Environment and Skills	Wilderness Survival	Hunting Skills	Tracking	Animal Lore
Plant Lore	Transportation	Scouting	Spying	Infiltration
Disguise	Miscellaneous Skills	Charts and Tables	-	-
I: Terrain, climate & skills	-	-	-	-
II: Standard skills	-	-	-	-
III: Miscellaneous skills	-	-	-	-
Dragon	-	Classes	-	Dragon 106

Ranger Bruno Breitfuss led his four
companions across the shimmering expanse
of desert. Had their caravan not been decimated
by raiders, they would not now be in
this spot. The desert was alien, far different
from their wooded homeland, and the toll it
took was high. The water bags hung empty
from their straps. Little conversation was
possible through dry mouths and chapped
lips.

Barny, the halfling, stumbled and collapsed.
Arna knelt by his side as the others
sat wearily nearby. Few could go much
farther, and Barny was at the limit of his
endurance.

Arna looked up at the ranger. ?We need
water, Bruno,? she said.

Bruno nodded and scanned the hazy
horizon. He had seldom been in the desert
before, but if any of them had a chance to
find water in this wasteland, it was he.
"Wait here and rest," he said to his
friends. ?I?ll see what I can find.? He rose
slowly to his feet and trudged off toward an
outcropping of rock in the distance.

Will Bruno find water? Will his party
perish of thirst in the desert? The Players
Handbook is of little assistance in such a
dilemma, saying of rangers only that they
are adept at woodcraft, tracking, scouting,
infiltration, and spying. Percentages for
tracking are given, and that ends the detailing
of ranger skills in the AD&D® system.
The rest is left to the imagination of the
DM.

This was unsatisfactory for me, since I
wanted my ranger to be more than just a
specialized fighter. We worked from the
premise that rangers should have special
skills quite aside from those acquired at
higher levels. The following detailed treatment
of rangers and their abilities was
developed for use in our campaign in the
land of Drakmil.

Environment and skills
Rangers spend a lot of time in the wilderness,
and they are independent, as indicated
by the fact that there are never more than
three rangers working together. They may
team up with others of basically good or
neutral alignments to accomplish a worthwhile
goal, a la Tolkien's Strider. A ranger's
skills imply much time spent in a wilderness
environment, and some skills, such as infiltration
and spying, suggest military or
mercenary uses as well. From these implications
-- wilderness experience and paramilitary
abilities -- it is clear that a ranger
seldom uses his full potential in a dungeon
environment. Although many of his skills
are useful in indoors situations, the ranger
is of most use to his adventuring party (and
enjoys his full potential) in an outdoor
environment or any scenario in which he
can make use of his special talents.

Two important background facts must be
determined for each ranger character: the
nature of the terrain where he grew up and
the terrain where he took his ranger training.
Although the ranger is defined as being
adept at woodcraft, he need not be limited
to a forested environment. In this article,
we will look at ranger skills in a broader
sense than they have previously been defined.
Not all rangers come from woodlands,
although woods-related skills may be
among those most commonly found among
rangers. What of the ranger from an arctic,
plains, island, or desert environment? What
skills will he or she learn?

Climate must be considered as well as
terrain. Skills learned on the permafrost of
tundra vary greatly from those learned on
the lush savannahs of the tropics. The climate
designation also aids the DM in determining
what types of animals and monsters
the ranger character recognizes. Obviously,
the exact nature of the ranger's native environment
plays a major role in the definition
of his particular skills and abilities (see
Tables 1 and 2).

Not all of the ranger?s skills are quantifiable
in game terms. Many are useful abilities
that may be called on at any appropriate
time. Others, however, carry with
them a percentage chance for success, and
some of these percentages increase as the
ranger gains in experience. Charts detailing
percentage rolls for successful skill applications
are included in this article.

Defining ranger skills is a complex task.
To begin with, woodcraft is skill in things
pertaining to woodland living. Here it is
also used to include abilities useful or necessary
for wilderness survival, and the continuation
of existence in such an environment.
Woodcraft includes survival skills, tracking,
hunting, and knowledge of animal and
plant lore.

Wilderness survival
Shelter, water, food, and warmth are the
basic requirements of wilderness survival.
Any ranger not able to fill these requirements
for himself or his party would not
survive long in the wild. Therefore, these
basic skills must be mastered by a 0-level
ranger before his progression to 1st level.
Shelter protects an individual or individuals
from the elements. It ideally keeps one
warm and dry, and it provides a place to
sleep and store provisions, supplies, and
other equipment. A shelter is less important
in good weather, but it may be critical for
survival in inclement weather.

