DnD’s new, spooky Ranger doubles down on the class’ most divisive feature

Wizards of the Coast has released a new Unearthed Arcana playtest packet for Dungeons and Dragons, packed with horror themed subclasses. Lore wise, the Hollow Warden puts a gruesome new spin on the Ranger, turning them into a relentless and sinister stalker of the outlands with a connection to the dark and unforgiving heart of nature – but it’s even more reliant on the spell Hunters Mark than the Ranger subclasses in the core rules.

All the DnD classes were overhauled for the 2024 version of the DnD rules, and we expect there to be internet arguments about whether that was a good or a bad thing for plenty of years to come. Under the new rules, many of the Ranger’s class features only work when the spell Hunter’s Mark is in effect. And since Hunter’s Mark is a concentration spell, it’s incompatible with a whole bunch of other spells on the DnD Ranger spell list, arguably forcing the class into a narrow corner of what it should be good at.

If you were hoping for the Ranger subclass in the May 2025 Unearthed Arcana pack to be free from Hunter’s Mark dependency, we’ve got bad news. Almost all of the Hollow Warden’s subclass features are conditional on Hunter’s Mark being active. That doesn’t stop it being very cool, though, it just doesn’t break away from that core design conceit.

Here are the Hollow Warden subclass features:

Spells

At the appropriate levels, the Hollow Warden always has the following spells prepared:

Wrath of the Wild – Level 3

While Hunter’s Mark is active the Ranger transforms into a terrifying creature with aspects of primordial fear:

• The Ranger gets an AC bonus equal to Wisdom modifier, minimum +1.
• The Ranger emanates a 10 foot ‘Unnerving Aura’; enemies starting their turn in the Aura must pass a Wisdom saving throw, sacrificing either their Action or Bonus Action on a failed save.

Hungering Might – Level 7

• The Ranger adds their Wisdom modifier to their Constitution save (minimum +1).
• While Hunter’s Mark is active and the Ranger is transformed, and if they are bloodied, they regain D10 + Wisdom modifier HP whenever they hit an enemy with an attack.

Rot and Violence – Level 11

While Hunter’s Mark is active and the Ranger is transformed:

• If a creature fails its save against their Unnerving Aura, that creature takes Necrotic, Poison, or Psychic damage equal to the Ranger’s Ranger level, which ignores Resistance.
• When hitting a creature with a weapon, the Ranger can activate the Sap or Slow weapon masteries as well as another mastery property of the weapon.

Ancient Endurance – Level 15

• While the Hunter’s Mark is active and the Ranger is transformed, if they would reach zero HP they can expend a level four or higher spell slot without using an action. Their HP becomes five times the spell slot level instead of zero.
• The Ranger cannot gain levels of Exhaustion.

Flavor wise, this is basically the killer from a slasher movie, a relentless pursuer that is very hard to kill and which terrifies its prey into inaction. If you think you’re going to give this beast a spin – or you can recommend some great slasher flicks we might have missed – we’d love to hear from you in the official Wargamer Discord community.

If you want inspiration for a new Ranger with a monstrous vibe, we absolutely recommend you check out the unbelievable costumes from the Miss Universe Philippines‘ ‘mythology’ themed costume round. No, really! The outfits are like cosplay with couture tailoring and absurd budgets.

Source: Wargamer