Ranger
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Ranger is a default base class with Arelith specific changes.
Introduction
Arelith Rangers enjoy many changes that benefit their martial, spellcasting, and wilderness aspects. The #Path: Archer and #Path: Totem Ranger paths expand those options. Mechanical changes are included in the #Class Mechanics on this page and explained in the #Arelith Changes section. Base mechanics can be found on NWNWiki. The #Roleplay Tips section provides suggestions for character development.
Class Mechanics
Requirements
Alignment restrictions: None
While many rangers follow a nature deity, they are no longer required to follow any deity to cast spells in Arelith.
See below for a list of nature deities.
Class Features
Hit die: d10
Proficiencies: armor (light, medium), shields, weapons (martial, simple)
Skill points: 8 + int modifier ((8 + int modifier) * 4 at 1st level)
Class Skills: animal empathy, concentration, craft mastery, disable trap, discipline, heal, hide, intimidate, listen, lore, move silently, parry, ride, sail, search, spot, use traps
Unavailable feats: weapon specialization
Bonus feats: favored enemy, greater spell focus, two-weapon fighting, ambidexterity, Blood Lust
Primary saving throw(s): fortitude
Base attack bonus: +1/level
Spellcasting: Divine (spell failure from armor is ignored), wisdom-based (a base wisdom score of 10 + the spell's level is required to cast a spell, bonus spells are based on modified wisdom, and the wisdom modifier affects spell DCs), and requires preparation
Level Progression
Hit points rolls on Arelith are always maximum.
The bonuses against favored enemies are bonus damage added to weapon(s), and bonuses to the spot, listen, and taunt skills.
Level BAB Fort Reflex Will Feats HP 1st 2nd 3rd 4th FE 1st +1 +2 +0 +0 bonus feat, dual-wield, Trackless Step, "-track" command 10 - - - - +1 2nd +2 +3 +0 +0 20 - - - - +1 3rd +3 +3 +1 +1 See optional #Path: Archer or #Path: Totem Ranger 30 - - - - +1 4th +4 +4 +1 +1 animal companion, defensive dual wielding (DDW) +1 shield AC 40 0 - - - +1 5th +5 +4 +1 +1 bonus feat, studied enemy 50 0 - - - +2 6th +6/+1 +5 +2 +2 bonus language: animal language, use poison 60 1 - - - +2 7th +7/+2 +5 +2 +2 woodland stride 70 1 - - - +2 8th +8/+3 +6 +2 +2 uncanny dodge I 80 1 0 - - +2 9th +9/+4 +6 +3 +3 improved two-weapon fighting, evasion 90 1 0 - - +2 10th +10/+5 +7 +3 +3 bonus feat, studied enemy, (if WIS 12 then +1 studied enemy) 100 1 1 - - +3 11th +11/+6/+1 +7 +3 +3 110 1 1 0 - +3 12th +12/+7/+2 +8 +4 +4 DDW +2 AC, map reveal revisited (wilderness) 120 1 1 1 - +3 13th +13/+8/+3 +8 +4 +4 130 1 1 1 - +3 14th +14/+9/+4 +9 +4 +4 140 1 1 1 0 +3 15th +15/+10/+5 +9 +5 +5 bonus feat, studied enemy 150 2 1 1 1 +4 16th +16/+11/+6/+1 +10 +5 +5 nature sense 160 2 2 1 1 +4 17th +17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +5 170 2 2 2 1 +4 18th +18/+13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +6 +20% movement speed (wilderness) 180 3 2 2 1 +4 19th +19/+14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +6 190 3 3 3 2 +4 20th +20/+15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +6 DDW +3 AC, bonus feat, studied enemy, (if WIS 14 then +1 studied enemy) 200 3 3 3 3 +5
Spells
See Category:Ranger_Spells for a list of all spells by category.
| Cantrips | 1st level spells | 2nd level spells |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd level spells | 4th level spells | |
Epic Ranger
Bonus feats: The epic ranger gains a bonus feat every three levels and every five levels after the 20th. In other words, at levels 23, 25, 26, 29, 30.
Epic ranger bonus feats: bane of enemies, blinding speed, epic prowess, epic spell focus, epic toughness, epic weapon focus, improved combat casting, perfect health, Call of the Wild
Epic favored enemy: The epic ranger gains a further +1 bonus in weapon damage, spot, listen, and taunt versus favored enemies for every 5 levels after the 20th.