Shelter can be a simple blanket strung on
a line as a wind break, a lean-to woven of
saplings and covered with branches, or a
mud-and-wattle hut for a relatively longterm
stay. In extreme or unusual environ-
ments, the nature of shelter may change
substantially. In sub-zero weather in a
snowy waste, for example, a ranger may
burrow into a drift to create a snow den.
Such a burrow may be uncomfortably chill,
but it will save those inside from freezing. A
ranger knows better than to camp on a
ridge or hilltop in gusty winds, where wind
chill may lead to hypothermia or at least to
an uncomfortably cold and windy night. In
a desert with extreme temperatures, a
ranger may suggest that no traveling be
done during the day -- rather, the party
should shelter in a shady spot and travel at
night. How to construct shelter appropriate
for the current environment, and where to
construct it, are basic and fundamental
ranger abilities.

Water location is a critical skill. What
does a party do when there is barely any
liquid in the water flasks or (horrors!) no
water at all? Find some, of course ? often
easier said than done. There is not always a
convenient rill of water or rushing stream
nearby. In woodlands, water may be easier
to find than almost anywhere else; in snowy
areas, there is usually little difficulty at all.
But what about scrubby chaparral, where
waterways are obscured by dense vegetation?
What of marshes, where undrinkably
stagnant and algae-filled water is the rule
and not the exception? What of the desert,
where water is a rarity at best?

These environments may prove a real test
of the ranger?s survival skills. A 1st-level
ranger, because of his lack of experience,
may understandably have a more difficult
time locating water in a desert than his 6thlevel
ranger companion. Locating water
requires a knowledge of geology and certain
plant-life indicators of water. When a driedout
river bed is found in the plains, for
example, the experienced ranger knows that
digging down a few feet may reach the
water table. He?ll encounter mud first, then
water will seep in to fill the hole.

Suppose a party of gnolls has raided
camp and made off with all the edible supplies,
as well as most of the inedible ones.
What does the party do now? Food location
is just as critical as the ability to find water.

Depending on the environment, food may
be easy or difficult to find. Anyone may
recognize a herd of deer and try to get one
with a handy bow. Some may recognize
edible plants or know how to fish. The
ranger, though, must know all these things
and more. The ranger uses his woodcraft,
his hunting and tracking skills, and his
knowledge of plants to help feed the party.

The ability to produce or locate warmth
is deceptive. Almost every adventurer is
considered able to build a fire. A standard
piece of equipment is the ever-ready tinder
box, and a magic-user may know that
handy cantrip flamefinger. But imagine if
everyone has been dunked in the river in
the rain, and there is no dry tinder on the
ground or on their persons. What about the
party lost in the arctic or in a great sandy
desert, with nothing suitable for a fire anywhere
in sight?

The well-prepared ranger may have a
magically waterproofed pouch about his
neck, with a supply of wood shavings and
dry moss. It will most likely be the ranger,
in a party of city-dwelling thieves, magicusers,
clerics, and mercenary fighters, who
thinks to chop inside a fallen log to find dry
deadwood for fuel.

Apart from firestarting, a ranger knows
other ways to keep warm. He may have
everyone huddle together at night to share
body warmth when it is not possible to start
a fire, or he may keep everyone moving and
pacing when snowbound in a blizzard. A
ranger's skills may save the party from an
uncomfortably cold night or save lives in an
emergency.

A ranger stays alert for a variety of wilderness
signs, indicators of weather or
terrain hazards. He recognizes the cloudy
signs of coming snow, a red twilight warning
of storm, or a hazardous snow ridge
over a glacial crevass. Because he can recognize
such signs, the ranger is able to aid his
party with wilderness wisdom. He may be
the one to lead the group to shelter in low
spots when a thunderstorm threatens, and
he would know to avoid desert gullies when.
there is danger of flash floods.

These skills are applied in a game or
campaign at the DM's discretion. If a party
makes a cross-country trek in which several
hundred miles must be traversed in a few
real-time hours, the DM will undoubtedly
wish to skim over the details of foodgathering
and shelter building. If, however,
the environment is extreme, the circumstances
unusual, or the outcome critical to
the game, the DM should allow the ranger
a chance to use his abilities to secure food,
water, or shelter for the group.

