Scholar

There are a great many facts about a fictional world that will never be defined. Is a dragon a reptile or a saurian? Does evolution function in a world with magic, and to what degree? How does the elven trance affect their endocrine system? Taking time to define all of these in a book isn't practical (and just how long do you want that book to be anyway?). In theory, there are answers to all these questions within the fictional reality of your game world, and there is power in knowing the answers. A scholar is after that power. 

Ranger Scholars aren't your ivory tower academics, sitting alone in libraries and offices, mulling over facts for hours on end. They aren't strangers to those places or to academic study either, but where they really come alive is in field research, mapping ancient tombs and applying their stores of knowledge to find solutions to real-world problems.

Critical Information

At 3rd level, the scholar may point out a piece of information relevant to the task at hand. The player creates a potential fact and suggests it to the DM, who then assigns a difficulty level to it based on how plausible or contrived it sounds (the less likely, the higher the difficulty). The player then makes a skill check against that difficulty. If the check passes the fact is true in your game world, and remains so as long as at least one player at the table remembers it. Nothing stops a player from writing it down. [In coordinated games, where there is more than one table’s-worth of PCs, assume this fact is true only if the DM for another group wishes to use the fact.]

The skill check has to relate to the piece of information, and the player can choose two specializations for their area of knowledge to pertain to, from the following groupings;

• Psychology – Insight, Intimidation, or Animal Handling checks 
• Forensics & Criminology – Investigation, Slight of Hand, or Stealth checks 
• Biology - Animal Handling, Medicine or Nature checks
• Occult – Arcana checks
• World Events - History checks

There are a few guidelines on what can be presented as a fact;

• It must not contradict any previously established in-world fact. The DM can allow a fact that contradicts facts in the real world if they feel it's appropriate.
• The DM can veto any fact that has too many complicated or problematic implications or which ruin plot elements yet to be revealed. They may want to offer an alternative facts.

Armed With Knowledge

At 3rd level, using facts from the Critical Information feature, the Scholar has a better chance of succeeding at their tasks. If a character can apply a fact to a skill check, they can apply one of three effects;

• Add their proficiency modifier to the skill check (or add it again if it already would have been added).
• Add a penalty or bonus to some other individual’s skill check equal to the Scholar's proficiency modifier. Example: A carpenter can tell you bendan wood is too creaky for normal construction, but that makes it ideal for security purposes. [A penalty to Stealth checks if someone makes a floor out of bendan wood.]

The created effect still needs to make logical sense, and exactly what the limits of that are is up to the DM. Creativity is encouraged. Also, it's possible that the situation in question might suggest that the information would give some other sort of greater benefit. The DM can always decide that some other benefit is appropriate for the character's action. The system above is provided for situations where another benefit may be unclear or arguable, and so forms a default benefit. As always, the narrative should determine the rules, not the other way around.

Improved Armed With Knowledge

At 7th level and onward the Scholar adds the following option to what they can do with their Armed With Knowledge archetype feature. 

• Provoke a DC 8 + Proficiency Modifier saving throw against a target as part of a simple action, which, if failed, applies a Condition for a turn. (Drow are light-sensitive, but what you might not know is they are also prone to epileptic seizures if exposed to flickering lights [Medicine]. What's an epileptic seizure? Allow me to demonstrate... [takes an action to rapidly snap a fan back and forth in front of a torch, provoking a Drow nearby to save vs Constitution to avoid the being Stunned]). This feature cannot provoke a save vs Death.

 

Requisitions

By 11th level the Ranger Scholar has gained enough clout to make requests of institutions to aid their work. They may make a formal proposal (essentially a written Persuasion check) requesting supplies, personnel or other resources equal to no more than their level+Int modifier, multiplied by 10,000, in gold coin, for the purposes of some academic endeavor. The DC of the check is dependent on how important the potential findings are to the institution the Scholar is petitioning, just how much is being asked for, just how often the Scholar has made these requests previously, and how the Scholar's previous results turned out. There aren't any hard rules for determining that difficulty, but the organization can take it's time responding, and thus, so can the DM. The organization can make a counter proposal or ask additional questions. The Scholar can agree to or decline the resulting contract. 

The resources provided are the property of the petitioned institution, so they will expect them back at some predetermined time. They may also assign one or more personnel to the expedition, who will want to make sure everything is being done according to the organization's standards, whatever those are. These folks will report misconduct on the Scholar's part, or on the part of any 'research associates' who are part of the expedition (in other words, the other PCs).

Some individuals can and do try to skip town and abscond with what they've been given. This negates further Requisitions attempts in that area and from that organization. It also typically involves the organization sending law enforcement after the character and their associates. This becomes a Flaw on the character's sheet until it is resolved, however it is resolved.

Grant Writer

Upon reaching 15th level the Scholar is a well-known academic figure, and can convince institutions to give him money for academic purposes. This enhances the Requisitions feature, allowing actual money to be included in the proposal, which does not have to be paid back. Similar to Requisitions, the organization will likely have someone on hand to watch over the money, but spending it on anything related to the goal, or necessities like food and lodging, is fair game.

Mechanically, the Scholar can lower the difficulty of the Persuasion check by their proficiency modifier.