactive value. Because of the way both temporary hit points and hit dice interact with rests, the Ranger has an increased interest in short rests to replenish the uses of Survivalist and long rests to replenish expended hit dice. 

The limited recovery of hit dice also makes the choice of using this feature more interesting to the Ranger player, as it makes it a less automatic start-of-new-day action for them to take. 

This feature is less interconnected than Intuition, but certain Beastmaster features are affected by it or affect it directly.

Preparations

Inspired in part by the Artificer's Infusions and the Warlock's Invocations, Preparations represent the Ranger's ability to prepare for anything. Much of the goal of this feature is to make the player think about, or even actively seek information about, what they can expect to encounter. It encourages planning and scouting, which fit the fantasy and established identity of the Ranger.

The design of each preparation was based on my wish to not create non-choices for the player: options that are too good not to take; options that are so bad you would never take them; options that are clearly superior to a similar option. They each represent a unique way that a Ranger would be able to solve a problem, and very few of them affect combat, as the Ranger already has plenty of features for that.

In total there are 35 unique preparations to choose from, 15 of which belong to specific Archetypes, offering unique new, optional subclass features. The player can choose to know up to 10 of them at level 10 and 15 at level 20. This abundance of options and high number of selections the player can make are important for the flexible nature of the Ranger, and is possible due to the low number of combat based preparations.

Subclasses

The subclasses of the Ranger were designed to have very distinct identities, and to fit different fantasies that are, or can be, associated with Rangers. 

The Vigilante

Inspired by super heroes without superpowers, this subclass is the urban Ranger, specialized in people. It encourages putting a few points in Charisma, and allows the Ranger player to be the face of the party.

The Beastmaster

The classic idea of a Ranger, as expressed in most gaming media featuring any type of Ranger: a beast companion. To ensure that this archetype is balanced, I based the companion's stat alterations and combat interactions on existing material, both from the original Ranger Beastmaster and the newer Artificer Battle Smith. I wanted the choice of companion to be more meaningful than just picking the strongest available CR 1/4 beast, so I created additional features that check the type of beast chosen and grants benefits based on that type.  This is meant to encourage picking non-standard companions for their unique effects.

The Skirmisher

5e subclasses are often based on the idea of pushing one class identity in the direction of another. The Skirmisher is a roguish version of the Ranger, granting them access to thieves tools, as well as approximations of both cunning action and sneak attack. The results is a Ranger with a higher emphasis on stealth, for players that like sneaking around.

The Trapper

The Trapper is an archetype focused on the Ranger's Preparation feature, specifically the Create Trap preparation. This subclass doesn't feature any ribbon class features — features that are entirely flavor, or at least entirely non-combat focused — instead each Trapper feature improves the Rangers ability to work the with the Create Trap feature. This hyper-specialization limits the character's potential for variety, but this is off-set by the open endedness and creative potential of the Create Trap preparation, as well as the supporting preparations the Trapper gains access to. The goal of this subclass was to create entirely unique gameplay and combat options through the use of traps.

The Sentinel

Finally, the Sentinel is close to the original version of the Ranger, regaining spellcasting and gaining features that enhance or interact with spellcasting. The Sentinels design is meant to be Druid-ish, with preparations that allow for a version of shapeshifting and improved healing spells. Its features were inspired in part by the Eldritch Knight Fighter subclass, but with an important exception: a greater number of spells known. This is because the combination of limited spells known and limited number of spell slots of the Eldritch Knight results in specific spells being chosen for specific purposes and nothing else — which is fine for the Eldritch Knight, but didn't fit the flexibility I wanted for the Ranger.