Ranger 101: Gloom Stalker in Dungeons & Dragons

[@DnDBeyond]

Do you have any tips for playing a Gloom Stalker? What are your favorite feats or multiclassing combos?

[@BigTaco691]

You gotta go Alert, and Slasher from UA

[@smilingbear7430]

5 lvls of gloomstalker go really good with assassination rogue. I'm playing a drow gloomstalker assassin with alert and drow high magic feats. Having a 15 initiative is so great

[@rayven_thorn733]

I usually play as a drow when I play this so drow high magic, lucky, sharpshooter

[@lucasogden9457]

Echo knight, 3. Action surge on round 1 with 6 sharpshooter shots, 6 hunter marks, and reroll one miss, plus the echo taking closer point to absorb any attack.

[@DaudAlzayer]

I ran a shamanistic Barbarian with Path of the Ancestors. I wanted some spells so I dipped into Ranger and went with gloomstalker. Dread ambusher gave me an incredibly explosive first round. Though it was a crazy MAD build.

[@maxx8362]

I have played a gloom stalker in two campaigns, and in each campaign, Elias (same name in both campaigns) got a chance to shine when the environment perfectly meshed with the subclass' features. In the first campaign, a large patrol of drow were camped in front of a passage that my party needed to get through. Our plan to deal was thus: - I cast pass without trace in order to eliminate any tracks. - I cast rope trick out of both sight and hearing of the drow. - The rest of the party hides in the rope trick with a loop of rope hanging out. - I run straight out of the shadows into the middle of the drow camp, act surprised, scared, or both, yell for the rest of the party to turn around and run and run straight back out of the camp. - I grab the rope and get hauled into the rope trick. - We wait until all the drow who are going to chase us are too far away to hear anything from the camp. - We wipe out the camp. It worked like a charm. In the second campaign, we sent an arcane eye through a magic portal to see if anything was waiting to attack us on the other side. We discovered a room full of yuan ti waiting in the dark. Our response to this was to load my gloom stalker up with every damage-multiplying, mobility-enhancing, and stealth-enhancing spell we could including both pass without trace and fly, and he just floated into the room and started shooting. They never saw what hit them.

[@cryofpaine]

It's basically the Batman class. Often uses disguises, works best in the dark. No he didn't miss, his batarang went past the target and swung back to hit from behind. You drop a smoke pellet and dodge out of the way. This is so Batman. :D

[@MisterSmith00]

Had an idea a while back where a Gloomstalker Ranger had the "Haunted One" background... The concept was, the Gloomstalker had a childhood friend who was killed or taken by some horrible monster...oni, demon, or some aberration...but the Gloomstalker was only spared due to their peculiar ability to not be seen in the dark. The Ranger, of course, had a perfectly clear view as they silently watched their friend get taken. Hence, the reason why they hunt. : )

[@killa117pro9]

Goblin slayer esk?

[@aGVsaW9z]

My current character is essentially what you’re describing, Haunted One Gloomstalker Halfling, who lost his family due to an unbeknown pact with a devil gone wrong. He seeks out a great ally to aid in his quest of revenge.

[@Styxblaze]

So, as a kid, was your character a level 3 gloom stalker already?

[@MisterSmith00]

@@Styxblaze Ha, perhaps! That would be based onward whether or not the GM started the campaign at 3rd Level. Otherwise, it would have been an instance of unusual stealth that manifested just that one time they needed it; purely for narrative purpose.

[@karhart6663]

I am a classic half elf ranger gloomstalker. In my 1st campaign and def haven't utilized my abilities, but I'm slowly learning. I can see so many moves that I should have made; so many cool things I can still do. This is so helpful!

[@tavernmancer]

My current PC is a Goblin Gloomstalker. I took Skulker as my first feat, a Gloomstalker that can hide in light concealment on a bonus action is somewhat terrifying. In my last session I found an unexpected use for Rope Trick, I was bucked out of the saddle by an uppity Gryphon about 2000 feat up and used the rope attached to the extra dimensional space to stop my fall.

