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View Full Version : Need Thoughts, RE: Ranger's Apprentice RPG (3.5/d20 Conan)



Thamilon
2012-04-04, 06:42 PM
Hello everyone!

This summer, I'm going to be running a series of RPGs for the teens at my local library, based on a number of popular YA series that I thought would lend themselves well to such treatment. One of the games I'm going to be running will be based on the Ranger's Apprentice books by John Flanagan.

For those who might be unfamiliar with the series, it is set in a low magic/no magic world that is basically medieval Europe with the names changed. Indeed, apart from a race of beast men working for the bad guy in the first two books, a race of friendly beastmen in the last book and the fact that there's far more gender equality (at least among the nobility) than in the real middle ages, the series could be considered purely historical and does a fine job of subtly teaching readers about the realities of life at that time.

The biggest challenge I've been having so far is with determining how to handle the classes. Here's the notes I have so far...


RANGERS: The biggie, of course.

Using the standard 3.5 Ranger isn't viable because of the spell-casting abilities. Even the supernatural abilities given to Rangers in the alternative No-Casting Ranger from Complete Warrior are a bit much. Also, the preferred enemy abilities aren't really viable in a world without other races. And yet, the Rangers in this series are rumored to have magical powers by the commoners around them and do seem to have some supernatural ability to communicate with their speciallly trained horses... although the odds are equally good that each Ranger just imagines their horse's thoughts in their own heads!

My idea is to use the Borderer class from Conan d20 but allow the players to substitute Animal Companion in place of another level of Favored Terrain. This would fit as, by the time of the last book, Will has learned how to traverse several types of terrain with skill (temperate forest, tundra, desert) and has two animal companions - his horse, Tug, and his dog Ebony.


COURIERS - Employed by their respective lords as both diplomats and spies, The Couriers function in a manner similar to The Rangers, save that their training focuses more on social skills rather than survival.

After considering and discarding a modified bard, a social-skills emphasizing rogue, the Conan d20 noble and a level 20 version of the Spymaster from Complete Adventurer , I've hit upon the idea of using the Aristocrat NPC class from the DMG but give the courier bonus feats at 2nd level and every 3 levels after that from a limited list of social feats (Persuasive, Negotiator, etc.) and class abilities cribbed from the Conan d20 Noble (i.e. Comeliness, Entertainer, etc.)


KNIGHTS - Ironically, this was the easiest one. The Knight class from the PHB2 should fit perfectly, I think.

Any thoughts so far? Suggestions?

Omegas
2012-04-04, 06:58 PM
For the ranger you may want to substitute a Scout from complete adventure and simply call it a ranger, then prestige into Horizon walker from the DMG.

Thamilon
2012-04-05, 03:28 PM
For the ranger you may want to substitute a Scout from complete adventure and simply call it a ranger, then prestige into Horizon walker from the DMG.

Hmmm. Problem is the Scout lacks a lot of the features that the Rangers in the John Flanagan books have.

I think I'll just have to design the class from scratch myself. I'll post it here once I'm done.

Cieyrin
2012-04-06, 11:06 AM
Have you considered looking at Iron Heroes? All the classes are designed such that they function independently of magic and magic items and the Hunter does almost everything that the Rangers in the books do. They focus on applying their knowledge and perception of their environment to their advantage against their foes and excel in helping their allies. For their horses, the Beastmaster feat chain from the Iron Heroes Player Companion represents their bond with an animal fairly well. They may multiclass a bit with Archer or Weapon Master, depending on which Ranger we're talking about, like Gilan's proficiency with his Sword, though that could just be a trait, honestly.

For the couriers, the Thief class works rather well, which is focused more on skills and social maneuverability than being a criminal and backstabber, though they're capable of that as well.

For the Knights, it really depends on which Knights you're looking at, as Horace is very clearly a Weapon Master or possibly a Man at Arms, while your more normal soldiers in Battle School are just Warriors, as in the NPC class.

The Skandians are all Berserkers for the most part, the Temujai are Archers and Harriers and the Jenovesans are Executioners. The Outsiders, like the Couriers, are Thieves with a heavy investment in Social feats, at least the leaders.

Basically, if you can get ahold of a copy (PDFs may be the only way these days, given the books have been out of print for a while now), I'd definitely take a look. :smallbiggrin: It's a variant Player's Handbook for 3.5, so you already know how to play, it just has a lot add-ons and modifications to make it work really well for low- to no-magic games while still being cinematic and over the top.

Thamilon
2012-04-06, 02:35 PM
I hadn't thought of Iron Heroes, but I'd only ever looked at the book once at a friend's house and we've never run it in our group. From what I recall, it was fairly similar to Conan d20 - just more generalized.

Crazy thing is that in all of this, I realized I never looked at the Pathfinder Ranger and - ignoring the spellcasting - it has most of what I was looking for. I'm figuring out a way to tweak that. I'll post my results on the board here later. :)

Thanks everyone!