6.9 Ranger

Rank (Level)	Beastmaster	Boundary Warden	Huntmaster	Scout	Wilderness Warrior
1 (1)	Animal companion	Know your enemy, know your weapons	Quarry	Keen vision	Wild maneuvers
2 (4)	Beast bond	Experienced guide	Hunting styles	Blindsight	Augmented maneuvers
3 (7)	Tag-team takedown	Banestrike	Tracker	Ambush	Wild maneuvers+
4 (10)	Animal companion+	Know your enemy+	Quarry+	Skirmisher	Augmented maneuvers+
5 (13)	Beast bond+	Experienced guide+	Flexible hunting style	Experienced scout	Wild maneuvers+
6 (16)	Survival bond	Steadfast warden	Tracker+	Keen vision+	Augmented maneuvers+
7 (19)	Animal companion+	Know your enemy+	Quarry+	Blindsight+	Wild maneuvers+

Rangers are skilled hunters who bridge the divide between nature and civilization. They are typically most at home on the frontiers, keeping monsters and civilized groups from interfering with each other. Different rangers may have more personal affinity for civilization or for monsters.

Like druids and monks, rangers are seldom self-taught. Just as rangers occupy a middle space between society and the wilds beyond it, their abilities are a complex combination of training, experience, and gifts freely granted by Nature herself. The vast majority of people who might attempt to learn how to be a ranger on their own would focus too much on only one aspect of a ranger’s abilities. These people might find the path to becoming a fighter, druid, or rogue instead.

Rangers draw their core power from their training, which includes extensive experience with weapons and armaments like a fighter. However, they also study the natural world and the environment around them. This study is more focused on practical knowlege about survival and hunting than the more reverent study of druids. During this wilderness experience, some rangers forge a deep bond with a single animal who follows them everywhere. This bond is intensified by Nature’s influence, and has a hint of her magic in it. Others shy away from that level of commitment or find no meaning in it, and prefer a more solitary hunt.

Traditionally, a ranger’s training occurs under an experienced ranger leader. Some rangers train small packs of new recruits at once, while others prefer to oversee a single apprentice. There are many ways that a would-be ranger might find a mentor, but no single certain way. Rangers in the wild do not tend to maintain long-term societal bonds like druidic circles, so there are fewer obvious ways to easily find an experienced mentor. Without druidic magic for long-distance communication, rangers struggle to maintain cohesion across the vast territories that they patrol, so they typically make no attempt to do so.

Rangers are sometimes employed by a government to keep its borders safe from monsters. They may also be found as bounty hunters, using their skills to hunt prey within civilization instead of at its edges. Still others live among druidic circles. More than any other class, rangers struggle to find a place to fully call home, and may wander between widely varied walks of life for years at a time. They are caught between worlds, and only some rangers find peace in that division.

Alignment: Any.

Archetypes: Rangers have the Beastmaster, Boundary Warden, Huntmaster, Scout, and Wilderness Warrior archetypes.

6.9.1 Base Class Effects

If you choose ranger as your base class, you gain the following benefits.

Attributes

You gain a +1 bonus to your Dexterity and Perception.

Hit Points

You have 8 hit points + twice your Constitution, plus 2 hit points per level beyond 1. This increases as your level increases, as indicated below.

• Level 7: 20 hit points + three times your Constitution, plus 3 hit points per level beyond 7.
• Level 13: 40 hit points + six times your Constitution, plus 6 hit points per level beyond 13.
• Level 19: 80 hit points + twelve times your Constitution, plus 12 hit points per level beyond 19.

Resources

You learn five trained skills from among your class skills (see Skills). You also gain an additional attunement point.

Weapon Proficiencies

You are proficient with simple weapons and all non-exotic weapons.

Armor Proficiencies

You are proficient with light armor and leather lamellar.

Class Skills

You have the following class skills:

• Strength: Climb, Jump, Swim.

• Dexterity: Balance, Flexibility, Ride, Stealth.

• Constitution: Endurance.

• Intelligence: Craft, Deduction, Knowledge (dungeoneering, items, nature), Medicine.