[@hqueso]

A few tips for DMs dealing with powerful Gloom Stalker multiclass combos (i.e. Gloom Stalker/Assassin). These are ways to minimize the first round attack abilities or the continuing 1) If there are party members without darkvision, make sure that you enforce rules for actions made in dim or dark conditions. 2) If there are party members with darkvision, remember they do not have line of sight to the gloom stalker, so some buffs and heals might not be available to them. 3) Reinforcements that arrive after round 1 negate quite a few of the 1st round benefits of these combos. 4) Large numbers of enemies, especially if spread out, make the large number of attacks in round 1 less impactful to the encounter. 5) Outdoor encounters may begin at a range that makes the 1st round more about positioning than about attacking. In a similar vein, encounters in which the enemies are entrenched might not make many-if any- foes available for attack on round 1. 6) Use foes who provide light on occasion. That wall of fire makes no one dependent on darkvision, thus negating the invisibility. Faerie Fire may not have a great chance of hitting that ranger, but when it does, it's effective. 7) Allied spells that provide light also might interfere with the invisibility. 8) Other forms of detection- blindsense, tremorsense, truesight- might justifiably be more common in the very environments where everpresent darkness has led to creatures developing these abilities for survival. Don't make every encounter a counter for this build. That's just picking on a character. But I find many of these combos are very swingy- either shining in certain situations or being very mediocre in others. Provide those opportunities to shine for the character, but also give them encounters where other characters have that chance. edit: I know they touched on some of these- I just wanted to make an easily reference in one spot.

[@johncox7169]

Also, remember that even if the Ranger saves verses Faerie Fire that the spell also makes every object in the spell's effect glow, which also makes the Gloom Stalker visible.

[@Tomrash]

Talking about customising spells: My GF recruited a Triton Shorestalker in our 1on1 evil Theros campaign, which I turned into a full character. I made him Gloomstalker Ranger (with the UA Poisoner feat since Shorestalkers got poison attacks), but did not like the idea of the newly recruited former enemy having "disguise self". I replaced it by "feather fall", so he can just jump down on people from where ever.

[@nickr1818]

Todd just blew my frickin mind with the warforged gloom stalker in Faerun possibility. I'm gonna make that NPC to assassinate my PC's.

[@Razgar74]

We need an update to how this turned out...a thorough update

[@matthewjennings7645]

"There is diminishing returns on the percentage... but I disagree with the math" I get what you're saying but I love how you said it

[@binolombardi]

I think meld into stone would be a great spell to switch out fear for. Really lean into the gloom stalker being able to disappear seemingly into thin air for extended periods of time while within the tunnels and caverns of the under dark.

[@paulh3892]

This subclass is awesome both mechanically and thematically. You guys nailed it!

[@Hon_cb1kr]

Gloom stalker and shadow monk. Any combination of levels. Deadly in everyway.

[@laschicvalisca2481]

Kinda disagree on the Hunters Mark mentioned about 9:45 here... at least in round one. Instead, use Zephyr Strike on the first round, especially after level five. Because Dread Ambush gives a bonus attack on the first round, if Zephyr Strike is both cast and used in the first round as well, that's advantage on the Dread Ambush along with a bonus 30 feet of movement with no attacks of opportunity against you. Stack the Elven Accuracy feat as well, and that Dread Ambush damage gets deadly fast, especially with a long bow: 1d8 piercing from the weapon, 1d8 piercing from Dread Ambush, and 1d8 force from Zephyr Strike, and with Elven Accuracy, this is likely a critical hit. Multi-classing as a rogue would make this first round trick even more deadly if the first two hits miss and that attack is a crit.

[@Thunder-bw9xm]

If you're not in darkness that's a valid option. Otherwise you already have advantage, and hunters mark gives an extra 3d6 damage

[@laschicvalisca2481]

@@Thunder-bw9xm That's a fair point on the darkness part. My perspective is from many campaign settings that are either lit up by player light sources, NPCs, or the environment. Then again, Guardian of Nature, a level 4 Ranger spell that's also from Xanathar's Guide to Everything, along with Elven Accuracy would raise the rate of crits even more. I am somewhat concerned where more than 1d6 from Hunter's Mark is coming from though... That spell does not scale in damage, but higher spell slots can increase duration. I verified this in the physical copy of the PHB as well as the websites Roll20 and D&D Beyond (both sites keep up to date on errata bosted by WotC.) Can I ask where your Hunter's Mark does more than 1d6 that I can find online or from a source book?

[@mobogreat]

@@laschicvalisca2481 The extra hunter's mark damage comes from the fact that you are making three attacks (assuming level 5) and it triggers on each attack.

