#RPGaDAY – August 12, 2025 (PATH)

 

#RPGaDAY – August 12, 2025 (PATH)

Path– A couple of days ago, I did the word ORIGIN, in which I discussed the special divine origins of several characters during our highlevel Godlings campaign.  Today’s entry is along those same lines, following the path of the Neutral Good Wood Elf Ranger, Rylael. As a ranger, he has a strong connection to the forests and woods and became a champion for the 3.5e diety, Ehlonna the goddess of the forests, woodlands, flora, fauna, and fertility.

As a teenager, Rylael was sought as a worshiper by both Ehlonna and the Green Man. On the world of Aergon, the Green Man represents nature itself. Here is some info on the diety.

Known as The Green or sometimes the Green Man is supposed to be the living embodiment of Nature and the Natural World and is seen to be neutral in all things.  Nature supports all life, but can be gentle one moment and destructive the next.  Some humans, elves, and Orcs worship him in the form of druids, shamans, and those who believe in the supremacy and power of nature itself.  Part of this religion believes that each animal species has a king or lord that reports directly to the Green Man and are pledged to the protection of the natural world.

Again, some argue that supporters of this religion are actually worshiping one of the Primoridals.  Regardless of where the power comes from, no one can deny these worshipers are supported and channeling the very power of nature itself. 

A widely acknowledged and respected aspect of the power of the Green, is the Wild Hunt.  During times of great need, the Green Man comes forth leading a pack of mystical wolves to combat great evil and bring balance back to the natural world.

 

This is Rylael’s back story:

Rylael was orphaned, at an effective Elven maturity level comparable to an 8-year-old human, during a raid on his small wood elf tribe, The Dawn Breakers.  He was awake long before sun up and out away from the fall campgrounds his tribe elders had chosen, out hunting intending to surprise his parents with an early breakfast. 

When he was headed back, he heard terrible screams and saw smoke coming from the village and by the time he got back, he found his family and most of the tribe slaughtered or gone.  From the tracks and fallen enemy bodies he learned the attackers were a large party of hobgoblins and kobolds who had come down from the mountains raiding.  While he considered trying to follow and avenge his family and tribesman, he understood he had very little chance to do that on his own and would likely just be killed himself.  He vowed when he was stronger, he would seek revenge on the evil monsters responsible and thus began his hatred and enmity towards to bestial tribes.

Ryleal scavenged what remaining useful items and belongings he could from the tribe’s campground and began gathering and attempting to honor his folk by offering them final burial rites so they could seek the peace of the afterlife.  The fallen enemies he left for the crows and animals to tear apart.  After that he moved further into the deep woods and used his early training to survive off the land, trapping, hunting, and gathering.

As he became older, he developed careful relations with some woodland fae creatures, other hunter/trappers, and occasionally with the small villages several days journey away.  Although he traded his furs and skins and was respectful, he always remained apart, feeling more at home in the woods by himself.

One morning when he was a young teenager, he was walking down one of his trails going to check his traps when he came upon an old man, wounded and laying near a tree.  The old man told him that he had come to the forest to die, but that he had one last thing he needed done and he begged for assistance so that he could pass in peace. 

The old man asked Ryleal to go into the next grove a few miles away and find the homesteader there and to sneak up and kill him.  His wife and children should be spared, but only because it would be too much to ask of the teenager to kill them all.  The old man told the teenager that the evil man had taken his land, killed his goats, and stolen his berries from his bushes, driving him into the woods and leaving him without enough food and subsequently starving the old man.

The teenager spent some time some time thinking about this request and when the old man inquired why, he told him he had never killed a man before.  The old man said to think of it as disposing of an evil murderer who has slain another man.  The teenager then set out to the grove and finding the homesteader, he watched and waited.  He did not really want to kill this man, but if he was evil and had indeed done harm to the old man, the dying old man’s last wish was something sort of sacred, especially if that meant providing some justice in the end.

Ryleal continued to watch the homesteader and his family from hiding and as evening came, he concluded that this was a good man who would not knowingly steal from or harm anyone.  He turned and went silently back into the woods again, returning to the old man.  The old man asked him if the deed was done and the teenager said the homesteader would steal from no one again.  The teenager had it in mind to lie to the old man, because closure is important, but perhaps the old man may have not told the whole story or was mistaken.  He instead silently vowed to keep an eye on the homesteader and his doings to make sure nothing bad would further occur.

The old man became angry and said that he knew that Ryleal had not killed the man, only watched him secretly from a distance.  The teenager said he watched and felt the man could not have intentionally stolen from him, and he felt that the old man was misrepresenting the facts.  The old man then said if the teenager could see it from his point of view, then the homesteader will always continue to steal from others and that the homesteader is invading this land, stealing from not only the old man, but also Ryleal and others like him.  That indeed he was stealing from the forest itself and should be justifiably killed for it.

The teenager thought for a moment then replied that in life nothing is actually stolen, but only borrowed, just as the old man himself has taken from the forest, so he will feed it back when he dies and returns to the earth feeding the soil, insects, fungus, and eventually the trees themselves.  That is the circle of life and we all have our part to play in it.

