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The Ranger Guide
by Taru Sumithsu
aka Taru's Ranger Path
| Disclaimer: | Welcome to my Ranger guide. You may ask what my
qualifications are for writing such a guide -- a good question indeed! Although Taru is
not quite a Lord yet, I have over 34 years of Ranger Experience, I read alot, 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. |
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| Acknowledgments: | I would like to thank and acknowledge the input from many
others. Their help, insight, and knowledge are greatfully appreciated.
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| Introduction: | 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:
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A word about |
Gemstone III is a multi-player Role-playing game. 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 (extra
experience points are given for good role playing). Do you hate certain other races? Did
you catch a cold recently? Why are you in your selected profession (was your father a
Ranger too?)? Are you always grumpy? Are you forgetful? Shy? Do you have an accent? Are
you mute? (yes, one player "signs" their conversations). You get the idea. 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, WHISPER TO <person> so no one else’s game is affected.. There is so much more to the game than the math! Let’s try to Role-play,
not For more information about roleplaying, please see the Message Boards. |
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How to use this Guide. |
Major topics are shown in the left column. The details of that topic are in the right column. | ||||||||||||||
| Recommended Downloads: | Before you enter Gemstone III, there are several items in the Elanthia library that you should have. These items are put in the library because they are very useful and helpful. Use them! | ||||||||||||||
Profession Guide |
I recommend keeping atleast 2 guides for your the Ranger profession -- get 2 different opinions about what is best. This guide represents MY OPINION, it is not necessarily fool-proof. A second opinion never hurt! | ||||||||||||||
Maps |
In order to get around town, and the wilds faster get some of
the maps. I recommend Zepath’s Maps, they are the best. You can get them from the
Download Library or Zepath’s Den at http://home.navisoft.com/zepath/index.htm Get the
following maps, in priority order:
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The Wizard |
If you are on AOL, download the AOL Wizard for Gemstone (PC
version available now, MAC version coming). It is at Keyword: AOLWIZARD. Once you have it
downloaded, and extracted, you can use it when playing Gemstone. Start Gemstone like
always, and then minimize the AOL/Gemstone Window and start the Wizard application. The
Wizard includes it’s own reference document. Once you use the Wizard, you will wonder
how you ever played without it! Features include: status banner at the top of the screen which shows what is in your hands, your health, your mana, spirit points, Round Time (RT) counters; separate windows for thoughts (amu-net), deaths, familiars, arrivals; ability to Highlight your friend’s names; macros, one-button common activities (GET BROADsword, PUT BROADsword IN MY SHEATH, LOOK IN MY BACKpack, etc.); repeat recent commands; etc. |
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Herb/Potion Guide |
You will get injured and will need to get healed. Although the Empaths in town will help you, occasionally you will need to "field dress" your wounds. I recommend Herbs, Potions, Foraging, and Healing posted by Taru Sumithsu (me). It’s a handy one-page sheet with everything you need to know. It’s in the Download Library. | ||||||||||||||
Gems |
As you find treasure throughout the lands, you can exchange your gems for silvers at the Gem Shop. Download one of the Price Guides for Gems. You will need this list to calculate DEEDS later in life. | ||||||||||||||
Others |
There are several other downloads with useful information -- weapons guides, armor guides, monster guides, etc. Download the ones that you think are useful. Opinions vary about alot of things, so don’t take everything as "gospel". | ||||||||||||||
| Rolling Your Ranger | What is a "Ranger" anyhow? Rangers are a unique
profession in that they are reasonably good with weapons, and capable of using Spirtual
magic. Rangers are NOT like warriors. If you want to stand toe-to-toe with a beast and
slay it, maybe you should consider a warrior. Rangers are known for their quick, effective
kills -- generally from an ambush. Rangers are very intune with their surroudings and rely
