![stick ranger 2 weapons stick ranger 2 weapons](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-S1EdXfH-wg/hqdefault.jpg)
The +1 damage on top of their already prodigious damage won't mean much for balance. The hammer wielder with hammer rythm would be up by +1 damage from normal, but this build requires a somewhat MAD build. Actually, scimitar dance should be higher in damage output by a fair degree because an extra dex mod to damage per attack is huge. Since the scimitar is 1d8, and many of the versatile weapons are 1d10, the average damage would be about the same between a versatile weapon used two handed and a scimitar weilder with scimitar dance. The versatile weapons wouldn't unbalance things any because the ranger already gets to use them one handed if they want, so the damage is only increased by +1 from versatile with two hands. They typically stick to weapon attacks, with a few kicks thrown in here and there, and they are highly mobile. Think of the wuxia archetype of the bastard sword wielder, typified by the Nameless Hero in the movie Hero. Reach is really just a weaker form of ranged.Īs for the unarmed/THF ranger, it could work, but it wasn't what I was going for. They already have a huge ranged thing going. I don't think that reach would be that amazing for a ranger to get though. That way, rangers don't actually get to use weapons that they wouldn't otherwise, and they don't get reach. I thought of the reach thing, and that is why I figured that versatile one handed weapons would work out better. For example, ranger movement and reach weapons become a bane if they can exploit them. If you are going to though, I do like the idea of cutting down the attack bonus in order to stop the abuse of two handed weapons when used as such. I don't know if it is just me but I personally don't see why there is a need to skin a ranger into a pseudo-fighter role to simply wield a two-handed weapon. Fencers in general are not rangers, but dexterous fighters that specialize in specific blows rather than chunky weapon attacks, though heavy weapons are used in some cases. I see it as most fighters are the ones who wield the big weapons, and this goes similarly with a katana fencer. I just have never considered much of a ranger into the role of a heavy weapon wielder.
![stick ranger 2 weapons stick ranger 2 weapons](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/723-4omzewk/maxresdefault.jpg)
I am not saying it is not possible of course. Wielding a heavy weapon almost defeats the purpose of being very mobile. I personally have seen rangers as being the mobile skirmishers, however I have not seen them to be a heavy weapons wielder. Heck, having described it like this I'd like to play a ranger who used a 2H weapon and unarmed combat in this way! Literary example? The Justicar from Paul Kidds "Return to White Plume Mountain" who typically uses a bastard sword with associated kicks, headbutts and punches IIRC. I think this would be a stylish approach which sticks very closely to the existing rules and has less possibilities of accidental unbalancing.
![stick ranger 2 weapons stick ranger 2 weapons](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/fanball/images/d/d6/MCHammer.png)
If you as a DM wanted to be kind, you could allow for a new feat "Unarmed proficiency", which nobody has by default but which makes unarmed combat equivalent to a basic weapon with a +2 bonus to hit. This probably balances out with the extra damage he is getting on his 2H weapon on his primary attacks. The basic ranger in this situation is making an improvised unarmed strike with his off-hand attack (so no proficiency and 1d4 damage like a dagger). The upside being that more fantasy archetypes can be played and reflected mechanically (as apposed to just reskinning a hammer wielding dwarf into something else).Ĭomments? Criticisms? Could the master optimizers advise me as to how this would compare to core? Thanks in advance.Īnother possibility would be to allow the ranger to use a 2-handed weapon as their 'main' weapon, and an unarmed punch or kick or headbutt as their off-hand weapon. This rule would increase the average damage of the hammer wielder, but only by a few points. I would preemptively counter these complaints with the facts that the bow ranger only has to have one magic weapon, and at the moment, the two kings of the damage-per-round race are the warhammer wielding dwarf ranger with hammer rythm and the scimitar wielding ranger with scimitar dance. These are all that I could think of for effects that could be called overpowered. The effects would be +1 to damage per attack, and the ranger would only have to have one magical weapon. Rangers can use any ranger power requiring them to wield two weapons whenever they use one weapon with the versatile property used two handed.Ĭould all be used by a ranger two handed. So here is an idea that I came up with to fill a missing archetype. This is something that requires communication and more than one mind to get right. Granted, I am really good at reskinning things, but I also like to find elegant house rules for things that are simple, achieve the results you are after, and don't break the game. I have been frustrated with a lack of crunch to support many fantasy archetypes.