4E Builder - Dragonborn Ranger

6/25/2019

Why This One?

The first creature I played in 4th Edition was a Dragonborn Ranger. I loved the idea of dual-wielding swords and breathing lightning. It was dream come true.
I was mobile, strong, and very dangerous up close. I didn't have a bunch of Hit Points, but my enemies were often dead before they could deal much damage. I was beautiful. And with many fond memories flooding back, I figured I could ride this momentum into our first main build in this system.

1) Ability Scores, Racial Improvements, and Distribution

Though I'm usually in favor of rolling for my ability scores, luck tends to kick me in the face for this edition. It is strangely much better to go with the standardized heroic array found in the Player's Handbook. So, for each of these builds going forward, our choices are: 16, 14, 13, 12, 11, and 10.

RANGER Key Ability Scores: Strength, Dexterity, Wisdom
Dragonborn Ability Score Improvements: +2 Strength, +2 Charisma

So, the race bonus didn't entirely line up with my needs, but I didn't really care. Plus, since we're building each of these to LEVEL 4, so I've got an ability score increase to think about too. Let's flesh out my scores.
STR = 14+2 = 16 +1 at Level 4 = 17 (+3)
DEX = 16 (+3)
CON = 12 (+1)
INT = 11 (+0)
WIS = 13 +1 at Level 4 = 14 (+2)
CHA = 10+2 = 12 (+1)

2) Race Features

DRAGONBORN
Pretty run of the mill here. Medium creature, moves 6 squares each round, no darkvision (bummer).
Draconborn Fury - when I'm Bloodied (down to half or below half my Hit Points), I get a +1 bonus to all my attacks.
Draconic Heritage - makes my Healing Surge value bigger (1/4 my total HP + my Constitution modifier).
DRAGON BREATH Power - the reason I took the race in the first place... An excellent Encounter Power.

3) Style, Powers, and Feats

Rangers operate from two main battle paradigms: Ranged and Dual-Wielding. I'm going with the latter, and fulfilling my original idea of an up-close Striker. This choice also grants Toughness as a Bonus Feat.

On top of this, a Ranger gains the Hunter's Quarry feature: as a Minor Action, you can designate the nearest enemy to you that you can see as your Quarry. Once per round, you can deal extra damage to that quarry when you hit them, and that damage increases every 10 levels or so (ours will be at +1d6 for now).

At level 1, I need to select 2 At-Will Powers, 1 Encounter Power (useable once per fight), and 1 Daily Power, plus my Racial Power. Level 2 I get a Utility Power, Level 3 another Encounter Power, and Level 4...an ability score increase. Also, at Levels 1, 2, and 4, I select a Feat.

At-Wills are pretty obvious here:
1) Twin Strike - effective double attack.
2) Hit and Run - run past, slice through, keep running and no Attack of Opportunity.

Encounters
Racial) Dragon's Breath - we'll go with lightning, I think. :)
1st Level) Evasive Strike - I can shift around the board 2 squares before or after the attack, and I deal double weapon damage + my Strength modifier.
3rd Level) Thundertusk Boar Strike - another double attack with a push; if both attacks hit, I push 'em a number of squares equal to my Wisdom Modifier (which I want to increase!).

Daily
1) Hunter's Bear Trap - Double weapon damage + Strength + slowed target + 5 ongoing damage if they can't save to stop it. Ha.

Utility - Encounter
2nd Level) Yield Ground - triggered by being hit, I can move away and gain a +2 bonus to all of my defenses. Gotta watch myself!

FEAT SELECTION
1) Dragonborn Senses - gain Low-Light Vision, and +1 to Perception
2) Enlarged Dragon Breath - increases the size of my Dragon Breath. Booyah.
4) Dragonborn Frenzy - +2 damage when I'm bloodied. Because often the best protection is to eliminate threats faster, and that's damage.

4) Gear, Skills, and Proficiency

+ For Armor, I'm proficient in Cloth, Leather, and Hide only, so I'll pick standard Hide for a +3 to my AC.
+ Weapons are a little more vast, with Simple and Military grade melee and ranged. Let's snag two Longswords to lay down the law with a little higher accuracy, and a Longbow for good measure.
+ Defense Bonuses: +1 Fortitude, +1 Reflex
+ Hit Points at first level end up being only 13 (12+Con modifier), with increases of 5 per level, so add another 15 on for only 28 HP at level 4. Even with Toughness, that only raises it to 33 HP. Argh. We'll see if we can do something about that.
+ Healing Surges = 7 per day, at 8 HP per surge (thanks Dragonborn).
+ Trained Skills (+5 training bonus): Dungeoneering or Nature (I pick NATURE), plus four others from a decent list - let's go with Acrobatics, Athletics, Perception, and Stealth.

5) Overview and Future Choices

Basic Melee = Longsword; +8 to hit, 1d8+3 damage
Basic Ranged = Longbow; +7 to hit, 1d10+3 damage
At-Will Powers: Twin Strike, Hit and Run
Encounter Powers: Dragon's Breath, Evasive Strike, Thundertusk Boar Strike, Yield Ground (Utility)
Daily Powers: Hunter's Bear Trap

HP: 33
AC: 18 --- (10+1/2 level [2]+Dexterity Mod [3]+Armor Bonus [3]
Fortitude: 16
Reflex: 16
Will: 13

Yeah. That's about right. Welcome back, Helaku Stormwind. Let's play.

See you at the table.
- Adamus