Blind Ranger [Archive] - Wizards Community

Blind Ranger [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
swccgf
04-05-06, 02:22 PM Hello everyone, I am considering playing a blind ranger. I would like to make him ranged based but I realize that will be difficult so I may go for two weapon fighting. My DM and I are trying to come up with some ideas, but we're having a bit of trouble. Taking blind fight is an obvious choice and we were figuring on doing something with a move silently check vs a listen to locate targets and fire. I even considered trying to implement a temorsense type thing. Any ideas would be appreciated!
DaveReaves
04-05-06, 03:06 PM If the only thing you’re looking for is flavor then why not give yourself an equally flavorful ability to detect things around you? So your ranger walks around with a thick blindfold but can still shoot the target as well as any sighted person. Perhaps your character has a sixth since, perhaps he can "here the image" ala Dare Devil. Basically give yourself all the abilities of a sighted person, just don't call it sight. As long as you’re not trying to get special perception (like mind reading, bonus to listen checks or any other actual game mechanic advantage) it’s not going to unbalance the character and you get to play the character with the traits you want.

Now the disadvantages to this are that you are still going to be “blinded” by darkness and gaze attacks will still work against you. It may break immersion to play a blind man who can’t operate as well in darkness or get petrified by a medusa’s gaze. You will also need to role play your blindness and explain why darkness still turns off what sensory devices you have. It has potential to be a great character if played well.
KnaveofClubs
04-05-06, 04:43 PM The blindfold idea is like zen archery, you let the feel of the bow aim your shot. You would probably use your wisdom bonus on your attack bonus instead, and maybe your AC if he stays like that. If he was blind by birth or injury then you can play it different. Heighten one of his other senses to compensate. Give him scent for 30ft, an audio blindsense starting at 10ft, or temorsense so he can feel the enemies at about 40ft. Only choose one. Aver the course of his levels his senses improve. You could also allow him to improve his sense by increasing wisdom or taking feats. He would lose this extra perception if his sight was ever restored.
kelvinaw273
04-05-06, 04:48 PM Problems would abound with this character, I would suggest you ask your DM if you could have another sense instead of sight, otherwise it is going to get tedius rolling all those niss chances.
SilverFoxKnows
04-05-06, 05:13 PM and far less absurd then the "I throw Huge greataxes like handaxes" or the "I'm Half-Angel/Demon/Dragon/Giant/Golem/Ooze/Vampire" (seven halves would be 350%) crowd. Maybe take a few levels of monk for the Zen Archer feel, sub out the Wis to AC bonus for a Wis to Attack bonus?.

I had a player who wanted a blind archer. I was working on a way for his animal companion to act as a beacon. Shoot 100' under the sound of the hawk. We only played a few times so I never got to see how it would work out in the long run. Good luck with it.

P.S. I saw a Nat'l Geo special on some archers in the Himalayas (Tibetan or Nepali) that were shooting at, and hitting(!), targets WAY beyond what bows are supposed to be able to do. Your idea's not too far fetched.
Astigrarndorer
04-05-06, 07:59 PM Look in the Monster Manuel for the Blindsense ability.
Perhaps you could take it as a feat or something.
Basically it allows you to see by using other senses. Instead of being prone to blinding attacks, sonic or sound-based attacks/spells would "blind" you instead. Look it up, check it out, discuss with DM and see where you get with it.
Oren
04-05-06, 10:16 PM There is the feat "Hear the Unseen" in complete adventurer. Hopefully you could modify it for yourself to fit the setup you have.

Other than that, if I was running a fairly open game I'd consider doing something like allowing you to have normal senses for the most part, and swapping the effects of Darkness and Silence when it came to your char.
CausticWit
04-06-06, 12:28 PM What level are you starting at. When I DM I hate giving out and/or reworking mechanics for a "role playing" choice that makes a character blatantly inferior. If you start at a moderately high level you can ask your DM for a magic item that grants blindsight/sense I think there was one called Blindfold of the utterdark or some such, but I don't remember what book it was in offhand.

If you had this item which I believed gave blindsight to 60' you would be avle to overcome most of the disadvantages while still maintaining the flavor you want.
kuhTHOOloo
04-06-06, 11:44 PM The moment I read "blind ranger" I thought "Drzzt mentor clone munchkin."

