Advanced Class Guide - The Hunter


Product Discussion


Yeah yeah, it'll be available to download in two days. Whatever. :P

But seriously, tell me how the idea of combining the Ranger and the Druid doesn't sound utterly redundant?


From the little description of it I've seen, it sounds like they're focusing on the animal companion much more than the ranger does, and possibly even more than the druid does...while also focusing on weapon combat more than the druid does.


By the sound of that, it's just "take Ranger, upgrade it's animal companion."
No way that constitutes an entirely new class.

(Also, better than Druid AC? Druids already have the best ACs in the game.)


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

But it looks like the Hunter will have abilities that greatly improve the animal companion, making it stronger than the Druid's companion.

Making a comparison to World of Warcraft (yeah yeah, I know), the Hunter in the ACG makes me think of the Beastmaster spec'd Hunter. All the (old) talents were basically things that improved the pet's combat capabilities, with slight increases to the hunter's.

I will reserve my judgement until Tuesday. But so far, this class is one of them that intrigues me. I couldn't really ever get into a ranger (D&D or Pathfinder).


The idea sounds redundant but the no class but mechanically its being described to resemble cavalier or summoner in the sense that the pet takes center stage. Again, Beastmaster.


Neo2151 wrote:

By the sound of that, it's just "take Ranger, upgrade it's animal companion."

No way that constitutes an entirely new class.

The Hunter/beast master is a classic D&D niche that hasn’t really been executed perfectly.

The Druid has too much spells and wild shape.
The Ranger’s pet is to weak and the class has too much focus on the Ranger.
The Summoner is too weird.

Agree, perhaps this could have been fixed using archetypes, but we don’t know anything about the class. What if the Hunter can wild shape into a beast and work as a pack with his/her animal companion(s)?

Even though I don't like team work feats or classes with pets it will still be interesting to see what this class is all about. I hardly think it is just a ranger, without FE but with a druid pet and some team work feats.

Dark Archive

Neo2151 wrote:

By the sound of that, it's just "take Ranger, upgrade it's animal companion."

No way that constitutes an entirely new class.

(Also, better than Druid AC? Druids already have the best ACs in the game.)

actually oracles have the best companions. level + 1/2 ANIMAL COMPANION. 18th level at 12 for example


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Oracles have the cheesiest animal companions, you mean.

Dark Archive

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Cheapy wrote:
Oracles have the cheesiest animal companions, you mean.

no, but now i want a feat to have an animal companion made of cheese. would work nice on my milkromancer


I'd assume a more primal hunter deal, focusing on full or partial wildshaping, full companion, and severely limited casting if at all.. looking forward to the playtest!

Contributor

I'm guessing that the Hunter will be a spell-less ranger, as that's something everyone has been clamoring for.

If I had to make more guesses, I'm predicting a 1st-level animal companion without the type restrictions of the ranger, combat styles, the "wilderness survival" abilities (woodland stride and trackless step), favored terrain, and a modified version of quarry and camouflage.


I think that would be fairly weak, given other classes...


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Alexander Augunas wrote:

I'm guessing that the Hunter will be a spell-less ranger, as that's something everyone has been clamoring for.

If I had to make more guesses, I'm predicting a 1st-level animal companion without the type restrictions of the ranger, combat styles, the "wilderness survival" abilities (woodland stride and trackless step), favored terrain, and a modified version of quarry and camouflage.

Actually there are two archetypes of ranger that replace spell-casting: the skirmisher and the trapper.


how does one get into the playtest?


Bwang wrote:
how does one get into the playtest?

You download the package when it becomes available, build some characters and play them. Then post feedback in the appropriate thread, whether it's problems understanding the package, building the characters or problems in play.

You don't need to do anything else - no registration, for example.


Having read Jason Bulmahn's description, I tend to agree with others that it doesn't seem so much a Ranger/Druid hybrid as it does a Ranger (animal companion bond)/Cavalier hybrid. With a little bit of a reimagined Summoner mechanic in there.


