Karmis's Castle: Ranger Guide

A ranger's life ain't fer everyone, but if yer bored, and if ya feel like ya got an innate oneness with nature, I personally think you should get yer head checked--but, then again you'd probably enjoy being a ranger too. One of the first things ya gotta know when rolling a ranger is what you want your ranger to do. Is he gonna pick locks or be a weedmage? Take a lil time and decide what ya wanna do and keep at it. Ok so once you've decided what you wanna do, ya gotta roll yer stats...

The maximum you can get for any roll total is 700: 90, 90, 90, 60, 60, 60, 50, 50, 50, 100. Remember as a ranger you get an extra +10 profession bonus to constituition and wisdom. I wouldn't settle for a roll total of less than 600 or any stat under 40. Take time when rolling your ranger...if you're going to spend thousands of hours playing him/her, why not take an extra hour or two to get an optimal set of stats? These are only my suggestions, feel free to change anything around ... You might want to modify these placements to optimize race stat growth..

The 10 basic stats:

Constitution: How tough you are....determines starting hit points and resistance to poison/disease and how fast you regain lost hit points. Being a ranger allows you to recieve an extra +10 in this stat. You want to put your lowest roll here.

Dexterity: How good you are with your hands (and feet); Affects aiming spells, maneuver attacks and dodging things. Also modifies brawling and ranged weapons combat. If you are going to use ranged weapons, I suggest placing a 70-90 roll here, else stick a 40-60 roll here.

Discipline: Affects absorption of experience and maximum field experience capacity. Also affects training points in both mental and physical aspects. There's a strong argument to place a 70-90 roll here for training point purposes. I'll leave that up to you. . .

Intelligence: Affects maximum field experience capacity. Place a 40-60 roll here.

Logic: Affects how fast you absorb field experience. Place a 40-60 roll here.

Strength: How strong you are. Modifies AS (attack strength) and round times when swinging. If you end up to be a weapon-swinger, I suggest you to stick a 70- 90 roll here, or you could put a 40-60 roll here and go for a high discipline.

Reflex: How fast you are to react to attacks, etc. Modifies DS (defensive strength) and round times when wearing armor. Place a 70-90 roll here.

Charisma: Your looks, your charms, your presence within a room. Also affects prices with merchants. Put your second lowest roll here.

Wisdom: Will determine your mana points. Also affects CS (casting strength), TD (target defense), and picking/disarming boxes. Because you are a ranger you know about worldly things, so you get a +10 in this stat as well! Place a 70- 80 stat here.

Aura: Determines your SP (spirit points). As with Discipline, affects training points in both mental and physical aspects. Place your highest roll here.

(Note: Wisdom doesn't affect mana points in all of the professions, in the case of the bard or wizard, Aura will be the determining factor)

Now that you've placed your stat's, now its time to choose your race. Take a quick look at what every race has to offer...humans seem to be better swingers, while halflings or elves would be better suited to using bows...again the decision is up to you :)

Being a ranger, you have 2 circles of magic at your disposal:

The Ranger Circle

601 Natural Colors: 15sec/lvl (100sec min) +10 DS and allows you to hide easier
602 Resist Elements: 1min/lvl +15 to elemental DS, prot. from cold, heat, etc.
603 Foraging: 15sec/lvlIncreases caster's ability to forage
604 Skinning: Increases caster's ability to skin
605 Tracking: Not Yet Implemented
606 Phoen's Strength: 30sec/lvl +10 to AS and reduces excessive RT (outdoor only)
607 Sounds: 2sec/lvl target loses -20 DS and elemental DS
608 Camouflage: Hides your character and adds +30 to the next attack (outdoor only)
609 Sunburst: Reveals hidden characters/monsters and detects invisible ones as well
610 Tangle Weed: Creates a vine that drags character/monsters down
611 Mass Hues: 30sec/lvl Same as 601 but lasts longer and affects everyone joined
612 Breeze: 3sec/lvl Creates a breeze which scatters all clouds (including 106 fog)
613 Self Control: 1min/lvl +25 DS, warding, elemental DS
614 Imbue: Allows caster to change sticks into wands or rods that are imbeddible
615 Whispering Willow: 30sec/lvl Allows you to whisper to anyone outdoors (out. only)
616 Spikethorn: Causes thorns to grow under target, damage is level dependent
617 Sneaking: 15sec/lvl Makes it easier to stalk, hide, sneak, etc.
618 Mobility: 30sec/lvl Makes it easier to dodge maneuver attacks and increases brawl
619 Mass Calm: Calms every monster in the room, very hard to resist
620 Killer Weed: Outdoors, same as 610 but causes damage; Indoors, same as 610
625 Nature's Touch: Allows caster to cast spells indoors that normally are cast outdrs