Unavailable epic feats: epic weapon specialization, outsider shape, construct shape, dragon shape, undead shape
Level Feats HP FE 21st +3 CL vs dispels (subject to change) 210 +5 22nd 220 +5 23rd bonus feat 230 +5 24th 240 +5 25th bonus feat, studied enemy 250 +6 26th bonus feat 260 +6 27th studied enemy 270 +6 28th DDW +4 AC 280 +6 29th bonus feat 290 +6 30th bonus feat, studied enemy x2, (if WIS 16 then +1 studied enemy) 300 +7
Arelith Changes
Change Level Description Class skills - Rangers on Arelith gain access to Disable Traps, Intimidate and Sail as class skills. Trackless Step 1 Type of feat: Druid Class, Harper Scout Class, Ranger Class, Zhentarim Operative Class, Wild Elf Racial Automatically granted by: Druid 3, Harper Scout 5, Ranger 1, Zhentarim Operative 5, Wild Elf Required for: None Specifics: Adds 10 to the DC check for a spotter to find details when Investigating Tracks. Use: Automatic Use Poison 6 Arelith change adds this feat to Ranger. Defensive Dual Wielding 4 Increases AC (shield) when dual wielding (or wielding a double-sided weapon) by 1, and increases by 1 every 8 levels afterward (level 4/12/20/28).
NOTE: This bonus is not gained when the Ranger also has Monk levels.Studied Enemy 5 See Studied (Favored) Enemies. Bonus Language 6 Animal Language. Woodland Stride 7 Arelith change adds this feat to Ranger. Uncanny Dodge I 8 Arelith change adds this feat to Ranger. Evasion 9 Arelith change adds this feat to Ranger. Improved Two-weapon Fighting 9 Arelith customizations reduce the Two-Weapon fighting malus by -1 for characters with this feat. As an aside/reminder, class feats cannot be taken on level up. This means a Ranger would not be able to take the ITWF feat from levels 1-9. However, it would be possible to take X levels in another class and choose IWTF in those level-ups. Then, if 9 levels are taken in Ranger, the ITWF feat would essentially have been wasted.
Wilderness map 12 Revisiting a wilderness areas will auto-reveal that wilderness area map. Blood Lust 15 New feat option (including bonus feat): Blood Lust (Ranger 15, Con 15) -Blade thirst grants additional vampiric regeneration equal to a ranger's Hard constitution modifier.
- Awaken grants their animal companion regeneration equal to a ranger's Hard constitution modifier.Nature Sense 16 Arelith change adds this feat to Ranger. +20% movement speed (wilderness) 18 +20% movement speed aura while out of combat in wilderness areas, applies to all nearby party members and animal companions, summons, etc. Will not stack with Barbarian or Cleric Travel Domain or Monk movement speed bonuses. Call of the Wild 23 New feat option (including bonus feat): Call of the Wild (Ranger 23, Con 15) - Awaken grants a ranger's animal companion bonus AC equal to the ranger's constitution modifier. It also grants the animal companion spell resistance equal to 15 + (ranger level / 2).
Bonus Climb - Gains 1/2 Ranger level to climb checks. Prerequisite for Arcane Archer - Rangers count toward one of the required classes to become Arcane archers. Other requirements (feats and race) still apply. Track - By using the "-track" command, a ranger can detect enemies in the area, and assess the balance of an NPC population. Spell changes - For specifics, see Category:Ranger_Spells. Summoning Changes - For specifics, read Summoning Changes which details how summons are changed on Arelith and Summons which details each specific summon stream and what is summoned at each tier of the stream. Animal Companion 4 Animal companion stats are changed on Arelith. [Ranger Animal (24) Snapshot]. Skillpoints - Increased from 4 to 8 per level. Spellbook - Can save and load Spellbooks through the Crafting Skills menu. Right-click menu: Special Abilities > Crafting Skills > Choose "Spellbooks" from the menu. Path: Archer
Rangers on Arelith can choose the Archer path at character creation (if starting class) or up to level 3 using the [-path] command (if Ranger is taken later for multiclassing). It is worth reviewing the Craft Ammunition Custom Feat as this path will make good use of it.
