The forests are home to fierce and cunning creatures, such as bloodthirsty owlbears and malicious displacer beasts. But more cunning and powerful than these monsters is the ranger, a skilled hunter and stalker. He knows the woods as if they were his home (as indeed they are), and he knows his prey in deadly detail.
A ranger can use a variety of weapons and is quite capable in combat. His skills allow him to survive in the wilderness, to find his prey, and to avoid detection. He also has special knowledge about certain types of creatures, which makes it easier for him to find and defeat such foes. Finally, an experienced ranger has such a tie to nature that he can actually draw upon natural power to cast divine spells, much as a druid does.
Some rangers gained their training as part of special military teams, but most learned their skills from solitary masters who accepted them as students and assistants. The students of a particular master may count themselves as cohorts, or they may be rivals for the status of best student and thus the rightful heir to their master’s fame.
The ranger’s best role is that of a scout and secondary combatant. Without the heavy armor of the fighter or the staying power of the barbarian, the ranger should focus on opportunistic and ranged attacks. Most rangers use commanded animals as sentries, scouts, or to assist them in melee combat.
Rangers belong to the rogue class group. (See the Character Advancement page for more information about class groups.)
| The Ranger | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Special Abilities | |||||
| 1st | 1st favored enemy, hunter's knowledge, track, wild empathy | |||||
| 2nd | Bonus feat | |||||
| 3rd | Endurance, 1st favored terrain | |||||
| 4th | Animal command | |||||
| 5th | Device lore, 2nd favored enemy, traps | |||||
| 6th | Bonus feat | |||||
| 7th | Woodland stride | |||||
| 8th | 2nd favored terrain | |||||
| 9th | ||||||
| 10th | Bonus feat, 3rd favored enemy | |||||
| 11th | Quarry | |||||
| 12th | Camouflage | |||||
| 13th | 3rd favored terrain | |||||
| 14th | Bonus feat | |||||
| 15th | 4th favored enemy | |||||
| 16th | ||||||
| 17th | Hide in plain sight | |||||
| 18th | Bonus feat, 4th favored terrain | |||||
| 19th | Improved quarry | |||||
| 20th | 5th favored enemy, master hunter | |||||
5d6 × 10 gp (average 175 gp). In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.
The ranger has a Good base attack bonus, Medium Fortitude, Medium Reflex, and Poor Will saving throw bonuses. (See Table: Attack & Save Bonuses By Level, on the Classes page.)
A ranger is proficient with basic weapons and unarmed attacks, as well as any two of the following weapon groups:
(See the Weapons page for more information about weapons and weapon groups.)
A ranger is proficient with light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields).
(A character who does not begin as a ranger at 1st character level does not gain these proficiencies.)
A ranger has the following special abilities.
At 1st level, a ranger may select a type of creature from among those listed below (see Favored Enemies). Due to his extensive study on his chosen type of foe and training in the proper techniques for combating such creatures, the ranger gains a +2 bonus on Bluff?, Insight?, Listen?, Spot, and Survival? checks when using these skills against creatures of this type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such creatures. A ranger also applies his favored enemy bonus to Linguistics checks made to communicate with his favored enemies, and to learn their native language(s), if any.
At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th level), the ranger may select an additional favored enemy from those given on the table. In addition, at each of the listed levels, the bonus against any one favored enemy (including the one just selected, if so desired) increases by 2. If a specific creature falls into more than one category of favored enemy, the ranger’s bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.
A ranger gains a +1 competence bonus per two ranger levels he has, on all Knowledge? checks related to creatures of any of the types which he has selected as a favored enemy, as well as Knowledge? checks related to any of his favored terrains. If the ranger has selected a "civlized" type of creature (such as halflings) as a favored enemy, this ability does not represent specific knowledge of those creatures' customs, history, or society on any given world; rather, it represents general knowledge of those creatures' physiology, habits, social structures, and other things which are common across the worlds. This ability allows the character to make untrained Knowledge? checks with any DC, not only DC 10, on applicable topics.
A ranger gains Swift Wilderness Tracker as a bonus feat at 1st level.
A ranger can improve the initial attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy? check to improve the attitude of a person. The ranger rolls 1d20 and adds his ranger level and his Charisma bonus to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.
To use wild empathy, the ranger and the animal must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.
The ranger can also use this ability to influence a magical beast, but he takes a –4 penalty on the check. (Some magical creatures, especially those with humanoid-level intelligence or those that hail from other planes, do not respond to wild empathy, even if they are similar to animals.)
At 2nd level, and every 4th level thereafter, a ranger gains a bonus feat. He can select from any of the feats listed below. The ranger must still meet the prerequisites for any feat he selects in this way.
Far Shot, Rapid Shot, Manyshot, Shot on the Run
A ranger gains Endurance as a bonus feat at 3rd level.
At 3rd level, a ranger may select a type of terrain from the terrains listed below. The ranger gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge? (geography), Listen?, Spot, Stealth?, and Survival? skill checks when he is in this terrain. A ranger traveling through his favored terrain normally leaves no trail and cannot be tracked (though he may leave a trail if he so chooses).
At 8th level and every five levels thereafter, the ranger may select an additional favored terrain. In addition, at each such interval, the skill bonus and initiative bonus in any one favored terrain (including the one just selected, if so desired), increases by +2.
If a specific terrain falls into more than one category of favored terrain, the ranger's bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.
