A Non-Magical Ranger.

No Concentration.

No Spellcasting.

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The 2024 Player's Handbook is here and, with it, the One D&D Ranger. What does that mean, exactly? Well, it's better, I suppose, but is it a Ranger?

I'm not sure what it is, exactly, but a Ranger it is not. Let me explain why and, in the process, convince you to invest in The Essential Ranger by making it a part of your Dungeons & Dragons game.

"You are a Ranger, and that means you’re a survivor. Though many call you ‘wanderer’, not all those who wander are lost. You lack neither direction nor purpose."

I love magic. As a player I almost always play spellcasters. My favorite D&D class is the Bard, and my favorite Feat is Magic Initiate. When I GM, it’s a pretty safe bet my villains will have magic.

As an avid outdoorsman, however, I also love the idea of Rangers. The One D&D Ranger is a spellcaster, however, and almost wholly reliant on spells (or feats and/or multiclassing) to achieve what I think are the intrinsic qualities of the archetype.

Worse still, the One D&D Ranger is still outclassed by a Rogue’s Sneak Attack when paired with Expertise in Stealth and Survival. A Druid’s access to higher level spells, more plentiful spell slots, and wild shape ability means they gain access to many of the Ranger’s best abilities earlier on.

So what’s the solution? How does one make a Ranger that is compelling to play, and not easily duplicated or superseded by other character classes?

To answer that, let’s start with a better question:

What is a Ranger?

In fantasy, a Ranger is a self-reliant survivalist and relentless warrior with extensive knowledge of and experience in the natural world. Beyond fantasy, the word “ranger” conjures images of conservationists, outdoor survivalists, wilderness explorers, and the Scouting motto, “Be Prepared”.

The USA in particular has a rich history of Rangers, from National Park Service Rangers to small tactical military units like the US Army Rangers or colonial America’s Knowlton’s Rangers (that country’s first official “Ranger” unit designation).

When D&D players think of “Ranger”, especially players new to the game, they more than likely think of one or both of two famous literary examples: Aragorn, known as “Strider”, from J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic The Lord of the Rings; and Drizzt Do’Urden, the dual scimitar wielding Dark Elf from R.A. Salvatore’s immensely popular novels (and D&D multimedia).

The archetypical Ranger is unequivocally not a spellcaster. But while D&D’s designers have rejected that archetype, their Ranger - an incongruous, spell slinging superhero - has in turn been rejected by a large body of GMs and players, myself included.

Why Not A Spellcaster?

Keeping with the archetypical Ranger for a moment: Only experienced players are likely to think of spell slots, Hunter’s Mark, Pass Without Trace, and Swift Quiver, let alone the plethora of subclasses that wield yet more weird and wonderful magic. The creativity found in these designs is astonishing, but it all has an almost singular reliance on magic.

Why is that?

So far as I can tell, the idea of the Ranger as a spellcaster has its origins in the Lord of the Rings, when Aragorn uses herbs and song to offer Frodo respite from injury. As Aragorn largely inspired the original D&D Ranger, earlier editions of the game translated that moment to a very small number of spells at a rather high level of play. It has only grown through editions.

But while Aragorn’s skill and abilities oft seem superhuman, he never explicitly uses magic.

Likewise, while Drizzt has innate magical abilities, they are born of his culture and species, not his skill as a Ranger. Drizzt doesn't “cast spells” in the D&D sense.

And therein lies the fundamental problem: Arguably the two most famous Rangers in all of fantasy literature are not Rangers according to D&D. The case of Drizzt is most damning: Despite being D&D’s iconic Ranger, and perhaps its most famous character, most official D&D stat blocks for Drizzt have few if any levels in the class. They focus instead on Fighter, often multiclassed, to approximate Salvatore’s novelizations.

As of 2024, the most recent (somewhat) official 5th Edition version of Drizzt was created by Christopher Perkins as an 8th level Fighter (Champion) with zero levels in Ranger and, notably, no spell slots.

How can this be? How can D&D’s most famous Ranger not be a Ranger at all? Clearly, the designers had something else in mind when developing the Ranger class. That’s not a bad thing per se, but it underscores the problem that, if one wants to play a “Ranger” as it is understood in the most popular and widely read of fantasy literature, there really is no easy analog with which to do so in a game of D&D.

Only with a mishmash of multiclassing and feats can one even come close and, even then, the archetype’s most iconic abilities will likely be eclipsed by single-classed Druid or Rogue characters who gain their features both earlier, and in greater numbers.

The Essential Ranger: Core Principles

In addition to the fundamental tenet of “it’s gotta be fun to play”, I set out to meet a few core principles when designing the Essential Ranger. These are:

• The core class must have zero magical abilities, even at the highest of levels.

• A 1st level Ranger must be better than any other class, even the Druid, when it comes to wilderness survival. Level progression should encourage, if not outright ensure, this superiority.

• The spirit of iconic features and spells such as Hunter’s Mark are honored, but versatility replaces narrowly focused “favored” enemies or terrain.

• Features that relate to the Exploration Pillar must translate to actionable abilities that see use even in games that largely eschew that Pillar, while at the same time promoting its wider use.

• It should have a number of features roughly equal to the features + spell slots of the One D&D Ranger, keeping in mind that some spells, such as Freedom of Movement, give multiple benefits.

• It must offer a subclass progression that excels in hunting and eliminating a single target, comparable to a Rogue (Assassin) or Paladin (Vengeance).

Magical Inspiration

Using what you find and repurposing what you have are key aspects of survival. I embraced that spirit when it came to magic and made a list of what I believe are the spells that best represent what an archetypical Ranger should be capable of.

These aren’t necessarily the “best” spells, or the most popular. Indeed, many of them rarely see play due to the superfluous nature of Hunter’s Mark and the limited spell slots in the Ranger’s arsenal. Nevertheless, I felt it was imperative to replicate the spirit of these spells in a way that felt both natural and vital.

And I confess I didn't completely eschew magic: The Fey Warden subclass is a spellcaster, though its spells are cherry picked to focus on European Faerie folklore. But that's the only place you're going to find spells.

For now, anyway!

What’s on the Horizon?

I’m not done with the Essential Ranger. As mentioned in my expanded design notes within the PDF, I plan on further developing the Exploration Pillar once we have the full picture of what it is in One D&D. In particular, I hope to make the Survival skill an interesting and rich mini-game in its own right, with gear, survival tips, and more.

Beyond this, here are some of the other Ranger specific ideas I’m working on:

• More subclasses, including (but not limited to) one inspired by Mycelium / Mycorrhizal networks, and a magical one inspired by the Horizon Walker.

• Rules for small animal companions.

• Optional, Alternate Class Features

• Expanded Faerie Dances for the Fey Warden

• Feats, Background Feats, Epic Boon Feats

• Magic Items… and maybe (maybe!) even some spells.

• Encounters & Locations for DMs to challenge and delight their players, inspired by but certainly not exclusive to the Essential Ranger.

• A complete solo adventure for the Essential Ranger, though one that will be easily expanded to accommodate a full adventuring party.

So, check out The Essential Ranger TODAY by making it a part of your Dungeons & Dragons game!