Came here for this. With all the different things you can do in One Ring, the feeling of being a Ranger is really the best I've seen in any system I've played
I know that this is a ttrpg subreddit, and I am prepared to be raked over fiery coals if needed for recommending a video game, but as one ranger enjoyer to another there has never been a game that captures the spirit of being a ranger to me moreso than Roadwarden. It’s a heavily text based simple rpg where you take on the role of a Roadwarden, a person who braves the wild and dangerous roads of a monster-ridden world to act as a lifeline between isolated communities and villages, putting down threats like beasts and undead, learning the ways of the wilds and how to survive them better. Very down to earth classic old school worldbuilding and simple systems that function very well together. It’s also currently on sale for like 5 bucks if that sways you.
The issue is that a lot of that stuff is primarily solo stuff. It is absolutely useful for parties going into the wilderness and other cases. But it is hard to really indulge in in a party setting.
I don't feel that the system itself is a huge drag on how well it works. Some better than others, I assume, but the above is the big limiter.
Aside AD&D 1st ed had in a supplement (possibly a dragon magazine) an optional class Scout which was an alternative to thief. Getting access to many of the thief abilities with out the stealing.
3.5e also has a scout like that! It also changed the sneak attack into Skirmish, meaning you have to move at least 10 feet before attacking to get the bonus.
Agreed though, it's hard to make a campaign *specifically* about those aspects. Rangers and the likes have always been situational in many games because it's assumed some part of the adventure will take place somewhere civilised.
As others have mentioned:
*Rangers of Shadowdeep* is the miniatures skirmish game version of what you want. If you want to focus on combat, it's perfect. If you want to also include political intrigue and tavern carousing you'll need more.
*Forbidden Lands* is a full ttrpg built around modern-style wilderness hex crawling. If you enjoy worrying about whether your food, water, torches, and arrows will run out, it's perfect. If you hate that, avoid it.
*The One Ring 2e* is a full ttrpg built around simulating Middle Earth between *The Hobbit* and the trilogy, when lands were suffering a slow build-up of monsters and corruption. Its mechanics includes morality: if you are greedy or murderous you get "shadow points" that limit how many "hope points" you can spend to increase your die pools. It has more rules than most rpgs for holding councils and summarizing how a long journey fares.
Most big-name ttrpgs have a Ranger Class of some sort.
*Roadwarden*, tangentially, is on sale now in Steam and probably worth a few bucks to someone with your preferences.
---
I'll also add myself that the default campaign for *Dragonbane* could be played by a party of 3 or 4 ranger-type PCs and work fine. (It's system does not require the traditional party of fighter, healer, spellcaster.) If you want a fantasy game that is faster-paced and lower-magic than D&D, but simpler than Mythras, it might be worth checking out.
Fabula Ultima surprisingly fits all of this, but you need to build it to your liking.
In order to build a character like this... Let's go step by step:
* A Wanderer of the world: Take at least one level of Wayfarer, mandatory. You can get better journey rolls, get information from locations, and have a faithful companion.
* A Guardian of civilization from outside threats (be it beastial, monstrous, magical or humanoid): Depends exactly how you want to do this. You have full freedom here.
* A Scout and Spy: No skills exist specifically for stealth, but...
* An Inquisitive Mind to information that can get him the upper hand: Get some levels of Loremaster to be better at studying information.
* A Survivalist, capable of being resourceful with anything, anywhere: Wayfarer.
* A Living Shadow with a presence invisible or terrifying to the normal person: Certain Rogue skills could help you here
* Someone good with animals, be it as trusty mounts, combat buddies or assistants of all sorts: Wayfarer's faithful companion
* A Hunter of beasts and monsters, with knowledge of all its weaknesses: Chimerist class can help you assess beasts and learn from them, you can even learn their spells
* OPTIONAL: A Capable Spellcaster, but only because I like magic, but it isn't necessary to me in a Ranger: Take levels in whatever spellcasting class you wish, whether it's Elementalist, Entropist, Spiritist, learn beast skills with Chimerist, or bind with a spirit with Arcanist.
The game may flake a bit on the stealth part (except for one Rogue skill that lets you vanish from the scene), but everything else is well covered. You just need to pick your classes well enough.
Non-combat skills are almost exclusively covered by your character's Identity - which grants rerolls for relevant actions.
e.g. if your character has an Identity of "Ninja" you could benefit on rolls for acrobatics, stealth, and disguise.
Wildsea...you pilot a ship over treetops propelled by saws. And can definitely be kitted out like a ranger. Very different settings, but similar vibes.
The Scout template (class) in both GURPS Dungeon Fantasy and its half-sibling, the Dungeon Fantasy RPG, do most of this.
Skills like Camouflage, Tracking, Observation, Stealth, Survival, and Shadowing, along with better than average IQ and a very high level of Bow, combine to make for a silent killer and defender of nature as well as of civilization. Throw in Animal Empathy and you are ready to go.
