Ranger Progression

Nature's apex predators and sacred guardians, rangers tap into the primal spirits of nature to bring death to their foes and life for their allies. While they are fearsome in combat, they must be careful not to let their predatory nature overcome them, lest their allies suffer alongside their foes.
Regular folks tend to be mistrustful of rangers, viewing them as wildmen and dangerous hunters. This fear is not entirely unfounded. Some rangers give in too far to the predatory nature of their abilities, losing their sanity to the wild urges. When this happens, it is not uncommon for other rangers to band together to hunt the maddened ranger as an act of final mercy.

New Class Features

Proficiencies

Weapons: Personal, Side, Primary, All Ranged Weapons.
Armors: Light, Medium.
Defensive Skills: Exertion or Insight, Dodge.
General Skills (pick 2 from each category):

• Terrain Traversal: Climb, Parkour, Swim, Acrobatics, Balance
• Hunting: Stealth, Perception, Balance, Deception
• Survivalism: Survival, Animal Handling, Nature, Medicine
• Relevant Knowledge: Nature, Dungeoneering, Investigation, History

Favored Enemy

At first level, choose one type of creature from the list below to be your Favored Enemy. You get a number of bonuses when tracking or interacting with creatures of this type.

• You have Advantage on Checks to track them.
• You have Advantage on Checks to recall information about them.
• Your Hunter's Mark damage is maximized against them.
• You can add your Wisdom to damage rolls against them.
• You learn one of their primary languages.

Favored Enemy Categories

Choose from the following list. For categories like Humanoid which have many subcategories, you can pick two subcategories (such as Orc and Human). To choose one, you must be aware of its existence and have some way of studying up on them (such as a giant library or reliable tutor).

• Humanoid (human, orc, elf, goblin, dwarf, gnome, halfling, gnoll, etc.)
• Beast
• Monstrosity
• Dragon
• Aberration
• Ooze
• Fey
• Fiend (demon, devil, daemon, qlippoth)
• Celestial (angel, aesir, olympian)

At 6th level, you can choose a second Favored Enemy.
At 14th level, you can choose a third Favored Enemy. Additionally, pick one of your Favored Enemies to be your Expertise. You always have Proficiency in any Check regarding that Favored Enemy. If you already have Proficiency in that Check, then you have Expertise instead.
At 17th level, choose a fourth Favored Enemy, as well as a second Favored Enemy to be your Expertise.

Hunter's Mark

Starting at 1st level, you can use your Bonus Action to mark an enemy. While marked, your attacks and spells against the target deal 1d4 additional damage of the same type.
The mark lasts for 1 hour, or until the target dies. If the target dies, then you can transfer the mark to another creature you can see.
If you are in your Favored Terrain, you can target a type of creature to mark the nearest creature of that type within the area of your Favored Terrain. Additionally, you can mark any Favored Enemy that you have seen within the last minute.
Starting at 6th level, your Hunter's Mark damage increases to 1d6.
Starting at 10th level, your Hunter's Mark damage increases to 1d8.
Starting at 14th level, your Hunter's Mark damage increases to 1d10.
Starting at 18th level, your Hunter's Mark damage increases to 1d12.

Favored Terrain

Starting at 2nd level, you can choose one type of terrain from the list below. While you are in terrain of that type, you gain a number of benefits.

• You are immune to Difficult Terrain.
• You have Advantage on Initiative Checks.
• You do not leave physical tracks of any kind.
• You have Advantage on Intelligence and Wisdom Checks related to the terrain or the creatures that live there.

Terrain Types

You can choose one of the following as a Favored Terrain.

• Forest
• Sea
• Tundra
• Desert
• Plains
• Swamp/Marsh
• Mountains
• Sky
• Underground
• Underdark
• Underwater
• A Plane (choose one except the Material)

Starting at 9th level, you can pick a second Favored Terrain.
Starting at 17th level, you can pick a third Favored Terrain.

Ranger Disciplines

Ranger Disciplines

Fighting Style

At 4th level, you pick one Fighting Style to become Green in.
At 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th levels, you can either pick a new Fighting Style to become Green in, or increase your rank in a Fighting Style you already have by 1.

