Stranger's Ranger Page
Drakenwood Town has grown and prospered. Its merchants clothe themselves in fine silks and ply the ocean, its scholars study in tall towers of marble and gold, and the nobility walk safe along well-cobbled streets.
Sally forth from the fastness of the town walls however, and the very existance of the town seems questioned. A few lonely roads leading deeper in the Wilds are the only signs of civilization. Leave the road and you surely place you life in the hands of fickle gods. Fast horses are in high demand, for few choose to linger in the company of wolves and brigands, only the foolhardy would dally in the presence of goblins and ogres.
Yet there are those who choose to live here beyond the confines of the town - woodsmen and hunters, outlaws, hermits, gypsies and trappers. Whatever their profession or lifestyle, they view those living a soft urban existance with disdain and even humour. Townies, living in filthy hovels, beset by taxes and rogues, by disease and pestilence, earn little but contempt from their neighbours in the forests and mountains.
The woodsfolk have long banded together for their mutual protection, whether against ruthless Lords, orc invaders or the more unpleasant wildlife of the forests. From this co-operation sprang the Guild of Rangers.
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Rangers
of Drakenwood and environs
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The rangers are the newest Guild to join the Council of Drakenwood. For many years the Clans argued for continued isolation from the decadence of the Townies. As the town grew, and conflict became more frequent, the arguements and divisions within the Guild grew. Eventually, a merchant lord sent a force of mercenaries into the forest to 'bring the savages to task'.
Despite numerous hit-and-run attacks by the few rangers in the area, the mercenaries reached the rangers' clearing and burned it to the ground. It is said that the merchant himself threw the first firebrand, and his fate was sealed. The rangers do not speak of what followed, and even the druids have little knowledge of the horrors that befell the band as they tried fight their way back to the town. Suffice to say that the merchant was never seen again, and ranger law forbids the skinning of humanoids in rememberance of that day. The leader of the Clans subsequently travelled to the town, accompanied by the rangers and a great many woodsfolk, and met with Lord Drakenwood and the Council. The rest, as they say, is history.
The woods are peaceful these days. The Townies are more respectful of those who choose to live a more earthy existence, and the rangers are content to allow townies to conduct their greedy scummy buisness. Life continues at a leisurely pace around the campfire of the ranger guild, and there is always a cuppa for weary travellers.
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Campfire
scene
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Rangers
hanging out
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Stranger getting closer to nature as his clan animal
playfully chews the ranger's hand off
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