on the nearby folage to be effective. Ranger spells aren’t agressive. The spells generally are defensive type spells cast prior to hunting. If you want to CAST AT <beast> with an offensive spell, then consider another profession. |
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Comments on character generation |
Take your time generating your character! This is the
biggest mistake new players make!. Considering that you will be playing this character
for months (or even years), it’s worth spending an extra 30 minutes to set it up
right the first time. I actually re-rolled Taru when he was at level 10 because I wasn’t happy with his progress. If you have an existing character, and you’re not happy with his skills now, you will be even more disappointed as he gets older. My advice to you -- Reroll now, and take your time. |
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The Numbers |
Your character’s ability is defined by 10 different
personal attributes. Each attribute is assigned a score between 20-100 (the higher the
better). In the character generator, these 10 dice rolls are done as follows:
Based on the maximum numbers, the maximum base-stat score is 700. General recommendation is for the base-stat to be greater than 600. Take your time. I wouldn’t accept any number set with a roll under 35. |
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Ranger Profession Bonus |
As a Ranger, your character will receive the following
profession bonuses to your base-stats:
I call this new total your profession-stats. Your profession-stats are used to calculate your training points. |
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Attrbutes: |
What are then 10 attributes and what do they do? Well, alot. Here is a brief (and probably incomplete) description. | ||||||||||||||
| Strength self explanatory. Affects your Attack Strength, how much you can carry, and
your ability to DRAG others to safety. Intelligence Self explanatory. Affects how quickly you gain Experience. Wisdom Self explanatory. Affects how many Mana points you get and you will need mana to cast those spells. You will receive a +10 profession bonus to any roll placed here, so don’t place anything over a 90 here. Dexterity Affects your maneuverability, how well you dodge attacks, and how well you work with your hands. Constitution Affects your ability to resist poison and disease. Also helps you gain health points. This doesn’t need to be a high number since you will evenutally max it out anyway. Plus you will receive a +10 profession bonus to any roll placed here, so don’t place anything over a 90 here. Charisma Your looks. Put your lowest stat here. Discipline Affects your ability to learn. Also impacts both Mental and Physical Training Points. Reflexes Reaction time, affects your Defense Strength (DS). Logic Determines how much field experience you "store" before you must rest. Aura Helps to define your Mana score. Also impacts both Mental and Physical Training Points. |
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Race |
Before we get into roll placement, keep in mind that you will receive bonus’s for your race too. Your race bonus’s do NOT add to your base-stat or profession stat. The race bonus’s are BONUS’s applied to rolls while playing. Race bonus’s do NOT change your stats or training points. | ||||||||||||||
Training Points |
Ok, so I’m gonna spout some math now. All of you that
are math-a-phobic, skip to the next section. For the rest of you, get your calculators
out! Your profession-stats are used to calculate the number of Physical Training Points (PT) and Mental Training Points (MT) you will have when you train. Of course, the higher the better. PT = (Discipline+Aura+Strength+Constitution+Dexterity+Reflexes)/10 MT = (Discipline+Aura++Intelligence+Logic+Wisdom+Charisma)/10 Maximum PT would be 60 (assuming 100’s in all the stats). Maximum MT would be a 60 also (assuming 100’s in all the stats). Note that Discipline and Aura are in both formulas. High rolls in these 2 attributes go along way in both PTs and MTs. Generally speaking, you want to shoot for a minimum of 40 PT/40 MT. I’ll discuss this in the Training section. Keep in mind that PT can be traded for MT points at a 2-for-1 ratio, and MT can be traded for PT points at a 2-for-1 ratio also. |
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Roll Placement |
Ok. put the calculators away for right now. My OPINION on
