User:SARAH3/Sandbox
Here's where I'll be trying stuff out instead of breaking pages and hoping to fix them in one shot.
Animal Companion
The Animal Companion spell allows a ranger to summon and befriend an animal as a permanent companion. The ranger can tell their companion to do a number of actions including attacking creatures or defending the ranger, although the companion will respond faster if it has a good relationship with the ranger and slower if not. A ranger can gauge the quality of the relationship by gazing at the animal companion and the relationship is established or improved by feeding, petting, casting helpful spells at or otherwise interacting with the animal companion in a positive fashion.
When a companion has been selected and befriended, it should be told to leave before the ranger retires from a hard day of adventuring or upon gaining a level and can be summoned again by preparing and casting 630 again, then telling the companion to return. Failure to tell a companion to leave before retiring from adventuring means the companion will forget new things (including improvements to the relationship and gear added to the companion) and failing to tell an animal companion to leave after achieving a new level means that the animal will not level with the ranger.
In addition, once a ranger learns this spell, using sense while outdoors will include a list of potential animal companions in the area.
>sense
You scan your surroundings, considering the various flora and fauna found here (and noting those which are absent). The indications of the temperate climate and the deciduous forest are clearly evident. You quickly note the signs of a black-tipped forest tiger, a white-footed woodland jackal and a black-nosed mottled ferret having recently been in the area. Circling overhead is a fan-tailed branch peregrine. You also see a steep path.
There will always be one of each type of animal companion (canine, feline, avian, rodent) in every outdoor room, but the exact animal noun (e.g. tiger, puma, ocelot) will depend on the location, with some animals being exclusive to certain cities and its descriptor (e.g. black-footed, amber-eyed) will depend on the terrain type in a particular room.
Summoning a Companion
Summoning a new companion is relatively straightforward. First, one finds the desired companion using sense, then one prepares 630 and summons the desired animal. Failure to specify a particular animal will summon a random animal in the room.
Example:
>sense
You scan your surroundings, considering the various flora and fauna found here (and noting those which are absent). The indications of the temperate climate and the plain dirt environment are clearly evident. You quickly note the signs of a black-tipped orange tiger, a white-footed drab jackal and a black-nosed mire ferret having recently been in the area. Circling overhead is a fan-tailed dusky peregrine. You don't see any other paths leading away from the area.
>prep 630
>summon tiger
You open your senses wide and allow the desires and feelings of the areas denizens fill your mind. At the very edge of your perceptions, you feel a bright glow of curiousity tinged with wariness. Concentrating, you focus your desire of friendship and camaraderie towards that bright spot. At first the wariness holds but it is soon followed by a sharp peak in curiosity as if a decision had been made.
A black-tipped orange tiger prowls majestically forward!
Companion Mechanics
All four companion types are capable of attacking creatures (or players) and they do either slash (feline, avian) or puncture (canine, rodent) damage. In addition, they each have different special attacks. Animal companions will attack when told to do so and will also attack automatically when the ranger is stunned or killed.
Include examples
Bard
To be added...
Statistics
New players should definitely refer to the statistics section in the New Players' Guide for a very broad overview of all the statistics available to them as well as general advice for setting their statistics. The primary statistics for rangers are dexterity and intuition while the mana statistic for rangers is wisdom. This means that when setting statistics, rangers will receive a free +10 points to each of dexterity and intuition and these statistics will have twice the effect on the number of training points a ranger can receive at each level compared to the other statistics. The ranger's wisdom bonus will affect how many mana points the ranger has.
When deciding how to set your statistics, it is important to consider a few different factors and to some extent, it comes down to setting statistics for growth versus setting them for maximum training points and overall enjoyment at early levels (e.g. it will be more fun to hunt with better statistics at early levels) or, perhaps more commonly, somewhere in between. How you set your statistics for growth or maximum training points depends mostly on profession, but race is also a factor.
