Scout Ranger

Scout Rangers are the spies and intelligence gatherers of the Southmarch Rangers. They are highly trained and skilled as trackers, observers, hunters, spies, and on occasion and when necessary, assassins. They are most often employed outside the borders of Sudland or in the most wild and remote areas within the country.
Scout Rangers are the closest to the natural world of all the Rangers, able to survive alone in the wild for weeks or months, or perpetually, if need be. They are often friends with Elvirim and it is said, occasionally with some Okkurim. Scout Rangers usually work alone or with a single companion. They often have an animal companion, a dog, cat, or raptor of some kind (owls and falcons are common, and some have Steppe Gyreagles) with which the Scout Rangers have a near telepathic relationship.
The Drow Elvirim in general hate the Scout Rangers, as they are often a thorn in the side of the Drow spies and assassins of Isolabirre. There have been many deadly clashes between Scout Rangers and Shadows of the The Night of Apopshe and operatives of Obsidian, with the Rangers often victorious, though not always, by any means.

Career

Qualifications

Scout Rangers must have high intelligence, excellent endurance and strength, exceptional toughness and resilience in the face of hardship, and of course, a deep connection and empathy for the natural world.

Career Progression

Like all Rangers, after completing their initial training in Daskar, the Scout Rangers become Troopers and are assigned to a base. Most Scouts begin their career in the Rangers as Ranger Patrollers. As they learn new skills and grow in competence, completing more and more difficult missions, the most skilled and self-sufficient Ranger Patrollers are chosen to become Scout Rangers. They undergo additional formal training in Daskar. After completing the training, they may be assigned to a base, or they may be sent on missions directly from Daskar on behalf of the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Sudland. Many of the Scout Rangers are recruited into Directorate Seven. Some exceptionally talented and skilled individuals may begin their careers in the Rangers as Scout Rangers from the beginning. Often those individuals have some Elvirim ancestry.

Payment & Reimbursement

Scout Rangers are not exceptionally well-compensated; however, most are not driven by wealth. Their love of the outdoors and nature and their loyalty to their fellow Rangers and to Sudland is more important to them than how much they are paid.

Perception

Purpose

Scout Rangers of the Southmarch Rangers primarily serve as intelligence gatherers and spies for the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Sudland in the wilds of Sudland and beyond, ensuring that King Einar Tachibana Larssen and his advisors know what is happening throughout the country and beyond its borders.

Social Status

Scout Rangers are respected and admired in the small towns and villages throughout Sudland and beyond its borders, but within the large towns and cities, they are viewed with some fear and distrust and seen as somewhat wild and uncouth. Many of the older Scout Rangers that have lived in the wilds on their own for some time forego official uniforms, prefering to wear tough clothing, boots, and hats of leather and fur, adorned with shells, feathers, and small gemstones they have found, giving them a wild and frightful appearance to the more "refined" members of noble and royal society. The Commandant allows this, as competence is preferred in the Southmarch Rangers over following conventions.

Operations

Tools

Scout Rangers typically carry within their pack some provisions, sleeping gear and a shelter, a firestarter, a canteen for water, and other survival equipment. They often carry a steel shortsword, a dagger and a small folding knife, a hatchet, and a bow or more often, a repeating crossbow able to rapidly shoot up to ten quarrels before needing to be reloaded, as well as thirty or forty quarrels. Often they do not carry much food, as usually they are able to live off the land, but they do carry some Ranger hardtack and pemmican as emergency rations.
When they are on long missions, a Scout Ranger will often take along a mule or donkey to carry gear and provisions, preferring them over horses for their greater endurance, sure-footedness, and ability to survive in harsher conditions. Their superior hearing and sense of smell is also useful in wild places.

Dangers & Hazards

Scout Rangers are always in some danger while they are on their missions. Although they are exceptionally skilled, accidents sometimes occur. They also face potential attacks from hostile wildlife, bandits and thieves, Orkrim raiders, and Drow Elvirim spies and assassins.

Emory Morgan, Scout Ranger by Peter Nelson (Zero Sum Games)

Emory Morgan, a veteran Scout Ranger of the Southmarch Rangers

Type

Intelligence Gathering

Legality

Within the borders of Sudland, as members of the Southmarch Rangers, Scout Rangers are protected and in no legal jeopardy unless they commit a crime. However, outside the borders of the country, they have no legal protections, and often their missions take them into areas with no law enforcement at all. In those areas, they can be attacked and even murdered with no repercussions at all, other than whatever consequences the Southmarch Rangers might try to visit on the murderers.

Famous in the Field

• Erik D'Anjou