Sunday, May 19, 2013

DD Ranger

Ok, here's a first draft of a Ranger for Delving Deeper. I based it on the Thief, which I like a lot. Without further ado . . .

Same HD, XP, and attacks as Fighter
No shields
Only Leather or Chain armor (Chain imposes a -1 penalty to certain skill rolls)
No scaling damage bonus (one of my house rules)

Skills @d6 3+
All function only in natural environments.

  • Tracking (includes hiding ranger's own tracks)
  • Navigation
  • Survival (Finding water, suitable shelter site/materials, fire making)
  • Foraging (Hunting, edible plants)
  • Herbal Healing (as Lay on Hands IF access to herbs)
  • Stalking (hiding and Moving Silently)


Favored Terrain
All Rangers perform best in terrain they are most familiar with. The terrains correspond to those found in the Wilderness Encounter tables (pages 19 and 24 of the Referee's Guide). They are Swamp, Woods, Plains, Crags, Desert, Arctic, and Jungle. Personally, I don't think Town is appropriate, though Necropolis might be, for some sort of undead-stalking ranger.

The ranger benefits from operating in his favored terrain as follows:

  • Rolls d8 for skill rolls, still needing 3+
  • Damage +1 every odd-numbered level vs creatures listed under favored terrain in encounter table (does not include PC races)
  • Knowledgeable about creatures inhabiting favored terrain (per encounter table), also includes natural flora and fauna
  • Only Surprised on rolls of 6
Given reasonable exposure to new terrain types (which may include experience with similar terrain at the Referee's discretion), the ranger may add a new terrain to his list of favored terrains at levels 3, 6, 9, and 12. Alternatively, the ranger may elect to improve his skills in an already mastered favored terrain. In that case he may move "up" a die type. 
So, for example, a ranger whose favored terrain is Woods gains 3rd level. The only other terrain the character has adventured in has been Desert, and he has no intention of returning. The player elects instead to improve his skills in Woods and will now roll d10 (still needing 3+). 
Note that this only improves the abilities listed under Skills, the Damage and Surprise rolls remain unchanged.

That's it. It's a pretty rough write-up, I know, and it is entirely possible I've missed some things. Please let me know if you notice anything I left out or unclear, along with any other thoughts/comments.

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