While Rangers have been deemed cliche due to the pale imitations of Tolkien's Dunedain, Rangers have a long and storied real world history. The word "ranger" simply means one who ranges, or travels. In America, the first rangers were under the command of Benjamin Church in 1676. However, he's not as well known as Roger's Rangers led by Major Robert Rogers, who is believed to have written the first work on unconventional warfare, known as the "Rules of Ranging". (You can read them here: http://rogers_rangers_pa_co.tripod.com/id6.html)

Other famous Rangers include the Texas Rangers, the lesser-known Arizona Rangers, and of course, the current U.S. Army Rangers.

Now that the history lesson is finished (I do hope you'll do research on your own though, it's good for you, and rangers are an awesome subject.), I'll try and give a brief overview of what rangers are known for doing.

Rangers are, mainly, light infantry units. They pack light, carry all their own gear, and traverse great distances, sometimes on foot, sometimes on horseback, and the Army Rangers use a large array of modern equipment to get around. They often do reconnaissance missions, for their forte is stealth and long-range missions, especially behind enemy lines. They are also excellent trackers.

However, in fantasy novels, nothing is really concrete, and you can make any adjustments or changes you want.

The standard fantasy ranger is much different than the Rangers of history though, and most of them follow the template of the Dunedain, who, by the way, have a similar purpose to the original rangers from whom all other rangers borrow the name. That purpose is to travel the borders and fronteirs to protect against incursions.
Fantasy rangers are often mysterious, disliked by the general populace, and skilled at woodscraft. They are often excellent archers, and may be equally as skilled with a sword. They also seem to always wear a large hooded, travel-stained cloak.

So, your armies really should have rangers. Light infantry can do things regular infantry can not, or at least, not well. They don't have to be standard rangers either, they could very well be a military reconnaissance unit that's very professional, and very much like the regular army.

Do you use Rangers or equivalents? Would you, if you could do it in a non-cliche way? Have I at least piqued your interest?

(Note, I admit I may not have all the facts right. This was rather slap-dash from memory and a lifetime of fascination with the military in general, and special forces in particular.)

I have Rangers--they are similar to the Dunedain in that:

• they are a people group, not a position in the army.
• they have a very long lifespan
• they have keener senses and keen minds
• they are woodsmen
• they are tall

But then they aren't spread out watching over city borders like the Dunedain were--they tend to be in clans/tribes near big cities though so they do serve a similar-ish purpose in that way I guess. They also have some gifts that the Dunedain didn't have. They have this Aura that they can use for a variety of defensive, offensive, and productive actions.

Awesome thread, I love Rangers!

Cool.

I do too. Especially the Texas Rangers.

Maybe we should make a Ranger fan club somewhere.

I have the bards, which operate in similar ways to Rangers, except bards that are rangerish are treasure retrievers.

My true Rangers are the Order of the Ivory Horn, which I've mentioned a few times. They're the descendants of the nobility of Bellon who remained faithful to Lyrianur, but were scattered. Later, they reconvened in Cair Anor when Lyrianur returned after three years of essentially being dead, but he was busy crafting a universe into a multiverse.
They're basically Dunedain, except not as tall, and their identifying feature is an elaborately decorated horn.

Yeah the Texas Rangers sound really neat.



Yes we should! It'd be about real life rangers and fictional ones.



Those sound awesome!



These sound really cool!

That'd be general discussion, I think.

Thanks. The Order is one of my favorite groups in Velaiar, second mainly to the Knights Templar.

The Order operates mainly in the Wild, which is mainly a mostly empty vast wilderness. In times of dire need, they will all band together and join forces with the nations and armies of the West.

I've used rangers once before in a short story, but they were closer to the guardians from the Restorer trilogy than the Dunedain.

The only similarities between my rangers and the Dunedain are that they wore cloaks, were woodsmen, and that they carried packs with them.

As to their involvement in warfare, mine /are/ the army. In their constant state of war, the rangers act as the regular infantry and scout units. Specialized units of the rangers would act as cavalry, archers, and light infantry. When the borders are quiet, the rangers play an active part in police work (both regular and certain specialized forms) as well.

Very cool. (I've not read the Restorer trilogy.)


What are they like as regular infantry?

Sounds right...do you wanna start it?



That's cool, my Rangers are one of my favorite groups too - right up there with the WereWolves.



Awesome. My Rangers also tend to operate in the wild, though it isn't quite empty because there are several races that tend to live in the wild (but there are empty parts of my world, and the Rangers are good folks to get to explore them).



That sounds cool! *also hasn't read the Restorer trilogy* I like how they sort of do everything.

Yeah, I'll make it.

As mentioned, Rangers are awesome.

The Order stays in the Wild partly because there are more threats there, partly a sense of ancient duty (As it is their ancestral homeland.), and partly as a means of self-discipline for allowing the rest of the Bellons to join Malxor.

