Ranger Archive
Thread: The Antarian Rangers The Full Story
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Kindarin
Tue Sep 20, 2005 1:56 pm
#1
Found this at the Wizards of the Coast website, though it was an awesome read and worthy for all looking forward to the Ranger Revamp (my alt's working her way up there now).
Enjoy!
The Antarian Rangers
The Antarian Rangers are a unique paramilitary organization of non-Force-users who, unlike many citizens of the galaxy, do not fear the power of the Jedi and actively assist them whenever possible. The Antarian Rangers dedicate their lives to acting as support troops for the Jedi, and are deployed in reconnaissance and covert operations to make the work of the Jedi easier. Often tasked with doing what some would consider the "dirty work," the Rangers are treated by the Jedi Council with indifference. The opinions of individual Jedi vary, however, and many work closely with them and truly value their service.
An organization with just over a thousand total members, the Antarian Rangers are as diverse as the Jedi they serve. Typically, those Jedi who choose to make use of the organization deal with a small group of Rangers with whom they are familiar, and rely on the same Rangers repeatedly. Some Jedi actually have semipermanent Antarian Ranger companions who travel the stars with them and assist them in a fashion similar to the Padawan-Master relationship. Whenever a Jedi wants a traveling companion or aide, typically one to three Rangers accompany him on his journeys. Otherwise, the various branches of the Antarian Rangers train, hone their skills, and prepare for a time when they will be needed to assist the Jedi in whatever way they can.
The Antarian Rangers were founded some 600 years before the Clone Wars and continued to flourish up until the rise of the Empire. On the planet Antar 4, home of the Gotal species, a Coruscant-born Human Jedi Knight named Marus Timpel was performing routine duties that brought him into contact with a being who was turned down for Jedi training. Kaskutal, a Gotal with limited Force sensitivity, had been turned away as a child by Timpel himself and had gone on to become a very successful and wealthy businessman specializing in trade negotiations and intercessions. The two become fast friends, and during their discussions, Timpel expressed his frustrations with the limitations his Jedi lifestyle put on his travels and available resources. Kaskutal, still harboring admiration for the Jedi despite being turned away, offered to help and raised funds and resources from donors and investors to create an organization to help alleviate those problems. This organization came to be known as the Antarian Rangers, and it soon spread beyond Antar 4 into the rest of the galaxy.
In the early years, the organization was small but ambitious. Kaskutal, the first true Antarian Ranger, used his minor Force sensitivity, Gotal senses, and business acumen to assist Timpel throughout the rest of his career. Upon Timpel's death, Kaskutal relegated himself to a more administrative role, seeing to it that the organization formed branches throughout the galaxy. Within 50 years, the Antarian Rangers had divisions in several well-populated systems, including Corellia, Brentaal, Ruan, and Coruscant.
Over time, the expansion throughout the Core Worlds caused the organization to become Human-dominant, but other species did join the cause and sometimes rose into positions of leadership. The Jedi, being more loosely organized at the time, did not discourage the growth of the organization, as the Rangers proved their usefulness without drawing upon Jedi resources. Thanks to good investment decisions and some savvy business deals, Kaskutal ensured that the Rangers were financially stable, if not overly wealthy.
As the Clone Wars approached and the Jedi Council took a more traditionalist stance in policy, the Rangers found fewer and fewer Jedi calling upon them for help. Some branches disbanded due to inactivity, while others used their combat training and entrepreneurial skills to become freelance mercenaries or sector defense forces.
The organization, reduced to less than half its former size, found a brief revitalization with the onset of the Clone Wars. The Rangers found themselves suddenly in demand; the Jedi, outnumbered and unable to sufficiently defend the galaxy against the threat of the Separatists, once again called upon the Rangers for aid. As Jedi-Ranger pairings become more commonplace once more, the group saw a brief surge in membership before the rise of the Empire.
As the Sith Lord Darth Vader and the Emperor eradicated the Jedi, the Antarian Rangers found themselves hunted in a similar fashion. With a bounty on the heads of the known Rangers and the threat of Inquisitors looming over them, the remaining branches of the Antarian Rangers went into hiding. One group of Antarian Rangers, led by a Feeorin named Solm, openly opposed the tyranny of the Empire, but for the most part the Rangers went into seclusion or disbanded entirely in order to avoid capture. The hidden enclave at Toprawa, home of Wraith Squadron member Tyria Sarkin, was eliminated by the Empire in a case that became typical of the eventual destruction of the Rangers.
With Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order rising after the defeat of the Empire, a small group of Antarian Rangers from the old days has tried to revitalize the organization with limited success. Primarily assisting with Luke Skywalker's "Great River" and helping combat the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, this new group of Rangers numbers at no more than 50 or 60 beings.
