Someone asked not to long ago, "What sets Rangers apart?"

What I think sets us apart and has nothing to do with neato abilities or quick shot kills.

At the core of the Ranger Guild there are a good 200-300 Rangers who care about the guild. They support each other in a great many ways and they are some of the best customers Simutronics has. These are individuals who are not afraid to voice their opinions in a firm but mature manner, yet at the same time smart enough to realize when they are wrong and not afraid to admit it. These rangers are some tough hunters! When a Ranger walks into a hunting area that a higher level player may think they have no right being in, it usually turns out that the Ranger hangs tough and winds up dragging that higher level player out dead. This happens not because we have one special deadly skill but because we've earned it, training through all those hard-earned ranks. Lastly and most importantly, we are Proud!

Because of all these things I consider myself the luckiest GM in DragonRealms. Know that I don't expect anyone to trust me at this point. It is nice to read that some of you are happy with my being chosen to take over the guild but I'm not so naive to assume that I can just walk in here and think everything will be like it was with Trev.

I have to earn your trust. I hope to gain your understanding that what I do for the guild, I do because I have a knowledge of what it is to be a Ranger. Please don't take offense, but I am not looking for your 100% approval on everything I do. It is important to understand that as a Guild GM I must have the interest of the game first and those of the guild second. In many areas these interests will be one and the same, but at times they may not be. You may not like that, but if this game is to last it has to be this way.

I will make you a promise right now.

I will never lie to you. I will be as straightforward as I possibly can. If I can't tell you something you have questions or concerns about because it violates my NDA or might upset the long term plan of the guild, I will tell you so and hope you understand. If at anytime you think I have betrayed this promise to you, call me out! Write me a letter, post it on the boards, grab me in person at one of the cons.

I'll respond, I'll buy ya a beer (Hmmm. actually that might be a bad idea, how about a coffee) and we will talk about it or I'll write you back as soon as possible. Also, please understand that things change in this game. New systems come on line that may affect our guild and may change things from the way they were done in the past. When this happens I will be sure to give you all fair warning about the upcoming change.

In the coming weeks I will be getting input from every possible willing source -- this very much includes you! I like to be organized in what I do, so my first task is to set up short term and long term plans for the guild. I will be at Simucon and there I will hold my first official meeting. When we get back from there we will start having in-game meetings. There will be no general meeting this time around -- in fact, I plan on having just one general meeting a year (hopefully sometime in January or February).

At this point, what I would like to do is have smaller meetings directed at certain topics in order to be more productive with your time and mine. My initial thoughts are to have 3 meetings broken down by circle to start, (1st thru 29th, 30th thru 49th, and 50th plus) since from what I have read on the boards, a lot of your concerns have to do with what circle you are at. Yes, there are things like foraging and other survival skills that affect everyone but in order to keep the meeting productive and less than 12 hours in length I want to meet in smaller groups.

As of this morning I am completely caught up on the Ranger Boards and others that have a relationship to us. I think I have a good feel as to what your major concerns are, but I'm not taking anything for granted. So in the next few weeks you will see posts from me communicating my thoughts on certain topics and asking you for your input. It is on these threads that I will focus my attention. I ask that until we have completed the meetings you guys not start any "What needs to be fixed first" threads. Obviously I can't stop you from posting anything you want (within Simutronics policy), but if you do post a thread like that please understand I cannot commit the time to responding or even reading them all at this point.

So between the meetings and some focused threads I think everyone will have a venue to express ideas, concerns, and questions. I know that many of you want to get moving forward ASAP. Lets just try to do it in an organized fashion.

One last thing -- very few people here, GM and Player alike, know exactly the huge amount of fondness and respect I have for Treveri. He is my friend. With that being said, the well-being and progress of the Ranger Guild has now been placed in my hands. In order to be an effective guru, I can respect the past, but I won't be bound by it. A lot of what you hear from me will sound very familiar; some stuff will be completely new. Either way, the task is now mine.

This is a new beginning for us and I hope you will see it as such. As I look around at all my notes and list of things to do, the task ahead of me looks pretty daunting but I am ready for it and I hope you are to.

Truly,

Jent
Ranger