A ranger must be familiar with a terrain he selects as his favored terrain. (The DM's discretion determines familiarity.)
The types of terrains from which the ranger may select as as follows:
At 4th level, the ranger can speak with animals at will. He also gains Command Animals as a bonus feat. The ranger's effective priest level for the purposes of the Command Animals feat's effects is his total level in the rogue class group.
At 5th level, the ranger gains the device lore ability (as the thief class feature). If he also has levels of the thief class, those levels stack with his ranger levels for determining the bonus he adds to device lore rolls.
At 5th level, the ranger learns how to create a snare trap and one other ranger trap of his choice.
At 7th level and every two levels thereafter, he learns another trap. The ranger can use these traps a total number of times per day equal to 1/2 his ranger level + his Wisdom modifier. Once a trap is learned, it can’t be unlearned and replaced with a different type of trap. The ranger cannot select an individual trap more than once.
Starting at 7th level, a ranger may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at his normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment.
Thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion, however, still affect him.
At 11th level, a ranger can, as a standard action, denote one target within his line of sight as his quarry. Whenever he is following the tracks of his quarry, a ranger can take 10 on his Survival? skill checks while moving at normal speed, without penalty. In addition, he receives a +2 insight bonus on attack rolls made against his quarry, and all critical threats are automatically confirmed. A ranger can have no more than one quarry at a time and the creature's type must correspond to one of his favored enemy types. He can dismiss this effect at any time as a free action, but he cannot select a new quarry for 24 hours. If the ranger sees proof that his quarry is dead, he can select a new quarry after waiting 1 hour.
A ranger of 12th level or higher can use the Stealth? skill to hide in any of his favored terrains, even if the terrain doesn't grant cover or concealment.
While in any of his favored terrains, a ranger of 17th level or higher can use the Stealth skill even while being observed.
At 19th level, the ranger's ability to hunt his quarry improves. He can now select a quarry as a free action, and can now take 20 while using Survival? to track his quarry, while moving at normal speed without penalty. His insight bonus to attack his quarry increases to +4. If his quarry is killed or dismissed, he can select a new one after 10 minutes have passed.
A ranger of 20th level becomes a master hunter. He can always move at full speed while using Survival? to follow tracks without penalty. He can, as a standard action, make a single attack against a favored enemy. If the attack hits, it automatically threatens a critical hit. A ranger can use this ability five times per day, but not against the same creature more than once per encounter.
A ranger can select any of the following groups or categories of creatures as favored enemies (certain creature categories may require DM approval to select them as a favored enemy). This is not an exhaustive list, and a ranger may encounter a kind of creature not listed here, and select creatures of that type as a favored enemy. (The exact breadth and scope of a creature category that may be selected as a favored enemy is subject to approval by the DM.) Categories of creatures that are typically selected as favored enemies at 1st level (due to being both common and relatively well-known) by rangers of the common races are highlighted in bold.
In some cases, a ranger's favored enemy bonuses apply not only to creatures of a certain kind, but also their creations and minions; e.g. a ranger who selects demons as a favored enemy would also apply his favored enemy bonuses to a retriever (a type of spider-like construct, created by the demon prince Demogorgon, and often used by tanar'ri demons as a mount or servitor creature), while a ranger who selects illithids as a favored enemy would also apply his favored enemy bonuses to tzakandi (humanoid creatures twisted into monstrous forms by a deviate variant of the mind flayer reproductive cycle).
(VARIANT CLASS)
For the urban ranger, the streets and sewers of the city are just as dangerous as the barren wastelands or the deep forests.
An urban ranger has the following class features:
An urban ranger may select an organization instead of a creature type as his favored enemy. (This could be a thieves' guild, the city guard, an evil cult, etc.) The ranger's favored enemy bonuses apply to Bluff, Diplomacy?, Gather Information, Intimidate?, Knowledge?, and Insight? checks, as well as attack (but not damage) rolls and Armor Class, against members of that organization.
The urban ranger's favored enemy ability otherwise works exactly like the standard version.
An urban ranger's track ability grants the Swift Urban Tracker feat instead of the Swift Wilderness Tracker feat.
An urban ranger's hunter's knowlege ability applies to creatures that are found in urban environments, as well as all Knowledge? checks related to urban terrain.
An urban ranger adds only one-half his ranger level to wild empathy checks.
An urban ranger's only favored terrain is urban. The ranger's favored terrain bonuses in the urban terrain increase with level, but he never gains any additional favored terrains.
The urban ranger's spell list is different from the standard ranger's spell list. The urban ranger has access to the following spells:
At 7th level, an urban ranger is never slowed by difficult terrain in urban environments. In addition, he can move through the space occupied by local citizens as if they were allies. This does not apply to creatures intent on harming the ranger. Areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion, however, still affect him.
This ability replaces woodland stride.
An urban ranger's swift tracker ability allows him to make a Gather Information check every half hour instead of every hour when tracking individuals through communities without taking the –5 penalty on the check.
An urban ranger of 12th level or higher can use his Stealth? bonus in place of a Disguise? skill check in any urban environment. This disguise does not take an action to don. He must make a check whenever someone attempts to pick him out from the local citizens. If his check is successful, he blends into the crowd. While not invisible, enemies do not notice his presence and take no actions against him unless they are taking actions against the local citizens in general.
This ability replaces camouflage.