Hunting skills
A ranger is a capable hunter. He is also
proficient in trapping, snaring, and fishing
-- all useful skills for providing food. He
draws on his knowledge of tracking and
animal lore to be more effective in food
gathering (see next section). The ranger's
particular abilities are affected by his background;
a desert-dwelling ranger may be
more adept at snaring small game than at
hunting jungle tigers.

Hunting basically requires a weapon and
the ability to locate a food animal. The
weapon used must be appropriate for the
game hunted: a sling stone may bag a wild
duck, but a sword and spear are best for
hunting a wild boar. Hunting may be done
with a minimum of equipment. A fleetfooted
ranger might need only a rock or
dagger; such will suffice for game he may
run to ground or at which he may have a
clear throw. A bow or other missile weapon
is suitable for animals that move rapidly or
that are at a distance from the hunter. More
sophisticated hunting techniques may require
stalking, waiting for an animal in a
cleverly hidden stand, or driving the quarry
towards the hunter with beaters.

Traps capture an animal and hold it alive.
Snares kill the animal at the time it is
caught. Such devices are useful because
they free the ranger to do something else
while his food is being caught for him.
Some types of animals are best hunted in
this fashion; for example, a ranger may
only be equipped with a sword, but he
wishes to catch the plentiful grouse in the
fields around him. Building a snare or trap
will net him as many grouse as he can eat,
although his sword would be practically
useless for such a task.

Pitfalls, deadfalls, line snares, and droptraps
are just a few of the devices that a
ranger is familiar with. He may build them
from materials at hand, or he may carry
trap-building materials with him, in which
case the DM should adjust his percentage
for successful trapping and snaring.

Fishing can be done with little equipment.
A ranger may know how to ?hypnotize
-- fish with his fingers and grab them out
of the water. More conventionally, fish can
be caught with line, net, spear, or fish trap.
A ranger should be able to weave a net of
jungle vines and know where running
salmon are found for spearfishing. He
recognizes likely hiding holes in which to
find crayfish, and on an ocean beach he
seldom goes hungry. The ranger knows the
types of edible seaweed; he looks for clams
in the sands of a beach, and oysters and
mussels in tidepools and on reefs. He may
even build lobster or crab traps.

Some of these activities cross the line into
actual food gathering; once again, the extent
of a ranger's marine knowledge depends
largely on his background. A ranger
from a coastal environment knows more of
these things than one from the woodlands.
Success in fishing is rolled for on Table 5.

Tracking
Successful tracking requires knowledge of
animal lore and several related skills. The
ranger must be able to recognize and follow
signs, such as a pawprint, a broken leaf, or
a bit of crumbled loam. He must be familiar
with his quarry's rate of movement and
movement habits. He knows that a fox will
walk in water to hide its scent, and that a
startled deer runs a few hundred yards,
then freezes in cover, waiting to see if it is
being followed.

The basics of tracking are known to a 1stl evel
ranger, but this is a skill that improves
with experience, as noted in Unearthed
Arcana (pp. 21-22). A ranger may be called
upon to track either animals or humans.
Likewise, if a ranger can follow others, he
knows what a tracker looks for in order to
follow him. Therefore, a ranger can hide his
own trail better than can the average character.
Rangers have two new abilities related to
tracking. One is stalking silently the ability
to soundlessly follow quarry in the wilderness.
This skill can be used whenever a
ranger wants to move soundlessly in the
outdoors and should not be confused with
the thiefs ability to move silently. The
ranger's rate of movement when stalking is
reduced. He must be by himself in order for
this skill to be effective and may not run
while doing so.

Another ability is trackless movement,
the ability to move through the wilderness
leaving no trace of passage. As when stalking
silently, the ranger's movement is reduced,
he may not run, and he must be by
himself. When using trackless movement,
the ranger wades in water to hide his scent,
steps on rocks, brushes out footprints with a
leafy branch, and takes other measures to
obscure his trail.

Characters not trained in tracking are
considered to have a base tracking chance
equal to their intelligence score (on a scale
of 1-100%). An average character has a
3% -18% chance of tracking successfully.
This is checked once every game turn the
character is attempting to track. If the trail
is lost ? which is likely to happen ? a
check is made every turn of searching to see
if it is found again. Obviously, then, nonranger
characters have a chance of following
prints on the ground, but are unlikely to be
successful for any length of time. Characters
with forester and trapper secondary skills
may be given a 20%-50% base chance to
track creatures.

Animal lore
To be successful in his pursuit of animals,
the ranger must command a certain knowledge
of animal lore. This is not comprehensive
at first; a 1st-level ranger's fund of
animal lore is limited to the fauna native to
where he grew up and where he took his
ranger training. This knowledge increases
as the ranger goes up in level.

Animal lore includes knowledge of animal
habitats, habits, food, shelter, migration,
dangers, and uses, as well as familiarity
with their calls and sounds. Knowledge of
animal lore is vital to successful tracking
and hunting. Tracking an unfamiliar animal
should add a negative modifier to the ranger's percentage roll;
a penalty of -5% in each case is suggested.

This skill is useful in other ways as well.
For instance, if a ranger recognizes a certain
set of tracks near a waterhole, he may
suggest that the party camp far away and
downwind from the watering spot, since the
tracks belong to a predatory night hunter
unafraid of humans. The DM should let the
ranger know what tracks he recognizes at a
particular place and time, and pertinent
information about the animal to which they
belong.

Plant lore
Plants are useful as sources of food; in
cases such as the barrel cactus, they may
even provide water in the desert. Anyone
may recognize berries, but a ranger should
know enough to pull up the tuberous roots
of cattails or locate wild parsnips for the
dinner stew.

Plants have numerous practical applications,
as well. Vines can be used to tie
things together, gourds serves as water containers,
and springy branches make a good
cushion for a bed roll. The ranger should
also know several plants with healing properties.
He can use mint or camomile for a
tea to soothe an upset stomach or make one
drowsy, and he may know that a poultice of
nettles (boiled and drained several times)
can stop the bleeding in a severe cut. The
milk of a dandelion can be used to get rid of
warts and a poultice of comfrey to soothe
the swelling of a sprain or torn ligament.
As with animal lore, the ranger is most
familiar with those plants he has seen or
used before. Although he may recognize
unfamiliar plants from drawings, descriptions,
or word of mouth, his ability to locate
and use them decreases as his environment
changes from that with which he is familiar.
For instance, a forest ranger will be lucky to
find an useful plants he recognizes in a
desert. However, this skill, too, increases
with experience.

Transportation
Depending on his native environment, a
ranger may be able to construct an aid to
travel or transportation. If he grew up with
snow, he may know how to make skis,
snowshoes, or a sled. If water is an element
familiar to him, the ranger may be able to
construct a raft, coracle, dugout, or know
how to make a bark canoe. He may even
know how to string a rope bridge or improvise
tack and harness for animals. A failed
success roll for transportation may have
some interesting results. (The DM should
always make these rolls.) A failed roll may
mean one of two things: either there is no
suitable material at hand out of which the
desired object may be made, or, although
material can be found, the quality of workmanship
leaves something to be desired.

This will result in some unpleasant consequences
when the object is put to use.
For example, if the ranger is in a forest
and he wants to make a pair of snowshoes,
the DM rolls for him. Whether the roll is
successful or not, it is obvious that there is
no shortage of material for use in the snowshoes.
However, if the roll fails, the DM
tells him he has found material and made
his snowshoes -- only to have them fall
apart after a short period of use. A ranger
attempting to make skis above the tree line
may well find no wood to serve his purpose;
if he makes a coracle, he may not find a
suitable piece of hide with which to cover it.
If materials are scarce, the DM should
adjust the roll for success accordingly. If
there is adequate material, then a failed roll
may indicate that the ranger gets washed
downstream out of control in a hopelessly
twirling boat. A raft may break up in midstream,
and a rope bridge may be insecurely
tied and collapse under weight.

Such incidents complicate the characters?
lives, but they also add excitement to the
game. The DM should make it a point to
keep track of time expended when a ranger
attempts to use his transportation ability;
materials may be gathered for snowshoes in
half an hour, and they may be constructed
in one or two. Skis, on the other hand, may
take all day or longer, and such efforts as
stringing a rope bridge require that the
stalwart adventurer swim the raging river or
cross the chasm first -- efforts that are
adventurous in their own right.

Scouting
When a ranger scouts, he gathers information.
He does this by carefully observing
terrain, wildlife, and activity by humans or
other intelligent beings. A scouting ranger
will observe the land around him and note
such things as rockslides, washed-out roads,
a ford in a river, or the location of a mountain
pass. Calling on his knowledge of animal
lore, he can locate suitable grazing land
for his party's animals or spot the forest lair
of giant spiders. He may be able to pinpoint
the encampment of a band of orcs or a
bandit hideout.