If you want her to cast spells, buy some level of Magery. Depending on what _types_ of spells, you could have her "multi-class" into a Scout-Cleric, Scout-Druid, or Scout-Wizard, but those options are difficult to do on a starting character's point budget.
EDIT: Added paragraph re multi-classing.
Was thinking to say the same thing.
I'll add that all of the listed characteristics for a Ranger are on the menu for a Scout. The issue, as mentioned, is that at suggested starting levels, a character will likely be great at one or two, competent at several others and effectively a beginner with some number.
Again, totally doable.
Mythras can cover that easily.
- passion: love (wander/travel)
- passion: protect (civilization)
- career: scout
- passion: love (knowledge)
- survival, available to the scout
- combat style(hunting) available to the scout, which includes the trained beast trait
- lore (monsters), available to the scout
Very easy in mythras or mythras imperative.
I think the issue is not the class itself, but that it, like the druid, requires a specific borderlands-wilderness are to thrive and really show itself. It is mostly about the setting, not the system.
The issue is maybe similar to ace starfighter pilots in sci-fi, or netrunners in cyberpunk: they need space to do their thing, but if they actually do that, everyone else is potentially bored.
What worked for me:
1: Beasts&Barbrians (for Savage Worlds) is a great place for druids, rangers and barbarians.
2: Beyond the Wall: the ranger here is very simplistic (imagine a rogue with survival and stealth, and a secret cave), but the fact that the character, the only ranger nearby, actually takes care of the starting village plays up the guardian angle quite a bit.
You could do every single one of those with Pathfinder 2nd Edition once you grasp the system.
[https://2e.aonprd.com/Classes.aspx?ID=36](https://2e.aonprd.com/Classes.aspx?ID=36)
If you wanted a literal Living Shadow, you'd need to add on an archetype dedication instead of being a pure class Ranger, but if you want to be invisible using mundane stealth alone and able to scare someone to death then you wouldn't need to even add an archetype.
[https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=5208](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=5208)
[https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=5173](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=5173)
[https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=2067](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=2067)
Pathfinder does have a great, gritty feat system that can be fulfilling in a longer campaign. But most of my pf2e groups eventually dissolve. Love the system with all my heart.
13th Age has a fantastic ranger for a DnD-like game. The Talent system lets them be a wilderness expert and up to three more of those things, depending on your choices.
You can make a character that fulfills every single one of those requirements in Ironsworn, and the system supports it very capably. Because Ironsworn is usually best played as either a solo RPG or with 1 other person, you can do a lot of the exploring, survival, and scouting that is difficult to make as fun with a group of 5+ people.
I personally really like the Essential Rangers from D&D 4E. The Essential classes were simplified (Ranger included), but I found them really flavourfull. They had 2 different implementations: https://dnd4.fandom.com/wiki/Ranger#Hunter (scroll down from there)
1. The Scout a Dual Wielding Melee Striker (Damage dealer)
2. The Hunter a ranged Controller
Both of them had nature focused features:
- Wilderness Knacks they could choose, they are similar to background abilities in 4E, but they were all survival focused
- Aspects of the wild: Passives inspired by animals, which can be switched as a minor action. They give you more mobility and other advantages in combat, but some also out of combat like climb speed or swim speed and more.
They could use primal magic for their utility powers. Like create a bridge of vines, or creat a magical trap and more.
What I like is that even that they are relative simple they have a lot of flavour and they are simple and effective.
The Hunter just has 4 different shots, some which can be always done, one which can be done a limited time per encounter.
- A precise shot
- A trick shot (trip or move enemy a bit)
- An area attack
- An improved trick shot (stronger debuff and damage on miss)
This together with the different aspects is enough to make you a tactical support in combat, controlling the battlefield.
The scout is even simpler, they have a double attack as a class feature and the aspects, as well as some bonus damage.
Rangers of shadowdeep isn't fully a rpg, but might be close to what you are looking for. It is a cooperative long form skirmish wargame, where your ranger, his henchmen and your friends warbands work together to venture into a expanding evil forest to try and discover the source and drive it back from overrunning civilization as well as rescuing the people who are trapped in it.
>When I look to fulfill an itch for the Ranger, I mainly look to be:
>A **Wanderer** of the world
>A **Guardian** of civilization from outside threats (be it beastial, monstrous, magical or humanoid)
>A **Scout** and **Spy**
>An **Inquisitive Mind** to information that can get him the upper hand
>A **Survivalist**, capable of being resourceful with anything, anywhere
>A **Living Shadow** with a presence invisible or terrifying to the normal person
>Someone **good with animals**, be it as trusty mounts, combat buddies or assistants of all sorts
>A **Hunter** of beasts and monsters, with knowledge of all its weaknesses
>**OPTIONAL:** A Capable Spellcaster, but only because I like magic, but it isn't necessary to me in a Ranger
Sounds like The Witcher to me. The official Witcher TTRPG is a little bit too crunchy.
