Survival (variant skill)
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The Survival skill replaces Survival, Navigate (when not using GPS and other modern tools), and the Track feat. It is the outdoorsy skill.
Survival (Wis)
Hunt and Gather: A character can keep his or herself and others safe and fed in the wild.
| DC | Task |
|---|---|
| 10 | Get along in the wild. Move up to half the character’s overland speed while hunting and foraging (no food or water supplies needed). The character can provide food and water for one other person for every 2 points by which the character’s check result exceeds 10. |
| 15 | Gain a +2 circumstance bonus on Fortitude saves against severe weather while moving up to half the character’s overland speed, or gain a +4 circumstance bonus if stationary. The character may grant the same bonus to one other character for every 1 point by which the character’s check result exceeds 15. |
| 18 | Avoid getting lost and avoid natural hazards, such as quicksand. |
Find the Way: Make a Survival check when a character is trying to find his or her way to a distant location without directions or other specific guidance. Generally, a character does not need to make a check to find a local street or other common urban site, or to follow an accurate map. However, the character might make a check to wend his or her way through a dense forest or a labyrinth of underground storm drains.
For movement over a great distance, make a Survival check. The DC depends on the length of the trip. If the character succeeds, he or she moves via the best reasonable course toward his or her goal. If the character fails, he or she still reaches the goal, but it takes the character twice as long (the character loses time backtracking and correcting his or her path). If the character fails by more than 5, the or she travels the expected time, but only gets halfway to his or her destination, at which point the character becomes lost.
A character may make a second Survival check (DC 20) to regain his or her path. If the character succeeds, he or she continues on to his or her destination; the total time for the trip is twice the normal time. If the character fails, he or she loses half a day before the character can try again. The character keeps trying until he or she succeeds, losing half a day for each failure.
| Length of Trip | DC |
|---|---|
| Short (a few hours) | 20 |
| Moderate (a day or two) | 22 |
| Long (up to a week) | 25 |
| Extreme (more than a week) | 28 |
When faced with multiple choices, such as at a branch in a tunnel, a character can make a Survival check (DC 20) to intuit the choice that takes the character toward a known destination. If unsuccessful, the character chooses the wrong path, but at the next juncture, with a successful check, the character realizes his or her mistake.
A character cannot use this function of Survival to find a path to a site if the character has no idea where the site is located. The GM may choose to make the Survival check for the character in secret, so he or she doesn’t know from the result whether the character is following the right or wrong path.
A character can use Survival to determine his or her position on earth without the use of any high-tech equipment by checking the constellations or other natural landmarks. The character must have a clear view of the night sky to make this check. The DC is 15.
Track (Trained Only): To find tracks or follow them for one mile requires a Survival check. The character must make another Survival check every time the tracks become difficult to follow.
The character moves at half his or her normal speed (or at the character’s normal speed with a –5 penalty on the check, or at up to twice the character’s speed with a –20 penalty on the check). The DC depends on the surface and the prevailing conditions.
| Surface | Track DC |
|---|---|
| Very soft | 5 |
| Soft | 10 |
| Firm | 15 |
| Hard | 20 |
Very Soft: Any surface (fresh snow, thick dust, wet mud) that holds deep, clear impressions of footprints.
Soft: Any surface soft enough to yield to pressure, but firmer than wet mud or fresh snow, in which the quarry leaves frequent but shallow footprints.
Firm: Most normal outdoor or exceptionally soft or dirty indoor surfaces. The quarry might leave some traces of its passage, but only occasional or partial footprints can be found.
Hard: Any surface that doesn’t hold footprints at all, such as bare rock, concrete, metal deckings, or indoor floors. The quarry leaves only traces, such as scuff marks.
If the character fails a Survival check, he or she can retry after 1 hour (outdoors) or 10 minutes (indoors) of searching.
| Condition | DC Modifier |
|---|---|
| Every three targets in the group being tracked | –1 |
| Size of targets being tracked: 1 | |
| Fine | +8 |
| Diminutive | +4 |
| Tiny | +2 |
| Small | +1 |
| Medium-size | +0 |
| Large | –1 |
| Huge | –2 |
| Gargantuan | –4 |
| Colossal | -8 |
| Every 24 hours since the trail was made | +1 |
| Every hour of rain since the trail was made | +1 |
| Fresh snow cover since the trail was made | +10 |
| Poor visibility: 2 | |
| Overcast or moonless night | +6 |
| Moonlight | +3 |
| Fog or precipitation | +3 |
| Tracked target hides trail (and moves at half speed) | +5 |
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Special: A character can take 10 when making a Survival check. A character can take 20 when tracking, or if there is no danger or penalty for failure, but not on periodic checks to get along in the wild.
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