There’s more conversation going on about the evils of the very existance of the Ranger class in D&D. You know, the class that has the hit points and attack bonus of fighters, the woodland kung-fu of a druid, and a reasonable number of skills. Oh yeah, and spells. And Spot as a class skill. Did I mention they get Two-Weapon Fighting?

Well, not in the Iron Kingdoms, they don’t. Let’s play the comparrison game, shall we?

Fighter, Ranger, IK Ranger

Let’s look at what the standard fighter (you know, the guys that are supposed to be good at putting sharp things through soft pink things that scream and bleed) looks like compared to the D&D 3.0 Ranger and the Iron Kingdoms Lock & Load Ranger.

We’ll compare what they have at 1st, 10th, and 20th levels.

Standard Fighter

Class skills (IK skills are in emphasized text):
Climb
Craft
Craft (Small Arms)
Handle Animal
Jump
Ride
Swim

1st Level

1d10 Hit Points
+1 Base Attack Bonus
(2 + Int Bonus) x 4 skill points
6 class skills
2 feats
+2 fort save
Proficient in all martial weapons, shields, and armor types.

10th Level

10d10 Hit Points
+10 Base Attack Bonus
(2 + Int Bonus) x 13 skill points
10 feats
+6 fort save
+3 ref save
+3 will save

20th Level

20d10 Hit Points
+20 Base Attack Bonus
(2 + Int Bonus) x 23 skill points
18 feats
+12 fort save
+6 ref save
+6 will save

3.0 Ranger

Class Skills:
Animal Empathy
Climb
Concentration
Craft
Handle ANimal
Heal
Hide
Intuit Direction
Jump
Knowledge (nature)
Listen
Move Silently
Profession
Ride
Search
Spot
Swim
Use Rope
Wilderness Lore

1st Level

1d10 Hit Points
+1 Base Attack Bonus
(4 + Int Bonus) x 4 skill points
19 class skills
1 feat + Track, Favored Enemy, Two Weapon Fighting
+2 fort save
Proficiency in all martial weapons, light & medium armor, and shields.

10th Level

10d10 Hit Points
+10 Base Attack Bonus
(4 + Int Bonus) x 13 skill points
4 feats + Track, Favored Enemy x2, Two Weapon Fighting
1x 1stlevel, 1x 2nd level Ranger spells.
+6 fort save
+3 ref save
+3 will save

20th Level

20d10 Hit Points
+20 Base Attack Bonus
(4 + Int Bonus) x 23 skill points
7 feats + Track, Favored Enemy x5, Two Weapon Fighting
3x spells of level 1-4 Ranger spells.
+12 fort save
+6 ref save
+6 ref save

IK Ranger

Class Skills:
Animal Empathy
Climb
Craft
Craft (small arms)
Handle Animal
Hide
Intuit Direction
Jump
Knowledge (Tactics)
Listen
Move Silendly
Profession
Ride
Search
Spot
Swim
Use Rope
Wilderness Lore

1st Level

1d10 Hit Points
+1 Base Attack Bonus
(4 + Int Bonus) x 4 skill points
1 feat + Alertness, Track, Favored Enemy
+2 fort save
Proficiency in all martial weapons, light and medium armor, and shields

10th Level

10d10 Hit Points
+10 Base Attack Bonus
(4 + Int Bonus) x 13 skill points
6 feats + Alterness, Track, 2x Favored Enemy, 2x Favored Terrain
+6 fort save
+3 ref save
+3 will save

20th Level

20d10 Hit Points
+10 Base Attack Bonus
(4 + Int Bonus) x 23 skill points
12 feats + Alterness, Track, 5x Favored Enemy, 3x Favored Terrain
+12 fort save
+6 ref save
+6 will save

What Rangers lack

3.0 Rangers are short 11 feats. Well, not really as they get Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Track free. Let’s call it 8 feats short.

IK Rangers have five bonus combat feats (whereas normal fighters get 11), and get Track and Altertness for free. So let’s call that 4 feats short.

They are also incapable of gaining Weapon Specialization, as that is exclusive to the Fighter class.

Rangers don’t get Heavy Armor proficiency for free, and use of anything heavier that Light armor kills the 3.0 Ranger’s Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting feats.

How Rangers even out

Rangers have the same saves, base attack bonus, and hit points as straight fighters.

How Rangers excell

Both versions of the Ranger class get the joy and wonder of the Favored enemy. When well-chosen, this is a wonderful ability. This amounts to a +1 bonus to bluff, listen, sense motive, spot, wilderness lore, and damage dealt.

3.0 Rangers get spells. They get nancy little Ranger spells, but spells nonetheless. The Ranger spell list includes such treats as Entangle, Sleep, Snare, Remove Disease, Polymorph Self, and Tree Stride. Nice spells to have around in the great outdoors.

IK Rangers get a Favored Terrain bonus, though only at 2nd, 9th, and 17th levels. This gives bonuses to Hide, Intuit Direction, Move Silently, Spot, and Wilderness Lore checks when in the chosen type of terrain. It also increases the Ranger’s movement rate through that particular terrain (reduces movement penalties, really). Though not directly applicable to combat, this is wonderful for setting up ambushes or pursuing quarry through the chosen terrain type. It compliments Favored Enemy and the basic Ranger skillset rather nicely.

Skills… Rangers get Spot, Listen, Hide, and Move Silently as class skills. These are four of the most universally useful skills for any character in any campaign I’ve participated in. Without going into the notion that an Iron Kingdoms Ranger gets Knowedge (Tactics) when a Fighter doesn’t (aren’t Fighters highly trained in combat? This would seem a proper subject for a professional soldier), Rangers have a far superior skillset compared to Fighters. They also get twice the skill points per level, allowing them to take advantage of these skills.

The Verdict

If like playing Rogues and are comfortable with making use of Skills, take a Ranger. Either the IK Ranger or the 3.0 Ranger will do you just fine. You’ll get plenty of hit points, no shortage on Base Attack Bonus, and a number of special use abilities suitable for catching other armsmen with their pants down.

If you’re not comfortable with actually making use of Skills on the fly (many folks in my weekly D&D game only make use of Spot, Listen and Search because the DM calls for skill checks all around) then don’t bother with the Ranger. Create a fighter, get yourself a Greatsword, and try to get comfortable with feats like Sunder and Weapon Specialization. Rangers excell compared to Fighters on merit of skills. Fighters excell compared to Rangers only in combat feats and Weapon Specialization.

I am at a loss as to why people complain that Rangers are underpowered in any context. If Rangers are underpowered, so are Fighters, a notion I refuse to put any stock in after seeing a long chain of very effective Fighters ever since the d20 system was introduced in 2000.