Login

u/Black_Cat34

r/FlintlockFantasy r/DnD5CommunityRanger r/DnDHomebrew
▲ 3 r/DnD5CommunityRanger

Single Target, non-spell Hunter's Mark Replacement

A ground-up redesign of the concept of marking a target, based off of the Mike Mearls Happy Fun Hour, the spell itself, and Favored Foe from Tasha's. I also drew heavy inspiration from other homebrew/ 3pp versions of Hunter's Mark features, specifically Tales of the Valiant, SW5e, DracoDruid's Focused Ranger and Laserllama's Alternate Ranger. Hunter's Mark as a class feature is by no means an original idea of mine, rather this is my attempt to amalgamate various "core Marks" from both official and non-official sources into a single cohesive idea.

*(*Note: For this theoretical redesign, I don't care about compatibility with WOTC material in any way. This class feature would replace any reference to the HM spell and all features related to it, as it is meant for a hypothetical ground-up rebuild of the Ranger that is built around an actual core feature instead of a poorly designed 1st-level spell disguised as one. Subclasses would be redesigned around simply adding rider effects to the scaling core mark instead of adding extra damage.)

Marked For Death

As a bonus action, you can designate a single creature you can see within 90 feet of you as your Quarry. Alternatively, you can mark a creature by hitting it with an attack roll or by studying its tracks or other traces of its presence for at least 1 minute. Regardless of how you designate your Quarry, the target remains marked until it dies, or until you become Incapacitated, finish a short or long rest, or use this feature again to mark another creature.

Until your mark ends, whenever you damage your quarry with a weapon attack or a Ranger spell that requires an attack roll, you increase that damage by 1d4. This die, known as your Quarry Die, scales when you reach certain Ranger levels: to 1d6 at 5th level, to 1d8 at 9th level, to 1d10 at 13th level, and to 1d12 at 17th level. (Could also go with the 5.5 Monk die scaling starting at 1d6, but I am being conservative initially.)

In addition, you can add your Quarry Die to any Wisdom (Perception) or Wisdom (Survival) checks to locate your Quarry, as well as to any Intelligence checks you make to learn or recall information about it.

You can use this feature to designate quarry a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier plus the amount shown for your level in the Ranger table. You regain one expended use when you finish a short rest and all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Starting at 5th level, when you fail a saving throw caused by one of your Quarry's spells or innate abilities, you can use your reaction to roll your Quarry Die and add the result to the roll, potentially turning that failure into a success.

Starting at 11th level, when your Quarry is reduced to 0 hit points, you can automatically transfer your mark to the next creature you hit with an attack during your turn. Once the second target is reduced to 0 hit points, your mark automatically ends.

Starting at 17th level, once during your turn if you miss a weapon attack against your Quarry, you can make one additional weapon attack against it.

reddit.com
u/Black_Cat34 — 3 days ago
▲ 3 r/DnD5CommunityRanger

Skirmisher Ranger Damage Mechanic Mk. II (5e14)

This is the revised core damage mechanic for my ground-up rework of the Ranger class, (which pretty much abandons anything resembling Hunter's Mark or official Ranger design in general.) I wanted a less 'druidic guardian of nature' ranger in favor of a more martially aligned (but still magical) skirmisher (akin to Rogers' Rangers in Colonial America or the Rangers of Ithelien in Lord of the Rings), so I designed the core damage mechanic to incentivize actually fighting like a ranger instead of just saying "screw this one guy in particular."

________________________________________________________________________________________

Guerrilla Tactics

As a Ranger, you have learned to use mobility, surprise, and the wilderness itself to grant you an advantage in combat. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack or a Ranger spell that requires an attack roll, you can increase that damage by one roll of your Skirmish Die, which is a d6, if you meet at least one of the following conditions and you aren't wearing heavy armor:

  • You moved at least 15 feet away from your starting position prior to making the attack.
  • You are Hidden from the target or are receiving at least half-cover against it.
  • You have only attacked your current target since the start of your last turn.

You can only deal your Skirmish Damage once per attack, even if you meet multiple conditions while attacking. The extra damage is of the same type as your weapon.

Your Skirmish Die increases in size when you reach certain levels in this class: to 1d8 at 5th level, to 1d10 at 11th level, and to 1d12 at 17th level.

Starting at 5th level, when you deal Skirmish Damage to a creature, you have advantage on saving throws against that creature's spells and innate abilities until the start of your next turn. Moreover, your Skirmish Damage counts as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Starting at 11th level, when you deal your Skirmish Damage to a creature, you can roll one Skirmish Die for each of the conditions you meet for that attack, applying the highest result to the damage roll.