[@Arohan71]

My GF is playing a Gloomstalker ranger in our campaign and we're working out that the clan she was a part of followed a god of traveling and adventure. But the clan needed people who could scout ahead and be ready to face off against what lurked in the shadows of the darkened road ahead no matter where that might lead, including the underdark. So her clan/tribe has a segment of people who choose to become one with the shadows to protect the rest of the tribe. So we borrow a little bit of the "become like the monsters to fight them," element from the Blood Hunter and she's having a lot of fun with her character right now.

[@samuelreese1816]

Ok watched this again and had a wonderfully terrifying idea. Gloomstalker 4 / trickery cleric4/ echo knight 12. The man of many shadows

[@crownlexicon5225]

Yeah.... there's a rogue gloomstalker, echo knight, war cleric in a campaign I'm playing, and man, does he have some nova. 1st round of combat, dread ambusher, unleash incarnate, action surge (which procs dread ambusher again), and war cleric bonus action attack....

[@claytonmiller9127]

@@crownlexicon5225 that’s bonkers

[@matthewjennings7645]

Eager to play this after Tasha's and making use of the core class in conjunction with the subclass

[@thornelson1411]

Why after Tasha's? What's it gonna bring that helps ranger

[@matthewjennings7645]

@@thornelson1411 Alternative Class Features will be in it, which are expected to buff the Ranger more than any other class

[@thornelson1411]

@@matthewjennings7645 That should be fun then

[@ronnoe6708]

I'm looking forward to this as well.

[@bacchus8081]

I'm not a religious person but I pray every day that the Class Variant UA gets printed pretty much word for word. And i was soooo happy when Jeremy Crawford said "the Class Variant UA has been one of our most populair UA's so far, is getting printed and even expanded upon"

[@kamikage9420]

I have a Wemic Gloomstalker who I would absolutely love to play. She really leans into the whole support ranger, but also supports by hunting and cooking and stuff for the party. In her pride, the strongest huntresses would learn the secrets of the starless stalkers, with rites that would allow the huntress to remain unseen to even the most perceptive of prey, among other abilities. Part of the ritual allows other starless stalkers to see each-other in the dark, but they are otherwise invisible while in darkness.

[@freman007]

Mindflayers check under their beds for the Gloom Stalker. And still can't see him.

[@markd2060]

I played a Half-Orc, Gloom Stalker called Kurt Tomahawk. He was a grizzled bounty hunter in our Barovia campaign. It was an absolute blast using two handaxes. Highly Recommended!

[@benm5913]

My favorite way to play this is V. Human Gloomstalker Ranger 5/Rogue Assassin 15 with the Urban Bounty Hunter background. Concentrate on archery skills and feats and you have a really good all around character. Hits all the pillers: social interaction, combat, exploration.

[@yarion4774]

My favorite PC was a feral tiefling Gloom Stalker that was a criminal convicted for the death row that was given a second chance by being a conscribt to an order that fights creatures of the underdark. He was great to play with and an amazingly useful, strong character but didn't hog the spotlight. We never made it past Lvl 5 in that campaign but after some thought I didn't go for Battle Master multiclass as the ability to nova in the first round makes it possible for the Gloom Stalker to have a damage potential of about 250 damage in the first round. That's maybe fun for the first few times but I'd like to play the game a bit more so I'd go with Rogue Scout for even more utility.

[@BronzeRivet]

That dagger drop technique goes back to Sayoc Kali's brilliant fight choreography in teh movie The Hunted.

[@phillipwise940]

Im playing a gloom stalker ranger (3) & fighter battle master (3). having great fun action surge + maneuvres + dread ambush + hunter mark

[@Hemperorjoans]

I am playing a gunslinger/gloomstalker along with the alert feat for that extra initiative. He became a ranger after joining the party and decided to help them hunt demons.

[@JrdRvrs]

I'm playing this character in a campaign right now. Currently 5th level. This is also my first D&D character. Loving this sub-class so much. It really makes the ranger shine.

[@JrdRvrs]

My favorite part of this character is fighting in the dark. I get advantage on attacks and they have disadvantage against me with my non-concentration invisibility. I fire my arrows and move to a new location. It terrifies some enemies and confuses others.

[@zanecrane3687]

If I were you I would stop putting levels into Gloom stalker and multi-class into something like Rogue or Monk. Because it's all downhill from there.