Better not be human. Or use a bow. Or be a ranger with a bird. Or people might think you're copying a certain character. :rolleyes:

Eh, in all seriousness, using a hawk as a beacon of sorts could work. Screach above the enemy, shoot. Repeat as needed. Just keep in mind, blindness is a serious setback. Don't just be "fashionably blind" as so many charcacters are—able to see better than people with 20/20 vision.

Sorry if I rambled...Yeah...
swccgf
04-10-06, 06:47 PM I like the ideas. And yes the original idea for the character did come from a certian unnamed mentor of our favorite dark elf. I like the idea of an animal companion, but my dm is the kind of guy who would kill it the third encounter just to see what i would do. I think its going to start out around tenth level or so, I'm not completely sure on that. I really like the idea of using hearing the same as sight.
R2-DS
04-10-06, 08:49 PM Well if you harken back to "Masters of the Wild" the abilities of Blindsight and scent were available as feats if you had the apropriate wildshape ability. Unfortunately that means you would have to have a few levels of Druid.

The item CausticWit reffered to is actually called "Blind fold of True Darkness", which confers Blindsight 60" and makes the wearer immune to gaze attacks. It can be found in the Arms and Equipment Guide.

Personally I like the item route better. You can always make more money but you cant reselect feats........

If you're bound to be competant on your own without magic might I suggest that making your guy Psionic with some Clairsentience powers could make up for your disability.

Even from a roleplaying point of view.....perhaps your psionics first manifested as a result of your blindness.

This offers more background options too....were you born blind, or was it from some sort of injury?

I really think that the Traumatic head injury resulting in blindness is an awesome way to trigger psionic ability.

Hope that helps with your concept.
swccgf
04-10-06, 10:53 PM Just to clarify... My DM is making a campaign where drow are invading and my character is blinded by the drow. So he was injured and that's what caused his blindness. Ive even thought about making a kind of prestige class that would incorporate some feats and spellike abilities. Thanks and keeps the ideas coming!
Rivelstraz
04-11-06, 08:26 AM The moment I read "blind ranger" I thought "Drzzt mentor clone munchkin."

Better not be human. Or use a bow. Or be a ranger with a bird. Or people might think you're copying a certain character. :rolleyes:

Eh, in all seriousness, using a hawk as a beacon of sorts could work. Screach above the enemy, shoot. Repeat as needed. Just keep in mind, blindness is a serious setback. Don't just be "fashionably blind" as so many charcacters are—able to see better than people with 20/20 vision.

Sorry if I rambled...Yeah...

Yeah, me too. Montolio was a great character, and to be honest, I would not mind if a player wants to "copy" Montolio instead of copying Drizzt, Artemis or similars.

Giving him blind sense and bonus to listen should be the beginning.
LCD2YOU
04-11-06, 09:31 AM is dead meat.

As Caustic Wit stated, you'd better be human as you'd need the two feats at first level.

Being blind in a sighted world is such a huge disadvantage. So you have "blind sense" out to 30' or 60'. Arrows go a lot further.

Run away? Good idea, until you find that branch at face level.

Do what you want but unless your DM seriously unbalances their world to suit your character, your character's life expectancy is minimal.

Oh yes, as far as the Drizzt's teacher clone, those characters only do well in a small area where they know every tree, bush and shrub. A blind character can work, if they don't travel much as their strength is knowing a small area intimately, not wandering the world.
Dei
04-11-06, 11:36 AM Frankly if your DM is encouraging you with this character then I say put it in his hands. It's his world, he can conjour a feat from thin air if need be to make it happen.

Feel the World:
Pre-requisites: Listen: 15ranks, Wisdom: 15, Blind-fight

The character has developed his auditory and tactile senses to the point that he is able to use these to replace his sight to a degree. He gains the ability to *see* in a 100ft cone ahead of him and tremorsense for 10ft in every direction. Since his eyes are non-functioning any illusion that does not add sound or feeling does not affect him, darkness, even magical darkness is similarly irrelivant. Targets outside this range must be located with a successful listen check. If the check succeeds the character may ignore the miss chance for attacking an unseen target.

Voila, not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but a start. Come up with your own ideas and present them to the DM, they don't have to be game breaking, afterall, you should have to invest a lot in order to get the feat.
babysamurai
04-11-06, 11:43 AM I would hate to DM a blind character - there go any good visual descriptions.

