SURVIVAL SKILL

[The Hive Mind]

In the uses of Survival skill listed below, the character making the checks is referred to as the "guide/"

Foraging: Foraging for food can mean the difference between life and death. The table below lists the DCs by region for any use of the Survival skill to forage for food in a given region.

Evading Patrols: Rather than opposing the character's Hide and Move Silently checks with the Spot checks of every orc in the patrols they pass near, assume that a party manages to pass through any patrolled area undetected if their guide meets the DCs on the table below on his Survival checks. If he fails, the party draws the attention of the patrol. When attempting to evade patrols, the natural terrain determines the acheck's DC; however, the guide also suffers penalties or bonuses to his check similar to the Condition modifiers listed under the Track feat. Rather than acting as penalties and bonuses to the Survival DC, the listed modifiers (in which "group being tracked" refers to the guide's own group) instead act as penalties and bonuses to the guide's Survival check.

The DM may call for a Survival check once per day, once per hour, or however often he deems appropriate, depending on the level of danger he wants the character's journey to have. When the characters attempt to sneak past specific guard points (for instance, past a well-guarded bridge or through the pickets of an enemy encampment), opposed Spot and Hide checks are in order.

Counter-tracking: Unlike in the core rules, hiding one's tracks is far too important to be represented by a simple DC modifier to a foe's Survival DC. Instead, whenever a party attempts to hide its trail (which requires that they move at half speed), the guide makes a Survival check with a DC dependent on the surface over which the party is being tracked. For every 2 points by which the guide beats the DC, the DC to track the party increases by 1.

Foraging DCs by Region

Region ----------------------DC
Aruun -----------------------15
Caraheen --------------------10
Central Plains ----------------15
Highhorn Mountains ----------15
Icewall Mountains ------------20
Island of Asmadar ------------10
Kaladrun Mountains ----------15
Miraleen --------------------10
Northern Marches -----------20
Northlands -----------------15
Sea of Pelluria --------------15
Southern Erenland ----------15
Veradeen ------------------15
Westlands -----------------20
White Desert --------------20

Evading Patrols

Circumstances -----------------------------------Survival DC
Open terrain or thick forests --------------------------15
Hills or light forests -----------------------------------10
Mountains or grasslands -------------------------------5
Permanent magic item or ongoing spell effect ----------+1/caster level*
Per additional item or effect ---------------------------+1

* This modifier is only applied if the DM determines that an astirax is in the area, and only applies to the most powerful magic effect on the party

Counter-tracking

Surface ----------------DC
Very soft ground --------20
Soft ground -------------15
Firm ground ------------10
Hard ground -------------5