These are the inspirations for the Ranger class I use. This post is about which parts I pull from these sources, which parts I don't, what else I added, and why. The completed class is available at the end - it isn't well-tested yet, even within my own game.
Unfortunately as I was writing this article the Goodman Games Forum links died, but they are still available via the Wayback Machine.
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Skip to the Ranger class.
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Ranger Path: From Crawl! 6 and itself based in D&D tradition, the Ranger Path class feature asks the player to choose between two abilities at 1st level: Mighty Deeds with bows, or two-weapon-fight as if their Agility was 16.
I mentioned in the previous post how bizarre I find this inclusion. Not only is it unusual to ask a class to pick and choose class abilities rather than simply granting abilities, one option merely allows the Ranger to compensate for a low Agility. A high-Agility Ranger could choose the archery path and be great at both, while a low-Agility Ranger could take two-weapon fighting and only be good at one - because it's clearly sub-optimal to take the ranged skills when you have a negative bonus to ranged attacks. This choice between two skills simply fails to achieve its goal, and since its goal is giving Rangers a split identity, I don't know that I want to try to improve it anyway.
My solution is to remove the choice, and simply grant all Rangers archery bonuses. Two-weapon-fighting has always felt strange to me as a Ranger thing, but if they're Agile enough they could choose to do it anyway I guess. I don't grant them Mighty Deeds because I don't want to dilute the Warrior's identity, so instead Rangers get reduced penalties at range and do not risk hitting allies when firing into melee.
Skills: This, to me, is the important part of the Ranger. In Archade's version of the class, skills are omitted because "naming out skills and DCs seems very 3rd edition and not very old school" yet that is exactly what DCC does for Thieves. Thief skills are named and DCs are explicitly set, and that doesn't cause the same issues in DCC thanks to its skills system where anyone can make an attempt. Personally, I want to lean into that.
Rangers will be trained in stealth, climbing and handling poison (sometimes - see the skill description), but that's the extent of their crossover with Thieves. It's important that the Ranger carve out its own identity here with a set of unique skills. As I said in the previous post, the Thief deals with man-made problems and the Ranger deals with natural ones. They'll get skills like navigation, foraging, and the Thief's Backstab will be replaced will a Called Shot mechanic to do fun things with archery using a different mechanic than Mighty Deeds. Introducing Called Shots is going to be controversial but I think I have avoided the usual pitfalls with that one - with the help of the fact that one needs to be trained in a skill to use it effectively.
The kicker is that to get their bonus in a skill, Rangers must be in their...
Favoured Wildernesses: Rangers do their best work when they're in their element. Some versions of the class have players choose biomes as their character's favoured wilderness, but I think this only serves to restrict the game. If my favoured terrain is forests, you bet I'm sticking to the forests as much as possible. Enjoy a whole campaign where we don't go anywhere else - either that or I get dragged out of the woods and lose what makes me useful!
Some versions allow the player to choose additional terrains for their bonus to apply to as they level up. This isn't a bad idea but it still seems too restrictive. Levelling up is infrequent and exploring new places should be frequent - or at least not prevented from being frequent. On top of that, I don't think the Ranger should be either trying to play catch-up with what has been explored or single-handedly determining what gets explored next. This is potentially campaign-directing, and that's a lot to be granted by a class ability.
The entire purpose of adding this class is to facilitate outdoor exploration and reward that playstyle. I think Archade gets closest to the mark, allowing wilderness bonuses for basically anywhere, but unfamiliar terrain requires one week to get acquainted with the area. This bonus could also equally apply when inside the lair of your...
Favoured Enemies: This one is simple and really makes the Ranger feel like she has a nemesis, some vile creature she is sworn to destroy. Goblinoids, undead, fiends, even just animals (don't tell the Druid) are all fine choices, but this comes with some responsibility for the Judge. A player's choice of favoured enemies is them saying "I want to fight these".
This is less of a problem than Favoured Wildernesses directing the party through the desert and only the desert. You can pepper kobolds, giants, elementals, almost anything a player might select into many different environments. You can mix them into encounters and split the focus of the party - the Ranger will be busy taking out their targets while the Warrior goes for someone else.