Primal Awareness

Starting at 5th level, you are able to easily blend in with natural creatures. Animals and Plants do not view you as a threat unless you take threatening actions toward them and they generally try to avoid confrontation with you. Additionally, you understand the intent behind animals' noises and body language and can communicate simple concepts (such as "peaceful me", "danger north", or, "need shelter") in back to them in kind.
While you are in your Favored Terrain, you can also communicate with plants in much the same way as animals, though the communicated concepts are generally much simpler than with animals.
This has no effect on fully sentient creatures.
Starting at 9th level, you can meditate for 10 minutes to reach out to the land to find your Favored Enemies. Choose one of your Favored Enemies. You learn the direction, distance, and size of all Favored Enemies of the chosen type within range, as long as they could reasonably be detected by the area's flora and fauna. You can also mark one of the detected Favored Enemies with Hunter's Mark.
If you are within your Favored Terrain, then the range increases to the region of that terrain.
Starting at 13th level, you learn to make a ghilli suit to allow you to blend into the wilderness around you. First you must spend two days of downtime crafting the suit itself. After that, you can spend a Meal applying nearby plantlife to the suit to prepare it for use. This suit grants you a +10 to Stealth Checks while you are in the terrain appropriate to it. Vigorous action, such as combat, knocks the camouflaging material off of the suit, requiring another Meal to put it on.

Foe Slayer

During a Night Rest you can craft a Bane from the list below to assist you in killing your Favored Enemies. You can maintain a number of Banes equal to your Wisdom Bonus at a time, though you can still only craft one per Night's Rest.

• Arrow of Slaying: though not necessarily a literal arrow, this projectile is enchanted to be deadly to a certain type of creature. When a creature of the selected type is struck by an attack from this projectile, the attack automatically crits.
• Arrow of Death: usually a literal arrow, this projectile is enchanted to be deadly to a specific creature. In order to craft an Arrow of Death, you must know the creature's name, which you carve into the projectile while chanting it aloud, and you must truly desire to slay them. When they are struck by that projectile, they must attempt an Exertion or Presence Check. If they succeed, their Max HP is reduced by 1d6 per level you have. If they fail, they die. If you use the target's True Name to craft the Arrow of Death, they automatically fail their Exertion Check.

Social Abilities

Ranger Social Abilities

Hunter's Mark

Hunter's mark is no longer a spell. Instead, it is a class ability that can be used a number of times equal to your Wisdom bonus. You recover all your use after a Night's Sleep, or 1 use after a Meal or Nap.
Starting at 1st level, you can use your Bonus Action to mark a creature you can see. Alternatively, you can mark any Favored Enemy as long as you have seen them within the past minute, or any creature that you know the name of that is within your Favored Terrain (if you are in the same region Favored Terrain as them).

Example

Eloria is a Ranger with Goblins as a Favored Enemy and Forests as a Favored Terrain.
One day, Eloria is ambushed by a group of wolves led by a goblin shaman and an ogre she has met before named Papa Nobsplat.
When the fight starts, she marks one of the wolves, quickly eliminating it. At the wolf's death, the goblin and ogre flee into the surrounding woods.
Since Eloria has seen the shaman within the last minute and he is a goblin, she marks him, then chases him to finish the job. The chase takes several hours, but eventually the goblin is dead.
Eloria has not seen the Ogre in a long time, but she figures he is probably still within these woods. She focuses, then marks him, since he is within the same forest as her (her favored terrain) and she knows his name (Papa Nobsplat). It turns out he is near by, so she easily hunts him down.
If he had exited the forest, the mark would have expended but done nothing, even if he was in a different forest.

Once an enemy is marked, you know the direction and distance to them until the mark fades (1 hour) or they die or they travel to another plane. Additionally, all of your attacks deal 1d6 extra damage to the marked target.
At 5th level, the damage increases to 1d8.
At 11th level, the damage increases to 1d10.
At 17th level, the damage increases to 1d12.
At 20th level, the mark remains even when the target travels to another plane, telling you which plane they are on. If you are not on the same plane as them, you know the direction and distance to the nearest (not necessarily safest) portal to the plane they are on. If you are on the same plane, it functions as normal, though some planes may interfere in various ways.

Ranger Spells

Rangers draw their magic from the primal spirits of the land. These spirits give them great strength in and out of combat, but that strength is accompanied by a desire to continue the hunt and seek ever stronger prey.
This primal link to the spirits of the land gives rangers access to powerful incantations known as Calls. While less versatile than the magic of some other classes, a ranger's Calls give them the ability to stalk, track, and hunt prey across great distances and weather even the most dangerous terrain.

Primal Calls

Instead of worrying about spell slots, rangers must deal with the danger of being overtaken by the primal magic they manipulate. They learn new calls as normal, but when they perform a call they must make a Wisdom Check with a DC equal to 8 + Spell Level of the call they are casting (this is called the Calling Check).

