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A ranger is a type of warrior appearing in fantasy fiction and role-playing games. Rangers are usually associated with the wisdom of nature. Rangers tend to be wise, cunning, and perceptive in addition to being skilled woodsmen. Many are skilled in stealth, wilderness survival, and tracking. Archery and swordplay are common to rangers, though there are many instances where rangers use a variety of weapons, skills, and sometimes magic or have a resistance to magic.
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Ranger archetype
Rangers skills in books and games can include and are not limited to:
- Skilled with the bow, usually because they use them so often, for the hunting of wild animals.
- They tend to be well versed in other forms of combat however, most notably dual-wielding short swords or long knives
- Stealth
- Detecting or laying traps
- Taming, calming or charming animals
- Tracking and leaving no trail to be tracked
- Knowledge of herbs for medical and poisonous uses
- The art of healing (magical or medical) due to their self reliance
- Land and nature related magic and enchantments or the ability to recognize them or resistance to them
Ranger in Dungeons and Dragons
In Dungeons & Dragons, rangers typically worship a nature god or goddess, and they take a role similar to druids by protecting nature and slaying foul creatures. Rangers gain attack bonuses against certain creatures through the choosing of a "Favored Enemy" such as giants, dragons or undead. In addition, rangers have access to divine magic and an animal companion to aid them in battle. Typically, rangers are inclined to solitude, particularly from commoners, as in the The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Rangers tend to prefer the company of fellow rangers, and they are extensively trained. However, good rangers will often act as the guardians of others - whether appreciated or not - by repelling "evil" forces and protecting the weak. Some of the most famous fictional rangers are Drizzt Do'Urden and Hank in the Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon.
Ranger in Final Fantasy
Rangers have appeared as in various Final Fantasy games, including the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI. Rangers have also appeared in one form or another in other Final Fantasy games often called Archer or Hunter. In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Hunter is an upgraded class of the basic class, Archer.
Rangers in Guild Wars
Rangers in Guild Wars are sleek looking individuals who primarily use bows, but are allowed to use any of the game's other weapon classes such as swords, war hammers, axes, spears, staves, and daggers. The head gear of rangers is a mask shielding the face (similar to the appearance of "Old West" robbers). Rangers can summon nature spirits, set traps, command beasts, use a variety of combat "stances" to evade attacks or run faster, and use powerful marksmanship skills. The ranger class worships Melandru, the Goddess of Earth and Nature. Rangers don armor that has basic defense in the midlevel (higher than caster classes, lower than warriors) and the highest elemental defense in the game.
Rangers in Phantasy Star Online
Rangers in Phantasy Star Online are "range" characters, and thus deviate from the standard by sporting poor mental abilities in favor of speed and accuracy. In addition to handguns and machine guns, rangers make up the only class in the game that's able to use rifles and shotguns. They are meant as backup for melee characters, stunning enemies from a distance so that teammates may move in. Rangers were able to use all the abilities of the other classes.
Rangers in Dark Age of Camelot
Rangers in Dark Age of Camelot are an archer class in the realm of Hibernia. The races of Elves, Lurikeen, Celt, and Shar may become rangers. The differ from the archer class of the other realms in that they wield two weapons instead of a sword and shield, or a large spear. The weapon of choice for a Dark Age of Camelot Ranger is the Recurve Bow. Like all archers, they emply spells to augment their abilities as bowmen, and are adept at stealth.
Rangers in Fire Emblem
The first Rangers in the Fire Emblem series began as mounted riders in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, derived from the former Nomadic Trooper class. They wielded swords and bows. In Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, the main character Ike was a "Ranger". He is the only character with the class "Ranger" and wields swords.
Rangers in Heroes of Might and Magic
The rangers in "Heroes of Might and Magic, as usual, were a ranged class (their special class ability was a slight bonus to their ranged skills.) However, they were notable for not having any connection to nature, only to pathfinding, and for being an advanced class of either the barbarian or the thief (neither of which normally become rangers.)
Rangers in RuneScape
A Ranger is a character class who uses the 'ranged' skill in RuneScape. Players may pick to be a Ranger. A Ranger usually dresses, (though it is usually up to the player what they want their character to look like), in leather or dragonhide chaps, bodies and vambraces, and uses ranged weapons like bows and arrows, or crossbows and bolts. They are a very common sight in Gielinor, and it is not unusual to see a small group of Rangers firing at animals.
Rangers in World of Warcraft
In World of Warcraft, there isn't a "ranger" class, but a very similar class known as a hunter, that has many of the qualities mentioned above.
