Ranger
A hunter and tracker of the borderlands: sharp-eyed, sure-footed, and easier with beasts than people.
| Role | Difficulty | Key stats | Hit points | Mana | Spells given |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighter, archer | Normal | Dexterity, Willpower | 5 | 2 | 3, from level 6 |
Plays like: Shoots from a distance with a bow, beside an animal companion that holds the foe.
Starts with: a short bow (readied); 24 arrows (quivered); a short sword (wielded); a leather jerkin (being worn); a pair of leather boots (being worn); a knife; 3 strips of dried meat; 8 gold coins; 1d2 random spell scrolls (each the scroll of one of the 45 spells of spell level 9 or below, as likely as any other) (see Starting kit).
See also: Focus and Companions.
How to play
You fight from a distance. Shoot with your short bow (t, then
aim), and let your animal companion, with you from
the first turn, keep foes off you; the short sword is for when they get close. Pick your arrows up
after a fight, and make more with your knife (Fletching): the
Fletcher makes twice as many. Favoured prey makes you
better against the kind of creature you have killed most.
Levels
A bonus talent at levels 10, 20, 30, 45, 55, from Weaponcraft or Wayfarer.
| Level | Ability | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fletcher | fletching takes 50 % of its time, +4 on its check, 2 times the arrows or bolts after the check, and they are plain at any Woodcraft |
| 1 | Animal companion | an animal companion from the first turn: a beast of your race’s kind, or rarely a rarer one, that fights for you, always comes along, and grows with your level; +2 on your taming checks |
| 1 | Favoured prey | against the creature type you have killed most (ties: the first to get there), to hit +1 and damage +2 |
| 2 | Stalker’s eye | you see which creatures in view have not noticed you: look mode says “unaware of you”, and their glyphs are drawn a shade cooler, breathing slowly (standing still with reduced effects) |
| 6 | Tracker | hears sounds 3 fainter; every sound you hear is placed at the cell it came from, not roughly |
| 6 | Barkskin | the spell Barkskin (level 3, a cast, 4 mana): you are Barkskin (1) |
| 9 | Nightsight | the spell Nightsight (level 4, a cast, 4 mana): you are Cat-eyed (1) |
| 12 | Rapid shot | you hold Focus from now on; a shot you loose while you hold 2 focus spends them and takes 10 % less time |
| 12 | Water walking | the spell Water walking (level 5, a cast, 5 mana): you are Water-borne (1) |
| 18 | Pack tactics | a creature beside both you and your companion is flanked: your melee attacks and your companion’s at it, to hit +2 (not shots, throws, or spells); your companion’s attacks at your favoured prey carry your Favoured prey bonus, to hit and damage (Master hunter’s too) |
| 25 | Hunter’s bond | you see what your companion sees, by its own eyes, and the foes its nose finds, through the dark and closed doors; a buff that lands on you or your companion lands on the other too, at the same strength; a hex never does |
| 32 | Evasion | damage from bursts and bolts (traps, scrolls) −50 % (rounded down) |
| 40 | Sic ’em | active (the time of a wait), at a creature you see within 10 cells that is hostile to you: your companion hunts it, and is Savage (3 degrees): half again as fast, and each hit a critical with no confirmation, a degree each; costs 5 focus |
| 50 | Volley | active (the time of one shot, one exertion), at a cell: 3 shots of the readied missile weapon; costs 6 focus |
| 60 | Master hunter | threat range +1 with Bows; threat range +1 with Crossbows; against the creature type you have killed most (ties: the first to get there), to hit +1 and damage +2 |
Abilities
The ranger’s rapid shot and volley run on focus.
The ranger’s favoured prey is the kind of creature you have killed most, counted over every level. When two are tied, the one that got there first stays favoured until another is killed more often.
Pack tactics (level 18) makes you and your companion hunt as one. A creature standing beside you both is flanked. Your melee attacks and your companion’s at it get +2 to hit (not shots, throws, or spells). Your companion’s attacks at your favoured prey also carry your favoured prey bonus to hit and damage (Master hunter’s too).
Sic ’em (level 40) sets your companion on a creature you see, for 5 focus. It hunts that creature, savage.
A volley looses three shots of your readied missile weapon at the place you aim at, one after another, for the time of one ordinary shot. It stops early when you run out of ammunition, and costs 6 focus.
Rapid shot gives you focus (10, full). Every shot you loose while you have at least 2 focus spends 2 and takes 10 % less time. With less, it is an ordinary shot.