Antarian Ranger Sympathy
Though not condoned or supported by the Jedi themselves, the Antarian Rangers are a well respected (if not widely known) organization. Though many are wary of any independent organization that goes about so heavily armed during the relative peace of the Old Republic, the Rangers have suffered almost none of the negative publicity surrounding the Jedi and those associated with them. Those intimidated by the awesome powers of the Jedi sometimes seek out the Rangers as a less intimidating means of contributing to the cause.
The Antarian Rangers are a natural place for those without the ability to touch the Force to turn to in fulfilling dreams of connecting with the Force. Additionally, in the days when rules on emotional attachment for the Jedi were lax, some Jedi and Antarian Rangers intermarried. As a result, Jedi occasionally have family, as well as ideological, ties to the Rangers. With the rise of the Empire, the Rangers were hunted as fervently as the Jedi by Lord Vader and the Inquisitors. Any discovered to be associated with the Antarian Rangers faced the same punishment as those connected with the Rebel Alliance or who harbored fugitive Jedi. Sympathizing with the Antarian Rangers can be a dangerous choice at times, and the organization requires dedication and loyalty not often found in the galaxy.
Joining
Very few members of the Antarian Rangers actually choose to join the organization without prompting from an existing member. The Rangers continually keep tabs on recruits turned down for Jedi training, especially those old enough to make the decision to join the organization. Any being that admires the Jedi Order and wishes to uphold its ideals can join the Antarian Rangers, though the ones that go the furthest in the organization are those with physical and mental prowess to match their dedication.
When first entering the group, all members are evaluated for their pertinent skills and potential contributions to the organization. While most applicants eventually go on to become support personnel -- technicians, transport pilots, communications experts -- some do enter the training required to become a full-fledged Ranger.
Before becoming Rangers, trainees are called Explorers; at this rank, they accompany Rangers on dangerous missions and get field training but are not yet given independent duties. Eventually they become full-fledged Rangers and earn all the rights and responsibilities fitting of the rank.
There are no special requirements for joining the Antarian Rangers.
Leaving the Antarian Rangers
The Antarian Rangers can ill afford losses, even at the height of the organization's membership. Never a large faction, the Rangers value the services of each and every member, and go out of their way to keep members in the fold. Though retirement and discharges as a result of injury are both acceptable, simply leaving the organization without good reason is viewed as desertion.
Despite this, the Antarian Rangers will not stop a member from leaving if he persists on parting ways. Like any other paramilitary organization, the Rangers are concerned about the organization's secrets, and they take steps to eliminate the problem if an ex-member is revealing more than she should. Leaving the Rangers to become a member of the Jedi Order, rare a case as it may be, is seen as an exceptional honor, and anyone who does so receives a fond farewell from the other members.
Any Antarian Ranger who commits overtly evil or cruel acts can be expelled from the group, much as the Jedi expel those who dabble with the dark side. A Ranger may also be court-martialed for improper conduct or violating the rules of the organization, receiving a dishonorable discharge from the group before being cast out.
Leaving the Antarian Rangers usually reduces a character's Antarian Ranger Sympathy to half its previous level (rounded down). However, if a member leaves to join the Jedi Order, her Antarian Ranger Sympathy remains the same.
*Next are the feats & abilities according to the RPG...
Enjoy!
The Antarian Rangers
The Antarian Rangers are a unique paramilitary organization of non-Force-users who, unlike many citizens of the galaxy, do not fear the power of the Jedi and actively assist them whenever possible. The Antarian Rangers dedicate their lives to acting as support troops for the Jedi, and are deployed in reconnaissance and covert operations to make the work of the Jedi easier. Often tasked with doing what some would consider the "dirty work," the Rangers are treated by the Jedi Council with indifference. The opinions of individual Jedi vary, however, and many work closely with them and truly value their service.
An organization with just over a thousand total members, the Antarian Rangers are as diverse as the Jedi they serve. Typically, those Jedi who choose to make use of the organization deal with a small group of Rangers with whom they are familiar, and rely on the same Rangers repeatedly. Some Jedi actually have semipermanent Antarian Ranger companions who travel the stars with them and assist them in a fashion similar to the Padawan-Master relationship. Whenever a Jedi wants a traveling companion or aide, typically one to three Rangers accompany him on his journeys. Otherwise, the various branches of the Antarian Rangers train, hone their skills, and prepare for a time when they will be needed to assist the Jedi in whatever way they can.
