[Aside: I wanted to start off this aside with the pretense that I'm not just looking at this from a Ranger perspective but from also my Thieves perspective].

As GM-Sithix has been visiting this folder a bit, I wanted to talk about something that seemed to be missing from game mechanics that were supposed to be the lore background of two guilds. Namely Rangers and Thieves. What that is is the Scouts and Spies of Elanthia.

In-game when someone wants details of people, you check with a Warrior Mage, or a Moon Mage, they send out their familiar, or bring up a shadowwatch mirror or something of that nature. And you have details about the person. Sometimes its not as discrete as a Thief or Ranger should be, but let's face it there is from my knowledge no special ability that lets a Ranger pull out some binoculars, or find some trail that let's them watch someone like Naarg, or Lyras (or some other NPC that I haven't seen because I've been away from the game to a large enough extent that I really haven't been seeing many events [or maybe with all the X3 development its just not happening?]).

My Thief has this Moon Mage Spy-glass (one of those fixed focus telescopes, with a neat name and look), however its little more then a prop, with a few decent verbs (that only can be used to add a little more to the props appeal, suspend the disbelief a little). But it has nothing that helps this feel that he is spying on things, gathering intelligence and what not.

Ranger wise I have nothing that allows me to use a cool path, I mean I have those Ranger Trail Maps from a few guild festivals ago. I've hardly used them. However when it comes down to it. The feel that a Ranger can find some out of the way location, or trail blaze a path into the back of an opposing army. Or do something semi like the Avatar movie, where all the critters of Pandora help out the natives (I know I threw that last one in as a curve, from something I was talking to another Ranger PC back during the last stages of the Lyras war). But back to the Scout/Spy, once again not much in that range for the Ranger.

I want to end this with, maybe I am missing something, I only have abilities below the 40th circle (For my Thief main, others are below). So I don't know everything. I spend a lot more time on my thief(ves). Heck like my Necromancer I can't really remember when I spent some serious time on my Ranger.

What I'd like is basically some abilities, or ability both for the Thief and for the Ranger. Maybe make it more potent in Ranger Wilderness for the Ranger, and more potent for the Thief in building or building-like areas. There may be over lapping in that. It could be a separate ability that only the Ranger has, and another separate ability that only the Thief has.

I hope that some day, something like this will get worked on.

Thank you for your time.
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Victory Over Lyras, on the 397th year and 156 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.