Ranger

Overview

Far from the bustle of cities and towns, past the hedges that shelter the most distant farms from the terrors of the wild, amid the dense-packed trees of trackless forests and across wide and empty plains, rangers keep their unending watch.
Rangers are free-minded wanderers and seekers who patrol the edges of civilized territory, turning back the denizens of the wild lands beyond. It is a thankless job, since their efforts are rarely understood and almost never rewarded. Yet rangers persist in their duties, never doubting that their work makes the world a safer place.
A relationship with civilization informs every ranger's personality and history. Some rangers see themselves as enforcers of the law and bringers of justice on civilization's frontier, answering to no sovereign power. Others are survivalists who eschew civilization altogether. They vanquish monsters to keep themselves safe while they live in and travel through the perilous wild areas of the world. If their efforts also benefit the kingdoms and other civilized realms that they avoid, so be it.
Long have rangers walked the wilds of the Sword Coast and The North. Like druids, their practices date back to the earliest days of humanity. And long before humans set foot in Faerûn, elf rangers strode through its forests and climbed its mountains. The traditions and outlook of these people are now shared by members of many races. In particular, lightfoot halflings frequently hear the call of the wild and become rangers, often acting as guides and protectors of roving halfling bands, and shield dwarves forced to wander far from old clanholds sometimes follow the ranger's path.
Not every prospector wandering far hills or trapper hunting through uninhabited lands becomes a ranger. True rangers go out into nature and find it holy, and like paladins, they are touched by something divine. Their gods and creeds might differ, but rangers share similar values about the sanctity of nature. While by no means always aligned with one another, rangers are bound into a loose community of sorts - one that often connects with circles of druids.
Throughout much of Faerûn, rangers use special marks to indicate campsites, dangerous areas, evil creatures, foul magic, goblinoid activity, hidden caches of supplies, safe passage, shelter, and graves or tombs. Many of these symbols were derived from elven lore or borrowed from groups like the Harpers. While by no means a secret language, these trail marks are often obtuse to non-rangers, and even druids might not understand them.
As a whole, rangers serve to help societies survive and thrive in the wilderness. Much of Faerûn is unsettled. Rangers are driven to explore this land, searching for fertile soil in which the seeds of civilization might grow, seeking resources (such as metals) that will benefit settled lands, or rooting out evil before it can spread. Other rangers spy on enemy troops or hunt down dangerous beasts or criminals. Given that so much of Faerûn is frontier, rangers play a critical role in keeping communities safe and are often admired within them.

Deadly Hunters

Warriors of the wilderness, rangers specialize in hunting the monsters that threaten the edges of civilization - humanoid raiders, rampaging beasts and monstrosities, terrible giants, and deadly dragons. They learn to track their quarry as a predator does, moving stealthily through the wilds and hiding in brush and rubble. Rangers focus their combat training on techniques that are particularly useful against their specific favored foes.
Thanks to their familiarity with the wilds, rangers acquire the ability to cast spells that harness nature's power, much as a druid does. Their spells, like their combat abilities, emphasize speed, stealth, and the hunt. A ranger's talents and abilities are honed with deadly focus on the grim task of protecting lhe borderlands.

Independent Adventurers

Though a ranger might make a living as a hunter, a guide, or a tracker, a ranger's true calling is to defend the outskirts of civilization from the ravages of monsters and humanoid hordes that press in from the wild. In some places, rangers gather in secretive orders or join forces with druidic circles. Many rangers, though, are independent almost to a fault, knowing that, when a dragon or a band of orcs attacks, a ranger might be the first - and possibly the last - line of defense.
This fierce independence makes rangers well suited to adventuring, since they are accustomed to life far from the comforts of a dry bed and a hot bath. Faced with city-bred adventurers who grouse and whine about the hardships of the wild, rangers respond with some mixture of amusement, frustration, and compassion. But they quickly learn that other adventurers who can carry their own weight in a fight against civilization's foes are worth any extra burden. Coddled city folk might not know how to feed themselves or find fresh water in the wild, but they make up for it in other ways.

View of the World

A ranger's view of the world begins (and sometimes ends) with their outlook toward civilized folk and the places they occupy. Some rangers have an attitude toward civilization that's deeply rooted in disdain, while others pity the people they have sworn to protect - though on the battlefield, it's impossible to tell the difference between one ranger and another. Indeed, to those who have seen them operate and been the beneficiaries of their prowess, it scarcely matters why rangers do what they do. That said, no two rangers are likely to express their opinions on any matter in the same way.