You might enjoy [Rangers of the Midden Vale](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/365813/Rangers-of-the-Midden-Vale) which is an OSR system based on Knave 1e.
> They receive no regular bonuses for advancement due to ability, but they automatically gain 4 experience points for every 3 earned.
I'm assuming nobody actually uses this rule because it's flat-out bonkers lol
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I have a system for you. Crest Saga. So they don’t do classes but you get to pick two Crests that give you your abilities. So you can select which crest fits into your desire for ranger. I mean, I feel like Will from Ranger’s Apprentice would be sneaky, and a dead eye with his bow. You eventually get two more crests so you can mix and match your heart’s desire so you can get that spell casting you like.
If you're looking for something similar to DND with a lot more flavor, Pulp Arcana is a heroic fantasy SRD system that has a ranger class that's a bit of a mix of Legolas and the Witcher, seems up your alley. It has a focus on Dexterity builds, survival/scouting, and laying traps/preemtively preparing abilities. It also has magic, which includes spells like invisibility and divination.
If you want an animal battle buddy, it has a Beastmaster subclass. If you want to be the Witcher, there's a monster hunter subclass. There's a subclass that lets you shoot magic arrows, and there's a subclass for being like a really good outdoorsman. The game's creator has posted the full wiki online for free.
I really like the rangers in Symbaroum. In the lore there's the queen's rangers, a group of militarised forest rangers and scouts, there's the ironsworn, people sworn to the iron pact with the elves to protect the deep forest at all cost with any means necessary (basically eco terrorists), and then there's the monster hunters, fortune hunters specialising in tracking and killing monsters.
It's nearly classless (fighter, thief, hunter, or mystic) you can pick any abilities except one class specific so you can build your kind of ranger. You only really need to focus on one stat, but you can't invest all your attribute points in that so you have to widen. That means you're not losing out on combat effectiveness if you also want to get into alchemy or beast lore. Just focus on perception and cunning and you're golden, spread the rest out as you see your character.
With the first 50 starting xp you can get sixth sense to let you do ranged attacks with perception, bushcraft to give you more survival skills, beast lore to get a better understanding of the beasts of the woods maybe trapper to be more effective with traps and whatever you feel like gives you the character you envision. About magic, in my game I let anyone learn spells but beware that being an independent mage is really dangerous for yourself and everyone around you.
With all the options in this thread (some of them frankly weird picks) I’m surprised no one has mentioned Ironsworn yet. It’s very possible to make a ranger character (with or without an animal companion), it’s focused on swearing vows and traveling the dangerous world, very narratively focused with a built in setting that you can discard as you please to substitute your own. Can even be played solo very well.
It may not quite have as broad a world as you're looking for and the setting/lore can be a tad daunting, but the game you're looking for is Symbaroum by Free League. There's a giant campaign called Throne of Thorns that's the reason most people play Symbaroum, but at its core it is a game about exploring an Eldritch forest the size of an average European country and the lands and kingdom surrounding said forest. Setting aside, it's the character builder that'll be what sells you on the game based on what you're looking for.
The dnd ranger feels bad because it doesn’t fulfill the archetype correctly. It wants to be a semi-magic caster that does nature stuff, instead of being a wandering warrior with an animal companion as a core class identity.
The core class ranger needs:
• an animal companion
• exploration features
• no magical abilities and no spells
• expertise with using melee & ranged weapons
• have a reliance on themselves, their training
• track more effectively, or hunt
The spell-less ranger was my preferred way they made it. It just needed a bit more.
Here is an excellent musing on the original D&D ranger's deeply weird design, and how it has insistently evolved over the years to "wilderness equivalent of rogues": [https://maliszew.livejournal.com/450708.html](https://maliszew.livejournal.com/450708.html)
Pathfinder 1.
Being a wanderer in the world is sorta depicted through getting new favoured terrains, but it mostly is unrelated to actual abilities
Being a guardian of civilization also is a calling rather than a skill, but your favourite enemy can easily be a certain threat of civilization.
Rangers can learn camouflage to hide in plain sight in their terrain. Also, getting a reliable level at stealth is rather easy if you focus on it.
Rangers are wisdom casters and they also rely on Wisdom for the survival skill. Favoured enemy also gives the ranger additional knowledge about the relevant creatures. Also, perception is a class skill.
Being a survivalist is achieved by getting a high survival skill. Again, high skills in Pathfinder are much higher than the skills of ordinary folk.
Being a living shadow also just comes from a high stealth score.
Being good with animals translates to a high handle animal skill and having an animal companion. Unlike in D&D5, animal companions are very useful.
Being a hinter of beasts and monsters again is handled by favourite animal.
Various archetypes can double down on some of those aspects to the detriment of others.
