Ranger's favored enemies, what exactly does it mean?

[sirchet]

It seems that when you create a ranger you are supposed to know exactly what is meant by these vague descriptions of creature types. I'm sure there are a few DnD gurus around that might actually know what is meant by them.
Do you think someone could come up with a list of what the favored enemies actually are for a ranger? Here's my take on it, please help if you can.

Aberrations.......?
Beasts..............anima ls?
Constructs........golems?
Dragons............D'uh
Dwarves............D'uh
Elementals........greater and lesser?
Elves.................D'u h
Fey....................fa iries?
Giants...............all types?
Gnomes............D'uh
Goblinoids.........Goblin s and Hobgoblins?
Half-Elves..........D'uh
Half-Orcs...........D'uh
Halflings............D'uh
Humans............D'uh
Magical Beasts..summons?
Monstrous Humanoids.....?
Orcs..................D'u h
Outsiders..........extrap lanar?
Plants...............Trea nts, shambling mounds?
Reptilian Humanoids........Lizardme n?
Shapechangers......Dopple gangers?
Undead.............D'uh
Vermin..............Rats, squirrels?

If one of the ever wise friends here at the guild could fill in the blanks, I would be grateful.


ps...sorry about highjacking your thread kgambit.

[kgambit]

Here's a couple ... (I haven't played a ranger in a while so this has not been vetted in the game .... )

Abberations - Ettercaps, Naga, Will-o-wisp
Shapechangers - lycanthropes, dopplegangers and mimics
Monstrous Humanoids - Minotaurs, Medusa, Harpy,
Constructs - Golems
Goblinoids - Goblins, hobgoblins & Bugbears
Plants - actually not plants per se, but Plant like creatures and that does include shambling mounds and treants
Giants - afaik it includes ALL giants plus trolls, ettins and ogres (although the last 3 might be reclassified for the game)
Outsiders - Rakshasa, Night Hag. Mephits, Formians, Salamanders, Hell Hounds,
Magical Beasts - Griffon, Hyppogriff, Chimera, Manticore, Unicorn, Worg, Winter Wolf, Owl Bear, Dragonne,
Reptilian - Kobolds, Lizardfolk, Troglodyte



That's all I can do for starters ....

I dug those up on this site:

http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm

as to how they are ACTUALLY incorporated into the game, well that's a different matter.

Edit: Some of these monsters may have been lumped together or put into other categories. I wish I had better info for you on this but without running a ranger build thru something like Vordan's Hero creator and seeing what the favored enemy classifications actually say, this is the best I can do at the moment. Hope it helps.

(not a problem sirchet - just easier to keep track of separate issues in separate threads.)

[Fletchman1313]

You know, that's a question that's bugged me for a while, and I don't know why I didn't ask that earlier...

What the hell is an Outsider? Is that like a Bladeling?

[kgambit]

According to the open source d20 description:

Outsider Type
An outsider is at least partially composed of the essence (but not necessarily the material) of some plane other than the Material Plane. Some creatures start out as some other type and become outsiders when they attain a higher (or lower) state of spiritual existence.

So it sounds like Outsiders should be extra-planar to some extent - how that fits all of the monsters I listed is beyond me but there ya are.

Aberrations.......? Possibly the Horrible Umber Hulk
Beasts..............anima ls? yeah, probably all normal animals, not sure about Dire types.
Constructs........golems? Yep.
Dragons............D'uh
Dwarves............D'uh
Elementals........greater and lesser? Yep, should include all.
Elves.................D'u h
Fey....................fa iries? Yes, and in MotB all the spirits, except undead, I think.
Giants...............all types? Should be definitely all types.
Gnomes............D'uh
Goblinoids.........Goblin s and Hobgoblins? Definitely Goblins, possibly also Hobgoblins.
Half-Elves..........D'uh
Half-Orcs...........D'uh
Halflings............D'uh
Humans............D'uh
Magical Beasts..summons? I think more in terms of animals with magical abilities, possibly the Dire Animals.
Monstrous Humanoids.....?
Orcs..................D'u h
Outsiders..........extrap lanar? Yes, Devils and Demons, Githyanki etc.
Plants...............Trea nts, shambling mounds? yeah, that should be right.
Reptilian Humanoids........Lizardme n? Yes, and Kobolds and other humanoids with reptilian blood.
Shapechangers......Dopple gangers? Yes, and what kgambit said, lycanthropes, werewolves, that kind of creatures.
Undead.............D'uh
Vermin..............Rats, squirrels? Not sure about squirrels, but definitely rats, snakes, spiders? Not sure.

