Help my ranger out please! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Help my ranger out please! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Visrith Vingrad
03-03-04, 11:51 PM I am currently playing in a campaign where all the players are equivalent to lvl 10. I have gone 10 lvl's in Ranger so far but not by choice. I have tried twice to choose a Prestige Class and both times was turned down. I then tried to multiclass into a druid but found out that my alignment changed due to circumstances in the game and now I cannot do that either.

When I thought of this ranger I wanted to duel wield and be the main fighter. I was way off when I thought of this as EVERY other member in the party can take more damage and dish out much more than me. Anyone have advice on where I can or should go from here? Any advice is welcome and thanks in advance.
ninjarabbit
03-04-04, 12:13 AM Could you describe your character for us please, specifically race, stats, feats, skills, alignment, and current equipment.

Anyways a few ideas
1) Multi into a fighter and/or barbarian for extra melee abilites.
2) Get exotic weapon pro. bastard sword or two bladed sword for extra damage.
3) Multi into rouge for sneak attack and extra skills.
4) Multi into cleric and use spells and domains to boost your combat skills.
Visrith Vingrad
03-04-04, 01:11 AM Ok I'll try and give as much of my char's details as I can. Dont have the character with me so I dont know 100% what it is.

I am a Chaotic Evil Human Ranger in Ravenloft. I was LE but I had an alignment change. Stats are as follow's:

Str:20, Dex20, Con16, Int16, Wis 12 and Cha 12. Feats are Two Weapon Style, Combat Expertise and Improved Initiative that I can remember. I weild 2 Bastard Swords which have the following stats:

1) +4 B. Sword that is unique and grants Cure Light Wounds 1/day, Self Haste 1/day, +d12 against Dragons
2) +4 B. Sword

I also have +3 elven chainmail, cloak of resistance +4 and a ring of protection +2.

Did I get all of it? Remember, compared to the rest of the group I am like...........a joke. I dont need to be the strongest or most effective but I'd like to know where to go other than just continue putting level's into rangers.

The one prestige class that I can remember that I was turned down was the Kensai. Off the top of my head I cannot remember the other. Thanks again.
BenjCano
03-04-04, 02:25 AM Originally posted by Visrith Vingrad
When I thought of this ranger I wanted to duel wield and be the main fighter. I was way off when I thought of this as EVERY other member in the party can take more damage and dish out much more than me. Anyone have advice on where I can or should go from here? Any advice is welcome and thanks in advance.

I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but if you thought of the Ranger as a front line fighter, mixing it up with your enemies, dealing out huge amounts of damage and soaking up the same, then you were sadly, drastically, and badly mistaken.

Ranger is a stealth class that has some combat abilities, not a combat class that has some stealth ablities.

Edit to add: Wait one second...I just reread your post. You're playing a Chaotic Evil character in Ravenloft???

:OMG! :mymy: :twitch: :nonono: :uh-huh: :OMG!

???

!!!

Sorry man, you're screwed. Not even the most dedicated minmaxer could dig you out of the hole you've dug for yourself. On the plus side, you can soon look forward to ruling over your own little kingdom. The bad side is that you can never, ever leave it.
Tytalus
03-04-04, 03:10 AM The best people to ask in such a case are the guys on the Character Optimization Board (http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=339).

BenjCano is right, rangers do not make the best tanks. Also, fighting with two weapons is not the best way to deal a lot of damage, unless you have some way of dealing extra damage (e.g. a rogue's sneak attack).
Visrith Vingrad
03-04-04, 05:33 PM When did I ever say BEST fighter? If I wanted to do that I would not have made a ranger. I made a ranger as they can be the main fighter. Doesnt mean they alway's are or even often for that matter. Alot of the time we dont have much in the way of fighters in our group so I went with this and then found out what else there was. For reasons of my own at the time I didnt know what was in the group and didnt know people were taking the route they did with there characters.

As for me being CE, well that was by no means my choice. The dm assigned me that alignment after I began using a weapon that we found. Thanks for the advice anyways.

Edit: Wanted to say that other than being a caster I am not sure how you can do more damage than with two weapons. Other people in the group that use 2 weapon's are dishing out upwards of 60+ damage in a round. That is sometimes low. Mind you one of them isnt one of the "standard" races.
Jell_Moo
03-04-04, 09:19 PM Nonsense, a ranger can make a fine tank. Especially with the crazy stats you've got.