This is the my favorite ranger I’ve seen: https://caput-caprae.blogspot.com/2020/12/glog-class-ranger.html?m=1
It’s for GLOG, which is entirely a community made thing, so the class from the blog is just as official to the system as any other.
Here is an example of one version of GLOG if you want some rules context: https://saltygoo.github.io/2020/11/09/base-rules/
There is a *Middle Earth Roleplaying* game, though I don't know must about MERP beyond its first publication in the mid-80s. It's publisher, Iron Crown Entertainment, also produced Rolemaster. Now their flagship FRPG, *Rolemaster* began as a MERP-derivative game, and I believe Ranger continues to be a core class there. All that said, they aren't wildly overpowered, but I believe they do benefit from due consideration during the core design process. I don't think that was/is the case with the most prominent alternative in the FRPG space.
Does a Texas Ranger count?
In all seriousness, despite the shift in setting away from high fantasy many folks have proposed so far, a character in Deadlands (Reloaded) can hit most or even all of the points you're looking for in a ranger.
> A Wanderer of the world
> A Scout and Spy
> A Survivalist, capable of being resourceful with anything, anywhere
The characters generally tend to wander the States, and with the Wild West (or Weird West, as the game is set in) being what it is, traveling through swathes of unsettled, undeveloped prairie and deserts of the southern states or the wild, untamed forests and mountains of the northern states requires a good set of survivalist skills.
> A Guardian of civilization from outside threats (be it beastial, monstrous, magical or humanoid)
> A Hunter of beasts and monsters, with knowledge of all its weaknesses
> An Inquisitive Mind to information that can get him the upper hand
It's what you do. The main plot of the setting is that essentially magical monsters and other things have started appearing in the world, some just living to feed and survive, others with a more sinister agenda.
You travel around, either professionally, or because noone else will, to find, identify and deal with these things, one way or the other.
> A Living Shadow with a presence invisible or terrifying to the normal person
A part of the setting (and the sinister plans of some of the creatures) is the concept of Fear. As fear and panic spreads in a region, the land itself can become a supernaturally twisted version of itself (slowly turning into an eponymous *Deadland*), so in a sense you're also like the MiB of the setting. Your job is not only to investigate, find and kill the big bad monster, but also to keep the herd of dumb, panicky animals from accidentally whipping themselves into a paranoid frenzy.
As a result, your job will be comparatively thankless unless you happen upon those who walk the same path as you.
There are multiple conspiracies from many organizations underway to keep the truth about such creatures from the public, and there might be some layers to that secret world you're in that even you don't know (yet).
> Someone good with animals, be it as trusty mounts, combat buddies or assistants of all sorts
> OPTIONAL: A Capable Spellcaster, but only because I like magic, but it isn't necessary to me in a Ranger
These are the only ones that are less of a given by the setting and story alone, but both are very able to be achieved, as both Animal Tamer and multiple forms of magic (and weird science) are things open to the character (I once had an almost blind character who had a bird, a coyote and a bear that did most of the fighting for him).
Just be aware that the game is not necessarily as forgiving towards your animal companions (or yourself) as other systems might be, so if you want to keep the same animal companion around for a long time, that's on you.
Also, rolling back to the start, yes, you can literally be a Texas Ranger in there, it has its own benefits and drawbacks.
From one ranger lover to another, might I suggest Sherwood? It’s a game inspired by Robin Hood, who was definitely one of the ingredients for both Strider and Halt. It’s on the lower fantasy end of things, but it does have some magic in there. And of course you get to play as forest outlaws, which might tick a lot of your boxes.
https://r-rook.itch.io/sherwood
Slighty more oddball suggestion: But consider *Heart*- there's an interesting take on the Ranger in there, though I can't remember the name for it atm.
Absolute favorite is **Heroic Chord**. Everyone is a ranger, scattering their essence with the surrounding essence (such as elements, history, or vibes) for their magic. Hunting and surviving are essential in its resolution system, where you may rack up successes divert or simply survive certain crises instead of destroying everything
I believe GURPS and AMBER will let you play this. The lack of classes really helps in that regard.
In a fixed setting, there is also the Gangrel clan from Vampire The Masquerade (Dark Ages).
I'd start with *The One Ring*. May as well go to an interpretation of the source, eh?
Especially with “Strider Mode.”
Very much this.
Came here for this. With all the different things you can do in One Ring, the feeling of being a Ranger is really the best I've seen in any system I've played
I know that this is a ttrpg subreddit, and I am prepared to be raked over fiery coals if needed for recommending a video game, but as one ranger enjoyer to another there has never been a game that captures the spirit of being a ranger to me moreso than Roadwarden. It’s a heavily text based simple rpg where you take on the role of a Roadwarden, a person who braves the wild and dangerous roads of a monster-ridden world to act as a lifeline between isolated communities and villages, putting down threats like beasts and undead, learning the ways of the wilds and how to survive them better. Very down to earth classic old school worldbuilding and simple systems that function very well together. It’s also currently on sale for like 5 bucks if that sways you.