...You hear...you smell...you...
farmboymdp
04-11-06, 12:58 PM Bad mojo. We have a blind character in our game and he doesn't mesh very well with the rest of the party. He's a wizard that uses his talking raven to scout for him. He also convinced the inexperienced DM to give him blindsight 60 feet for free, much to the chagrin of everyone else in the party as he can sense things better than everyone else by default. He frequently casts obscuring mist that no one else can see through. All the other characters are creeped out by him, and when the DM talked about reducing the benefit to a smaller range and/or blinsense he pitched a hissyfit, so the DM relented.

May be more of a player issue than character, but I could see some of the same problems occuring with any blind character in a party. If they want to be blind, treat it as a flaw I say, no more. Being blind is a huge impairment in real life and no actual blind person develops any sort of blindsense or blindsight.
Prator_the_Legendary
04-11-06, 01:14 PM Besides blindfight, you'll probably want the Blindsight, 5-foot radius feat, introduced in Sword and Fist
Blindsight, 5-foot radius
You sense opponents in the darkness.

Prerequisites: Base Attack bonus +4, blind-fight, wisdom 19+.

Benefits: Using sense such as acute hearing and sensitivity to vibrations, you detect the location of opponentswho are no more than five feet away from you. Invisibilty and Darkness are irrelevant, though you cannot discern noncorporeal beings. Except for the decreased range, this feat is identical to the exceptional ability definied in the monster manual.

With that, melee fighting shouldn't be too much of a problem anymore.
LCD2YOU
04-11-06, 01:21 PM Besides blindfight, you'll probably want the Blindsight, 5-foot radius feat, introduced in Sword and Fist
Blindsight, 5-foot radius
You sense opponents in the darkness.

Prerequisites: Base Attack bonus +4, blind-fight, wisdom 19+.

Benefits: Using sense such as acute hearing and sensitivity to vibrations, you detect the location of opponentswho are no more than five feet away from you. Invisibilty and Darkness are irrelevant, though you cannot discern noncorporeal beings. Except for the decreased range, this feat is identical to the exceptional ability definied in the monster manual.

With that, melee fighting shouldn't be too much of a problem anymore.Living long enough to get there would be though.

Still a Ranger in the outdoors, where line of site could be miles, is in for a world of hurt unless the DM deliberately gimps his game.
Prator_the_Legendary
04-11-06, 01:32 PM Hey, he only has to survive for four levels. At that stage, your worst enemy is a dire rat. And after that, he should be able to do alright in dungeons, even if he can't fight too well outdoors. Still, you are right about one thing: Blindness is one hechuva handicap.
Lyinginbedmon
04-11-06, 01:32 PM Bad mojo. We have a blind character in our game and he doesn't mesh very well with the rest of the party. He's a wizard that uses his talking raven to scout for him. He also convinced the inexperienced DM to give him blindsight 60 feet for free, much to the chagrin of everyone else in the party as he can sense things better than everyone else by default. He frequently casts obscuring mist that no one else can see through. All the other characters are creeped out by him, and when the DM talked about reducing the benefit to a smaller range and/or blinsense he pitched a hissyfit, so the DM relented.

May be more of a player issue than character, but I could see some of the same problems occuring with any blind character in a party. If they want to be blind, treat it as a flaw I say, no more. Being blind is a huge impairment in real life and no actual blind person develops any sort of blindsense or blindsight.
Not to sound unfair, but how many blind people actually try? In history, hundreds have and they have usually managed to overcome most of the impairments involved

Anyways, look at the listing of Blindness (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm#blinded) in the SRD. It says that some limitations can be overcome in time. Since I'm assuming this Ranger will have a while to adapt, this should be reasonable.
Aniona_Amakiir
04-11-06, 01:37 PM Im surprised noone has mentioned this so im doing it myself now:

In arms and equipment guide there is a wondrous item called blindfold of true darkness, which essentially gives you the benefits of being blind as well as blindsight out to 60ft., and costs only 9 000 which is small change for a level 10 character.

Just make sure noone sunders it :P
Lyinginbedmon
04-11-06, 01:39 PM Im surprised noone has mentioned this so im doing it myself now:

In arms and equipment guide there is a wondrous item called blindfold of true darkness, which essentially gives you the benefits of being blind as well as blindsight out to 60ft., and costs only 9 000 which is small change for a level 10 character.

