Becoming a Ranger

[Dezidryk]

basically i'm scared to do ANYTHING related to schools of combat, institutes etc because I know once you complete their quests you are automatically made into a fighter as is the case with the skullport underdark institute, I really want to become a ranger and as of right now apparently it's just a waiting game for one of the council to get on, is there maybe some code that can be put in giving you a warning if you're about to become a fighter/ranger/paladin/barbarian etc?

[Harroghty]

The School of Combat in Waterdeep offers you the opportunity to apply for membership, but it does not confer the new class automatically.

I expect that the others are similar, but cannot confirm or deny it.

[Zasheir]

If I understand correctly, the problem is that it is unclear whether a school is offering to set your class or simply teach you. It might be nice if there were some sort of OOC message to make it explicitly clear that you're about to do something irreversible.

I know I've seen at least one "school" that behaved just like the guilds. In that case, my problem was the opposite. I thought I was getting my class, but I was just following a quest.

[Lathander]

Here are your options as I see them. I think all of the options should be exercised in order, but this is opinion not policy.

1. Handle it in-game
2. Post messages on the in-game city and ranger message boards (you can have your mentoring ranger do the latter one if you can't access the area).
3. Send a letter via the in-game postal service to any/all ranger council members.
4. PM any and all council members using the board's PM system.
5. If all of the above do not work, send in an application.

[Gwain]

basically i'm scared to do ANYTHING related to schools of combat, institutes etc because I know once you complete their quests you are automatically made into a fighter as is the case with the skullport underdark institute, I really want to become a ranger and as of right now apparently it's just a waiting game for one of the council to get on, is there maybe some code that can be put in giving you a warning if you're about to become a fighter/ranger/paladin/barbarian etc?

If you are a drow, denizen of Skullport, etc, you probably cannot become a ranger because of alignment and race restrictions. My information may be dated though.

[Sei]

no malarite rangers??

[Larethiel]

Quoted from the helpfiles of rangers:

Rangers can only be of good alignment.

That should answer the Malarite Ranger thing as well as the drow-ranger question.

[Kallias]

But that's outdated and should be changed. Besides Mielikki, Malar by far has the most rangers. Rangers are nothing more than outdoorsmen who cast some divine magic. If there ever was an alignment restriction, it was probably back when the class was a kit instead of a core class. Soooo, mid 80's to mid 90's?

Anyway, it's old. And certainly not up to date in our FK world when compared to everything else.

[Lathander]

I'm not trying to be rude here, but I think there is already an "evil ranger" thread out there somewhere. There's no objection to anyone continuing that discussion, but I think this is a different topic.

[Kallias]

Just pointing out that it isn't, or shouldn't be, definitive. It's an out of date rule, and needs to be pointed out every single time someone says rangers are only good.

[Gwain]

As a constantly evolving game, its important to suggest things over demanding or correcting incessantly to get them to change. Posting in the evil ranger discussion seems like a good start, especially if it gets the discussion restarted. I remember a time when all druids had to be good aligned and how that was eventually changed in the mud.

[Kallias]

The poster's problem is that you require a council to join the rangers. A group of people from many gods who somehow stop someone from a god choosing them? It's silly. My suggestion is to remove the council all together or to add a quest for evil rangers. Or leave the council in place but remove the need to require their blessing to become one. They aren't jedi, they can't cut you from the force.

[Nysan]

I believe becoming a ranger should be easier now. The worries of the old days that demanded the need for the ranger oversight council are not as glaring these days.

Also, we should be using update requirements for joining the guild. Kismet requirements attached to certain races and classes has, far as I can tell, drastically reduced the amount of RP "wtf" moments and abuse. I don't see why we could not adapt rangers to follow the system.

That said, I am concerned. Malarite rangers are one thing, but I am still not pleased by the thought of half-drow rangers, with looks that favor their drow parent, roaming the land in packs. There is updating the system and then there is blowing source material out of the water with rare race/class combinations becoming commonplace.

Old worries die hard...

[Gwain]

As a game, I do not think we are mature enough to have halfdrow rangers of any alignment other than evil. Anything else should be applied for.

[Aveline]

1. As for the guilds and you joining them and not being sure if you are just getting classes or joining a guild... If there is a specific guild that is confusing you, send a little log and an email to the builders with a suggestion on how to make it more clear with what is going on.

2. And as for it making it easier to guild rangers.. I used to have the same opinion as those that say there really isn't a need for the council anymore, that we really don't have the number of wackos about that we used to that needed the guidance to play the class. But in the last few months, my eyes have really been opened. Yes it is true that we have a talented and knowledgeable base of people here, but goodness, there is still a large number of us (Myself included a lot of times) that need that IC guidance. A lot more than most people realize. I don't want to see the ranger council go away, and I do not want to see that go away as the way for rangers to get guilded. At all. It needs to be there. And honestly, I've not seen the characters that put the time into it have any trouble getting guilded. It is mostly just a matter of finding people, and if you put any effort into it at all, it isn't hard. PM someone, make a date. If you aren't comfortable with that, ask another character to help you out. Even one that isn't a ranger. I'm not saying it will be quick, but it shouldn't be that hard.

