It’s been almost 3 weeks without an update but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been working on my game :)

Today it’s time to present the last hero class - the Ranger. Rangers leave the comfort of civilization and travel deep into the world outside. They fight the elements, take advantage of the terrain and after years of wondering they become one with nature and use it to the fullest. They learn how to tame beasts and make them obey commands, set traps and always stay on the lookout while holding their trusted weapon in their hands. They will help you pick off enemies one by one.

Let’s just first have a quick look again at the different hero classes mentioned in the first post:

Warrior - no nonsense guy who trusts his strength as much as his weapons
Mage - watch out! A powerful spell might come your way
Rogue - they are quick and deadly. You won’t see them until it’s too late
Cleric - their main goal is to keep you alive but they pack a punch as well
Ranger - just like the warrior, they trust their weapons - only from a littler farther away

Rangers use their weapons and traps to perfection while also causing them to be stunned and confused.

Dice

As always, let’s first check out what die you will have at your disposal.

As you can see, the ranger will get movement on every side of the die. They need to be always moving, finding the best position to attack and scout out new places where they can lay traps.

Here is another look at the die rendered in Tabletopia:

A dark green color which helps the ranger blend into his surroundings. Watch out for the traps!

Let’s check out the skills which have been acquired by the ranger over his time in the wild.

Base skills

This is again your safety net skill. For each die you roll a rifle symbol you deal 1 DP to your opponent for up to 4 DP when you acquire the 4th die.

Marksman (HP 9, BR 3)

The marksman is primarily looking to stay a little farther away and use his weapon to its fullest potential.

The targeted enemy will suffer 2 DP and will not be able to perform any actions for 2 rounds.

As if hitting one enemy isn’t fun enough, hitting two of them is even better. Each of them will suffer 2 DP.

Predator (HP 8, BR 2)

Predators have perfected the skill of using wild animals to their advantage. They are able to call them at will and use them with deadly intentions.

Call beast

Summon beast (HP 5, BR 0). Once summoned set a target for the beast which will be attacked for 2 DP every round until new target is set.

This is a two part skill. If the ranger’s beast hasn’t been summoned, it will summon on an adjacent space next to the ranger. On any subsequent roll the ranger has the option to set a target for the beast. From that point on the beast will attack the target and deal 2 DP until another Call beast is rolled and the beast’s target is set to another enemy. If the target is killed the beast moves back to an adjacent space of the ranger until a new target is set. Beasts have infinitive movement and can move from target to target without spending any move actions of the ranger. If it’s not targeting an enemy, the beast will always be at the ranger’s side.

Swarm

Deal 3 DP to target while dealing confusion to it and a number of adjacent opponents equal to the number of rolled dice (minimum 2)

The ranger sends a swarm of flies to to the target dealing 3 DP. In the process it will confuse the target and as many opponents adjacent to the target as the trap symbols were rolled. This means that in the worst case you would deal 3 DP and confuse a total of 3 targets. Confused targets have a chance to hurt themselves.

Tactician

The tactician has specialized in using his surroundings to full effect. He lures his targets in and without even realizing they start falling into many of his traps.

Feign retreat

Deal 2 DP, place a fire trap on your current space and move 1 space away

This move is pure hit and run. The ranger deals 2 DP to a target forcing it to focus on them. By placing a trap and moving farther away he will lure the target into following him and activating it. When an enemy activates a fire trap it will deal 2 DP and burn to the enemy which will deal 2 DP per round for 2 rounds. Burns can be healed by entering water spaces so make sure you lure your opponents away from them.

Bleeding edge

Throw a trap. Activating it will deal 2 DP and bleed

The ranger throws a trap up to their max range away and once an enemy steps on it they suffer 2 DP and bleed. This means that they will suffer 2 DP per round for 2 rounds.

Let’s now check out all skills you have available to enhance your ranger

Medium skills (3 XP)

If you want to upgrade your ranger to give you a little more options without having to spend a lot of XP then these are your best choice.

