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InDungeons & Dragons, there’s a place where nature runs rampant, where the rules and laws that govern the material plane don’t apply. The Feywild can be a delightful–and dangerous–place to visit, with some returning from their fey adventure forever changed.
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The Fey Wanderer is a ranger subclass that has somehow gained fey magic, either through an encounter with an archfey, eating some forbidden fruit, or merely taking a dip in the wrong pond. This boon not only provides the ranger with otherworldly charm, it also provides them with powerful magic that gives this subclass a very distinct flavor. If you’re looking to become a fey-touched adventurer, read on to learn more about the Fey Wanderer.
Fey Wanderer Ranger Features
Like all ranger subclasses, the Fey Wanderer’s gifts manifest at level three. You’ll gain both the Dreadful Strikes and Otherworldly Glamour features as well asFey Wanderer Magic, which provides you with certain spells at certain levels (detailed in the table below).
13th Level
17th Level
Mislead
Dreadful Strikesaugments your weapon with an extra 1d4 psychic damage once per turn. This increases to 1d6 upon reaching level 11.Otherworldly Glamourlets you add your Wisdom modifier to any Charisma checks and provides proficiency in either Deception, Performance, or Persuasion.
Keep in mind thatDreadful Strikes only works with weapon damage, so even though this subclass is more magic-focused than most rangers, you’ll still want to focus on dealing damage with a weapon. We’ll cover that more in a later section.
Beguiling Twistat level seven gives you advantage against being charmed or frightened. Additionally, whenever you see a creature within 120 feet succeeds on a saving throw against being charmed or frightened, you can use your reaction to make another creature you can see within that distance make a Wisdom saving throw to prevent becoming charmed or frightened by you.
Fey Reinforcementsat level 11 lets you cast the Summon Fey spell without material components or using a spell slot once per long rest. you may also modify this spell to not require concentration, but the summoned fey’s duration is reduced to one minute.
Finally,Misty Wandererat level 15 allows you to cast Misty Step without spending a spell slot a number of times equal to your Wisdom Modifier. Also, you’re able to bring someone else along so long as they’re within five feet of you.
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Best Species For A Fey Wanderer Ranger
Any species can slay monsters with reasonable efficacy, but there area few species that are better at being a Fey Wanderer than others. Here are a few suggestions to consider.
Autognome
Armored Casingprovides you with all the benefits of Studded Leather armor without actually needing to find it.Build For Successis a fantastic ability that can help with any of your rolls.Mechanical Natureprovides a great resistance and advantage against being paralyzed or poisoned, andHealing Machinegives you a good reason to take Mending as a cantrip.
Bugbear
Although not as good as when paired with theGloom Stalker,Surprise Attackis still very strong for a high-Dex build. Anextra five feet of reachbe very helpful for melee-focused rangers, andcharm resistanceandDarkvisionare both great to have.
Deep Gnome
Disguise SelfandNondetectionare great spells to add to your tricksy list of spells.Darkvisionout to 120 feet is great, andGnomish Magic Resistanceis better than just having advantage against being charmed or frightened.Stealth advantageis also a big plus.
Duergar
Enlarge/Reduceis a useful buff or debuff, butInvisibilityis the real reason to be a Duergar.Poison resistance,advantage against being charmed or stunned, andDarkvisionto 120 feet are also great perks.
Fairy
Faerie FireandEnlarge/Reduceare both great spells, andDruidcraftcan be a fun cantrip. But the real draw here isbeing able to fly. Keep in mind, you can only fly with light armor, however.
Goblin
Charm resistancebecomes redundant once you reach level seven, butFury of the Smallis forever an amazing ability.Darkvisionis great to have, and being able todisengage and hide as a bonus actionis phenomenal.
Human
Wantability score increases? Humans have lots of those. Or you could govariant humanto start with afree feat.
Harengon
You’ve likely already got a strong Dexterity score, soHare-Triggerwill often put you first in the turn order.Lucky Footworkcan help with Dexterity saving throws, andRabbit Hopcan get you out of or into sticky situations, so long as you can spare a bonus action.
Kenku
Rangers are often the rogue replacement for parties without them.Kenku Recallgoes a long way to providing useful skill proficiencies to keep your party rolling. Low Charisma meansMimicrywon’t be as useful, andExpert Duplicationis situational at best.
Flyingspeed,stealth proficiency, andDarkvision. What more do you need?
Satyr
Despite being from the feywild, satyrs don’t have resistance to being charmed. They do haveMagic Resistance, however, which usually covers charm effects.Revelerprovides two useful Charisma-based skills, and Mirthful Leaps can be fun. Don’t expect to get much use out ofRam, however.
Thri-Kreen
Your bonus action is spoken for, so don’t expect thoseSecondary Armsto do more than carry an extra object.Chameleon Carapaceis the real prize here, providing an incredible AC boostadvantage on hide checks.TelepathyandDarkvisionare also nice perks.
Warforged
Extra armor class, askill proficiency,advantage against and resistance to poison, andimmunity to disease and sleepeffects makes warforged an excellent choice for a tough-as-nails ranger.
Yuan-Ti
Poison Sprayis garbage, butAnimal FriendshipandSuggestioncan be useful. What makes Yuan-Ti desirable isMagic ResistanceandPoison Resilience, giving you protection from the most common threats in D&D.Darkvisionis also great.
Best Ability Score For A Fey Wanderer Ranger
The Fey Wanderer represents an interesting departure for rangers. With very few of your abilities dependent on weapon attacks,the Fey Wanderer can focus on pumping Wisdomto improve their Charisma-based skill checks through Otherworldly Glamour as well as their spells. This would require taking the Druidic Warrior fighting style to gain access to an essential cantrip: Shillelagh.
Because Dreadful Strikes requires weapon damage, you’ll want to make a weapon your bread-and-butter attack. Shillelagh buffs a quarterstaff to do more damage, but crucially, it still counts as a weapon attack, which will proc Dreadful Strikes.For a Wisdom-focused Fey Wanderer, it’s highly recommended to pick up the Druidic Warrior fighting style and the Shillelagh cantrip.
It’s also entirely possible to play a more standard style of ranger that focuses more onDexterity or Strength for weapon damage, you’d just lose out on some Charisma-based skill checks. If your party already has a high Charisma character, then feel free to play your Fey Wanderer as the usual Dexterity-focused bow-wieldier.
Constitutionis always important for hit points and retaining concentration on some of your spells, and having someCharismacan help improve Otherworldly Glamour even more.Intelligence can be safely ignored.
If you’re using the points buy system for D&D, agood starting ability score spreadmight look something like this:
10(+0)
14(+2)
8(-1)
17(+3)
12(+1)
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Best Starting Equipment For A Fey Wanderer Ranger
If you’re taking the high Wisdom route, definitelygrab a quarterstaff as one of your two simple weapons. A shortsword to pair with it is fine, but don’t expect to get much use out of it past level three.A longbow is also niceto have, but you might want to pick up a ranged damage cantrip like Produce Flame alongside Shillelagh.
Since we’re generally focused more on Wisdom than Dexterity,scale mail is the better armor choice. If you can’t deal with the disadvantage on stealth saving throws, then pick leather armor.
Adungeoneer’s packhas a few more useful items than an explorer’s pack, so pick that.
Best Spells For A Fey Wanderer Ranger
As a half-caster class, rangers get limited spell slots to augment their physical abilities. As such, you’ll want to get the most out of these spell slots by choosing the most potent spells.Here are a few suggestionsat each ranger level.
Since it’s recommended to pick Druidic Warrior as your fighting style,the below table includes a few cantripsthat most rangers wouldn’t normally have access to.