roll placement in priority order is as follows: Attribute Roll Recommendation Aura 80+ Discipline 80+ Wisdom max of 85 (+10 profession bonus) Strength 80+ Reflexes 60+ Dexterity 60+ Intelligence 50ish Logic 50ish Constitution 40ish (+10 profession bonus) Charisma Lowest roll Now, before anyone starts sending me questions about "why this", "why that", let me mention a couple of things. First, this is MY opinion on what I would do. Other opinions vary. Second, if you plan on doing alot of ambushing, you may want to increase your Reflex and Dexterity scores -- they have a big impact on your Round Time (RT) when ambushing. I use ambushing as my initial attack only, so I am willing to suffer a slightly longer RT on my first attack. |
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Races |
Your race does not affect your stat scores at all, but will change your Stat bonus on certain skills. There are many opinions about which race makes the best Ranger. I am not sure since Taru has always been human, but by looking at the Race modifiers some key points should be noted. |
RACE |
AURA |
CHR |
CON |
DEX |
DIS |
INT |
LOG |
REFL |
STR |
WIS |
Max HP |
| Dark Elf | +10 |
-5 |
-5 |
+10 |
-10 |
+5 |
+5 |
+5 |
120 |
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| Dwarf | -10 |
-10 |
+15 |
+10 |
+5 |
-5 |
+10 |
140 |
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| Elf | +5 |
+15 |
+5 |
-20 |
+15 |
-5 |
130 |
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| Giantman | -5 |
+5 |
+10 |
-5 |
-5 |
-5 |
+15 |
200 |
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| Half Elf | +5 |
+5 |
-5 |
+10 |
135 |
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| Halfling | -5 |
-15 |
+10 |
+15 |
-5 |
+10 |
+5 |
+10 |
-20 |
100 |
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| Human | +5 |
+5 |
+5 |
150 |
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| Sylvankind | +5 |
+5 |
+5 |
-5 |
+5 |
130 |
| If the attribute priorities are compared to the race modifiers, you may have several options for race. Humans provide some bonuses in some of the lower attributes. Giantman have a nice strength bonus, put tend to be somewhat slow because of the reflex penalty. I think a Half Elf Ranger or a Sylvankind Ranger may be a couple real nice options. | |
| Training Your Ranger | Although I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again
here. This is my opinion on training skills. Many opinions vary. Do whatever works for
you, this has worked very well for me. Try not to double train -- it really eats up the training points, and we can’t afford to waste ANY points. Here is a general description of the skills that I believe are useful to Rangers. |
Skill |
Cost |
Description |
| Armor | 4/0 |
Armor training helps you to decrease the RT adder from the type of armor you wear. |
| Shield | 4/0 |
Shield use is not necessary to use a shield, but it does increae your DS when you have your shield out. |
| Combat Maneuvers | 6/3 |
Combat maneuvers affects how you move during battle. Every 2 trainings in CM, increases your AS and DS |
| Edged Weapons | 3/1 |
Impacts your AS and the amount of damage you can do. |
| Climbing | 2/1 |
Increases your probability of success when climbing. Climbing is necessary for some areas. |
| Swimming | 2/0 |
Swimming lessons. Swimming is required to get to some areas. |
| Perception | 0/3 |
Allows you to perceive hidden people, hidden doors, traps, or a hand in your pocket. |
| Physical Training | 4/0 |
Adds HPs until you reach the maximum for your race. |
| Stalking and Hiding | 2/1 |
Determines how well you can stalk others and whether others will see you or detect you when you hide. |
| Ambush | 3/2 |
self explanatory |
| Mana Share | 0/3 |
Allows you to share mana with others, and others to share mana with you. |
| First Aid | 2/2 |
Allows you to tend to your wounds or to other’s wounds. Also increases your probability of succes when you skin (so does the skinning spell). |
| Spells | 0/32 |
Allows you to learn a new spell. You can only use spells that are the same level as you (ie, if you train a spell after level 0, you won’t be able to use it until you finish level 1. |
| Picking Pockets | No I don’t recommend that you pick pockets, but many believe that some training in this helps to detect a hand in Your pocket. Worth doing once or twice. | |
| Trading | 0/3 |
This helps you to get a better price when negotiating with the merchants in town, and when the traveling merchants come to town. It’s a useful skill, but not at the cost of other capabilities. |
| Disarming Traps | An expensive skill since you need to be able to pick the lock too! Save the trap detection and lock picking for the rogues. | |
| Picking Locks | An expensive skill since you need to be able to detect the trap too! Save the trap detection and lock picking for the rogues. | |
| Brawling | 5/1 |
Hand to hand combat. Very useful if you are going to be a Volner. Otherwise, not worth the expense. |
| Skip the rest of the stuff. It either too expensive for a Ranger, or we have other limitations or advantages elsewhere. | |
