Starfleet Ranger Simming Guide

			Divisions and Personnel Assignments

COMMAND DIVISION

OPERATIONS DIVISION

SCIENCES DIVISION

MARINE CORPS

CIVILIAN CONTINGENT

Security Post Introduction Security Officer Simming Guide Starfleet Security Specialized Duty Posts Academy Security Courses Security Articles Database Security Officer Resources Security Technology Starfleet Equipment List of Security Officers Notable Security Officers Tasha Yar Tuvok Zenno Security Duty Post Forum Edit this nav By Sky Blake While mention of the Starfleet Rangers has been on the Security duty post wiki for as long as David Whale existed, the position didn't really come into play until 2017. As I've been frequently asked about how to play a ranger, I've detailed some thoughts and information on this page to help players (and COs) determine if they should play a Starfleet Ranger. What is a Starfleet Ranger? Put very simply, the rangers are consultants for civilians establishing small settlements. If a civilian group or organisation seek to place a settlement on the outskirts of space and don't require an entire starship crew to help them, Starfleet sends a ranger. They'll help plan and construct the settlement with respect to the native landscape and wildlife, create emergency procedures, and organise communication between the settlement and the greater Federation. This can and will involve physically scouting the planet and reporting back to the group they're working with, requiring the skills necessary to survive in the wilderness alone should things go sideways. By combining what would originally be an entire Starfleet crew into one specialist, Starfleet saves resources for "more important" concerns—this is where a 'jack of all trades' skillset comes in. Characters that love bushbashing will particularly enjoy this kind of profession and lifestyle. In addition, rangers explore, patrol and protect the borders of these areas with the limited equipment they have available. They do this by working or consulting with civilian organisations, like the Colonial Coalition Marshals Service (a Federation security organisation set in space not easily accessible by large starships). Rangers answer to civilians above Starfleet Command—it is their job to ensure civilian safety. Their job has very little, if any, combat or open hostile engagement. How do you sim for a ranger? Roshanara Rahman, captain of USS Veritas from 2393 to 2398, might answer this by saying "with great difficulty." If you have just joined Starbase 118, do not play a ranger. You can play aspects of a ranger while still maintaining your role as security officer, and doing so will make life ten times easier. I maintained my character Sky Blake as a ranger for four years, and during that time, finding relevant things to do that connected her with her crew became problematic when we ran missions. Despite the ranger position being almost perfect for the Shoals, it is not perfect for a ship. I usually ended up playing something akin to duty officer, or your standard security role. The ranger aspect mostly came out to play during shore leave. The rangers worked for Veritas in the Shoals because we were in a region of space specifically designed to be different from other campaign regions: it's small and restricted, belongs to a specific faction, and has a reason why Starfleet can't always send out entire crews to the region. It'd be hard to play a ranger in somewhere like Romulan or Klingon space for example, as one can't imagine many Federation settlements in those areas that wouldn't be afforded anything short of a Sovereign class starship in the area for protection. While it is not impossible to play a ranger on a ship, it is mildly ill-advised for inexperienced players. I personally believe COs should limit the role to LtCmdrs. Junior players might get better engagement and possibly more enjoyment out of the mission specialist role. Who do rangers answer to? When assigned to starships, they answer to the ship captain. There is no real reason for you to play a character as ignoring their captain, in any circumstances. I have personally danced around the idea of conflicting orders—civilian agency wants ranger to do A but ship captain wants ranger to do B, so who actually gets precedence?—but only do so after discussion with your CO. When they're posted to a settlement, they answer to civilian organisations and, of course, their superiors. This includes services like Federation Security and CCMS, for example. Frequently Asked Questions What advice do you have for playing a ranger? It's more fun when you're in a set campaign region or on a planet. If your ship is roaming around and you don't frequently return to planets, you're going to have a hard time justifying your character's position aboard the ship. Show your character's work. If your character was assigned to help create a settlement prior to their assignment to a ship (or while they're assigned to a ship!), then work with your CO to showcase that settlement, especially during shore leave. You'd be surprised what your crew can do in the middle of nowhere. Do the rangers police things? The Rangers, though under Security's purview, aren't actually meant to police anything. Their purpose is to provide Starfleet consultancy and limited aid to civilian institutions. However, if asked by one of those institutions to aid in the arrest or capture of someone, they can. Are there any active rangers? Check this page for a list of ranger characters. I'm not sure if any or all of them are currently active, but they all provide historical information IC. My original primary character Sky Blake is no longer in Starfleet, but my PNPC Rairen Caide is and will continue to be a ranger for the foreseeable future.