the #dnd Ranger is what happens when you try and expand a single rather 2D character (aragorn) into a character class and I hate it?
WIZARD: I study the art of magic
FIGHTER: I wield many weapons
ROGUE: I am skilled and cunning
RANGER: a dragon pooped in this room 2 weeks ago having a bow and maybe owning a pet dog are not a fantasy archetype worthy of an entire character classcan we just fold it back into the fighter already, it's barely a subclass. or maybe replace it with something that makes more sense like an official Monster Hunter
— Oliver Clegg 🌈 (@deathbybadger) April 17, 2020
It’s a class for the “cool, stoic, loner going off on his own” characters, but that archetype of “hero” was a bit outdated even by 3.5’s day. It’s like the writers keep it around because “well, people are going to want to play as Drizzt, right?” Nowadays, we don’t, really. Drizzt isn't much of a ranger.
He has a figurine of wondrous power, not an animal companion, and he likes wielding 2 weapons, which was a hallmark of drow in Unearthed Arcana (the book).
He's more fighter than ranger, but he has occasionally been statted up as a fighter/ranger.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) April 17, 2020
I only read the first 3 so far(it was a gift). I remember that some guy by the name of M. told him he had a ranger’s soul or something like that. So he kind of is like that in lore I suppose. Maybe he would be a beastmaster in 5e. He REALLY loved that panther. The panther isn’t a panther. It’s a magic item.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) April 18, 2020
My apologies as I conflated the 1e ranger and the 2e ranger ability of reduced penalties on two weapon fighting. That being said, since we’re talking about the history and evolution of Drizzt as a character, he was a ranger in 1e, which should have eventually granted him access to both druidic and magic-user spells (8th and 9th level respectively), the bonus against “giant class”, which included 11 different humanoid races, rather than the single enemy of 2e.
I realize that you’re talking about rangers as pertains to 5th edition; however, the origin of the character, his ranger abilities, and Guenhwyvar, originated in 1e/2e.
So to say that “Drizzt isn’t much of a ranger” really depends on perspective, because as originally written, he used a lot more ranger abilities than he does now.
@Jeremy Crawford
Read the books bro Guinevere was I real life panther whose soul was attached to the figurine she was also the astral representation of a panther
I from you post it seems you’ve never actually played a ranger or understand how a ranger can be played. Yes the class lax the DPS of some other classes later on the game. But in unearthed arcana ranger especially beastmaster can actually do more damage in control the battle up until level 10 better than any other class
If Jeremy ever read any of those old D&D books he would know that there are dozens of examples of Rangers in various tales and legends.
Drizzt was a fighter, then he learned to be a ranger training under Monticello (I think that was his name). Which you would think he would know. Lol
Look I began my Playing career in 1982 during First (1st) Edition when the Ranger class was a GOOD and USEFUL Subclass of Fighter. You were the only person who could track, best hunter, survival and help the other characters to survive also, Rangers didn’t really start getting followers until around 12th level. To many people playing now who see the advent of 3, 3.5, Pathfinder, and 5th with all the Sill lists feats, and the ability to build a Fighter that can do any of the same things if you want very few benefits for playing a Ranger especially in 5th Ed. I’ve seen plenty of write ups of Drizzit including a couple where he’s had Barbarian and Fighter Levels included with his Ranger Levels. I saw a write in the last year or year and half(1-11/2) that also includes Monk Levels. Of the editions in existence concerning the Ranger my favorite is First(1) Edition.
Ok, here’s my opinion.
Drizzt started out being trained as a fighter by his father. He didn’t gain any training as a ranger until he left the Underdark and met the ranger, Montolio. Montolio gained Drizzt until his death. So, Drizzt isn’t solely a ranger. He was, at that point, a dual class Fighter/Ranger. This remained the case until the last two series of Drizzt novels, when Drizzt began training at the Monastery of the Yellow Rose in order to treat a mental sickness from exposure to the faerzress upon his return to his city of birth to help rescue the surface elf, Dahlia. During and after his recovery from this sickness, Drizzt recieved training as a monk. Thus, technically, Drizzt should be considered as a tri-class, a Fighter/Ranger/Monk.
Dip, drip, drizzle or whatever name is a straight up assassin … NOT a ranger lmfao!! He’s a conflicted Lawful Evil Assassin with goody-two-shoes friends…. his therapist is the real power behind Drizt..