So, A friend told me I could not be PK'd until a higher level, so I thought I would be relatively safe, being a Ranger, to wander around the Feannwyn Weald (sp) looking for the ranger guild. Since I am now dead, that was obviously a mistake! So, two questions: What should a newbie do after completing the academy to know where to wander safely, and to level up? And, what should I do to get gear and experience? My death at the hands of a wildcat was quick enough that I don't think I can get back to my corpse to get my stuff, so where should I go?
A little help here would be appreciated. Also, if Anyone could actually point me towards the ranger guild...that would be helpful.

Roughly, take the northwest gate out of Galadon go west until you find a path, and try to follow the path to your guild. If you find yourself following the crumbling road, you are too far south.

Use scan <direction> to scout out whether or not there are mobs between you and your chosen route. The tawny wildcat is about the only aggro mob (attacks on sight) that you will encounter in your search.

asdc

>And, what should I do to get gear and experience? My
>death at the hands of a wildcat was quick enough that I don't
>think I can get back to my corpse to get my stuff, so where

After you are killed, you become a ghost for a time. While you are a ghost you won't be attacked by agro mobs, and you can go get your equipment back.

Also, if you wait until after you are no longer a ghost, and nobody else has looted your corpse, your gear will appear in the pit of your hometown.

So you know, everything I just mentioned is described better in help death.

There are many things you can do after the Academy. What I would reccommend first, is to use the Academy to learn how to manipulate the land and items, and practice, train, kill, flee, and all that good stuff.

When you have finished all of that. My first order of business is to find my guild and you did well in doing so. But the Feannwyn Weald can be hazardous especially if you don't know where you are going. Using 'help galadon guild directions' will give you explicit directions from Market Square all the way to the Rangers Guild in the Weald. If you run into an aggressive creature on the way, I apologize, but some things cannot be helped. Creatures can wander, but for the most part getting to your guild should be safe.

The second thing you can do, is read 'help newbie3' and this will give you directions to low level ranking areas you can get to fairly easily, and find on all the maps. If you notice, we have a lot of helpfiles. When I read 'help newbie3' I can see the Kobold Warrens as an area I could venture to. When I use 'help kobold warrens' I get a full page helpfile one the kobold warrens, what to expect, what aligns should benefit most there, and what to watch out for. You'll notice almost any area in the game has such a helpfile and the entire area list can be called up by simply typing 'areas'.

Once you've got some locations in mind. Why not ask some like-minded individuals to join you on your adventure. A group of three adventurers gets a bonus in their experience gain and is the most beneficial when ranking. If you are a ranger, find some others of compatible alignments, ethos, philosophies and head on out. After all, there is safety in numbers. Getting a group in character and heading out to slay monsters is the interaction that makes this game great, and you will find others that know very much about the world of CF and learn from them. Soon you will be the one that people learn from.

Don't give up too easily. It will take you many hours and many deaths to become comfortable with the lay of the land and how to avoid it's many dangers. Just remember with every mistake you make, that is a lesson learned. And most of all, enjoy yourself.

Hope that helps.

Desmonn