Additional Ranger Archetypes

These two additional archetypes provide new areas of play for rangers who desire a more focused approach than the hunter, but a stronger niche than the Beast Master.

Bounty Hunter

Those who follow the career of a Bounty Hunter know that sometimes monsters stand upright and walk among civilians. These rangers traverse infested sewers, sprint across rooftops, stakeout dark alleyways, and track a criminal's trail across the land. Your prey might range from an escaped convict to a powerful vampire lord posing as an aristocrat.

Urban Adapted

At 3rd level, you learn thieves' cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves' cant understands such messages. You can use this language to make contact with thieves' guilds and other underground organizations, and gather information. Thieves will naturally view you as an ally, but might still charge for their info. You additionally gain one loyal underworld contact in a city of your choice. They are the easiest for you to contact and share info easily.

In addition, at 14th level you can forego choosing an additional Favored Enemy, and instead gain the benefits on any humanoid you have a contract on. You can also choose Urban Terrain as your additional Favored Terrain at 6th or 10th level. This grants you different benefits:

When you make an Intelligence or Wisdom check related to the city you are in, your proficiency bonus is doubled if you are using a skill that you're proficient in.

You cannot become lost in cities except by magical means

Even when engaged in another activity while traveling about the city (such as bartering, investigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.

If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.

Innkeepers and bartenders tend to treat you kindly.

Dead or Alive

At 7th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.

Wanted Alive. If an enemy is surprised, you have advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks made to grapple them. While enemies are grappled or restrained by you, their Strength (Athletics) and Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks are at disadvantage.

Ambush. You are at your deadliest when you get the drop on your enemies. Whenever you go first in an initiative order, you may take two actions during your first turn in combat.

Ready Minded. Whenever you roll iniative, you choose between 10 + your Proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier or your roll, whichever is higher.

Play It Cool

At 11th level, You gain proficiency with the disguise kit. Additionally, you can use Hide in Plain Sight to blend into the background of cities and towns. You can spend 10 minutes creating an appropriate disguise for yourself.

Using this ability to stake out your quarry, you gain +10 to Charisma (Deception) checks made to avoid suspicion, but do not gain the +10 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks. When using it in this way, you do not have to stay still, and checks made to determine your identity or purpose are Wisdom (Insight) checks contested by your Charisma (Deception) checks. Once a creature has seen through your disguise, you lose your bonus against them. Similarly, you lose your bonus if you draw a weapon or begin to run.

Relentless Pursuit

At 15th level, your peerless skill and ability allows you to overcome many obstacles.

You have gained the ability to climb faster, and climbing no longer costs extra movement. In addition, while at a high vantage point you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception), Wisdom (Insight), and Intelligence (Investigation) checks made to find your quarry.

You have advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) and Wisdom (Insight) checks to help determine the next location of your quarry when in an area they have occupied in the last 24 hours.

You may take an additional Fighting Style.

Survivalist

The rangers who follow this path get by on the bare necessities needed to survive. The land is their livelihood, thus they hold its powers in reverence. Survivalists take only what they need, and abhor unnecessary consumption or violence.

Nature's Guardian

At 3rd level, when you are within one of your favored terrains, you are adept at determining creatures that do not belong to said terrain. Such creatures are known as invasive species. This is largely up to the DM's discretion, but Appendix B of the DMG lists monsters by their typical environments.

You have advantage to track creatures not native to the favored terrain you reside in. If you already have advantage on the roll, you may add your proficiency bonus twice.

Additionally, when fighting to repel a non-native creature from one of your favored terrains, the first attack you land against it is empowered by the spirit of the environment. You deal an additional 2d8 force damage, increasing to 3d8 at 9th level, 3d10 at 13th level, and 4d10 at 17th level.

Built up Immunities

At 7th level, your exposure to nature's dangers in addition with your prolonged learning of the flora grants you the following abilities: