The Outdoorsman 2.1

Introduction
The Ranger profession has struggled since the very beginning of Star Wars: Galaxies. The majority of the players who choose to play as Rangers have felt incomplete since the beginning. The introduction of /areatrack and /conceal were the first steps towards a "complete" Ranger. However, Rangers are still waiting for skills we were promised. Many things in this game have changed, reducing the usefulness and desirability of Ranger as a profession. The removal of the camp requirement to call pets and vehicles, and the introduction of veghash and scout droids has affected the Ranger skill-set. It has removed the need for Rangers in many of the situations where we should excel- specifically wilderness survival and hunting.

To that end, many months ago, our correspondent at the time, NRass, wrote the original Outdoorsman proposal. This document solidified the Rangers desire to have a unique identity, balancing the desire for a creature-centric profession with the potential for a role, however limited, in the Galactic Civil War and PvP combat. This updated version of the Outdoorsman endeavors to incorporate the most recent ideas that the Ranger community has come up without entirely changing the vision that the Ranger was originally created with. In essence, this is the Ranger guide to what we feel is a more complete profession.

As with the original, The Outdoorsman 2.1 is a wilderness-centric design, creating a survivalist able to live off the environment with ease. The Outdoorsman is a keen observer of creature behavior and mannerisms, and during combat situations he can use that knowledge to attack and evade creatures of all sizes and shapes. The Outdoorsman is a shadow that those that may wish him harm, rather than always fighting.

Hunting Missions
A good hunter knows that hunting doesn’t always begin with a lair of creatures that are ripe with high quality resources. Oftentimes, there is a single creature that has gotten out of hand and must be dealt with as quickly as possible. It takes a true hunter to muster the dedication and skill to track down a single mobile, hostile and dangerous creature. Rangers are proposing a new mission type to be Ranger-exclusive in much the same way that Bounty Hunter mission are exclusive. The mission structure would mimic in many ways the formula of BH. Since Rangers are, by nature, wilderness hunters, these would be animal missions rather than humanoid targets. Rangers would also use their unique skills to find their targets, adding versatility and function to the skills we have now.

Rangers as a profession are a rather faceless profession. Many professions have unique missions structured to their skill set. The only mission types that Rangers can call their own is the Explorer terminal and these missions are often underpaid "go-here" missions or overly difficult "kill-this-many-creatures" missions. Rangers, as the supposed masters of the wilderness wish to have a new mission structure based around the concept of Big Game Hunting. Similar to BH missions, but utilizing the Rangers skills (namely /areatrack) to find and kill large and rare critters.

Concealing
In the vein of the wilderness-centric focus of the Outdoorsman, concealment should work on all forms of opponents while in a wilderness environment: creatures, humanoids, pets, and players.(It is very important to the community that some measure of direct usefulness in the Galactic Civil War and Player versus Player conflict be granted to the profession.) The effect is far more powerful than the most skilled scent masking, and increases with experience. Against less intelligent humanoids, this ability masks his presence completely from sight, just as masking his scent does against the simpler creatures. With some skill, an outdoorsman is able to apply this effect to fellow travelers, so they too can reap the benefits.

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Possible Implementation: 
• Against creature and humanoid NPCs, /conceal would work like /maskscent does against creatures, completely hiding the player from sight
• The command would use a camo kit specific to the current planet
• The effect can be applied on another player with the use of a camo kit
• Each creature or humanoid NPC that would normally attack the player would check against the concealment
• The camouflage skill modifier should dictate the chance of successfully concealing against an opponent; increased skill should allow the Ranger to successfully conceal against a higher level of opponent. The success rate should be 99% at the Master against a CL25 opponent while laying prone and not moving
• It can enabled at the same time as /combatConceal, but not at the same time as /maskscent
• At Wayfaring I would have a greater success than using /maskscent at Master Scout
• A command called /combatConceal available at Wayfaring II would work as a buff, decreasing an opponent's chance-to-hit the concealed player; would work on all forms of opponents: Creatures, Humanoids NPCs, CH Pets, Faction Pets, and Players.
• The command would use a planet-specific camo, but is not usable on other players
• There would be a duration for the effect, similiar in length to /conceal
• The to-hit modifier would have to be significant enough to ensure that being combat concealed would be a worthwhile advantage during combat situations.
• It can enabled at the same time as /conceal or /maskscent, just in case the concealment fails and combat ensues
• This command can be countered by the skill /reveal, available at Wayfaing II, would work as a counter-buff, with a possible chance to remove the skill from players in a co

