Ranger

[Mr. Cheez-It]

The forests are home to fierce and cunning creatures, such as bloodthirsty owlbears and malicious displacer beasts.  But more cunning and powerful than these monsters is the ranger, a skilled hunter and stalker.  He knows the woods as if they were his home (as indeed they are), and knows his prey in deadly detail.

Vast areas of Faerun are covered with ancient forests and populated by fantastic creatures.  The rangers of Faerun, along with the druids, occasional barbarians, and clerics of deities such as Silvanus and Mielikki, are the masters of the “empty” spaces.  Ranger and druids have similar preferences for deities, although some rangers with odd interests (such as hunting undead) choose different patrons.

Good rangers of the North often find themselves acting in concert with groups such as the Harpers, and some eventually join that organization.  However, not all rangers af Faerun are good, and places such as the forest of Cormanthor and the High Forest are a battleground â€" good rangers who seek to defend the forest and its inhabitants against evil rangers who follow deities that find it natural to inflict pain on others.

Adventurers:  Rangers often accept the role of protector, aiding those who live in or travel through the woods.  In addition, they often carry grudges against certain types of creatures and look for opportunities to find and destroy them.  Additionally, rangers may adventure for all the reasons that fighters do.

Characteristics:  The ranger is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and capable in combat.  His skills allow him yo survive in the wilderness, to find his prey, and to avoid detection.  He also has a special knowledge of certain types of creatures.  This knowledge makes him more capable finding and defeating those foes.  Finally, an experienced ranger has such a tie to nature that he can actually draw on a power to cast divine spells, much as a druid does.

Alignment:  Rangers can be of any alignment that does not conflict with their patron god.  Most are good, and they are protectors of the wild area.  In this role, a ranger seeks out and destroys or drives of evil creatures that threaten the wilderness.  Good rangers also protect those who travel through the wilderness, serving sometimes as guides and sometimes as unseen guardians.  Rangers are also mostly chaotic, preferring to follow the ebb and flow of nature or of their own hearts instead of rigid rules.  Evil rangers, though rare, are much to be feared.  They revel in nature's thoughtless cruelty and seek to emulate its most fearsome predators.  They gain divine spells just as good ranger do.

Other Classes:  Rangers get along well with druids and to some extent with barbarians.  They are known to bicker with paladins, mostly because they often share goals but differ in style, tactics, approach, philosophy, and esthetics.  Since rangers don't much look to other people for support or friendship, they find it easy to tolerate people who are quite different from themselves, such as bookish wizards and preachy clerics.  They just don't care enough to get upset about others' differences.

[Mr. Cheez-It]

Rules

• Rangers must serve a patron deity. Upon character creation, players must enter a name of a deity in the “Deity” field and choose an alignment associated with their character's god. Rangers that do not have a deity or are of an incompatible alignment will be unable to cast divine spells.

Class Changes

Rangers receive a special tracking ability at level 2.

10% movement speed increase if the PC has 3 druid/ranger levels, and is in a wilderness area
15% movement speed increase if the PC has 6 druid/ranger levels, and is in a wilderness area
20% movement speed increase if the PC has 9 druid/ranger levels, and is in a wilderness area

Rangers receive an AB bonus vs. their favored enemies.
This AB bonus is equal to ranger level/2, rounded down.