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Hello advice board. I'm in the process of creating a ranger for a new Carrion Crown campaign, but am undecided with the type of "casting" system to use with him. Note that I'm taking the Urban Ranger variant to fill in the role of the "expert" in the party.
I'm currently leaning towards the skrimisher since it seems to be pretty versatile, can be used used more frequently and I like the idea of ranger "tricks" but I fear that I'll be missing out on some cool encounter changing spells and the option to use wands and scrolls. The trapper just seems, well, weak on paper to me, but I haven't seen it in action. Would I be gimping myself by taking the skrimisher? Is the trapper even worth a second look?
Go for the spells the other options are really weak. Once you get past the core book there are a lot of good rangers spells.
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Go for the spells the other options are really weak. Once you get past the core book there are a lot of good rangers spells.
Yeah, but it just seemed like you get too few of them to cast per day. At 6th level with 14 wisdom, you get to do 5 hunters trick, or 2 first level spells per day. I don't really see raising my wisdom much higher than that unless I'm taking the cleric's hand-me-down headband. And tangling attack just seems so good.
Go for the spells the other options are really weak. Once you get past the core book there are a lot of good rangers spells.Yeah, but it just seemed like you get too few of them to cast per day. At 6th level with 14 wisdom, you get to do 5 hunters trick, or 2 first level spells per day. I don't really see raising my wisdom much higher than that unless I'm taking the cleric's hand-me-down headband. And tangling attack just seems so good.
Pearls of Power are cheap and refill a used Spell slot. That means you get more 1st lv spells than just 2.
If the number of spells seem low give go for the Spirit Ranger and give up your animal companion. At first it seems like a bad choice, but it is actually pretty strong. Not only are you getting extra spells, you are able to cast any spell you can cast without having to memorize. When you get your third level spells that means two extra instant enemies. Combine this with some pearls of power and you have a decent amount of spells per day.
Trapper and skirmisher can do some cool things, but being able to cast means you can use wands of CLW from level one, and you can grab scrolls or wands of Instant Enemy and Freedom of Movement, which are really cool.
being able to cast means you can use wands of CLW from level oneno, you need to have the ability to cast spells to be able to use wands with out UMD and rangers don't get spells (therefore spell lists) till 4th level
Sorry, but that's incorrect. Check it out:
Spell Trigger: Spell trigger activation is similar to spell completion, but it's even simpler. No gestures or spell finishing is needed, just a special knowledge of spellcasting that an appropriate character would know, and a single word that must be spoken. Spell trigger items can be used by anyone whose class can cast the corresponding spell. This is the case even for a character who can't actually cast spells, such as a 3rd-level paladin. The user must still determine what spell is stored in the item before she can activate it. Activating a spell trigger item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Bolded for emphasis.
As Andy Ferguson said, the real benefit of the spell-casting ranger is that a larger number of the magic items found will be of use to you - scrolls & wands & such. A ranger only casts his/her spells once in a blue moon, but they allow access to such party-saving options as "I use my scroll of cure moderate wounds on the cleric."
Much of what you said has a lot of validity, but I think you are seriously underestimating the rangers spells. Most of the better spells are not in the core book , but in later ones. But even so there are a couple of good ones even in the core.
For a archer Gravity Bow will seriously increase your damage. That will give you on the average an extra 2.5 points of damage per shot. Considering the archer will have Rapid Shot and many shot that is a decent boost for a 1st level spell.
Being able to cast some his protection and utility spells himself is going to be a big boost not just for himself but also for the party. This will allow the other casters to use their spells more efficiently. Spells like Resist Energy, Dark Vision and a lot of others are crucial. I would rather have the Wizard in the party have an extra Haste then to have to memorize Dark Vision so I can see.
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being able to cast means you can use wands of CLW from level oneno, you need to have the ability to cast spells to be able to use wands with out UMD and rangers don't get spells (therefore spell lists) till 4th levelSorry, but that's incorrect. Check it out:
Spell Trigger: Spell trigger activation is similar to spell completion, but it's even simpler. No gestures or spell finishing is needed, just a special knowledge of spellcasting that an appropriate character would know, and a single word that must be spoken. Spell trigger items can be used by anyone whose class can cast the corresponding spell. This is the case even for a character who can't actually cast spells, such as a 3rd-level paladin. The user must still determine what spell is stored in the item before she can activate it. Activating a spell trigger item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.Bolded for emphasis.
thanks for pointing that out, it's what i originally thought but then my group blasted me and told me the way i previously explained
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Thank you advice forum! Plenty of good stuff here and I've been convinced. Giving up all spellcasting is just too much of a penalty, especially now that it has been pointed out that you can still use scrolls and wands at first level. Maybe if the ability to trigger magic items wasn't stripped away, then the skirmisher wouldn't look so crippling now. It's a shame, since it was such a cool concept.
And since it's agreed that the trapper needs a lot of work (it doesn't even look like it'd be fun to play), I'll stick with spellcasting and maybe go with the spirit ranger. The animal companion seems like it would be incredibly nice to have, but I've read that it becomes more of a liablilty at later levels.
It's a hard choice between an animal companion and the extra spells of a Spirit Ranger. For me the deciding factor was the limited list of companions. If you go for the companion you should take boon companion.
If you are going for a combat companion then your only choices are Wolf and Cheetah. Both are fairly decent, but have some issues. The Cheetah starts out as small and is kind of weak until it you hit 7th Level (4th level druid). The wolf starts out a little stronger and becomes an absolute monster when you hit 10th level (7th level druid). The downside of the wolf is when it becomes large you may have trouble bringing it with you in a dungeon.
If you are looking for a scout then a bird makes a decent companion, but will not be that helpful in combat.
If you will be doing a lot of mounted combat that would be a real reason to go with the animal companion. The wolf can also be used as a mount once you it becomes large. Also if your race is small then an animal companion is a good choice.
I just noticed you are going for an urban ranger. Not sure how that will work with the Spirit Ranger. They get the ability to cast Augury and later Divination in their favored terrain. Since you have a favored community instead your GM may nerf that ability. But the extra spontaneous spell casting is pretty nice. The last campaign I was in I playing a Spirit Ranger and it was nice to be able to have an ace in the hole so to speak.