Pure ranger?

[Fezz]

I too am a really big fan of rangers, was always my fav Pnp class. Problem in this game is rangers get stuff all archery wise which they are supposed to be the best at. Perhaps some bonus feats like point blank shot ?? i dont know.

Second there ability to use the ambidex two wpn fighting etc when using light or no armor lends them to being duel wielders. However its nigh on immpossible to have decent AC on this server without using a shield for 9 ac or being a monk for the added wis boost etc, or being a PM or RDD or gith etc etc etc

As already mentioned were focusing here on PURE rangers the SD / ranager can atleast hips away duel wielding from a lot of trouble but what is to become of the pure ranger who duel wields ? Maybe some kind of AC boost ONLY for pure ranger's who duel wield ?? picture it as using the left hand weapon to block your sword stroke as i stab you with the main hand wpn? surely its not as good as a shield but having 2 wpns would offer you a slightly improved defence then having no shield or no wpn in that hand ??? no idead how much ac - not 9 like a +6 tower maybe 5 or 6 ? tops at lvl 40 ? the idea could even extend to the pure ranger archer type who wants to use a bow almost exclusively they will cop those BS attacks of opportunity for shooting at a dude right in front of you anyways.

The problem archery wise is for coping the attacks of opportunity your damage basically sucks big time and you lose the 9 ac from the shield - no insentive at all to be a ranger archer - again talking PURE.

Anyways i leave it to ppl like linux who with their skill will come up with something really cool that will send everyone out on a massive flurry of pure ranger building !!!! lets cross our fingers hey ?

[Nognog]

I'd like to be able to detect a favored enemy presence within some screens of distance, and the direction, like "halfling 3 screens north".

[Aarkon Draco]

yeah the discussion is about pure rangers .. SD rogue ect all add alot to a ranger build fleshing them out nicely. the pure ranger on the other hand needs some love. in NWN2 they have a choice of bow or dual wield with bonuses for whatever you choose. and some much needed feats like two weapon defense and imp two wep deff adding some needed ac not to mention the ability to get 4 off hand attacks making their low damage more on par with monks having extra attacks to even it out.

[Daltian]

IMHO ranger doesn't really have any other problem except bad survivability. Has bad AC, no evasion, no uncanny dodge, no tumble so even worse AC, usually goes for 2 weapon fighting and then looses even more AC. While dex ranger could be an option if used with shield since it would have pretty decent, while not exceptional AC, it wouldn't be a ranger, just a fighter that can cast cats grace and freedom and has no pure class bonuses!

[Blystos Re]

I too am a really big fan of rangers, was always my fav Pnp class. Problem in this game is rangers get stuff all archery wise which they are supposed to be the best at. Perhaps some bonus feats like point blank shot ?? i dont know.

Second there ability to use the ambidex two wpn fighting etc when using light or no armor lends them to being duel wielders. However its nigh on immpossible to have decent AC on this server without using a shield for 9 ac or being a monk for the added wis boost etc, or being a PM or RDD or gith etc etc etc

As already mentioned were focusing here on PURE rangers the SD / ranager can atleast hips away duel wielding from a lot of trouble but what is to become of the pure ranger who duel wields ? Maybe some kind of AC boost ONLY for pure ranger's who duel wield ?? picture it as using the left hand weapon to block your sword stroke as i stab you with the main hand wpn? surely its not as good as a shield but having 2 wpns would offer you a slightly improved defence then having no shield or no wpn in that hand ??? no idead how much ac - not 9 like a +6 tower maybe 5 or 6 ? tops at lvl 40 ? the idea could even extend to the pure ranger archer type who wants to use a bow almost exclusively they will cop those BS attacks of opportunity for shooting at a dude right in front of you anyways.

I played a ranger in an Ebberon PnP setting once... poor guy. Cammoflage doesn't work when there's no trees.

Here's a thought: Take the enhancement bonus of the off-hand weapon and add it to AC with a -4 penalty if the off-hand is large, -1 if medium, -2 if small or tiny....or something. This would use the natural scaling of weapons up to 40 to add to the pure ranger's AC, they still wouldn't get the same AC as with a shield, and they would miss out on the DR, but would still get a "parry-like" bonus (since parry doesn't deflect more than 1 attack per flurry).

I guess we should wait to see what Linux already has in testing for rangers...he's probably got all our ideas beat.

[Nognog]

what if pure rangers get different abilities if they are good or evil? Usually the ranger is "good" but there are also "evil" rangers, called fallen rangers.
It will be nice to have a pure ranger summon, a particular beast, depending on the alignment. Also it will be nice to have more powerful animals to charm, (and maybe use them as aid when raiding)

[-BannyD-]

a powerful summon for the pure ranger would be sweet! i think someone else said it above...but theres one key word: powerful. if its dragon knight powered, i dont want it. if its black devilish range...sure, specially if there were different appearances per alignment and maybe different damage type (elemental type, if it got seperated into bludg/slash/piece...there wouldnt be much diversity)

[Apokriphos]

I don't think it should be a summon.

Rangers, especially pure rangers,should not have too much skill in summoning monsters through magic. However, I think that improving upon the range & duration of animals that can be affected by empathy skill (by adding native animals to the planes and beyond) would be an excellent idea for pure rangers.

[Bargeld]

In the spirit of 2nd edition (back in my day), rangers did 'summon' creatures at high levels:

High level rangers also gained followers, which could include various woodland animals, mythical creatures (like the treant, pegasus, and pixie), or even classed characters like druids, clerics, or other rangers (presumably low-level rangers wishing to train under a more experienced one).
(from wikipedia.org)

Nowadays, it's conceivable that ranger could get a companion like dragon knight or a black devil.

[Daltian]

Thing is companion wouldn't solve rangers biggest problem, which is survivability.

[-BannyD-]

Thing is companion wouldn't solve rangers biggest problem, which is survivability.

depends on how you look at it. sometimes the best defense is a good offense...if the summon is -powerful- then I'd be willing to sacrifice "survivability" for it

[Aarkon Draco]

aye a good summons can make a huge diffrence .. just look at a 30 lvl PM tough as can be with the summons .. without however

[Daltian]

aye a good summons can make a huge diffrence .. just look at a 30 lvl PM tough as can be with the summons .. without however

True, but 30 lvls of PM give quite a bit to survivability too. Lots of AC and immunities.

[Nognog]

rangers have survivability spells already, remove poison, freedom, camouflage, and the vamp regen blade (how is called?).
What about this: charm an animal (bear/malar panther etc) and it grows in strength since becoming a real threat (maybe with the ranger spell)

[-BannyD-]

haha, new ranger stuff is cool...mmm, improved evasion...I should lvl this guy up just to pwn everything. Thanks LinuxPup