Monster Slayer Ranger: DnD 5e Subclass Guide

Introduction

The Monster Slayer Ranger is a simple, but functional build which makes the Ranger reliably effective in combat with little effort. The subclass’s features are easy to use, reliable, and decently powerful. However, it also runs straight into the Ranger’s MAD issues, depending on weapon attacks and also Wisdom-based save DCs. A Shillelagh-based build is possible, but loses much of the power of Slayer’s Counter.

Monster Slayer works best with a high-Dexterity build with Fighting Style (Archery), and generally it doesn’t even require feats like Crossbow Expert or Sharpshooter, which are normally common go-to options for archery builds. Slayer’s Prey, Hunter’s Mark, and Favored Foe all provide plenty of damage output, and since Slayer’s Prey and Hunter’s Mark monopolize your Bonus Action it’s hard to make room for Crossbow Expert. The damage boosts from Slayer’s Prey, etc., only work if you hit, so Sharpshooter is often a bad gamble. If you max out Dexterity and want to explore feats, consider options like Skill Expert and Piercer.

Technically the only thing that locks the Monster Slayer into ranged weapons is Slayer’s Counter. If you know for certain that your campaign will end by level 14, you may be perfectly happy with a melee build.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Disclaimer
• Monster Slayer Ranger Features
• Monster Slayer Ranger Ability Scores
• Monster Slayer Ranger Races
• Monster Slayer Ranger Feats
• Monster Slayer Ranger Weapons
• Monster Slayer Ranger Armor
• Monster Slayer Ranger Multiclassing
• Example Monster Slayer Ranger Build – Ol’ Reliable
  • Ability Scores
  • Race
  • Background
  • Skills and Tools
  • Feats
  • Levels

Disclaimer

RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks, which is simple to understand and easy to read at a glance.

• Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
• Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
• Green: Good options. Useful often.
• Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.

We will not include 3rd-party content, including content from DMs Guild, in handbooks for official content because we can’t assume that your game will allow 3rd-party content or homebrew. We also won’t cover Unearthed Arcana content because it’s not finalized, and we can’t guarantee that it will be available to you in your games.

The advice offered below is based on the current State of the 2014 DnD 5e Character Optimization Meta as of when the article was last updated. Keep in mind that the state of the meta periodically changes as new source materials are released, and the article will be updated accordingly as time allows.

Monster Slayer Ranger Features

3. Monster Slayer Magic: Most of the options are situational or difficult for you to use.
   • 3rd-Level: An excellent defensive buff.
   • 5th-Level: Situational, and your save DC likely won’t be good enough to make this work well.
   • 9th-Level: Situational.
   • 13th-Level: A wonderful spell, but you likely don’t have the Wisdom to back it up with a decent spell DC.
   • 17th-Level: Great, but your spell DC is probably still mediocre.
3. Hunter’s Sense: Great if you have time to observe the creature from hiding, but I would rarely spend an Action to do this during combat.
3. Slayer’s Prey: As far as I can tell this stacks with Hunter’s Mark/Favored Foe. Both Hunter’s Mark and Slayer’s Prey require Bonus Actions, so use this first since it’s free, but against tough foes definitely consider using both.

   While Slayer’s Prey provides a damage bonus as large as Hunter’s Mark, it only works once per turn. This means that tactics like Two-Weapon Fighting and Crossbow Expert are less important, and the Bonus Action cost to activate Slayer’s Prey and cast or re-target Hunter’s Mark means that your Bonus Action on most turns is already committed, so Two-Weapon Fighting and Crossbow Expert are hard choices.

