RANGERS

"But in the wild lands beyond Bree there were mysterious wanderers. The Bree-folk called them Rangers, and knew nothing of their origin. They were taller and darker than the Men of Bree and were believed to have strange powers of sight and hearing, and to understand the languages of beasts and birds. They roamed at will southwards, and eastwards even as far as the Misty Mountains; but they were now few and rarely seen. When they appeared they brought news from afar, and told strange forgotten tales which were eagerly listened to; but the Bree-folk did not make friends of them." - Fellowship of the Ring

Rangers are humans that have left civilization in order to protect it from chaos & evil lurking in the forests, therefore they are always Lawful in alignment. If a Ranger ever does any action outside of this alignment, he immediately becomes a Fighter & loses all Ranger specifics. Rangers start out w/ 2 hit dice b/c they have already gained experience & heft in their relocation to the woods. Though they do not see eye-to-eye w/ Elves in all matters (if they are not themselves an elf), they usually become familiar w/ Elves & can speak Elvish by 2nd Level & read & write Elvish by 3rd Level. In addition, beginning w/ 4th Level, a Ranger has access to magic from the Elf Spell List (though it is limited to specific spells). The Ranger accesses this magic through primitive means (as the Elves first did), ie. communing w/ the forest, learning its wild laws, meditation, etc. They memorize their spells similarly to a cleric. Due to their stealth, Rangers cannot wear plate mail & also, when using missile weapons within the forest & w/ surprise, gain an additional +2 to hit.

 for now...