Yeah, I'd not thought of Rangers doing everything before. It adds a cool twist.

Good!

Yeah, that bears repeating as often as possible. *clears throat* Rangers are awesome.



That's really cool! My Rangers also do similar things--they're the ones leading the dragon/monster hunts in a lot of cases, and they also simply live in volatile environments so that other people won't find them.

Ah, they lead the Great Hunts, to use what I don't think is the word you use for it.

That'd be interesting. I don't think there are many mixed race rangers groups in fantasy, except maybe D&D, and those are just powerful hunters.

(I made it in GD.)

That sounds awesome.

My first ideas involved three ranger divisions that went under the symbol of the Fox, Wolf, and Bear--I may still use this structure, the foxes being lightly built warriors that do mostly ambush warfare, etc, the wolves focusing on teamwork and flexibility, and the bears being heavily built and more or less solitary and very heavily armed.

That reminds me a bit of the system the Zulus used, and it makes sense too.

Cool! *looks up the Zulus* Maybe I should try and incorporate it...

Oh, by the way, I'll make my way over to the thread you started later today hopefully. *wants to leave it in unanswered for awhile so others will maybe see it*

Okay.

Yeah, the Zulus had quite the military system.

I do use rangers, they are a division in the regular army that specializes in border patrol, scouting, and ambushes. Their primary weapon is the longbow, but they also carry swords in the event they are forced into close combat, though most are not very proficient in close combat. They use dark green cloaks and stealth to sneak into enemy camps and... um... thin the numbers in the night.

Those sound awesome.

Sneak into enemy camps and dispatch the enemy silently?

Awesome. Arrows would be good for a night assault. Just launch a volley or two into the camp.

Precisely.



Often times in my book they are seen (or rather, unseen) dispatching enemy sentries with arrows, sneaking into the camp, and dispatching higher-ranked enemies. There is also a scene where three rangers map out the enemy camp, marking the positions of flammable or explosive barrels, distribute the maps to the other rangers, and then launch burning arrows into the camp, specifically targeting those locations. That signals the cavalry to charge, who are carrying lit torches and horns. And I won't discuss that portion further...

I bet it went badly for the people in the camp. That sounds like an awesome method.

Definitely. I bet it lit lit up the sky and could be seen for a long ways around.

I actually don't know much about it. XD The short story they were developed for only touched on a specific instance of counter-espionage during a time of relative peace on the borders. However, I'll rummage around upstairs and see if I can put together some information.

*returns slightly dusty* I really should-- really should-- *sneezes* I really should edit that story sometime. (Here is the story for those that are interested: The Enemy's Weapon)


As regular infantry the rangers keep their cloaks so that they can still blend into their surroundings some, but since stealth and secrecy aren't as important for them in their jobs as it would be in the light infantry or scouts, they wear armor underneath their cloaks.

Normal divisions of regular infantry are comprised of soldiers and archers. Approximately three-quarters of the normal division is comprised of soldiers. Their main weapons are swords and full body shields (the shields are usually but not neccessarily camoflauged), and they can carry a small dagger or knife with them, but that is not required and even if it is carried it is used mainly for preparing cat usuallymp/other odd jobs. The dagger/knife can be used in combat, but is never used except as a last resort.
Approximately one-quarter of the normal division is comprised of archers. Archers wear light armor beneath their cloaks and their primary weapons are a longbow and dagger (unlike for the soldiers, archers' daggers are standard issue).

Though the above is what one would normally find in a division of regular infantry, this is not strict and various specialized divisions can be created to fit any need that can't be filled by one of the other classes of infantry (for example: a division entirely composed of soldiers or entirely composed of archers).

Did that answer your question?


They kind of have to. Like I said before, they are the army. There's no one else.

*chuckles* I wondered if Lady Eruwaedhiel would see this. @Those who haven't read the Restorer trilogy: The books have some craft issues, but I'd recommend it overall.

I love that idea. It makes sense that "half-breeds" would become the outcasts of epicness that are rangers.

Awesome.

Oh, right.



Heeyy...this would be an awesome way to make use of my Cenfauns, Fauntaurs, Centa-minotaurs....

That is cool.

Outcasts seem to fit as Rangers very well. Perhaps it's their individuality and independence?

Any other specialized divisions your Rangers have?

I think that sounds right.

Definitely their independence. If the outcasts weren't independent, they'd have died fairly quickly and wouldn't have made a name for themselves.

*thinks* Well, in the story linked to above I hint at a job that it is mandatory for all rangers to have some measure of skill in. A person with great skill in the job could kinda be considered a cross between a professional pyromaniac and an exorcist. (which sounds really odd when I put it that way ) I suppose that in certain situations having several experts in a division would be extremely helpful (especially when attacking the enemy's homeland or key positions).

