SRD:Survival Skill

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Survival (Wis)

Check

You can keep yourself and others safe and fed in the wild. The table below gives the DCs for various tasks that require Survival checks.

Survival does not allow you to follow difficult tracks unless you are a ranger or have the Track feat (see the Restriction section below).

Survival DC	Task
10	Get along in the wild. Move up to one-half your overland speed while hunting and foraging (no food or water supplies needed). You can provide food and water for one other person for every 2 points by which your check result exceeds 10.
15	Gain a +2 bonus on all Fortitude saves against severe weather while moving up to one-half your overland speed, or gain a +4 bonus if you remain stationary. You may grant the same bonus to one other character for every 1 point by which your Survival check result exceeds 15.
15	Keep from getting lost or avoid natural hazards, such as quicksand.
15	Predict the weather up to 24 hours in advance. For every 5 points by which your Survival check result exceeds 15, you can predict the weather for one additional day in advance.
Varies	Follow tracks (see the Track feat).
40	Get along in the wild while moving at full speed. The character can provide food and water for one other person for every 2 points by which the check result exceeds 40.
60	Automatically succeed on all Fortitude saves against severe weather. The character can extend this benefit to one other character for every 2 points by which the check result exceeds 60.
60	Ignore overland movement penalties of terrain. The character and his or her mount can move at full overland speed regardless of terrain. The character can extend this benefit to one other character for every 5 points by which the check result exceeds 60.
60	Identify race/kind of creature(s)by tracks.1
Requires the Track feat.

Epic Check

You can ignore the effects of terrain on movement and withstand even the harshest weather. If you are capable of tracking, you can identify the races of creatures being tracked. (See above table.)

Wherever you are, you can determine the direction to a location on the same plane.

DC	Familiarity with Location
40	Very familiar
60	Studied carefully
80	Seen casually
100	Viewed once
120	Description only

With a successful check, you know the direction to the desired location. This merely points you in the direction of the location; it doesn’t provide you with information on how to get there, nor does it take into account any obstacles in the path. “Very familiar” represents a place where you have been very often and where you feel at home. “Studied carefully” represents a place you know well, either because you have been there often or have used other means to study the place. “Seen casually” is a place that you have viewed more than once, but which you have not studied. “Viewed once” is a place that you have seen once, possibly using magic. “Description only” is a place whose location and appearance you know through someone else’s description.

Action

Varies. A single Survival check may represent activity over the course of hours or a full day. A Survival check made to find tracks is at least a full-round action, and it may take even longer.

Try Again

Varies. For getting along in the wild or for gaining the Fortitude save bonus noted in the table above, you make a Survival check once every 24 hours. The result of that check applies until the next check is made. To avoid getting lost or avoid natural hazards, you make a Survival check whenever the situation calls for one. Retries to avoid getting lost in a specific situation or to avoid a specific natural hazard are not allowed. For finding tracks, you can retry a failed check after 1 hour (outdoors) or 10 minutes(indoors) of searching.

Restriction

While anyone can use Survival to find tracks (regardless of the DC), or to follow tracks when the DC for the task is 10 or lower, only a ranger (or a character with the Track feat) can use Survival to follow tracks when the task has a higher DC.

Special

If you have 5 or more ranks in Survival, you can automatically determine where true north lies in relation to yourself.

A ranger gains a bonus on Survival checks when using this skill to find or follow the tracks of a favored enemy.

If you have the Self-Sufficient feat, you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks.

Synergy

If you have 5 or more ranks in Survival, you get a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks.

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (dungeoneering), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made while underground.

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (nature), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks in aboveground natural environments (aquatic, desert, forest, hill, marsh, mountains, and plains).

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (geography), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made to keep from getting lost or to avoid natural hazards.

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (the planes), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made while on other planes.

If you have 5 or more ranks in Search, you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks to find or follow tracks.

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