A Collection of Ranger's Apprentice Theories

How to Ranger for Dummies

Rangers are known for two things: a wide collection of skills and a mysterious vibe. While some of these skills vary person-to-person, each Ranger must undergo at least 5 years of training before being pronounced a true Ranger, and apprentices are chosen based on certain personality traits. This theory collects what being a Ranger entails.

Consider 'The Red Fox Clan,' for example, where Maddie is assessed on seven skills: shooting (bow and sling), knife throwing, unarmed combat, mapmaking, navigational skills, tactical planning, and unseen movement. Every year, apprentices are given standardized testing, graded as a percent and submitted as a report, to ensure they are on track. Scores in the 90% and above range are considered excellent results. If they fail, their Bronze Oakleaf racks up holes, where too many means they are let go from the program. These third-year assessments are specifically tough, making sure apprentices kept the skills they learned. Other common themes of skills include the double knife sword defense—crucial in 'The Burning Bridge'—and tracking, which is mentioned as an additional testing point in 'A Beast From Another Time.'

The Ranger Corps and Diplomatic Service share the Courier's Code: a system of delivering messages through lanterns. Will is required to memorize and use it for his fourth year assessment as an apprentice, though he does have a decoder as well ('The Siege of Macindaw'). They also share the need to blend in to gather intelligence, pretending they are entertainers, common folk, and so on, to be spoken to and around naturally. A bait and switch where Rangers transfer cargo for traders to catch road- or river-side robbers is a common tactic ('The Lost Stories').

Beyond mission skills, Rangers must have basic wilderness survival knowledge. 'The Battle for Skandia,' mentions that Ranger training involves making snares and cutting a mark in the tree above their placement. 'The Tournament at Gorlan' applauds Halt on his woodcraft, a gift of picking good campsites. Apprentices need to pass cooking tests, and those without a gift for it instead gather/cut firewood, prepare fires, retrieve water, and clean utensils/pots when in a group.

Rangers also know the fundamentals of medicine, enough to treat wounds on animals (see 'The Sorcerer of the North' and 'A Beast From Another Time'), and to make their own arrows with fletching jigs, as seen in 'A Beast From Another Time' and 'The Hibernian.' They are taught to take care of their saddles and other horse gear ('The Ruins of Gorlan'). The less they depend on an outside party during secretive missions, the better.

A very important part of training are the horses—their care, riding them, and learning the commands. Halt shows available commands in 'The Kings of Clonmel' to escape, using gestures and noises to instruct Abelard. Additionally, they have a special Ranger pace for traveling (discussed in 'The Tournament at Gorlan'): canter for 20 minutes, lead for 10, and a 10 minute break every 2 hours.

Rangers are, at their essence, highly trained spies. To do their jobs, they must be able to defend themselves to avoid capture and giving away their own secrets. They must be able to infiltrate, hence silent movement and blending into the background of groups, and cover their tracks. As Halt implies, they need knowledge in order to properly gather more knowledge ('The Ruins of Gorlan'). They must expect the unexpected, and handle it efficiently, and for that they must think of as many scenarios ahead of time, with ways to react.

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To be noticed as a teenager and to learn all these skills, Rangers must have several characteristics intrinsic to keeping the Corps competent and credible. They are given a lot of leeway and responsibility, and so must live up to the legend.

Rangers are often on the move. Though skills are taught and refined under an official apprenticeship, instinctive silent movement from a young age is a positive ('The Ruins of Gorlan'). Being agile and fast are precursors to the quick firing of a bow, or climbing trees, or running to escape an enemy, and occur naturally.

A basic truthfulness, even when it sheds oneself in a bad light, is mandatory. If Will had lied about stealing Master Chubb's cakes, he would never have become an apprentice, and he's told that admitting he doesn't know something is better than bluffing ('The Ruins of Gorlan'). Similarly, Gilan is encouraged to acknowledge he's unsure about their progress finding the battle-critical ford in 'The Battle of Hackham Heath.' Rangers should also pay their way, never being beholden to any citizen through guilt-trips ('Duel at Araluen').

A natural curiosity is necessary to notice the little things, especially if they feel off in ways which could spell disaster for a mission. Will is specifically tested for it before his official designation as a Ranger's apprentice, resulting in him breaking into Baron Arald's office in 'The Ruins of Gorlan.'

In the same novel, Will's courage is praised—Rangers must stand their ground no matter the danger, as they are often the last defense between evil and citizens. Faced by a wild boar, Wargals, and Kalkara, Will chose fight rather than flight or freeze.

Creativity and intelligence for problem solving come up time, and time again, within the series. Will's own adventure up north to Macindaw became a practice problem for other apprentices as a good example of stretching thin resources. The Commandant Crowley is noted for his quicksilver brain and tongue, giving him an upper hand on verbal battles with Halt, who in his own right seems to know everything to Will's eyes and has the mental strength to look away from Kalkara. Horace, who is also smart, is intimidated by the smarts of Rangers.

Although Rangers often appear solitary, they can quickly form a well-organized group like in 'The Tournament at Gorlan,' and lead others to carry out the solutions they provide ('The Siege of Macindaw'). The entire Corps must move like a well-oiled machine, as there are so few of them to protect the Kingdom.

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Rangers also have their unique skills, often picked up outside their training as a child or for amusement. They set each Ranger apart in good ways, and not so good ways—Halt's well-known forgery skills make an appearance in 'The Battle for Skandia' and 'The Tournament at Gorlan.'

Will is a good climber, starting in his days part of Redmont's Ward. Halt also proves his skills scaling the wall of Castle Wildriver in 'The Tournament at Gorlan,' whereas Crowley outright refuses, claiming his skills were inferior.

Most Araluens are comfortable in water, more than Skandians; Hal from the Brotherband teaches his friends to swim through learning from his Araluen mother. In the prequel series, Crowley was mentioned to have been seen swimming by Halt, Egon was thrown in the sea by Crowley, and the Rangers sneaking across the river to Morgarath's army were all comfortable in the water. Halt even had to escape his brother's attempt to drown him. In contrast, Will nearly drowned once, as mentioned in 'A New Beginning,' although the river in question may have been too strong for any swimmer to survive.

Will, Crowley, and Berrigan all have musical talent useful for slipping into taverns and becoming friendly with the locals on a quick schedule ('The Sorcerer of the North'). Other Rangers have other, more literal, secret weapons: Maddie's sling, Gilan's sword, and Farrel's battleax.

All of these combined makes Rangers a deadly force. They can go off-grid for weeks at a time, siege a castle, and subtly gather intelligence. What can't they do? Romance, maybe, or child rearing. It's no wonder they seem so magical!