Now that I think about it, here's the description I find:

Quote:
Hunter: Taking powers from both the druid and the ranger, the hunter is never without her trusted animal companion, hunting down foes with lethal accuracy.

What part of that says anything other than, "this class will have a pet?" I don't see where the idea is coming from that it will be pet-focused any more than a Ranger. (Unless there's another description I haven't seen? If so, link please?)

Liberty's Edge

Neil Spicer filed a report from Buhlman's seminar at MACE this past weekend, and it said this about the hunter:

Neil Spicer wrote:
Hunter - This is a druid/ranger mash-up focusing pretty heavily on the tandem of a hunter with an animal companion. Both he and the animal companion get teamwork feats which they can obviously use in synergy with one another.


Ah, I see. Thanks. :)


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
Shisumo wrote:

Neil Spicer filed a report from Buhlman's seminar at MACE this past weekend, and it said this about the hunter:

Neil Spicer wrote:
Hunter - This is a druid/ranger mash-up focusing pretty heavily on the tandem of a hunter with an animal companion. Both he and the animal companion get teamwork feats which they can obviously use in synergy with one another.

Sounds a bit like the Squig Herder/White Lion classes from Warhammer: Age of Reckoning.

Shadow Lodge

In the same boat man, right now I'm not really sure what will differentiate it from either of its parent classes save no spells or favored enemies.

That being said if it lets me have a Magical beast, non sentient dragon, or non sentient aberration as an animal companion I will be totally down.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Magical beasts would roc(k)!


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Yes magical beast would be awesome or at least add on abilities to change animal companions into magical beast.

Liberty's Edge

Alexander Augunas wrote:

I'm guessing that the Hunter will be a spell-less ranger, as that's something everyone has been clamoring for.

Agreed, although I might add that a great many folks clamoring for such a class have embraced the Spell-less Ranger from Kobold Press


Shisumo wrote:

Neil Spicer filed a report from Buhlman's seminar at MACE this past weekend, and it said this about the hunter:

Neil Spicer wrote:
Hunter - This is a druid/ranger mash-up focusing pretty heavily on the tandem of a hunter with an animal companion. Both he and the animal companion get teamwork feats which they can obviously use in synergy with one another.

I wonder how this will compare with the Huntmaster archetype Cavalier. It does sound virtually identical in style, to be honest.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Dunno.
Giving the magical beast idea a second thought, I don;t see them going through the trouble of giving a list of magical beasts that will work, at level 1 and levels 4-7 for the increase. Be much easier to use the druid list as is. Maybe templates? Or a list of evolution-like things?

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8

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I'm hoping for 6-level spellcasting. The game doesn't really have a nature-themed 6-level caster so far.


It sounds like a full druid-level animal companion with full ranger Bab, plus bonus teamwork feats. I expect no spellcasting at all to be honest.


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Makarion wrote:
It sounds like a full druid-level animal companion with full ranger Bab, plus bonus teamwork feats. I expect no spellcasting at all to be honest.

It seems odd to me that mixing a caster and another caster would lead to no spellcasting. Doesn't mean it won't happen.

Grand Lodge

Could turn out to be something unusual. Like a spell casting class where your character himself doesn't actually learn spells but the pet that comes with the class does, getting up to 6th level divine (mostly druid) spells. A reverse of the summoner if you will.


Distant Scholar wrote:
Makarion wrote:
It sounds like a full druid-level animal companion with full ranger Bab, plus bonus teamwork feats. I expect no spellcasting at all to be honest.
It seems odd to me that mixing a caster and another caster would lead to no spellcasting. Doesn't mean it won't happen.

-1 x -1 = +1

So who knows ;)

Dark Archive

If it loses skill points, favored terrain and favored enemy bonuses, it may keep ranger-like Spell progression. I would suspect that would be more likely, since buffing the animal would be very in-flavor.


Pathfinder Adventure, Lost Omens, Maps, Rulebook Subscriber

I could see this class having 0-6 level spells similar to how magus, inquisitor, bard and summoner have.

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