Two suggested changes to the Ranger

[Sanglorian]

Hi folks,

I don't like the God Amidst the Wastes move, or any other move that benefits the character based on when the move is chosen.

The first reason why I dislike it is the unfairness of it - if every move scaled based on when you chose it, that would be one thing. But a Ranger who wants to diversify into spellcasting shouldn't be punished simply because they made the decision to diversify late in their adventuring.

The second reason is that it actually encourages niche-invading rather than discouraging it. The reason for this is that it encourages the Ranger to take God Amidst the Wastes as soon as possible - it is the only advanced move that it's important to take quickly, after all. That means that the Ranger is encouraged to step on the Cleric's toes from level 2, rather than holding off. If the Ranger weren't encouraged to take the move as quickly as possible, he or she might find the other Ranger moves more to his/her liking and never end up taking the move.

Perhaps the move could be something like:

'You gain the Commune and Cast a Spell Cleric moves. Your level for the purposes of that move is your own level -2 (you can take this move at level 2, but gain no benefit from doing so until you reach level 3). Upon first taking God Amidst the Wastes, you can only prepare one spell. After the passage of one week, you can prepare an additional spell, and so on until you can prepare the number of spells appropriate for a Cleric of your level -2.'

My second recommendation is for Unnatural Ally. I think allowing the Ranger to add a new strength as well as a new training is a good idea because it's more consistent with the +1d4 to Ferocity and +1 to Instinct. In addition, I'd make it explicit that the new strength and new training doesn't need to be chosen from the lists under Animal Companion. That way, someone with a chimera companion can choose 'Fiery breath' as a strength, or a unicorn companion can choose 'Prayer' as a training.