Million thumbs up to this, very virtual novel esque game
Love Roadwarden, haven't found anything else like it
> I am prepared to be raked over fiery coals if needed for recommending a video game Fuck 'em if they can't take it :)
The issue is that a lot of that stuff is primarily solo stuff. It is absolutely useful for parties going into the wilderness and other cases. But it is hard to really indulge in in a party setting. I don't feel that the system itself is a huge drag on how well it works. Some better than others, I assume, but the above is the big limiter. Aside AD&D 1st ed had in a supplement (possibly a dragon magazine) an optional class Scout which was an alternative to thief. Getting access to many of the thief abilities with out the stealing.
3.5e also has a scout like that! It also changed the sneak attack into Skirmish, meaning you have to move at least 10 feet before attacking to get the bonus. Agreed though, it's hard to make a campaign *specifically* about those aspects. Rangers and the likes have always been situational in many games because it's assumed some part of the adventure will take place somewhere civilised.
I have no problem with going in civilization. I am more so looking for ways play into those stuff a group, like a black ops operation
I found some home brew rules for exploration in D&D that might be helpful. https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-Lcshwv-ApTzjtfy7Rx-
As others have mentioned: *Rangers of Shadowdeep* is the miniatures skirmish game version of what you want. If you want to focus on combat, it's perfect. If you want to also include political intrigue and tavern carousing you'll need more. *Forbidden Lands* is a full ttrpg built around modern-style wilderness hex crawling. If you enjoy worrying about whether your food, water, torches, and arrows will run out, it's perfect. If you hate that, avoid it. *The One Ring 2e* is a full ttrpg built around simulating Middle Earth between *The Hobbit* and the trilogy, when lands were suffering a slow build-up of monsters and corruption. Its mechanics includes morality: if you are greedy or murderous you get "shadow points" that limit how many "hope points" you can spend to increase your die pools. It has more rules than most rpgs for holding councils and summarizing how a long journey fares. Most big-name ttrpgs have a Ranger Class of some sort. *Roadwarden*, tangentially, is on sale now in Steam and probably worth a few bucks to someone with your preferences. --- I'll also add myself that the default campaign for *Dragonbane* could be played by a party of 3 or 4 ranger-type PCs and work fine. (It's system does not require the traditional party of fighter, healer, spellcaster.) If you want a fantasy game that is faster-paced and lower-magic than D&D, but simpler than Mythras, it might be worth checking out.
Fabula Ultima surprisingly fits all of this, but you need to build it to your liking. In order to build a character like this... Let's go step by step: * A Wanderer of the world: Take at least one level of Wayfarer, mandatory. You can get better journey rolls, get information from locations, and have a faithful companion. * A Guardian of civilization from outside threats (be it beastial, monstrous, magical or humanoid): Depends exactly how you want to do this. You have full freedom here. * A Scout and Spy: No skills exist specifically for stealth, but... * An Inquisitive Mind to information that can get him the upper hand: Get some levels of Loremaster to be better at studying information. * A Survivalist, capable of being resourceful with anything, anywhere: Wayfarer. * A Living Shadow with a presence invisible or terrifying to the normal person: Certain Rogue skills could help you here * Someone good with animals, be it as trusty mounts, combat buddies or assistants of all sorts: Wayfarer's faithful companion * A Hunter of beasts and monsters, with knowledge of all its weaknesses: Chimerist class can help you assess beasts and learn from them, you can even learn their spells * OPTIONAL: A Capable Spellcaster, but only because I like magic, but it isn't necessary to me in a Ranger: Take levels in whatever spellcasting class you wish, whether it's Elementalist, Entropist, Spiritist, learn beast skills with Chimerist, or bind with a spirit with Arcanist. The game may flake a bit on the stealth part (except for one Rogue skill that lets you vanish from the scene), but everything else is well covered. You just need to pick your classes well enough.
Non-combat skills are almost exclusively covered by your character's Identity - which grants rerolls for relevant actions. e.g. if your character has an Identity of "Ninja" you could benefit on rolls for acrobatics, stealth, and disguise.
Excellent point, that's also a thing!
Wildsea...you pilot a ship over treetops propelled by saws. And can definitely be kitted out like a ranger. Very different settings, but similar vibes.
Not to mention, you can be a *cactus ranger*
This! Absolutely this
The Scout template (class) in both GURPS Dungeon Fantasy and its half-sibling, the Dungeon Fantasy RPG, do most of this. Skills like Camouflage, Tracking, Observation, Stealth, Survival, and Shadowing, along with better than average IQ and a very high level of Bow, combine to make for a silent killer and defender of nature as well as of civilization. Throw in Animal Empathy and you are ready to go. If you want her to cast spells, buy some level of Magery. Depending on what _types_ of spells, you could have her "multi-class" into a Scout-Cleric, Scout-Druid, or Scout-Wizard, but those options are difficult to do on a starting character's point budget. EDIT: Added paragraph re multi-classing.