First thing. Stop using the two bastard swords. Keep the good one, and sell the other and get yourself a nice short sword. The -4 to hit you're taking is killer.

And what are your favored enemies? Are you encountering them at all?

Here's a few pieces of advice.

Take 1 more level of ranger. This will nab you the Greater TWF feat. After 11th level, stop going Ranger. Starting at 12th level, snag 3 levels of Swashbuckler and three levels of Rogue, taking one, then the other. This will up your damage by three points thanks to your Int Mod, and giving you 2d6 SA. At 12th level, take the Improved Buckler Defence feat from CW. Now you can still TWF, but gain the advantage of a buckler as well.

After your 3 levels of Swashbuckler amd your 3 of Rogue, you'll be 17th level. From here on, it's a toughie depending on what PrCs you can take. I would try for 3 levels of Dervish. It would mesh well with what you've been doing. Since you're playing Ravenloft, 3 levels of Hunter of the Dead might be sweet too.

---

An alternate route would be a little simpler, and more straightforward. Once again stop taking Ranger levels at 11th. At 12th level, however, you take a level of fighter. You take Imp Shield Bash and Improved Favored Enemy. Now you get yourself a Large shield with Spikes, enchant the spikes and use that as your off hand weapon.

Level 13 you grab a level of Barbarian. Extra Hit Points, rage, fast movement. Nuff Said.

Level 14 is Fighter again. Take WF: Bastard Sword.

Level 15 is barbarian. Take Karmic Strike.

Level 16 is Fighter.

Level 17 is also barbarian.

Level 18 is fighter. Take WS: Bastard Sword and Extra Rage.

Level 19 is Barbarian.

Level 20 is barbarian.

This build will up your damage, up your HP, up your move speed, and grant you uncanny dodge.
Inigo Carmine
03-04-04, 09:58 PM Originally posted by Jell_Moo
First thing. Stop using the two bastard swords. Keep the good one, and sell the other and get yourself a nice short sword. The -4 to hit you're taking is killer.

I second this. Use a light weapon for your offhand (or a shield with improved shield bash). The extra 1 point of damage every other attack is not worth the extra -2 to every every attack you make.

You didn't list it in your feats, but I hope that you have exotic Weapon proficiency bastard sword, otherwise you'd be taking an extra -4 to your attacks on top of your other penalties.
ninjarabbit
03-04-04, 10:40 PM Definately take your next level as ranger, after that I have a few ideas.

1) See how close you are feat and skill wise to Blackguard, if you need more feats, take a couple of fighter levels to cover what you may need.
2) I'll differ with everyone else here and say keep the two bastard swords for style points. Your strength, weapon enchantments, and BAB progression will cover the -4 penalty.
3) I know you're in Ravenloft, but unless almost every single enemy you face is immune to critical hits (which may be possible), take improved critical bastard sword for your 12th level feat since this'll add to your damage totals, otherwise weapon focus bastard sword or extra rage if you take a level of barbarian.
4) This character screams for two levels of barbarian.
5) You can always go 4 levels of fighter for weapon spec. bastard sword.
6) Maybe the leadership feat can help and you can get a bard or cleric to buff you up.
Visrith Vingrad
03-05-04, 01:47 AM Lots of good advice coming in. I like alot of the ideas. Now I atleast have idea's of where to go. Thanks again I'll post more about my char when I get him back from our dm.
lantzer
03-05-04, 09:25 AM Actually, I'd stick with Ranger.. but...

I'd swap out the second bastard sword for a light weapon - try a light pick or mace? I'd also make sure my favored enemies were things I'm actually fighting. Favored enemy bonuses add to every hit, regardless of size of the weapon.

Hmm, thinking about it,
A ranger's favored enemy is quite a nice ability for most games, but may be slightly less nifty for a game with stats like yours. It still should be quite doable, however.

If you decide to multiclass, Ranger dovetails nicely with Fighter, Barbarian, and Rogue.

