Ranger Probie Book

All probationary rangers are given a small blue-bound handbook that was written by a ranger sergeant decades ago and contains a number of pearls of wisdom that succinctly outline the rangers moral principles that is to guide their every action.

 volunteered or got stuck with one of our squads in the field.  Well we got certain rules and standards, a
 code you might say, that you got to follow for so long as you want to work with
 us.  You follow the code right and you
 get the chance to head down to Ranger Town for training -- and you can bring
 5 civilians with you who can potentially get citizenship -- and after that
  **Save Lives:** That's why we're here, yeah?  So do your fucking job and there'll be no
 trouble from me.  Evaluate emergencies,
 escort medics, evacuate in a disaster, protect civilians, arrest the bad guys
 and call in any major threats.  If you
 don't get that this is your purpose, then you won't make it through
 psychological screening, believe you me.
 Be as eccentric and batshit crazy as you want, so long as you get the
  **Loyalty Matters:** You might not agree with what Ranger Town does, and
 that's fine, but it's still a place with a fluctuating population of 12 -
 15,000 individuals and 4,000 of those are below the age of 18.  Don't bring death home with you.  Don't start any wars.  And look out for your people as much as you
  **Remember** **our**
**oath.** Memorise this shit.  Best way to make friends?  Tattoo this onto your goddamn heart,
  **Take Prisoners:** You're the thin blue line not the red spatters on the
 wall.  If you take prisoners, people
 will surrender, lives will be saved and misunderstandings will be
 clarified.  You'd be surprised by how
 often everything would've gone to fucking hell if we'd blown the fuck out of
 a place or a people.  Folks have their
 reasons.  Discover them, judge them,
  **Be Tough As Shit:** That right there is sarcasm.
 Don't do that.  No one cares how
 big your ego is.  Just do your job and
 remember that sometimes being sweet as pie and offering a handshake and your
 name can go down pretty well with poor fuckers living in hell.  So how about getting down off your high
 horse sometime and actually, I dunno, taking someone else's perspective for a
 change?  Thin blue line doesn't mean
  **Steal Nothing:** Looting the dead and the abandoned is fine.  We all do it.  But don't steal shit at gunpoint unless you
 really fucking have to and then take the minimum and log it so it can be
 repaid later on.  Definitely don't
 extort gear from civilians.  They don't
 wanna support you in food and ammunition and you're there on their
 request?  Then roll on out to the next
 town.  You can't do your job without
  **Respect Your Superiors:** Leading a bunch of traumatised wastelanders to
 be heroes in foreign areas, or keeping the town's goddamn shit together,
 ain't easy.  Show some respect, salute
 'em when they need it, and support them when they need a moment.  You got problems with how they do things,
  **Executions Not Murders:** While self-defence is a thing that'll happen,
 it's hard to kill a wastelander 'by accident' so don't you go bull shitting
 us that they bled out.  If someone has
 to die, you need to weigh up the reasons and act accordingly.  Most often?
 Beat them down to walking wounded and leave 'em chained up somewhere
  **No Torture:** Numerous studies have shown that torture doesn't
 work.  They'll tell you whatever the
 hell you want to hear and there's no way to tell if it's true or not.  It is very rarely deserved and, even when
  **No Illicit Drugs:** Euphoria, Beserker and Underworld will convince you
 to do the dumbest shit you can imagine.
 Don't take them.  Don't let
 others take them.  Don't bring them
  **No Involvement in Financial Crimes:** People get stupidly vindictive when
 it comes to their stuff and in the wastes there's pretty much no way of
 figuring out original ownership.  Don't
 get caught up in who owns the bike.  If
  **No Rapid Escalation:** Keep the violence to a minimum, okay?  We survive because of what minimal trust we
 can get out there.  Don't jeopardise
 fellow rangers just because someone insulted your uncle.  Remember the cycle of escalation and stay
 safe.  You're there to save lives, not
  **Moral Mutiny:** If your superiors decide that "genocide" is
 the answer or wanna cowardly run away from a bunch of civvies in need of evac
 when there's a clear way to successfully do it, you can always do a moral
 mutiny.  Just need to get majority
 interest from your squad and answer to the Ranger Town court of law.  If you did it right, might even get a
 **Evidence Collection: Let the evidence speak for itself.**
Talk to each other and the locals.
Learn what you can and see what others have to say about it.  If you're investigating the situation, don't
be the judge.  Get someone else to do it
 **Think a Moment:**
It's your job to figure stuff out.
Where's that plague coming from?
Who the fuck killed that guy?  How
do we cross a raging river with three comatose patients and a village of 38
civilians?  Think it through, figure it
out and ask the locals if they got any bright ideas.