[@JrdRvrs]

@@zanecrane3687 I'm talking to my DM about either fixing Natural Explorer/Favored Enemy (maybe like the UA Ranger) or I'll likely be putting in some levels in Rogue or Fighter. We already have 2 monks in the party, we don't need more of that.

[@zanecrane3687]

@@JrdRvrs I would definitely recommend Rogue because fighter and Ranger have a lot of the same features at lower level that don't stack. Such as fighting styles and extra attack. Whereas if you play a rogue you will get expertise, cunning action, and uncanny Dodge. But that's all feature-wise, which is a lot of fun, but also works very well thematically.

[@DaDunge]

My backup character for my current curse of stradh campaign is a warforged gloomstalker, it's always dark you they can essentially never see you and you don't breathe of give of body heat or need to sleep or eat or drink.

[@Wolfblood013]

I love this subclass as a Duergar.

[@danamurray735]

The only races that can really pull it off are originally from the Underdark. The Duergar, The Drow, and The Deep Gnome.

[@shanekelley9042]

I had a wood elf rogue scout/ ranger gloom stalker/ later fighter monster Hunter with cloak of the bat...and yes I played him as elf Batman later lol

[@MikeKilo1969]

Building on the Quiet Place idea, make the tribe Ghostwise Halflings: invisible and silent.

[@mediaaddict3997]

Sounded like you said gloom soccer ranger.... the mental imagery was epic.... I must make this happen.

[@acemoutray8210]

My Gloom Stalker is also a cowboy type character. Bow instead of a gun. Dm wanted to roll for stats so I have good dex, wis, and char. Con is okay. Str. And int. are meh. He's also a Teifling and I took dragons as my first favored enemy choice. Love this archetype Edit: forgot to mention he's a winged teifling so he can fly to get across difficult terrain or to get a good line if sight for his bow.

[@AttisSoul]

my favorite combo for this is changling - actor/crossbow master feat - rogue/assassin multiclass for the ultimate killer for hire!

[@bigc1966]

I played a goblin assassin rogue/gloomstalker ranger for a campaign. The DM said sure, np. After I killed one of the bbeg lieutenant in one round when I went first, he altered the campaign to totally nullify my character. Wasn't fun. ☹

[@thornelson1411]

How much damage did you do in the one hit?

[@Thunder-bw9xm]

Damage is crazy even without assassin. I've done over 50 at level 5, going pure Gloomstalker

[@user-mu8ok5xf8d]

I’m playing a shadow monk that is at level 7 right now. I’m playing int to get levels in gloom starker. My plan is 5 hits with hunters mark at the start of combat. May even dip in fighter to get three more attacks

[@samuelreese1816]

Best feats for gloomstalker; alert, elven accuracy, skulker, sharpshooter, maybe crossbow expert. Fighting styles; archery, UA close range shooter, UA thrown weapon fighting. Mariner for climb and swim speed, +1 to medium armor. Definitely my next player character

[@mentalrebllion1270]

My gloomstalker I use in the Icewind Dale module. Because it’s the arctic the nights are longer than days so most of the missions my group take on are at relative “night.” As for races, the four I consider for gloomstalker are drow (obvious choice), the owlin (if flying is allowed), eladrin (the fey step is dang nice), and harengon (I love that jump). Honestly a lot of races are good for this class. The character I currently play is a drow. It has been fun. I love it. And they are correct, the anxiety can be high. I still take point in a cave and so on though.

[@Balcamion79]

My DM pretty much HATED how effective my Rogue/Gloom Stalker was.

[@DatDudeDamian]

Same!

[@desmondfalakei7108]

Just finished a campaign playing a Gloom Stalker. Very fun, especially in a dungeon just outside the torch light...

[@nickr1818]

I love James. He's so smart and funny,

[@itzplant3196]

I have a gloom stalker I'd love to play soon. They are a Goliath Gloomstalker and she is basically a mercenary/ or killer for hire (I'm still questioning the race a little). Her favorite method is to ambush people. Initially, I wasn't sure between Rogue(scout) or Ranger(GS). But, Ranger just gave me what I wanted earlier on. Which were multiple attacks, ambush type abilities, and the murder stabby fun pack with dual axes.

