Ranger kits and studded leather
Xavioria
Member Posts: 874
I know that rangers have stealth... but how come EVERY single ranger kit requires studded leather? I can understand why each kit in particular would use studded leather and nothing higher than that, but... I think my REAL question is: why aren't there any kits that appeal to a ranger who wears chain or plate?
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Ranger kits are a bastardization of the pure Ranger class, which is Aragorn incarnate, and thus they don't get to dress as cool.
A paladin.
Oh wait, has has become a Paladin by dual classing in this book ;-)
On a side note I do think chain armor is a bit underused in the game. You mostly only see elvish chain as useful and that's at high levels. Most characters who can wear chain can wear plate just as well.
(And Fighter kits are supposed to be limited to specialized (**) at max, since GM is a single class, un-kitted Fighter exclusive ability. The only partial exception being the Archer (yeah, it's actually a fighter kit that rangers can also use, just like the Cavalier is actually a fighter kit that paladins can use) and Kensai. Archers can place up to *** in bows (and only bows), * in everything else, and lose all bonus attacks from specialization and levels. But on the other hand, they're supposed to get a bonus attack when using a bow (Bows in PnP cannot normally benefit from any extra attacks), and if they root themselves in position, they can get an additional attack on top of that (for a total of 4) (they can technically wear any armor, but anything over studded leather, besides elven chain, is too restrictive and negates all their bonuses). The Kensai can only place ** in weapons, but choose 1 type of Sword-like weapon they've specialized in at creation as their favored weapon, and gain a free 3rd * in that weapon. And much like the Archer could wear armor if they wanted to, but doing so disables their bonuses, since it they can't move as freely as needed. In both cases, their extra hit/damage and other special abilities only function when equipped with bows or their favored weapon type (Must be wielded in the main hand, for 1 hd weapons, and only applies to that weapon type. So a Kensai focused in Longswords, Dual-wielding a Longsword and Dagger would get his speed facter, hit/damage, and kai damage on attacks from the longsword, but the dagger would only deal normal damage).
I always thought druids were a bit more restrictive in armors than rangers were. I also figured that maybe there could have been a ranger that was a bit more ideal to tanking than the rangers that are out now. Even more than that though... I bet "well there's the paladin" but I'm sure there are those (like me) who don't like paladin classes and would prefer a ranger because paladin are too goodie goodie and make me want to punch puppies.
Light armor refers to Leather, Studded Leather, and Hide armor. Anything with leather in it is light armor.
Medium armor refers to Chain and Splint mail. You can still move around in it, but it's made mostly out of metal and is more restrictive than light armor.
Heavy armor is Plate mail and Full Plate. Ankheg armor also falls into this category. These armors might not necessarily weigh more than other armors, but they are in a "heavier" class because of how restrictive they are to movement.
This should probably be described somewhere, but that's what kits are referring to when they say "heavier than..." It's not about weight; it's about category.
(You can also tell the categories apart by looking at how they change your animation; Light armors use Armor Level 2, Medium uses Armor Level 3, and Heavy uses Armor Level 4.)
Keep in mind, aside from dual-wielding which only warriors and rogues can even do, only warriors get extra natural attacks. Everyone else has to depend on weapons with more then one base attack, if they wish to attack more often. That 1 extra attack, and the high amount of thac0, making it likely for both to hit, is a massive force multiplier.
And no, they actually aren't weak at all. People have some overblown idea about specialization and grand-mastery, but the fact is, it's not that big a deal. It's icing on the cake, not the cake itself. Just a little perk for melee combatants for their heavy equipment dependance and lack of raw, reality warping power. Using a kit or dual/multiclassing gives further benefits and makes the specialization either because they're specializing in a particular style of combat, or splitting their attention between multiple classes makes further specialization impossible.
EDIT: All of this gets overshadowed (pun intended) by a certain scale that pretends to be leather.