Ranger

The Ranger is the player's microglial cell. It already lives in Hearth Grove when the story begins. The plan gives it no forced name, gender, secret destiny or amnesia twist. Its personality comes from the player's choices.

Appearance#

The Ranger is a small, slime-like, recognisably cellular microglia with branching processes. It is never humanoid. Movement tells its character: reach, pull, flow, the rear catching up, then spread. In the overworld it has eight top-down facings, two side views and a Flow movement pose.

Personality#

The player decides whether the Ranger inspects first, helps a neighbour first, asks for help, returns early or keeps up friendships. The script can credit the Ranger with an observation only when the player really found the evidence.

Role in the story#

The Ranger investigates why the Evening Pair changes, travels to Starwell and Vessel Margins, helps restore the Quiet District road and finally helps hold a broken crossing in Act V. The plan's key rule is that the Ranger starts solo and every required scene can be finished alone.

Abilities#

• Base verbs: Tend, Care and paid Call.
• Classes: the plan calls them "styles of helping", not cell phenotypes. Sentinel and Warden are open from Act I. The Coordinator (Direct, Swap, Huddle) unlocks only with the first real recruit.
• Loadout: class, flex skill, one Imprint and provisions are chosen at home only.
• Limits: the Ranger cannot lay myelin, cannot do another cell's job and cannot cure everything. See Science guardrails.

Development#

• Art: the user accepted the cast designs on 27 October (r005 plus the r006 pericyte eye fix, per the sprite handoff). On 2 November the user first asked for a larger Ranger to match the named cast, then withdrew it the same day: "don't make the ranger, pip and mote bigger. and remove the colour change as well." The original sprite, size and colours stay. The named cast are larger than the Ranger, and that is accepted.
• In the alpha The Ranger is the player character in the Placeholder alpha. The lead's audit found that turn rooms always drew the south-facing idle frames; the later integration reports directional and tending animation installed.
• The Ranger replaced the mentor-led opening of the old prototype. See Withdrawn story directions.

Gallery#

See also#

• Microglia
• Pip
• Mote

Sources#

1. .GAME_PLAN/ARBORWAKE_THE_LONG_WAKE_COMPLETE_GAME_PLAN_v0.5.md (working copy, not in Git)
2. .GAME_PLAN/ARBORWAKE_THE_LONG_WAKE_v0.5_CHANGE_HANDOFF.md (working copy, not in Git)
3. docs/ops/agent-messages/2026-10-31-claude-character-sprites-handoff.md (working copy, not in Git)
4. docs/ops/agent-messages/2026-11-02-lead-full-project-reconciliation-audit.md (working copy, not in Git)
5. b89f778c2:src/main-game/overworld/public/assets/cells/ranger-south.pngcopy