7. Supernatural Defense: A bit unreliable since multiple foes might force you to make saving throws in quick succession, but this is still fantastic. Be sure to keep Slayer’s Prey running and keep it focused on the foe most likely to force you to make a saving throw. Remember that you can use Slayer’s Prey an unlimited number of times, so you can easily change targets whenever you need.
11. Magic-User’s Nemesis: Not quite as good as being able to cast Counterspell, but it still might prevent an enemy from escaping or prevent them from casting a spell which would really ruin your day.
15. Slayer’s Counter: This is absurdly good. There’s no limitation on its usage, so if you’re fighting a spellcaster (most spells force saving throws) you might be able to get free attacks against them every round. However, you’ll need to be able to reach the creature that created the effect, so stick to ranged weapons.

    You can repeatedly trigger this by running a Concentration spell like Hunter’s Mark. The save to maintain Concentration qualifies, and if you have good enough Constitution saves (consider the Resilient feat) you can reliably maintain Concentration while fishing for free attacks with Slayer’s Counter.

Monster Slayer Ranger Ability Scores

No different from a typical Ranger.

Monster Slayer Ranger Races

No different from a typical Ranger.

Monster Slayer Ranger Feats

No different from a typical Ranger.

Monster Slayer Ranger Weapons

No different from a typical Ranger.

Monster Slayer Ranger Armor

No different from a typical Ranger.

Monster Slayer Ranger Multiclassing

No different from a typical Ranger.

Example Monster Slayer Ranger Build – Ol’ Reliable

We’re a Monster Slayer, not a Monster Hunter. “Hunt” implies the possibility of failure and that we might consume our quarry in some fashion. We’re not here to turn bones into hats or pelts into pants. We’re here for straightforward, reliable violence against monsters.

We’re going to use all of the Ranger’s Optional Class Features.

Ability Scores

Put our two +1 increases into Dexterity and Wisdom, then use the +1 from Piercer to increase Dexterity to 17.

	Base	Increased
Str	8	8
Dex	15	17
Con	15	14
Int	8	10
Wis	15	16
Cha	8	8

Race

Variant Human. We’re going to take Gunner at level 1. The extra skill is nice, too. Custom lineage could also work here with some very minor changes to the ability score increases late in the build.

Giff would also work very well here, but Giff don’t replicate the Gunner feat’s ability to use firearms in melee, and I’ve already done a gun-toting hippo that likes Ensnaring Strike. Technically we don’t need to use a musket, either, so you could go for another race and use a longbow without significantly changing the build.

Background

Any that suits the skills. Basically any of the Ranger’s usual options will work.

Skills and Tools

We’ll get 2 skills from our class, 2 from our Background, and one from being a Variant Human. We’ll also get Expertise in one skill from Canny. I recommend Perception or Stealth.

Feats

At level 1 we take Piercer, which comes with a +1 Dexterity increase.

At level 4 we take Gunner and increase our Dexterity to 18.

At level 8 we increase Dexterity to 20.

At level 12 we increase Wisdom to 18.

At level 16 we take Lucky.

At level 19 we increase Wisdom to 20.

