As a frequent player of rangers and other wilderness-related classes, I have found that the survival rules, and specially the tracking rules, while good and simple to use, are somewhat... lacking.
The rules for tracking describe the difficulty of finding and following a track, but what happens to one of the most important and useful aspects of tracking, the reading of the tracks and the information-gathering aspect. This is an aspect very used in fantasy and non-fantasy fiction and movies, but the game does not allow it.
I would like to see something that add to the current rules, not changing them. I use some house-rules in my own campaign that let the tracker to extract additional information the higher he rolls above the base DC for following the tracks... If you barely make the roll, you can only follow the track, but you only know the basics (boot, paw, hoof, etc). The higher you roll above the DC, the more info you discover (exact type or number of creatures, pace, etc etc).
This helps the ranger more than everyone else, and it gives a real meaning to the tracking bonus they get, since with the static and somewhat low current Tracking DCs, it's not really needed once you get to mid level.
This rules would crown the ranger again as the king of trackers, and the bonus to tracking would be a much more meaningful addition.
I would also like the adding of more situational modifiers for the survival rules (for the winter season, for example, or expanded visibility and situational modifiers with the different modes of vision in mind, rules on making camps on the spot, etc...)
I second that!
Benoit
