Greetings! I play Raisz, the ranger.
I know what you may be thinking: oh boy, another fresh player come to share their ideas about how to help “fix” the ranger class...
I won’t deny any of that. But this suggestion is specific.
I would like to suggest that a modified version of Pathfinder’s Sense Vitals be added to the ranger’s spell list. Yes, this suggestion is entirely self-serving. As a fan of the class in Pathfinder and 5e, I chose to play a ranger as my first and primary character in FK. I have since come to realize that of the martial classes, rangers make the worst damage dealers in FK because rangers are the only class without any class-specific means to increase/supplement damage*. Fighters get class-specific feats and one additional attack, thieves get sneak attack, and paladins do paladin stuff.
* Granted, animal companions can be buffed with Animal Growth/Greater Magic Fang, at least technically. Practically, this is inconsequential at low and mid levels due to the limitations of animal empathy and lack of robust pets.
Also granted, damage isn’t everything. I enjoy playing a ranger, in part, for its versatility and utility outside of combat. However, as civilization’s first line of defense against encroaching monsters, they should be capable when facing those threats, at least situationally. 3.5 and pathfinder address this through favored enemy, animal companion boons, and spells. There’s currently no damage boost for favored enemy, and the limitations of animal empathy/ pets have been discussed at length already. Likewise, rangers are missing their damage boosting spells. This aspect could be addressed most easily, though I could be mistaken since I am not familiar with the FK code.
So, Sense Vitals. For reference, here’s the Pathfinder link: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spel ... se-vitals/
My suggestion:
Sense Vitals
2nd level ranger spell
Divination
Target: self
Component: vial of blood
Description: This spell makes your eyes shine blood red and allows you to see the vital areas and weak points of creatures for a short time. This allows you to use any weapon to make sneak attacks on unsuspecting foes, as the thief ability of the same name. The damage of these attacks increases with skill level, up to half the damage of the thief ability.
Mechanics: when cast, for a fixed, short period of time (1-2 minutes), the caster gains the backstab skill. At inept Sense Vitals, this means gaining inept Backstab. Then, for every two skill levels in Sense Vitals, the caster gains one higher skill level in backstab when the spell is cast. Why not circle stab as well? I see this as a reflection of the rangers ability stalk, observe, and then ambush their foe, striking hard at its weaknesses before engaging it head on.
I don’t know of any other example where a skill is temporarily added to a character’s skill list, so this could be impossible code-wise. If so, oh well.
Thanks for reading!