The Hollow Warden Unleashed: Horror Comes to the Ranger Class for 5e D&D

The Hollow Warden Unleashed: Horror Comes to the Ranger Class for 5e D&D

June 3, 2025

At The Gaming Table/ Dungeons & Dragons/ Previews

Wizards of the Coast has just dropped a chilling new Unearthed Arcana, and among the haunting offerings is the Hollow Warden—a Ranger subclass steeped in spectral dread and macabre mystery. With a bond to the dead and a harrowing connection to the borders of life and afterlife, this subclass pushes the Ranger into new narrative and mechanical territory perfect for horror-themed campaigns. In this post, we break down everything you need to know about the Hollow Warden—from its lore roots to its unique ghostly features. For a deeper dive, we’ve included the full transcript of our YouTube video review and discussion right here in the post. Check out the video here. See more ranger content with our own ranger subclass here.

Hollow Warden Ranger

Dave:
Hello and welcome to Nerdarchy: For Nerds, By Nerds. I’m Nerdarchist Dave, joined by my favorite co-conspirator in subclass scheming—

Ted:
Nerdarchist Ted! Greetings, adventurers, character builders, and lovers of spooky subclasses. Tonight, we’re cracking open the crypt that is Unearthed Arcana: Horror Subclasses from Wizards of the Coast. They’ve reanimated and revised six fan-favorite dark-themed subclasses—from Bard to Warlock—and we’re here to dissect them, compare them, and maybe scream a little about power balance.

Dave:
Whether you’re here to terrify your table, min-max a shadow sorcerer, or just geek out with us over spooky builds, you’re in the right place. So settle in, light a candle, and let’s get unsettling with the Horror Subclasses from Unearthed Arcana 2025.

Ranger: Hollow Warden

Ted:
This one’s brand new. The Hollow Warden draws on the might of ancient, wild terrors. These are primeval and bloodthirsty entities said to dwell in the forgotten corners of the world—fallow soil, jagged cliffs, twisted forests. Hollow Wardens tap into their power, becoming monstrous, merciless guardians of the wilderness.

Level 3 – Features

Dave:
At 3rd level, you get your Hollow Warden Spells auto-prepared:

3rd: Wrathful Smite
5th: Spike Growth
9th: Phantom Steed
13th: Hallucinatory Terrain
17th: Awaken

Cool, flavorful list—though, as with all Rangers, you’ll get the higher-level stuff a bit late.

Ted:
Then there’s Wrath of the Wild. When you cast Hunter’s Mark, you transform—visually and mechanically. For the spell’s duration, you get:

Ancient Armor: Add your Wisdom modifier (minimum +1) to your AC.
Unnerving Aura: Enemies that start their turn within 10 feet must make a Wisdom save or only take an action or bonus action (not both) on their turn.
Your body visibly changes—bark skin, antlers, bristles, bloody fangs.

Dave:
This is a smart upgrade that builds directly on Hunter’s Mark, which is now baked into the 2024 core Ranger identity. I love how it thematically and mechanically reinforces that.

Ted:
Totally. I’m a sucker for visual transformation. And Ancient Armor—yeah, I suspect this will be reworded. Right now, it stacks with unarmored defense like Monk’s, which could lead to AC stacking exploits.

Dave:
Good catch. A custom formula, like “AC equals 13 + Wisdom modifier,” might replace it in the final version. Still, it’s a meaningful early-game defense buff.

Ted:
Thematically, it also pushes you toward Wisdom, which is key here. The aura’s save DC depends on it, and the healing later does too.

Level 7 – Hungering Might

Dave:
At level 7, you get:

Bonus to Constitution saving throws equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum +1).
While bloodied, once per turn when you hit with an attack while transformed, you regain 1d10 + Wisdom modifier HP.

Ted:
This is solid mid-combat healing and helps offset the stat spread stress Rangers deal with—STR/DEX, CON, WIS—it’s a lot. This feature leans into survivability when you’re on the edge.

Level 11 – Rot and Violence

Ted:
When you use Wrath of the Wild, you gain two upgrades:

Eerie Aura: Enemies who fail against your Unnerving Aura now take necrotic, poison, or psychic damage (your choice) equal to your Ranger level. This damage ignores resistance.
Strangling Roots: When you hit with a weapon attack, you can apply the Sap or Slow weapon mastery property in addition to another property on the weapon.

Dave:
These are very cool. The aura becomes low-key slow and you start stacking weapon mastery effects. Also, damage that ignores resistance is big—it guarantees you feel impactful even against heavily resistant enemies.

Level 15 – Ancient Endurance

Ted:
You become truly monstrous:

Persistent Hunt: If you drop to 0 HP while transformed and don’t die outright, you can expend a 4th+ level spell slot (no action required) and immediately jump to 5 × spell level HP.
Timeless: You become immune to the Exhaustion condition.

Dave:
Being immune to exhaustion is solid, especially with how it affects D20 rolls in the new rules. And Persistent Hunt? That’s clutch survivability in boss fights or big wilderness throwdowns.

Final Thoughts

Ted:
This subclass is a theme home run. Visually evocative, full of gnarly wilderness power—rot, antlers, horror. It leans into the new Ranger design and gives combat presence and utility.

Dave:
My only knock is… Ranger still sits a little behind, balance-wise. They’re better than in 2014, but other classes leveled up too, so the gap didn’t shrink enough.

Ted:
That said, people still love playing Rangers. Even when playing the oft-maligned Beast Master, I had a great time—and this subclass offers great RP and mechanics.

Dave:
Absolutely. You don’t need top-tier numbers to have fun in 5e. Whether you’re min-maxed or not, if your table and story are great, that’s what really matters.

Ted:
So what do you think? Are you playing Rangers in 2024? What do you make of the Hollow Warden? Let us know in the comments!

Both:
Thanks for joining us in the crypt tonight. Whether you’re haunted by balance questions or inspired to write a new campaign arc, these horror subclasses definitely bring the flavor.
Like what you saw? Smash the like button like a warlock pact gone wrong and subscribe so you don’t miss the next time a wizard straps fresh souls—I mean, subclasses—on the slab.
Until next time… stay nerdy!

The Hollow Warden is more than just a spooky subclass—it’s a reimagining of the Ranger as a sentinel of the liminal, a hunter of horrors who walks among the echoes of death. Whether you’re building a character touched by tragedy or a ghostly guardian of forgotten places, this subclass brings flavor and fear in equal measure. Be sure to check out the full video breakdown, and if you want to follow along or revisit key points, the complete transcript is available below. Let us know what terrifying twists you’d bring to your campaign with the Hollow Warden!