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ajmastrean 07-23-05, 01:28 AM

A user asked me what spell(s) would be best for his newly spell-able Ranger (4th level)... I decided to throw my answer here for him and others to enjoy. Please comment. Assume 1 bonus spell from Wis at lvl 4. 1st-level Ranger Spells Alarm: Wards an area for 2 hours/level. Very nice if you have to rest in a hostile environment. Though, that requires you have it ready at a moments notice (not easy at 4th level!). Animal Messenger: Sends a Tiny animal to a specific place. Crap unless you absolutely need it, don't prepare otherwise. Calm Animals: Calms (2d4 + level) HD of animals. Not too bad, but better off preparing Charm Animal. Charm Animal: Makes one animal your friend. Lasts LONG! Animals are mostly neutral towards each other, so a charmed one shouldn't have any problem protecting you from others. and animals have poor Will saves. Delay Poison: Stops poison from harming subject for 1 hour/level. Crap. A skill check (Heal) can do the same (nearly). Detect Animals or Plants: Detects kinds of animals or plants. Crap. A skill check (Spot) can handle this. Not very great anyway. Detect Poison: Detects poison in one creature or object. Not as useful as other spells of this level... a Heal check (provided the Poison save fails too) can handle most poisons. Detect Snares and Pits: Reveals natural or primitive traps. Unless you expect these, this spell will be wasted. Endure Elements: Exist comfortably in hot or cold environments. Again, nice if you know ahead of time you need it... otherwise it is a waste to prepare. Entangle: Plants entangle everyone in 40-ft.-radius circle. The effects of Engtanglement are nice (Dex penalty, no movement, etc). Even if enemies save, it halves their speed. This is nice for controlling a larger amount of regular enemies, provided you can do decent ranged combat. It is also effective in already difficult terrain (tight valley, forest, etc) and against larger creatures to screw up their movement and hopefully entangle them. The only problem is that this is BIG (40ft RADIUS is a big deal on most tactical maps). And you usually end up slowing things down because you have to move 1/2 speed or run around it or rely on sub-par ranged attacks. Hide from Animals: Animals can’t perceive one subject/level. Never used it... Hide/Move Silent checks can do the same thing. I'll assume you have some ranks and a good Dex (maybe even a magic item - cloak of Elvenkind?). Jump: Subject gets bonus on Jump checks. This is another one of those If-you-know-you-need-it spells. Perhaps if you are preparing for a specific terrain or a county wide jumping contest. Basically it's one successful Jump check at 5th level (the bonus is +20). Longstrider: Increases your speed. Ok, this is, hands down, my favorite 1st level Ranger spell. 1hour/level is excellent. You could cast this at the beginning of a dungeon/encounter/area/whatever and count on it for most of the session. It is nice for any Ranger (but I usually go ranged combat) to be able to control the battlefield via superior movement. You can get away from troublesome melee opponents or get to the other side of the combat to help out the wizard (for example). That +10ft really starts to count when you're running or double moving... and it's not bad to be able to run away from those full-plate fighters all day! Magic Fang: One natural weapon of subject creature gets +1 on attack and damage rolls. Any wildshaping Druid should have this already, you don't need it, and you may not like the monk enough to blow it on him! Pass without Trace: One subject/level leaves no tracks. This spell is nice if you need it (one of those again). In my game experience, I never needed it. But, if you are planning an intense scouting mission or if you know you are being followed (or there is a good likelihood of such), then this spell is worthwhile. Read Magic: Read scrolls and spellbooks. Don't prepare this... ever. It's 0-lvl for every other caster but Paladins. And if you don't have it, then you should have a Decipher Script/Use Magic Device'ing rogue. It's just too little to waste on this slot. Resist Energy: Ignores 10 (or more) points of damage/attack from specified energy type. This is a nice spell, I would almost prepare it as often as Longstrider. Lasts a decent 10min/lvl and can be cast on anyone. Who couldn't use 10 less energy damage (good vs. breath weapons and a myriad of spells). Speak with Animals: You can communicate with animals. Read the description... Animals are stupid or evasive. If your DM handles this spell as such, you won't get much... bottom line: don't prepare this until you have slots to burn (as a Ranger, that may not happen). Summon Nature’s Ally I: Calls animal to fight for you. Crap. At this level these animals are basically useless. Trap fodder if you MUST use it. But, remember too, your caster level is only 1/2 your Ranger level... so at 4th they only stick around for 2 rounds. Final Call 1. Longstrider 2. Resist Energy 3. Charm Animal