[@Phoenixcaptain46]

A Gloom Stalker-Phantom multiclass is begging to be made. Cave explorer killed then mysteriously revived and is able to manipulate the shadows. Attacking from a dark corner (repeatedly), doing massive damage, then the extra Wails from the Grave ability to terrify another enemy close by. Predator level deadly.

[@jasoncarmichael8847]

Having Sentinel Shield, or a Weapon of Warning is Fantastic with this sub-Class.

[@matthewhironymous837]

I think a dwarf and deep gnome is a great race for gloomstalker. As clan scouts and explorers searching out new strikes

[@danamurray735]

The Duergar, The Drow, and The Deep Gnome... Wow! Just imagine what that would be like for either one of those races from the Underdark. They already have a few abilities besides the dark vision. Svirfneblin Magic for the Deep Gnomes. The Drow have a few awesome abilities. And The Duergar are pretty amazing too

[@jasontodd7872]

I've been wondering how a Gloom Stalker/Warlock would do. Getting Devil's Sight to go with everything a Gloom Stalker has.

[@Booklat1]

I have this build I've been trying to optimize forever now that uses a half elf to multiclass pact of the blade warlock, swashbuckler ranger and gloomstalker. The idea is to benefit heavily from the initiative bonuses, damage dealing and stealth/perception from all these classes for an extreme duelist kind of character. But i keep wishing that the build used a drow for even more darkvision haha

[@LordTonzilla]

@@Booklat1 I've been considering something very similar and have also considered a bit of bard for additional expertise and other shenanigans.

[@Booklat1]

@@LordTonzilla yeah, 2 lvls of bard and a single lvl of draconic sorc make this build really solid

[@nickm9102]

Haven't done Warlock but I have played a Gloomstalker 3 Thief 13, I have a few magic Items that give me a +17 initiative I choose thief for the lvl 17 extra turn on Initiative -10 but I think he would be much better as assassin because of advantage on attacks if you go before a creature in the Initiative so guaranteed Sneek Attack which at lvl 16 has been 1d8+6d6+6 with Hunter's Mark as an option and in my case from an Oathbow. For Melee I have a Frostbrand rapier and a +2 Rapier if I ever take Dual Wielding.

[@theonlymatthew.l]

@@Booklat1 I've toyed with an Archer build consisting of Gloomstalker 3/ Hexblade (PoB) 5/ Battlemaster 12. Addition to all the Battlemaster maneuvers you get Eldritch Smite, Devil's Sight, The Shield spell... And quite a few other goodies

[@GhostBrigader]

Been running a game with a gloom stalker eladrin, I had to nerf the invisibility in darkness to “advantage to stealth while inside”.

[@jonahmatso1920]

why

[@GhostBrigader]

Jonah Matso we have a ton of fights in the dark so she would have technically been invisible in 90% of combat. Getting disadvantages on most attacks against her felt a little out of wack.

[@adamkaris]

@@GhostBrigader It's completely negated by any light whatsoever. Outside? Moonlight could easily be dim light. No instant invisibility. Glowy mushrooms? That's light. Allies without darkvision? Probably gonna want a torch, screw the gloomstalker. Creatures can also still percieve you with other senses. Blindsense, just regular hearing, smell.

[@theonlymatthew.l]

@@GhostBrigader if you're going to Nerf the most important aspect of the class then why did you let them play it in the first place?

[@andrewheathcote2162]

Anybody have a Beholder roaming it's territory in the Underdark, be completely helpless against a Gloomstalker Ranger? As they have to SEE their enemies for eye stalk effects to work! 🤯

[@ZoeyOnibi]

My gf plays a gloomstalker assassin that is a modified Alrarune Venus fly trapfrom dandwiki. Our dm also let her replace a lot of spells with darkness/plant themed spells. She also has a burrow speed of 15 feet. We are playing a couples campaign right now.

[@binolombardi]

The entire comparison for the gloomstalker going into the shadows to generate disadvantage by not being seen completely takes away the reason why you would use the shadowy dodge feature in the first place. The reason was actually even discussed... if you have to generate disadvantage to enable the feature, disadvantage doesn’t stack... so there’s no reason to use the reaction in that scenario for that feature... A more applicable scenario would be if your fighting a creature that can still see you in the dark, perhaps one with blindsight that can see you in the darkness you will try to take advantage of. You can still use your reaction to impose disadvantage on one of their attacks. Or if for some reason you can’t find any darkness to use the rest of your features, you’re still hard to pin down. At the very least it gives a solid reaction to defensively support this ranger subclass in situations they may not find absorb elements useful.