The most important factors for setting statistics to enjoy play at early levels are the character's race and target hunting style. For example, Strength, is very important for both those who hunt with both ranged and melee weapons. It benefits those who use ranged weapons by reducing the roundtime (RT) associated with firing of a bow and melee weapon users by adding to their total attack strength (AS). Dexterity helps with ambushing, increases ranged AS and, together with agility, decreases RT for melee weapons users.
Other statistics which can be important to set high early on include discipline and logic which together help determine the size of one's experience pool and the latter also determines the rate of experience absorption. Additionally, Aura determines a character's total spirit points, which can be important for rangers who choose Council of Light as their society.
Setting statistics strictly for growth or strictly training points and early-level enjoyment each have their drawbacks. However, since it is possible to reset statistics up to five times during the first 30 days, new rangers have the opportunity to try different ways of setting their statistics before settling on more permanent settings (though they should be sure to remember when their first 30 days are up).
Skills
The goal of this section is to go through what I believe to be the most general possible ranger training guide.
Core skills
These are the very basic skills that every ranger should train at each level. Due to the versatility of the ranger profession, this list is quite short because much of a ranger's training will depend on their particular hunting style and weapon choice.
Here, Cost refers to the training point (TP) cost expressed as (PTP/MTP) for a full single train at each level. A second training at each level costs double the TPs of the first one (so double training a skill will cost three times the listed value). Note that since level zero exists, it is possible to train at one's level plus two for the single training costs. This is referred to as being fully single trained. The skills listed here should be fully single or double trained unless indicated.
| # | Cost | Skill | Reasoning |
| 1x | 4/0 | Physical Fitness | Necessary for full hitpoints, good as a cheap defense for maneuvers and for redux. |
| 2x | Weapon Skill | Whatever the weapon choice, the training should be maxed out. | |
| 1x | 0/17 | Spell Research | Learning new spells, improving the effectiveness and duration of others. |
| 1x | 0/5 | Harness Power | Should be exactly at the character's level (not fully 1x) for 3 mana at each level. |
| Total | 4/22 |
Weapon Skill
The total cost of this training does not include weapon training since it is meant to be very generalized. Weapon training costs for a single weapon can vary from 9/3 for edged and ranged to 21/6 for polearms (if there are actually any rangers who hunt with polearms).
Depending on weapon choice and hunting style, a ranger will want to train in different skills each level as well. For example, an edged weapons user may wish to single train in Shield Use for an additional (5/0) training points. Meanwhile, archers will typically want to double train in perception (0/6) and either single or double train in ambush (3/3 or 9/9) as well as double training in stalking and hiding (6/3) if they plan on sniping.
Spell Research
Although spell research can be fully singled, it is not possible to use a spell with a spell number higher than one's level. Fortunately, rangers have access to two spell circles, so they can pick up the first rank or two in the Minor Spiritual spell circle while still learning a new Ranger Base spell each level. Since this provides the ranger with an additional buff spell, it is often a good idea to do this, though not strictly necessary since many other professions know this spell and others may offer assistance.
A common way to train in spells is to obtain one rank in minor spirituals, and study in the ranger base each level up to level 40, learning Wall of Thorns. At this point, rangers will often focus on the minor spiritual spell circle at least until they learn Lesser Shroud before switching back to the ranger base for Assume Aspect. However, some rangers continue in the minor spirituals until they learn Spirit Guide, especially if they are interested in rescuing and are not a member of the Order of Voln before resuming study of the ranger base spells while others may skip the rest of the minor spiritual spells entirely until they have finished leveling.
Some rangers also stop training in spell research after learning all the spells they wish to learn, but many continue to study ranger base spells due to the additional benefits to ranger spells achieved in this manner. Rangers who choose to fully single train in spell research at each level typically end up learning 40 ranks in minor spirituals and 62 in ranger base (possibly 30/72 or 20/82, depending which minor spiritual spell they decide will be their last). Note that spell training should be done by all rangers at every level until they have at least 60 total ranks of spell research.