| My Training list: |
PT |
MT |
Description and Quantity |
4 |
0 |
Armor - 1x year until 40 pts or 120 pts as explained below |
4 |
0 |
Shield - 1x year |
6 |
3 |
Combat Maneuvers - 1x year |
9 |
3 |
Edged Weapons - 2x year |
0 |
32 |
Spell - 1x year |
2 |
1 |
Stalking and Hiding - 1x year |
3 |
2 |
Ambush - 1x year |
0 |
3 |
Perception |
4 |
0 |
Physical Training |
2 |
1/0 |
Climbing/swimming - alternate between the two |
34 |
45 |
TOTALS |
| Skip spell training at level 0. Use the extra 32 MT to spread
them out over the next few years to make up the extra MTs required. As you age, your
Training points will increase. You can trade extra PT points for MT points at a 2-for-1 ratio. Costly, but an option. Also, try to alternate between First aid and Trading, 1 each for every 3 levels. If you are going to be involved with Voln and want to use Voln-Fu, you can TRY working in some Brawling training, but it isn’t easy. It’s easier after you complete your armor training. |
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Armor & Weapons: |
There are alot of different options in the lands when it comes to armor and weapons. There are separate posts on armor and weapons which provide much more detail. Here are my recommendations. |
Armor |
First, when it comes to armor, ALWAYS wear an armor that
covers as much of your body as possible (torso, head, arms, head and legs). That means
Double Leather, Brigandine Armor, Chain Hauberk, or Full Plate. Heavier armor does provide much better protection (higher DS), but has 3 drawbacks. A heavier armor will increase your RT, reduce your mobility (climbing, standing, etc.), and hinders your spell casting. Here is a brief breakdown. |
ASG |
Description |
Ranger Spell Hinderence |
Action Penalty |
RT Adder |
8 |
Double Leather | 0% |
-8% |
2 sec |
12 |
Brigandine Armor | 8% |
-13% |
6 sec |
16 |
Chain Hauberk | 15% |
-18% |
9 sec |
20 |
Full Plate | 25% |
-35% |
12 sec |
| Spell Hinderance % - when casting spells, this percentage of
your spells will fail because of the metal in the armor you are wearing. Action Penalty - when climbing or standing, you will have an additional percentage of failure beyond your normal dexterity score. RT Adder - this is the typical amount that this armor will increase your RT. |
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| There are two approaches here. You can wear double leather or
brigandine armor. Every 20 points of armor training will reduce your RT by 1 second. Now
you may not see the RT adder (your reflexes may be making up for it) but it’s there. I recommend double leather. Double leather has no spell casting hinderance. You can usually scavanage some double leather in gnomes or hobland for free (if you can get in and get out without being hit). Make sure to ask anyone there if you may have a set. It is from their kill, it is their leather. Double leather adds 2 seconds to your RT, so to eliminate it you need 40 points of armor training. |
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| The other option is Brigandine Armor. Brigandine will increase your DS, but it has a higher RT adder and a Spell Hinderance. You can wear Brigandine, some Rangers do. Since most of our spells are pre-cast, you can remove your brigandine, cast up, put your armor back on, then go hunt. However, if you get into a crisis and need to cast a spell, the brigandine may hinder (prevent) your success. If you are wearing Brigandine armor, you will need to get 120 points of armor training in order to eliminate the 6 second RT adder. | |
Shield |
YES - always carry a shield. It increases your DS and you will need it. The whole idea is to not get hit. You can scavange a reinforced shield from hobland for free. Make sure to ask anyone there if you may take a shield. It is from their kill, it is their shield. |
Weapons |
Simply put, choose a weapon type and stick with it. The most
common weapons are One Handed Edged (OHE) weapons such as broadswords, falchions, etc.
Edged weapons require the least amount of Training points and are the best option for
Rangers. Especially during your younger years, try using a Drake Falchion (although I wouldn’t pay for one). The flameburst will add additional damage every 10 swings or so. That additional damage is very helpful. |
| Spell Descriptions: | I think the best part of playing a Ranger is the spells. The spells are what make Rangers so much fun! Rangers can train in two different spell cirlces -- the Ranger Circle and the Minor Spiritual Circle. This section provides my opinion on spell training and a brief description of each spell. |
Training |
Rangers just can’t afford to double train in spells. So,