[@jasoncarmichael8847]

I see the value of using it to get Intelligence Saves, however I think you are understating how incredibly useful Charisma Saves are in the Underdark.

[@fatalfury66]

I had a gloomstalker ranger, he was a member of the guild of underdark guides. I really wish you had the Ranger Revised on DnD beyond. :(

[@TheAzureSkyy]

Playing a gloomstalker ranger/twilight cleric at the moment and it's awesome

[@stevegrodzinski2933]

Need clarification on Dread Ambusher. Is the use of the term combat tied to the entire encounter OR each initial attack upon a new enemy within the same battle? Ex) 6 Bug Bears - as the Gloomstalker kills one enemy do they get Dread Ambusher on the second Bug Bear, then third Bug Bear.... rinse repeat.

[@confused_druid]

I love my Gloomstalker Ranger x Scout Rogue build. There’s great harmony in it 😍👌🏼

[@popularopinion1]

I have a lizardfolk one of these. He's the king of his swamp

[@Wolfblood013]

Oh yeah. I ran this as a Duergar. So much fun.

[@hemmelgarndesigns]

About to play a Death Cleric 1/Gloomstalker 5. The idea is that they made a deal with a god of death to hunt down those who try to cheat death, and in return they would get to live. Essentially a reaper/bounty hunter vibe with the personality of a classic cowboy from westerns.

[@seancornish8990]

Where is Jim Davis at?

[@sirken2]

@D&D Beyond honest question for your all. If a gloom stalker somehow does go down in combat for whatever reason does that drop your invisibility in darkness or are you just lost to your party and at the mercy of rng and death save rolls?

[@danamurray735]

I wonder if that's what the Drow are like as rangers... the Duergar... the Svirfneblin... and the rest of those living in the Underdark, of course, for the rangers of their respective races

[@gilray6951]

Hello, do you have a link or some info on your own Icewind Dale Rime of the Frostmaiden game sessions ? i've heard in your videos that was coming in october i think. I would love to watch this. Thanks a lot !

[@alexcurtis6180]

I'm going to be playing D&D for the first time ever this weekend and I'm going to be playing a Tabaxi Gloomstalker who's eventually going to multiclass into Arcane Archer. Zephyr Strike, Ensnaring Strike, Spike Growth, battlefield control is the name of the game

[@EurekaBe]

so... if with invisibility you become visible after an attack, how does it work with Umbral Sight? does the ranger reveal themselves?

[@matthewhironymous837]

No, because it is not the invisible spell, but is just not being seen in darkness

[@deadpoolrwbyfan8419]

Has anybody played just a straight Gloom Stalker? I keep reading about rogue/GS multi class, but I want to know how just the straight class plays rather than a multi class

[@karhart6663]

I am currently playing one. Just got to L5. I'm a newbie, so I have been underutilizing her a lot. Dread Ambusher with longbow is amazing, esp with H Mark + extra attack. I rarely do melee attacks, bc my dice just don't like it when I go in for the attack and I rarely hit.

[@ianthe2131]

Gloom Stalker is gonna go great with Phantom Rogue from Tasha's. Great way to make a Wild Hunt (German myth, not the Witcher one) character, especially once you get Soul Trinkets.

[@swytchyglytch]

You had to mention Ravenloft... Now I'm imagining an elf wereraven Gloom Stalker with a dip into Twilight Cleric for the extra darkvision and initiative advantage plus sharpshooter, flying about in hybrid form with a longbow or crossbow, staying around 300ft from a target and just pelting them with arrows or bolts lol.

[@32Loveless50]

remember a warlock with Devils Sight can see the Glom Stalker in darkness, as the glom stalkers ability only works vs Darkvision. even if the warlock also have darkvision as the warlock does not rely on the Darkvision to see in darkness.

[@TheTheWalker]

It reminds me so mutch of the legion of death from dragon age. Like dwarfs going down defeating the underdark

[@AttackCop]

Shadar'Kai Gloom Stalker, works adds the Raven Queen Blessing

[@WoWoverlord]

Just made a goblin Gloomstalker in Barovia and it's been a blast. My first session joining the party I snuck underneath their transport cart in the middle of a bloodmoon. As a stowaway we ventured into the town and I assassinated the baron after he threatened us. The party didn't even know I was there till I made my move.