Using the Giant Slayer concept and giving an increased critical threat range against certain foes is an interesting possibility. I don't want to just give a flat increase to critical threat range though - much like Mighty Deeds, it's just too close to the Warrior's domain. Instead, one of a Ranger's skills will be making Called Shots, which both functions to replace the Backstab and to capitalize on the Ranger's ability to stack Favoured Wilderness and Favoured Enemy bonuses. In short, you'll be able to make a more effective attack if you can land it at a harder DC.
Healing: Another common theme and another identity crisis in the making. What makes this one even worse of an identity crisis is the sheer brilliance of co-opting the Cleric's Lay on Hands, switching around some of the dice requirements for curing ailments, and calling it Natural Medicine. I just love the idea too much not to use it. The Ranger by oncelor in the Crawl! New Class Challenge forum post appears to be where this idea originally comes from.
Despite my other complaints, I don't think there's a problem with this one. Healing being entirely restricted to Clerics kind of makes them a necessity and I think that's an issue to begin with. This gives a different method of healing which doesn't require divine intervention (thus disapproval and alignment aren't a factor) but isn't immediately useful in a combat situation and requires material resources (this matters way more if you both track inventory and keep time, which I do). If you have some time and are on the move, you're better off using natural remedies along your way rather than asking your God to step in and save your ass yet again.
Besides, Clerics have plenty of other tools in their kit to have fun with. The Warrior isn't the only one who's allowed to hit things, he's just the best at it. Same for the Cleric with healing. Herbal medicine and being able to bandage, craft splits, or set bones absolutely fits the Ranger fantasy and this is an elegant way of using existing mechanics to achieve it.
Animal Handling: Woo boy, this is a whole other can of worms. This isn't intended to be a "pet class" and that seems to be something players automatically expect when animal handling gets mentioned. I am going to avoid explicitly listing this as a skill because then interacting with animals becomes too video-gamey. Rangers should absolutely be able to make trained checks if they're attempting to interact with a wild animal in their favoured environment, but they can't just throw a Pokeball at the first wolf or bear they see - at most they could calm or scare off a beast. Actually taming something should take weeks of dedicated work and is a roleplaying opportunity rather than a simple dice roll.
Light Armor Preference: Leather or brigandine is a ubiquitous trope of the Ranger. The Crawl! version of the Ranger states that a Ranger cannot wear armor with a total penalty of -6 or worse. Why not? A peasant can! I prefer never explicitly stating that a character can't at least attempt to do something. Instead, I think Archade's approach of penalizing favoured wilderness/enemy bonuses but only for penalties worse than -3 works best, to incentivize light armor instead of banning heavy armor.
Spellcasting: Magic has always been a part of the Ranger class, going all the way back to the very first published Ranger class. I was surprised to learn this and I will be discarding it, because I think it contributes to diluting the identity of the Ranger. I mean come on, if I did give it casting, kept the Mighty Deeds for bows, some skills like a Thief, and some healing like a Cleric... it's no wonder the Ranger has an identity crisis. It was doomed from the beginning. Let's leave magic out and focus on what actually makes the Ranger a Ranger.
Luck: I liked the idea of using a Luck check to prevent surprise, but it's inconsistent with other classes as they each treat the Luck modifier as a simple bonus to be added to a certain kind of roll. I decided to keep it simple by using the initiative bonus from Archade's Ranger.
Action Dice: I came up with something of my own for this one - perhaps the first instance of an original thought on this blog (hah)! The most common progression of Action Dice in DCC is to gain a second die at level 6, beginning at d14 and increasing per level. The Warrior and Wizard get their second die a level sooner at 5, and a third at level 10 (d14 only).
For the Ranger we will be playing with this concept. They will get their second die at level 4, beginning at d10. This gives Rangers the chance to attempt multiple attacks at a low success rate at mid-levels, relying on bonuses and maybe even a Luck burn to make that quick-draw trick-shot. It will progress a die size per level as usual, reaching parity with standard progression for levels 6-8, and at level 9 they'll gain another d10, which maxes out to d20+d20+d12 at level 10. Notably, by levels 9 and 10 Rangers will absolutely have the bonuses required to make good use of a d10 or d12 - especially against favoured foes.
This follows the same standard progression as core DCC classes, but the dice chain extends 2 levels down instead of beginning 1 level earlier. The Ranger sits slightly behind the Warrior, but gets their dice earlier.