Poison trap

Throw 2 traps. Activating them deals 2 DP and poison.

This skill enables all rangers to throw some traps around. What’s even better is that you’ll be throwing 2 of them! Just like all traps this one will deal 2 DP to the enemy activating it as well as poisoning them. Poisoned targets suffer 1 DP for every space they move for 2 rounds.

Ricochet

Deal 2 DP to target. Set a new target up to BR spaces away from the initial target and deal another 2 DP.

Hitting two enemies with one shot! Your deal 2 DP to your first target as usual and then target another one from the initial target.

Long shot

Increase BR by 2 for this round. Deal 3 DP to target

The ranger can stand even further away from the opponents and hit one of them with a precise shot for 3 DP.

Flare

Light up a space causing all enemies up to 1 space away to deal 1 fewer DP this round.

It’s a simple yet effective skill that will prevent enemies from dealing damage to you and other heroes. If you keep your enemies close to each other you can decrease the amount of damage dealt by a lot.

Strong skills (5 XP)

These skills will hit more enemies, deal more damage, and help you out when things get tough.

Stun trap

Place on an empty adjacent space. When activated deal 4 DP to target and stun all adjacent targets

The enemy activating the trap will suffer 4 DP and get stunned. All adjacent targets will suffer stun as well.

Select 2 targets within the ranger’s range and deal 3 DP to each of them.

Aimed long shot

Increase BR by 3 for 2 rounds. Deal 4 DP to target.

The ranger will focus and increase his range by 3 for the current and next round. Additionally, one target will suffer 4 DP.

Tranqualizer

Deal 3 DP and stun target.

Instead of waiting for an enemy to activate a trap, you can directly target them and stun them for 2 rounds while dealing 3 DP.

Predatory bites

Send your beast to an empty space and deal 2 DP and bleed to all adjacent enemies. Doesn’t break the Call beast target.
*only available to Predator

The ranger sends their beast to an empty space from which it will attack all adjacent enemies and deal 2 DP to each of them while also inflicting bleed. Once the attack is resolved, if it targeted an enemy with the Call best skill, it will return to it’s original and attack it again in the next round.

Shotgun

Shoot in an expanding cone shape and deal 5 DP subtracted by their distance to you

This skill is amazing! You simply select 2 adjacent spaces to the ranger and then keep expanding the area of effect by one space until you reach the end of the tile. Every target inside the area will suffer a total of 5 DP subtracted by their distance from you.

The lighter the shade of green the weaker it gets and fewer DPs are dealt to the enemy.

Powerful skills (7 XP)

These attack have only one goal - hit the enemy and hit them hard.

Gatling gun

Deal a total of 14 DP (max 4 per target)

Target as many opponents as you can from your current space and deal a total of 14 DP. When combined with an Aimed long shot the round before, rangers can cover a lot of ground.

Stampede

Send a stampede in three different straight lines. Any opponent on its path suffers 3 DP

The ranger simply selects three straight lines extending from them to unleash stampedes. Any target on their path will suffer 3 DP.

When chosen wisely this attack can hit also a lot of enemies.

Mosiquito trap

Throw 3 traps. When activated the enemy will suffer 4 DP. All adjacent enemies suffer bleed.

Who would have thought that mosquitoes could come in handy! Throw 3 traps onto the current tile and all enemies who are adjacent to the activated trap as well as the enemy which activated it will suffer bleed. The enemy activating it will also suffer 4 DPs instead of the usual 2.

An it’s a wrap! We have introduced all 5 classes and their types. I expect quite a few changes to happen on each of them as I develop the game further but as for now, I am quite happy with how it turned out.

Next week we will look into one opponent and how they will attack in general. Once we have these mechanics introduced, we will jump into the general rules which will then evolve as we go along.

Then it will be all about creating all the opponents and adding them all to Tabletopia and making it all ready for play testing and refining.

Until then,
Never stop playing.

Oct 13 Update #7 - Ranger hero class