D&D 5E Tips for roleplaying a ranger (character development)

[Morinth]

I just recently began playing a ranger in a 5e game, and I've already completed her character build (2nd Level Ranger/Archery. What I'm looking for mostly is flavor ideas, ways to characterize her properly. I gave her the Outlander background, and I also gave her an even spread with regard to ability scores to reflect her versatility over specialization, sort of a "jack of all trades, master of none" style.

I don't really see her as a combat oriented person, even though of course she has to function tolerably well in combat. I see her more as a sort of guardian of the forest, her favored terrain type. Her favored enemies are goblinoids and orcs. I have never really played a ranger before, and while I know she will be doing a lot of hunting and other survival-type activities for the party, I want those moments to amount to a little more that "I make a Survival check to see if I can feed the party" or somesuch. I'm not really looking for character build or progress ideas, but if there is a roleplay element that leads to build or progress considerations, I'm all for it. Basically, I like my characters to shine in the in-character and story moments, more so than combat. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[ClockworkNinja]

What personality, bonds, flaws ect... did you select or roll for?
Where is your campaign set and why would a forest hunter be there?
What is your parties goal and who is the antagonist?

 

[Shiroiken]

Having grown up in the wilderness, I'd suggest roleplaying a sense of discomfort around large numbers of people (such as a town). Perhaps you disdain civilized comforts, such as sleeping on the floor of an inn rather than the bed. Perhaps you are amazed by the wonders of civilization, and wander towns in wonder. Maybe you have an awkwardness around people (especially if you have a low charisma), and don't understand most civilized etiquette.

For your favored enemy, you might want to tie them into your history. Maybe your home was destroyed by goblins or orcs, and you were raised by strangers (or possibly animals) in the wilderness. This drives a hatred in you to see them wiped off the earth, and while you may be rational otherwise, you'll risk much to see them slain.

A final option would be for you to research actual herbalism and wilderness survival. Then you could describe your efforts in detail, describing herbs used in your healer's kits, places to camp, and non-mechanical hazards to avoid (poison ivy and such). This would require a lot of effort on you as a player, as well as DM buy-in (most DM's would love a player putting in this level of effort), but I feel this would have the greatest reward for you and the game.

 

[Morinth]

Personality Traits: I’m driven by a wanderlust that led me away from home.

Ideals: Nature: The natural world is more important than all the constructs of civilization.

Bonds: My family, clan, or tribe is the most important thing in my life, even when they are far from me.

Flaws: I am slow to trust members of other races, tribes, and societies.

The campaign is set in a town adjacent to a dense forest, and the GM specifically needed one of the characters to be a ranger, so I volunteered. I want to do a good job, and not just be a glorified fighter with Tracking.

We haven't reached the main story thread yet, so I don't really know who the antagonists are yet. The PCs are just starting to get to know one another, though a couple have pre-existing affiliations.

 

[yakuba]

I'd suggest building an actual backstory for your character. That will help both explain and guide your character's viewpoints, attitudes and actions. Choosing or rolling on the personality, flaws and bonds table can be a starting point. Here are some additional questions, that when answered will hopefully help your flesh out your character's character.

You've chosen Outlander, so you begin the question of why are you an outlander? Are you a wanderer? Are you on a mission? Were you driven out of homeland? Are you an exile? Are you a sole survivor?

What role have your favored enemies played in your life? Why are they your favored enemies? Are they antagonistic to your people? Did they kill your people? Did they kill your family?

What does being a ranger mean? Are you part of an organization? Are you alone? Is there a local druid or druid circle you associate with?

Why are you the forest guardian? Is this a chosen new home? Is this an assignment?

What's your relationship to nearby civilization? Are you friendly or hostile to village or city folk entering your forest? Do you act as a scout and guide? Do you protect people from the forest or do you protect the forest from the people?

 

[I'm A Banana]

Personality Traits: I’m driven by a wanderlust that led me away from home.

Ideals: Nature: The natural world is more important than all the constructs of civilization.

Bonds: My family, clan, or tribe is the most important thing in my life, even when they are far from me.

Flaws: I am slow to trust members of other races, tribes, and societies.