Homeland

All rangers, regardless of how they came to take up the profession, have a strong connection to the natural world and its various terrains. For some rangers, the wilderness is where they grew up, either as a result of being born there or moving there at a young age. For other rangers, civilization was originally home, but the wilderness became a second homeland.

Sworn Enemy

Every ranger begins with a favored enemy (or two). The determination of a favored enemy might be tied to a specific event in the character's early life, or it might be entirely a matter of choice.

Features

As a ranger, you gain the following class features.

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

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: None
• Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
• Skills: Choose three from Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival

Equipment

• Scale mail or leather armor
• Two shortswords or two simple melee weapons
• A dungeoneer's pack or an explorer’s pack
• A longbow, 20 arrows, and a quiver

1st Level - Canny

Choose one of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses the chosen skill.
You can also speak, read, and write two additional languages of your choice.

1st Level - Favored Foe

When you hit a creature with an attack roll, you can call on your mystical bond with nature to mark the target as your favored enemy for 1 minute or until you lose your concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell).
The first time on each of your turns that you hit the favored enemy and deal damage to it, including when you mark it, you can increase that damage by 1d4.
You can use this feature to mark a favored enemy a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
This feature's extra damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class: to 1d6 at 6th level and to 1d8 at 14th level.

2nd Level - Fighting Style

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.

Blind Fighting

You have blindsight with a range of 10 feet. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn't behind total cover, even if you're blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from you.

Defense

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

Druidic Warrior

You learn two cantrips of your choice from the druid spell list. They count as ranger spells for you, and Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for them. Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of these cantrips with another cantrip from the druid spell list.

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.

Thrown Weapon Fighting

You can draw a weapon that has the thrown property as part of the attack you make with the weapon.

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

2nd Level - Spellcasting

You have learned to use the magical essence of nature to cast spells, much as a druid does.

Spell Slots

The table above shows how many spell slots you have to cast your ranger spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a 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 animal friendship and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast animal friendship using either slot.

Spells Known of First Level and Higher

You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the ranger spell list.
The Spells Known column of the table above shows when you learn more ranger spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the ranger spells you know and replace it with another spell from the ranger spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your ranger spells, since your magic draws on your attunement to nature. You use your 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 making an attack roll with one:

• Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
• Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spellcasting Focus

You can use a druidic focus as a spellcasting focus for your ranger spells.

3rd Level - Primal Awareness

You can focus your awareness through the interconnections of nature: you learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class if you don't already know them, as shown in the table below. These spells don't count against the number of ranger spells you know.

Ranger Level	Spell
3rd	Speak with animals
5th	Beast Sense
9th	Speak with plants
13th	Locate creature
17th	Commune with nature

You can cast each of these spells once without expending a spell slot. Once you cast a spell in this way, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

3rd Level - Ranger Archetype

You choose an archetype that you strive to emulate. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th level.

4th Level - 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.

4th Level - Martial Versitility

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can replace a fighting style you know with another fighting style available to rangers. This replacement represents a shift of focus in your martial practice.

5th Level - Extra Attack

You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

6th Level - Roving

Your walking speed increases by 5, and you gain a climbing speed and a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

8th Level - Land's Stride

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.
In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against plants that are magically created or manipulated to impede movement, such those created by the entangle spell.

10th Level - Nature's Veil

You draw on the powers of nature to hide from view briefly. As a bonus action, you can magically become invisible, along with any equipment you are wearing or carrying, until the start of your next turn.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

10th Level - Tireless

As an action, you can give yourself a number of temporary hit points equal to 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1 temporary hit point). You can use this action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
In addition, whenever you finish a short rest, your exhaustion level, if any, is decreased by 1.

14th Level - Vanish

You can use the Hide action as a bonus action on your turn. Also, you can’t be tracked by nonmagical means, unless you choose to leave a trail.

18th Level - Feral Senses

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.

20th Level - Foe Slayer

At 20th level, you become an unparalleled hunter of your enemies. Once on each of your turns, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the attack roll or the damage roll of an attack you make against one of your favored foes. You can choose to use this feature before or after the roll, but before any effects of the roll are applied.