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Ranger stats

DrakeloreDrakelore Member Posts: 36
in New Players (NO SPOILERS!)
I have read a lot of AD&D rules around the internet and there is one thing i cannot figure out.
I play a ranger and I cannot seem to figure out which stats to prioritise. I know that strength and dexterity are important but, what do I prioritise after those ? A ranger gets druid spells at level 8, a druid uses charisma as bonus for spells, but I somehow suspect that wisdom is used by rangers although they cast druid spells.
Can someone help me out ? I would like to know where I can find the information my self, if it is not too much trouble.

Comments

  • lordkimlordkim Member Posts: 1,063
    edited January 2013
    Choosing skills is a little difficult for a ranger because there are many good choices and they do not have enough points to learn all the useful skills. If you wish to stalk your prey like a predator then you will need Hide, Move Silently, Spot and Listen. If you wish to make use of the ranger's tracking feat (obtained for free and first level) then you will need the Survival skill. If you wish to get information from other humanoids then you will need Bluff, Gather Information, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive. If you plan to take an animal companion at fourth level then you will need the Handle Animal skill to control it. Your feats primarily affect your combat ability. Feats such as Weapon Focus, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, and Cleave all help melee fighters. Instead of Power Attack and Cleave archers will want feats like Precise Shot and Rapid Shot. Make sure that you do not take a feat that you gain from you ranger class levels.

    Rangers need good stats because of their diverse abilities. If you wish to fight in melee you will want a 16 or better Strength, 14 or better Constitution and Dexterity, and 12 or better Wisdom and Intelligence. If you want to be an archer then you will want a 16 or better Dexterity (really 18 or higher is best but 16 will work),a 12 or better Constitution, Intelligence and Wisdom, and a 10 or better Strength. If you want to be a more social character, such as a detective who tracks criminals, then you will want slightly more emphasis on mental stats and less on physical ones. These are the ideal and are hard to obtain with the point buy system of stat generation. You may need a lucky roll to be a good ranger.

    source : http://www.wikihow.com/Play-a-Ranger-in-Dungeons-and-Dragons-V3.5
  • toanwrathtoanwrath Member Posts: 621
    A Druid uses Wisdom for bonus spells, not Charisma. They function like a Cleric in the 'Priest' category in that regard.
    Personally, as someone who loves Rangers, Constitution is always a big priority. Rangers, like Fighters, can get bonus hit points from having 17 and 18 Constitution (where non-fighting types, or Warriors, can only get bonuses from 16) so it is worth considering. Rangers have potential to be front line fighters with their high strength and constitution potentials.
    Now I may be wrong about this part, but I am fairly certain that Rangers and Paladins don't actually get bonus spells from a high stat, only the full casters (Wisdom for Cleric Druid, Intelligence for Mages, Sorcerers don't count) do. Therefore, wisdom is not AS important as they don't get much from it besides a bonus to lore (identifying items).

    For information on stats, flip to the end of the enhanced edition manuals (the online version of course). One of the last sections has a table for what every stat does and a brief description.

    www.baldursgate.com/manuals.en.html

    I would focus on Strength Dexterity and Comstitution for any fighting type, then a decent charisma and/or intelligence after.
  • atcDaveatcDave Member Posts: 2,387
    Lordkim's info above is related more to 3E and doesn't really apply here. Intelligence is your best dump stat, but wisdom and charisma really doesn't matter much either; as long as you have the minimum wisdom for Ranger, it will have no impact on your spell casting. And charisma only matters for determining prices in stores and maintaining party cohesion, so don't drop it below 10, but otherwise it's not a big deal.

    That makes a Ranger really like any other warrior; make your dexterity and constitution 15 or better, and 18 for strength.
  • WilburWilbur Member Posts: 1,173
    Rangers don't get bonus spells in BG:EE.
  • baaddarebaaddare Member Posts: 145
    are you planning on using him primarily as a melee or an archer? I ask becasue even though i push both stats as high since i usually make mine an archer i try to get her to 19 dex then str and con as close to 18 as I can myself.
  • Stargazer5781Stargazer5781 Member Posts: 183
    First decide what kind of ranger you want to be - melee fighter, archer, or another kit. If melee fighter, you'll want your strength 18+. If archer, you'll want your dex 18. Try for a 16 or more in constitution, especially if you're going for melee.

    Your minimum wisdom is 14, there's little point to making it higher than that.

    Intelligence is essentially useless for you. Charisma is useless except for lowering prices in shops and dealing with conflicting NPCs. Personally I like to have my charisma as high as possible.

    So in order of importance:

    Strength or Dex
    The other one
    Con
    Cha
    Wis (min 14)
    Int
  • DrakeloreDrakelore Member Posts: 36
    I am planning on using my ranger as a Stalker. I have maximum STR DEX and CON.
    So to summarise, I do not get any spell benefits what so ever (damage, amount of spells, rolls) of having a high WIS. Is that correct ?
  • TJ_HookerTJ_Hooker Member Posts: 2,438
    Drakelore said:

    I am planning on using my ranger as a Stalker. I have maximum STR DEX and CON.
    So to summarise, I do not get any spell benefits what so ever (damage, amount of spells, rolls) of having a high WIS. Is that correct ?

    Yup, there is no benefit in having high wisdom for a ranger, other than a bonus to lore. And your lore isn't going to be good enough to identify anything anyways.
  • MadhaxMadhax Member Posts: 1,416
    @Drakelore Correct. Wisdom doesn't affect anything for a ranger (or paladin) in the BG series.
  • bigdogchrisbigdogchris Member Posts: 1,336
    edited February 2013
    Wisdom is a prime requisite ability score of the Ranger, which means you are required to have 15 Wisdom to dual class from Ranger, or 17 Wisdom to dual class to Ranger. This only affects dualing to/from Clerics though, as other classes are restricted from dual/multi classing with Ranger. BG may be limiting Human dual class options to what other races can multi-class. Cleric/Ranger is the only Ranger MC.
  • ErinneErinne Member Posts: 151
    bigdogchris said:

    Wisdom is a prime requisite ability score of the Ranger, which means you are required to have 15 Wisdom to dual class from Ranger, or 17 Wisdom to dual class to Ranger. This only affects dualing to/from Clerics though, as other classes are restricted from dual/multi classing with Ranger. BG may be limiting Human dual class options to what other races can multi-class. Cleric/Ranger is the only Ranger MC.

    Considering Wis is also a prime requisite for Clerics, you're going to need 17 to dual either way.
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