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Texas Ranger
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| doc |
Posted on 04/09/2007 09:48
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Posts: 30
Joined: 05.09.06
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Where's everone at ?
Ok so I want a campaign where the PCs are or will be Rangers, in Judge Beans game he had on here the Ranger NPCs were Lawman/ Pony Soldiers. Thats good but I wanted something else maybe a mergeing of the two or an prestige class. I figured a BAB of +8 to 10 and the feats Born in the Saddle and Presise Shot, anything else ? |
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| CSW |
Posted on 04/11/2007 09:44
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Super Administrator
Posts: 80
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Where's that scientist feller Hindman when you need him?
He's the expert 'round these parts when it comes to balancing character classes.
CSW |
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| doc |
Posted on 04/11/2007 10:31
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CSW wrote:
Where's that scientist feller Hindman when you need him?
Proberly concocting some new fangled thingamibob |
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| Max |
Posted on 04/11/2007 11:35
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Posts: 46
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Doc - are you sure you want all the PC's to have the same prestige class? That sounds kind of boring to me. If they all have the Texas Ranger PrC, then they will all have the same abilities/skills/etc.
Instead, I'd suggest you have them be Texas Rangers without a specific PrC. Then you can have your scouts, pony soldiers, lawmen, and wranglers each bring their different skills to the group.
Max
PS And if the game is online, I want to play either way. 
Edited by Max on 04/11/2007 11:36 |
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| doc |
Posted on 04/13/2007 10:42
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I was thinking a prestige class rather then a an Advance Class, a 3 or 5 level PrC, something the Gunslinger, Wrangler etc can build toward. They're still rangers but not Rangers if you get my drift. Heck I'll see what I can figure out, thanks anyway
Geoff AND Hindman are off wherever ?? Sp what are Butch and Sundance up to ??? |
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| Max |
Posted on 04/14/2007 22:41
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doc wrote:
I was thinking a prestige class rather then a an Advance Class, a 3 or 5 level PrC, something the Gunslinger, Wrangler etc can build toward. They're still rangers but not Rangers if you get my drift. Heck I'll see what I can figure out, thanks anyway
ah, I see. I missed what you're saying. I'll give it some thought. If I come up with anything worth 2 bits I'll post it.
Max |
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| Brad |
Posted on 04/17/2007 14:34
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doc wrote:
I was thinking a prestige class rather then a an [b]Advance Geoff AND Hindman are off wherever ?? Sp what are Butch and Sundance up to ???
We had a little dust up south of the border. You know how it goes with those Federalis.
One thing to keep in mind is that the Texas Rangers changed mucho as time advanced. Tom being a amateur historian and a Texan can probably tell you more. But, if memory serves, the early Rangers were more a militia; they morphed into an Indian fighting military unit and then finally into a law-enforcement organization. Of course the abilities you give any prestige class will depend on which era you are trying to model. What time period is your campaign set in? |
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| doc |
Posted on 04/18/2007 09:48
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Posts: 30
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1866 right after the Civil War, it's a redo with some new players of a campaign I had going after Sw;Re came out, I had the first session on the Story Hour y'all set up if you remember that far back. A player(that played it the first time) had expressed an intrest in joining the Rangers rather then the stright cattle drive I had in the earlier version.
So did the Rangers of that era have auxillieries of ranchhands etc. that rode when there was a need and also kept an eye out for outlaws ? If I remember my history right the Rangers didn't have the best reputation right after the war. |
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| TLGregory |
Posted on 04/18/2007 23:54
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Super Administrator
Posts: 34
Joined: 16.08.06
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1866 huh? First, I should point out that before 1874 the Texas Rangers were essentially a State Militia formed for defending the frontier and fighting either Indians or Mexican bandits. They had yet to transform into the Law enforcement role that is the popular image in the public mind. As for 1866, Darn few records exist for that time period. Any "Rangers" of this time are basically "MinuteMan" Companies on the frontier, made up of local volunteers to combat the Indians, with no state authority. With the fall of the Confederacy and the occupation of Texas by Federal Troops any "official" Frontier Forces had been disbanded.