Calling Check Results

Natural 20: you control the spirits fantastically. The Call happens without issue and any damage dice are maximized. If you are not in Equilibrium (details below), then you can choose to enter Equilibrium when you finish casting this Call.
Success: you do not lose control. The Call happens without issue and your mental state does not change.
Failure: you begin to lose control. If in Equilibrium, the spell still occurs but you transition to the appropriate mental state. Predator and Prey states might have additional consequences.
Natural 1: you lose control. You transition to the appropriate mental state and suffer its severe effects for 1d4 rounds, after which you can attempt to recover.

Call Types

Each call fits into one of two categories: Predator Calls, or Prey Calls. Predator Calls help the ranger fight, track, or damage enemies (such as Hail of Thorns, Hunter's Mark, Locate Object, etc.). Prey Calls protect, heal, or benefit their target (such as Healing Spirit, Resist Elements, etc.). If the Call's category is ambiguous, the GM decides its category.

Equilibrium

This is the default state of mind for a ranger. The DC for all Calling Checks in this state is 10 and you are in complete control of yourself. If you fail a Calling Check in this state, then the Call still happens, but you transition to either a Predatory Bloodlust or Prey's Survival state after the spell has been cast.
While in a Bloodlust or Panic, the DC for all Calling Checks is increased by 5. Failing another Calling Check for the same kind of spell (predatory for Bloodlust, prey for Panic) causes you to Snap (detailed below). Failing a Calling check for the opposite kind of spell simply causes the spell to fizzle out.

Predatory Bloodlust

When you fail a Calling Check for a Predator Call, you enter a Bloodlust. While in this state, add your Wisdom Bonus to all damage dealt. In order to take non-predatory actions, you must succeed a Wisdom Save with a DC equal to 10 + the highest level of Call that you know.
If you fail to cast a Prey Call while in this state, the Action is lost.

Feeding Frenzy

If you fail to cast a Predator Call while in a Bloodlust then you Snap for 1d4 turns. The Call still happens, but you are overcome by predatory instincts. While in this state, you can only take Actions that harm other creatures, or help you hunt a creature to harm.
By succeeding a Wisdom Save with a DC equal to your level at the beginning of your turn, you can exert some control over yourself for the rest of your turn. You do not return to your senses, but can hunt a specific creature instead of simply killing the nearest one.

Prey's Survivalism

When you fail a Calling Check for a Prey Call, you become Nervous. While in this state, you add your Wisdom Bonus to any healing that you provide, and the DC for all Calls is increased by 5.

Panic

If you fail a Calling Check for a Prey Call while Nervous, then you Snap. The prey instincts of the magic temporarily overcome you as you cast the Call and you enter a Panic. For 1d4 turns, you can only take actions that heal, protect, or avoid conflict, and can only fight if fleeing is impossible.
By succeeding a Wisdom Save with a DC equal to your level at the beginning of your turn, you can exert some control over yourself for the rest of your turn. You do not return to your senses, but can hold your ground and even make a single attack with Disadvantage before fleeing again.

Returning to your Senses

When a Bloodlust or Panic ends, you can attempt to regain your senses. Make a Wisdom Save with a DC equal to 5 + the highest level Call you know. This is called your Recovery Check.

Recovery Check

Natural 20: you regain your senses and are restored to Equilibrium.
Success: you regain your senses and return to whatever state you were in before you Snapped.
Failure: you are unable to recover from your Snap. You remain Snapped until the next Dawn, at which time you gain two levels of exhaustion that cannot be removed by magic.
Natural 1: you become Taken by the Hunt, and can think of nothing else until you lose consciousness.

Taken by the Hunt

You have lost control to the primal magic you harness. You are Snapped (either with Feeding Frenzy or Panic) and must act accordingly. While Snapped in this way, you do not sleep naturally and are reduced to animalistic instincts (though you can cast Calls of the appropriate type without needing to make a check).
You remain Taken by the Hunt until you lose consciousness (usually from exhaustion or violence). When you next wake, you have 4 levels of exhaustion. This exhaustion cannot be removed by magic and is reduced by 1 level each time you complete a Long Rest.
If you die to exhaustion while Taken by the Hunt, you instead become fully animalistic. The exact ramifications of this vary from ranger to ranger, and can range from the ranger believing they are an animal, to endless bloodthirsty rampages across the countryside, to a full transformation into a monster (werewolves and minotaurs are some of the most common transformations).