The Ranger is one of the standard playable character classes in most editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Rangers are skilled bushcraftsmen/woodcraftsmen, and often lived reclusive lives as hermits. Publication history Creative origins The ranger was primarily based on the character Aragorn, and the Rangers of the North of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth mythos, as warriors who use tracking and other wilderness skills to hunt down their enemies. The AD&D second edition handbook mentions several other inspirations from myth and legend, such as Robin Hood, Jack the Giant Killer, the huntress Diana, and the Greek hero Orion. Other notable rangers in the literature of Dungeons & Dragons include Hank from the cartoon series, King Tristan Kendrick from Forgotten Realms, and Ren from Pool of Radiance. Original Dungeons & Dragons The ranger was introduced in The Strategic Review volume 1, number 2. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition The ranger was one of the standard character-classes available in the original Player's Handbook, one of five subclasses. The first edition rangers were a subtype of the fighters, using any weapon and wearing any armor, but they gained extra attacks at a slower rate than fighters and paladins. Unlike other warriors, the ranger used d8 hit dice instead of d10s, but had a second hit die at 1st level and maxed out at 11 hit dice instead of nine. Rangers also had extensive tracking abilities, based on a percentage score, and were able to surprise opponents on a roll of 1–3 on a d6 (rather than a 1–2) while they themselves could only be surprised on a 1. Rangers gained limited spell use at level 8, acquiring 1st–3rd level druid spells and 1st and 2nd level magic-user spells (two per level maximum). Rangers were most effective when fighting giants and humanoids (such as orcs), gaining a +1 to damage per level against these opponents. High level rangers gained followers, ranging in type and power from classed player-character races, to creatures such as pegasus mounts, pseudodragons, werebears, copper dragons and storm giants. As a general rule, the fewer followers a ranger gained (based on random dice rolls) the more powerful each individual follower was. Rangers were required to be of good alignment, and were initially limited to humans and half-elves. The only multi-class option open to rangers was the ranger/cleric, allowed to half-elves. Basic Dungeons & Dragons The ranger was