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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 6667585" data-attributes="member: 22779">As far as archetypes go, I see rangers in Tarzan, Mowgli and Aragorn.&nbsp; Any character that can draw from Tolkein, Kipling and Burroughs deserves its own class AFAIC.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D"&nbsp; data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />What differentiates rangers from barbarians is choice.&nbsp; A barbarian comes from a tribal culture on the fringes of &quot;civilisation&quot; (using scare quotes here because there's a bit of an implied cultural bigotry inherent here).&nbsp; A ranger doesn't though.&nbsp; A ranger comes from the &quot;civilized&quot; parts of the setting and chooses to live in the fringes.&nbsp; Aragorn was a king.&nbsp; Tarzan was Lord Greystoke.&nbsp; They live on the fringes, not because that's particularly home, but, because there is something about living on the fringe that appeals to them.For me, the primary schtick of rangers is self sufficiency.&nbsp; Plunk a barbarian down in his home territory, and he'll do pretty well.&nbsp; Plunk a ranger down anywhere and he'll thrive.&nbsp; If you were organising an exploration into the wilderness, who would you rather have blazing your trail?&nbsp; A barbarian or a ranger?&nbsp;&nbsp; Me, I want that ranger.&nbsp; Not sure how this translates mechanically, but, I think that if we pin down the archetype a bit, more will flow from that.&nbsp; For example, why couldn't favoured enemy be based on terrain type?&nbsp; Rangers start with a particular terrain, and, when facing anything from that terrain, gain bonuses on knowledge checks, tracking and social checks.&nbsp; That keeps the idea of &quot;favoured enemy&quot; but, makes it broad enough to be more applicable.&nbsp; As the ranger goes up levels, he gains more terrain types, and thus broader favoured enemy knowledge.&nbsp; So, Jon Snow as a ranger has arctic terrain - any time he's dealing with &quot;cold&quot; creatures, he has bonuses.&nbsp; Tarzan and Mowgli both have jungle, and Tarzan might also have mountain terrain as well.&nbsp; Drizz't would have Underdark and possibly a couple of other terrains.&nbsp; Indiana Jones would likely have Underdark and Jungle terrains.&nbsp; ((Not sure if Indiana Jones counts as a ranger archetype, but, IMO, he's not far off either))&nbsp; Would that work?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 6667585, member: 22779"] As far as archetypes go, I see rangers in Tarzan, Mowgli and Aragorn. Any character that can draw from Tolkein, Kipling and Burroughs deserves its own class AFAIC. :D What differentiates rangers from barbarians is choice. A barbarian comes from a tribal culture on the fringes of "civilisation" (using scare quotes here because there's a bit of an implied cultural bigotry inherent here). A ranger doesn't though. A ranger comes from the "civilized" parts of the setting and chooses to live in the fringes. Aragorn was a king. Tarzan was Lord Greystoke. They live on the fringes, not because that's particularly home, but, because there is something about living on the fringe that appeals to them. For me, the primary schtick of rangers is self sufficiency. Plunk a barbarian down in his home territory, and he'll do pretty well. Plunk a ranger down [i]anywhere[/i] and he'll thrive. If you were organising an exploration into the wilderness, who would you rather have blazing your trail? A barbarian or a ranger? Me, I want that ranger. Not sure how this translates mechanically, but, I think that if we pin down the archetype a bit, more will flow from that. For example, why couldn't favoured enemy be based on terrain type? Rangers start with a particular terrain, and, when facing anything from that terrain, gain bonuses on knowledge checks, tracking and social checks. That keeps the idea of "favoured enemy" but, makes it broad enough to be more applicable. As the ranger goes up levels, he gains more terrain types, and thus broader favoured enemy knowledge. So, Jon Snow as a ranger has arctic terrain - any time he's dealing with "cold" creatures, he has bonuses. Tarzan and Mowgli both have jungle, and Tarzan might also have mountain terrain as well. Drizz't would have Underdark and possibly a couple of other terrains. Indiana Jones would likely have Underdark and Jungle terrains. ((Not sure if Indiana Jones counts as a ranger archetype, but, IMO, he's not far off either)) Would that work? [/QUOTE]

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