Ranger Careers
Beastmaster
Beastmaster; half warrior, half ranger these people roam the countryside of the world living in perfect harmony with animals and nature.Their ability to blend with mother nature and use her powers is amazing and only surpassed by the great knowledge of the druids. Beastmasters are often if not always accompanied by their 'friends', the wild animals. They are a reclusive group and are renown for their skill in communicating with natures children. As a matter of fact some beastmasters consider themselves the rulers of their territory and will confront any person passing by without their consent.
Even less is known about the way a bestmaster is educated. But one thing everyone knows: A beastmaster will NEVER attack an animal, on the other hand, no animal would dare attack a beastmaster...
Skills/Spells
Animal Handling Area Attack Bear Call
Beastmastery Call Companion Decapitate
Disarm Riding Ropemastery
Tracking Twohanded Weaponlore
Whip Wolf Call
Bounty Hunter
Bounty Hunters live by tracking down wanted criminals, bandits or other undesirables and bringing them to justice. By and large, to all but the criminals, this makes them a useful part of Ayreon's civilisation. Rewards may be offered by local rulers, clans or councils in an effort to dispose of brigands, rampaging goblin bands, or other troublesome creatures.
Occasionally, whole races or clans may be outlawed and subject to a bounty and, for a while, an area may draw bounty hunters from miles around. As being well skilled fighters, bounty hunters must be able to track their quarry without being thrown off the trail, and they tend to be single-minded, harsh and cynical. They are professional killers in every sense, and will not hesitate to resort to means which others might consider distasteful in order to dispatch their quarry. They are loners by nature, trusting no one and only seeking company where it may serve their ends.
Among poorer folk, bounty hunters are generally regarded with fear and distrust, since they are not unknown for turning in humble peasants, where the true quarry has eluded them. The authorities consider them a necessary evil, but never a welcome one.
Skills/Spells
Confuse Victim Disguise Futility
Maneuver in Armour Mark Prey Ropemastery
Seek Hidden Seek Invis Sense Prey
Stalk Strangle Subdoing
Tracking Whip
Hunter
Hunting is one of the oldest professions in the history of Ayreon. Each can follow and almost sense animal trails with uncanny precision, and is expert at the kill. The habits and habitats of wild animals are a part of their lives; they share uncommon affinity with the creatures of the wild and their ways. The hunter may appear sullen and uncommunicative to his fellow men, but this is the result of his solitary, stealthy lifestyle. Hunters stand out from the common hordes of Ayreon, and are often seen wearing skins of the animals they have killed. In colder climates, this has practical as well as symbolic value.
Skills/Spells
Animal Handling Beartrap Hunt
Lure Mark Prey Riding
Ropemastery Set Traps Sense Prey
Skinning Sling Trap Spikehole
Tracking Whip Wolfcall
Noble
To be one of the ruling classes seems to the ordinary citizen of Ayreon to grant the right to live a life removed from the cares and struggles of ordinary men. Nobles control the land, and many have had sense to involve themselves in matters of commerce, in competition with bankers and financiers. However the younger noble families frequently have to fend for themselves when their elder brothers take over the family fortune and estates, since one of the major preoccupations of the noble class seems to be to cause harm to other members, even to those from one's own family. Many disinherited nobles turn to military life or adventuring for excitement, certainly, but many more do so because they wouldn't know what else to do. Certainly none of them would lower themselves to practice a trade, and a few tolerate the boredom of study for an academic profession. They see war as a great and glorious game, and they view getting drunk, insulting commoners and wrecking restaurants in much the same light. Nobles tend to have a short attention span, an irritating accent and an unfailing ability to rub lesser mortals up the wrong way, but they nearly always manage to sail through life almost unscathed owing to a combination of luck and the deference which their free-spending manner tends to generate in tradesmen.
Skills/Spells
Aristocracy Bribery Cast
Charge Cleansing Combat Tactics
Court Magician Diagnostics Heraldry
Honour Guard Mathan Riding
Riposte Second Aid Shield Bash
Shield Block Swarm Weaponsmastery
Outlaw
Outlaws are a bunch having invoked the wrath of society upon them. It is not necessarily the city they are found in, where their dubious 'career' started. Having fled their kin for one or the other reason, outlaws become experts at surviving on their own. They gain abilities to escape the clutches of the law and receive abilities making them better brawlers, a mixture of thief, warrior and a tiny part of a ranger. Combining these three professions' lesser abilities enables the outlaw to survive.
As he is despised by his people, shopkeepers of the same race will not serve the outlaw, likewise justice seldom is in favour of this kind of person and all common folk view the outlaw not only with disrespect but with a certain reservation. You do not trust a person that cannot be trusted.
Skills/Spells
Brawling Camouflage Crack Shot
Drug Tolerance Peek Ropemastery
Second Aid Set Traps Shield Block
Slingtrap Spikehole Strangle
Tarnish Waylay Weaponsmastery
Whip
Samurai
Samurais are highly trained warriors with a great sense for the benefit of meditational preparation and devotion to a task. Their kenjitsu abilities are only available to them when in a special state of mind. Their honour also allows them often enough to seek only one way out of a situation, seppuko, a traditional and very ceremonial form of suicide. Since many of the samurai skill rely heavily on the dexterity and quickness of its user, a low total weight of carried items is of great importance!
Skills/Spells
Bladewhirl Butterfly Combat Spirit
Fifth Attack Inner Peace Iron Skin
Kenjitsu Kiai Kirijitsu
Martial Arts Meditation Riding
Seppuko Tiger
Scout
Scouts hire out their service to military, merchants, travellers or anyone else who can afford their price. Their task is to move through an area in advance of their clients, spying out the land and reporting on any unexpected activity or possible sources of danger. They are experts of moving through the countryside undetected, and many scouts can get sufficiently close to an army to read the devices on their banners and shields without being spotted. Their primary treasure is the sheer infinite knowledge they gather about certain areas.
Skills/Spells
Contortions Defuse Trap Detect Aggy
Dirt Kick Hide Peek
Pick Locks Seek Hidden Seek Invis
Seek Trap Stalk Surveillance
Trip
Trapper
Trappers are rangers exploiting the wealth of nature. They do not do so without caring for their flock and ensuring their employment ends by their own hunting but in total they are not the animal loving characters a normal ranger tends to be. They often have quarrels with beastmasters if they encounter one, but normally their skills allow them to stay out the way of an opponent unless he is caught in one of the many traps.
Trappers are adept at making a living in and from the wilderness. They can even produce smaller items, leathery armor from the hides of beasts and dragons.
Skills/Spells
Beartrap Bear Call Beheader
Capture Beast Lethal Traps Read Tracks
Ropemastery Seek Trap Set Traps
Skinning Sling Trap Spearline
Spikehole Tripwire Use Poison
Whip