Just make sure noone sunders it :P
They have mentioned it
LCD2YOU
04-11-06, 02:20 PM Not to sound unfair, but how many blind people actually try? In history, hundreds have and they have usually managed to overcome most of the impairments involved

Anyways, look at the listing of Blindness (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm#blinded) in the SRD. It says that some limitations can be overcome in time. Since I'm assuming this Ranger will have a while to adapt, this should be reasonable.Yes they have. Most though are not world adventurers in a setting where there are dragons, devils and demons, oh my.

The great blind people of history are those who lived rather sedintary lives.

As for limitations being overcome in time, with so many people stating that commoners have very little chance in gaining levels, using that logic, by the time they make it to 4th level, it's Social Security time.

Hey, he only has to survive for four levels. At that stage, your worst enemy is a dire rat. And after that, he should be able to do alright in dungeons, even if he can't fight too well outdoors. Still, you are right about one thing: Blindness is one hechuva handicap.Surving four levels is tough for most PCs. Being blind makes that even more problematic.

They would have the best chance in a dungeon or under the city setting, though that is not saying much. For all of the talk about their other senses taking over, creatures who evolved or were created for living under ground would still turn them into lunch.
Darth Sephiroth
04-11-06, 09:57 PM I have a Blind character of the sort that I've been running for a while. We added a few things to him.

May not have ranks in Spot, but anything that would make a non-visual effect that has a Spot check for it may be taken with a Listen check at a -10 to the DC. +5 to all Listen checks (Except for the modified Spot checks). Blindsight 30'+5 ft per point of Wisdom modifier. I like the add Wisdom modifier to attack though.
Tristan
04-12-06, 12:52 PM The moment I read "blind ranger" I thought "Drzzt mentor clone munchkin."

Better not be human. Or use a bow. Or be a ranger with a bird. Or people might think you're copying a certain character. :rolleyes:

Eh, in all seriousness, using a hawk as a beacon of sorts could work. Screach above the enemy, shoot. Repeat as needed. Just keep in mind, blindness is a serious setback. Don't just be "fashionably blind" as so many charcacters are—able to see better than people with 20/20 vision.

Sorry if I rambled...Yeah...

does that mean that my half elf ranger with a hawk companion is basically a sighted copy of this person i've never heard of :rolleyes:
Lincoln Hills
04-12-06, 02:30 PM ZOIDBERG: Why always the blind guy? I don't get it, I don't! Feh!

There are other senses, people! Step outside the Blind-Guy-Who-Nevertheless-Knows-Kung-Fu-So-Watch-Out box and unfold the wonderful world of other amusing sensory deprivations!

TREMBLE before the well-meaning and misguided Hard-Of-Hearing Monk!
MARVEL when you behold the Barbarian who Cannot Smell! Particularly when you smell HIM!
BUST a GUT at the falling-down-stairs exploits of the Paladin, whose childhood illness has left him with no sense of balance!
Raven Dark
04-12-06, 03:13 PM If the DM runs the game properly, there can be only one fate for a blind hero: Death (http://thunt.comicgen.com/d/20060401.html).

Unless of course, your DM allows you to play a Grimlock or something (who coincidently have Spot as a class skill).
Red_Wizard_of_Thay
04-14-06, 12:49 AM Hey guys, I am the said dm of this camp. First of all let me think you all for your contributions and Idea's. College has kept me fairly busy in planning some of the ways to overcome this blindness. The only reason I agreed to it is because A: it will challenge this player which i am all for, and B: it will challenge me as a dm. The camp. that I am running has one reoccuring theme in it. Sacrifice. As the player has already guessed, the drow take his sight, I have already wrote in some events that "could" happen to bring back his sight. I had thought of upping the damage of his attack much like that of an assasin, provided he made a successful concentration check for 2 rounds. (i think the assasin is found in complete warrior). I have also considered zen archery, or even a magical item that would grant temporary sight for battle. The creation of a new feat has also crossed my mind, and even a new ranger spell. I do not think that i will need to gimp my world. Let us not forget that most drow attack only after dropping a globe of darkness upon their enemies. Well i am going to go for now. got alot of planning to do. again thx for the ideas and taking your time to help me out on this.

~Red Wizard of Thay
rockondon
04-14-06, 03:42 AM The only way that this character could function would be to give him abilities or items which would enable him to see.

....which would ruin the point of playing him.