The Minor Spirit Circle

101 Spirit Warding I: 1min/lvl +10 Spirit warding and Elemental DS
102 Spirit Barrier: 1min/lvl +50 DS, -50 AS (Elemental AS is affected also)
103 Spirit Defense: 2min/lvl +10 DS and Elemental DS (not stackable)
104 Disease Resist: 30sec/lvl Gives the target an extra warding against disease
105 Poison Resist: 30sec/lvl Gives the target an extra warding against poison
106 Spirit Fog: 1min/lvl Creates a cloud of fog in the room that gives everything +30 DS
107 Spirit Warding II: 1min/lvl +25 Spirit warding and Elemental DS
108 Stun Relief: Unstuns the target (when successful, no mana is expended)
109 Dispel Invisibility: Dispels the invisibility on any creature/character that fails warding
110 Unbalance: Does damage to critter dependant on warding failed
111 Fire Spirit: Shoots a flare into the sky, also doubles as Major Fire if aimed
112 Water Walking: 1min/lvl Allows the target to walk on water
113 Undisease: Removes any 1 disease from the target
114 Unpoison: Removes any 1 poison from the target
115 Spirit Burst: 5sec/lvl Stuns the target if it fails warding
116 Locate Person: Cast at target to get a room description of where they are at
117 Spirit Strike: 10sec Gives you +75 AS for one strike
118 Web: Webs the target which fails a warding, duration dependant on failure
119 Herb Production: Causes a random herb to emerge from the ground (outdoors only)
120 Lesser Shroud: 1min/lvl +25 DS, Spirit warding, and Elemental DS (small statues)
125 Call Lightning: Forms a storm cloud that strikes with several lightning bolts
130 Spirit Guide: Teleports all joined with caster to nearest town.
150 Wall of Force: 10sec/lvl +100 DS and Elemental DS (ruby amulets)

Spells cost mana equal to there spell level, i.e. Web costs 18 mana while Skinning only costs 4. I suggest training in 601-606, 101-103, 607-613, 104-120, 614-625, then 125-150. Some people say to just go from 601 straight to 613...its up to you ;)

Training points are calculated by:
Physical Training Points = (Con + Dex + Str + Ref + Dis + Aur) / 10
Mental Training Points = (Int + Log + Cha + Wis + Dis + Aur) / 10
Try to aim for a 40 physical points and 40 mental points at the least.

What to train in? Hmm...so many things to choose from... Double training in a category results in spending double the previous points. (i.e. first train in armor use is 4 physical points, the second time it is 8)

Armor Use (Cost 4/0):
Train in this once per year until you recieve a bonus of +40. This allows you to use double leather with no RT or spell hindrance. Its the way to go if you ask me :) ... I seen alot of rangers that go for the brig though, if you don't use too many spells in combat that's the way to go. You'll need a +120 bonus to use brig without RT. (but you get a 8% casting hindrance...) NEVER double train in this.

Shield Use (Cost 4/0):
Train once per year for life...period...yeah some people double train in this but it's not worth it. In your later years, your DS will mainly come from spells.

Combat Maneuvers (Cost 6/3):
Train once per year for life. For every 2 trainings for the first +50 bonus, you'll get +1 AS. After that, every 3 trainings for +1 AS. These bonuses are parriable.

Edged Weapons (Cost 3/1), Ranged Weapons (Cost 4/1), Blunt Weapons (Cost 4/2):
Train twice per year for life. Edged is the cheapest way to go; they are also quite abundant too.

Climbing (Cost 2/1):
Train until you have at least a +50 bonus. Train more if you feel you need it.

Swimming (Cost 2/0):
Train until you have at least a +50 bonus.

Disarming Traps (Cost 2/4):
Kind of expensive but when there's not a picker around...if you opt for this you'll probably have to give up other skills, i.e. scroll reading, magic item use.. (Note: You don't necessarily have to train in picking locks too, I've seen many ranger/wizard teams where the ranger who has trained in disarming takes care of any traps and the wizard pops em open with 407...)

Picking Locks (Cost 3/4):
Again kind of expensive but very handy if you can train in it.

