The Ranger and Other Classes

places, material possessions, and traditions is unhealthy from his point of view. After all, change is a fundamental aspect of nature, and it doesn't pay to fight that .

In fact, the ranger is among the most versatile of all characters. Yes, he wears armor, but it's never as clunky as the paladin's . Yes, he casts spells, but he never relies solely on them for survival as the wizard does. Yes, he moves like the breeze, but never with the blatant fear of straight-on confrontation that so many rogues display. Though the bard claims to be a jack-of-all-trades, it is the ranger who quietly proves himself the perfect balance of disciplines .

The ranger's versatility makes him more of a generalist than most other characters, and that can be as much a hindrance as a boon . He can't deal as much damage with a single blow as a greatsword-wielding fighter with Weapon Specialization or a wizard with a maximized fireball . What he can do is mete out a wild flurry of damage from multiple sources, then retreat before his opponent can return the favor. A ranger of moderate level might unleash three unerring arrows in one round, switch weapons and close in the next round, then lay his opponent low with four blows from his two weapons in the third round . If that opponent is a favored enemy, the second and third rounds might not even be necessary.

In many ways, the ranger's greatest strength is leadership . Like the rogue, he often scouts ahead of fellow party members, where he can make the best use of his Track feat and sense-oriented class skills . Unlike the rogue, however, he feels physically outmatched by the challenges that those talents reveal . As the first to spot an enemy, he must decide whether to close or sneak back, and his friend's lives may depend on the wisdom of his decision .

Race and the Ranger

Every humanoid race has spawned rangers, and each offers its own set of advantages . As with the druid, no obvious racial choice exists for a ranger .

Humans : Most rangers are human . Dividing a human ranger's initial skill points evenly between Bluff, Listen,

Sense Motive, Spot, and Wilderness Lore gives the 1stlevel human ranger a +5 bonus on those checks against favored enemies, in addition to any other bonuses he may have . Moreover, he doesn't have to choose between

Weapon Focus and Alertness to augment his best attributes ; he can get them both right away. Of course, the human's biggest advantage is that he is a member of the dominant race on the planet .

Dwarves : Like most of their race, dwarven rangers tend to live underground . Such "cavers" need not worry much about maintaining relations with fey creatures or protecting the trees, but that doesn't mean they should skimp on ranks in the Wilderness Lore skill . It's a necessity for tracking foes, especially since dungeon floors count as hard ground (see the Track feat description in the Player's Handbook) . The Listen skill is also vital in a dungeon environment, and the ranger gets a bonus on

Listen checks against favored enemies . The dwarven ranger's racial combat bonuses already let him shine against three categories of foes (orcs, goblinoids, and giants), so those are excellent first, second, and third choices for favored enemy. Choosing giants first might well pay off when that first ogre comes charging down the dungeon corridor .

Elves : The elf is the ranger incarnate . He has bonuses on two skills for which the ranger gets also favored enemy bonuses : Listen and Spot. That means a 5th-level elven ranger gets a +4 bonus on Spot checks against his first favored enemy, on top of his skill ranks and any other bonuses he has . Most fey creatures favor elves, so the elven ranger can create a strong network of allies during his travels through the forest . In addition, his need for but 4 hours of meditation and 4 hours of rest rather than 8 hours of sleep means he is almost always on watch at night, when his low-light vision and high Spot bonus are the most useful .

Gnomes : Like the dwarf, the gnome ranger starts out with solid bonuses against some very common favored enemies : goblinoids, kobolds, and giants . Like the elf, he gets a racial bonus on Listen checks . Like the halfling, he gains bonuses on attack rolls and AC for being Small . Unlike anyone else, the gnome ranger with an Intelligence score of 10 or higher has both arcane spells and divine spells at 4th level, plus the best possible base attack bonus . All this makes the ranger class an excellent fit for the gnome . However, gnome rangers rarely leave their homelands-a loss to adventuring parties everywhere .

Half-Elves : The half-elf is already an outsider, so the ranger lifestyle is second nature for him . Nearly everything said above about the elf (racial bonuses on Spot and Listen checks, low-light vision, and so on) applies to the half-elf as well, though not always to the same degree . Socially, however, the half-elf is a better bridge between the