Edit: and by 'see' I mean being able to percieve his surroundings in any way.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
swccgf 04-05-06, 02:22 PM	Hello everyone, I am considering playing a blind ranger. I would like to make him ranged based but I realize that will be difficult so I may go for two weapon fighting. My DM and I are trying to come up with some ideas, but we're having a bit of trouble. Taking blind fight is an obvious choice and we were figuring on doing something with a move silently check vs a listen to locate targets and fire. I even considered trying to implement a temorsense type thing. Any ideas would be appreciated!
DaveReaves 04-05-06, 03:06 PM	If the only thing you’re looking for is flavor then why not give yourself an equally flavorful ability to detect things around you? So your ranger walks around with a thick blindfold but can still shoot the target as well as any sighted person. Perhaps your character has a sixth since, perhaps he can "here the image" ala Dare Devil. Basically give yourself all the abilities of a sighted person, just don't call it sight. As long as you’re not trying to get special perception (like mind reading, bonus to listen checks or any other actual game mechanic advantage) it’s not going to unbalance the character and you get to play the character with the traits you want. Now the disadvantages to this are that you are still going to be “blinded” by darkness and gaze attacks will still work against you. It may break immersion to play a blind man who can’t operate as well in darkness or get petrified by a medusa’s gaze. You will also need to role play your blindness and explain why darkness still turns off what sensory devices you have. It has potential to be a great character if played well.
KnaveofClubs 04-05-06, 04:43 PM	The blindfold idea is like zen archery, you let the feel of the bow aim your shot. You would probably use your wisdom bonus on your attack bonus instead, and maybe your AC if he stays like that. If he was blind by birth or injury then you can play it different. Heighten one of his other senses to compensate. Give him scent for 30ft, an audio blindsense starting at 10ft, or temorsense so he can feel the enemies at about 40ft. Only choose one. Aver the course of his levels his senses improve. You could also allow him to improve his sense by increasing wisdom or taking feats. He would lose this extra perception if his sight was ever restored.
kelvinaw273 04-05-06, 04:48 PM	Problems would abound with this character, I would suggest you ask your DM if you could have another sense instead of sight, otherwise it is going to get tedius rolling all those niss chances.
SilverFoxKnows 04-05-06, 05:13 PM	and far less absurd then the "I throw Huge greataxes like handaxes" or the "I'm Half-Angel/Demon/Dragon/Giant/Golem/Ooze/Vampire" (seven halves would be 350%) crowd. Maybe take a few levels of monk for the Zen Archer feel, sub out the Wis to AC bonus for a Wis to Attack bonus?. I had a player who wanted a blind archer. I was working on a way for his animal companion to act as a beacon. Shoot 100' under the sound of the hawk. We only played a few times so I never got to see how it would work out in the long run. Good luck with it. P.S. I saw a Nat'l Geo special on some archers in the Himalayas (Tibetan or Nepali) that were shooting at, and hitting(!), targets WAY beyond what bows are supposed to be able to do. Your idea's not too far fetched.
Astigrarndorer 04-05-06, 07:59 PM	Look in the Monster Manuel for the Blindsense ability. Perhaps you could take it as a feat or something. Basically it allows you to see by using other senses. Instead of being prone to blinding attacks, sonic or sound-based attacks/spells would "blind" you instead. Look it up, check it out, discuss with DM and see where you get with it.
Oren 04-05-06, 10:16 PM	There is the feat "Hear the Unseen" in complete adventurer. Hopefully you could modify it for yourself to fit the setup you have. Other than that, if I was running a fairly open game I'd consider doing something like allowing you to have normal senses for the most part, and swapping the effects of Darkness and Silence when it came to your char.
CausticWit 04-06-06, 12:28 PM	What level are you starting at. When I DM I hate giving out and/or reworking mechanics for a "role playing" choice that makes a character blatantly inferior. If you start at a moderately high level you can ask your DM for a magic item that grants blindsight/sense I think there was one called Blindfold of the utterdark or some such, but I don't remember what book it was in offhand. If you had this item which I believed gave blindsight to 60' you would be avle to overcome most of the disadvantages while still maintaining the flavor you want.