Starting at 17th level, when you miss with an attack, you can use your reaction to roll your Skirmish Die and add the result to the attack roll, potentially turning the miss into a hit.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes:

  1. This feature is inspired by this sub's own "Eye for Weakness" feature for the Community Ranger. I modified the specific conditions and made it one die per attack (like HM) instead of multiple dice for one attack, but the core idea that "I deal more damage based on certain conditions" is the same.
  2. Skirmish Damage scaling currently mirrors 2024 Monk, since it looks clean and I am building the class's damage around this mechanic instead of around Hunter's Mark + subclass riders. (At my table, HM doesn't exist as a spell, Vengeance Pallys get Hex instead.) Numbers will be tweaked as the concept is refined further.
  3. The conditions for Skirmish Damage mirror historical and fictional ranger tactics (use of cover, high mobility, and single-target focused fire.) Condition 1 is derived from the 3.5 Scout's Skirmish mechanic, condition 2 from the fantasy of the sniper or marksman, and condition 3 is there for those who still want to RP having a Hunter's Mark.

reddit.com
u/Black_Cat34 — 4 days ago
▲ 10 r/FlintlockFantasy

Plot summary for my "Alerion" campaign setting

The "Opening Crawl" for my players in my Alerion campaign setting/ the intro text of my Alerion novels. (Think of the blurb of text at the start of Warhammer 40K novels that begins "It is the 41st Millennium.")
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Realm of Alerion is a realm divided.

Thirteen years ago, four of the Realm's colonies in Etienne declared independence, defying the rule of its tyrannical leader, Lord Matthias Kylan. An uneasy peace has followed, and the so-called Republic of Etienne has enjoyed relative stability.

But the peace has recently been threatened. Powers beyond even Lord Kylan's comprehension are threatening the Republic's stability. Across the sea, the war-marshals of Alerion's hated enemy, the Sorelian Empire, are scheming to deliver a fatal blow against their old rivals.

In the face of the growing Sorelian threat, Lord Kylan has increased the size of Alerion's military and ordered several regiments to return the wayward colonies to the fold. Together with the growing Inquisition, they intend to crush the Republic and restore order and peace to the Realm...

reddit.com
u/Black_Cat34 — 2 months ago
▲ 8 r/DnD5CommunityRanger+1 crossposts

The Alerion Ranger: Update 5/19/26 (5e14)

GMB link: https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-NJSVheFWvQfViTrGb70

So after doing some tweaking, I consolidated my flintlock-fantasy Alerion Ranger rework and did some overall improvements to make it match the general templating of 2024 (no 'dead' levels, spellcasting at level 1) while sticking to 2014 wording and terminology because that is what my group is used to playing.

The GM Binder link has just the core class. I will update with subclasses and the revised spell list as soon as it is finished.

Class Feature Breakdown:

Level 1

  • Marked for Death is the Alerion Ranger's core class feature, (derived from Favored Foe from Tasha's and the Ranger's Quarry feature from Laserllama's Alternate Ranger) that completely replaces the Hunter's Mark spell ecosystem.
    • Hunter's Mark is removed from the ranger spell list in favor of this new feature, which is concentration-free, but starts at lower damage (1d4) and can only target a single creature (no bouncing marks around.)
      • You can mark your Quarry by either using your Bonus Action (like Hunter's Mark), hitting the target with an attack (like Favored Foe), or by studying a creature's tracks or other traces of its presence for at least 1 minute.
      • My mark also adds the die (your Quarry Die) to tracking and knowledge checks regarding your Quarry, instead of just granting Advantage.
      • The number of uses is the same as the 2024 Ranger's free Hunter's Mark castings, with recovery of a single use on a short rest and all uses on a long rest.
  • Rules of Ranging is a reimagining of the terrain-agnostic version of Natural Explorer from the Revised Ranger (2016) combined with Expertise in two Ranger skills.
    • The ambush features of the Revised Ranger (Ignoring difficult terrain, advantage on initiative, advantage on attack rolls against creatures that have not yet acted during the first round of combat) have been removed from this feature and replaced with said Expertise.
      • However, these ambush features will return at 3rd level for my Ghost subclass (reimagined ambush subclass/ Gloom Stalker analogue)
    • I also retuned the survival focused aspects of Natural Explorer to be a little less of an auto-success (finding twice as much food while foraging is now contingent on a successful Survival check, and there is no more "you can't get lost except by magical means," for example.)
      • Importantly, these features only apply to the ranger until level 6, where you can then grant them to a limited number of allies as well.
  • Spellcasting is moved to level 1, akin to the 2014 Artificer and the 2024 classes. I largely agree with why 2024 moved Spellcasting to 1st level, so I did so here as well.
    • However, The Alerion Ranger's spell preparation still uses the 2014 rules (you can swap your entire spell list like the '14 Paladin and Artificer, not just one spell at a time as in 2024.)
    • The Ranger also gains access to a new resource, known as Instinct, which can be used to cast concentration-free versions of certain iconic Ranger spells, albeit with lower duration and damage. This allows the ranger to choose if they want a quick, instantaneous effect or a more potent spell that requires full Concentration.
    • My ranger uses their tools and/or weapons as a Spellcasting Focus, instead of a Druidic Focus (My ranger is more "semi-magical Army ranger" and less "Druidic guardian of nature" so this is purely for flavor reasons.)

