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

Rangers can HIDE and HOWL to determine their current Ranger Bonus. They can also HOWL QUIET without needing to hide. This option does not message the room and has slightly different messaging output for the Ranger.

Rank	Rangers see	Non Rangers See	Howl Quiet messaging
15	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!	The disturbing sound of a wolf resonates from all around you, the sound an unmistakable command of all that is wild.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel like a true master of the wilds!
14	You howl strongly, like that of a wolf calling its kin to assemble for a hunt. The sound echoes commandingly through the area.		Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel in command of the wilds.
13	You inhale and howl strongly, the cacophonous sounds reverberating around you.	A strong wolf howl echoes around you, reverberating through the area.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel strongly connected to the wilds.
12	You howl like a wolf calling the pack!	You hear a wolf howling nearby, calling for its pack.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel like a wolf among sheep.
11	You open your mouth and throw back your head, howling with a tentative but fairly resonant tone that wavers only slightly.	A quavering howl sounds from somewhere nearby, like that of a lost wolf.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel your connection to the wilds wavering slightly.
10	You take in a deep breath air and howl softly.	The quiet howl of a young wolf sounds from somewhere nearby.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel a strain in your connection to the wilds.
9	You howl meekly, unsure of yourself.	A soft, almost inquisitive and puppyish howl sounds from nearby.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel unsure of yourself.
Note: The following entry appears twice in the order of messages. It happens both before and after the feeling desolate message. It is not known whether this is intended or a bug.
8	You take in a deep breath to howl, but it comes out as a whimper, like a lost wolf looking for his pack.	A puppy whines from somewhere nearby.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel like a lost wolf looking for its pack.
7	You howl quietly to yourself, echoing a soft, desolate sound that doesn't sound quite right.	A lonesome sounding yapping of what must be a scared puppy comes from somewhere nearby.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel desolate and not quite right.
Note: The following entry appears twice in the order of messages. It happens both before and after the feeling desolate message. It is not known whether this is intended or a bug.
???	You take in a deep breath to howl, but it comes out as a whimper, like a lost wolf looking for his pack.	A puppy whines from somewhere nearby.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel like a lost wolf looking for its pack.
6	You take in a deep breath to howl loudly, but instead cough and choke on the air around you.	A faint wheezing sound reaches your ears from the distance.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel choked by the clutches of civilization.
5	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 hear a weak sigh from somewhere behind you, like that of a petulant child.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel aimless and adrift in life.
4	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.	A pretty sounding little bird tweets from somewhere nearby.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel as vulnerable as a baby robin, dependent upon others for its security.
3	You give forth a mighty... yelp, which sounds more like a domesticated puppy than anything else.	A tiny puppy yaps quietly from somewhere nearby.	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel practically domesticated.
2	You open your mouth to howl, but it sounds more like a dying chicken than anything else.	Someone clucks like a chicken from someplace nearby. Maybe you are hungrier than you thought?	Taking silent stock of your connection to the natural world, you feel like just another face in the crowd.
1	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 (his/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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