In the spirit of the E6 system and full acknowledgment of the quadratic power of casters, I am rewriting all the core classes to play with classic D&D flavor up to level 6, then ramp up from there to match the power of casters.
Warning: Expect the lower levels to look amazing, but not answer any of the real problems of a class. (casters vs mundanes, etc.) 1-6 form the class chassis, while the rest of the class adds new abilities depending on the benchmarks we set.
The RangerAlignment: Any
Hit Die: d10
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1st +1 +2 +2 +0 Favored Enemy, Track, Wild Empathy
2nd +2 +3 +3 +0 Combat Style
3rd +3 +3 +3 +1 Endurance
4th +4 +4 +4 +1 Spellcasting, Animal Companion
5th +5 +4 +4 +1 2nd Favored Enemy, Trapmaking
6th +6/+1 +5 +5 +2 Improved Combat Style
7th +7/+2 +5 +5 +2 Woodland stride
8th +8/+3 +6 +6 +2 Swift tracker
9th +9/+4 +6 +6 +3 Evasion
10th +10/+5 +7 +7 +3 3rd favored enemy
11th +11/+6/+1 +7 +7 +3 Combat Style Mastery
12th +12/+7/+2 +8 +8 +4
13th +13/+8/+3 +8 +8 +4 Camouflage
14th +14/+9/+4 +9 +9 +4 Improved Combat Style Mastery
15th +15/+10/+5 +9 +9 +5 4th favored enemy
16th +16/+11/+6/+1 +10 +10 +5
17th +17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +5 Hide in plain sight
18th +18/+13/+8/+3 +11 +11 +6
19th +19/+14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +6
20th +20/+15/+10/+5 +12 +12 +6 Perfected Combat Style, 5th favored enemy
All class features are the same, with the following exceptions.
Favored Enemy/Quarry (Ex): As the SRD, with one exception. Instead of choosing a favored enemy, the ranger may elect to gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls vs a specific foe each encounter. This ability is refreshed as soon as either the foe or the ranger is defeated.. Each time the Ranger would be eligible to select a favored enemy, she can instead increase the bonus from against her quarry by 2.
Animal Companion: The Ranger gains the Animal companion of the SRD Druid.
Trapmaking: At 5th level the Druid gains the ability to make traps based on her chosen combat style. All traps require a full round action to set.
Two-Weapon Fighting: This trap catches foe in some way, keeping it in place so that the ranger can full attack.The DC of the trap is 10+1/4 Ranger level+Ranger's Strength Modifier. The trap lasts the Ranger's Str modifier in rounds.
Archery: This trap cripples the foe, reducing his speed to 1/2 so the Archer can stay in range. The DC of the trap is 10+1/4 Ranger level+Ranger's Dex Modifier. The trap lasts the Ranger's Dex modifier in rounds.
Animal Companion: This trap tears at the flesh of the foe, causing it to bleed. It takes 1 Con damage per turn until magical healing can be applied, as well as preventing fast healing.The DC of the trap is 10+1/4 Ranger's Level+Ranger's Wis Modifier. The trap lasts the Ranger's Wis modifier in rounds.
Combat Style: As the SRD, with the addition of:
Animal Companion style: If you AND your animal companion are flanking the same foe you both gain a bonus to damage rolls equal to 1/2 your BAB
Improved Combat Style: As the SRD, with the addition of:
Animal Companion style: If you or your animal companion are subject to an attack that requires a reflex save. You or your animal companion may choose to take the attack instead, failing the save automatically.
Combat Style Mastery: As the SRD, with the addition of:
Animal Companion style: You are considered flanking any foe that your animal companion is, and vice versa. These flanking bonuses apply to ranged attacks as well.
Improved Combat Style Mastery:Two Weapon Fighting: You gain Pounce and Rend.
Archery: Each successive arrow that hits a foe does an additional 5 damage. Changing targets or missing your current target resets the effect to 0.
Animal Companion: Your animal companion gains multiattack and improved multiattack as bonus feats.
Perfected Combat Style:At 20th level, the Ranger gains true mastery over her chosen style of combat. She gains one of the following abilities depending on her chosen style:
Two Weapon Fighting: She no longer suffers the -5 penalty on her second offhand attack, nor the -10 from her third.
Archery: Her arrows automatically bypass all forms of damage reduction.
Animal Companion: She and her animal companion can use physical stats, Feats, and skills interchangeably within 10 feet of each other.
Discussion:On the lack of class features: The ranger was listed as Tier 4, so I was afraid to add too much. I saw three things missing with the class. A decent animal companion, An enabler for the combat style, and a good capstone. The AC Combat style, the Trapmaking, and the Perfected Combat Style adds those 3 respectively.
On AC Combat Style: The druid and ranger are trading places for the animal companion. The druid gets the crappy one, while the ranger gets the good one. The AC combat style gives it some extra abilities.