It seems that Rangers do not get the second hit die at 1st level. Is this unique to TOEE, or is that something that changed in general with D&D?
That got changed way back in 2nd Edition (and continued in 3rd Ed). In 2E, Rangers got 1d10 per level, just like fighters and paladins. In 3.5, the ranger was changed into to more of a scout with additional abilities and their HD was dropped to 1d8 per level.
Some fan of Orcs in D&D must have gotten hired on at WotC or Hasbro to get Ranger stats changed like that.
If you're going to take the ranged specialist feats, a d8 is plenty. I personally like Rogue/Ranger multiclassers with PB Shot and Precise Shot.