The Antarian Rangers were founded some 600 years before the Clone Wars and continued to flourish up until the rise of the Empire. On the planet Antar 4, home of the Gotal species, a Coruscant-born Human Jedi Knight named Marus Timpel was performing routine duties that brought him into contact with a being who was turned down for Jedi training. Kaskutal, a Gotal with limited Force sensitivity, had been turned away as a child by Timpel himself and had gone on to become a very successful and wealthy businessman specializing in trade negotiations and intercessions. The two become fast friends, and during their discussions, Timpel expressed his frustrations with the limitations his Jedi lifestyle put on his travels and available resources. Kaskutal, still harboring admiration for the Jedi despite being turned away, offered to help and raised funds and resources from donors and investors to create an organization to help alleviate those problems. This organization came to be known as the Antarian Rangers, and it soon spread beyond Antar 4 into the rest of the galaxy.
In the early years, the organization was small but ambitious. Kaskutal, the first true Antarian Ranger, used his minor Force sensitivity, Gotal senses, and business acumen to assist Timpel throughout the rest of his career. Upon Timpel's death, Kaskutal relegated himself to a more administrative role, seeing to it that the organization formed branches throughout the galaxy. Within 50 years, the Antarian Rangers had divisions in several well-populated systems, including Corellia, Brentaal, Ruan, and Coruscant.
Over time, the expansion throughout the Core Worlds caused the organization to become Human-dominant, but other species did join the cause and sometimes rose into positions of leadership. The Jedi, being more loosely organized at the time, did not discourage the growth of the organization, as the Rangers proved their usefulness without drawing upon Jedi resources. Thanks to good investment decisions and some savvy business deals, Kaskutal ensured that the Rangers were financially stable, if not overly wealthy.
As the Clone Wars approached and the Jedi Council took a more traditionalist stance in policy, the Rangers found fewer and fewer Jedi calling upon them for help. Some branches disbanded due to inactivity, while others used their combat training and entrepreneurial skills to become freelance mercenaries or sector defense forces.
The organization, reduced to less than half its former size, found a brief revitalization with the onset of the Clone Wars. The Rangers found themselves suddenly in demand; the Jedi, outnumbered and unable to sufficiently defend the galaxy against the threat of the Separatists, once again called upon the Rangers for aid. As Jedi-Ranger pairings become more commonplace once more, the group saw a brief surge in membership before the rise of the Empire.
As the Sith Lord Darth Vader and the Emperor eradicated the Jedi, the Antarian Rangers found themselves hunted in a similar fashion. With a bounty on the heads of the known Rangers and the threat of Inquisitors looming over them, the remaining branches of the Antarian Rangers went into hiding. One group of Antarian Rangers, led by a Feeorin named Solm, openly opposed the tyranny of the Empire, but for the most part the Rangers went into seclusion or disbanded entirely in order to avoid capture. The hidden enclave at Toprawa, home of Wraith Squadron member Tyria Sarkin, was eliminated by the Empire in a case that became typical of the eventual destruction of the Rangers.
With Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order rising after the defeat of the Empire, a small group of Antarian Rangers from the old days has tried to revitalize the organization with limited success. Primarily assisting with Luke Skywalker's "Great River" and helping combat the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, this new group of Rangers numbers at no more than 50 or 60 beings.
Antarian Ranger Sympathy
Though not condoned or supported by the Jedi themselves, the Antarian Rangers are a well respected (if not widely known) organization. Though many are wary of any independent organization that goes about so heavily armed during the relative peace of the Old Republic, the Rangers have suffered almost none of the negative publicity surrounding the Jedi and those associated with them. Those intimidated by the awesome powers of the Jedi sometimes seek out the Rangers as a less intimidating means of contributing to the cause.
The Antarian Rangers are a natural place for those without the ability to touch the Force to turn to in fulfilling dreams of connecting with the Force. Additionally, in the days when rules on emotional attachment for the Jedi were lax, some Jedi and Antarian Rangers intermarried. As a result, Jedi occasionally have family, as well as ideological, ties to the Rangers. With the rise of the Empire, the Rangers were hunted as fervently as the Jedi by Lord Vader and the Inquisitors. Any discovered to be associated with the Antarian Rangers faced the same punishment as those connected with the Rebel Alliance or who harbored fugitive Jedi. Sympathizing with the Antarian Rangers can be a dangerous choice at times, and the organization requires dedication and loyalty not often found in the galaxy.
Joining
Very few members of the Antarian Rangers actually choose to join the organization without prompting from an existing member. The Rangers continually keep tabs on recruits turned down for Jedi training, especially those old enough to make the decision to join the organization. Any being that admires the Jedi Order and wishes to uphold its ideals can join the Antarian Rangers, though the ones that go the furthest in the organization are those with physical and mental prowess to match their dedication.
When first entering the group, all members are evaluated for their pertinent skills and potential contributions to the organization. While most applicants eventually go on to become support personnel -- technicians, transport pilots, communications experts -- some do enter the training required to become a full-fledged Ranger.
