The Ranger

By Awful Good Games with minor adaptations by Sage1029

These city-born folk you travel with. Have they heard the call of the wolf? Felt the winds howl in the bleak deserts of the East? Have they hunted their prey with the bow and the knife like you? Hell no. That’s why they need you.

Guide. Hunter. Creature of the wilds. You are these things and more. Your time in the wilderness may have been solitary until now, but the call of some greater thing—call it fate if you like—has cast your lot with these folk. Brave, they may be. Powerful and strong, too. You know the secrets of the spaces between, though. Without you, they’d be lost. Blaze a trail through the blood and dark, strider.

Building a Ranger

Pick your Race

Dwarf

When you Defend in the wilderness, you can roll +WIS instead of +CON

Elf

When you use Grim Harvest, one choice yields twice as much as expected

Halfling

Against Near targets, your ranged attacks deal +1-Damage

Human

When you use Grim Harvest, choose all three ✴on a 12+

Your Early Life as a Ranger

Raised by Animals

You're a wild child, literally: what denizens of nature took you in? You can eat raw meat and drink water without fear of disease or parasites, and understand the languages of nature’s denizens: when you Parley with them you can roll +WIS instead of +CHA.

Necessity

You learned how to survive because you had to. Why? Your harrowing experience has toughened you and you have grown more accustomed to hardships: your HP is increased by 5. In the wilderness you recover additional HP equal to WIS when you Make Camp, and you recover from debilities more quickly than usual.

Spirits

One or more nature spirits guided and protecting you, and taught you how to survive in the wilderness. Name and describe at least one. You can see, communicate with, and affect nature spirits normally, and start with Primal Magic.

Starting Moves

Your Ranger starts with 25-COIN. Your Damage Die is d8. You start with all these moves:

Hunter

You deal +1d4 damage against beasts.

Grim Harvest

When you take the time to skin and dress a beast, roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+, choose two. ✴On a 7–9, choose one. ✴On a 6-, choose one in addition to whatever the GM says.

• You gain up to 1d4 rations
• You gain sections of fur or hide
• A part or organ that is especially useful in some way—the GM will tell you how

Tracker

When you examine the tracks of a creature, the GM will tell you about how old they are, if there was more than one, and the general creature type that made them (ie, bear, wolf, snake).

Trapper

When you set a trap, tell the GM what you want it to do and they will tell you what you need, how long it will take, and where it can be set. When a creature triggers your trap, roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+, the trap functions precisely as intended. ✴On a 7-9, there’s a catch: the GM will tell you what went wrong.

Wilderness Lore

When you Spout Lore about the wilderness and its denizens, roll +WIS instead of +INT.

Advanced Moves

Levels 2+

Animal Companion

You’ve attracted an animal companion that you share a special rapport with. Treat it as a hireling with build points equal to your ranger level, except it always acts as ordered.

Big Game Hunter

You take +1-Armor ongoing against creatures with the Large or Huge tag. When you Defy Danger against a creature with the Large or Huge tag, ✴on a 10+ you Advantage to your next move against them.

Camouflage

You gain the Stealthy tag in the wilderness.

Deadeye

Your ranged attacks gain Piercing-2 (or +2-Piercing if they already have Piercing).

Distracting Shots

When you use ranged attacks to Aid or Hinder an ally, take the 7-9 result or roll +DEX with Advantage. Either way, spend a LOAD of Ammo if your weapon uses Ammo.

Eagle Eye

When you Discern Realities in the wilderness, ask one additional question, and ✴on a 6-, you can still ask one in addition to whatever the GM says.

Expert Tracker

When you use Tracker, the GM will tell you precisely how old they are, how many, the specific creature that made them, and anything unusual about it (wounded, rushed, etc).

Monster Hunter

When you study the anatomy of a monstrous beast (dead or alive), your Hunter damage bonus applies to it.

Primal Magic

When you draw upon the primal energy that flows through the wilderness, describe what you’re trying to do and roll +WIS. ✴On a 7+, the effect occurs. ✴On a 7-9, choose one:

• You attract unwanted attention or put yourself in a spot—the GM will tell you how
• Your magic exhausts you—take Disadvantage to your next move
• The magic drains you—take 1d6 damage, ignoring armor

Barrage

When you Volley, ✴on a 10+ you can throw another weapon or spend a LOAD of Ammo to roll your damage again and use the highest result, or deal your damage to another target.

Slayer

The damage from Hunter is increased to +1d6.

Strider

You don’t leave tracks unless you wish to, and can move unhindered by natural terrain. When you travel through the wilderness (or lead others through it), it always takes less time than usual.

The Hunt...

When you set out to hunt a specific monster, roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+, hold 3-Preparation. ✴On a 7–9, hold 2-Preparation. ✴On a 6-, hold 1-Preparation in addition to whatever the GM says. During the hunt, you may spend 1-Preparation to choose one:

• Gain Advantage against your quarry
• Spring a trap—describe what it does and when you set it
• Reduce damage inflicted by your quarry by 1d4 points

Levels 6+

...Is On!

Requires: The Hunt...
When you use The Hunt…, hold +1-Preparation.

Ambush

Requires: Camouflage
When you suddenly strike an unsuspecting creature, you can deal your damage or roll +DEX. ✴On a 10+, choose three. ✴On a 7-9, choose two. ✴On a 6-, choose one in addition to whatever else the GM says:

• You or an ally gains Advantage to their next move against the target
• Deal +1d8 damage
• You cause the target to lose or drop something they are carrying
• They don’t make any noise

Apex Predator

Replaces: Slayer
The damage from Hunter is increased to +1d8.

Bullseye

Requires: Deadeye
Your ranged attacks Ignore-Armor.

Crippling Shot

Requires: Deadeye
When you Volley, ✴on a 12+ the GM will tell you which limbs, appendages, abilities, or moves you can prevent it from temporarily using: choose one.

Keen Senses

Requires: Eagle Eye
You can see in the dark, and you can no longer be ambushed.

Monstrous Companion

Requires: Animal Companion
Your Animal Companion can be a monstrous creature.

Nature's Bounty

When you Make Camp in a place with plentiful flora and fauna, no one needs to consume a ration.

Pack Leader

Requires: Animal Companion
You can have more than one Animal Companion, but their total build points cannot exceed your ranger level.

Primal Surge

Requires: Primal Magic
When you use Primal Magic, ✴on a 12+ the effect is considerably more powerful than expected—the GM will tell you how.

Scamper

Requires: Strider
When you Defy Danger by acting fast or getting out of the way, ✴on a 10+ you can move to any Near location. If you have the Camouflage move and there is natural terrain to conceal you, the target also loses sight of you.

The Bigger They Are...

Requires: Big Game Hunter
You instead take +2-Armor ongoing against creatures that are Large, Huge, or even bigger. When you act against Large, Huge, or larger creatures, ✴on a 12+ you gain some advantage over them.

Death Move: May We Die In The Forest

Death is an expected part of the natural world. You had accepted the inevitability of your death long ago, and you had also prepared for it, in ways no one likely expected. When you die, you reveal that you were the bait for the ultimate trap. Reveal the nature of this trap now, be it an ambush, a misdirection, or an unexpected reveal. This trap should give your allies a major boon or advantage, or set up your enemies for destruction, or set major world events in motion. You may have had to become prey in the end, but you were always the hunter.

Credits

Ranger playbook by Awful Good Games. The text of The Ranger is released under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. The Death Move is from Boldly Games' Grim World.