The outdoorsman has access to knowledge in the art of ghillie suit creation, the quality of which can improve the effect of regular camouflage. With this suit, an outdoorsman is able to elude the gaze of opponents with greater effectiveness. The suit also provides a unique visual key for the profession.

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Possible Implementation:
• The suit would be Tailor made but only wearable by those players with the Wayfaring II skill, and there would be a wookie-specific garb (or wookies get this as an automatic skill)
• The quality of the suit would dictate: how much of a bonus to the "to-hit" modifier the suit would provide while using /combatConceal and the chance of success while using /hide
• The outfit would need to be equipped to have activate the effect
• The suit would only enhance camouflage, cannot be used alone

An outdoorsman with exceptional experience in art of concealment can hide from his opponent's view completely. Only while prone and without movement can such an amazing feat be accomplished. In this state, a Ranger can focus their thoughts on their next shot, making it a deadly strike.

Possible Implementation:
• A command called /hide available at Master Ranger that removes the Ranger from the radar and the environment after a 15-second timer. Every profession would have a varying likelihood to break this (much like a /maskscent check), with Master Rangers being the most likely to see through the /hide
• Upon being revealed a 10 second timer is initiated where the player is unable to initiate combat
• If the player is attacked by someone else however, the timer ends and the player can retaliate immediately
• The Player must be wearing a ghillie suit and prone to initiate, players that move or remove the ghillie suit would be instantly revealed.
• The quality of the ghillie suit dictates the chance of being revealed during the duration of the command.
• The command can not be performed while in combat, however a Ranger has the ability to enter combat with a devastating first round strike, instantly restoring the Ranger to the radar and visible spectrum
• At Wayfaring II, a skill called /ambush1 imparts a 1.5x damage multiplier
• At Master Ranger, /ambush2 imparts a 2x damage multiplier

An outdoorsman is able to produce camouflage for a particular environment using gathered, native resources, with more difficult environments requiring more skill to master. A proficient outdoorsman should also be able to stretch the resources to produce more uses, or use that skill to produce a more efficient concealment.

Possible Implementation
• Camo kits should have two experimentation lines:
• Quantity: Increases the number of uses available per unit
• Quality: Increases the "to-hit" bonus produced by the concealment

Area Tracking
Locating the creature is the first step in hunting them. Since both creatures and humanoids leave tracks within the wilderness, it is perfectly feasible to track all forms of life. A skilled outdoorsman should be able to track everything within the region. A tracker with increased skill is able to locate progressively more difficult quarry.

Possible Implementation:
• Allow for /areatrack to track lairs, so we can find locations that have not yet spawned any creatures.
• Increase the maximum range received at Master to 1000m in a progressively increasing system: Novice: 250m, Tracking I: 400m, Tracking II: 550m, Tracking III: 700m, Tracking IV: 850m, Master: 1000m
• A new tracking window should also be implemented to manage all this data.
• A list window with sort-able columns for each of the items of data (Name, Range, Direction)
• Players with /conceal enabled would not appear in /areatrack results

Tracking
An Outdoorsman knows the tracks and mannerisms of specific animals in a region. Some prefer the lowlands and swamps. Others chew specific roots found only in the mountains. A sufficiently skilled outdoorsman should have the ability to follow the tracks of a specific quarry

Possible Implementation:
• /track could work similarly to the destroy mission terminal system but without the cash payout, with a skill modifier that goes up as the player levels in Wayfaring, allowing the Ranger to /track higher-level creatures
• Such a command would prompt the player to select a creature native to the region and then produce a lair or herd (a spawn with no lair) for that creature type in the vicinity.

