Wilderness bonus

General

The Ranger bonus is a measure of an individual's connection to nature. The "bonus" is a misnomer, since it can have either a negative or a positive effect, depending on the situation. According to GM Javac, wilderness modifier is a bonus (or penalty) up to about 20%.

Skills affected

All survival skills are affected except Evasion and Perception.

How to maintain a bonus

• Stay out of the cities. There are two relevant primary categories of rooms in DR: In Town vs. Out of Town. There are also different degrees of In-Town or Out-of-Town. The longer you remain in an In-Town area the lower your bonus goes. You can restore your bonus by spending time in Out-of-Town Areas.

• Drift amount is based on the difference in nature levels between your current bonus and where you're standing, and drifts to the nature level of where you're standing.

• You can only get to worst/best bonus in a worst/best area, and being at worst bonus and standing in a best area drifts upwards faster than being at worst bonus and standing in a neutral area.

• Cast Memory of Nature ritual spell to maintain your bonus or slow it's decay.

• Have your Ranger companion in the area with you. All companions are created equal insofar as their effect on slowing the decay of your wilderness bonus. Ranger companion's effects stack with Memory of Nature's.

Pace messages

PACE messages tell you what degree a room is In-Town or Out-of-Town.

• You glance about the area while pacing back and forth, like a large, stalking mountain cat. (extreme nature room)
• (in water) You glide around the area like a crocodile, truly in your element. (slightly nature room)
• You pace back and forth, smiling slightly to yourself at the refreshing familiarity of the area. (slightly nature room)
• You pace back and forth. (This is a neutral room)
• You pace back and forth, scowling slightly at your surroundings. (slightly 'city' room)
• You pace back and forth like a trapped animal. (extreme 'city' room)

Current status

If one HIDEs and then, while remaining hidden, HOWLs then one may get a better understanding of their current Ranger bonus.

• You inhale deeply, a resounding howl breaking forth from within you, resonating strongly into the distance as if to announce your mastery of the wilds!
• You howl strongly, like that of a wolf calling its kin to assemble for a hunt. The sound echoes commandingly through the area.
• You inhale and howl strongly, the cacophonous sounds reverberating around you.
• You howl like a wolf calling the pack!
• You open your mouth and throw back your head, howling with a tentative but fairly resonant tone that wavers only slightly.
• You take in a deep breath of air and howl softly.
• You howl meekly, unsure of yourself.
• You take in a deep breath to howl, but it comes out as a whimper, like a lost wolf looking for his pack.
• You howl quietly to yourself, echoing a soft, desolate sound that doesn't sound quite right.
• You take in a deep breath to howl, but it comes out as a whimper, like a lost wolf looking for his pack. (This message appeared again, possibly a bug.)
• You take in a deep breath to howl loudly, but instead cough and choke on the air around you.
• You open your mouth to howl, but you merely sigh like the softest wind through the trees. Sadly, not even a leaf flutters with your "mighty" breath.
• You open your mouth and roar with everything you've got! A few soft sounds reminiscent of a baby robin's first song twitter sweetly from within you.
• You give forth a mighty... yelp, which sounds more like a domesticated puppy than anything else.
• You open your mouth to howl, but it sounds more like a dying chicken than anything else.
• You take in a deep breath to howl, and let loose with a mighty... Moo?! The sounds that erupt from within you sound startlingly like the loud bleating of a young heifer giving birth to her first calf.

Going from max positive bonus to max negative bonus should take over 100 minutes while in full urban territory.

Ways to Boost Bonus

A Ranger can use the Beseech Elanthia to Transfer ability to give a boost to the nature bonus.

Note that you must be at a minimum "bonus state" of:

• You take in a deep breath to howl, but it comes out as a whimper, like a lost wolf looking for his pack.

Below this state, you cannot use the beseech. Beseech increases bonus about three states.

Mechanics

The bonus is applied per system, not per skill. So any new usage of a skill must be hard coded to apply the bonus. See discussion for notes.

The bonus is percentage based, ±20%, on top of other bonuses/penalties.

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