Defensive Core Skills
The following is a list of skills which provide the ranger with more defensive capabilities. While it is possible to train all of these skills every level, most rangers will not. However, all rangers should single train in at two of or more of these skills, selecting those which best compliment their hunting style.
| # | Cost | Skill | Reasoning |
| 1x | 7/5 | Dodging | Dodging helps you avoid incoming attacks entirely. |
| 1x | 6/4 | Combat Maneuvers | Adds attack, defense or other special abilities. |
| 1x | 5/0 | Shield Use | For rangers who use a one handed weapon and are looking for something else to do with their other hand. |
| 1x-2x | 0/2-0/6 | Perception | It's cheap, provides maneuver defense, helps foraging, helps spot bandit traps. |
Dodging
While dodge is listed here and many rangers train in this skill, others find the relatively high TP requirements a bit high, especially at low levels (and especially ranged snipers). However, since mobility provides rangers with 20 ranks of dodge (plus an additional rank for each subsequent ranger spell learned), rangers can be effectively more than single trained in dodge after level 18 without ever actually training in dodging as long as they continue to train in the ranger base. Thus, it is often advised to save the TPs for other skills, though dodging is certainly not a bad defensive skill to select.
Combat Maneuvers
Training in combat maneuvers is another good option for a ranger looking to increase their defenses. There are combat maneuvers that directly add to defensive strength (DS), target defense (TD) or general maneuver defenses (Combat Movement, Combat Focus and Cunning Defense, respectively) and training in a particular offensive combat maneuver also provides defense against that maneuver when it's used by an attacker.
Depending on a ranger's chosen hunting style, combat maneuvers can be beneficial in other ways too. Melee weapons users (e.g. edged, two handed) may want to fully single train in this skill from the outset because every two ranks in this skill will add one to their attack strength (+1 AS). Ranged weapons users may choose to avoid studying combat maneuvers until later in their career since they miss out on this bonus, although they can benefit from the abilities unlocked by specific combat maneuvers as well as obtaining additional defense against combat maneuvers. However, ranged weapons users should be aware that although the combat maneuver Multi-Fire sounds cool, it is not really as fun as it sounds (seriously, do not bother with this skill).
Shield Use
This is definitely a relatively cheap skill for a single-handed edged weapons user to pick up. It is an essential part of the training for a sword and board type ranger.
Perception
This is the one skill listed in this section that absolutely everyone should train for at least ten or twenty ranks (not just rangers). This is also a skill that perhaps all rangers choose to single train in at least due to its relative low cost and myriad benefits. Perception is the only way to counteract attacks from hiding and it is very useful when it comes to spotting traps laid down by bandits in addition to providing benefits for foraging tasks and simply being able to observe more of the world.
Threshold Skills
These are skills you can train and then forget about. Once again, the costs listed here are the costs to train each skill once.
| # | Cost | Skill | Reasoning |
| 30+ | 5/0 | Armor Use | 30 to use brigandine with minimal spell and maneuver hindrance. To save TPs along the way, train as many ranks as necessary to use the armor you have before moving up to the next class. |
| 10-35 | 2/0 | Climbing | For low- to mid-level hunting grounds, somewhere around 10-15 should be enough. You can add more ranks as necessary. |
| 5-20 | 2/0 | Swimming | For low to mid-level hunting grounds, somewhere around 5-10 should be enough. You can add more ranks as necessary. |
| 25 | 0/5 | Spirit Mana Control | 24 ranks for perfect sharing and an additional one for double incanting ability. |
While most of these skills are immediately useful, many rangers avoid studying more than about 10 ranks spiritual mana control until they are very high level. If you have a hunting partner who uses spiritual magic, you may find it more useful to train in this skill earlier on in your career.