Terrain Negotiation
The Outdoorsman is a survivalist at heart and has spent years training his body to move with unprecedented speed through the world. As such the Ranger Terrain Negotiation should be more effective (to ALL Rangers) than the scout TN.

Possible implementation:
• Increased basic movement speed rather than (or in addition to) increased crawl speed, making rangers run and swim faster than other professions

Harvesting
Being a creature-centric profession, the Outdoorsman should be incredibly more proficient at harvesting over a Master Scout.(Considering that most outsiders consider this to be out primary forte, the profession should be significantly better at harvesting than the Scouting profession)A sufficiently skilled outdoorsman should be able to harvest all the resources off a kill. We have significantly more skill and know how to avoid wasting the other types of resource.

Possible Implementation:
• Two harvests per corpse at Tracking II, and all three possible at Master
• A /harvest All command at Master Ranger (once per creature)
• While in a group, a Ranger increases the Harvest quantity of each group member.
• With multiple Rangers in the group, the more skilled Ranger provides the bonus to the group.

With increased skill in harvesting, a outdoorsman is be able to change a ugly corpse into a work of art. With a skillful cut, it is possible to produce a trophy from the greatest kills to display the hunter's prowess to the world.

Possible Implementation:
• Implement the ability to /harvest trophy on specific big game creatures for which trophy art is available, and increase the trophy selection as art becomes available

Message Edited by Phenix1050 on 08-24-2004 10:21 AM

Camping
What follows is a complete re-envisioning of the camping system, with an emphasis on flexibility and profession interdependence. The system allows camps to be focalized, and pulls more professions into the mix to produce the more powerful versions. (Even if the modular approach is not chosen, if should be understood that there is interest in having the functionality provided by the modules.) To ensure that the system still falls within the vision of the Outdoorsman as wilderness-centric, elements of camps that don't fall into the Outdoorsman preview have been allocated to other professions.The camping system would be broken out into a series of modules that could be used within a camp crafting schematic to produce whatever type of camp is required by the player.

Each module/slot would have a Level associated with it and can only be used within a schematic slot that has a Level greater or equal to that of the module.
•  Each module/slot is also assigned a Type of Generic, Creature, or Humanoid.
• Generic slots allow for all types of modules.
• Generic modules fit in any type of slot.
• Humanoid and Creature modules must be assigned to a slot of their respective type.

For simplicity, the camp schematics will retain the same floor plan as currently defined, minus the crafting stations in the field bases. Visible modules would appear at whatever location within the camp the developers deem appropriate. Camps would maintain the basic ability to /logout safely and would have a minimum 0.5 healing modifier. All camps would be able to be experimented on for quantity (number of times used) and duration (how long a camp stay up before auto-disbanding).

The camps: As not all camps are Ranger-exclusive, the camps are sorted by the profession that would be able to set up the camp.

Scout Camps:
• Basic camp kit available at Novice Scout (0 slots)
• Multiperson camp kit- Available at Survival II (1 Lvl.1 Generic slot)
• Improved Camp kit- Available at Survival IV (1 Lvl.1 Generic slot, 1 Lvl.2 Generic slot)
• Ranger Camps
• Advanced Camp kit- Available at Novice Ranger (1 Lvl.1 Generic slot, 1 Lvl.3 Creature Slot)
• High Quality Camp kit- Available at Frontiering II (1 Lvl.2 Generic slot, 1 Lvl.3 Creature slot)
• Field Base Camp kit- Available at Frontiering IV (1 Lvl.2 Generic slot, 1Lvl.2 Creature slot,1 Lvl.3 Creature slot
• High Tech Field Base kit- Available at Master Ranger (2 Lvl.2 creature slots, 1 Lvl.3 Creature slot, 1 Lvl.4 Creature Slot
• Squad Leader Camps
• Standard Fortifications Kit- Available at Novice Squad Leader (1 Lvl.1 generic slot, 1 Lvl.3 Humanoid Slot)
• Rear Guard Fortification kit- Available at Tactics II (1 Lvl.2 Generic Slot, 1 Lvl.3 Humanoid slot)
• Front Line Fortification kit- Available at Tactics IV (1 Lvl.2 Generic Slot, 1 Lvl.2 Humanoid slot, 1 Lvl.3 Humanoid Slot)
• Command Center Fortification Kit- available at Master Squad Leader (2 Lvl.2 humanoid slot, 1 Lvl.3 Humanoid slot, 1 Lvl.4 Generic slot)