You may want to take my advice with a grain of salt... With your stats and gear, if you are the "joke" of the party, you guys are operating in a power range ouside of my experience. Good luck in Ravenloft (muahahahaha!).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Visrith Vingrad 03-03-04, 11:51 PM	I am currently playing in a campaign where all the players are equivalent to lvl 10. I have gone 10 lvl's in Ranger so far but not by choice. I have tried twice to choose a Prestige Class and both times was turned down. I then tried to multiclass into a druid but found out that my alignment changed due to circumstances in the game and now I cannot do that either. When I thought of this ranger I wanted to duel wield and be the main fighter. I was way off when I thought of this as EVERY other member in the party can take more damage and dish out much more than me. Anyone have advice on where I can or should go from here? Any advice is welcome and thanks in advance.
ninjarabbit 03-04-04, 12:13 AM	Could you describe your character for us please, specifically race, stats, feats, skills, alignment, and current equipment. Anyways a few ideas 1) Multi into a fighter and/or barbarian for extra melee abilites. 2) Get exotic weapon pro. bastard sword or two bladed sword for extra damage. 3) Multi into rouge for sneak attack and extra skills. 4) Multi into cleric and use spells and domains to boost your combat skills.
Visrith Vingrad 03-04-04, 01:11 AM	Ok I'll try and give as much of my char's details as I can. Dont have the character with me so I dont know 100% what it is. I am a Chaotic Evil Human Ranger in Ravenloft. I was LE but I had an alignment change. Stats are as follow's: Str:20, Dex20, Con16, Int16, Wis 12 and Cha 12. Feats are Two Weapon Style, Combat Expertise and Improved Initiative that I can remember. I weild 2 Bastard Swords which have the following stats: 1) +4 B. Sword that is unique and grants Cure Light Wounds 1/day, Self Haste 1/day, +d12 against Dragons 2) +4 B. Sword I also have +3 elven chainmail, cloak of resistance +4 and a ring of protection +2. Did I get all of it? Remember, compared to the rest of the group I am like...........a joke. I dont need to be the strongest or most effective but I'd like to know where to go other than just continue putting level's into rangers. The one prestige class that I can remember that I was turned down was the Kensai. Off the top of my head I cannot remember the other. Thanks again.
BenjCano 03-04-04, 02:25 AM	Originally posted by Visrith Vingrad When I thought of this ranger I wanted to duel wield and be the main fighter. I was way off when I thought of this as EVERY other member in the party can take more damage and dish out much more than me. Anyone have advice on where I can or should go from here? Any advice is welcome and thanks in advance. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but if you thought of the Ranger as a front line fighter, mixing it up with your enemies, dealing out huge amounts of damage and soaking up the same, then you were sadly, drastically, and badly mistaken. Ranger is a stealth class that has some combat abilities, not a combat class that has some stealth ablities. Edit to add: Wait one second...I just reread your post. You're playing a Chaotic Evil character in Ravenloft??? :OMG! :mymy: :twitch: :nonono: :uh-huh: :OMG! ??? !!! Sorry man, you're screwed. Not even the most dedicated minmaxer could dig you out of the hole you've dug for yourself. On the plus side, you can soon look forward to ruling over your own little kingdom. The bad side is that you can never, ever leave it.
Tytalus 03-04-04, 03:10 AM	The best people to ask in such a case are the guys on the Character Optimization Board (http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=339). BenjCano is right, rangers do not make the best tanks. Also, fighting with two weapons is not the best way to deal a lot of damage, unless you have some way of dealing extra damage (e.g. a rogue's sneak attack).
Visrith Vingrad 03-04-04, 05:33 PM	When did I ever say BEST fighter? If I wanted to do that I would not have made a ranger. I made a ranger as they can be the main fighter. Doesnt mean they alway's are or even often for that matter. Alot of the time we dont have much in the way of fighters in our group so I went with this and then found out what else there was. For reasons of my own at the time I didnt know what was in the group and didnt know people were taking the route they did with there characters. As for me being CE, well that was by no means my choice. The dm assigned me that alignment after I began using a weapon that we found. Thanks for the advice anyways. Edit: Wanted to say that other than being a caster I am not sure how you can do more damage than with two weapons. Other people in the group that use 2 weapon's are dishing out upwards of 60+ damage in a round. That is sometimes low. Mind you one of them isnt one of the "standard" races.