So, details... *rummages upstairs again*

Though all rangers are required to have at least a rudimentary skill in "purging", few become proficient in the technique. Special divisions that contain several "purgers" are usually created because there is expected to be great need for the purgers' abilities. Usually those purgers will have some small armament of their own (like a short sword), but their primary purpose is to purge, and will mainly focus on that -- some purgers will not even carry any weapons into combat.

The tools of a purger's trade are mostly... um... unknown to me. However, I do know that fire is involved at times, and that purgers will carry with them the materials necessary for starting fires.

*chuckles* If you want we can discuss in the appropriate thread. (Oh, and make sure you summon me so I get over there. )

Glad to help.

Very interesting.



So, now a topic brought up in the Ranger fan club.

What are the flaws with your Rangers?

Hm... I think some of the sins that they (the fallen ones) struggle with sometimes would be self righteousness, arrogance, etc. and insensitivity to weaker beings. Not that they are like that all the time, but those are the main faults that some individuals would have and that most of them would at least struggle with from time to time.

Arrogance and insensitivity, same with mine. Their life hardens them and makes them less sensitive to many things, both good and bad. Less sensitive to those not like them. Less sensitive to death and violence.

Yup, exactly.

I suspect some of them have to work really hard to not fall too far into insensitivity and callousness, since that's what caused the original Bellons to join Malxor.

Yeah, they probably have to remind eachother and keep eachother accountable in those ways--arrogance could break them too if it got out of hand.

Yep. It would destroy them, since, as usual, people don't always like them very much.

Right, and they are pretty spread out usually and could be made vulnerable by over-confidence.

That is true, but they do have a headquarters that only they know about.

That's true for mine, too...but if they forget to keep in touch with other human's sensitivity and intelligence levels they may underestimate their abilities and not take enough care in hiding their HQ.

For the Order's HQ to be found, people would have to cross a mountain range, pass through the Wild, and then through Northeastern moorlands.

Awesome. Yeah mine are a lot closer to people (at least some of them are), especially the ones that are charged to protect a certain village/city/whatever.

Hmm, ranger-wide flaws...

Probably the tendency to isolate oneself from the general populace. There can probably be a high-and-mighty feeling as well, an I-can-handle-anything attitude.

I should think on this more.

Yes, you should.

Not many of the Order are close to many people.

Those flaws make sense.

Rangers Apprentice. Decent books, and the way the Rangers work in those books is interesting. They're a politically driven group, but they're not part of the army itself. They're much more skilled and more intense.
It's worth considering, at least once I get to a point in my world where the monarchy isn't evil and has a decent military.

Yeah, those are interesting Rangers, and they are political agents, instead of military. They remind me of the CIA, I think.

Have any of you guys read much about Tom Brown? I think he could be very inspiring for Ranger-building. He was trained by a indian "scout" and could do all kinds of awesome stuff.

Cool...so those newsletters are good for something. I don't come in this forum very often, but this thread intrigued me 'cause I have something that could be called rangers and I wondered what y'all were discussing about them.

But it is interesting, you haven't mentioned the kind of people I have...my wanderers, or ukívu if I don't translate it as I often do, are not good guys. They aren't people who live in the wilds protecting people, like the Dunedain, or Robin Hood's outlaws – they are more like the real outlaws that used to be in Texas. Most of them bad, a few good. All deadly.

But they aren't actually half as bad as the normal people make them out to be, as happens often with people that are mysterious and dangerous...they actually are fairly low on crimes like robbery, which is what they are most accused of in places (they take pride in owning practically nothing, so it wouldn't make sense for them to steal, you know). Their main crimes is to murder people. But they take pride in being extremely independent, so they don't do it very often.

They are all loners, unless two happen to pair up, not an organized group. They are the people that were not wanted by society, for some reason or other (usually not a criminal reason), and so took to the wild places – the ones that end up being called wanderers are the ones that are tough and lucky enough to survive the learning process. They are experts at surviving, deadly, and extremely independent. They are rather like a cross between Sherlock Holmes, Texan gunmen, and the American natives. With some insanity thrown in from being alone too much. That's how most of them end – tipping the edge and going on a killing spree, dying at last by sheer numbers against them. The ones that pair up last a whole lot longer because they aren't alone.

Awesome rangers.

Those are neat, Juliet!

I call all of my humans wanderers. But the Reyer/Rangers are a different sort of wanderer--instead of wandering because they've turned from the Truth they wander because they no longer belong in the fallen version of Vadra (this is shared by any humans that are "saved" though, and not by those Reyer that turn bad).

Anyway though...some of the Rangers in my world are evil, and some of them are loners, but none of them are exactly like what you have.

So...why do your wanderers murder? Is it just to satisfy a love for fighting/killing, or do they have some other reason?

I've heard of him, yes.

Those are very cool, and very unique. I can see what you mean by how they're like the Texas gunmen, though I'm not sure I understand the Sherlock Holmes part. Could you elaborate?