The camp modules: As not all modules are created by the Ranger profession, the profession necessary to craft is listed under each module. Only Master of those professions can create the Each Module is listed by its type (generic, creature or humanoid)

Generic Modules:
• Medical Bay- Level 1 (Medic/Scout) Increases auto healing of camp for players and pets and default healing modifier.
• Hospital Bay- Level 2 (Doctor) Enhanced version of the medical bay that provides increased wound healing for humanoids, increases default healing modifier and add a bonus to doctor enhancements (buffs)
• Veterinary Bay- Level 2 (Bio-Engineer) Enhanced version of the medical bay that provides increased HAM healing rates for creatures and adds a bonus to pet stims
• Crafting Station- Level 2 (Artisan) add a crafting station of a specific type to the camp
• Garage- Level 2 (Artisan) adds a mobile place to repair vehicles in the field that would cost twice as much as the ones in a city (paid in cash as an added credit sink)
• Entertainment Stage- Level 4 (Dancer/Musician) Allows a camp to heal battle fatigue with the aid of a performing Dancer or Musician
• Evacuation Shuttle Beacon- Level 4 (Artisan) Calls a shuttle that can transport players to the nearest town, (but not to get to camp). Only one use (shuttle waits for 2 min).
• Camouflage Netting- Level 4 (Ranger) Applies concealment to members of the tenders’ group while inside the camp.
• Creature Modules:
• Small Creature Offensive Hide- Level 1 (Ranger) Allows the camp to stay up during combat and provides a small offensive and defensive bonus against creatures.
• Small Creature Defensive Field- Level 2 (Ranger) Suppresses aggressive spawns in the vicinity and adds a defensive bonus against creature attacks if they do attack
• Large Creature Defensive Field- Level 3 (Ranger) More powerful version of the defensive field that suppresses higher level creatures and applies a "root" effect applied to any creature entering the camp.
• Small Creature Pheromone Emitter- Level 3 (Ranger) Increases creature spawn rate in the vicinity of camp, allows camp to stay up during combat
• Large Creature Pheromone Emitter- Level 4 (Ranger) Similar to Small pheromone emitter, but attracts larger, more difficult creature
• Humanoid Modules:
• Small Humanoid Offensive Parapet- Level 1 (Squad Leader) Provides an offensive bonus against humanoids while the player is in the camps. In PvP the bonus applies only to those in the Squad Leaders’ group. Allows the camp to stay up during battle
• Faction Network- Level 2 (Squad Leader) Adds a terminal for factions purchases to the camp and registers the camp on the planetary map. A camp with this module can only be set by a faction member
• Cover Detector- Level 2 (Squad Leader) Functions like a regular covert detector. A camp with this module can only be set by a faction member.
• Small Humanoid Defensive Barrier- Level 2 (Squad Leader) Suppresses aggressive humanoid spawns in vicinity and adds defensive bonus to group members who attack while in the camp. In PvP, the bonus is applied to the players in the group with the camp tender.
• Rallying Point- Level 2 (Squad Leader) boosts morals of all people grouped with camp tender, represented by a small boost in all nine stats.
• Small Arms Emplacement- Level 2 (Weaponsmith) provides active defense system. *Works only in Faction warfare, if the camp tender is attacked or if tender and target are both overt. Allows camp to remain up during combat.
• Large Humanoid Defensive Barrier- Level 3 (Squad Leader) More powerful version of the small humanoid defensive field
• Biogenic Amplifier- Level 3 (Bio Engineer) Provides the same increased stats as rallying point and, in addition, allows tender to use chef and smuggler goods in the device to produce an enhancing effect on every group member inside the camp, though they are less effective than if they were ingested.
• Machine Gun Nest- Level 3 (Weaponsmith) More destructive than Small Arms Emplacement. *works only in Faction warfare, if tender is attacked, or if both players are overt.
• Mine Field- Level 3 (Weaponsmith) An active defense barrier with set number of mines working like a normal minefield. *Works only in faction warfare.
• Poison/Disease Aerosol Unit- Level 3 (Combat Medic) Allows tender to add poison into the device and affect everyone attacking the camp tenders’ group, though it can be blocked, and is not as powerful as having a combat medic. *Can be used only in faction warfare if the tender is attacked or both players are overt.
• Rocket Launcher Nest- Level 4 (Weaponsmith) More powerful version of the Machine Gun Nest (does blast damage). *can only be used in faction warfare if the tender is attacked or both players are overt.