They gain:
- Level 1: Rapid Reload
- Level 1: Rapid Shot
- Level 1: Point Blank Shot
- Level 9: Called Shot
- Bonus Ranger damage: +1 at class level 4 and an additional +1 after every 8 class levels. (+ 1/2/3/4 at ranger levels 4/12/20/28).
They lose:
- Dual Wield
- Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
- Dual-wield AC bonus
Path: Totem Ranger
Rangers on Arelith can choose the Totem Ranger in to ways:
- As a starting class, using the [-path] command before leaving the starting area.
- As a multiclass with at least 4 ranger levels, finding a semi-secret NPC in the module
While not strictly a path, rangers have their own version of the totem-pact of the druids. Finding the same NPCs as the druids, they can take on a favored animal to bind themselves, but they will not receive any of the mechanical bonuses or penalties, nor will they be able to use the -polymorph command. The only change that they will experience is that (nearly) all their summons will take the form of their totem animal.
A ranger that later multiclasses as druid will be able to -polymorph, but will never receive any of the other bonuses or penalties. Also, the -polymorph will only use the druid levels for determining the power of the shape, ignoring the ranger levels.
The bargain is permanent. Once taken, it cannot be undone or changed.
Studied (Favored) Enemies
- -ranger study [race name] allows you to choose a studied enemy after killing 100 of that type.
- See Favored Enemy and a list of creatures on the NWN wiki for the basics of how Favored Enemy works.
- Rangers may now accrue Studied Enemies, expanding on their roster of Favored Enemy races. This bonus does not stack with favored enemies.
- Rangers receive one Studied Enemy slot for:
- Every 5 class levels. (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30)
- Each Wisdom modifier point at 10 class level increments (that is one additional if you have a wis mod of 1 at level 10, one additional if you have a wis mod of 2 at 20, one additional if you have a wis mod of 3 at 30).
- Additional slot at class levels 27 and 30.
- To choose a race as a Studied Enemy, a ranger must first exhaustively examine the weaknesses of that race by slaying a hundred examples of it. Presently, only PvE kills are counted.
- Once this step is complete, a Ranger can designate a race as a Studied Enemy by using the console command '-ranger study <race name>.'
- Currently, this designation is permanent. Choose carefully.
- Here is a guide to help choices.
Player Races - Categorization
- The table below is for illustration of player subraces. There are 25 racial categorizations of which 14 are currently available across the PC races.
- Other PVE races share some of these racial categories with PC races. Like spriggans for example, are also gnomes. Relevant examples and locations are in the guide.
- Races marked with (**) double asterisk count as the base race chosen by the player playing said race, otherwise, NPC's of that race fall under normal categories. For example, a player character dwarf that chooses an Aasimar award is still mechanically a dwarf for favored enemy purposes.
- For example, choosing a Favored (or Studied) Enemy of "Elf" covers all elf subraces: moon, aquatic, avariel, sun, wild, wood, drow, and the racial enhancement award (**) cases.
Base Race Subrace 1 Dwarf Shield Dwarf Gold Dwarf Wild Dwarf Derro Duergar **Aasimar **Dragon **Genasi **Rakshasa **Tiefling **Vampire 2 Elf Moon Elf Aquatic Elf Avariel Sun Elf Wild Elf Wood Elf Drow **Aasimar **Dragon **Genasi **Rakshasa **Tiefling **Vampire 3 Fey Fey Firbolg 4 Gnome Rock Gnome Forest Gnome Svirfneblin **Aasimar **Dragon **Genasi **Rakshasa **Tiefling **Vampire 5 Halfling Lightfoot Ghostwise Strongheart **Aasimar **Dragon **Genasi **Rakshasa **Tiefling **Vampire 6 Half-Elf Half-Elf **Aasimar **Dragon **Genasi **Rakshasa **Tiefling **Vampire 7 Half-Orc Half-Orc **Aasimar **Dragon **Genasi **Rakshasa **Tiefling **Vampire 8 Human Human Deep Imaskari **Aasimar **Dragon **Genasi **Rakshasa **Tiefling **Vampire 9 Goblinoid Goblin Gnoll Hobgoblin 10 Giant Ogre 11 Monstrous Humanoid Minotaur Yuan-ti 12 Orc Orog 13 Outsider Imp 14 Reptilian Kobold Troglodyte
Roleplay Tips
Rangers are hunters with an affinity for the world around them. Two things should be noted to be true here: Hunters. And “Affinity for the world”.
