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Ranger

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Rangers are skilled stalkers and hunters who make their home in the woods. Their martial skill is nearly the equal of the fighter, but they lack the latter's dedication to the craft of fighting. Instead, the ranger focuses his skills and training on a specific enemy—a type of creature he bears a vengeful grudge against and hunts above all others. Rangers often accept the role of protector, aiding those who live in or travel through the woods. His skills allow him to move quietly and stick to the shadows, especially in natural settings, and he also has special knowledge of certain types of creatures. Finally, an experienced ranger has such a tie to nature that he can actually draw on natural power to cast divine spells, much as a druid does, and like a druid he is often accompanied by animal companions. A ranger's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.

As Clerics have the Paladin as their warrior incarnations so do Druids have the Ranger as thier fighting embodiment. The Ranger is given far more combat related powers and far less magic with which to battle their enemies. Rangers can also be viewed as the scouts, detectives, and trackers of the D&D world. While it is true that in the wilderness the Ranger cannot be matched, his or her skills are no less useful in the city or deep in the heart of a stony dungeon.

A Ranger can be of any alignment and thus, it is up to the player to develop a personality that can be as varied as the wilderness itself.

The Ranger has the unique ability to study a group of creatures so extensively that he gains many bonuses when confronted with them. As a Ranger gains experience he can not only include more groups but increase his bonuses against his existing favored enemies.

Making the Best Ranger

As was mentioned, to gain the full benefit of the class you need to remember Wis when creating your character to access all your spell levels and increase your ability with the Wilderness Lore Skill. Dex is the primary feature of the Ranger as a lot of the their abilities hinge on stealth and quickness. They are also not proficient with Heavy Armor and, therefore, should concentrate on Dex to make up for the lack of protection. Rangers also begin with the feats of Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting but only if they are wearing no armor or light armor. Again we see that Dex is important if a player is interested in taking advantage of these free feats.

This two-weapon fighting ability is a clear indication that Rangers are, indeed, made for fighting and players should keep that image clearly in mind when creating a Ranger. They have rare skills but they are also deadly warriors.

• Hit Die: d10
• Proficiencies: All simple and martial weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields
• Skill Points (x4 at 1st level): 4 + Int Modifier

Skills

As with the Druid, the Ranger has the Animal Empathy skill which can be used to enormous benefit for a lone Ranger.

Since survival is the name of the game for the Ranger in the untamed wilderness they have to be aware of their surroundings. One of the few classes that have Spot and Search in their list of skills, the Ranger would do well to exploit this advantage over other classes. Being masters of the wild the Ranger also knows how to set traps for the unwary. Depending on your character concept this may be a focus for your character as well. Only Rogues have trained in this deadly skill as well.

While the Ranger has access to a wide range of skills, they do not have a great deal of skill points to spend on these skills. Careful selection of skills is paramount to gaining any advantage over the long run in skills.

Class Skills (skill descriptions):

• Animal Empathy
• Concentration
• Heal
• Hide
• Listen
• Lore*
• Move Silently
• Parry*
• Search
• Set Trap*
• Spot

*Notes:

Lore can be considered a subset of the Dungeons & Dragons® Knowledge skill.

Parry is a Neverwinter Nights skill. It is not a part of the Dungeons & Dragons® game experience but is a necessary part of the Aurora Engine technology.

Set Trap can be considered a subset of the Dungeons & Dragons® Disable Device skill.

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