A roll is made for successful scouting
once per scouting mission. Scouting is a
time-consuming business, and the DM
must keep track of the time and travel involved.
A successful roll indicates that the
ranger has gathered accurate information
about terrain or, if creatures have been
sighted, numbers, type, direction of travel,
and so on. A failed roll may indicate incorrect
information, no information at all, or a
dangerous encounter while scouting --
perhaps resulting in the ranger being captured
by those he went to observe.

Spying
If scouting is looking, then spying is
lurking -- in fact, this ability is very similar
to the assassin's skill. Naturally, the outdoor
orientation of a ranger leads him to spy in
different environments than those of an
assassin. A ranger may lie concealed beyond
the firelight of a camp at night, listening
to the conversation of a group of goblins
(assuming he speaks the goblin tongue, of
course). While doing so, he may count their
numbers, inventory their weapons and
animals, listen to their secret plans for a
raid, and perhaps even search tents for a
suspected captive.

The information a ranger discovers is up
to the DM. The character should state
specifically how he intends to spy on his
objective; the DM should adjust his roll for
modifiers such as cover of darkness or numerous
passersby.

A ranger may also spy indoors, similar to
the reconnoitering done by a thief. Thieves
are more adept at this since they work
indoors more frequently, but the ranger still
has a chance for success. His indoor spying
ability is half as great as his regular (outdoors)
ability. The DM should make adjustments
for encounters, noisy armor,
conversation, and so on.

One last aspect of spying is general information
gathering. For this, the ranger
makes use of whatever personal connections
he has. Allies aid him willingly, neutrals
may be paid or convinced to aid him, and
enemies can be interrogated for information.
There is a chance that his source will
turn up useful intelligence, depending on
the origin of the information. "Facts" from
neutrals or enemies may be partly or completely
false; allies may also unwittingly
pass on false or misleading information.
Incorrect intelligence is indicated by an
unsuccessful spying roll, if the DM decides
there is anything to be learned at all. Once
again, this roll should be made by the DM,
and the information imparted to the ranger
as if it were true.

Infiltration
A ranger may wish to infiltrate a town,
encampment, or other place where people
come together in order to gather intelligence.
Successful infiltration enables the
ranger to mingle with the people and be
accepted as if he belonged there.

There are numerous variables to consider
in a job of infiltration. The size of the population,
the dominant race, the language
spoken, whether it is day or night ? all
these factors contribute to the difficulty of a
mission. The character should state how he
plans to infiltrate his objective: under cover
of darkness? In disguise, posing as a beggar
or a bard? Strolling in with the farm wagons
going to market, or climbing over the walls
at night? The DM then adjusts his percentage
for success accordingly. A human
ranger infiltrating a camp of dwarven bandits
is surely be easier to spot than if he
were in a camp of humans. If the dwarves
are all drunk and the ranger appears to be
one of the local traders, he is more likely to
succeed in his mission.

Disguise
The more sophisticated the job of infiltration,
the more skills a ranger must draw on.
At 3rd level, a ranger gains a limited disguise
ability that adds a percentage to his
chances for successful infiltration. He will
never be as accomplished at this as an assassin,
but he can do well when impersonating
a character of his race and a type he is
familiar with -- fighter, beggar, or something
similar. When the attempted impersonation
is of major importance to the
adventure, the DM should role-play the
ranger's NPC encounters in the infiltrated
place, to give him a real feeling for his
disguise and infiltration attempt.

Miscellaneous skills?
A ranger is familiar with a variety of
other skills. The first of these is healing --
or, more properly, first aid. At a minimum,
the ranger knows how to deal with broken
limbs and cuts, especially injuries that are
typical of those sustained in combat. The
character is capable of splinting and possibly
setting a bone, and he may cauterize a
wound to prevent bleeding and infection
using only his dagger, heated in a campfire
?crude, but effective when a party is far
from more civilized aid.

Another skill essential for every ranger is
the ability to clearly mark a trail. This
consists of cutting blazes on tree trunks with
an axe or piling stones to mark a direction
taken. A ranger is capable of reading such
trail signs as well as making them.

Depending on his background environment,
a ranger may be exceptionally skilled
at certain physical activities, from running
and swimming to rock-climbing and iceclimbing.
These skills are determined when
a character's native terrain is known; the
ranger should be highly proficient in these
"natural" skills at 1st level. His abilities will
improve only slightly with experience, and
then only if he chooses to train in the skill.
A character may choose to learn a skill that
is new to him, in which case his ability
increases at a different rate (see Table 11).

