Changing Favored Enemy?

[Cheiromancer]

I was looking through PHB2 - specifically, the section on retraining. There is provision there for changing languages known and feats and even class specific choices like Wizard Specialization, Clerical Domain, or Ranger Combat Path (Archery vs TWF). But either I'm blind or it doesn't mention a Ranger changing their favored enemies.

Am I blind? Is this an oversight? Or is there a good reason why a Ranger couldn't easily change their favored enemies from one level to the next?

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Or is there a good reason why a Ranger couldn't easily change their favored enemies from one level to the next?

Not having a lifetime of hatred built up, perhaps?

I can definitely see why a ranger shouldn't be able to swap favoured enemies routinely.

 

[smootrk]

I would allow the switch using the retraining rules for the first bonus stage, changing the favored enemy after the ability has advanced to stronger bonuses will be much more costly to effect the change (IMO).

 

[SPoD]

Not having a lifetime of hatred built up, perhaps?

I can definitely see why a ranger shouldn't be able to swap favoured enemies routinely.

Except that you can encounter an aberration for the first time in your life at level 4, then choose aberrations as a Favored Enemy a few days later when you reach level 5. There's no requirement for a Favored Enemy to be the result of "a lifetime of hatred", especially since you can now select your own race as a FE (unless you're implying that this would mean that you were secretly filled with self-loathing, rather than simply trained to fight your own kind).

Now, from a game balance point of view, the main balancing factor of the FE is that it is circumstantial--it doesn't come into play all of the time, or even most of the time. The Holy Grail for the ranger is to be able to pick the right FE for the campaign he is playing in, as it will easily bring him up to the level of other fighting classes. For example, if you know that you're about to embark on a multiple session quest against the drow, and you select Elf as your FE, you're going to kick ass. That's part of the name of the game with picking a FE in the first place, but for a Ranger normally, it's a game of short-term vs. long-term. You can pick the enemy that would be most helpful NOW, knowing that later in the campaign you might not face it, or you can try to guess where the campaign will be going and prepare in advance by picking a FE you are likely to face later, knowing that you will be rewarded with a higher damage bonus.

A ranger who could change his past FEs in advance of an upcoming adventure would be at a huge advantage over other fighting classes, because he could have his cake and eat it, too. He could choose the FE that was helpful now, and later, he could switch it to something else. It stops being a question of careful preparation and starts being closer to a floating bonus that can be applied as needed. There would be no reason NOT to swap it every few levels if you had any inkling of what was coming, unlike the other retraining rules.

For example, a ranger starts at level 1 with kobolds as his favored enemy. The DM runs them through a series of kobold caves, but by level 5, they haven't fought any in a while but the DM runs them through a lot of old crypts. So he retrains his original FE to be Undead, and picks his new FE to be Constructs. But by level 10, the crypt phase has given way to extraplanar adventures, so he retrains his first FE to be Outsiders (Evil), his second to be Outsider (Chaotic), and his third to be Outsiders (Lawful), just to cover all the bases. By level 15, a dragon hunting quest causes him to swap out his earliest FE for Dragons...you get the point.

As suggested, I think if any FE should be allowed to be retrained, it should only be the most recently gained one.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

As I read the WotC books in general, most of their paragraphs about describing examples are meant to be examples that cast a broad net ... not listing every possible effect that could ever be ask. I'd allow it. But, I'd probably allow it on a more unique progression.

For example, say a ranger has favored enemies A, B, C in that order and thus with the appropriate benefits for that order.

Suddenly, because of RP reasons they no longer want B as their favorite enemy (and IMC there would have to be RP reasons to lose one). Say the ranger's husband is saved by a member of race B and the ranger suddenly has an epiphany of racial understanding. Since there is a decent RP reason, they want to remove B from their list and insert race D.

I'd allow it. But I would not allow the new order to be A, D, C. (In other words, I'd not allow a straight swap of D for B). As a DM and for RP purposes, I'd make the new order A, C, D. In effect, C gets a bump and D enters in at the lowest level since it is the newest. I'd also require that C's new bonuses are identical to B's old bonuses and D's new bonues are identical to C's old bonuses ... since there could be variation in what the higher bonuses are based on the way rangers get bonuses to their favored enemies.

I admit this is purely an interpretation of the rules, and not the rules themselves, though.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Sounds like people are pretty cool with the idea that the retraining that can occur at level up could also apply to a ranger's favored enemy.

I think that this 1/level retraining would amount to a -2 to one FE bonus, and a +2 to another. Subject to the rule that no FE bonus could be higher than 2 + 2/5 levels, but allowing a +2 FE bonus to be eliminated if a new +2 FE is immediately chosen (against a new category of critters). Thus if a ranger had a +6 vs elves, he could lower it to +4 one level later, +2 the next level, and eliminate it entirely the level thereafter (he'd have to take on a new +2 FE at that time).

 

[Nonlethal Force]

As I indicate above, I'd allow more drastic changes than this. After all, we're saying that a ranger can only do this at level-up. So how often is this really going to occur? Plus, every level the ranger does this ... is a level they can't retrain something else. As a DM, if a player wanted to switch FE at level-up, I'd rather have them tell me they want to make a change so that I can work it out in-game through RP and them make the change.

But, I also seldom give hints to my players know what the next level of encounters/adventures are going to be until after they've leveled. They might be able to get a flavor sample from the level or two earlier ... but they'll not be able to use this as a tuning device to make their character best at every level. They'll get it right sometimes, and likely kick themselves for swapping at other times.

 

[hong]

Not having a lifetime of hatred built up, perhaps?

"Hatred"? Are we back in 1996 again?

 

[Cheiromancer]

@Nonlethal Force: Good point about the RP. And as far as a tuning device, I'm inclined to think that it's kinda like a rogue's sneak attack- the class is balanced assuming that the ability is always going to be useful. Maybe I'm wrong. But having encounters with multiple different types would, I presume, be the norm; the ranger will be more effective against some and less effective against others. But if several encounters pass without the ranger being able to use his ability then it does need retuning.

The other thing that is rattling around in my head is the warblade (Bo9S) Weapon Aptitude ability. With an hour's practice in the morning he can swap around weapon specific feats. Kinda like how wizards do with spells.

What if rangers could do something similar? They might still find themselves with the wrong FE prepared (just like wizards find themselves wishing they hadn't swapped a spell they did) but it make it more likely they aren't hosed for a level's worth of encounters.

The favored enemies might have to come from a list of creatures known. 2 at first level, then 1/level thereafter. A 10th level ranger would choose 3 of them (+4/+4/+2, or +6/+2/+2), and could switch them every morning if he liked.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Regarding the hatred, also remember that 3.5 did away with having FE of your own species is not evil. I prefer that change.

Personally, I think having FE your own species makes the most sense. Who would you be more familiar with than your own kind? I use this tactic every time I make a bounty hunter. Human NG ranger (ie bounty hunter) with FE: Humanoid (human) is a fairly effective combination.

FE doesn't have to represent anger, as hong illustrates. It can be interpreted as extreme familiarity with it. It most often gets interpreted as anger/hatred, which I don't think is inappropriate, either.