Alright, adventurers! Let's dive deep into the fascinating world of the Horizon Walker, a ranger subclass in Dungeons & Dragons that's all about traversing dimensions and battling threats from beyond. We'll cover everything from character creation to advanced tactics, sprinkling in some Reddit client recommendations to keep you connected with the D&D community. So, buckle up, grab your dice, and let’s get started!

Understanding the Horizon Walker

The Horizon Walker is a ranger subclass detailed in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, and it's perfect for players who love the idea of teleporting around the battlefield and dealing extra damage to otherworldly foes. This subclass emphasizes mobility, planar knowledge, and a knack for banishing or destroying creatures that threaten the material plane.

Key Features of the Horizon Walker:

• Planar Warrior: At 3rd level, you gain the ability to convert your weapon damage into force damage, which is one of the least resisted damage types in the game. Additionally, you can deal extra damage to a target after teleporting or moving a certain distance, making you a highly mobile damage dealer.
• Ethereal Step: Also at 3rd level, you can cast the Etherealness spell, allowing you to step into the Ethereal Plane for a short time. This ability is fantastic for scouting, escaping danger, or bypassing obstacles.
• Distant Strike: At 11th level, this feature allows you to attack multiple enemies in a single turn, provided they are at least 10 feet apart. This greatly enhances your crowd control and damage potential in larger encounters.
• Spectral Defense: At 15th level, you gain resistance to force damage and advantage on saving throws against effects from other planes. This makes you incredibly resilient against extraplanar threats.

Creating Your Horizon Walker

When creating your Horizon Walker, several key decisions can significantly impact your character's effectiveness and playstyle. From choosing the right race and ability scores to selecting optimal spells and equipment, let's break down the essential elements to consider.

Race

Choosing the right race can provide a significant boost to your Horizon Walker. Here are some excellent options:

• Wood Elf: The Wood Elf's increased movement speed and proficiency in Stealth make them excellent scouts and skirmishers, perfectly complementing the Horizon Walker's mobility.
• Half-Elf: Half-Elves gain two skill proficiencies of their choice and +2 to Charisma, plus +1 to two other ability scores. This flexibility allows you to tailor your character to specific roles and fill gaps in your party.
• Variant Human: Variant Humans get a feat at 1st level, which can be incredibly powerful. Feats like Crossbow Expert or Sharpshooter can significantly enhance your damage output early on.
• Githzerai: Githzerai have resistance to psychic damage and advantage on saves against being charmed or frightened, which is great for a character dealing with planar threats.

Ability Scores

Prioritizing the right ability scores is crucial for any D&D character. For a Horizon Walker, focus on the following:

• Dexterity: This is your primary stat, as it affects your attack rolls, AC, and many common skills like Stealth and Acrobatics.
• Wisdom: Wisdom is essential for your spellcasting. Many ranger spells rely on your Wisdom score to determine their effectiveness.
• Constitution: A high Constitution score increases your hit points and improves your Constitution saving throws, helping you maintain concentration on spells when you take damage.
• Intelligence/Charisma/Strength: These can be considered your dump stats, but depending on your roleplaying preferences, you might want to invest a bit in Charisma for social interactions or Intelligence for knowledge skills.

Skills and Backgrounds

Choose skills that align with the Horizon Walker's theme of exploration and planar knowledge. Good choices include:

• Survival: Essential for navigating wilderness environments and finding food and water.
• Perception: Helps you spot hidden threats and objects.
• Stealth: Allows you to move unseen and unheard.
• Arcana: Useful for identifying magical items and understanding arcane phenomena.
• Nature: Helps you understand the natural world and its creatures.

As for backgrounds, consider these options:

• Outlander: Provides proficiency in Survival and Athletics, fitting the ranger's wilderness expertise.
• Hermit: Grants proficiency in Medicine and Religion, reflecting a secluded and contemplative lifestyle.
• Folk Hero: Offers proficiency in Animal Handling and Survival, representing someone who has protected their community.

