Homebrew:Wasteland Wanderer
(OOC: This is an implementation of the Wasteland Wanderer subclass from Xanathar's Lost Notes to Everything Else)
Base Class: Ranger
Some worlds thrive with large swathes of the land covered with flora and fauna that can be both beautiful and dangerous. Other lands, or other worlds, become desolate wastelands through cataclysmic occurrences either natural or manufactured.
Apocalyptic events turn the land into hazardous voids more dangerous than any monster. Only the hardiest life forms survive, and even they are often mutated into hideous reflections of their natural selves.
The Sea of Silt in Dark Sun’s Athas, the Mournlands of Eberron, and the spellplagued areas of Faerûn are just some examples in lore.
Forged in harsh kiln of apocalyptic survival are the Wasteland Wanderer. These rangers of ruin rely on the skills and knowledge they have gathered by surviving the terrible conditions of their world—and often helping others survive as well.
Wasteland Wanderer Magic
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Wasteland Wanderer 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 | purify food and drink |
| 5th | aid |
| 9th | mass healing word |
| 13th | death ward |
| 17th | mass cure wounds |
Vigilant Guardian
At 3rd level, you become harder to ambush and can’t be surprised while in your favored terrain. If a member of your party is surprised at the start of combat, you have advantage on initiative rolls.
Additionally, you can use your bonus action to make a Wisdom (Perception
Wisdom (Perception)skillYour Wisdom (Perception) check lets you spot, hear, or otherwise detect the presence of something. It measures your general awareness of your surroundings and the keenness of your senses. For example, you might try to hear a conversation through a closed door, eavesdrop under an open window, or hear monsters moving stealthily in the forest. Or you might try to spot things that are obscured or easy to miss, whether they are orcs lying in ambush on a road, thugs hiding in the shadows of an alley, or candlelight under a closed secret door.) or Intelligence (Investigation
Intelligence (Investigation)skillWhen you look around for clues and make deductions based on those clues, you make an Intelligence (Investigation) check. You might deduce the location of a hidden object, discern from the appearance of a wound what kind of weapon dealt it, or determine the weakest point in a tunnel that could cause it to collapse. Poring through ancient scrolls in search of a hidden fragment of knowledge might also call for an Intelligence (Investigation) check.) check to notice hidden enemies. If you notice a hidden creature, you can immediately move up to half your speed and make one additional weapon attack against that target, as part of that same bonus action. When you do, you have advantage on the attack and you deal an additional 2d8 damage on a hit.
Trail of Trouble
Starting at 7th level, while traveling in your favored terrain at a normal pace, you have a +5 bonus to your passive Wisdom (PerceptionWisdom (Perception)skillYour Wisdom (Perception) check lets you spot, hear, or otherwise detect the presence of something. It measures your general awareness of your surroundings and the keenness of your senses. For example, you might try to hear a conversation through a closed door, eavesdrop under an open window, or hear monsters moving stealthily in the forest. Or you might try to spot things that are obscured or easy to miss, whether they are orcs lying in ambush on a road, thugs hiding in the shadows of an alley, or candlelight under a closed secret door.) and passive Intelligence (InvestigationIntelligence (Investigation)skillWhen you look around for clues and make deductions based on those clues, you make an Intelligence (Investigation) check. You might deduce the location of a hidden object, discern from the appearance of a wound what kind of weapon dealt it, or determine the weakest point in a tunnel that could cause it to collapse. Poring through ancient scrolls in search of a hidden fragment of knowledge might also call for an Intelligence (Investigation) check.) scores to detect the presence of secret doors and traps.
Additionally, you can use your Primeval Awareness feature to focus your senses to unnatural disturbances nearby. For 1 minute per level of the spell slot you expend, you can divine the types of traps to a range of 60 feet, learning how they trigger, and the type of damage they deal. During this time, you also gain resistance to damage dealt by traps you identify with this feature until you finish a short or long rest.
Shared Succor
At 11th level, when you cast a ranger spell that restores hit points to a creature other than you, treat any dice rolled to determine the hit points regained as having rolled their maximum value, and you regain hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Safety in Numbers
At 15th level, you gain the ability to use an enemy’s momentum against it. When a creature within 30 feet of you deals damage to anyone other than you, you can use your reaction to grant its target resistance to the attack’s damage and you can make a special weapon attack as part of the same reaction. You have advantage on the attack roll, and if it hits, your target has disadvantage on its next attack roll until the end of its next turn.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.