A standard skill shared by all 1st-level
rangers is knot-tying. As any sailor knows,
there are a multitude of useful knots,
hitches, ties, and splices that can be made
with a piece or two of rope or line. The
ranger will know an appropriate knot or tie
for most situations he can expect to encounter.
Finally, rangers may become skilled in
signaling. Signaling is useful for longdistance
wilderness communication. Once a
signal is sent, it is necessary that there be
someone capable of understanding it. Rangers
may communicate among themselves or
with anyone else who understands this
method of communication. The exact type
of signal used will vary greatly from area to
area; drums, smoke, horns, or semaphore
are typical methods of signaling. This is an
advanced skill, and the character may
choose to learn it once he has reached 3rd
level or greater.

Charts and tables
The following information is divided into
three sections. Part I contains terrain and
climate information for random generation
or arbitrary determination of environment.
This section also includes tables for determination
of abilities based strictly on native
environment, such as physical skills and
knowledge of transportation modes.
Part II contains the regular range of skills
which improve in a steady progression as a
character goes up in level. Here are most of
the percentage tables for character abilities.
Part III contains skills which begin with a
set level of proficiency. Training to improve
in these skill areas is optional and will cost
the character extra time and money.
Some definitions are in order:

Unfamiliar terrain refers to a place unlike
that in which the ranger grew up or received
training. A lack of familiarity with
terrain (and sometimes climate) carries
negative modifiers for many skill rolls.
Similar terrain is an environment similar
to that which the ranger already knows.
There are still enough differences in terrain,
climate, flora, and fauna that his wilderness
skills are slightly penalized.

Terrain becomes familiar after the ranger
has taken training in a new environment-or
has spent a base time of 12 months adventuring
there. This length of time is modified
by subtracting the ranger's level from the
base of 12 months. For instance, in order
for 4th-level ranger Bruno to become familiar
with desert terrain, he must spend eight
months in it, or he must take his 5th-level
training there. At 10th level and greater,
rangers must spend a minimum of three
months in a new environment before it can
be considered to be familiar.

The DM should make all die rolls to
determine the success or failure of a skill
roll. The ranger may think he is successful,
although he is not; he should not discover
this until he has to deal with the consequences
of his failure. A bungled attempt at
infiltration may get the character arrested in
a hostile town; a misidentified plant may
cause an illness rather than cure one. The
DM must use common sense when adjudicating
the results of failed rolls.

I: Terrain, climate, & skills
Terrain and climate: Determine the
character's native terrain and climate, and
the terrain and climate where he took his
ranger training, if different from the former.
The DM may define terrain based on the
geography of his campaign, or it may be
randomly determined by using these tables.

Table 1: Terrain

Dice	Terrain
01-02	Arctic*
03-05	Tundra*
06-20	Prairie
21-37	Mountains
38-55	Hills
56-75	Forest
76-90	Coast
91-98	Desert
99-00	Island

* -- Arctic and tundra terrain have arctic
and subarctic climates, respectively. Roll for
climate in all other areas.

Table 2: Climate

Dice	Climate
01-05	Arctic*
06-20	Subarctic
21-55	Temperate
56-85	Subtropical
86-00	Tropical

* -- Roll again for climate if terrain is
forest or desert.

Physical skills: These skills are based on
the character's native terrain. Roll for the
following percentages to determine if the
character has exceptional ability in one or
more of the following skill areas.

Table 3: Physical skills

Skill	Terrain	% chance
Swimming1	Plains, mountains,  hills, forest, coast	50%
Climbing	All except desert, plains, tundra, arctic, mountains	40%
-	Mountains	60%
-	Desert, plains, arctic	20%
Running2	Any	20%
Throwing3	Any	20%

1 -- Temperate climate or warmer.

2 -- The ability to run rapidly for extended
lengths of time depends upon the
nature and culture of the local people.

3 -- Some cultures use hand-thrown
missiles for hunting activities. Items especially
made for throwing, such as chipped
rocks, boomerangs, or throwing sticks, may
be used.
 

Transportation: The DM must determine
what types of transportation skills are
common to the ranger's native area. Of
these, there is a 20% chance per skill that
he will be proficient in that mode of transportation
and, given adequate materials,
can duplicate the equipment or device used.
Typical transportation skills include the
following, divided by subject matter:

Cold climates: Skis, snowshoes, snow
sledges or sleds. Sleds are pulled by local
beasts of burden.