Leveling Up Your Horizon Walker

As you level up, your Horizon Walker gains new abilities and spells that enhance their combat prowess and utility. Here’s a breakdown of key milestones and choices to consider:

Levels 1-3: The Foundation

• Level 1: As a ranger, you start with decent hit points, proficiency in simple and martial weapons, and several useful skills. Choose your favored enemy and natural explorer based on your campaign setting.
• Level 2: You gain access to ranger spells. Hunter's Mark is a must-have for increasing your damage output against a single target. Goodberry provides a reliable source of healing and sustenance.
• Level 3: This is when you choose the Horizon Walker subclass. Your Planar Warrior and Ethereal Step abilities significantly enhance your combat mobility and tactical options.

Levels 4-10: Enhancing Your Abilities

• Level 4: Choose an Ability Score Improvement (ASI) or a feat. Sharpshooter or Crossbow Expert can greatly increase your damage output if you focus on ranged attacks. Alternatively, increase your Dexterity or Wisdom.
• Level 5: You gain Extra Attack, allowing you to make two attacks instead of one when you take the Attack action. Pass Without Trace is another excellent spell to add to your repertoire for stealth missions.
• Level 6: Improved Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer further customize your character based on your campaign.
• Level 8: Another ASI or feat. Consider Resilient (Constitution) to improve your concentration saves or Lucky for added versatility.
• Level 9: You gain access to 3rd-level spells. Conjure Animals can provide a significant boost to your combat effectiveness, especially if you need additional allies on the battlefield.

Levels 11-20: Mastering the Planes

• Level 11: Distant Strike allows you to attack multiple enemies in a single turn, greatly enhancing your crowd control and damage potential.
• Level 12: Another ASI or feat. Consider Alert to improve your initiative or Mobile for even greater mobility.
• Level 13: Access to 4th-level spells. Guardian of Nature can provide significant combat buffs, depending on the form you choose.
• Level 15: Spectral Defense makes you incredibly resilient against extraplanar threats, providing resistance to force damage and advantage on saving throws against effects from other planes.
• Level 16: Another ASI or feat. Max out your Dexterity or Wisdom, or choose a feat like Tough for increased survivability.
• Level 17: Access to 5th-level spells. Swift Quiver is an excellent choice for ranged combat, allowing you to make two additional attacks as a bonus action.
• Levels 18-20: These levels provide incremental improvements to your existing abilities and access to higher-level ranger features. Focus on honing your skills and enjoying the culmination of your character's journey.

Combat Tactics for the Horizon Walker

The Horizon Walker excels in combat through a combination of mobility, tactical positioning, and damage output. Here are some strategies to maximize your effectiveness:

• Utilize Planar Warrior: Always remember to activate Planar Warrior when engaging in combat to convert your weapon damage into force damage and deal extra damage after teleporting or moving a significant distance.
• Leverage Ethereal Step: Use Ethereal Step to scout ahead, bypass obstacles, or escape dangerous situations. Remember that you can't interact with creatures or objects on the Material Plane while in the Ethereal Plane, so plan accordingly.
• Exploit Distant Strike: Position yourself strategically to take advantage of Distant Strike, attacking multiple enemies who are at least 10 feet apart. This can be especially effective in crowded encounters.
• Maintain Concentration: Many of your most powerful spells require concentration, so protect yourself from damage and avoid situations where you might be forced to make concentration checks. The Resilient (Constitution) feat can be invaluable in this regard.
• Coordinate with Your Party: Communicate with your party members to coordinate your attacks and movements. The Horizon Walker's mobility and tactical flexibility make them an excellent asset in any team composition.

Recommended Feats

Feats can significantly enhance your Horizon Walker's capabilities. Here are some of the best options:

• Sharpshooter: If you focus on ranged attacks, Sharpshooter is a must-have. It allows you to ignore cover and adds a significant damage boost at the cost of accuracy.
• Crossbow Expert: Another excellent choice for ranged combat, Crossbow Expert allows you to ignore the loading property of crossbows and make a bonus action attack with a hand crossbow.
• Resilient (Constitution): Improves your Constitution saving throws, making it easier to maintain concentration on spells when you take damage.
• Mobile: Increases your movement speed and allows you to avoid opportunity attacks, further enhancing your mobility.
• Alert: Provides a bonus to initiative and prevents you from being surprised, allowing you to act quickly in combat.
• Lucky: Allows you to reroll attack rolls, saving throws, or ability checks, providing added versatility and reliability.