kuhTHOOloo 04-06-06, 11:44 PM	The moment I read "blind ranger" I thought "Drzzt mentor clone munchkin." Better not be human. Or use a bow. Or be a ranger with a bird. Or people might think you're copying a certain character. :rolleyes: Eh, in all seriousness, using a hawk as a beacon of sorts could work. Screach above the enemy, shoot. Repeat as needed. Just keep in mind, blindness is a serious setback. Don't just be "fashionably blind" as so many charcacters are—able to see better than people with 20/20 vision. Sorry if I rambled...Yeah...
swccgf 04-10-06, 06:47 PM	I like the ideas. And yes the original idea for the character did come from a certian unnamed mentor of our favorite dark elf. I like the idea of an animal companion, but my dm is the kind of guy who would kill it the third encounter just to see what i would do. I think its going to start out around tenth level or so, I'm not completely sure on that. I really like the idea of using hearing the same as sight.
R2-DS 04-10-06, 08:49 PM	Well if you harken back to "Masters of the Wild" the abilities of Blindsight and scent were available as feats if you had the apropriate wildshape ability. Unfortunately that means you would have to have a few levels of Druid. The item CausticWit reffered to is actually called "Blind fold of True Darkness", which confers Blindsight 60" and makes the wearer immune to gaze attacks. It can be found in the Arms and Equipment Guide. Personally I like the item route better. You can always make more money but you cant reselect feats........ If you're bound to be competant on your own without magic might I suggest that making your guy Psionic with some Clairsentience powers could make up for your disability. Even from a roleplaying point of view.....perhaps your psionics first manifested as a result of your blindness. This offers more background options too....were you born blind, or was it from some sort of injury? I really think that the Traumatic head injury resulting in blindness is an awesome way to trigger psionic ability. Hope that helps with your concept.
swccgf 04-10-06, 10:53 PM	Just to clarify... My DM is making a campaign where drow are invading and my character is blinded by the drow. So he was injured and that's what caused his blindness. Ive even thought about making a kind of prestige class that would incorporate some feats and spellike abilities. Thanks and keeps the ideas coming!
Rivelstraz 04-11-06, 08:26 AM	The moment I read "blind ranger" I thought "Drzzt mentor clone munchkin." Better not be human. Or use a bow. Or be a ranger with a bird. Or people might think you're copying a certain character. :rolleyes: Eh, in all seriousness, using a hawk as a beacon of sorts could work. Screach above the enemy, shoot. Repeat as needed. Just keep in mind, blindness is a serious setback. Don't just be "fashionably blind" as so many charcacters are—able to see better than people with 20/20 vision. Sorry if I rambled...Yeah... Yeah, me too. Montolio was a great character, and to be honest, I would not mind if a player wants to "copy" Montolio instead of copying Drizzt, Artemis or similars. Giving him blind sense and bonus to listen should be the beginning.
LCD2YOU 04-11-06, 09:31 AM	is dead meat. As Caustic Wit stated, you'd better be human as you'd need the two feats at first level. Being blind in a sighted world is such a huge disadvantage. So you have "blind sense" out to 30' or 60'. Arrows go a lot further. Run away? Good idea, until you find that branch at face level. Do what you want but unless your DM seriously unbalances their world to suit your character, your character's life expectancy is minimal. Oh yes, as far as the Drizzt's teacher clone, those characters only do well in a small area where they know every tree, bush and shrub. A blind character can work, if they don't travel much as their strength is knowing a small area intimately, not wandering the world.
Dei 04-11-06, 11:36 AM	Frankly if your DM is encouraging you with this character then I say put it in his hands. It's his world, he can conjour a feat from thin air if need be to make it happen. Feel the World: Pre-requisites: Listen: 15ranks, Wisdom: 15, Blind-fight The character has developed his auditory and tactile senses to the point that he is able to use these to replace his sight to a degree. He gains the ability to see in a 100ft cone ahead of him and tremorsense for 10ft in every direction. Since his eyes are non-functioning any illusion that does not add sound or feeling does not affect him, darkness, even magical darkness is similarly irrelivant. Targets outside this range must be located with a successful listen check. If the check succeeds the character may ignore the miss chance for attacking an unseen target. Voila, not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but a start. Come up with your own ideas and present them to the DM, they don't have to be game breaking, afterall, you should have to invest a lot in order to get the feat.
babysamurai 04-11-06, 11:43 AM	I would hate to DM a blind character - there go any good visual descriptions. ...You hear...you smell...you...