• Perception: Awareness, Creature Handling, Deception, Persuasion, Survival.

• Other: Intimidate.

6.9.2 Beastmaster

This archetype improves your connection to animals, allowing you to control and command them in battle.

Rank 1 – Animal Companion ✨

You can use the animal companion ability. This ability requires 8 hours of training and attunement which the target must actively participate in. You can compel a wild animal to undergo this training by sustaining the command ability from the Creature Handling skill (see ?? ).

Rank 2 – Beast Bond

You gain a +3 bonus to the Creature Handling skill. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to vital rolls, and your animal companion can remain conscious after suffering a single vital wound (see Vital Wounds).

Rank 3 – Tag-Team Takedown

As a standard action, you can use the tag-team takedown ability. When you use this ability, your animal companion generally waits until after you attack to make its own attack.

Rank 4 – Animal Companion+ ✨

Your animal companion gains an attunement point. In addition, it gains a +1 bonus to its defenses.

Rank 5 – Beast Bond+

The Creature Handling bonus increases to +6. In addition, your animal companion can remain conscious after suffering two vital wounds, and it does not die until it has five vital wounds.

Rank 6 – Survival Bond

Whenever you regain hit points or damage resistance, your animal companion also regains that many hit points or damage resistance. If the healing ability had any limit, such as only healing up to half your maximum hit points, that limit also applies to your animal companion.

Rank 7 – Animal Companion+ ✨

Your animal companion gains an additional attunement point. In addition, its bonuses to defenses increases to +2.

6.9.3 Boundary Warden

This archetype improves your ability to guard the boundaries between civilization and nature.

Rank 1 – Know Your Enemy

Whenever you finish a short rest, you can choose a creature type: aberration, animal, animate, dragon, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, planeforged, or undead. You gain a +1 bonus to accuracy against creatures of that type. In addition, whenever you see a creature of that type, you intuitively know what effects it is vulnerable (-4 defenses) to. This benefit lasts until you choose a different creature type with this ability.

Rank 1 – Know Your Weapons

You can gain proficiency with exotic weapons at the cost of one insight point per weapon group (see Exotic Weapons). You must already be proficient with all non-exotic weapons from that weapon group.

Rank 2 – Experienced Guide

You and your allies who can see or hear you can ignore difficult terrain from inanimate natural sources, such as heavy undergrowth. In addition, any group you are part of can travel at full speed through difficult terrain during overland travel.

Rank 3 – Banestrike

Rank 4 – Know Your Enemy+

You also gain a +1 bonus to all defenses against creatures of your chosen types. In addition, you can choose two creature types instead of one.

Rank 5 – Experienced Guide+

You and your allies who can see or hear you can ignore difficult terrain.

Rank 6 – Steadfast Warden

You gain a +1 bonus to your Constitution.

Rank 7 – Know Your Enemy+

The accuracy bonus increases to +2. In addition, you can choose three creature types instead of two.

6.9.4 Huntmaster

This archetype grants you and your allies abilities to hunt down specific foes.

Rank 1 – Quarry

Rank 2 – Hunting Styles

You learn specific hunting styles to defeat particular quarries. Choose two hunting styles from the list below. You can also spend insight points to learn one additional hunting style per insight point. When you use your quarry ability, you may also use one of your hunting styles. Each hunting style ability lasts as long as the quarry ability you used it with.

Rank 3 – Tracker

You gain a +3 bonus to the Survival skill. In addition, you gain a +10 bonus to follow tracks left by your quarry.

Rank 4 – Quarry+

This ability now has the Sustain (attuneable, free) tag instead of the Attune tag (see Sustained Abilities).

Rank 5 – Flexible Hunting Style

You can change which hunting style you have active as a minor action.

Rank 6 – Tracker+

The Survival bonus increases to +6. In addition, the bonus to follow tracks from your quarry increases to +20.

Rank 7 – Quarry+

The accuracy bonus increases to +2.

6.9.5 Scout

This archetype improves your senses and overall scouting ability.