An outdoorsman is at home in the wilds and able to make his home where ever he so chooses. But as with all mortal beings, his back is only so strong, and can carry only so much stuff. With that, an outdoorsman can seek to set up a central repository for his goods while in a foreign environment.

Possible Implementation:
• The concept of the stash is a buried container that can be used to store items while away from your bank requiring a lot and following the rules of housing
• The storage limit would be minimal, perhaps 25 items (deployable on ALL planets)

Anyone who has gone camping for a long period knows that the weather can be just as deadly an adversary as wild animals. Rangers wish that the outdoors was a dangerous place even when not engaged with a creature. We believe that the weather system in Star Wars Galaxies has to potential to become a force unto itself. Rangers, being the profession who spends the majority of their time in the wilderness, would have the skills to erect structures that would withstand the awesome power of Nature.

Possible implementation
• Different planets have different types of weather conditions. Desert planets have sandstorms, wet planets have monsoons and other planets have electrical storms. The storms vary in frequency, duration, and ferocity. More advanced planets are more likely to have long, fierce storms (though each storm is unique).
• There are several visual and audio clues to warn of the onset of a storm. Perhaps even a message to anyone in that area. Each storm would cause Battle Fatigue for each minute spent while out there, more severe storms would cause more BF and possibly even wounds. Storms would also apply different states
• Sandstorms would cause blindness
• Monsoons would cause stun affect
• Electrical storms would cause and intimidation
• These affects would remain up until the player sought shelter or the storm ended.
• Tailors could craft different outfits for each type of storm. These would decay quickly (as would any armor) in the storm. These would reduce the BF accumulation rates by 33%, providing newer player an opportunity to be protected. A higher-level schematic could also be implemented that would be very difficult to make, so it would be expensive, but it would negate the BF rate by 2/3.
• Rangers get a "Storm Shelter" available at Frontiering III.
• Has no module slots, but has auto-heal properties (0.5)
• Requires metal, bone + hide
• People must be inside the structure to be safe
• Ranger must grant access (prevents ganking inside camp by opposing factions) by using the camp terminal.
• Prevents 100% damage while inside the structure

Message Edited by Phenix1050 on 08-24-2004 10:29 AM

Traps
An outdoorsman has an arsenal of traps and gadgets at his disposal, to aid in bringing anything, from down the smallest mouse, to the largest game creatures.(Ground based traps and different effects traps would help in differentiating the profession from its Scouting prerequisites)Creature trapping extends to all forms of creature, whether they are wild or domesticated. To the outdoorsman, they are all the same. When an outdoorsman meets a creature under the control of an unruly humanoid, the effect is same as if the creature had been prowling the forest on its own.

Possible Implementation:
• Allow players to trap Creature Handler pets with the same effect as wild creatures
• The Ranger however will not receive experience for doing so

Rangers feel that few people use traps when hunting, even at Master Ranger due to their weakness. What we need is a new way of looking at traps in a way that makes them useful in combat without making them too powerful. We would like to see increased usefulness of thrown traps, as well as ground traps which spring when they are run over, and a new device called a trap launcher (similar to droid, only hand-held, so no batteries needed).

