Ye Olde Inn

Here's the card of my new ranger which is designed to be used with an updated version of the armory http://forum.yeoldeinn.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=2773 including shortbow and longbow:

As I insist on ammo counts this character would have to be afforded some level of skill in melee as it is inevitable he will face hand to hand combat.
I could see limiting him to dagger and short swords, prohibiting him the use of heavy weapons.

Edit to add: He should receive an extra attack dice when using archery and an extra defense dice when defending against an archer.

I felt we needed to have some real ranged combat other than the original crossbow (available to everybody but the wizard). I would like to encourage tactical moves with f.i. the barbarian or the dwarf defending the ranger, once he has taken his shot. This is why I made this ranger, who I agree, will be weak in close combat. But he therefore gets some effective ranged weapons and unique armor. If necessary, I might add to ability to move, attack and move again.

I like the idea of an extra defense die when defending against an archer.

So if he is forced into combat from an adjacent square, does he fight unarmed? Does this mean 1 AD?

The ranger is designed to be used with my updated version of the armory:

viewtopic.php?f=58&t=2773

So if armed with the shortbow or longbow this would mean no weapon to attack adjacent squares. I think you're right with 1 AD for unarmed attack but can't remember the exact rules for fist attacks.

And sorry for the late reply.. I've been quite busy with other stuff during the last months.

cynthialee wrote:Edit to add: He should receive an extra attack dice when using archery

that's actually quite powerful when you think about it, especially if you introduce new bows with three or 4 dice each any way. what might be more balanced is allowing a ranger to re-roll up to 1 dice per ranged attack. OR when the ranger is attacking with a bow, the target rolls one less defense dice. that would mean more consistent damage without huge damage spikes.

I still have to playtest this. Haven't been playing with the new armory and the additional hero yet.

Since we play with darkness rules (viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2416) and adapted monster chart (viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2351&start=10) as well I hope it's going to be balanced enough. Otherwise I'll need to change this because it's no fun when the heroes just rush through the quest without even getting harmed at all.

Tott wrote:

cynthialee wrote:Edit to add: He should receive an extra attack dice when using archery

that's actually quite powerful when you think about it, especially if you introduce new bows with three or 4 dice each any way. what might be more balanced is allowing a ranger to re-roll up to 1 dice per ranged attack. OR when the ranger is attacking with a bow, the target rolls one less defense dice. that would mean more consistent damage without huge damage spikes.

We have used this hero in a few missions so far.
We award him a +1 attack with archery weapons. We also used arrow counters. The Ranger has not run out yet, but one mission he did get rather low.
He has been stuck using his 2 (+1) dice short bow and has not gotten a better bow. Even if he does upgrade to a 3 dice 'War Bow' it is still only 4 dice. An extra dice by then will be appropriate if he ever gets it. The Barbarian and Dwarf are laying down serious pwnage every time they pick up the dice, yet we sweat the Ranger being able to drop a monster or two?
I don't get it. 1 extra dice is not a nuke, it is a chance at 1 more Body Point damage. As many of the monsters only have one body point as is, they are already dying from single shots. So the ork dies with 3 or 4 body hits instead of 1 or 2...dead is dead.

Whenever people suggest replacing a bonus of an additional attack die with a bonus of a rerolled die, I always have to roll my eyes a little because the difference between their net effects is actually very small, and only gets smaller the more dice you roll. In my games, I usually shortcut rerolls by increasing the number of dice I roll and discarding an equal number of them after the fact. That is, the average results of "choose 3 dice out of 4" are exactly equivalent to "roll 3 dice and reroll one of your choice", and only differ from "roll 4 dice" if you happen to roll all Skulls (a 6% chance).

cynthialee wrote:I don't get it. 1 extra dice is not a nuke, it is a chance at 1 more Body Point damage. As many of the monsters only have one body point as is, they are already dying from single shots. So the ork dies with 3 or 4 body hits instead of 1 or 2...dead is dead.

I'll second that notion. I've seen KK and others argue in favor of awarding the Barbarian a bonus of +1 to his melee attacks, and pretty much nobody bats an eye at that. Giving a congruent +1 to the Ranger's archery is really not so much better that it needs special consideration. Sure, you can get the drop on each new room of monsters with a more powerful attack, but that advantage will only last for one or two turns before the monsters close with the Heroes. The crossbow from the original Game System can't be used against adjacent opponents, a restriction which tends to carry over into other 'homebrew' bows. Thus, once the monsters start attacking, the Ranger has to either switch weapons or start walking backwards.

cynthialee wrote:We also used arrow counters. The Ranger has not run out yet, but one mission he did get rather low.

Using an ammunition system, by the way, puts a hard and fast limit on the amount of tactical advantage the Heroes can gain from projectile weapons, no matter how many bonus dice you roll while using them.