Before becoming Rangers, trainees are called Explorers; at this rank, they accompany Rangers on dangerous missions and get field training but are not yet given independent duties. Eventually they become full-fledged Rangers and earn all the rights and responsibilities fitting of the rank.
There are no special requirements for joining the Antarian Rangers.
Leaving the Antarian Rangers
The Antarian Rangers can ill afford losses, even at the height of the organization's membership. Never a large faction, the Rangers value the services of each and every member, and go out of their way to keep members in the fold. Though retirement and discharges as a result of injury are both acceptable, simply leaving the organization without good reason is viewed as desertion.
Despite this, the Antarian Rangers will not stop a member from leaving if he persists on parting ways. Like any other paramilitary organization, the Rangers are concerned about the organization's secrets, and they take steps to eliminate the problem if an ex-member is revealing more than she should. Leaving the Rangers to become a member of the Jedi Order, rare a case as it may be, is seen as an exceptional honor, and anyone who does so receives a fond farewell from the other members.
Any Antarian Ranger who commits overtly evil or cruel acts can be expelled from the group, much as the Jedi expel those who dabble with the dark side. A Ranger may also be court-martialed for improper conduct or violating the rules of the organization, receiving a dishonorable discharge from the group before being cast out.
Leaving the Antarian Rangers usually reduces a character's Antarian Ranger Sympathy to half its previous level (rounded down). However, if a member leaves to join the Jedi Order, her Antarian Ranger Sympathy remains the same.
*Next are the feats & abilities according to the RPG...
BioEngine
Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:57 pm
#3
edited to make a link to this page 
Message Edited by BioEngine on 09-20-2005 06:26 PM
PramieJager
Tue Sep 20, 2005 3:37 pm
#5
This siteis exactly where I send people who ask what the Antarian Rangers are and how they are part of the Star Wars universe.
Gald to see the word getting out. 
Kindarin
Tue Sep 20, 2005 4:32 pm
#6
It definitely sounds pretty cool!
It'd be really great to see some kind of Ranger-specific missions come out of this in the form of in-game Antarian Rangers. That'd be a really fun & immersive compliment to the revamp.
I would imagine AR's would fall in the Rebel and Neutral factions...perhaps the Imperial Storm Commandos would work well as a mission-set for Imperial faction members.
It'd be really great to see some kind of Ranger-specific missions come out of this in the form of in-game Antarian Rangers. That'd be a really fun & immersive compliment to the revamp.
I would imagine AR's would fall in the Rebel and Neutral factions...perhaps the Imperial Storm Commandos would work well as a mission-set for Imperial faction members.
Amsaran
Wed Sep 21, 2005 7:34 am
#7
Thanks Kindarin,
Good material. When I found it 6 months ago I brokeit into 4 parts that I recently emailed toour Guild Members so they would be more familiar with what the Antarian Rangers are all about. Gorath hadn't had an AR guild so when our previous guild disbanned I took the opportunity to start it.
The funny thing is when we RP or play our newly borne Ranger Personnas we have to think how it will fit into the GCW and the timeline. In this time period, the Antarian Rangers were in hiding. Of course, the Antarian Rangers only represent one part of the profession. There are the rogues, the rangers that are employed by the underground crime factions (as in Episode 4, the tracker that followed Luke's party into Mos Eisley), the Imperial Infiltration units, etc. The list goes on an on.
It will be exciting to see how this all develops ingame.
Thanks for your contribution.
Message Edited by Amsaran on 09-21-2005 08:53 AM
Mustainer
Thu Sep 22, 2005 8:38 am
#8
Hey Rangers - check out the Chilastra AR on www.antarianrangers.com - Bloodfin AR are also on our forums
DevonKreel
Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:48 am
#9
GothChip wrote:
WotC.
Fanfic at best.
WotC owns the rights to publish the official Star Wars RPG. The Antarian Rangers are part of EU.
'Fanfic', riiiight.
I've been portraying an Antarian Ranger since launch. Nice to see my profession is catching up to my character's bio.
SeanBlader
Sat Sep 24, 2005 7:50 am
#11
I've wanted to play an Antarian Ranger since launch, but the Jedi don't usually call for or want anyone else's help. I don't see that I can really consider myself an Antarian Ranger until I've helped a Jedi in some fashion.
PoppaBear
Sun Sep 25, 2005 7:43 pm
#12
SeanBlader wrote:
I've wanted to play an Antarian Ranger since launch, but the Jedi don't usually call for or want anyone else's help. I don't see that I can really consider myself an Antarian Ranger until I've helped a Jedi in some fashion.
For some reason, after our revamp, I think we'll be getting lots of business from Jedis.
Lade
Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:56 pm
#13
good read =) I am looking forward to seeing the role the new Ranger will play in the game. For roleplaying aspects it should make for quite some fun.
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