Well, his first favored enemy is pretty certain to be humanoids(humans). After that, maybe animals. If there are no other creatures, he's going to get a bonus against everything. You don't need to fix it, he's already going to be getting one heck of a deal.
It's steampunk. Are you going to have constructs? Magical beasts? Outsiders (Faustian deals with the devil, you know!)?
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So, I'm running a very different kind of game set in a very steampunk 1890s London with low magic. One of my characters really wants to play a Trophy Hunter Ranger from Ultimate Combat. The problem is adapting some of the rangers abilities such as favored enemy bonus and Hunter's Aim for a world where there are only humans.
I was originally planning on changing favored enemy bonus to favored terrain bonus and giving him a +2 to various skill checks in that terrain, but I'm not sure how to adapt Hunter's Aim. Applying it to everyone in that terrain would seem a little too powerful.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Keep favoured enemy bonus and have it only apply to members of a specific organisation or alignment. Another option would be a specific racial group, but only if you are comfortable with representing the more racist society that existed then.
It's steampunk. Are you going to have constructs? Magical beasts? Outsiders (Faustian deals with the devil, you know!)?There will be constructs and some mutations, I am allowing alchemy, but nothing else really. The story is that this is basically our world but Charles Babbage was able to complete the Difference Engine, a fully mechanical computer in 1860, and that led to a much more rapid and steam powered industrial revolution. Magic does exist in this world, but it's really, really rare. I'm only allowing one player to have magical abilities and I've banned people from playing Sorcerer, Druid, Wizard, and Cleric. People can have magic like abilities but they must explain it through either alchemy or technology.
Have you been reading William Gibson?
Anyway, thinking about what I had said before, the ranger really would get bonuses against everything. If you don't want that, I totally get you. A couple of things you could do to normalize his power level- you could let him take favored enemy but halve it's effectiveness (still very powerful!) or divide "types" up a lot more, so human, simian, feline, canine, etc. If he's into the pith-helmeted safari trophy hunter type, human will probably not be his first favored enemy, it would be rhinos or something.
One option would be to replace his Favored Enemy bonus with the Ranger's Focus ability from the Guide Ranger archetype. That is basically a limited use ability that is similar to Smite.
Have to warn you though, the player might not be happy about this ;)