Level 2

  • Fighting Style introduces some flintlock-fantasy options, including a fighting style for firearms, bayonets, and guerrilla warfare tactics.
    • These are totally optional fighting styles if you are playing a non flintlock-fantasy campaign, I simply included them as options.
  • Swift Alacrity is a new Cunning Action - esque feature which allows the Ranger to Disengage, Hide, or Scout (make a knowledge check about a particular enemy mid-combat) as a Bonus Action.
    • However, if you hit your Quarry during your turn, you can also move up to half you speed without provoking opportunity attacks (akin to Scout Rogue, but proactively instead of reactively)

Level 3

  • Ranger Subclasses (known as Companies in the Alerion campaign setting*)* remain largely unchanged from the official Ranger, but have had some unifying changes overall. (Individual subclass changes will be summarized once I have finished updating the subclasses and creating my own.)
    • Companies now tie their core damage rider (e.g. Slayer's Prey, Planar Warrior, Hunter's Tactics) directly into the core Marked for Death feature, using the scaling Quarry Die.
      • These riders still remain once per turn unless otherwise noted.
    • Companies also receive two Company spells at the appropriate levels, instead of one, to mirror the 2014 Artificer and Paladin.
      • These spells are always considered prepared and don't count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.
  • Reconnoiter reimagines the 2014 Primeval Awareness feature, allowing the Ranger to detect not only enemies, but also sources of food, nearby settlements, and natural advantages and hazards.
    • The feature still uses spell slots, but the amount of different things you can detect now scales with the spell slot used.
    • The ranger also gets a general sense of the direction and distance to the features detected, making it more useful in narrowing the search. (It still does not pinpoint the exact location, so the party will have to explore around a bit.)

Level 4 (and subsequent ASI levels)

  • ASIs are unchanged from the 2014 Ranger

Level 5

  • Extra Attack is unchanged from the 2014 Ranger

Level 6

  • Skirmisher's Step is essentially an extension of the Roving feature from Tasha's / 2024
    • It grants a 10 foot increase to movement and allows the ranger to ignore any movement penalties from climbing, crawling, swimming, and nonmagical difficult terrain.
    • In addition, whenever the ranger enters natural difficult terrain, they are considered to be lightly obscured and under the effects of half-cover.

Level 7 (and subsequent Subclass improvements)

  • These levels are unchanged from the official Ranger.

Level 9

  • Previously a "dead" level, this feature is essentially the Tireless feature from Tasha's/ 2024, but moved to level 9 and with some subtle changes:
    • The feature now gives the ranger the option of granting temporary hit points to an ally they can see.
    • Moreover, the temporary hit points now equal 1d8 + your Ranger level, instead of your Wisdom modifier, providing better scaling.

Level 10

  • Fade From Sight combines the Nature's Veil feature from Tasha's with the "can't be tracked" aspect of 2014's Vanish feature.
    • This feature restores the Nature's Veil-esque feature to 10th level as it was in Tasha's, instead of forcing the ranger to wait until level 14.
    • You can become invisible using Fade from Sight when you use your Swift Alacrity feature to attempt to Hide, instead of requiring a separate action or bonus action.
    • Uses of this feature are equal your Wisdom modifier.  You regain one expended use when you finish a short rest and all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Level 13

  • Another previously "dead" level in 2014, the Relentless Focus feature reimagines 2024's Relentless Hunter feature.
    • Previously, this feature prevented the ranger from losing concentration on Hunter's Mark.
      • However, since Marked for Death is a class feature that no longer requires your concentration, the feature is reworked so that taking damage doesn't break your concentration on any of your ranger spells, so long as you have a quarry marked.
      • Balance Note: This feature may be altered so you pick two of your prepared spells and those are the ones that your concentration doesn't break on, depending on playtesting results

Level 14

  • Hit and Fade allows you to make one weapon attack as part of your Swift Alacrity bonus action and lets you hide even if you are being directly observed by another creature.
    • Balance Concern: of all my class features, this is the one I am least sure about. I would love suggestions/ refinements/ alternative options for this one.

Level 17

  • The Unbound Stride feature fills the last of the previously "Dead" levels in 2014.
    • Unbound Stride lets you add your Quarry Die to saving throws you make against spells or effects that would reduce your speed or impede your movement.

Level 18

  • Essentially the same as Feral Senses from 2024, but also grants Tremorsense in addition to Blindsight.
    • Also made note of the fact that if you already have Blindsight or Tremorsense, the range instead increases by 30 feet.

Level 20

  • Master Skirmisher is a rework of the capstone for the ranger.
    • It grants an increase to the primary ability scores, lets you add your Wisdom modifier to attack and damage rolls against your quarry, and grants you more resilience against extreme weather and poison.
    • I may have overcompensated for the horrible 2024 (and to a lesser extent 2014) capstones, but this is level 20, so I admit to not putting a lot of thought into balance at this point.
u/Black_Cat34 — 3 months ago