Position/scout skill for rangers

[Bob]

It says somewhere tht rangers are supposed to know where they are at all times, so I propose a scout or position skill for rangers,example:scout east to the far east lies the city of tuluk, or a position skill example: position to the far noth lies blah blah blah to the east lies blah blah blah ect. what do you think?

[John]

I don't like it because it'd be too hard to code (because it would have to take into effect places you've only been too in both your virtual and coded life).

[Sandor]

No one can know where they are at all times, I think that's silly.  I have yet to play a ranger, but I hear they are the best with bows, which is all that should matter.

[Angela Christine]

I believe the bit about always knowing where you are refers to a rangers ability to usually go in the direction he intends to go.  If he intends to go west he will go west (he might then fall in a hole and go down, but he'll still know roughly where he is).  In certain environmental conditions other classes may attempt to go west, but go in a random direction and have no idea which direction they have traveled.  Within a few steps a character can become hopelessly lost, and too far from his friends to yell for help.

So a ranger doesn't automatically know exactly where he is, but a careful ranger has the potential to know roughly where he has traveled, and to be able to retrace his steps to find his way back.  He may not know where he is, but he isn't lost because he knows how to get back to  a familiar area.  But only if he is careful.  A ranger that flees mindlessly of wanders incautiously can still become lost, he just has to be a little more foolish than people of other classes to do it.

AC

[EvilRoeSlade]

I think that such an ability for rangers is best role-played out.  If you want to know where you are at all times, then go exploring and make maps.  Rangers are quite possibly best-suited for long journeys away from civilization, therefore such an ability is indirectly supported via the code.

[Malifaxis]

I'm gonna play Newbie's Advocate here...

The guy does have a point.  Rangers are good in the wilderness... they range a lot.  That's why they have that clever name.  Most hunters I know IRL have a pretty darn good sense of direction, and most of them are pretty careful on studying maps before they head out.  Flip-flop the maps for, oh, say, 10 years wandering through the wastes, and you should pretty much be able to figure out *basically* where you are.

I think it should give a much rougher estimate than the original example in the post, however...  beginning ranger X is wandering around, lost as a kankfly without a kank, and he needs to know where he is.  So he types location and gets, say "You believe you are somewhere north of the Shield Wall".  A failed result would give a random direction as well as a city/piece of terrain name, or "You're so bloody lost you couldn't find the ground if buried in it."

In the defense of Sanvaen's sanity, this would take an insane amount of coding, most likely... assigning values to zones that can cross-reference each other on the skill check, flagging all the rooms for, say, 10 rooms in each direction of allanak to give a result of "Allanak is THAT way" for a new skill... yes, it would be hellish, and would probably break several human rights rules if we somehow convinced San to do it.

As an easier, and more direct solution, how about when rangers get 'scan' up to, say... 'Pretty Uber" (right below Absolutely Ridiculous, and just above Decently Elite in the gradiant for skill) then they get another room's sight range (on clear days), and when they get to Absolutely Ridiculous, perhaps they can see a room through minor sandstorms, or at night during a storm?  I mean, come on... that's a Pretty Uber Ranger you're dealing with...   And rangers, as said, do tend to be good at ranging.

[5 day lifespan]

This Idea I like, though it seems mildly unbalancing, making rangers that much better.  If youre going to do that, we should give Assassins the Plant skill.  Just to make things even.  Thanks, btw for whoever in staff made the alteration to certain weapons that made their function more clear.  A huge help.  Hope you understand what I mean through my IC filter...

5DL

[spawnloser]

I'm with Mali on most everything he said.  It would probably be ridiculous to code, and his suggested solutions sound great to me too.  I will have to say that he forgot to mention the skill gradient "Holy Crap, What are These God Damn Animals?" which encompasses everything below "Pretty Uber."

[Dracul]

How about...taking away skills?  :twisted: This is a world where everyone dies isn't it? It'd only make it easier to live if you went ahead with that.

And that would my accomplishments mean less!