farmboymdp 04-11-06, 12:58 PM	Bad mojo. We have a blind character in our game and he doesn't mesh very well with the rest of the party. He's a wizard that uses his talking raven to scout for him. He also convinced the inexperienced DM to give him blindsight 60 feet for free, much to the chagrin of everyone else in the party as he can sense things better than everyone else by default. He frequently casts obscuring mist that no one else can see through. All the other characters are creeped out by him, and when the DM talked about reducing the benefit to a smaller range and/or blinsense he pitched a hissyfit, so the DM relented. May be more of a player issue than character, but I could see some of the same problems occuring with any blind character in a party. If they want to be blind, treat it as a flaw I say, no more. Being blind is a huge impairment in real life and no actual blind person develops any sort of blindsense or blindsight.
Prator_the_Legendary 04-11-06, 01:14 PM	Besides blindfight, you'll probably want the Blindsight, 5-foot radius feat, introduced in Sword and Fist Blindsight, 5-foot radius You sense opponents in the darkness. Prerequisites: Base Attack bonus +4, blind-fight, wisdom 19+. Benefits: Using sense such as acute hearing and sensitivity to vibrations, you detect the location of opponentswho are no more than five feet away from you. Invisibilty and Darkness are irrelevant, though you cannot discern noncorporeal beings. Except for the decreased range, this feat is identical to the exceptional ability definied in the monster manual. With that, melee fighting shouldn't be too much of a problem anymore.
LCD2YOU 04-11-06, 01:21 PM	Besides blindfight, you'll probably want the Blindsight, 5-foot radius feat, introduced in Sword and Fist Blindsight, 5-foot radius You sense opponents in the darkness. Prerequisites: Base Attack bonus +4, blind-fight, wisdom 19+. Benefits: Using sense such as acute hearing and sensitivity to vibrations, you detect the location of opponentswho are no more than five feet away from you. Invisibilty and Darkness are irrelevant, though you cannot discern noncorporeal beings. Except for the decreased range, this feat is identical to the exceptional ability definied in the monster manual. With that, melee fighting shouldn't be too much of a problem anymore.Living long enough to get there would be though. Still a Ranger in the outdoors, where line of site could be miles, is in for a world of hurt unless the DM deliberately gimps his game.
Prator_the_Legendary 04-11-06, 01:32 PM	Hey, he only has to survive for four levels. At that stage, your worst enemy is a dire rat. And after that, he should be able to do alright in dungeons, even if he can't fight too well outdoors. Still, you are right about one thing: Blindness is one hechuva handicap.
Lyinginbedmon 04-11-06, 01:32 PM	Bad mojo. We have a blind character in our game and he doesn't mesh very well with the rest of the party. He's a wizard that uses his talking raven to scout for him. He also convinced the inexperienced DM to give him blindsight 60 feet for free, much to the chagrin of everyone else in the party as he can sense things better than everyone else by default. He frequently casts obscuring mist that no one else can see through. All the other characters are creeped out by him, and when the DM talked about reducing the benefit to a smaller range and/or blinsense he pitched a hissyfit, so the DM relented. May be more of a player issue than character, but I could see some of the same problems occuring with any blind character in a party. If they want to be blind, treat it as a flaw I say, no more. Being blind is a huge impairment in real life and no actual blind person develops any sort of blindsense or blindsight. Not to sound unfair, but how many blind people actually try? In history, hundreds have and they have usually managed to overcome most of the impairments involved Anyways, look at the listing of Blindness (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm#blinded) in the SRD. It says that some limitations can be overcome in time. Since I'm assuming this Ranger will have a while to adapt, this should be reasonable.
Aniona_Amakiir 04-11-06, 01:37 PM	Im surprised noone has mentioned this so im doing it myself now: In arms and equipment guide there is a wondrous item called blindfold of true darkness, which essentially gives you the benefits of being blind as well as blindsight out to 60ft., and costs only 9 000 which is small change for a level 10 character. Just make sure noone sunders it :P
Lyinginbedmon 04-11-06, 01:39 PM	Im surprised noone has mentioned this so im doing it myself now: In arms and equipment guide there is a wondrous item called blindfold of true darkness, which essentially gives you the benefits of being blind as well as blindsight out to 60ft., and costs only 9 000 which is small change for a level 10 character. Just make sure noone sunders it :P They have mentioned it