Water: Sailboats, rowboats, coracles,
rafts, canoes, dugouts, kayaks, ships.
(Don't forget that although a character may
not live on an island or near the coast, he
may still be near a body of water that encourages
water-related skills. Rivers and
lakes are common geographical features.)

Beasts of burden: Harness or tack for
driving or riding; construction of vehicles
for animals to pull.

Bridge-building: Wood or stone bridge
construction; rope bridge across chasms
(requires strong mooring points and climbing
ability); pontoon bridge across water.
 

II: Standard skills
Table 4: Survival
This roll may be used for survival skill in
general or, depending on the circumstances,
for the specifics of providing water, food,
shelter, and warmth.
 

Ranger level	Success chance
1	78
2	80
3	82
4	84
5	86
6	88
7	90
8	92
9	94
10	96
11	97

This skill increases at +1% per level
above 11th. Penalties may apply for unfamiliar
terrain (-10%), unfamiliar climate
(-10%), and similar terrain (-5%).

Table 5: Hunting and fishing

If the DM knows the specifics about the
abundance of game or lack of it in an area,
adjust the dice roll accordingly.
 

Ranger level	Success chance
1	60
2	65
3	70
4	75
5	79
6	83
7	86
8	89
9	92
10	95
11	97

This chance increases at ½% per level
above the 11th level. Penalties for unfamiliar
terrain (-10%), unfamiliar climate
(-5%), and similar terrain (-5%) may be
applied.

Table 6: Trapping and snaring
 

Ranger level	Success chance
1	35
2	40
3	45
4	50
5	55
6	60
7	65
8	70
9	75
10	80
11	85

This chance increases at 3% per level
above 11th level. Penalties for unfamiliar
terrain (-10%), unfamiliar climate
(-5%), and similar terrain (-5%) may be
applied.

Table 7: Stalking silently
 

Ranger level	Success chance
1	20
2	27
3	34
4	41
5	48
6	55
7	62
8	69
9	76
10	83
11	90

This skill increases at +
2% per level
above 11th level. Movement rate is reduced
by 30%, or by 50% in dense undergrowth.
A ranger may not run while stalking. Modifiers
may be applied for unfamiliar terrain
(-10%), similar terrain (-5%), darkness
of night (-20%), twilight (-10%), precipitation
(+5%), and for elven rangers
(+5%). Dexterity modifiers may also apply,
either at +2% per dexterity point over 14
or -2% for every dexterity point under 7.

Table 8: Trackless movement
 

Ranger level	Success chance
1	10
2	19
3	28
4	37
5	46
6	55
7	64
8	73
9	82
10	91
11	98

This skill increases at + 1/10% per level
above 11th level. Movement is reduced by
50%, or by 75% in dense undergrowth. A
ranger may not run while performing trackless
movement. Modifiers may be applied
for unfamiliar terrain (-10%), similar
terrain (-5%), darkness at night (-30%),
and during precipitation (+5%).

Table 9: Plant and animal lore
 

Ranger level	Success chance
1	15
2	22
3	29
4	35
5	41
6	46
7	51
8	56
9	61
10	66
11	71

This skill increases at + 1% per level
above 11th level. Penalties may be applied
for unfamiliar terrain (-20%), unfamiliar
climate (-10%), similar terrain (-10%),
and similar climate (-5%). A bonus of
+3% is awarded for every intelligence
point the ranger has over 12.

Table 10: Scouting and spying
 

Ranger level	Success chance
1	40
2	45
3	50
4	55
5	60
6	65
7	70
8	75
9	80
10	85
11	88

This skill increases at +2% per level
above 11th level. Modifiers may be applied
for scouting in darkness of night (-20%),
spying at night (+15%), if the ranger is an
elf (+10%) or half-elf (+5%), and for
every intelligence point the ranger has over
14 (+2% per point).

Table 11: Infiltration
 

Ranger level	Success chance
1	50
2	55
3	60
4	65
5	70
6	75
7	80
8	84
9	88
10	92
11	96

This chance improves at +1% per level
above 11th level. Any percentage chance at
disguise may be added to the infiltration
chance percentage. Penalties may be applied
for impersonating a different race
(-20%), entering a group that uses an
unfamiliar language (-20%), and entering
a group with a dominant race that is different
from the ranger?s race (-20%).

III: Miscellaneous skills

These skills may generally be called upon
without rolling for success or failure. Such a
roll would only be necessary in critical
situations, at the discretion of the DM.
Most of these skills begin with a basic level
of proficiency that does not automatically
increase with experience. At the character?s
option, additional training may be taken in
order to increase his proficiency in any or
all of his miscellaneous skills.

