The Ranger for LFG 😀

In my wip Midlands setting, the wilderness is genuinely dangerous, filled with beastmen, barbarians and predatory animals. Cities are relatively isolated, and travel between rarely attempted outside of large, well armed caravans. Rangers however prove an exception to the rule; daring explorers that rely on their survival skills to traverse the borderlands and beyond… making them excellent adventurer material.

When designing the ranger, my objectives were:

A capable warrior, with some traditional “ranger” abilities, No overlapping existing class niches (especially the barbarian and rogue), No magic, and A strong nature theme.

As you’ll see, I ultimately went for a ranged specialist, with a mix of non-magical utility, based on herbalism, wilderness skills and a beast companion. Yes, they come with a beast companion; I know that’s something not everyone will like – but for LFG purposes, it’s a great way to differentiate rangers from the other classes (and LFG doesn’t have a druid class, the other usual candidate for a “pet”).

So here it is, the latest iteration of the Ranger. I’d be grateful for any feedback. Pet classes are notoriously difficult to balance, so I’m all ears for suggested improvements!

Ranger PDF

Various artwork copyright 2017 or earlier, Claudio Cassini, Daniel Comerci – hounworks.it, 123RF, or Matt Morrow. Used with permission.