LCD2YOU 04-11-06, 02:20 PM	Not to sound unfair, but how many blind people actually try? In history, hundreds have and they have usually managed to overcome most of the impairments involved Anyways, look at the listing of Blindness (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm#blinded) in the SRD. It says that some limitations can be overcome in time. Since I'm assuming this Ranger will have a while to adapt, this should be reasonable.Yes they have. Most though are not world adventurers in a setting where there are dragons, devils and demons, oh my. The great blind people of history are those who lived rather sedintary lives. As for limitations being overcome in time, with so many people stating that commoners have very little chance in gaining levels, using that logic, by the time they make it to 4th level, it's Social Security time. Hey, he only has to survive for four levels. At that stage, your worst enemy is a dire rat. And after that, he should be able to do alright in dungeons, even if he can't fight too well outdoors. Still, you are right about one thing: Blindness is one hechuva handicap.Surving four levels is tough for most PCs. Being blind makes that even more problematic. They would have the best chance in a dungeon or under the city setting, though that is not saying much. For all of the talk about their other senses taking over, creatures who evolved or were created for living under ground would still turn them into lunch.
Darth Sephiroth 04-11-06, 09:57 PM	I have a Blind character of the sort that I've been running for a while. We added a few things to him. May not have ranks in Spot, but anything that would make a non-visual effect that has a Spot check for it may be taken with a Listen check at a -10 to the DC. +5 to all Listen checks (Except for the modified Spot checks). Blindsight 30'+5 ft per point of Wisdom modifier. I like the add Wisdom modifier to attack though.
Tristan 04-12-06, 12:52 PM	The moment I read "blind ranger" I thought "Drzzt mentor clone munchkin." Better not be human. Or use a bow. Or be a ranger with a bird. Or people might think you're copying a certain character. :rolleyes: Eh, in all seriousness, using a hawk as a beacon of sorts could work. Screach above the enemy, shoot. Repeat as needed. Just keep in mind, blindness is a serious setback. Don't just be "fashionably blind" as so many charcacters are—able to see better than people with 20/20 vision. Sorry if I rambled...Yeah... does that mean that my half elf ranger with a hawk companion is basically a sighted copy of this person i've never heard of :rolleyes:
Lincoln Hills 04-12-06, 02:30 PM	ZOIDBERG: Why always the blind guy? I don't get it, I don't! Feh! There are other senses, people! Step outside the Blind-Guy-Who-Nevertheless-Knows-Kung-Fu-So-Watch-Out box and unfold the wonderful world of other amusing sensory deprivations! TREMBLE before the well-meaning and misguided Hard-Of-Hearing Monk! MARVEL when you behold the Barbarian who Cannot Smell! Particularly when you smell HIM! BUST a GUT at the falling-down-stairs exploits of the Paladin, whose childhood illness has left him with no sense of balance!
Raven Dark 04-12-06, 03:13 PM	If the DM runs the game properly, there can be only one fate for a blind hero: Death (http://thunt.comicgen.com/d/20060401.html). Unless of course, your DM allows you to play a Grimlock or something (who coincidently have Spot as a class skill).
Red_Wizard_of_Thay 04-14-06, 12:49 AM	Hey guys, I am the said dm of this camp. First of all let me think you all for your contributions and Idea's. College has kept me fairly busy in planning some of the ways to overcome this blindness. The only reason I agreed to it is because A: it will challenge this player which i am all for, and B: it will challenge me as a dm. The camp. that I am running has one reoccuring theme in it. Sacrifice. As the player has already guessed, the drow take his sight, I have already wrote in some events that "could" happen to bring back his sight. I had thought of upping the damage of his attack much like that of an assasin, provided he made a successful concentration check for 2 rounds. (i think the assasin is found in complete warrior). I have also considered zen archery, or even a magical item that would grant temporary sight for battle. The creation of a new feat has also crossed my mind, and even a new ranger spell. I do not think that i will need to gimp my world. Let us not forget that most drow attack only after dropping a globe of darkness upon their enemies. Well i am going to go for now. got alot of planning to do. again thx for the ideas and taking your time to help me out on this. ~Red Wizard of Thay
rockondon 04-14-06, 03:42 AM	The only way that this character could function would be to give him abilities or items which would enable him to see. ....which would ruin the point of playing him. Edit: and by 'see' I mean being able to percieve his surroundings in any way.