Stalking and Hiding (Cost 2/1):
Train once per year at the least; if you have extra points you might want to train more than once.

Perception (Cost 0/3):
This is your awareness per se. It affects searching, looking for traps, and noticing when someone is picking your pockets. Train once per year until you feel you have enough, you can skip this once in awhile. I'd aim for around a +102 bonus.

Spell Research (Cost 0/32):
You don't really need to train once per year in this...if you're really impatient I guess you could...of course you'd be giving up other skills. I'd aim for 17/18 spells by age 20.

Scroll Reading (Cost 0/5):
Neat skill to have...your choice on this one--if you do end up training in scrolls I suggest to train until at least to a bonus of +62, that way you can read spells up to and including level 12 ... (gotta love those Raise Dead (312) scrolls)

Magic Item Use (Cost 0/6):
Another neat skill to have...also your choice on this one too. With 614 (Imbue) you can turn sticks into wands or rods and have someone trained in the minor elemental circle to imbed defensive/offensive spells for you.

Mana Sharing (Cost 0/3):
Train once per year until a bonus of +102 is attained. Don't bother training beyond this...why? Because at this time anyone who sends/recieves mana from you should also have around a +102 bonus.

Ambush (Cost 3/2):
Train once per year for life. Ambushing is fun...especially when solo hunting.

Physical Training (Cost 4/0):
Train once per year until you max your HP's. Check on this once in awhile because as your constitution grows, you can get more HP's. NEVER double train in this.

First Aid (Cost 2/2):
Train once per year at the least. Helps with those pesky bleeders..saved my life many times...also affects skinning.

Trading (Cost 0/3):
I've never trained in this, but it affects the cost of items of shops, merchants, etc.

Picking Pockets (Cost 2/3):
Kinda cheap..not really worth it though, those training points could be better spent.

Brawling (Cost 5/1):
A must if you plan on Voln-Fu...train once per year for life. You might have to give up training in other areas if you opt for this route.

Two Weapon Combat, Two-Handed, Thrown, or Polearm Weapons are very expensive to train in and not recommended for the ranger. Multi-Opponent Combat isn't implemented yet so I wouldn't bother with it. Remember as a ranger you have the most options of all the classes, but you can only master in one---make a training schedule and stick to it.

Weapons and Armor

If you end up using edged, go for a falchion...it doesn't puncture and does a decent amount of damage to both armored/unarmored critters. The morning star or mace is the way to go if you train in blunt. As for ranged weapons, unless you have a high strength, don't go for crossbows--stick with a longbow. Don't be afraid to experiment with different weapons.

Traditionally rangers wear double leather or the equivalent. Brig is not a bad choice..but the spell failure rate (8%), in my opinion, is too high.

Voln and other societies...

At the age of 3 your ranger can join a society. From my experience, Voln is the best way for a ranger to go---I won't go into the nitty-gritty stuff but basically i've found it very useful...the thing about it is you're going to have to work hard for your powers. As far as the 'other' society is concerned...you may or may not like it better--I don't want to get into a debate about it. I recommend your ranger to join Voln.

Other Hints and Tips

Your DS will come from spells in your later years...just remember that!
Your stats will, with time, grow with age...and will max at 100. This should give you extra training points to play around with :)
Hunt in Ranger/Wizard teams, they seem to be the best because you give the Wizard mana to hunt with, and he/she gives you defensive and offensive spells...
Hunting with an Empath/Cleric can be wonderful with the bind/sounds combo...lowers a critter's DS incredibly (have a Bard around and you can lower it even further!)
Hunt with massies...an instant +45 DS right there :)..just stick around TSSW for mass guards (aka brills), hues, and blurs and you'll be all set.
Your most valuable spell as a ranger is 613 (+25 DS)..other important spells are 606 (+10 AS), 103(+10 DS), 101 + 107 (both are great spell protection).

Most of all...have fun!! Don't be afraid to make friends or socialize...don't just hunt your whole time in Elanthia...take your time to enjoy its finer things...

And last but not least I'd like to thank Ransom. His guide was my greatest influence and help to becoming a true ranger :) (its a must read for all you rangers-in-training) I'd like to also thank Arallax, Auratwo, Nopus, Monomonee, and Lucarin for their input.

Remember all these things I've stated is my opinion, you should change/switch these things around until you feel comfortable with your ranger--don't be afraid to experiment with new ideas or aspects of the game...

Written by: Doremon