The ranger’s favored enemy class feature would make a pretty good talent. Well, not really… if implemented as it is in the base game, but it can be made a good talent.
From the PRD:
Favored Enemy (Ex): At 1st level, a ranger selects a creature type from the ranger favored enemies table. He gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against creatures of his selected type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against them. A ranger may make Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify these creatures.
At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th level), the ranger may select an additional favored enemy. In addition, at each such interval, the bonus against any one favored enemy (including the one just selected, if so desired) increases by +2.
If the ranger chooses humanoids or outsiders as a favored enemy, he must also choose an associated subtype, as indicated on the table below. (Note that there are other types of humanoid to choose from—those called out specifically on the table below are merely the most common.) If a specific creature falls into more than one category of favored enemy, the ranger’s bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.
[favored enemies table elided]
There is a pretty straightforward conversion that is just about exactly what is written above. I won’t bother presenting it because there is a better way.
Instead of a single ‘favored enemy’ talent, this will be a family of similar talents. It will be possible to have more than one, and I’ll allow them to be in the same tier. This means it must be a common talent. If this were a fundamental aspect of a character and could be taken only once or could be taken more than once but only at different tiers it might have been a cornerstone. If it were something ‘achieved’ (which it could be — “I am the Giantslayer!”) it might have been a capstone, but I don’t see any talent prerequisites that make sense so it probably isn’t. Common it is.
Each favored enemy talent is aimed at a single creature type. I’m not entirely certain how the types will break down, so I’ll use the PRD favored enemy options for now. The favored enemy class feature gives a bonus (slowly increasing) to certain checks against the favored enemies, and I’d like to keep that.
In my example below I will arbitrarily choose ‘undead’ as the favored enemy.
Favored Enemy: Undead (Common)
Advantage: (against undead only) Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, Survival; attack, damage.
That seems to give advantage to many checks, but they are only against this creature type. Any time a character with this talent has to make one of these checks, he adds a common die to the roll. As usual this doesn’t stack with another common die (from a combat style, say).
So… the core ‘favored enemy’ feature is basically converted. But we can do better: each tier will add something to make the character specifically better against undead.
First up, let’s look at to the Undead Slayer’s Guide, where we find the Corpse Hunter ranger archetype. It has the following class abilities that look useful:
Undead Exterminator: At 1st level, a corpse hunter must select undead as his first and only favored enemy, granting him a +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks when dealing with creatures of the undead type and a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against undead. A corpse hunter does not gain additional favored enemies at 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level, though his favored enemy bonus against undead creatures increases by 2 at each of these levels (to a maximum bonus of +10 at 20th level).
Disrupt Control (Su): At 5th level, a corpse hunter can infuse his attacks with divine power capable of harming an undead creature as well as its controller. As a standard action, the corpse hunter can make a single melee attack against an undead creature, or a single ranged attack against an undead creature within 30 feet. If the attack is successful, he deals ld4 points of Charisma damage to the target undead creature in addition to normal damage. If the target undead creature is being controlled by another creature within 120 feet, the controller takes ld4 points of Charisma damage as well; unlike the initial target, the controller may attempt a Will save (DC = 10 + 1/2 the corpse hunter’s class level + the corpse hunter’s Wisdom modifier) to halve the damage she would take from this attack. A corpse hunter can use this ability once per day at 5th level, plus an additional time per day at 10th level, 15th level, and 20th level. The amount of Charisma damage dealt increases to 1d6 at 10th level, 1d8 at 15th level, and 2d4 at 20th level.
Graveyard Stride (Ex): At 7th level, a corpse hunter may move easily through difficult terrain in areas where corpses are interred, such as graveyards, catacombs, crypts, or necropolises. When in such an environment, the corpse hunter may move at his normal speed without taking damage or suffering any impairment, although any magical effects and enchantments that impair movement still affect him. This ability replaces woodland stride.
Incorporeal Armament (Su): At 8th level, a corpse hunter can channel his will into any weapon he wields, making it effective against incorporeal undead. A corpse hunter may imbue a single wielded weapon with the ghost touch special ability as a swift action, causing it to deal damage normally against incorporeal creatures. The corpse hunter may use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to half his ranger level; these rounds need not be consecutive. The corpse hunter can end this ability as a free action. This ability replaces swift tracker.
These don’t all have exact analogues in Echelon, especially since there are no class abilities to swap out, but as far as ideas are concerned I see:
- Only one kind of favored enemy, bonuses automatically increase at the normal levels. This is already built in.
- Cause Charisma damage to an undead, and if the undead is controlled potentially damage the controller as well. Echelon doesn’t have Charisma, but I like the idea. I think confusion might be a good fit, for a number of rounds equal to the margin of success.
- Graveyards — at least, graveyards in elf games — can be awfully treacherous to move around. A mobility option would not be out of place.
- Being able to strike undead, the ghost touch ability, has always been in my mind to include. I expect to keep this.
Let’s see what it looks like now.
Favored Enemy: Undead (Common)
Advantage: All checks involving undead (skills, saves, attacks, armor) and damage rolls. Movement checks in graveyards and other places of interment (or active haunting).
Expert: Restful Death You cannot be easily animated on death. After you die, any attempt to animate your corpse (whether you were killed by undead with the spawn ability, someone tries to use a ritual or spell, or something else) has to overcome a Will check (made with all relevant advantage, including this talent).
Veteran: Disrupt Control As a double action you can make a single attack that can interfere with what passes for thought processes in a target undead. On a successful melee attack or ranged attack within close range the target undead creature is confused for a number of rounds equal to the attack’s margin of success. If the undead creature is controlled by another, the controller must make a Will save (TN equal to your attack roll) or be confused for the same amount of time.
Heroic: Graveyard Stride You ignore difficult terrain modifiers (move at normal speed) and gain advantage if you need to make a movement check, when in a place where undead are interred or active.
Champion: Ghostly Attacks Undead can no longer hide from your attacks: when fighting undead your melee and unarmed attacks gain the ghost touch quality.
Paragon:
I broadened the advantage gained to cover all checks, not just the subset of skills originally identified. If this means someone is better at riding undead horses than normal horses… I’m pretty okay with that, actually. Resistance to (undead-prompted) fear, hardened against necrotic damage (including energy drain), and so on caused me to decide to just give advantage to all saves involving undead, and I’m keeping the advantage on damage rolls.
That seems like a lot, but given how conditional it is (it’s useless against anything that isn’t undead) I think it’ll be okay. I’m probably going to apply the same effect to all favored enemy talents.
“Never send anything against zombies that is hard to kill” (in case it gets bit). Being an undead hunter gives you some protection against being animated after death.
The veteran ability (disrupt control) had to be modified because I don’t have ability scores. Confusion seemed to fit the bill. It might seem a little powerful, but the double action to activate (which means you can’t strike and run, or strike twice, and so on) is a steep cost for use, and it only works for a number of rounds equal to the margin of success.
I like talents to have a mix of abilities, not all combat-oriented. Being able to get around the arena without impediment is valuable… especially when you’re being chased by undead. I’ll have the heroic tier grant graveyard stride.
Champion tier we’re back to combat effectiveness. You’re superhuman, it’s D&D level 9-12, as far as I’m concerned you can just have the ghost touch ability. You’re an undead hunter, it’s what you do.
The bonuses to saves and armor cover a lot of defensive options, so I’m not sure more is needed right now. Ditto with the skill checks, that covers a lot of utility ground.