Critical Hits: It might seem sensible to give Rangers the Thief crit table, or something equally powerful. Instead, I've elected to give them the peasant and Wizard table because they don't rely on luck to make their hits. Called shots will allow players access to highly damaging special hits in a different, controlled way.
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That was a lot to cover, but I think we have all the parts we need to build this class now. Here's what I've ended up with. It won't be everyone's favourite, but I think it achieves the archetype I am aiming for.
It's worth repeating that this is largely untested - particularly the parts where I introduce skill-specific mechanics. I have been running a game with a Ranger in it but this has been iterated upon during that time. Called Shots haven't seen any use at all yet. Conveniently, the first time the Ranger attempted to use their bow they fumbled and got the "broken weapon" result. I'm likely to revisit and revise much of this in the future.
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RANGER
Most people never get to travel far from home, but you are a wanderer. You are perfectly content on your own, surviving in the natural world through knowledge and skill. You can reach and traverse places most folk don't even know exist, and have home advantage in the places nobody calls home.
The Ranger fears no predator, for she is well on her way to becoming the apex. The one who finds himself in her sights has been marked by Death, for the hunter knows their target better than the target knows themselves.
Hit Die: A Ranger gains 1d8 hit points at each level.
Alignment: Lawful Rangers work to protect civilization from nature. They are soldiers who patrol borders, sentinels who watch over townships, and wardens of the woods who keep the flora and fauna in check.
Neutral Rangers are lone wanderers, not just living in the wilderness but becoming a part of it. They take it upon themselves to maintain the balance of nature, whether that be out of their own self-interest because they choose to live apart from civilization, or due to a deeper belief in the importance of balance.
Chaotic Rangers have their own agenda. They are solitary raiders or hunters who have sworn to destroy their chosen quarry, whether they do so for profit or more personal motivations. Some chaotic Rangers might be outcasts or fugitives, left on the fringes of a society who neither wants nor cares for them.
Weapon Training: A Ranger is trained in the use of these weapons: blowgun, club, crossbow, dagger, dart, handaxe, javelin, longbow, longsword, mace, shortbow, shortsword, sling, spear. Rangers tend to use light armor, as any armor penalty worse than -3 affects their Wilderness Skills.
Luck: The Ranger adds their Luck modifier to initiative rolls.
Action Dice: A Ranger uses their Action Dice to attack. They gain a second attack die at level 4 and a third at level 9, each beginning at 1d10.
Marksman: A Ranger ignores the penalty to a medium-ranged attack, and does not have the usual 50% chance to hit an ally when firing into melee.
Favoured Enemies: At first level, a Ranger may choose a favoured enemy. This should be fairly specific but does not need to entail only one specific creature. Some examples that should generally be allowed include: goblinoids, orcs, gnolls, kobolds, giants, mundane animals, lycanthropes, undead, oozes, outlaws. It is encouraged that the Judge allow other options, but overly broad categories like "humans" should be avoided if humans are the most populous race in the setting - it is better to choose categories of human (like "cultists") or specific demihuman races. Collaborate with your Judge.
At subsequent levels, the Ranger may choose additional favoured enemies from the enemies she has encountered.
Wilderness Skills: A Ranger learns skills which turn the wilderness from a place of harsh dangers into a resource, a fortress, and a home. A Ranger can make precise shots at parts of a target, sneak silently, hide in shadows, climb sheer surfaces, handle some poisons, navigate, hunt and gather, use medicine, find shelter, track or cover their tracks, and set snares.
A Ranger's level determines the bonus they get to all Wilderness Skills. They only receive this bonus if they are in their favoured terrain. At level 1, the surrounding area known to the Ranger is their favoured terrain. Beyond this area in any new kind of environment, the Ranger must spend one week familiarizing themselves with the area before they receive their bonus.
To use a Wilderness Skill, the player rolls a d20 and adds their modifier if they are in favoured terrain. An easy task is DC 5, while an extremely difficult task is DC 20.
Called shot (+AGI): When making a ranged attack, a Ranger may choose to make a precise shot at a specific part of the target. The called shot roll and the attack roll are one singular roll, though the attack can still land if the called shot fails. For instance, if the enemy AC is 12 and the called shot DC is 17, scoring a 14 means a standard hit. A critical hit does not mean automatic success for the called shot. A called shot can be successful and critical at the same time, with both effects.
