Throwing together a Ranger and I am having trouble decided on traits. I have Fate's Favored locked in, because Half-Orc... but everything else is up for grabs. Two traits available, I have a Drawback worked into the backstory.
I'm considering Paragon of Speed (regional) for that all-important +2 to Initiative, Anatomist for a +1 to confirm crits, Tusked for a bite attack because it's an archery build, maybe even Magical Knack to pump up my CL... not really sure what's super helpful for a Ranger/this Ranger in particular:
Half-Orc
... Sacred Tattooes
... Shaman's Apprentice
Traits
... Fate's Favored
... ?
... ?
Flamewarden/Toxophilite Ranger
1. Track
1. Arrow-Splitter
1. Favored Enemy
...
1(level): Weapon Focus Orc HornBow
1(race): Endurance
2(class): Precise Shot
3. Intercept Arrow
3. Favored Terrain
...
3(level): Iron Will
4. Touch of Flame
... Flaming
5. 2nd Favored Enemy
...
5(level): Familiar Bond
6(class): Rapid Shot
7. Woodland Stride
7(level): Overwatch Style
8. Swift Tracker
8. 2nd Favored Terrain
...
9. Stoking the Embers
9(level): Overwatch Tactician
10. 3rd Favored Enemy
...
10(class): Point Blank Master
11. Improved Intercept
11(level): Overwatch Vortex
12. Touch of Flame
... Flaming Burst
12. Burning Renewal
13. 3rd Favored Terrain
...
13(level): Improved Critical
14(class): Improved Precise Shot
15. 4th Favored Enemy
...
15(level): Fey Spell Versatility
16. Pheonix Rising
17. Hide in Plain Sight
17(level):
18. 4th Favored Terrain
...
18(class): Manyshot
19. Greater Intercept
19(level):
20. 5th Favored Enemy
...
20. Pheonix Rising
Thanks for replying.
I am really leaning towards Tusked to keep me covered if someone runs up in my business.
Deadeye Bowman seems mighty restrictive, and situational, especially considering I will be getting Precise Shot at level 2. Precise Shot is a requirement for Overwatch Style, so it's guaranteed to be taken... it seems to make Deadeye Bowman superfluous/redundant to the build.
I hadn't thought about picking up Sense Motive, although it is definitely a skill I like to have. I figured Rangers get lots of skills and will cover a large area of what the party might need... someone else can pick up the one skill I don't have. Lol. I could take Suspicious, though. It definitely wouldn't hurt anything.
I was thinking that Paragon of Speed, along with the right Familiar, would be a noticeable bonus to Initiative... equivilant to the Improved Initiative feat, without actually wasting a feat on it.
Anatomist is something I was thinking of to compliment Touch of Flame adding Flaming Burst at level 12... since it triggers extra damage on a crit, I figured I would play into that a little bit. Improved Critical at 13, just for fun. Not pursuing a bunch of critical crap, in any way, but figured there was a small amount of synergy to be had.
Magical Knack to make up for the Ranger's stunted caster level is something that I was thinking would help the duration of buffs, as well as the DC's of any Enchantment or Curse spells chosen via Fey Spell Versatility. I know that ANY investment into a Ranger's spellcasting is pretty much wasted, and I have already burnt a feat... probably shouldn't waste a trait, too.
I'm not totally opposed to taking Additional Traits if it will help.
I like Armor Expert for a ranger. You have a lot of physical skills, so +1 to many of them is good value.
Anatomist (and indeed anything that improves a crit threat confirmation roll by a small amount) is utter junk. It has a 1 in 400 chance per attack (assuming a bow) to achieve anything. Avoid.
Tusked sounds fine.
Deadeye Bowman seems mighty restrictive, and situational, especially considering I will be getting Precise Shot at level 2.
Precise Shot removes the penalty for 'firing into melee', which is something different from soft cover. Improved Precise Shot removes the soft cover AC bonus.
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I was thinking that Paragon of Speed, along with the right Familiar, would be a noticeable bonus to Initiative... equivilant to the Improved Initiative feat, without actually wasting a feat on it.
You do not get a "real" familiar unless you take the Improved Familiar Bond feat. I don't see this feat in your build so you may have forgotten it.
You do not gain the special ability the familiar normally grants its master, and the familiar does not gain the deliver touch spells, scry on familiar, share spells, speak with animals of its kind, or spell resistance special abilities. Otherwise, your total Hit Dice are used as your wizard level for determining the familiar’s abilities.
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Magical Knack to make up for the Ranger's stunted caster level is something that I was thinking would help the duration of buffs, as well as the DC's of any Enchantment or Curse spells chosen via Fey Spell Versatility.
The DC of your spells is dependent on your Wisdom modifier and spell level. It has nothing to do with caster level.
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Taking the Mock Gladiator social trait and using Blunt Arrows would allow you to deal nonlethal damage without the normal -4 attack penalty. Depending on the campaign it can be very useful as it's not always the best idea to use lethal force.
I really hadn't thought about Anatomist being a 1:400 chance of doing literally anything. Lol. Thank you for the warning.
I also don't why I didn't go back and reread Familiar Bond... totally forgot it takes Improved Familiar to get all the benefits.
I was originally hoping to try play with the Ranger spellcasting a little bit, considering it is so often overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Flamewarden adds Druid spells with the Fire descriptor to the Ranger's spell list. And Fey Spell Versatility would give me a few more options. The Familiar was part of this whole theme...
But I think going Freebooter/Toxophilite and ignoring spellcasting (like normal) might be a better choice, after all. Sorry, Ranger spells, I tried...
What is your first favored enemy going to be, and how often do you think it will come up? If your favored enemy is fairly common or will be coming up a lot in the campaign taking traits to get sense motive as a class skill will be well worth it. Don’t forget that you get your favored enemy bonus to bluff, knowledge skills, perception , sense motive, and survival. Since your primary mental stat is probably going to be wisdom you can get a huge bonus to sense motive. If you take human as your favored enemy and suspicious as one of your traits you will have a +8 sense motive vs humans assuming you have at least a 12 WIS and put point into it
Reckless could also be useful for a ranger. As an archer being able to get into a good position is something you will find very useful. Acrobatics can help doing this. Being able to jump on or over something will often allow you to position yourself advantageously. Moving over narrow or uneven ground without falling is also useful. And finally you can use it to move through threatened area without provoking an attack of opportunity. The last ability is going to be very useful until since your build does not seem to include point-blank master.