Multiclassing Options

While the Horizon Walker is a powerful subclass on its own, multiclassing can offer additional benefits and flexibility. Here are some options to consider:

• Fighter: Dipping into Fighter for one or two levels can provide access to Fighting Styles (such as Archery or Defense) and Action Surge, which allows you to take an additional action in combat.
• Rogue: A few levels in Rogue can grant you Sneak Attack damage and additional skills, making you an even more versatile character.
• Cleric: Dipping into Cleric can provide access to healing spells and other utility abilities, supplementing the ranger's spell list.

Horizon Walker PC Client Reddit

Now, let's talk about staying connected with the D&D community! Reddit is an incredible resource for players of all levels, offering a wealth of information, advice, and community support. Here are some recommended Reddit clients for your PC:

• Reddit Enhancement Suite (RES): This browser extension enhances the Reddit experience with features like night mode, inline image viewer, and improved navigation.
• Old Reddit: While not a client, many users prefer the classic interface of Old Reddit for its simplicity and speed. You can switch to Old Reddit in your preferences.
• RIF (Reddit is Fun): Although primarily a mobile app, some users run Android emulators on their PC to use RIF for its customizable interface and features.
• Apollo: Another popular mobile app with a clean and intuitive interface, often emulated on PC.

Engaging with the D&D Community on Reddit

Here are some subreddits to check out for Horizon Walker and D&D content:

• /r/DnD: The main D&D subreddit, offering general discussions, news, and advice.
• /r/DungeonsAndDragons: Another popular D&D subreddit with a focus on gameplay and character creation.
• /r/3d6: Dedicated to D&D character optimization, providing advice on building effective characters.
• /r/PCAcademy: A subreddit for players seeking advice on playing their characters.
• /r/HorizonWalker: A specific subreddit that might exist (though less active), dedicated to the Horizon Walker subclass.

Roleplaying the Horizon Walker

Beyond combat and mechanics, roleplaying your Horizon Walker can be incredibly rewarding. Consider these aspects when developing your character:

• Motivation: Why did your character become a Horizon Walker? Were they driven by a desire to protect the Material Plane from extraplanar threats, or were they seeking knowledge and understanding of other dimensions?
• Personality: Are they stoic and focused, or adventurous and curious? Do they have a strong sense of duty, or are they more interested in exploring the unknown?
• Background: How did their past experiences shape their views and abilities? Did they have a mentor who taught them about the planes, or did they stumble upon their powers through a chance encounter?
• Goals: What are their long-term goals? Do they seek to close dangerous portals, uncover ancient secrets, or master the art of planar travel?

Equipment Recommendations

Equipping your Horizon Walker with the right gear can significantly enhance their combat effectiveness and utility. Here are some recommendations:

• Weapons: A longbow or heavy crossbow is ideal for ranged combat, especially if you take the Sharpshooter or Crossbow Expert feats. A longsword or rapier can be useful for melee combat.
• Armor: Medium armor provides a good balance of protection and mobility. Consider investing in magical armor with enhancements like +1 AC or resistance to certain damage types.
• Magic Items: Some useful magic items for a Horizon Walker include: Boots of Elvenkind, Cloak of Protection, Ring of Evasion, and weapons with damage or accuracy bonuses.

Final Thoughts

The Horizon Walker is a dynamic and versatile ranger subclass that offers a unique blend of mobility, damage output, and tactical options. By carefully considering your race, ability scores, skills, spells, and feats, you can create a character that excels in combat and exploration. Remember to engage with the D&D community on Reddit and other platforms to share your experiences and learn from others. Happy adventuring, and may your travels through the planes be filled with excitement and wonder! Guys, have fun and enjoy your adventure! Be the best horizon walker. Remember to balance damage, mobility, and roleplaying to make your character the best it can be. Keep your character concept and try to find opportunities to incorporate roleplaying aspects. Be creative and use the freedom the system offers to shape your character. Have fun playing D&D!