we must choose only one spell per level. Which spell from which circle? There just seem to
be so many! My recommendation is 601, 101 to 103, 602 through 613, then 104 upto 107. After that, review the lists and make your own decision (by then you will be atleast a Lord or Lady). Another alternative is 601 to 606, 101 to 103, 607 to 613, then 104 to 107. |
Ranger Circle |
All spells on the Ranger list are fully implemented except 605 and 625. | |
# |
Name |
Description |
| 601 | Ntrcolors | Adds +10 to the Ranger’s DS. Duration: 15sec/level (100 second minimum) |
| 602 | Resist Elements | Adds +10 to Elemental Defense. Protects you from the elements -- useful for the trip to Icemule. Duration: 60sec/level. |
| 603 | Foraging | Increases the Rangers senses while searching for herbs. Duration 15sec/level. |
| 604 | Skinning | Adds to your skinning ability. Duration: 60sec |
| 605 | Tracking | Not Implemented. |
| 606 | Phoen’s Strength | Adds +10 to AS. Duration: 30sec/level. |
| 607 | Sounds | -20 to targets DS. Duration: 2sec/level. |
| 608 | Camouflage | Hides you, and adds +30 to your AS when you ambush. Duration: 1 swing. |
| 609 | Sunburst | Reveals those that are hidden. Duration: Instananeous. |
| 610 | Tangleweed | Sprouts a vine and will drag anyone or anything not in your group to the ground. Duration: varies. |
| 611 | Mass Hues | Adds +10 to everyone’s DS that is in your group. Duration: 30sec/level. |
| 612 | Breeze | Brings up a strong breeze. Handy for those cloud casting beasts. Duration: 3sec/level. |
| 613 | Self Control | The BEST Ranger Spell. Adds +25 to your DS and +25 to your TD. Duration: 60sec/level. |
| 614 | Imbue | Changes a simple stick to a wand or to a rod. |
| 615 | Whispering Willow | Fun Spell! Whisper to any of your friends that are outdoors from anywhere. |
| 616 | Spike Thorn | Causes a spiked thorn to grow under whatever or whoever it is cast at. |
| 617 | Sneaking | When hidden, this allows you to "sneak" better. Others may still detect you. Duration: 15sec/level. |
| 618 | Mobility | Adds to your Dexterity allowing you to "dodge" better. Useful for dodging webs, etc.. Duration: 30 sec/level. |
| 619 | Mass Calm | Calms all beasts in the room. Very difficult to resist. |
| 620 | Killer Weed | Outdoors this spell generates a spiked thorn that will do damage to anyone or anything not part of your group. Indoors this spell works like 610. |
| 625 | Nature’s Touch | Not Implemented |
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Minor Spirit Circle |
All spells on the Minor Spirit circle are fully implemented. | |
# |
Name |
Description |
| 101 | Spirit Protection I | +10 to Elemental protection and +10 to TD. Duration: 1min/level. |
| 102 | Spirit Barrier | -50 to both incoming and outgoing attacks. Duration: 1min/level. |
| 103 | Spirit Defense | +10 to DS. Duration: 2min/level. |
| 104 | Disease Resist | Um.... Duration: 1min/level. |
| 105 | Poison Resist | Gee..... Duration: 1min/level. |
| 106 | Spirit Fog | Adds +30 to everyone’s DS in the room including the beasts. Duration: 1min/level. |
| 107 | Spirit Protection 2 | Adds +25 to Elemental and and +25 to TD. Duration: 30sec/level. |
| 108 | Stun Relief | Let’s see...... |
| 109 | Dispel Invisability | Well.... |
| 110 | Unbalance | Knocks ‘em all down, beasts, friends, and enemies and inflicts damage. |
| 111 | Fire Spirit | Sends up a flare, or can be used as an offensive weapon when CAST AT <beast>. |
| 112 | Water Walking | Ah.... Duration: 1min/level. |
| 113 | Undease | Um.... |
| 114 | Unpoison | Gee.... |
| 115 | Spirit Burst | Stuns the beast for a period of time. Duration: 5sec/level. |
| 116 | Locate Person | Let’s see.... |
| 117 | Spirit Strike | Adds +75 to AS for one strike. |
| 118 | Web | Captures the foe in a web. |
| 119 | Herb Production | Randomly produces an herb. Only works outside. |
| 120 | Lesser Shroud | +25 to DS. Duration: 30sec/level. |
| 125 | Call Lightening | Forms a Lightening Storm (takes about 20 seconds), and lightening will strike the targer. |
| 130 | Spirit Guide | Evacuates everyone in the caster’s group back to Wehneimer’s Landing. |
| 150 | Wall of Force | +100 to DS. Duration: 10sec/level. |
| Conclusion | I hope that you have found this information useful. I have
tried to cover alot of information -- everything from creating your Ranger, to training
your Ranger, to playing your Ranger. Again, alot of this information is my opinion. I have found it very useful and effective. I hope I have been able to provide some insight for you. Any feedback is greatly appreciated (unless you just want to complain - then forget it! 8 >. Please send any comments to me at ANONYMS69@aol.com. |
ANONYMS69@aol.com
