A Ranger Guide 
By Aelrem

Introduction
Greetings fellow Rangers. I feel that I can no longer remain passive and not express my views on the subject matter that crosses this message board. It is a shame that there is so much misinformation out there but, perhaps, with this series of messages I can clear some of it up. 

Creating your Ranger Character 
In order to be a great Ranger you will have to devote yourself to training in many different skills. Rangers are more adept at learning certain skills than other classes and it is these skills taken as a whole that make Rangers different from the other classes. 

For those of you who are only concerned with the RP experience of GSIII, read no further. The rest of this series of posts are for those who like the details of stats, training skills, weapons choices, etc. Some, like me, enjoy this particular aspect of GSIII. 

Initial Rolls 
Make sure the sum of your die rolls equals or exceeds 630. Given the stat allocations I will explain below, this will guarantee you over 80 training points to start with (and, believe me, you will need every point you can get). Aim for: 

Total rolls summing to 630 or greater 4 rolls all equal to or greater than 80 (one 90 or more if you can get it) No roll under 40 

Roll Allocation 
Roll allocation is based on your profession *and* your race. There are many factors to consider when allocating your stats. It would be challenging to enumerate all the possibilities, so I will provide my view of an optimal allocation for a Sylvankind Ranger (the type I play). The various racial bonuses associated with other character races must be taken into account when altering this allocation. Furthermore, you must decide what aspects of your character you wish to stress. My allocation is as follows:
AUR, DIS, STR, WIS, INT, LOG, CON, DEX, REF, CHA

AUR and DIS, unlike other stats, are used in calculating *both* mental and physical training points and it is training points which will make or break your Ranger. By putting your two highest rolls in AUR and DIS you will be forming a powerful base for your training points. Having a high AUR (hopefully one of your rolls is over 90) will give you a large number of Spirit Points to start with. You will most likely learn the value of high Spirit Points in time. Furthermore, the high DIS will help offset the minor racial penalty to DIS that Sylvankind get (-5). As a Sylvankind, your DIS will rise slowly as you gain levels and you want to lock in a high roll while you are young.

You will live and die by your sword as a Ranger (as much as you will be supplemented with spells). Thus, you need a high STR. STR effects so many things I will not list them all hereit is enough to know that your Attack Strength (AS), Defensive Strength (DS), Encumbrance and base Hit Points are all effected by it.

WIS is one of the Rangers primary stats (i.e., you get a +10 bonus to your the natural die roll assigned to WIS). Your mana (or spell points) is based on your WIS roll *except* if AUR is higher than WIS. The GSIII documentation states that WIS is the basis for mana for the Ranger class, however, from experience, I can say that this is not entirely true. By putting your highest roll in AUR (again hopefully 90 or more) you will be guaranteeing yourself at least 2 mana points per level. I personally feel that an AUR (90 or more) which guarantees me minimum 2 mana per level (3 when it rises to 100) plus the added benefit of adding significantly to my total training points far outweighs assigning a higher number to WIS which will increase at a faster rate than AUR anyway (dont forget the +10 bonus to WIS also).

Next, INT and LOG. To become a truly powerful Ranger you will actually need to spend more mental training points than physical training points during your career. The reason being..spells. You need em and you need em as much as you can get em. By placing your next highest rolls in INT and LOG, you are helping increase mental training points. Furthermore, you get the added benefit of storing more experience points (LOG influences this) and absorbing them faster (INT). For those of you who get number quickly, you know the benefit of higher INT and LOG stats. The reason I place INT ahead of LOG is that LOG will rise much faster than INT for a Sylvankind Ranger.

Ah yes one of the Rangers primary stats (again +10 to natural die roll). Important, but not that important. CON will help you when you poison yourself while foraging (:::smile:::) or when you get bit by a rabid squirrel. It is placed where it is to keep balance between mental and physical training points and because of the specifics of the other stats remaining to be allocated.

DEX, REF, CHA We are now down in your lowest rolls and some may askwhy so low on REF and DEX? Well, for one thing, as I mentioned you will need more mental training points than physical points to train correctly. Yes, you can convert points from mental to physical and vice versa but it costs twice as much to do so. You will see how this allocation helps minimize such conversions and keeps you using your points for their full value. Anyway, as a Sylvankind, DEX, REF, and CHA all get a +5 racial bonus. You will also find that these stats grow rather quickly in comparison to your other stats. In time, you will see these stats catch up to the other stats in the pack. DEX is higher than REF because REF will grow much more quickly than DEX (as will CHA).

Many may wish to have a more fighter oriented Ranger. I suggest you move around the INT and LOG with DEX and REF to suit your needs. However, be aware that you will be sacrificing those all important mental training points. You will see at higher levels that having that slight increase in DS bonus due to REF (for example) is far outweighed by the increased power that comes from knowing more spells.

Training 
Now to Training. If you followed the advice above, you will have over 80 training points with which to work pretty much evenly distributed between mental and physical. 

Train in the following: 
Armor Use (4/0) 1 per year until you reach 8 total trainings (see note 1)
Shield Use (4/0) 2 per year every year - A MUST
Combat Maneuvers (6/3) 1 per year (if you can afford it - drop one or two if you need)
Edged Weapons (3/1) 2 per year every year - A MUST
Perception (0/3) 1 per year every year
Spell Research (0/32) 1 per year every year (drop one year while youngsee note 2)
Stalking & Hiding (2/1) 1 per year every year (switch to 2 when older and pts become available) Ambush (3/2) 1 per year every year
First Aid (2/2) 1 per year every year (drop one or more if needed)
Physical Training (4/0) 1 per year every year until maxxed
Climbing (2/1) 1 every four years (adjust as necessary to fit other trainings)
Swimming (2/0) 1 every four years (adjust as necessary to fit other trainings)

Note 1: This allows you the use of AsG 8 armor (Double Leather with no RT action penalty). Since this is the highest level armor that allows no Spirit spell hindrance, I suggest training until you can use it and then stopping. However, if you wish to wear Scale Armor, etc. you may opt to continue training in Armor Use. 

Note 2: Spells are what will make or break you. Skip training in spells at level 0 only! Then train at level 1 on the Ranger list in 601 - Natural Colors, switch to Minor Spirit until you get 103 - Spirit Defense, then switch back to the Ranger spell list all the way until 620, then back to Minor Spirit (107 is a must). Only skip one spell at the most! 

The training schedule outlined above will cost you 42 physical training points and 46 mental training points per level not including climbing and swimming. (OUCH!) You see that you will need to skip one spell training at level 0 in order to have points to carry forward to help finance this fast training pace. In time you will catch up, your overall stats will determine when and how many short cuts you may have to take (i.e., dropping a First Aid training for example to save some points).

Whew! Well.I guess I will get comments on this and I suppose I am ready to field them. ::smile:: 

In any event, a lot of this is personal choice but a little direction (with the reasons behind that direction) can often help you make those decisions. I hope this helps and opens up the dialogue on the subject of Rangers.

BTW-- I aint saying I is right ::smirk::: so lets talk about anything you see that you dont think works.
Sylvan Ranger
-Aelrem-