Hunter

The Rangers is one of the guilds of New Z'hrat, which is responsible for the monitoring and care of natural and non-natural creatures, both domesticated and otherwise. Even though the guild requires support staff like everyone else- secretaries, record-keepers, janitors, and facility guards- the bulk of the guild is made up of rangers who take care of most of the guild's conservation duties. It's not a very thrilling job, mostly counting and tagging, issuing pet permits, making sure that animal products are farmed ethically, and keeping watch over herd migration paths and the like.
The most interesting Rangers are known as Hunters. They're the ones who work with the deadliest beasts, and are responsible for thinning out dangerous invasive species. Hunts take them out into the wilds of the Frontier , where most of these threats are located.

Career

Qualifications

• Three years of career experience as a ranger directly involved with animal populations- one of the many Ranger desk jobs don't count.
• Combat training.
• Wilderness survival training.
• Passing a written examination to become certified to work with a Red threat level species. The most experienced hunters will have taken multiple different exams and gained certification for several different species, and the certification has to be renewed annually.

Career Progression

• Typically, most hunters start with one species certification and work their way up from there.
• Most local Managing Rangers are promoted or retired hunters, and all three Master Rangers (Ranger Guildmasters ) so far have been elite hunters promoted into the position.

Payment & Reimbursement

Hunters are paid per hunt. It's a good salary that can support a upper-middle-class standard of living, and more dangerous hunts are worth more. Because hunters are chosen as-needed on a case-by-case basis, more certifications mean you're more likely to be given work, and thus, pay. The work can get extremely competitive, and someone who's successfully pulled off multiple dangerous hunts is respected in the community and far more likely to be hired in the future.

Other Benefits

• Recognition after successful hunts.
• A good launching point for promotions.
• The Rangers is one of the few guilds that pays for their members' health and life insurance for the duration of their membership. For obvious reasons; hunting is a dangerous profession.
• Paid travel. Rangers, especially hunters, travel to the Frontier regularly as part of the job.

Perception

Purpose

• To thin out invasive species.
• To prevent dangerous species from spreading into the city.
• Dealing with out-of-control splices.

Social Status

Being a hunter garners similar respect to emergency medics and firefighters: a significant number of people, especially those who don't live on the edge of the city, take them for granted and think they're paid too much for how much work they do, but most New Z'hratians see them as heroes who keep the city safe from monsters. It's seen as an aspirational, if dangerous, career.

Demographics

About 10% of the Rangers are, or have been at some point, hunter-certified. Not all of those are hired to go on hunts, and many work less-thrilling jobs when they're not on a hunt.

History

In 2803, the Rangers were formed as a subset of the Sentinels of Thunder, and split off shortly thereafter once the Sentinels realized just how much work "wildlife management" would be. Most of these original Rangers were hunters, and the guild expanded and delegated other duties as time went on.

Operations

Tools

• A longbow
• Multiple different arrow types. Most use at least four varieties: standard, some for piercing extremely thick hides, and fire and stun arrows.
• Nets
• Pierce-resistant leather armor, padded to better absorb force.
• Fireproof tabard
• Short sword
• Knife
• Journal, proper record-keeping supplies.

Workplace

Most hunters will remain at a Ranger headquarters until they're required to travel. Within the city, most will work out of small motel rooms, and on the Frontier, they'll camp in tents.

Provided Services

They hunt things, specifically for the Rangers. Most of the time, they won't be hired by the average person, unless the apartment building gets overrun by poisonous snakes or abnormally large rats.

Dangers & Hazards

Hunters don't last long in their field. They work with the most dangerous creatures in the world, so getting bitten, clawed, rammed, hit with fire breath, or injected with venom are all pretty standard operational hazards.

Type

Agricultural / Fishing / Forestry

Demand

Critical to the functioning of New Z'hrat, but often invisible.

Related Locations

• The Frontier