Roleplaying Rangers
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:33 am
This is in response to a number of complaints I have had about ranger RP and I ask your pardon ahead of time for the asperity with which I intend to address the topic. Here goes.
Rangers are bordermen. We guard the boundaries. In a world that is dark, and cold, and filled with savage monsters that kill humans, elves, and all free folk with gleeful abandon, hunters are needed to keep them back. We have been charged by the queen of Elvandar to hunt the greenskins, and other creatures that pose a threat, but we work for the good of all free folk. We serve no particular god and we are not bound to any particular ideology, though we tend towards good overall.
We are NOT treehuggers (no offense to anyone). We are not a bunch of yogi bears that wander the woods looking for treecutters to kill. We do not go around saving moles from death nor do we put out signs to prevent forest fires. In modern society the woods are at risk and are under a daily threat from civilization, but in a medieval society the forests were wild and needed to be tamed. They were dangerous, dark areas that threatened to overwhelm civilization if people let it. The woods were the unknown.
Rangers live in the woodlands, and we are a part of the woodlands, and if someone starts cutting down every tree in the forest we WILL stop them. If someone slaughters animals at random we WILL prevent it. We stop these not because we must "save the woodlands" but because those are actions that disrespect nature, an entity which rangers revere. More importantly, it is a wasteful thing to do and rangers dislike that intensely for we are a self-sufficient guild and pride ourselves on that fact.
If you want to go kill a boar to have a meal, you have nothing to fear from the rangers. If you kill a few deer for their hides, you don't have to look over your shoulder. If you go gathering firewood for your potions, or just to keep warm on a winter's night, have at it. We are NOT in the business of issuing hunting licenses or zoning off wildlife preserves. For rangers to be park rangers is the biggest anachronism I can think of and the guild is NOT bound to modern ideas of what our rp should be. We are the rangers of a medieval society.
I advise all to keep a level of moderation in their views of nature. If you kill an animal, skin it, butcher it, and dissect it. Animals should be used when killed, not slaughtered for fun. Do not take my words as an invitation to abuse nature's gifts, for if there is abuse then we will and have stepped in to prevent ignorant folk from plunderings the resources of the woodlands.
I will elaborate if I need to. I expect a full series of retorts on how the rangers "should" be rped, but if you are not a ranger then simply deal with the fact that this is our guild. Our policy has been consistent from the beginning and we have not waivered from it in the least. We are here to guard the borders, not bicker with treecutters who are trying to feed their families.
-Alamar
Rangers are bordermen. We guard the boundaries. In a world that is dark, and cold, and filled with savage monsters that kill humans, elves, and all free folk with gleeful abandon, hunters are needed to keep them back. We have been charged by the queen of Elvandar to hunt the greenskins, and other creatures that pose a threat, but we work for the good of all free folk. We serve no particular god and we are not bound to any particular ideology, though we tend towards good overall.
We are NOT treehuggers (no offense to anyone). We are not a bunch of yogi bears that wander the woods looking for treecutters to kill. We do not go around saving moles from death nor do we put out signs to prevent forest fires. In modern society the woods are at risk and are under a daily threat from civilization, but in a medieval society the forests were wild and needed to be tamed. They were dangerous, dark areas that threatened to overwhelm civilization if people let it. The woods were the unknown.
Rangers live in the woodlands, and we are a part of the woodlands, and if someone starts cutting down every tree in the forest we WILL stop them. If someone slaughters animals at random we WILL prevent it. We stop these not because we must "save the woodlands" but because those are actions that disrespect nature, an entity which rangers revere. More importantly, it is a wasteful thing to do and rangers dislike that intensely for we are a self-sufficient guild and pride ourselves on that fact.
If you want to go kill a boar to have a meal, you have nothing to fear from the rangers. If you kill a few deer for their hides, you don't have to look over your shoulder. If you go gathering firewood for your potions, or just to keep warm on a winter's night, have at it. We are NOT in the business of issuing hunting licenses or zoning off wildlife preserves. For rangers to be park rangers is the biggest anachronism I can think of and the guild is NOT bound to modern ideas of what our rp should be. We are the rangers of a medieval society.
I advise all to keep a level of moderation in their views of nature. If you kill an animal, skin it, butcher it, and dissect it. Animals should be used when killed, not slaughtered for fun. Do not take my words as an invitation to abuse nature's gifts, for if there is abuse then we will and have stepped in to prevent ignorant folk from plunderings the resources of the woodlands.
I will elaborate if I need to. I expect a full series of retorts on how the rangers "should" be rped, but if you are not a ranger then simply deal with the fact that this is our guild. Our policy has been consistent from the beginning and we have not waivered from it in the least. We are here to guard the borders, not bicker with treecutters who are trying to feed their families.
-Alamar