Levels

Level	Feat(s) and Features	Notes and Tactics
1	Feat: Piercer Favored Foe Deft Explorer Canny – Any – 2 languages	Get very comfortable with Favored Foe. Once we have Slayer’s Prey, it’s very helpful because it doesn’t take a Bonus Action to apply like Hunter’s Mark does. At this level we’re your bog standard archery ranger. Get a longbow.
2	Fighting Style: Archery Spellcasting Spells Known: – Ensnaring Strike – Entangle	Archery is nice an reliable, and that’s absolutely crucial to our success. Slayer’s Prey and Slayer’s Counter only work if we hit. Use Ensnaring Strike against single enemies. Use Entangle against groups. At this level your Entangle is as good as a full caster.
3	Subclass: Monster Slayer Monster Slayer Magic Hunter’s Sense Slayer’s Prey Primal Awareness New Spell Known: – Any – Protection from Evil and Good*	Subclass time! Our first feature is Hunter’s Sense, which allows us to eyeball an enemy and see if have damage resistances/immunities/vulnerabilities. That’s good to know, but it also takes a full Action to do it, which is really hard to justify once you’re in combat. Slayer’s Prey is the feature we actually care about. It’s effectively Hunter’s Mark, but it’s free, doesn’t require Conentration, and only works once per turn. It’s a decent damage boost. Since it doesn’t require Concentration, it works with other damage boosts like Favored Foe and Magic Weapon. But, much like Hunter’s Mark, it tends to monopolize our Bonus Action. We’re built to fight at range, so Protection From Evil and Good probably isn’t for you. Put it on an ally if you’re okay going without Favored Foe for an encounter.
4	Feat: Gunner (Dexterity 17 -> 18)	According to the Wealth by Level table, this is where we can reasonably afford a Pistol, but save that gold until you can buy a Musket.
5	Extra Attack New Spell Known: – Magic Weapon – Zone of Truth*	Two attacks means that we now have two opportunities to apply the damage boost from Slayer’s Prey. At this level we start casting Magic Weapon. The additional attack bonus, paired with Fighting Style (Archery) makes us exceptionally accurate with our attacks. We have the big d12 damage die of a musket with a damage reroll from Piercer, so we’re doing pretty well.
6	Roving	Climb a wall to find somewhere cool to use your musket.
7	Supernatural Defense New Spell Known: – Any	Supernatural Defense encourages us to focus our attention on the most dangerous thing in a given encounter. Adding 1d6 to your saves is a singificant buff.
8	Ability Score Increase: Dexterity 18 -> 20 Land’s Stride	Max Dexterity! Damage!
9	New Spell Known: – Elemental Weapon – Magic Circle*	We upgrade from Magic Weapon to Elemental Weapon for a bit more damage.
10	Nature’s Veil Tireless	Nature’s Veil can be a great way to use Hunter’s Sense without endangering yourself.
11	Magic-User’s Nemesis New Spell Known: – Any	This is very similar to a Counterspell, but forces a save against your spell save DC. It’s really good, but it only works once per rest, and your save DC is a bit behind.
12	Ability Score Increase: Wisdom 16 -> 18	Boost our save DC and another use of Hunter’s Sense.
13	New Spell Known: – Any – Banishment*
14	Vanish	If you don’t need your Bonus Action to apply Slayer’s Prey, you can now use it to Hide.
15	Slayer’s Counter New Spell Known: – Any	Slayer’s Counter is absolutely amazing. If you’re facing enemies that frequently force saving throws, you get consistent Reaction attacks. Your ideal is all-or-nothing saves like a Medusa’s gaze, but you’re more likely to run into things like breath weapons and hostile spells.
16	Feat: Lucky	Lucky is here to support Slayer’s Counter. If we somehow miss, Lucky can let us try again so that we can guarantee a successful save. Slayer’s Counter has no usage limitation beyond our Reaction, so a busy day might burn through all our Luck Points before we run out of enemies to shoot. You might swap Lucky or one of the Wisdom increases for Mage Slayer if you feel the need, or even for Sharpshooter if you find that you’re hitting very consistently. If you’re getting Advantage easily, I would definitely go for Sharpshooter.
17	New Spell Known: – Swift Quiver – Hold Monster*	It’s not 100% clear if Swift Quiver works with a musket since it uses a quiver, but technically nothing stops you from putting bullets into a quiver.
18	Feral Senses	Consider casting Fog Cloud. Enemies can’t see you, so you attack with Advantage, but you don’t have Disadvantage for being unable to see them.
19	Ability Score Increase: Wisdom 18 -> 20 New Spell Known: – Any	Max our save DC! We finally caught up to full spellcasters 11 levels late.
20	Foe Slayer	We’re attacking with an attack bonus +4 better than the norm, so use Foe Slayer for the damage bonus. We have 20 Wisdom, and +5 damage per turn isn’t awful. Not good enough for a level 20 feature, but still nice, and we’re basically guaranteed to get it since we have two attacks that are extremely accurate.