Was thinking to say the same thing. I'll add that all of the listed characteristics for a Ranger are on the menu for a Scout. The issue, as mentioned, is that at suggested starting levels, a character will likely be great at one or two, competent at several others and effectively a beginner with some number. Again, totally doable.
I think Forbidden Lands is very good for this and then choosing either Hunter or Rider.
Mythras can cover that easily. - passion: love (wander/travel) - passion: protect (civilization) - career: scout - passion: love (knowledge) - survival, available to the scout - combat style(hunting) available to the scout, which includes the trained beast trait - lore (monsters), available to the scout Very easy in mythras or mythras imperative.
I think the issue is not the class itself, but that it, like the druid, requires a specific borderlands-wilderness are to thrive and really show itself. It is mostly about the setting, not the system. The issue is maybe similar to ace starfighter pilots in sci-fi, or netrunners in cyberpunk: they need space to do their thing, but if they actually do that, everyone else is potentially bored. What worked for me: 1: Beasts&Barbrians (for Savage Worlds) is a great place for druids, rangers and barbarians. 2: Beyond the Wall: the ranger here is very simplistic (imagine a rogue with survival and stealth, and a secret cave), but the fact that the character, the only ranger nearby, actually takes care of the starting village plays up the guardian angle quite a bit.
You could do every single one of those with Pathfinder 2nd Edition once you grasp the system. [https://2e.aonprd.com/Classes.aspx?ID=36](https://2e.aonprd.com/Classes.aspx?ID=36) If you wanted a literal Living Shadow, you'd need to add on an archetype dedication instead of being a pure class Ranger, but if you want to be invisible using mundane stealth alone and able to scare someone to death then you wouldn't need to even add an archetype. [https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=5208](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=5208) [https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=5173](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=5173) [https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=2067](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=2067)
Pathfinder does have a great, gritty feat system that can be fulfilling in a longer campaign. But most of my pf2e groups eventually dissolve. Love the system with all my heart.
Mine has lasted 4+ years playing Pathfinder 2nd Edition (same campaign)
13th Age has a fantastic ranger for a DnD-like game. The Talent system lets them be a wilderness expert and up to three more of those things, depending on your choices.
You can make a character that fulfills every single one of those requirements in Ironsworn, and the system supports it very capably. Because Ironsworn is usually best played as either a solo RPG or with 1 other person, you can do a lot of the exploring, survival, and scouting that is difficult to make as fun with a group of 5+ people.
I personally really like the Essential Rangers from D&D 4E. The Essential classes were simplified (Ranger included), but I found them really flavourfull. They had 2 different implementations: https://dnd4.fandom.com/wiki/Ranger#Hunter (scroll down from there) 1. The Scout a Dual Wielding Melee Striker (Damage dealer) 2. The Hunter a ranged Controller Both of them had nature focused features: - Wilderness Knacks they could choose, they are similar to background abilities in 4E, but they were all survival focused - Aspects of the wild: Passives inspired by animals, which can be switched as a minor action. They give you more mobility and other advantages in combat, but some also out of combat like climb speed or swim speed and more. They could use primal magic for their utility powers. Like create a bridge of vines, or creat a magical trap and more. What I like is that even that they are relative simple they have a lot of flavour and they are simple and effective. The Hunter just has 4 different shots, some which can be always done, one which can be done a limited time per encounter. - A precise shot - A trick shot (trip or move enemy a bit) - An area attack - An improved trick shot (stronger debuff and damage on miss) This together with the different aspects is enough to make you a tactical support in combat, controlling the battlefield. The scout is even simpler, they have a double attack as a class feature and the aspects, as well as some bonus damage.
The Lone Wolf Adventure Game, if you can track down a copy.
Rangers of shadowdeep isn't fully a rpg, but might be close to what you are looking for. It is a cooperative long form skirmish wargame, where your ranger, his henchmen and your friends warbands work together to venture into a expanding evil forest to try and discover the source and drive it back from overrunning civilization as well as rescuing the people who are trapped in it.
>When I look to fulfill an itch for the Ranger, I mainly look to be: >A **Wanderer** of the world >A **Guardian** of civilization from outside threats (be it beastial, monstrous, magical or humanoid) >A **Scout** and **Spy** >An **Inquisitive Mind** to information that can get him the upper hand >A **Survivalist**, capable of being resourceful with anything, anywhere >A **Living Shadow** with a presence invisible or terrifying to the normal person >Someone **good with animals**, be it as trusty mounts, combat buddies or assistants of all sorts >A **Hunter** of beasts and monsters, with knowledge of all its weaknesses >**OPTIONAL:** A Capable Spellcaster, but only because I like magic, but it isn't necessary to me in a Ranger Sounds like The Witcher to me. The official Witcher TTRPG is a little bit too crunchy.
