According to the Survival skill description, you need a Survival DC 15 check to avoid getting lost, whenever the situation (the DM) calls for it. I guess that's typically if you are in the middle of the jungle, or in heavy fog, or something like that.
It also says "If you are trained in Survival, you can automatically determine where true north lies in relation to yourself."
But wouldn't it be impossible to get lost if you know where true north is all the time? Does this mean that anyone who is trained in Survival can ignore the rules about getting lost?
How do you interpret this?
- thulsa
The Spider-God's Bride and Other Tales of Sword & Sorcery
http://xoth.net/publishing/xp1/index.htm
According to the Survival skill description, you need a Survival DC 15 check to avoid getting lost, whenever the situation (the DM) calls for it. I guess that's typically if you are in the middle of the jungle, or in heavy fog, or something like that.It also says "If you are trained in Survival, you can automatically determine where true north lies in relation to yourself."
But wouldn't it be impossible to get lost if you know where true north is all the time? Does this mean that anyone who is trained in Survival can ignore the rules about getting lost?
How do you interpret this?
- thulsa
The Spider-God's Bride and Other Tales of Sword & Sorcery
http://xoth.net/publishing/xp1/index.htm
Knowing where North is doesn't tell you where you are. At best, it gives you the starting framework by which you can begin to figure that out.
By way of example, let us pretend you are trying to locate the Lost Ruins of Pendraal. You have an ancient map from the times in which Pendraal was the largest city on the continent. The city in which you acquired the map did not exist when the map was drawn, but more recent annotations by subsequent cartographers estimate that the Lost Ruins lie 50-60 miles from where that city now stands. You march off into the wilderness.
Three days in, you've been traversing trackless wilderness for dozens of miles. How many? It's hard to say, given that your rate of travel has been quite uneven. At times, the ground is clear and level and you proceed as quickly as you might on a well maintained road. An hour later, you're hacking through thick underbrush with a machete and clambering up and down steep inclines. So, how far have you come and how much further before you reach the city? Might you have already passed it, only a couple hundred yards away but hidden from view by the thick foliage? Should you press on in the direction you're going, adjust your course, or double back?
If all you can manage at this point is to point out "true north," you're probably never going to see another friendly face again.
But wouldn't it be impossible to get lost if you know where true north is all the time?
No, as anyone who's spent time in the woods with a compass can tell you. Knowing which way is true north can be an advantage, but it's not GPS. Without orientation to landmarks, an accurate azimuth, et cetera, knowing which way is north won't stop you from getting lost.
Mark L. Chance | Spes Magna Games
But wouldn't it be impossible to get lost if you know where true north is all the time?No, as anyone who's spent time in the woods with a compass can tell you.
Good point! Actually, I was a boy scout a long time ago, so I have spent a fair amount of time in the woods with map and compass.
I just wanted to ask on the forum because I suspect that some of my players will claim that they can't get lost as long as they always know where north is (ie 1 rank in Survival = never lost).
Seems like the consensus (at least so far) is that you still need to make those DC 15 checks if the situation calls for it.
- thulsa