That being said, I don't think it would be wrong to give a little help. I don't see anything wrong if there was an imm that had the free time to help guide a hopeful ranger along. And if they do a good job, they could be guilded that way. I know this still will not satisfy a lot of people and most will still be impatient, but I think it could alleviate the time thing some and could give some people more individualized RP with becoming a ranger. Also, I think if we are keeping the ranger council, those old inactive rangers need to step up, or we need to look into finding some newer blood for the council. A combination of new council members and imm assistance I think would help things a great deal. Sorry, I'm a firm fan of the ranger council staying in place, and I don't want to see rangers going through without some sort of guidance. I know my opinion isn't always the popular one

Admittedly I do not know terribly much about the ranger class so I cannot really take an opinion on evil rangers one way or the other. I don't really care what the books say about them, but I don't know enough to say how I think they would work here. But it does seem to me like the faith of Malar should be able to have some ranger types. I do not see what would be wrong about allowing applications for evil rangers in situations such as that. Maybe that just to start out with and if those characters seem to work in the game we can do more with it.

[Gwain]

One of the things that puts me off is the amount of leather armours made out of sentient creatures I've seen for sale of late. One of the reasons the guiding council was originally set up was to keep rangers that used their skills to do things contrary to their alignment from doing so. Bare in mind that it may not be rangers doing this. But if it is then they're reinforcing the need to be scrutinized by a council. Also, its too difficult to code skinnable and unskinable mobiles, incase that argument might be used in the following responses. Even then, if it talks, thinks or feels, you should not be skinning or even consider skinning it if you are good aligned.

[Kallias]

Even then, if it talks, thinks or feels, you should not be skinning or even consider skinning it if you are good aligned

Intelligence higher than 3 is canon for sentience. Unlike races, animals that racially are set with int 3 can't have an intelligence higher than that, it' a restriction which demands something special to get higher. And I'm certain plenty of good aligned rangers would be entirely alright with using the natural defenses of evil sentient monsters (red dragons) to make armor...they were the class that get racial enemies that often times is explained in background as extreme hatred.

My main point is that a ranger doesn't require any more knowledge to roleplay the class than a fighter. It's just an outdoorsman who has been blessed with being able to cast spells, potentially not even from a god. There is no set ethos or mindset. Any FK placed ideals on how a ranger /should/ be played just seems pompous, preachy, and overall inaccurate. The same restrictions that are in place for rangers with the ranger guild could be put into place for every class in the game, and would be equally obnoxious from a "this is how you need to play your class" perspective. All the pros for keeping the ranger guild being the gateway to rangerdom apply to every other class. So if it applies to every other class, why not apply it to every other class? Because it wouldn't make sense. And it doesn't make sense with rangers either.

[Nysan]

As a game, I do not think we are mature enough to have halfdrow rangers of any alignment other than evil. Anything else should be applied for.

I am not alone in my fears. This makes me happy. Not opposed to evil rangers in general, I like the idea of a Malarite ranger. I just fear the wanna be drow packs.

Moving right along, eh... Its just a thought to update the system. If what we have is working, mostly, great. I don't have a ranger character, just interact with some. So, I am happy to bow to the surperior knowledge of other players.

That said, I am curious how often the council is updated. Do we have council members that have been inactive for long periods of time? Do we need to roll in some new council recruits? Some of the problems can be traced to impatient hopefuls. Rangers are alot like faiths, in that respect, and sometimes things take a while. Still, can't hurt to check and see if anyone has gathered too much dust and might need to step down.

I am also curious about the crafted leather armour I have seen for sale lately. Honestly, I am not sure who all has access to slice and leather armour making skills these days. Is it a ranger only skill still? I thought some others got it somewhere along the lines. Can it be taught with teacher/scholar feats? For whatever reason, a few questionable leather goods are popping up lately and it is concerning.

[Gwain]

The point is not about what ifs and could bes it is about perceived abuses of the rules before they can be changed to accommodate other alignments of rangers. I am lax to see evil rangers if the current good rangers cannot follow the rules laid down by those on the council. Tabletop and PNP aside, D&D canon and so forth. I personally like the council, I like how it stemmed the tide of poorly rp'd rangers when the alignment restrictions were in place. I'm not against evils rangers or even neutral, I am concerned that having more than one alignment blurs the lines. I've seen it with goodly wizards creating undead minions for themselves for example. I am content that at least two or three classes are still regulated to maintain a level of quality control.

I'll state again, I'm not against evil rangers, far from it. But I don't think it needs to be rushed until there is a demand or general desire to warrant the change. Throw in a promise of balance between ranger alignment types too, so that we don't end up with ten evil rangers for every two goodly ones.

[Kallias]

Fair enough. I just think players who know how to RP know how to RP a character, class is secondary or even tertiary (to race). I'm just not sold on set ways to play a class. The class means nothing to the character, nearly any personality can be any class, with a very few exceptions. Class is just what they do well.