However, Governor Throckmorton did get the Legislature to pass an act in September of 1866 calling for the raising of 10 companies of 100 men each for an enlistment period of 12 months. The men were expected to furnish their own horses, arms and accoutrements. This is also the first time the term "Texas Ranger" is used in any official capacity.
Although the bill to create was passed, unfortunatly the bill to actually finance failed. Add to that the fact General Sheridan (under pressure from President Johnson) dispatched 2 Cavalry Regm'ts to the Texas Frontier and regarrisoned 11 frontier forts and then deposed Gov. Throckmorton, there are no records to show that these companies ever were created. I guess it kinda made them Yankees a bit nervous to think of a bunch of armed Texans runnin around all official like not under their direct command.
As to the "unpopular" Rangers you mentioned. That would be Radical Republican Governor Davis' Texas State Police (which the Rangers consider to be part of their history, for better or worse) of the early 1870's. These men were meant to act as a civil Law enforcement agency. But because of the high number of freedman and Texas Unionists in their ranks as well as their use to enforce unpopular reforms and protect newly freed slaves from violence, they have long been considered, as one early historian put it, an instrument "of official murder and legalized oppression".
Edited by TLGregory on 04/18/2007 23:56 |
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| doc |
Posted on 04/19/2007 12:01
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Thanks for the history lession TL, I learned a few facts that I had wrong, For some reason I thought the Texas Rangers exsisted since Texas was it's own country. Wasn't there rangers in the US - Mex war ? When did Walker order the Dragoon from Colt ? ok lots of stuff |
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| TLGregory |
Posted on 04/19/2007 23:57
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Super Administrator
Posts: 34
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doc wrote:
Thanks for the history lession TL, I learned a few facts that I had wrong, For some reason I thought the Texas Rangers exsisted since Texas was it's own country. Wasn't there rangers in the US - Mex war ? When did Walker order the Dragoon from Colt ? ok lots of stuff
Oh you weren't completly wrong. I'm being a bit pedantic. Texas has had "rangers" since 1823. However, between 1823 and 1874 the term "Texas Rangers" could refer to any number of different volunteer and irregular militia units raised for defense against the Indians, and, after Independence, various Mexican incursions.
The history of the Texas Rangers starts with Stephen F. Austin and the Old Three Hundred, the first large scale Anglo settlement of Texas. As part of his grant, Austin had both civilian and military authority over the colony, including the rank of Lt. Colonel of Militia. Yet it wasn't Austin that would form the first "ranger companies". That honor actually goes to the Mexican Governor Col. Jose Felix Trespalacios. It was in 1822, while Austin was in Mexico City wrangling with the newly independent Mexican Government over the vaildity of his Spanish Land Grants, that Gov. Trespalacios ordered the American colonists to form organized companies of militia to preserve local order and protection. In May of 1823, Lt. Moses Morrison mustered a force of ten men, but Indian trouble was increasing and shot and powder were in short supply.
By the time Stephen F Austin returned to the colony on August 4th, 1823. the small militia had already fought severaal small skirmishes with the Indians and had run out of powder. In an effort to bolster the forces available to Lt. Morrison, Austin issued a proclamation the following day, offering land from his own holdings to pay for an additional 1o men "to act as rangers for the common defense."
This is the first time that the word 'rangers" is used in describing a Texan defense force. And even though no records show that the additional men were raised, it is the date of this proclamation that today's Texas Rangers consider to be the start of their legacy.
. . .Fast forward a few years to answer your other questions. . .
Colt and the Rangers
In April 1839 Captain Edward Moore of the Republic of Texas Navy negotiated the purchase of 180 5-shot Paterson Revolvers. In 1844, when the Texas Congress once again called for an organization of a ranging company, Capt. Jack Hays, being familier with the power provided by the revolver, went to the navy depot in Galveston and requistioned the revolvers for use in the new force. A force that included a young Sam Walker.