Origins of Rangers
Rangers are possibly one of the newest classes to appear in the Realms. This may be counter-intuitive, as it would seem that characters with an affinity for their environment would be something that could be produced in any circumstance, but this is not so. Rangers fulfill a very specific function in their world, one that frequently had to be filled by a particularly canny rogue, fighter or druid in the past. Rangers, therein, evolved to fill this particularly empty role, adopting traits of all those classes and creating their own unique skillset. The single most important aspect of someone becoming a ranger is living in and adapting to a particular environment. Stereotypically this is a forest or other natural area: mountains, swamps, open plains. Anything you’d tap for mana. But it can also be a particular city, system of caves or something completely unexpected, like a stretch of the planes. A ranger must, simply must, have lived in the area they most associate themselves with. One cannot study their way into the ranger’s discipline. Read all the books on tracking you want: you’re still going to have no idea how to do it properly. After living in this area enough, they will begin to be what a ranger is.
Being a Ranger
A ranger is the ultimate local. One must remember that like all adventurers, rangers are not common. A given tract of land is not entitled to have a ranger watching over it, but may consider itself blessed if it does. If that tract of land does manage to produce a ranger, though, functionally every living thing on the land will be aware of, or completely ignorant of the ranger’s existence, at that ranger’s discretion. A ranger knows their land, in a way that only a ranger can. They know when things get sick and die, as well as when they flourish. They know the natives, speak their languages, know where they sleep, eat and sometimes more about their mannerisms than the natives do themselves. If need be, the Ranger knows how to track, corner, intimidate, coerce, bribe, lure, trick and avoid the natives as well. the ranger’s base of power is in their home. To creatures in that environment, he is a nigh-omniscient force. And nobody in their right mind would attempt to confront a ranger in their home territory. The Ranger knows where the pitfalls are, how to lose someone, how to catch someone, and how to lure someone. The actual application of this skill set is entirely up to the morality of the ranger, but there is one particular goal that they share almost universally.
Rangers want to preserve their home. This could be considered several different ways. For a Good ranger it would be preservation of the life worth preserving in that home. For an Evil ranger it may be simply ensuring their dominance over that section of the world. Once their home is changed, trees burned, houses burned, mountains leveled or stripped of life: all that Ranger’s life work goes with it. Their skills become useless in the alien place they find themselves. A ranger will not let this happen. How this happens is again, up to the ranger’s morality.
Rangers are Hunters?
This is just as fair to say as “rogues are assassins”. Sure, they may not all actively use those skills they have, but they’re there, always lingering on the edges of their consciousness. Like the “Sneak Attack” feat, the “Favored Enemy” feat is a horrifying concept in the reality of the Realms. That means that a single individual out in the world has put more thought than any other member of his species into the death of your species, or even any other species. They know perhaps more than you do about how you move and think, and how to best kill you. Just look at the bonuses given:
- Listen: He may hear you when you are trying to be quiet.
- Spot: You cannot hide from him.
- Damage Bonus: He knows how to kill you.
- Taunt: He knows how to taunt you.
Certainly, it may not be your race the ranger knows how to slay, but the sheer realization that these people devote some quantity of their lives to an obsession with what is functionally the inevitable death of another race makes them terrifying combatants. One must also recognize that rangers are natural combatants nearly on par with the Fighter. Perhaps not with the fighter’s versatility and brutal efficiency, but coupled with their class abilities and plethora of skills, rangers are more than a match, provided not in a straight fight.
