Homebrew:Burghal Explorer
| Expanded Natural Explorer Option |
|---|
| Because some rangers, like burghal explorers, are most at home in cities, the favored terrain options for the Natural Explorer feature have been expanded to include urban environments. Any ranger can add urban environments as a type of favored terrain at 1st, 6th, or 10th level instead of choosing from the options in the Player's Handbook. |
(OOC: This is an implementation of the Burghal Explorer subclass from Xanathar's Lost Notes to Everything Else)
Base Class: Ranger
Burghal Explorers are at home in tight places, making their living as urban bounty hunters or guiding magical search crews through dangerous ruins. Dark slums and ruined cities, choked with thirsty weeds and decorated with crumbling remnants of once-thriving communities, become gathering points for desperate innocents—and for sneak-thieves and bandits who prey on the helpless.
Burghal Explorers toe the line between the natural forest and cityscapes, moonlighting as vigilantes, or fending off unnatural horrors that reach covetously toward the darkest, deepest plots of land.
Burghal Explorer Magic
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Burghal Explorer Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of ranger spells you know.
| Ranger Level | Spell |
|---|---|
| 3rd | find familiar |
| 5th | misty step |
| 9th | tongues |
| 13th | faithful hound |
| 17th | animate objects |
Grazing Strike
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to hinder your foes with your strikes. Whenever you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can graze your target’s arm, leg, chest, or head (provided it has the body part). When you do, the creature takes an additional 1d4 damage of the weapon’s type and you impose one of the following effects on that target:
- Head.
- It has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes before the end of its next turn.
- Arm.
- It has disadvantage on the next Strength check or attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.
- Leg.
- Its movement speed is reduced by 10 feet until the end of its next turn.
- Chest.
- It must succeed on a Strength saving throw. If it fails, you can push it up to 5 feet away from you. If it hits a wall, or other permanent structure as a result of being pushed, it takes an additional 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
Above and Below
At 7th level, you can identify the fastest routes across cityscapes or crumbling ruins, whether the path leads through the sewers below or the roofs above. Climbing and swimming no longer costs you extra movement and you can hold your breath for twice as long as normal.
In addition, when you make a running jump, the distance you cover increases by a number of feet equal to your Dexterity modifier.
Streetwise
At 11th level, you disappear into crowds without hesitation. While you are hidden and moving through a crowd that isn’t hostile to you, you can don a disguise if you have prepared it in advance and you have at least one hand free. Wisdom (Insight
Wisdom (Insight)skillYour Wisdom (Insight) check decides whether you can determine the true intentions of a creature, such as when searching out a lie or predicting someone’s next move. Doing so involves gleaning clues from body language, speech habits, and changes in mannerisms.) checks to see through this disguise are made with disadvantage.
Additionally, you can take the Disengage action as a bonus action on your turn. When you do, you can move through the space of any creature that is size Medium or larger and you ignore half cover when you make an attack against another creature.
Close Quarters
At 15th level, you always gain the benefits of half cover whenever two or more creatures are within 5 feet of you. As a bonus action while holding a shield, you can grant this to benefit to one of the creatures adjacent to you until the start of your next turn or it moves 10 feet away from you.