Jell_Moo 03-04-04, 09:19 PM	Nonsense, a ranger can make a fine tank. Especially with the crazy stats you've got. First thing. Stop using the two bastard swords. Keep the good one, and sell the other and get yourself a nice short sword. The -4 to hit you're taking is killer. And what are your favored enemies? Are you encountering them at all? Here's a few pieces of advice. Take 1 more level of ranger. This will nab you the Greater TWF feat. After 11th level, stop going Ranger. Starting at 12th level, snag 3 levels of Swashbuckler and three levels of Rogue, taking one, then the other. This will up your damage by three points thanks to your Int Mod, and giving you 2d6 SA. At 12th level, take the Improved Buckler Defence feat from CW. Now you can still TWF, but gain the advantage of a buckler as well. After your 3 levels of Swashbuckler amd your 3 of Rogue, you'll be 17th level. From here on, it's a toughie depending on what PrCs you can take. I would try for 3 levels of Dervish. It would mesh well with what you've been doing. Since you're playing Ravenloft, 3 levels of Hunter of the Dead might be sweet too. --- An alternate route would be a little simpler, and more straightforward. Once again stop taking Ranger levels at 11th. At 12th level, however, you take a level of fighter. You take Imp Shield Bash and Improved Favored Enemy. Now you get yourself a Large shield with Spikes, enchant the spikes and use that as your off hand weapon. Level 13 you grab a level of Barbarian. Extra Hit Points, rage, fast movement. Nuff Said. Level 14 is Fighter again. Take WF: Bastard Sword. Level 15 is barbarian. Take Karmic Strike. Level 16 is Fighter. Level 17 is also barbarian. Level 18 is fighter. Take WS: Bastard Sword and Extra Rage. Level 19 is Barbarian. Level 20 is barbarian. This build will up your damage, up your HP, up your move speed, and grant you uncanny dodge.
Inigo Carmine 03-04-04, 09:58 PM	Originally posted by Jell_Moo First thing. Stop using the two bastard swords. Keep the good one, and sell the other and get yourself a nice short sword. The -4 to hit you're taking is killer. I second this. Use a light weapon for your offhand (or a shield with improved shield bash). The extra 1 point of damage every other attack is not worth the extra -2 to every every attack you make. You didn't list it in your feats, but I hope that you have exotic Weapon proficiency bastard sword, otherwise you'd be taking an extra -4 to your attacks on top of your other penalties.
ninjarabbit 03-04-04, 10:40 PM	Definately take your next level as ranger, after that I have a few ideas. 1) See how close you are feat and skill wise to Blackguard, if you need more feats, take a couple of fighter levels to cover what you may need. 2) I'll differ with everyone else here and say keep the two bastard swords for style points. Your strength, weapon enchantments, and BAB progression will cover the -4 penalty. 3) I know you're in Ravenloft, but unless almost every single enemy you face is immune to critical hits (which may be possible), take improved critical bastard sword for your 12th level feat since this'll add to your damage totals, otherwise weapon focus bastard sword or extra rage if you take a level of barbarian. 4) This character screams for two levels of barbarian. 5) You can always go 4 levels of fighter for weapon spec. bastard sword. 6) Maybe the leadership feat can help and you can get a bard or cleric to buff you up.
Visrith Vingrad 03-05-04, 01:47 AM	Lots of good advice coming in. I like alot of the ideas. Now I atleast have idea's of where to go. Thanks again I'll post more about my char when I get him back from our dm.
lantzer 03-05-04, 09:25 AM	Actually, I'd stick with Ranger.. but... I'd swap out the second bastard sword for a light weapon - try a light pick or mace? I'd also make sure my favored enemies were things I'm actually fighting. Favored enemy bonuses add to every hit, regardless of size of the weapon. Hmm, thinking about it, A ranger's favored enemy is quite a nice ability for most games, but may be slightly less nifty for a game with stats like yours. It still should be quite doable, however. If you decide to multiclass, Ranger dovetails nicely with Fighter, Barbarian, and Rogue. You may want to take my advice with a grain of salt... With your stats and gear, if you are the "joke" of the party, you guys are operating in a power range ouside of my experience. Good luck in Ravenloft (muahahahaha!).