Rangers

• Posted by Joshua James January 1, 2012 - 442 views

  

  Rangers are my favorite fantasy archetype. Whether it's Drizzt, Aragorn or Sindathiel, my Bosmer Ranger, I love the class, the lore associated with them and their way of life. Being a massive fan of Lord of the Rings I had to find a way to carry over the feel of the Rangers of Ithilien and the Dunedain of the North. Hopefully by the time the mod tools are released I'll have everything fleshed out but I have no intention of doing another LOTR conversion. I just want to expand the options for anyone who wants to play a Ranger in Skyrim.

  The landscape itself is harsh, cold and unforgiving with hardy people (The Nords) who give a good chance to have a different kind of Ranger. Instead of the standard caped forest stalker with a bow, sword and all of that the Nords should have a more Viking feel to them. But I digress I still have a thing for the stereotypical ranger. Loner, outcast, pariah, master of the wilderness, survival, stalker in the forest. While roleplaying as my Ranger I find that there isn't any content for Rangers which has to be made. I can make up quests like patrolling a stretch of land, protecting the people from bandits and generally just living off the land with minimal gear but the game needs more. I'm talking about quests and gear. I see rangers in the Elder Scrolls as not being a tribe or organization but more of a way of life that very few do in Tamriel. Think the Foreign Legion mixed with Park Rangers and the Dunedain. Some have committed crimes in their past lives, others have given up a easy life of riches, money and ale and some have never had anything at all except for the wilderness. For some it's about revenge and others it's about escaping the affairs of the civilized world.

  Rangers come in all races, forms and genders but they all follow the same code. They protect nature from people and people from nature. It's a paradox. On one hand they strive to maintain a balance between the modern world and the past while protecting the same people that encroach into the wild from the beasts and threats. But they also largely ignore the civilized world and only intervene to either kill or protect. People hate and fear what they don't understand. Some understand what rangers do and appreciate them. Some are alive today because of a rangers actions but others fear, hate and loath them. Very few understand why but it matters not. When a ranger walks into a town or city with rugged clothing, cloaked head, bow and sword the people give him or her a wide berth. The guards either back off or try to antagonize because of the intimidation factor but the aura of mystery and misunderstanding always follows a ranger. They sit by themselves in the mead hall, sleep only for a few hours and disappear back into the wild after only a night or two.