On June 8, 1844 Hays and a detachment of 15 men went out tracking Comanches. Finding nothing, they proceeded to return home, when they discovered that the Comanches were actually trailing them. While proceeding to take up a defensive position in a stand of timber on the banks of Walker Creek, the Texans were set upon by "some 65 to 70 warrriors" bursting forth from the trees. When the smoke cleared some two dozen Comanche lay dead on the field of battle, while another thirty or so were wounded. The Texans counted 1 dead and 4 wounded, including Sam Walker. The "Gun that Won the West" had arrived, even if it did have to come by sea.
. . . Forward a couple more years. . .
With the annexation of Texas into the Union, war with Mexico was inevitable. And when it came, the Texans were quick to volunteer. And with them came experience, and Sam Walker. Lt. Col Walker of the Texas Rangers was now Captain Walker of the U.S. Mounted Rifles. Walker, being an enthusiastic supporter of the Colt Revolver, helped Colt gain a contract with the U.S. Army, and worked with Colt on refinements to the weapon. Thus the "Walker Dragoon" entered service.
...Damn me if you haven't gotten a good chunk of an Echo article out of me, Doc....
enjoy |
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| doc |
Posted on 04/20/2007 13:27
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Joined: 05.09.06
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Thanks TL and all that background has solidified the campaign outline for me.......
The PCs return from the war to find that the "Texas State Police" has got thier ranch/ farm etc. after one or more is captured and is condemned to hang by a kangaroo court. The ones that are still free is appouched by someone and asked to fight the TSP as the first recuits of the The New Texas Rangers.
Any and all suggestions are welcome BTW |
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| Max |
Posted on 04/21/2007 23:49
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Posts: 46
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TLGregory wrote:
...Damn me if you haven't gotten a good chunk of an Echo article out of me, Doc....enjoy
Just what I was thinking, half way down the page. A "bonus" Echo issue! Great stuff!
Max |
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| Max |
Posted on 04/21/2007 23:54
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Posts: 46
Joined: 06.08.06
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doc wrote:
Thanks TL and all that background has solidified the campaign outline for me.......
The PCs return from the war to find that the "Texas State Police" has got thier ranch/ farm etc. after one or more is captured and is condemned to hang by a kangaroo court. The ones that are still free is appouched by someone and asked to fight the TSP as the first recuits of the The New Texas Rangers.
Any and all suggestions are welcome BTW
My #1 suggestion is - don't let history get in the way of a good storyline. TL's history was great stuff, however if reality doesn't match the game you want to run, don't sweat it. Go with an alternate history line that matches what you want to do.
Max |
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| Brad |
Posted on 04/26/2007 10:42
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Max wrote:
My #1 suggestion is - don't let history get in the way of a good storyline. TL's history was great stuff, however if reality doesn't match the game you want to run, don't sweat it. Go with an alternate history line that matches what you want to do.
Max
Sound advice. |
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| doc |
Posted on 04/26/2007 13:35
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Posts: 30
Joined: 05.09.06
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Brad wrote:
Max wrote:
My #1 suggestion is - don't let history get in the way of a good storyline. TL's history was great stuff, however if reality doesn't match the game you want to run, don't sweat it. Go with an alternate history line that matches what you want to do.
Max
Sound advice.
I like my version, so I'll go with it |
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| Jackalope Al |
Posted on 08/05/2007 12:48
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Posts: 34
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Brad wrote:
Max wrote:
My #1 suggestion is - don't let history get in the way of a good storyline. TL's history was great stuff, however if reality doesn't match the game you want to run, don't sweat it. Go with an alternate history line that matches what you want to do.
Max
Sound advice.
I second that!
My grandfather used to; "Never let the truth stand in the way of good story."
Of course, now I have to reconsider all his good stories... |
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