Welcome to my Ranger guide. You may ask what my qualifications are for writing such a guide -- a good question indeed! Well, I have over 60 years of Ranger Experience, I read a lot, and I listen to many of the more experienced Rangers. I hope you this information useful.

The actual details of what happens to your character, may be slightly different than listed here, since every character is different. This information is based on my own experiences, my own opinion, discussions with other Rangers, and information I've read in documents posted by others.

If you do not agree with my opinion, you are wrong! ; >

This information works for me. Other opinions vary. Use it as you will. If you don't agree with my opinion, that's fine, choose your own path! 8 >

It is assumed that the reader already has a general understanding of the basics of Gemstone III. If not, then I recommend reading a Player's Guide.

I would like to thank and acknowledge the input from many others. Their help, insight, and knowledge are gratefully appreciated.

• Ariek
• Ransom
• Rozak
• Bladepoint

This guide is intended to cover my opinion on the Ranger profession. This may not be a perfect plan, but I feel it is effective.

Contents of this guide include:

Gemstone III is a multi-player Role-playing game set in medieval times -- the days when King Arthur and Robinhood wandered the woods. It combines Dungeon and Dragons with computer adventure games to get the best of both! Since it is a role-playing game, part of the fun is to role-play your character.

What exactly is role-playing? In simple terms, role-playing is acting. You have created a character in a huge dramatic performance that goes on each and every day. Gemstone III is a stage and every time you enter the realms, you’re adding to the performance! Keep in mind that your "performance" on this stage is affecting everyone else’s, so perhaps some common courtesies should be followed.

First off, general discussion about anything not associated with Gemstone III (Out Of Character - OOC) is frowned upon. If you want to discuss football scores, politics, AOL problems, software, or whatever, go to a private area (such as a table, where no one else can inadvertently walk in) or WHISPER TO so no one else’s game is affected..

Secondly, the common practice in the game seems to be to openly discuss game mechanics. After all, they are there on the screen, so it should be ok, right? Wrong!

If you really are serious about role-playing, then stick to the things that YOUR CHARACTER would know. Here is a short list of reminders and suggestions.

• AS/DS. Your character has no idea what an AS or DS is. They only knows if they hit the beast easily, sometimes, rarely, or not all. You have access to the numbers and you may understand them, but your Character has no idea! Try turning on Battle Brief to see what your character sees (SET command.

• Level. Since the level of a monster is based on it’s TD (which is a game mechanism), how would your CHARACTER have any idea what a level is. I rate monsters relative to other monsters -- "gnomes are easier than hobgoblins, but more difficult than kobolds." Another option might be to say "To hunt pookas, one would need about 30 trainings" since pookas are level 33 (granted some people can hunt them at a much younger age, but it gets the idea across that pookas are about level 30).