Additional Training
Finally, here are some additional skills you should train when you can spare the training points after your core training is complete. Don't worry if you cannot afford to train all of these skills early on and do not sacrifice your core training to add these skills to your repertoire.
| # | Cost | Skill | Reasoning |
| 5 | 10/4 | Multi-Opponent Combat | Enables mstrike for melee attacks on two opponents at once. |
| 0/5 | Magic Item Use | This skill increases the odds of successfully activating a magic item as well as increasing the duration of the spells contained in these items. It can be especially useful for rangers, who have the ability to create magical items. | |
| 0/10 | Spiritual Lore, Blessings | Increases the benefits and abilities for spells. | |
| 0/10 | Spiritual Lore, Summoning | ibid | |
| 1-2x | 1/1 | Survival | It's cheap, helps skinning, helps foraging, helps move around in tricky places. |
| 1-2x | 2/1 | First Aid | It's cheap, helps skinning, decreases roundtime for eating herbs, better wound tending. |
Lore Training
Rangers will typically avoid studying lores very early on in their careers as they are often too busy using their TPs on threshold skills. Due to the many benefits of lores on a number of spells, most rangers end up training in some lores at some point in their careers and some rangers choose to single train in lores eventually. However, since rangers are limited to single training in Spiritual Lores, each ranger must choose how they balance their lores since these each offer different benefits to different spells, which are outlined in great detail in the lore chart.
More generally, a ranger who hunts in a more magical style may choose to learn more summoning lore to increase the effectiveness of their vine, spike thorn and nature's fury attacks (in addition to others) as well as for creating better imbued items. A ranger who hunts in a more physical style may prefer to learn more blessing lore since this will increase the defensive benefits of natural colours, resist elements, self control and their ability to give their armor better resistance to nature. Eventually, all rangers typically train up to some threshold in each to achieve some sort of balance.
First Aid and Survival
Both of these skills are quite cheap and therefore easy to fit into a ranger's training. Training at least 0.5x in a combination of both first aid and survival is also necessary to unlock skinning tasks through the Adventurer's Guild. Since rangers are generally pretty good at skinning (especially with the skinning spell running), this is an easy way to gain experience and Adventurer's Guild points, so achieving this level of training is highly recommended.
In addition, gaining some ranks in first aid is particularly beneficial for reducing the round time on herbal remedies, so getting some ranks of this is generally a good idea if your character lives in a small town with few empaths or if they often hunt when nobody else is around.
Finally, survival training decreases a character's odds of being poisoned while skinning certain creatures, slipping in icy areas, getting stuck in marshy areas and incurring weather-related damage from extreme conditions.
Old Core Skill table
| # | Cost | Skill | Reasoning |
| 1x | 4/0 | Physical Fitness | Necessary for full hitpoints, good as a cheap defense for maneuvers and for redux. |
| 2x | Weapon Skill | Whatever the weapon choice, the training should be maxed out. | |
| 1x | 7/5 | Dodge | Dodge helps you avoid incoming attacks entirely. |
| 1x | 0/17 | Spell Research | Learning new spells, improving the effectiveness and duration of others. |
| 1x | 0/5 | Harness Power | Should be exactly at the character's level (not fully 1x) for 3 mana at each level. |
| 1x | 0/2 | Perception | It's cheap, provides maneuver defense, helps rangers be even more amazing at foraging. |
| Total | 9/29 |
Zul Logoth Deeds
(Spoilers!)
Visit Brother Barnstel, the herbalist (lich room #9505). Ask him about deeds and he will give you a password ("ygrutha sans'ra"). Then go arch, go hall and say the password. The small door in the room will open and you will enter it automatically.
You will be in a room with a series of murals and candles, which you have to light (somehow) and put your offering in the bowl. The candles you light depend on your race and profession. These can be determined by examining the murals in the room, but they're also provided in the table below.
| Profession | Colour | Race | Shape |
| Bard | yellow | Aelotoi | winged |
| Cleric | orange | Burghal Gnome | petite |
| Empath | purple | Dark Elf | thin medium |
| Paladin | grey | Dwarf | short thick |
| Ranger | green | Elf | medium |
| Rogue | black | Erithian | delicate tall |
| Sorcerer | blue | Forest Gnome | small slender |
| Warrior | brown | Giantman | stocky tall |
| Wizard | red | Half-Elf | slender tall |
| Half-Krolvin | sturdy tall | ||
| Halfling | round short | ||
| Human | tall | ||
| Sylvan | slim medium |