Thrown Traps:
• Ultra Sonic trap (Novice Ranger) creature trapped is unable to used ranged attacks for the duration of the effect.
• Glow Net trap (Novice Ranger) Area effect melee defense de-buff
• Radioactive Tracer trap (Advanced Trapping I) Area effect ranged defense de-buff.
• Lure trap (Advanced Trapping I) Thrown away from targeted creature, the creature, upon successful trapping, is drawn to the trap
• Bola trap (Advanced Trapping I) knocks down a single creature
• Big Bang trap (Advanced Trapping II) scares skittish creatures away
• Tranquilizer Dart trap (Advanced Trapping II) puts the creature to sleep for a short time, effect removed if creature is attacked or if lair is attacked.
• Tracer Net trap (Advanced Trapping III) Area effect combat defense de-buff
• Festering Bile trap (Advanced Trapping III) Area effect "stink bomb", lowers the resistance to state effects
• Shockwave Trap (Advanced Trapping III) area effect knockdown
• Goop Trap (Advanced Trapping IV) area effect "slow" impeding creature pace
• Sleeping Gas trap (Advanced Trapping IV) area effect version of the tranquilizer, not useful in combat since creature wake upon getting hit. Useful for avoiding sudden spawns

An outdoorsman also understands how to set ground based traps which are far more effective than anything a normal hunter is able to muster. With this knowledge, an outdoorsman can create a variety of gadgets for whatever occasion may arise. These gadgets are loaded ahead of time and have no inherent function, but rather use thrown traps in new ways. More advanced ground traps can encompass several types of traps, and can incorporate a lure, though this should severely limit the likelihood of successful trapping.

Ground Traps:
• Basic Ground Trap (Advanced Trapping II) contains 1 slot for traps
• Improved Ground Trap (Advanced Trapping III) contains 2 slots for traps
• High Quality Ground Trap (Advanced Trapping IV) contains 3 slots for traps
• Exemplary Ground Trap (Master Ranger) contains 4 slots for traps.

As an expert in Field Science, the Outdoorsman must learn to deal with any threat effectively. The majority of the time, the threat arises from dangerous creatures. However, in the time of Star Wars Galaxies, there are several more technologically advanced dangers that the Ranger may face in the field. While not a demolitionist by any means, the Ranger must, in order to survive, be prepared to meet this threat. As such, the Ranger has learned to use natural resources, such as the gummy resin of plants, to bog down the workings of a machine. The Ranger community feels traps should affect technologically advanced entities as well, with specially crafted traps.

Possible Implementation:
• Incendiary Trap (Advanced Trapping II) a bright flash that renders droid and turret targeting systems less effective for a short time. (Decreases accuracy)
• Corrosion Trap (Advanced Trapping IV) using natural resources, the Ranger develops a substance that degrades the metal in a turret or droids’ blasters, rendering them less powerful (lessens damage for a time)
• Resin Bomb Trap (Master Ranger) the ranger uses natural resources to make the machine parts stick and overheat, delaying the droid or turret (delays machine attack round)

The skilled outdoorsman understands how best to utilize the materials available and can find the best resources to make their gadgets with. An experienced outdoorsman can, with the right resources, produce larger numbers of traps, or even longer lasting traps with that experience.

Possible Implementation:
• Two experimentation lines
• Quantity: Increases the number of uses available per unit
• Duration: Increases the length of time the effect produced by the trap lasts

As the Outdoorsman extends his territory to larger and more difficult creatures, he must rely on more advanced technology to insure that his traps land successfully on target. With that idea, an outdoorsman's tool of choice is the Trap Launcher. Able to lob traps great distances and with greater accuracy than by hand, the launcher provides the ultimate tool for the aspiring hunter.