Morality
We should discuss briefly, the ranger’s morality. They are often typecast as selflessly leading native forces or standing alone against the threat of an invading or unnatural force. I’m actually not going to argue that rangers don’t do that. I’d say that any ranger would do that regardless of their alignment, but their reasons behind it could be infinite. As they stand in that pass, hide in that pass or lie behind a bush with a thin wire in their mouth, prepared to trigger a rockslide, one must give consideration to whether killing the onrushing orcs is a selfless act. In combat, rangers are often completely indistinguishable from one another. How they actually live their day to day lives in their territory is often the greatest indication of a ranger’s morality. The one that speaks with the natives, helps them with their problems, overtly or subtly, and in general tries to protect and preserve sentient species passing through their realm is most likely a ‘good’ ranger. An evil ranger can be a thousand things, just as the good ranger can differ greatly in personality. They could be an absolute ruler of their territory, someone to whom the natives pay tithes and taxes in exchange for protection. The ranger may be changing the place they live in to better suit themselves, or some idea of an ideal home. They may have given themselves over to the cause of another, whom they believe has a better idea of what the land requires.
Wanderlust
It stands to reason that actively adventuring rangers are not always in their home territory. The ranger skill set works in almost any environment that they have exposure to and practice in, so some rangers take to travel. Abandoning the benefits of complete affinity with a given locale, these rangers instead are the ultimate adaptors, capable of taking their universal understanding of the world and applying it to any unexpected situation. These individuals often spend great amounts of time observing locals, often the best source of information, or attempting to explore their environment through experimentation. They are difficult to catch off guard, and eternally wary of things they have no experience with, leading to the ranger’s well-deserved stereotype as a ‘loner’. They often have difficulty relating to people whom they don’t know well, out of this trepidation. Alternatively, a ranger may be over-energetic around new people, having so little social experience that they come off as overwhelming or too friendly, speaking to gather new experience with a culture, to adapt it into their ‘domain’, as it were.
Animal Companions
Rangers’ animal companions are completely normal animals. These are animals that the ranger has managed to, through a variety of perfectly normal animal-training methods, gain some measure of control over. Whether the animal is always present, capable or even loyal is entirely up to the animal. The beast most commonly believes itself to be ‘using’ the ranger for food, or has been intimidated into a semblance of loyalty. It should be stressed that unlike the druid’s animal companion, the ranger’s animal companion has no way of being ‘awakened’ and becoming sentient. They do not contemplate their actions, they have minimal intelligence and absolutely no introspective logical thought. The ranger may appreciate, abuse, shelter, ignore or aid their companion based on their relationship with it. Though the average Ranger may go through a dozen companions in a single campaign, due to Neverwinter Nights mechanics, your companion will seem to inexplicably ‘reappear’ at several points. We’ve made the executive decision to chalk that up to ‘playing dead’, or ‘retreating’ on the part of the companion.
It should be a given, from this, that rangers have a great range, as all classes do, in their personalities and interests. The only way one can possibly go wrong with a ranger is to have one that comes off as completely ignorant of their environment, and incompetent in a new situation.
Complete Nature Deity List
Aerdrie Faenya (Elven pantheon), Angharradh (Elven pantheon), Anhur (Mulhorandi pantheon), Auril, Baervan Wildwanderer (Gnome pantheon), Chauntea, Deep Sashelas (Elven pantheon), Eldath, Fenmarel Mestarine (Elven pantheon), Gwaeron Windstrom (patron of rangers of the North; serves to Mielikki), Hiatea (monster deity), Isis (Mulhorandi pantheon), Lurue, Malar, Mielikki, Nobanion, Osiris (Mulhorandi pantheon), Rillifane Rallathil (Elven pantheon), Sebek (Mulhorandi pantheon), Segojan Earthcaller (Gnome pantheon), Sekolah (monster deity), Sheela Peryroyl (Halfling pantheon), Shiallia (serves to Mielikki), Silvanus, Solonor Thelandira (Elven pantheon), Stronmaus (monster deity), Talona, Talos, Thard Harr (Dwarven pantheon; wild dwarves), Ubtao, Ulutiu, Umberlee
(Page 90 of FR Faiths and Pantheons)
However, not all of those deities are considered nature deities in Arelith's deity system. Here is a list of the Deities that are considered Nature deities in Arelith. Confirmed Nature Deity List
External Links
- NWNWiki:
- Animal companions on NWNWiki
- Favored enemy on NWNWiki
- Information about default NWN class is available on NWNWiki.
- Arelith Guides:
- Ranger's Favored/Studied Enemies List and Guide (compiled by Garrbear)
- Ranged Average Damage in different Scenarios
- Ranger Animal Companion Snapshot (level 24) (compiled by The Kriv)