[@sunburnd]

What skills/spells/features would allow a gloomstalker to take 6 shots in the opener? I'm new to DnD and can't wrap my head around getting more than two 😂

[@SkyyWalker2137]

I know it’s been 10 months but maybe you’re still interested. 5 levels of ranger 2 levels of fighter. 2 attacks + Dread ambusher after that you action surge to get the 3 attacks again. If you have crossbow expert use bonus action for 1 more attack. That’s 7 attacks.

[@sunburnd]

@@SkyyWalker2137 thx!! Will keep this in mind 👍

[@christopheroneill77]

our all drow party crossed into this more often than not

[@royschindell5730]

Bugbear Gloomstalker, the ultimate ambusher!

[@FrznTrx5]

Where do I find this???

[@Balcamion79]

Xanathar's Guide to Everything. You can buy just the subclass on dndbeyond for $1.99 if you want to use that platform.

[@mariannemcilrath3767]

Will you demonstrate how to paint a Gloomstalker dragon ?

[@JohnSmith-nd9oh]

I’m thinking of making a multi class character 3 levels of gloom stalker for the invisibility and the ambush bonuses with at least 8 levels of twilight cleric for the buffing and bonuses to attack and flight ability there’s good synergy there what do you think?

[@Dark-Lord-Of-The-Sith]

I miss Infravision..... But seeing as I run a Drow campaign, I am going to nudge my players towards this subclass. The guards around Menzoberranzan just got even more Uber. LOL

[@nickm9102]

For that kind of campaign I can't think of anything better than a Hex stalker. Devil's Sight for darkness play and Gloomstalker for all the fun before the lights are on.

[@danamurray735]

The Drow already terrorized The Deep Gnomes. They better hope that those little guys don't become Gloom Stalkers and get revenge for the invasion of Blingdenstone.

[@Dark-Lord-Of-The-Sith]

@@danamurray735 they can try but ultimately they will fail. Drow are the Elven Perfection in all ways.

[@thedeaderer8791]

I've always thought it would be cool if rangers got to use a damage cantrip added to there arrows. Like a firebolt shot or something like that. A Lil boost of damage to their shots

[@jaredwatterson6119]

Love gloom stalker!! I play gloom stalker/assassin of Mask.

[@samuelreese1816]

I feel like the ranger is like DNDs version of the witcher, excellent at physical combat, and has mastered what necessary skills by way of magic to get the job done, or survive for another day. Think of these less like spells and more like the artificers options of spells, mundane means to similar effects, optimising the situation to fit your needs. Also my favorite npc to scare murder hobos is a changeling gloom stalker4/ assassin4/fighter12 named Billy butcher who acts as a bounty hunter. You can come in warm, or you can come in cold.

[@Rick.Grayson]

The ranger class existed decades before The Witcher books.

[@AllThingsFascinate]

@@Rick.Grayson sigh. He's not saying it's a rip off. He's talking about how he imagines them

[@Thunder-bw9xm]

Sounds cool. Consider checking out Bloodhunter, which was very much Witcher inspired

[@archielamarr2950]

Well what i like to play as a Gloomstalker is a Gloomstalker/ battle smith or artillerist Artaficer race is mark of the shadows and i take hand crossbow and shield with studded leather armor putting my 2 infusions one on the shield the other on the hand cross bow 14s on dex and con and int and 10s on the rest of my stat's that's how i would play a Gloomstalker

[@KronikxVirus]

I cant decide between Variant Human choosing Crossbow Expert or Sharpshooter at lvl 1, and a Wood Elf with Elven Accuracy then Sharpshooter

[@Leivve]

Since they are talking about dark vision so much. A think people should remember, Dark vision lets you see in darkness as though it were DIM light. Mechanically dim light is considered obscure, meaning disadvantage to perception and investigation, disadvantage on attacks; ect. Even if you're a gloomstalker, or a party of elves, you still need torches.

[@mobogreat]

According to the PHB (vision and light in the environment section) dim light is lihtly obscured, which only provides disadvantage on perception checks based on sight and nothing else.