The DC of the called shot is equal to the AC of the target plus a modifier as listed below. The given DCs and effects may be adjusted if they do not make sense for the given target.
| Called Shot | DC | Success |
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| Leg | AC+3 | Target's speed is lowered by 5' and cannot dash for 1d4 rounds. Can apply to each leg.
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| Wing | AC+4 | Target's flight speed is lowered by 10' and the target falls 10' if flying. Can apply to each leg.
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| Weapon Arm | AC+5 | Target attacks at -1d for 1d4 rounds. |
| Head or Vital Organ | AC+8 | +1d6 damage, Fort Save (DC 10 + PC's Ranger level) to be dazed for 1d3 rounds |
| Eye | AC+10 | Totally blind for 1d3 rounds, blind in targeted eye for the rest of the day. |
It's important to note that, while a non-Ranger can make an untrained attempt at these skills, doing so means they will be using a d10 for their attack roll so landing the attack becomes less likely. Rangers get to use their full Action Die.
Sneak silently (+AGI): As Thief Skill of same name.
Hide in shadows (+AGI): As Thief Skill of same name.
Climb sheer surfaces (+AGI): As Thief Skill of same name.
Handle poison: As Thief Skill of same name but only applies to natural poisons from favoured wildernesses. Also applies to neutralizing poisons, for instance cooking a poisonous mushroom to safely eat (but not curing poison - see natural medicine).
Navigate +INT: Applies when travelling to avoid getting lost, or when using the stars to cross seas and deserts. Crossing plains is DC 5, forests or mountains DC 10, swamps and thick jungles DC 15. Travel along a path or road is trivial. Using the stars to find your heading is DC 10 on a clear night, DC 15 on a cloudy night with visible moon, and DC 20 on a cloudy night without visible moon. These DCs are for navigation checks approximately once per day of travel.
Hunt +AGI: Finding and catching a particular insect or tiny animal is DC 5. Hunting small prey to feed one for a day is DC 10. Hunting game to feed the party for a day is DC 15 (up to reasonable party sizes). This takes the better part of a day but can be done while travelling.
Gather +INT: Foraging food to feed one for a day is DC 5. Finding medicinal herbs is DC 10. Finding a rare magical ingredient is DC 20. This takes the better part of a day but can be done while travelling.
Natural medicine +INT: As Cleric's Lay on Hands with adjacent alignments. Requires at least a turn and medical supplies. Healing always requires ingredients previously gathered. Requirements for various ailments are different, as follows:
- Poison: 1 die, medicinal herb
- Paralysis: 2 dice, medicinal herb
- Disease: 2 dice, medicinal herb
- Blindness or deafness: 3 dice, rare magical ingredient
- Organ damage: 3 dice, rare magical ingredient, 1 day's rest
- Broken limbs: 4 dice, rare magical ingredient, a splint, 1 day's rest
Survive +INT: Predicting weather changes is DC 5. Constructing shelter (including instructing the party to assist) with readily available materials is DC 5 to protect from sun, DC 10 to protect from rain and DC 15 to protect from cold. Increase the DC by 10 if materials are not readily available. Finding water in the desert is DC 20.
Track +INT: Following recent tracks is DC 5. Tracking a stealthy creature is DC 15. Following intentionally obscured tracks is DC 20.
Cover tracks +AGI: Covering or brushing over footprints in the ground is generally DC 10. Crossing a river drops the DC by 5, light vegetation increases the DC by 5 and thick vegetation increases the DC by 20. The tracker must make successful a check to follow you, though the DC depends on your success (see above).
Set snare +INT: The player should describe the snare they are attempting to build and set their own DC, with a minimum DC decided by the Judge. This DC is equal to the difficulty of the save a potential victim must make to avoid the snare, i.e. well-constructed snares are more difficult but more effective. It takes at least a turn to set most snares, though something as simple as a tripwire can be set in a round. The roll should be made in secret such that the player is uncertain whether their snare was a success until it is triggered. A fumble means the character snares themselves.
Snares generally only immobilize their prey or knock them prone, though a small amount of damage is permissible if the snare is given spikes, blades or some other weapon. Intelligent creatures may find a way to break free, possibly requiring a Strength or Intelligence check depending how they escape.