The campaign is set in a town adjacent to a dense forest, and the GM specifically needed one of the characters to be a ranger, so I volunteered. I want to do a good job, and not just be a glorified fighter with Tracking.

We haven't reached the main story thread yet, so I don't really know who the antagonists are yet. The PCs are just starting to get to know one another, though a couple have pre-existing affiliations.

So one of my big takeaways from that: your character is far from home, but loves the home they left. Wanderlust lead you afar, but you still like the place you came from, much more than you like this new place. If you'd like to double down on that, your character could be played as kind of judgy - all "These big city elites think they got it all figured out, but life's so much simpler back in the woods, with a good fire an a fresh kill. You lose sight of what's important when you can't feel the soil under your feet and when the air you breathe stinks of other people."

If this was a straight narrative, your character arc would be discovering that nature isn't all great and that civilization offers a lot, too.

You might consider quotes by John Muir for inspiration, he's a good role model for a ranger.

Maybe lean toward humanoids as your favored enemies (you are slow to trust them...), and complain a lot about how dirty and crowded and smelly and strange the city is.

 

[Morinth]

These are all good suggestions, thanks. I've already been incorporating a sort of blunt and impatient aspect to her personality, to reflect her preference for the solitude of the forest and her disdain for what she sees as the unnecessary and pointless posturing of townsfolk, especially among the nobility. She even decided to bed down in the common room of the quarters the PCs were assigned, because private rooms are just an easy way for predators to trap you without an escape route. She's always looking for an exit strategy in these situations, and is the "sleep with one eye open" type, especially in town.

Her favored enemies are orcs and goblinoids because they're the most like her human community, but different enough to be "the other". They're those people who don't look like us who are the source of all our problems. She has a bit of a blind spot in this regard, and it's reinforced by the community she lives in.

I chose Outlander as a background not as a circumstance, but more as a conscious choice. She comes from a big family that lives on a farm near the forest, and the only way she could get away from them was to go to town, like most of her siblings, or go into the forest. Being a naturally solitary sort, she chose the forest, and quickly became enraptured by the wonders of the natural world and the signs of fey presence. Talking to empty-headed townies about so-and-so's new frock for the spring dance just can't compare. As much as she loves her family, she prefers to love them from a distance.

Her "forest guardian" approach is a product of her complete distrust of orcs and goblinoids, who she sees as a blight upon the forest. On some level she realizes that humans are too, but she's not self-aware enough to make that connection consciously. Those orcs are ugly beasts, they're not like us humans, who respect the natural world (mostly...kinda...sometimes...okay almost never).

She looks upon the local village, her hometown, as something of a necessary evil. There are things that can be produced or procured only in towns, with their smithies and shops and whatnot. But she doesn't enjoy spending time there with all the smells of industry and people living close together (and it's not even that big a town). She would hate a really large city.

She sees herself as a forest guide, protecting people from the forest but also protecting the forest from them. She wants to minimize their impact on the wildlife and such, and she also wants to teach them an appreciation for the forest.

As far as I know so far, she does not have any official affiliations with any ranger/druid "communities", but she more than likely has run across a few outdoorsy types in the past. They will likely come up as NPCs in the game at some point, I imagine.

 

[Eltab]

As an Outlander, you also get the "map in your head" benefit.
- You can FIND that grove of wolfsbane, or the unique tree (redwood) this wizard wants to prune a branch off, or just lead some obnoxious townsman jerk into a swamp.
- You can draw rough maps on paper or on the dirt - so fill it in with false information to keep people away from important things. "Here Be Dragon" where you saw that eagles nest full of chicks.
- You can go explore new areas and remember what was where later on. A job as a Scout might keep you in spare coin, when you do need to buy something from town.
- Merchant caravans might find you a helpful hire to get through / around your home turf. You can guide them in more ways than one, both towards things and away from others, plus helping the 'just passing through' types get long gone and out of your hair.

 

[iserith]

the GM specifically needed one of the characters to be a ranger

Did he or she say why?

 

[Morinth]

Did he or she say why?

Nope. I assume I'll find out as the game progresses. I have no doubt there's a story reason for it, I don't think it's strictly so that the party has Tracking or anything like that. I don't know that much about the storyline as it stands right now.