I meant to post this on the first of April, but I have been working on a ranger archetype for a while, and I thought it would be a shame if I had to wait for some time in order to share it with the world. Along with this archetype, there is a new fighting style, and a few new ranger spells, as well.
Fighting Style
Tandem
You or your summoned creatures – including those released from Orbs of Containment – gain a +1 to attack rolls and +1 to damage rolls, chosen each time you take the attack action. While you have no creature summoned, you may use the Help action as a bonus action.
Glade Champion
As a burgeoning glade champion, you seek mastery over creatures you may encounter, and seek to consistently test your might against other champions. You have been taught the trade by at least one other, senior, glade champion, though you might belong to an order consisting of many members. As a glade champion, you craft traps to capture creatures both mundane and magical, and build relationships with them to gain their trust and loyalty. Glade champions typically seek to travel within the world to attain a wide variety of creatures to command, before eventually retiring to protect the glade they have chosen to protect, and train future generations of glade champions.
Orbs of Containment
At 3rd level, you are able to craft magical traps able to contain animals and magical beasts. Crafting a trap requires 25 gold pieces worth of materials, and requires at least 8 hours of work, and the resultant object is worth 25 gold pieces and weighs half of a pound. You may create up to half your ranger level in unused Orbs of Containment. There is no restriction on the number of filled Orbs of Containment you may possess.
Toss Orb
Starting at 3rd level, you are able to toss out an Orb of Containment as an action in order to attempt to trap a creature. Sentient creatures are not able to be captured, though magical or variant version of creatures, such as lightning tigers, undead boars, or fire elementals, are able to be captured. If the creature currently possesses at least half of its total hit points, the creature must make a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + proficiency bonus + Wisdom Modifier). If the creature fails the saving throw, it becomes trapped within the orb. If the creature possesses less than half of its total hit points, the creature must make the saving throw with Disadvantage. If the creature succeeds at the saving throw, the orb is useless until you are able to spend a long rest repairing the trap. Creatures of a challenge rating higher than your ranger level automatically succeed at the saving throw.
Deploy Orb
Beginning at 3rd level, you are able to summon forth a creature from an Orb of Containment as a bonus action. You may toss the orb up to 20 feet. The creature appears in the square, or closest unoccupied square, in which you toss the orb. Creatures summoned in this fashion are friendly to you and any allies you designate, and will willingly follow your commands.
Summoned creatures may be commanded as a bonus action, and act on your initiative. Summoned creatures have your hit points, may make one attack as a bonus action, but otherwise retain the statistics of the creature. You may use your action to have your pet act fully. A creature does not act if no commands are given to it.
Creatures immediately return to the orb, if slain. Slain creatures may not be deployed again until you take a long rest, and spend time caring for and playing with the creature.
If another orb is deployed when an orb is still active, the first creature immediately returns to the orb. Creatures not slain return to the orb may be dismissed as an action. If not dismissed, creatures return to the orb on their own after one hour. Creatures returned to the orb in these manners may not be summoned again until you take a short or long rest.
You may deploy no more than three orbs without taking a short or long rest.
Empower Creature
Upon reaching 7th level, you may expend your spell slots to empower your creature. All of the creature’s attacks deals an additional 1d8 damage for each level of the expended spell slot until the end of its turn.
Reinforce Creature
Starting at 11th level, spell slots you spend now also grant an amount of damage reduction equal to the damage gained from Empower Creature against all damage your creature takes until the end of its turn. Each source of damage is reduced individually.
Evolve Creature
At 15th level, spell slots you spend increase the base hit die, size, and reach of the creature. The creature’s hit die increase by two for each level of the spell slot expended. These granted hit die immediately increase the current and maximum hit points of the summoned creature. For every two levels of the spell slot expended above first, the creature gains a size category, and gains 5 feet of reach with all attacks.
Imbue Creature
1st-Level transmutation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: 30
Components: V,S, M (a leather glove must be worn)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You may imbue a summoned creature under your control with Fire, Lightning, Thunder, Psychic, Cold, Force, Necrotic, Radiant, Poison, or Bludgeoning damage. All attacks made by the creature now deal this type of damage.
At higher levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, attacks made by the creature deal an additional 1d4 damage for every two spell slot levels beyond first.
Inure Creature
3rd-Level transmutation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: 30
Components: V,S, M (a leather glove must be worn)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You may inure a summoned creature under your control against Fire, Lightning, Thunder, Psychic, Cold, Force, Necrotic, Radiant, Poison, or Bludgeoning damage. The creature gains resistance against the chosen type.
Enchant Creature
5th-Level transmutation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: 30
Components: V,S, M (a leather glove must be worn)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You may enchant a summoned creature under your control with Fire, Lightning, Thunder, Psychic, Cold, Force, Necrotic, Radiant, Poison, or Bludgeoning damage. The power radiates from the creature in an aura with a 30-foot radius. Until the spell ends, the aura moves with the creature, centered on it. While in the aura, each non-hostile creature in the aura (including the creature) deals an extra 1d6 damage of the selected type when it hits with a weapon attack.
Love the concept (and where the concept originated). With some minor refinements, this will be a fantastically fun ranger archetype to play.
Thank you very much. It’s been through one round of playtesting, and has changed a small amount as a result. The ranger seemed pretty inline with the rest of the characters when tested at 7th level against a large variety of creatures and situations. The thing I’ll probably change right now, before seeing some more playtesting, is how many orbs you can carry with you, just because it’s an artifact of the source material.
One thing I don’t see is the range of the orbs. By my reading, it looks up to the DM to say how far it goes as I don’t see a range listed. Is there a rule that explains how far you can throw objects that I’ve missed?
I can definitely explicitly call it out, but I playtested it as an improvised thrown weapon with a range of 20/60.