Possible Implementation:
• A Trap Launcher, created by the Weaponsmith profession for Master Rangers
• The quality of the device would affect the bonus to:
• Distance: increasing the range of a trap up to the maximum 64m
• Accuracy: increasing the chance of successfully landing a trap on a big game creature
• The device would lob traps at a faster rate than by hand, and could be used while moving
• The device would need to be loaded prior to operation with existing traps

Ranger Weapons
A Ranger is not, by himself, a powerful hunter. However, Rangers are often confused by the fact that we are called the ultimate creature hunters, and yet we are often the least effective hunters in a group. What would separate Ranger from scouts would be two new types of weapons that are Ranger-specific. These weapons would be almost useless in PvP and versus NPCs, however would make Ranger quite an effective hunter. This would include giving us specific weapons that do not do large amounts of damage versus players, but instead have a modifier against animals.

Possible Implementation:
• Two new types of weapons (Hunting Bows and Hunting Dagger) available for Ranger
• Certification for Hunting Bow and Hunting Dagger at Novice Ranger, with more advanced forms (Composite Bow & Hunting Blade) at Master Ranger
• Would do new type of damage "Piercing Damage" which would be unblockable (or extremely low resistance to) by creatures, but which would be 100% resist on advanced armors (and high resists to on lesser armors), which would ensure use against players and NPC’s would be SEVERLY limited.
• Range on Hunting Bow would be maxed around 50 so that it is a more dangerous alternative as you must close in on the creature, meaning other Ranged weapons could be safer.
• The bow would have one slot, requiring arrows (maximum stack of 100), similar to the fishing pole needing bait. Arrows, like the bow, would be able to be experimented upon for damage and accuracy, meaning that a good bow wouldn’t be as accurate without good arrows.
• New attacks as one progress through Ranger hunting tree.
• /ribshot and /slash, for the bow and dagger respectively, target the creatures’ midsection for moderate damage. Available at Field Bioscience I
• /fatalblow- an attack used with Bow weapons that causes a massive bleed due to the Rangers’ knowledge on animal biology. Available at Field Bioscience II
• /fatalFlurry- a melee attack that hits the target several times in rapid succession causing the creature to become nearly catatonic with fear, delaying their next action. Available at Field Bioscience III
• /huntersDawn launches an arrow tipped with small amounts of incendiary material that would burst into flames, causing large amounts of damage and including the potential for fire damage. Available at Field Bioscience IV
• Requires a huge amount of action. As well, it can only be performed while kneeling and while the Ranger is using camouflage.
• /finalBlow- a last-ditch attack used by the Ranger as the creature charges them, targeting the health pool of the creature and costing the Ranger a large loss of action points, due to extremely precise and deft movement of the blade. Available at Field Bioscience IV

Combat Bonuses
The Outdoorsman should be the ultimate hunter, able to hunt creatures better than damaging dealing professions such as Commando. An outdoorsman has studied the behaviors and mannerisms of the creatures around him for a long time. With that knowledge, he is able to predict the actions of creatures as if he could read their minds, dodging or parrying away with ease. As well, Ranger should know how and where to hit a creature to do the most damage. In short, creature knowledge should be an important aspect to hunting.

Possible Implementation:
• Associate a Dodge bonus with the Creature knowledge skill that is only used while being attacked by a creature
• The Creature-to-Hit bonus should work for all forms of weapons, not simply ranged weapons
• The Creature Knowledge skill can be used to define a bonus to the damage incurred on creatures
• An increasing bonus on attacks up to a maximum of 1.25 at Master Ranger
• As well, on occasion a critical hit could be incurred, providing a 2x damage bonus to the creature
• The percent chance of such a critical hit would increase as more Creature Knowledge is accumulated

A Ranger has hunted across many planets and through his time has experienced the bites and stings from several dangerous types of creatures. As a result, a Rangers’ body has become exceedingly proficient at processing poisons and fighting diseases.

Possible Implementation:
• A +5 Bonus to Disease and Poison Resist at Novice Ranger
• A +5 Bonus to both resistances at Hunting II
• A +10 Bonus to both resistances at Mater Ranger

Foraging
One of the least used skills in the Ranger skill set is /forage. What few items we can harvest are often useless. With regards to foraging flora products, we should have access to a more diverse selection of buffs items, having the experience to locate more advanced and more portent herbs. As well, because of the limited use of the products, we believe that these items should at least stack so that they take up less room.