Originally Posted by sirchet

It seems that when you create a ranger you are supposed to know exactly what is meant by these vague descriptions of creature types. I'm sure there are a few DnD gurus around that might actually know what is meant by them.
Do you think someone could come up with a list of what the favored enemies actually are for a ranger? Here's my take on it, please help if you can.

Aberrations.......?
Beasts..............anima ls?
Constructs........golems?
Dragons............D'uh
Dwarves............D'uh
Elementals........greater and lesser?
Elves.................D'u h
Fey....................fa iries?
Giants...............all types?
Gnomes............D'uh
Goblinoids.........Goblin s and Hobgoblins?
Half-Elves..........D'uh
Half-Orcs...........D'uh
Halflings............D'uh
Humans............D'uh
Magical Beasts..summons?
Monstrous Humanoids.....?
Orcs..................D'u h
Outsiders..........extrap lanar?
Plants...............Trea nts, shambling mounds?
Reptilian Humanoids........Lizardme n?
Shapechangers......Dopple gangers?
Undead.............D'uh
Vermin..............Rats, squirrels?

If one of the ever wise friends here at the guild could fill in the blanks, I would be grateful.


ps...sorry about highjacking your thread kgambit.

I think, apart from the academic importance of the question, you can narrow down the list by deciding first, which favored enemies are a must have for the OC and/or MotB.

I played a Ranger a while ago, also played around with Ranger builds in a Hero Creator. Now, I don't remember the exact number of favored enemies a pure Ranger can choose in his career, but I'd narrow it down to the following:

1. Undead - useful in both OC and MotB
2. Fey - Extremely useful in MotB
3. Dragons (not many dragons in game, but when fighting a dragon you need all the boost you can get, especially if you really want to land the killing blow and earn the useless epithet feat.
4. Giants
5. Elementals

of those five, I consider absolutely must have no 1. and no. 2, for the reasons stated.

[kgambit]

Originally Posted by Epirote

Magical Beasts..summons? I think more in terms of animals with magical abilities, possibly the Dire Animals.

Dire animals are simply classified as Animals not magical beasts according to the d20 rules.

I think squirrels are simply classified as animals as well, but if you taking a favored enemy slot against squirrels - i think something is seriously wrong - unless MAYBE it's THIS guy:

Thanks, you made my day or rather night. Of course a certain hamster comes to mind, too, who would be best labeled an outsider.

For anyone who does not get what I'm hinting at: it's the Giant Space Hamster or something like that.

[sirchet]

Careful, or Boo will smite you!
Are you telling me there are no "Vorpal Squirrels"? I saw a Vorpal Bunnie.

I would love to see an add-on that actually gives you this info when leveling up your ranger. I have a soft spot for playing rangers, (retired 2ND Ranger Battalion, US Army)

Thanks for all your help guys, you're always helpful.

[kgambit]

You're welcome. It's always fun digging new stuff up.

I used to love playing rangers - but for some reason i got away from them. Maybe it's time to revisit them.

Originally Posted by sirchet

Careful, or Boo will smite you!
Are you telling me there are no "Vorpal Squirrels"? I saw a Vorpal Bunnie.

I would love to see an add-on that actually gives you this info when leveling up your ranger. I have a soft spot for playing rangers, (retired 2ND Ranger Battalion, US Army)

Thanks for all your help guys, you're always helpful.

nah, Boo is my best friend ... ahem, I mean he was back in the "good old days", which were not always good come to think of it, but that's another story ...

About Vorpal Squirrels or Vorpal Bunnies, if there aren't any, make some.

You're right about the added info to the Ranger, it definitely should be there or at least in a good game manual. I don't play Rangers much, but I love it when I do. Played a Ranger/Wizard/Arcane Archer through the OC and got what was to be expected. I was planning on playing through as pure Ranger and focusing on the two weapon fighting route. And may be I will some day ...