[quote=Sven_] I know Baldur's Gate is DnD and maybe in DnD the classes are different than in other fantasy settings. I'm new to DnD so I wouldn't know.
D&D Things!
The ranger in D&D is kind of a weird class. The architypical influence is probably Aragorn from Lord of the Rings -- wildernessy with survival and nature lore, and basic healing magic. Aragorn, of course, wields a sword not a bow. The 1st Edition AD&D had ranger as a subtype of fighter, with no particular weapons specialty. Over the years, though, rangers have become archers too. In recent editions of D&D (like, everything from Y2K forward), there are basically three main ranger paths:
- archer
- dual-wielding expert (probably because of this guy from Forgotten Realms novels: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Drizzt_Do%27Urden)
- animal companion fighter (yeah, also that guy)
In 3.5, both rangers and druids could do the "animal buddy!" thing, with druids doing it better. In 5E, they've made druids focus on shapeshifting and left the animal companion to the ranger.
5E, unfortunately, does the class kind of badly, and the animal companion one (beast master) is horrific. This is one area where I don't mind some of Larian's tweaks. There was a Variant Ranger that WotC floated a year or two after 5E came out, but it's generally regarded as overcompensating, and anyway nothing really came of it. Kind of a shame.
