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<blockquote data-quote="Olgar Shiverstone" data-source="post: 3142548" data-attributes="member: 5868">No, it's not a new Mongoose release (that I'm aware of, anyway).&nbsp; Three questions:1.&nbsp; What elements do you feel make the quintessential woodsman/hunter character?2.&nbsp; What fantasy character(s) are an example of your ideal?2.&nbsp; What classes or game mechanics would you use to build your woodsman/hunter -- assuming it can be done with existing game mechanics?The definition of woodsman/hunter does not necessarily equate to ranger, or scout, or current class XXXX unless you choose to define it that way.My personal answers:As much as I love the ranger class -- probably my favorite of the current D&amp;D classes -- it doesn't quite nail it for me.&nbsp; The Ranger as defender of civilization from evil things from the wild (archtypal Aragorn or Tolkien ranger, to me) I see as something separate from a &quot;woodsman&quot;.&nbsp; The woodsman is not a scout, solely adept at hiding, or tracking and locating enemies.&nbsp; Instead, I'd define him as someone steeped in the lore of the wilds, adept at following trails, hunting, and understanding natural creatures.&nbsp; He has martial skills as a result of his hunting skills, but he isn't primarily a soldier.&nbsp; In the fantasy environment, his skills are mundane, built through learning and experience, rather than magical.&nbsp; Examples might be Davy Crockett, or Hawkeye from Last of the Mohicans, though both have a bit more martial bent than the concept I'm driving at.Mechanically, the ranger is close, but should drop magical abilities, favored enemies, and the to-weapon fightign style (perhaps drop all fighting styles) in favor of more closely tied wildnerness skills.&nbsp; The scout is also close, but disable device as a class skill and the skirmish abilities don't seem quite right, either.&nbsp; The druid captures some of the natural feel, but is far too magical.(I suppose the challenge of capturing this is why there have been so many alt.ranger classes over the years).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Olgar Shiverstone, post: 3142548, member: 5868"] No, it's not a new Mongoose release (that I'm aware of, anyway). Three questions: 1. What elements do you feel make the quintessential woodsman/hunter character? 2. What fantasy character(s) are an example of your ideal? 2. What classes or game mechanics would you use to build your woodsman/hunter -- assuming it can be done with existing game mechanics? The definition of woodsman/hunter does not necessarily equate to ranger, or scout, or current class XXXX unless you choose to define it that way. My personal answers: As much as I love the ranger class -- probably my favorite of the current D&D classes -- it doesn't quite nail it for me. The Ranger as defender of civilization from evil things from the wild (archtypal Aragorn or Tolkien ranger, to me) I see as something separate from a "woodsman". The woodsman is not a scout, solely adept at hiding, or tracking and locating enemies. Instead, I'd define him as someone steeped in the lore of the wilds, adept at following trails, hunting, and understanding natural creatures. He has martial skills as a result of his hunting skills, but he isn't primarily a soldier. In the fantasy environment, his skills are mundane, built through learning and experience, rather than magical. Examples might be Davy Crockett, or Hawkeye from [i]Last of the Mohicans[/i], though both have a bit more martial bent than the concept I'm driving at. Mechanically, the ranger is close, but should drop magical abilities, favored enemies, and the to-weapon fightign style (perhaps drop all fighting styles) in favor of more closely tied wildnerness skills. The scout is also close, but disable device as a class skill and the skirmish abilities don't seem quite right, either. The druid captures some of the natural feel, but is far too magical. (I suppose the challenge of capturing this is why there have been so many alt.ranger classes over the years). [/QUOTE]

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