Possible Implementation:
• Increase the number of locatable herbs and limit finding herbs to certain levels of the harvesting skill. Allow the Ranger to find herbs that not only buff, but also that can slow a poison or disease.
• Allow foraged herbs to come in increasing stack sizes associated with our skill level.

Creature Affinity
An outdoorsman has an affinity with creatures, having a creature-centric role in the world. They are accomplished riders and have knowledge of creature behavior that can be used to improve upon handling ability. An outdoorsman is an accomplished rider, Able to use skills while mounted, and control a mounted creature with great proficiency. An outdoorsman should also be able to coax his mount to ride faster and for longer than other less skilled riders.

Possible Implementation:
• Ranger should be able to use /areatrack while riding to search for quarry without dismounting.
• A Rangers’ terrain negotiation skills should be applied to the pets they ride, as a Ranger would be able to find the fastest path up a hill, meaning the mount would not be slowed down as much on steep climbs. This would NOT work with vehicles.
• /gallop should last for a longer period of time while a Ranger is on board and should travel at a faster speed
• The increase would be based on the Terrain Negotiation skill

Hunting Cabin
A Ranger is like no other profession in Star Wars Galaxies, because of their deep affinity with nature. Be it hunting dangerous prey or avoiding it, a Ranger is an inexorable drawn to Nature. As such, the Ranger is able to survive in places that others would not, and has adapted their living style to suit the wilderness in ways that do not disturb the natural order of things. Rangers feel that our role as hunters, adventurers and wilderness guides disposes us to living on planets that others feel are uninhabitable. Since we live primarily off the land, our surrounding are sparse and cannot form a city.

Possible Implementation:
• Architects get a schematic for a "Hunting Lodge", a new structure.
• Would require maintenance
• Takes up 4 lots
• Has 250 item capacity
• Requires a Master Ranger to set up
• These lodges are rustic, hence no vendors can be set up there
• Since they do not disturb the balance of nature with electricity, they can be placed on any planet, including those currently unable to be built upon. (except in municipal zones)
• Can only set up one at a time
• If the person who owns it drops Master Ranger, they lose the structure and all items within it.

Fishing
The leisurely sport of fishing fits perfectly into an Outdoorsman forte. We have skill with the rod and reel, and are able to catch fish more often. And once caught our skill in harvesting should extract more usable meat off the catch.

Possible Implementation:
• The addition of a fishing net schematic at Tracking I that increases the catch rate over a regular fishing pole, but works in the same manner as a fishing pole, requiring user interaction
• Increased harvesting skill should increase the meat produced from filleting a fish.

Summary
The Ranger community contains a special breed of player: a group of individuals willing to fight for a defining vision for their profession, against all obstacles that may face them. This preceding treatise is a compilation of ideas and concepts brought forth by dozens of members of the community, and endorsed by many more. It is hoped that the gravity of this situation is not lost on the reader, and that the designs within this document may one day form the solid backbone for the future of the Ranger profession.

Thank you for reading.

Message Edited by Phenix1050 on 08-28-2004 05:42 PM

Message Edited by Vorpaks on 08-24-2004 11:27 AM

1. Trapping should not be creature only.  BHs no longer have a claim to the skill and it seems quite silly that I can stop a rancor in his tracks but can't even begin to hit a puny thug.
2. PvP stealth is almost pointless without movement.  I would want to use this skill for scouting purposes (I can't really do any combat with my template).  Forcing me to be prone and stationary while using this skill makes that close to impossible.  Even for combat Rangers, a stationary position is close to useless.  Speeder bikes and lag will combine to make it difficult to hit someone before they are out of range.  The use would be limited to something like base defense (where you know the enemy will be stopping near you) but you'd probably be better off with extra combat skills instead.

Making the requests too limited is a bad way to go.  The Devs are almost certain to give us less than we ask for.  We shouldn't limit our requests too much.  Give them a top choice and then list some potential compromises.  Listing only the compromises makes it look like we would be happiest if the skills were given to us like that.

Message Edited by BlakkStar on 08-24-2004 05:01 PM