Ranger Sage Abilities

Below can be found a list of the knowledge fields and studies available to the Ranger Class. Starting at 1st level, the ranger gains one field, and one study within that field. This choice is left entirely to the player.

There are four fields to choose from:

• Animal Training: the act of teaching animals specific responses to specific conditions or stimuli. Training may be for the purposes of companionship, work, detection, protection, entertainment and more. Includes breeding and veterinary skills.

• Mastery at Arms: increases the efficacy and efficiency of using weapons in combat, enabling superior advantage over an adversary.

• Training: the teaching and investment of knowledge and abilities in oneself and in other persons, improving their capability and performance of animal, combat and wilderness skills.

• Wilderland: a collection of skills related to thriving in the natural environment, promoting survival against the elements, the acquisition of food, tracking and developing a intuition for danger in the outdoors.

Sage Studies

The studies within these fields are each described more thoroughly on their own pages — and in turn are a number of sage abilities that await possession by player characters and others. Following are a list of studies sorted by their field.

Animal Training

• Camelback Riding: the use of a camel as transportation and for the purpose of combat.

• Dog Training: the employment of dogs for defense, attack, transport and work.

• Falconry: includes the use of falcons, hawks, eagles and owls for the purpose of hunting and reconnaissance work.

• Flying Mounts: includes the use of hippogriffs, pegasi and other flying mounts, for transportation and combat.

• Horseback Riding: like other mounts on this list, describes the use of the horse for transportation, combat and work.

• Mahout: allows action as a rider, trainer and keeper of elephants and oliphants.

• Underwater Mounts: allows knowledge of hippocampi, sea horses and sea turtles, providing superlative action in both waterborne and underwater environments.

Mastery at Arms

• Martial Discipline: improves the tactical advantage of combatants through comprehension of formations, movement and the use of special equipment.

• Physical Balance: describes the combatant's ability to improve their balance and footwork while fighting or performing labour.

• Puissance: a collection of enhanced weapon skills and combat proficiencies that make the individual more dangerous as an opponent.

• Unarmed Combat: improvements in the character's ability to fight without weapons, increasing opportunities to hit and cause damage when pummelling, grappling and overbearing.

Training

• Athletics: improves the character's specific proficiency with athletic pursuits, increasing the physical conditioning of the body so as to withstand greater strain than is ordinary.

• Empowerment: trains the mind to act in concert with the body, increasing the character's focus and reasoning skills in times of stress through perseverence and the will to sacrifice.

• Instruction: allows the training of non-skilled individuals so that they may acquire skills possessed by the instructor, as well as enabling a non-levelled non-player character to become levelled.

• Military Engineering: the art, science and practice of designing and building military works. Distinct from logistics.

Wilderland

• Beachcomber: provides the survival skills necessary to survive and act effectively in beach, sea and other water environments.

• Blightlander: provides the survival skills necessary to survive and act effectively in desert, waste or barren environments.

• Forester: provides the survival skills necessary to survive and act effectively in forested regions from temperate to sub-arctic climates, including coniferous and decidious woodlands.

• Jungle Bushcraft: provides the survival skills necessary to survive and act effectively in jungle, rainforest and other thickly vegetated tropical and sub-tropical environments.

• Mountaineer: provides the survival skills necessary to survive and act effectively in mountainous and subterranean environments.

• Scouting: provides a set of survival and orientation skills that ensure health and welfare in the wild, whatever the landscape or climate.

Awarding Knowledge Points

At 1st level, the ranger player character will gain 12 knowledge points in their chosen study. A d8-1 is rolled for the other studies in the ranger's chosen field, producing a result of 0 to 7 each. A d4-1 is rolled for all other studies in all other fields, producing a result of 0 to 3 each. Therefore, the ranger will accumulate sufficient points in every study to most likely become an amateur in all or most studies. Be sure to read the sage abilities page for additional details.

This accumulation is assumed to occur steadily, through everyday discussions with NPCs in settled places, chance reading of books, experiment and insight, whether or not the character ever expresses their intention to gather this knowledge. Time in the campaign is often skirted over ... so we may assume the character spoke to someone in their profession along a road, at a tavern, perhaps finding a shelf of books (and poking through themm) during an afternoon's shopping or whenever.

Once the character has gained sufficient levels, the number of both fields and studies are increased. Furthermore, as levels are gained, so are knowledge points, enabling characters to progress from amateur to authority, and thence to expert and sage. At 5th, 9th and 13th levels, the ranger will gain a new study in a field that the ranger possesses. At 7th and 13th levels, the ranger will gain a new field.