Rank 1 – Keen Vision

You reduce your longshot penalty by 1. You gain low-light vision, allowing you to see in shadowy illumination (see Low-light Vision). In addition, you gain darkvision with a 60 foot range, allowing you to see in complete darkness (see Darkvision). If you already have that ability, you increase its range by 60 feet.

Rank 2 – Blindsight

Your perceptions are so finely honed that you can sense your enemies without seeing them. You gain blindsense with a 120 foot range, allowing you to sense your surroundings without light (see Blindsense). If you already have the blindsense ability, you increase its range by 120 feet. In addition, you gain blindsight with a 30 foot range, allowing you to see without light (see Blindsight). If you already have the blindsight ability, you increase its range by 30 feet.

Rank 3 – Ambush

Rank 4 – Skirmisher

You gain a +10 foot bonus to your land speed.

Rank 5 – Experienced Scout

You gain a +1 bonus to your Perception.

Rank 6 – Keen Vision+

The longshot penalty reduction increases to 2. In addition, the range of your darkvision increases by 120 feet. Your darkvision is also not disabled in bright illumination or when you become dazzled (20% miss chance, no special vision).

Rank 7 – Blindsight+

The range of your blindsense increases by 240 feet. In addition, the range of your blindsight increases by 60 feet.

6.9.6 Wilderness Warrior

This archetype grants you abilities to use in combat and improves your physical skills.

Rank 1 – Wild Maneuvers

You can channel your connection to the wilderness into dangerous attacks. You gain access to one of the following combat styles: flurry of blows, mobile hunter , or perfect precision. In addition, you gain access to any combat style of your choice (see Combat Styles). You may spend insight points to gain access to one additional combat style per insight point. You can only learn wild maneuvers from wild combat styles that you have access to.

You learn two rank 1 wild maneuvers. You may spend insight points to learn one additional maneuver per insight point.

When you gain access to a new rank in this archetype, you can exchange any number of maneuvers you know for other maneuvers, including maneuvers of a higher rank.

Advancement: Some wild maneuvers also increase in power in unique ways based on your rank in this archetype, as indicated in their descriptions.

Rank 2 – Augmented Maneuvers

You gain the ability to customize your wild maneuvers. For each rank 1 wild maneuver you know, choose one augment from the list below and apply it to that maneuver. Augments scale in power with your “excess rank”. Your excess rank with a maneuver is equal to your rank in this archetype minus the rank of the maneuver.

Whenever you increase your rank in this archetype, you can change your augments. However, you must still apply them to rank 1 wild maneuvers.

Distant Maneuver: The range of your chosen maneuver doubles. If your excess rank is at least 4, the range triples instead. You can only apply this augment to maneuvers that have a listed range.

Mighty Maneuver: You take an accuracy penalty equal to 4 - your excess rank but the strike deals double weapon damage. If your excess rank is at least 5, this becomes an accuracy bonus. You can only apply this augment to maneuvers which cause you to make a strike.

Mobile Maneuver: You can walk up to 5 feet per excess rank before or after using your chosen maneuver, up to a maximum distance equal to your land speed. You cannot apply this augment to maneuvers that already allow you to move using one of your movement modes. This movement is never Swift. If your chosen maneuver is Swift, you can only walk after using the maneuver, not before.

Precise Maneuver: You gain an accuracy bonus equal to your excess rank.

Widened Maneuver: The area affected by your chosen maneuver doubles. If your excess rank is at least 4, the area triples instead. You can only apply this augment to maneuvers that affect an area.

Rank 3 – Wild Maneuvers+

You learn an additional wild maneuver. In addition, you gain access to rank 3 wild maneuvers.

Rank 4 – Augmented Maneuvers+

You can also choose an augment for each of your rank 3 wild maneuvers.

Rank 5 – Wild Maneuvers+

You gain access to rank 5 wild maneuvers.

Rank 6 – Augmented Maneuvers+

You can also choose an augment for each of your rank 5 wild maneuvers.

Rank 7 – Wild Maneuvers+

You learn an additional wild maneuver. In addition, you gain access to rank 7 wild maneuvers.