[@binolombardi]

The alert feat not only supports this subclasses strength by further boosting the initiative, but the secondary benefits boost the this rangers defense to tactics that may be used to even the playing field by enemies in darkness. Enemy creatures may consider casting fog cloud or the darkness spell to heavily obscure your vision, but the alert feat takes away the advantage they would normally gain from you not being able to see them. If they are also blind, you have regular attack rolls and they have disadvantage on their attack rolls vs you. If they can see you, like when dealing with devils, then the advantage they would normally enjoy is taken away and they are still rolling normally against you. There’s also the fact that you literally cannot be surprised, so long as you’re basically awake. All of this goes so far to fight the bad dice rolls that may lead to a PC death or even a party wipe.

[@jasoncarmichael8847]

I'm not really on board with the concept of given them DisAdvantage to take away Advantage, then using a Class Feature to give them DisAdvantage. The base rules are that no matter how many Advantage and DisAdvantage you have stacked up, only one of each counts.That seems to go against the RAW and the RAI of Advantage/DisAdvantage.

[@paulschirf9259]

Great weapon master on an additional attack that already does extra damage?

[@davidprovan2756]

Gloom changing is fun

[@MisterDantastic]

Movie gloomstalker: The Predator (original movie, not talking about the silly remake)

[@maklorn]

doomstalker is over powered in several ways - they get an extra attack in their first action, extra damage on that attack and in darkness against creatures using darkvision they have perm invis - its an almost unstoppable character in any dark environment unless you just make all areas have light or make all the creatures have blind sight - ridiculously powerful - a level 3ranger/1 wizard kills an ancient dragon in the dark as long as it stays outside of the blindsight - cantrip, move, cantrip move, cantrip, move eventually win

[@xXIronMutXx]

Gloom Stalker sneaking into an urban masquerade? Sounds like another way to play Batman (no complaints).

[@antoinewilliams1358]

Drow rogue/assassin.. Monk/way of the shadow/... Ranger/gloomstalker.. Heres an interesting tweek.. Instead of trying to integrate the orient into your campaign, use racial weapons instead of the oriental monk weapons as class weapons. It makes for a more traditional and dare i say spiritual feeling character concept.. 5th edition front loads every class for the most part.. It encourages players to multiclass so for this system, try choosing any three classes, create your own concept, map out the progression for your concept.. This particular build is for what I call Shadow Blade Assassin. It starts as a monastic training background combined with the traditional elven weapons and stealth training within dark elf society.. A radical sect of drow composed of mostly male remnants of fallen houses trained and hired out as professional assassins that are not chained by lolth.. Gloom Ranger can disguise self.. Can i disguise myself as a shadow.. Just in case invisible to darkvision isnt enough.

[@loganreed291]

Steel Wind Strike would be better if it used a weapon attack instead of a spell attack. Feel like it's a spell designed for a gish type character but uses the spellcasting stat. Probably better going with Swift Quiver over Steel Wind Strike any day. More so if your DM lets you use the Class Variants UA for non-concentration Hunter's Mark. Not that many people get to this level of play with a ranger anyway.

[@realitylime4896]

23:00 oops caught not paying attention 😂

[@iVardensphere]

Gloomstalker in a movie: The Crow

[@Rick.Grayson]

I mean The Crow has none of those abilities.

[@iVardensphere]

@@Rick.Grayson not talking abilities. I'm talking roleplay vibe.

[@jelte3754]

Mind Flayers detect thoughts at will, they will eat you :]

[@rowdienights9136]

Do they literally never roll the dice for abilities?

[@KarmahsQuest]

Kenku gloomstalker invisibly mocking his targets from the darkness with there own words. Yes please!!!!!

[@SmorgusBorg]

Played this class in the Avernus campaign, and couldn't help but continually feel I was underpowered and out of place. It was not very fun.

[@DaDunge]

45:00 Rangers should have spells prepared not spells known.

[@danwaters4139]

Take goblin as your race for even more roguish flavour. You basically get the rogues cunning action as a racial trait :0

[@ensvenskateist3564]

One caracter is that X-men mutant Nightcravler that have and passiv power that make him melt in to shadow, i like to se a buld of him :)

[@mrcorrosion1831]

Warforged gloomstalker ranger with a dip in armorer ranger with the infiltrator armor.

[@dq4331]

Erelhei-Cinclu is a more diverse and interesting Drow city (IMO).

[@danamurray735]

The Drow better hope that those little Deep Gnomes don't become Gloom Stalkers and get revenge for Blingdenstone