Physical skills
All physical skills have a 75% chance of
success. Modifiers apply as noted. If a
character trains to improve a physical skill,
the ability increases 2% per level spent
training.

Swimming: Fast water -10%; cold
water -10%; strength: +2% per point
over 13, or -2% per point under 7.

Climbing: Unfamiliar terrain -10%;
similar terrain -5%; dexterity, +2% per
point over 14; strength, +1% if 15-16,
+2% if 17, and +3% if 18 or more.

Running: Unfamiliar terrain -5%;
dexterity, +2% per point over 14; constitution,
+2% per point over 14.

Transportation
Transportation skills have a base 75%
chance of success. Modifiers apply as noted.
If and character trains to improve his transportation
skill, his proficiency increases by
2% per level spent training.
    Unfamiliar terrain: -10%
    Similar terrain: -5%
    Intelligence: +2% per point over 15.

Gaining a new skill
A character may wish to learn a new
physical or transportation skill, whether or
not he already has a similar skill. Training
requirements are explained under Training,
below. Expertise will progress as follows,
with "level 1" being the level at which the
character begins his training.

Table 12: Physical and transportation
skill improvement
 

Ranger level	Success chance
1	20
2	25
3	30
4	35
5	40
6	43
7	46
8	49
9	52
10	55
11	58

The skill chances improve by +2% per
level above 11th level.

First aid
When a critical injury may mean life or
death to a character, a ranger has a 20%
chance of successfully aiding the injured
person. This skill will improve by 3% per
level spent training.

A ranger is assumed to be competent
enough to handle basic cuts and fractures.
Such injuries may normally be treated
without a roll for success or failure. (A good
example of this is the act of patching up
companions after combat, which any ranger
should be capable of doing successfully.)

Trail-blazing
Rangers blaze and read trails with a base
75% chance of success. If training in this
area is continued, the skill improves by 3%
per level of training.

Knot-tying
There is a base 80% chance of successful
knot-tying. This progresses by 2% per level
of training. This is another skill that will be
rolled for only in critical situations ? for
instance, when lowering a companion down
a cliff with spliced ropes.

Disguise
Rangers at 3rd level and greater may
choose to train in the skill of disguise, which
is useful for infiltration attempts. The
ranger gains 3% disguise ability per level of
training. This cumulative percentage is
applied to the ranger's infiltration percentage
when he is disguised, to reflect his
improved chances of success at infiltrating
his objective.

Signaling
At 3rd level and greater, rangers may
choose to train in the skill of signaling. The
ranger begins at 15% proficiency (see next
paragraph for training details). This skill
improves 10% per level of training.

Training notes
Training time and costs for most of the
ranger skills are consistent with the AD&D
rules. Certain abilities represent extra time
and money to the character who wishes to
develop them. The availability of a trainer
who can teach the character the skill he
wishes to learn is also important. Such
qualified teachers may be few and far between.
It is likely that a ranger from the
woodlands will never find anyone to teach
him how to run a dogsled team, as long as
he is living and adventuring near a temperate
coast. The DM must use common sense
when determining what skills are available
for a ranger to learn in training.

Learning or improving skills
A character need not improve any of his
miscellaneous skills. If he wishes to do so,
extra training can improve the following
skills: physical, transportation, disguise,
signaling, first aid, trail blazing, and knottying.
The character must spend one month
training to learn the basics of these skills:
physical, transportation, disguise, and
signaling. If he is learning more than one
physical or transportation skill, he must
spend one month in training for each skill.
The time required to improve an ability
that the ranger already has will be equal to
50% of the time he must spend on training
for his new level. For example, a 4th-level
ranger will spend four weeks training for
5th level. If he wishes to improve his swimming
ability as well, he will have to spend
an additional 2 weeks doing so. This extra
training time is limited to a maximum of 6
weeks. The additional training time is required
for each miscellaneous skill the
ranger is working to improve. Training
costs are the same weekly rate the ranger is
paying for his regular training.

Conclusions
This expanded treatment of rangers and
their abilities should enable players and
DMs alike to play the ranger character in a
more versatile way. Rangers will find themselves
much more useful -- even vital -- in
outdoor adventures, and will gain an in depth
feel for their special skills. The option
to develop certain skills or even to ignore
them completely personalizes the ranger,
and adds to the new perspective gamers will
develop toward this long-neglected character
class.