As the old man began to stand up using his crooked staff, Ryleal simply turned and started walking away.  In that instant he heard a woman’s voice clearly in his ear, “You’re one of mine.”  As the teenager turned to look for the woman, he saw nothing but for just an instant the reflecting lights of the setting sun shining through the trees created the outline of a woman’s smiling face, with large golden glowing eyes looking at him.  At that second the sun disappeared beyond the horizon and the face was gone, as if it had never been, and he heard the old man say “you win.”  When he turned back the old man had also vanished without a trace.

Ryleal went back to his own life and normal routine and as time wore on, he subtly became aware of the many blessings and gifts the forest and life itself were seemingly giving to him.  Be it a cool breeze blowing out of nowhere on a hot summer’s day or fish from the river flopping up onto the bank near him.  One morning an egg laying chicken found its way into his camp and became his newfound breakfast maker.  Finally, one day, he stumbled upon a back pack and items lying on one of his hunting trails.  In it he found a hunting knife, whetstone, and other supplies, along with a well-used long bow and arrows.  He looked all around for traces of anyone and could not locate any footprints or signs that anyone but him had ever been there.

He grew to know that there was some kind of benefactor looking out for him and helping him in small subtle ways and he began to receive little hints of some special purpose or meaning intended for his life.  That memory of the old man and woman’s voice in the forest claiming him was always in the back of his mind.

Ryleal the Ranger, was granted many blessings by his goddess and his power over the hidden paths and trails of the wilds grew accordingly as he became her champion. Some of his granted powers were:

Level 1-

Goddess’s Blessing – you gain 1 point per level per day to apply to any rolls of your choice.  These must be declared before the dice roll is made and no more than ½ your level in points can be used in any one roll 

Level 2 –

Voice of the Woodlands – you have the at will ability to listen to the wind blow through the trees and gain knowledge about the surrounding terrain.  This is like a Commune with Nature spell, except it takes 1 round per level of quiet concentration to gain the information desired and the ability only works in forests.

Level 4-

Traveling the Green – 1 time per day per 4 levels you can perform a dimension door type affect, where you step directly into any tree and step out of another tree within sight or up to 10’ per level.  This action counts as your move action for any round used, although you could still do a five-foot step.  If an opponent were visible 30 feet away in a wooded area, during your turn you could step into a tree near you and then step out of a tree near your opponent and still make your attack as normal.

Level 5-

Pass Without a Trace – in a forest or woodland setting, you can concentrate and focus on traveling and not leaving any sort of visible sign.  You can still move your normal movement rate; you just focus on not leaving a visible trail to follow.  You still could be tracked via scent or with magical means. 

Level 8-

Woodland Steps – 1 time per day, you can use a teleport like ability for yourself and up to 1 person per level (which includes yourself); you must go first, setting the known location being traveled to, which must always be outdoors. You take 8 steps and disappear, leaving a path of green glowing foot prints, which any following companions then follow in your exact footsteps.

 Level 11-

Follow In Your Footsteps- This ability builds on your 8^th level granted power, Woodland Steps in the following ways:

You can now use this ability 1 time per day per 4 levels (rounded up).  The number of steps taken now equals your level. 

Although your primary use of this power still requires that you’re starting and ending destinations to be outdoors, you can now use it in other locations also as below.

Stepping stones- This power can be used inside or out as needed. To make use of this aspect of your power, it requires 2 charges of your daily power and you need to have a small number of stones or pebbles (at least 1 per level, although more can be used making the journey easier.)  Once activated you toss the stones out in front of you, thinking of your desired destination and as the stones land, 1 per level glows and grows to be a stepping stone, which you then follow to teleport to your destination.  Having more stones makes the steps easier to make.  If you have twice your level in stones and enough room to use them, no dexterity check is necessary to successfully use the stones to teleport. For every stone less than that down to your actual level requires a successful dexterity check DC 12+ 1 per stone missing.  Failure to successfully make your dexterity roll simply means you step wrong (partially on a step, fall off one, etc.) and must start over again, still using up one of your slots for the number of people who can travel and rolling a 1 on the dexterity check uses up D4 slots instead.  It takes 1 round for each person to use the traveling stones.

When using the stepping stones to travel, you yourself do not have to be the first person through, nor would you necessarily have to use them at all.  The teleport effect ends when dispelled by you or on its own after 1 full turn.

Level 11-

Finding the path - With this ability, you can now sometimes mentally commune through touching a willing subject and be able to see and “know” any location they are familiar with.  You can then use this to successfully use a teleport ability to get to that location.  Doing this is mentally draining and afterwards unless you rest for an hour + additional time taken (as below), any actions taken is at -1 until you do rest, if the check is successful or not.  The memory location only remains fresh and useable for a short time, up to one hour per level.  You can only attempt to gain a location from someone once a day, whether you are successful or wait too long and the image is no longer fresh. You do gain a +3 to your check to re-remember any location you have successfully gotten previously.

To use this ability requires a DC 18 wisdom check.  You can spend up to one hour communing mentally with the person whose memory you are trying to visualize, gaining a +1 per turn (up to +6) to your check. 

It is even possible to impart a location you know, either personally or one you have gained with this power to someone else. The DC checks for this increases to 24, although you can still take up to an hour to make the effort easier.  Afterwards any actions you and the recipient take are at -2 until you rest as above.  If the check is not successful, no further attempts to impart this location to this person will ever work.  It might still be possible to show this location to a different