Came up with this today.
Ranger Archetype: Agrestal Acolyte wrote:
Some rangers live more gregarious or religiously inclined lives than is common. Such rangers may manifest their connection to nature in the form of increased spellcasting abilities, though perhaps with less finely honed stalking and hunting skills. Such agrestal acolytes may sometimes be found serving as priests in remoter areas that lack the services of a dedicated cleric or druid.
Class Skills: Add Knowledge (Religion) to the ranger's list of class skills. This replaces Stealth.
Orisons: Starting at first level, the ranger can prepare a number of orisons, or 0-level spells, each day. These spells are cast like any other spell, but they are not expended when cast and may be used again. Use the following Spells per Day table in place of the one from the Core Rulebook:
Level 01 0 - - - -
Level 02 1 - - - -
Level 03 1 - - - -
Level 04 1 0 - - -
Level 05 1 1 - - -
Level 06 2 1 - - -
Level 07 2 1 0 - -
Level 08 2 1 1 - -
Level 09 2 2 1 - -
Level 10 3 2 1 0 -
Level 11 3 2 1 1 -
Level 12 3 2 2 1 -
Level 13 3 3 2 1 0
Level 14 4 3 2 1 1
Level 15 4 3 2 2 1
Level 16 4 3 3 2 1
Level 17 4 4 3 2 1
Level 18 5 4 3 2 2
Level 19 5 4 3 3 2
Level 20 5 4 4 3 3
The Ranger may prepare any orison from the Druid orisons list. If he selects Favored Enemy (Undead), add Disrupt Undead to the list.
This ability replaces Hunter's Bond.
Skill Focus: At 7th level, the ranger gains Skill Focus (Spellcraft) as a bonus feat. This replaces Woodland Stride.
Brew Potion: At 12th level, the ranger gains Brew Potion as a bonus feat. This replaces Camouflage.
Breath of Life: At 17th level, the ranger may cast Breath of Life as a spell-like ability (CL = ranger level). He may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 plus his Wisdom modifier.
I think it sounds reasonably balanced. There are two things I wonder about, though.
First, the increase in caster level means that the PC would get earlier boosts to some of the best Ranger spells, notably Barkskin and Resist Energy. I'm having a hard time deciding whether this unbalances things or not. On the one hand, the bonuses go up faster; but on the other, the Ranger doesn't get access to them any sooner, and they remain equivalent in power to other classes. A Druid gets Barkskin at level 3, and an Agrestal Acolyte at level 7, but their AC bonuses would be identical (since they have the same number of caster levels. Ditto for Resist Energy; the Druid gets it sooner, and the bonuses wind up identical.
Second, I'm wondering if the Breath of Life ability might need to be 1 + WIS instead of 3 + WIS. That could be quite a lot of Cure Serious casts if you pumped the WIS. On the other hand, it doesn't kick in till 17th level, when people generally have quite a lot of hit points. Seven or 8 Cure Serious casts might leave the Barbarian feeling better, but not topped out (unless the Barbarian rolled really badly for HP).
Thoughts?
EDIT: Altered the Breath of Life ability to use the spell of the same name. Much cooler now. Thanks to cheapy for the suggestion.