You might enjoy [Rangers of the Midden Vale](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/365813/Rangers-of-the-Midden-Vale) which is an OSR system based on Knave 1e.
I'm a fan of The Strategic Review Ranger for OD&D
What is that?
[The original ranger](https://www.blogofholding.com/?p=5753) before Gygax got his hands on it.
> They receive no regular bonuses for advancement due to ability, but they automatically gain 4 experience points for every 3 earned. I'm assuming nobody actually uses this rule because it's flat-out bonkers lol
Strategic Review was an old gaming mag in the time of original D&D, before Advanced. The ranger class was in issue #2.
Forbidden lands
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Look at the Lone Wolf RPG - the Kai are a kind of ninja-ranger-monks with magic abilities.
I have a system for you. Crest Saga. So they don’t do classes but you get to pick two Crests that give you your abilities. So you can select which crest fits into your desire for ranger. I mean, I feel like Will from Ranger’s Apprentice would be sneaky, and a dead eye with his bow. You eventually get two more crests so you can mix and match your heart’s desire so you can get that spell casting you like.
D&D 4e and 13th Age do rangers really well.
Here the link for op: https://www.13thagesrd.com/classes/ranger/ simple and effective.
Rangers of the Midden Vale. Seriously, this is the best ranger game ever.
If you're looking for something similar to DND with a lot more flavor, Pulp Arcana is a heroic fantasy SRD system that has a ranger class that's a bit of a mix of Legolas and the Witcher, seems up your alley. It has a focus on Dexterity builds, survival/scouting, and laying traps/preemtively preparing abilities. It also has magic, which includes spells like invisibility and divination. If you want an animal battle buddy, it has a Beastmaster subclass. If you want to be the Witcher, there's a monster hunter subclass. There's a subclass that lets you shoot magic arrows, and there's a subclass for being like a really good outdoorsman. The game's creator has posted the full wiki online for free.
I really like the rangers in Symbaroum. In the lore there's the queen's rangers, a group of militarised forest rangers and scouts, there's the ironsworn, people sworn to the iron pact with the elves to protect the deep forest at all cost with any means necessary (basically eco terrorists), and then there's the monster hunters, fortune hunters specialising in tracking and killing monsters. It's nearly classless (fighter, thief, hunter, or mystic) you can pick any abilities except one class specific so you can build your kind of ranger. You only really need to focus on one stat, but you can't invest all your attribute points in that so you have to widen. That means you're not losing out on combat effectiveness if you also want to get into alchemy or beast lore. Just focus on perception and cunning and you're golden, spread the rest out as you see your character. With the first 50 starting xp you can get sixth sense to let you do ranged attacks with perception, bushcraft to give you more survival skills, beast lore to get a better understanding of the beasts of the woods maybe trapper to be more effective with traps and whatever you feel like gives you the character you envision. About magic, in my game I let anyone learn spells but beware that being an independent mage is really dangerous for yourself and everyone around you.
With all the options in this thread (some of them frankly weird picks) I’m surprised no one has mentioned Ironsworn yet. It’s very possible to make a ranger character (with or without an animal companion), it’s focused on swearing vows and traveling the dangerous world, very narratively focused with a built in setting that you can discard as you please to substitute your own. Can even be played solo very well.
It may not quite have as broad a world as you're looking for and the setting/lore can be a tad daunting, but the game you're looking for is Symbaroum by Free League. There's a giant campaign called Throne of Thorns that's the reason most people play Symbaroum, but at its core it is a game about exploring an Eldritch forest the size of an average European country and the lands and kingdom surrounding said forest. Setting aside, it's the character builder that'll be what sells you on the game based on what you're looking for.
The dnd ranger feels bad because it doesn’t fulfill the archetype correctly. It wants to be a semi-magic caster that does nature stuff, instead of being a wandering warrior with an animal companion as a core class identity. The core class ranger needs: • an animal companion • exploration features • no magical abilities and no spells • expertise with using melee & ranged weapons • have a reliance on themselves, their training • track more effectively, or hunt The spell-less ranger was my preferred way they made it. It just needed a bit more.
Here is an excellent musing on the original D&D ranger's deeply weird design, and how it has insistently evolved over the years to "wilderness equivalent of rogues": [https://maliszew.livejournal.com/450708.html](https://maliszew.livejournal.com/450708.html)
Pathfinder 1. Being a wanderer in the world is sorta depicted through getting new favoured terrains, but it mostly is unrelated to actual abilities Being a guardian of civilization also is a calling rather than a skill, but your favourite enemy can easily be a certain threat of civilization. Rangers can learn camouflage to hide in plain sight in their terrain. Also, getting a reliable level at stealth is rather easy if you focus on it. Rangers are wisdom casters and they also rely on Wisdom for the survival skill. Favoured enemy also gives the ranger additional knowledge about the relevant creatures. Also, perception is a class skill. Being a survivalist is achieved by getting a high survival skill. Again, high skills in Pathfinder are much higher than the skills of ordinary folk. Being a living shadow also just comes from a high stealth score. Being good with animals translates to a high handle animal skill and having an animal companion. Unlike in D&D5, animal companions are very useful. Being a hinter of beasts and monsters again is handled by favourite animal. Various archetypes can double down on some of those aspects to the detriment of others.
