Survival Checks in the Greenbelt


Kingmaker


I'm curious how other people have handled survival checks in the Greenbelt. In the CRB on p. 424 it says for travelers to check once per hour with a survival check to determine if they get lost. It seems like this would be difficult to do when the characters are constantly traveling.


Deleon wrote:
I'm curious how other people have handled survival checks in the Greenbelt. In the CRB on p. 424 it says for travelers to check once per hour with a survival check to determine if they get lost. It seems like this would be difficult to do when the characters are constantly traveling.

I ignore it. With a Druid, Ranger and survival trained fighter in the group it is meaningless.

In general I try to minimize the fiddly rolling like this by having a few PCs make /whatever/ checks a few times per session. I never tell them what it is about of course just take note of the result and plan accordingly.

Scarab Sages

I used the rule for the first few sessions, while the PCs were still 1st-2nd level. Once the ranger could take 10 on such checks, I ignored it. It's more fun at that point to keep things moving.

Grand Lodge

Deleon wrote:
I'm curious how other people have handled survival checks in the Greenbelt. In the CRB on p. 424 it says for travelers to check once per hour with a survival check to determine if they get lost. It seems like this would be difficult to do when the characters are constantly traveling.

I pretty much ignored it also. I had a ranger and druid it was no sweat for them. Plus I don't like to slow the game down. Sometimes I roll for them -- maybe I tell them what I rolled sometimes they're surprised. Keeps em on their toes.


I used to make a daily check, but with a Druid, Ranger and a Barbarian/Ranger plus others who put a load in survival they only got lost once, so now I skip it. I also (now) let them hunt for food while moving at normal speed since they can roll so high.

Cheers
Mark


Every hour? Wow. Considering how long it takes to explore a hex, even on horse-back, that's a lot of rolling! And if you're exploring a region, are you really lost? :)

If my group didn't have any Survival Specialists (Rangers, Druids, or out-door build Rogues) I'd worry about it a lot more. As it is, in the second book now, if they tried to ride West from the Kamelands and find Pitax? I'd make them make some rolls to avoid getting lost and finding it based on hearsay and verbal directions. But when they're just riding back and forth in one region (hex) it seems like a waste of time.


Waiwode wrote:

Every hour? Wow. Considering how long it takes to explore a hex, even on horse-back, that's a lot of rolling! And if you're exploring a region, are you really lost? :)

If my group didn't have any Survival Specialists (Rangers, Druids, or out-door build Rogues) I'd worry about it a lot more. As it is, in the second book now, if they tried to ride West from the Kamelands and find Pitax? I'd make them make some rolls to avoid getting lost and finding it based on hearsay and verbal directions. But when they're just riding back and forth in one region (hex) it seems like a waste of time.

That's what I thought too. Considering that a party on horseback can move through a hex in 3-5 hours, that would mean 3-5 survival checks. Since my party doesn't have any ranger druid types, and they are low level, I think I will have them roll once per hex.

Scarab Sages

I make the party do a survival check every evening when they make camp to see how good a camp site they get. A great roll results in them being partial concealed, able to clearly see most approaches, and fairly protected. A low roll results in a fairly exposed, visible camp site. Of course this means very little unless they have an evening encounter...however it gives meaning to the party member with survival checks and there has been more than one occasion when something really scary comes by and the group is glad they are concealed.

Otherwise, its wilderness, not some deadly jungle zone. If they have a druid, ranger, or someone with decent knowledge(nature) or survival, it should be assumed they can handle most of the small stuff. I don't make them roll otherwise unless they are looking for a particular animal, plant, lair, or type of geography.

Until the party all took at least one rank of riding, I did make the party do a ride check once per day to see if they had a mishap (thrown shoe, horse comes up lame, character falls off, etc. However I let the cavalier make the roll for the party unless they tried to cross a river ford or some other difficult terrain.


Deleon wrote:
Since my party doesn't have any ranger druid types, and they are low level, I think I will have them roll once per hex.

That makes perfect sense, at least until someone in the party can get a sufficient Survival bonus.

And man-oh-man, if there was ever an AP that paid-off for Druids and Rangers, this one is it. (Cavaliers too! Lots of opportunity to charge, unlike, say , Council of Thieves!)


redcelt32 wrote:
I make the party do a survival check every evening when they make camp to see how good a camp site they get. A great roll results in them being partial concealed, able to clearly see most approaches, and fairly protected. A low roll results in a fairly exposed, visible camp site.

Ditto! :)

With the extra thrown in of how well they eat on local game. The Barbarian is a big one for hunting...

redcelt32 wrote:
Until the party all took at least one rank of riding, I did make the party do a ride check once per day to see if they had a mishap (thrown shoe, horse comes up lame, character falls off, etc.

Oooo - I like it, yoink - thanks!

Sczarni RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32

I completely changed how travel, random encounters, and wilderness dangers works for my game. It has made for a more eventful game, and maybe a little less deadly.

Grand Lodge

I plan to do the system as written until the PCs can succeed by taking 10. Traveling through trackless wilderness is very difficult, especially in situations where visibility is limited. I strive for realism in my game, and having the PCs somehow magically avoid getting lost doesn't do it for me.

You can definitely get lost while exploring. The PCs are supposed to be mapping the region, and it's impossible to accurately map an area if you don't know precisely where you are in relation to landmarks.

If you're tempted to eliminate this system, do a little research on real world wilderness survival and travel, and you'll see that the system actually makes it seem much easier than it really is. If anything, they should be making checks more often, not less.


I like the more realistic approach, however, since this is a basic skill, almost every PC will be able to take 10 on aid another and help boost the main navigator's survival so that even at first level take 10 will mean they pass every test.
At least when there are no negative modifiers, like weather (fog, rain), darkness, fleeing from monsters, etc.

So practically the check only came up when there were modifiers involved.

Scarab Sages

With my group, only the inquisitor (who was a monster hunter) and druid (in a party of 9) had even camped outdoors before. Half of the party were nobles, and the other half worked in town before being commissioned to investigate the Stolen Lands. So survival was sort of like a magic trick for most of them and not a sure thing. In the same way, the nobles all started with at least one rank in ride, whereas the common folk PCs had to do ride checks regularly until they took a few ranks in it, representing familiarity with travel on horse.

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