Farstriders (Elven Rangers)

[Bovel]

I rolled Riael not too long ago as some might have noticed, who is a farstrider and have been since their official creation. I also have a little pet project going on to map all farstriders on CotH and weave different relationships between them. That will become another thread in personals though...

What I'm wondering is;
1. - Ranger General is the title held by their leaders, but who becomes a Ranger Captain? Is one member of each band out of tops five a captain or are they formed during times of war to command larger groups?

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=16789

2. - There is a group of rangers in Falconwing Square that are called the Blood Hawks and is a captain of said group. Would this be applied on all farstrider bands?

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=15403

3. - Would the Farstriders have an official uniform? Like those nice suits soldiers and cops usually have. How extravagant would it be? What colours would be used? At what point in time does one earn this uniform.



Thanks for any replies and if you can find the source of the answers, please post them too.

[Aphetoros]

I would think of it like Space Marine Chapters, Bovel.

[Sol]

I would think of it like Space Marine Chapters, Bovel.

A different uniform for every different warband, then? Yeah, seems legit. They're very irregular soldiers so I doubt there'd be very much standardisation amongst them, especially between units.

[flammos200]

Farstriders are so removed from Silvermoon's standardized systems that they're not even considered an 'official' part of the Blood Elven army. They're more of a PMC/Hired guerrilla army, if you will. Kinda' like how the Space Marines aren't a part of the Imperial Guard.

The vast majority of Farstriders don't live in Silvermoon due to this fact, and thanks to their removal from the gargantuan amounts of Arcane being tossed around, and to their affinity for doing things the hard way(Physical labor, actually growing things, rather than conjuring them, and working with nature magic), they're physically stronger and healthier than most other elves.

You can equate Ranger Captains to Blood Knight Masters or higher-ranking Magisters. As Silvermoon is a meritocracy, the very best get the highest ranks. The better you are, the bigger a chance you'll end up in some position of command. Generally, both skill and experience come into question. In the Farstriders' case, their most common enemy are the Trolls. Decades of struggling against them, complete with a good amount of skill in the arts of the Elven Ranger would be likely enough to net one the rank of Ranger Captain.

The Blood Hawks aren't Rangers. They're Guards, of mixed professions. Just like the Blood Knights have subgroups, the Farstriders (Elven Ranger Corps.) have subgroups, the Magisters have little groups working on diverse projects, the assassins working for Noble Houses have shady little organizations, and so on.

http://www.wowpedia.org/Blood_Hawks
http://www.wowpedia.org/Farstriders / http://www.wowpedia.org/Elven_Ranger_Corps

As for the uniform, there's no standardized one(Again, true to their PMC ways. Unlike the Blood Knights, most of which have their signature black and red armor, though some differ in the extremes, adopting more traditonal gold and red or silver and blue.) -However-!

They tend to wear this kind of leathers: http://www.wowpedia.org/Ranger_Lethvalin / http://www.wowpedia.org/Ranger_Valanna

And seem to have a thing for green scalemail: http://www.wowpedia.org/Ranger_Vynna . The Windrunner sisters' gear seems to support the mix'n match of leather with metallic reinforcements.

But yeah. Hope this helps!

[CappnRob]

Farstriders, to my knowledge, don't wear any standardized uniforms. They do have recurring themes, but nothing standardized.

[Bovel]

...and led by the ranger-general of Silvermoon, leader of the high elves' military forces.

- http://www.wowpedia.org/Elven_Ranger_Corps

Wouldn't this imply that the farstriders are very much part of the military?


I think my idea that Blood Hawks are rangers is based on the Novice Ranger NPCs that stands just beside the captain in similar clothing.


So despite the great honours of being a ranger, they'd have no special gear to wear when making official appearances? (Have been going through all ranger NPCs ingame and there are occuring items, but nothing definitive for everyone except chainmail.)

[Xigo]

Now, I've interpreted the Farstriders as being a official part of Silvermoon, seeing as they have a square dedicated to them, and even have a ranger-general. However, I've also interpreted it as an informal organization. They are rangers. They do not march in ranks. They just go out and protect Eversong.

... Of course, these interpretations come from blatant statements on http://www.wowpedia.org/Farstriders

But eh!

Essentially, their command structure just isn't very formal. You're given the position. And then you protect Eversong. You might be given an order by a higher up, sure, but it's otherwise a fairly independent position, relying on the skill and intuition of the ranger. Compare this to the formality of the Blood Knight organization, their rivals. Heck, Farstriders don't even have uniforms. That should say a lot about the way they interact internally with one another.

Ranger Captains would simply be people who have risen above their fellow Rangers. They would be entrusted with leading and guiding their fellows, ordering them when need be.

The vast majority of Farstriders don't live in Silvermoon due to this fact, and thanks to their removal from the gargantuan amounts of Arcane being tossed around, and to their affinity for doing things the hard way(Physical labor, actually growing things, rather than conjuring them, and working with nature magic), they're physically stronger and healthier than most other elves.

This sounds more like an individual character's opinion than something I could consider a blanket statement for the entire organization. Could you bring up a citation?

[Kaghuros]

It's interesting to note that there are a bunch of High Elf ex-Farstriders living in places like The Hinterlands. Pre-BC that was the largest concentration of Elves anywhere, and post-BC it's still the largest concentration of Rangers outside of Farstrider Enclave. I think it's reasonable to say that the Elven Ranger Corps and the modern Farstriders once had lodges in a fair amount of territory, and may even maintain some far-flung lodges in the present as lookout posts and training centers.

http://www.wowpedia.org/Quel%27Danil_Lodge

[flammos200]

Could you bring up a citation?

Same page you linked.

Among which "Farstriders are independent of Silvermoon’s military forces. Rather, Farstriders are structured more like a mercenary group. While individual Farstriders bear military designations, the bands are independent. Most Farstrider bands include from 3 to 5 members, and answer only to the ranger-general."

"Their feud with the Blood Knights is well known, though the Farstriders also seem at odds with several of the Magisters. This is perhaps fueled by the various allusions given to Grand Magister Rommath and Halduron Brightwing not seeing eye-to-eye on many matters."

"Perhaps due to their ties to the land, these rangers tend to be spiritually, mentally, and physically healthier than many other blood elves."

etc. Pretty much all of the page you linked. They're basically what remains of Night Elven traditions in Sin'dorei society. Closeness to nature, hatred of unnatural things(Like stealing Light from a Naaru, general Undead, Troll invasions), protecting the homeland at any cost, typically via guerrilla warfare, etc.

Also, Farstriders' Square carries basically less than ten Farstrider NPCs. Whereas the Enclave, Retreat and such bear -far- more, hinting to their preference for living outside city walls.

The tidbit Kaghuros mentioned on Quel'dorei Ex-Farstriders is quite interesting indeed. And, even their Wiki page says that they've been traveling the land far and wide (Hence far-striders, hurr) - I believe the Quel'dorei lodge just outside of Quel'thalas, in the Plaguelands is mentioned in Lor'themar Theron's Cataclysm Leader Story. He goes there to ask for help, if I recall correctly, bringing news of how Kael'thas died and whatnot. I'm sure this is on a wiki somewhere... (Well, that and relations are patched up with Vereesa in order to form a three-pronged assault on Zul'aman. But that's another story altogether)

But yeah. Take it or leave it. /salute!