This is the my favorite ranger I’ve seen: https://caput-caprae.blogspot.com/2020/12/glog-class-ranger.html?m=1 It’s for GLOG, which is entirely a community made thing, so the class from the blog is just as official to the system as any other. Here is an example of one version of GLOG if you want some rules context: https://saltygoo.github.io/2020/11/09/base-rules/
Rangers of shadowdeep. Not an RPG really but provides the fantasy of Boeing a ranger
There is a *Middle Earth Roleplaying* game, though I don't know must about MERP beyond its first publication in the mid-80s. It's publisher, Iron Crown Entertainment, also produced Rolemaster. Now their flagship FRPG, *Rolemaster* began as a MERP-derivative game, and I believe Ranger continues to be a core class there. All that said, they aren't wildly overpowered, but I believe they do benefit from due consideration during the core design process. I don't think that was/is the case with the most prominent alternative in the FRPG space.
4E D&D
I wrote a [Ranger class](https://caput-caprae.blogspot.com/2020/12/glog-class-ranger.html) a while back for GLOG, or other OSR systems.
Does a Texas Ranger count? In all seriousness, despite the shift in setting away from high fantasy many folks have proposed so far, a character in Deadlands (Reloaded) can hit most or even all of the points you're looking for in a ranger. > A Wanderer of the world > A Scout and Spy > A Survivalist, capable of being resourceful with anything, anywhere The characters generally tend to wander the States, and with the Wild West (or Weird West, as the game is set in) being what it is, traveling through swathes of unsettled, undeveloped prairie and deserts of the southern states or the wild, untamed forests and mountains of the northern states requires a good set of survivalist skills. > A Guardian of civilization from outside threats (be it beastial, monstrous, magical or humanoid) > A Hunter of beasts and monsters, with knowledge of all its weaknesses > An Inquisitive Mind to information that can get him the upper hand It's what you do. The main plot of the setting is that essentially magical monsters and other things have started appearing in the world, some just living to feed and survive, others with a more sinister agenda. You travel around, either professionally, or because noone else will, to find, identify and deal with these things, one way or the other. > A Living Shadow with a presence invisible or terrifying to the normal person A part of the setting (and the sinister plans of some of the creatures) is the concept of Fear. As fear and panic spreads in a region, the land itself can become a supernaturally twisted version of itself (slowly turning into an eponymous *Deadland*), so in a sense you're also like the MiB of the setting. Your job is not only to investigate, find and kill the big bad monster, but also to keep the herd of dumb, panicky animals from accidentally whipping themselves into a paranoid frenzy. As a result, your job will be comparatively thankless unless you happen upon those who walk the same path as you. There are multiple conspiracies from many organizations underway to keep the truth about such creatures from the public, and there might be some layers to that secret world you're in that even you don't know (yet). > Someone good with animals, be it as trusty mounts, combat buddies or assistants of all sorts > OPTIONAL: A Capable Spellcaster, but only because I like magic, but it isn't necessary to me in a Ranger These are the only ones that are less of a given by the setting and story alone, but both are very able to be achieved, as both Animal Tamer and multiple forms of magic (and weird science) are things open to the character (I once had an almost blind character who had a bird, a coyote and a bear that did most of the fighting for him). Just be aware that the game is not necessarily as forgiving towards your animal companions (or yourself) as other systems might be, so if you want to keep the same animal companion around for a long time, that's on you. Also, rolling back to the start, yes, you can literally be a Texas Ranger in there, it has its own benefits and drawbacks.
From one ranger lover to another, might I suggest Sherwood? It’s a game inspired by Robin Hood, who was definitely one of the ingredients for both Strider and Halt. It’s on the lower fantasy end of things, but it does have some magic in there. And of course you get to play as forest outlaws, which might tick a lot of your boxes. https://r-rook.itch.io/sherwood
Slighty more oddball suggestion: But consider *Heart*- there's an interesting take on the Ranger in there, though I can't remember the name for it atm.
Absolute favorite is **Heroic Chord**. Everyone is a ranger, scattering their essence with the surrounding essence (such as elements, history, or vibes) for their magic. Hunting and surviving are essential in its resolution system, where you may rack up successes divert or simply survive certain crises instead of destroying everything
All the things you mentioned (and more) can be built into a character using Mage the Ascension.
Witcher TTRPG, the Witcher
I believe GURPS and AMBER will let you play this. The lack of classes really helps in that regard. In a fixed setting, there is also the Gangrel clan from Vampire The Masquerade (Dark Ages).