Survial & Terrain Suggestion

[EdwinP]

What if Survival skill allowed players to find a new route through difficult terrain? This would make leveling up a character's survival skill a more viable option.

 

Example 1: While traveling along the base of a Cliffside

 

A party with low survivable skill (<=3) cannot see a way to climb the cliff, and must follow the path.

 

A party with medium survival skill (4 to 7) reveals a climbable route up that is difficult (lite red). This route assigns a large fatigue penalty to PCs that elect to climb this path.

 

A PC with high survival skill (8+) reveals a climbable route up that is easy to climb(lite blue). This route assigns a small fatigue penalty to any PC climbers. (same route up, but it is less fatiguing to climb with an experienced guide)

 

Example 2: While traveling in a swamp along a trail

 

A party with low survival skill cannot see an easy to traverse the swamp off the path. They suffer a large fatigue penalty if they move off the path.

 

A party with medium survival skill (4 to 7) reveals an off the trail path that is difficult to follow. This route assigns a medium fatigue penalty to those that follow it.

 

A party with high survival skill (8+) reveals an off the trail path through the swamp that is shallow and easy to follow (light blue). This route assigns a small fatigue penalty to those that follow it. (same off the trail path, but its less fatiguing to follow with an experienced guide)

 

Example: Swiftly moving river

 

A party with low survival skill cannot see an easy way to cross it and suffers a suffering a major fatigue penalty if they try.

A party with medium survival skill spots an shallow ford, and incurs a medium fatigue penalty when following this path across

A party with high survival skill spots a very shallow ford, and incurs a small fatigue penalty when following this path across

 

 

"Survival allows characters to make better use of the food and potion items they find. The higher the character's Survival skill, the longer the duration of such items. Survival can also be used in conversations and scripted interactions that involve wilderness challenges or specialization information. ----- Survival can reveal new paths through difficult terrain. ----"

Edited May 14, 2015 by EdwinP