Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Mistwell Sep 01, 2015 15:23:24	Melee Rangers are not well supported in the guides, but I think it's possible to make a very competative one.  Here is what I am thinking:   Ability Scores: Str 16, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Chr 8 Race: Human: +1 Str, +1 Wis or Con, Skill, Feat: Great Weapon Master (When dropping foe to 0 or scoring Crit, 2nd attack as bonus action; and -5 to attack bonus for +10 to damage) Fighter 1: Str & Con Saves (instead of Dex), Heavy Armor Proficiency, Great Weapon Fighting, Second Wind, one less skill; Ranger X (Hunter): Defense (+1 AC) and Horde Breaker (2nd attack on adjacent foe each round).   Armor: Plate (as soon as possible, using down-time and artisan tool proficiency to help craft for half price if needed) Weapon: Greatsword (2d6 Damage, Heavy, Two-Handed) Typical Spells: Hunter's Mark (Concentration)   Why the multiclassing? Plate Armor allows me to lower (not dump) Dex. I don't need to go early in the round, and Dex saves are typically the least deadly of the three main saves. Sure, I might use a ranged weapon on rare occassion, but I can use Javelins most of the time for that (which use strength).  The fighter level also give me Great Weapon Fighting (re-roll 1s and 2s) which works very well with a Greatsword (2d6 Damage means re-roll applies to each die).  Second Wind doesn't hurt, and will help at early levels a bit.  The Con save proficiency is also typically more helpful than the Dex proficiency, and helps with Concentration checks.   In a typical round this character will move in beside a group of foes.  If their AC is low, he will take a -5 to attack for +10 damage. The first hit will do 2d6 (re-roll 1s and 2s) which is around 8 damage +3 for strength +10 from the feat for about 21 damage. Whether I hit or miss, Horde Breaker then activates to give me a second attack against an adjacent foe for the same damage on a hit.  And then if either of those attacks kills or crits a foe, the feat triggers a third attack which again does the same damage on a hit. None of this is counting potential use of Hunter's Mark, which is likely applied in the first round of hustling to get next to the foes (though I can only apply/switch it in a round when I am not using a bonus action for the feats).   Yes, Hunter's Mark is concentration, but I find it very rare that enough damage is done to challenge a meaningful concentration check. Particularly since this guy has a higher AC (18 from Plate, +1 from Defense, total 19) and a pretty good Con, and proficiency with Con saves - all stuff most Rangers don't get.   Against a horde of weaker foes (which is not unusual at all, particularly in Adventurer's League which is where this PC will be playing), if all three attacks hit it's an average of 63 damage a round, not counting any possible usage of Hunter's Mark. And this is at relatively low levels (Horde Breaker is the last to kick in at 4th level for this PC).   I expect this character will not be needed for higher levels given the structure of our Adventurer's League play (I have a Bard for higher level play).  So the lack of this strategy scaling well at high levels is not of great import to me.   I'd like some thoughts/criticisms/ideas on this build.  Any suggestions for changes? Questions? Comments?
#2 TheXandyM Sep 01, 2015 15:57:48	One problem I see: a character can only get one fighting style (the only current exception being the Champion Fighter subclass, at level 10). This isn't a huge deal for the build, just lowering the AC by one.   I thought there'd be a bonus action problem between Great Weapon Master and Horde Breaker, but having looked up Horde Breaker, it doesn't use a bonus action (or any action at all, for that matter). I like the synergy.   Overall I like the build. I like visualizing a character deftly making several attacks against multiple enemies, with an enormous weapon.   EDIT: Spelling
#3 Varden_Khol Sep 01, 2015 16:33:35	You can stack Fighting Styles. The only class features that clash because of multiclassing are Channel Divinity, Extra Attack, Unarmored Defense, and Spellcasting. These features are specifically called out in the multiclassing section.   The Champion feature says, "At 10th level, you can choose a second option from the Fighting Style class feature." This doesn't stop a multiclasser from getting a second option, just states that a fighter picks again from the list that already appears on a previous page.     As for the greatsword ranger? Sounds like an interesting twist on the typical archetype. This guy sounds a bit more like that famous ranger, Aragorn.
#4 AndrewJO Sep 01, 2015 16:38:20	You Dex must be at least 13 to multiclass with Ranger. You have to start as a Fighter to get proficiency with heavy armor. Other than that, looks good, though I'd suggest taking fighter to 3 so you can get improved critical.
#5 Jared711 Sep 01, 2015 17:16:01	Polearm mastery gives a use for your bonus action and reaction.   Hunters mark is bonus action but you could use a reation user.  Otherwise, fighter 3 battle master could help with reaction when someone misses you.    The biggest problem I see with this build is hitting.   You want bless +2.5 to hit and +2 to hit from archery fighting style.
#6 AndrewJO Sep 01, 2015 17:40:12	Archery fighting style is useless for him, he wants to make a GWF Ranger.
(Reply to #6) Jared711	AndrewJO wrote:
#8 Mistwell Sep 01, 2015 19:32:48	AndrewJO wrote:
#9 Mistwell Sep 01, 2015 19:42:51	Jared711 wrote:
#10 Mistwell Sep 01, 2015 20:36:24	Jared711 wrote:
#11 Jared711 Sep 02, 2015 10:16:31	Mistwell wrote:
#12 Veleria Sep 02, 2015 10:52:55	I would recommend at least 3 levels in fighter going battle master. You will get action surge which is really great for finishing off an enemy to trigger GWM or to cast a spell and still attack in the same round. You will also get access to Precise strike which is very important when using GWM to ensure you can hit.
#13 TheXandyM Sep 03, 2015 15:54:01	Varden_Khol wrote:
(Reply to #13) bid	TheXandyM wrote:
(Reply to #13) Varden_Khol	TheXandyM wrote:
#16 jaappleton Sep 05, 2015 5:54:43	And you can have multiple styles active at once, I think.   Mariner and Defense and GWF, for example, can all be active at once and all work together.
#17 jaappleton Sep 05, 2015 6:00:04	Also, Minsc was a GWF Ranger.      My only concern is spell selection. Most spells a Ranger has require ammunition or a thrown weapon. Sure, you can keep a dagger or a light hammer handy. But the lack of ammunition spells might be too constricting.
#18 guachi Sep 05, 2015 20:31:43	Your character design is probably the best way to make a GWF ranger and have him be as rangery as possible. One level of fighter gets you GWF style, heavy armor, and con save. And you'll be a ranger by the end of the first adventure. It seems like a fun variation on a GWF fighter.
#19 Mad_Jack Sep 06, 2015 6:22:53	Have you looked at the alternate ranger in the UA article? From a theoretical standpoint it seems like it might be useful for this character if casting spells is going to occasionally interfere with your feats.