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Survival Skills

Herb Lore


Herb lore is an ancient tradition that is most prevalent amongst druids; however they are not the only ones that see the benefit in learning nature’s secrets. Among her secrets nature can cure many illnesses, provide exotic components for alchemists, or simply provide a revitalizing meal while on the road. See the Alchemy & Herb Lore page for further details.
May search for food or herb components 3 times /day and/or create 3 cures /day.

Rank1 – Can usually find edible food (based on the geography) such as berries, roots, mushrooms, etc… to provide fresh food while on the road, can locate/harvest simple herbal alchemy components if available, and cure simple poisons and most minor illnesses with the correct herbs
Rank2 – Can locate/harvest complex herbal alchemy components if available, and can cure complex poisons and most major illnesses with the correct herbs
Rank3 – Can locate/harvest superior herbal alchemy components if available, and cure superior poisons with the correct herbs. May also cure diseases (as in the disease faith powers) with the right herb combinations.

First Aid


When on the road or during a long campaign access to a faith healer is not always possible. As such many adventurers and soldiers alike take the time to learn some basic First Aid skills, for treating themselves and their comrades. It is an invaluable tool for classes without healing abilities and comes in handy when comrades are injured. If proper First Aid is used on an injured ally, such as setting broken limbs or cleaning wounds, it can in many cases reduce or prevent the chances of Injuries becoming permanent.

Rank1 – Provide additional HP recovery while resting (see section on resting); Can perform First Aid procedures that reduce the chance of most Injuries becoming permanent by 5%
Rank2 – May apply basic combat bandages (heal 1d10 HP, must touch, once/round in combat, action if in backpack or instant if in belt); Can perform First Aid procedures that reduce the chance of most Injuries becoming permanent by 10%
Rank3 – May apply advanced combat bandages (heals 2d10 HP, once per round in combat, action if in backpack or instant if in belt); Can perform First Aid procedures that reduce the chance of most Injuries becoming permanent by 15%; Can Stabilize most Critical Injuries (bring HP up to the minimum amount required to be Stabilized) if passing a Wisdom Test.
Note – No more than 3 bandages of any type can be applied to a single target in a given day.

Hunter


Almost anyone can find small animals while out in the wilderness, usually simply by chance alone. This is typically resolved by rolling Perception stat test modified by the GM depending on the current conditions and environment. Hunters are much more adept at their craft, allowing them to track and kill beasts of all varieties. This comes in particularly handy when trying to locate more elusive creatures. Hunters are also trained in the proper techniques to skin the creatures that they kill.

By default, characters with the Hunter Secondary Skill are hunters of Beasts. However they may instead specify any Order or Metarace of Creatures from the Codex of Creation (excluding Third Creation) as the target of their hunting skills  (i.e. Dragonkind, Vampires, Fey Creatures, etc…).

Unlike most Secondary Skills, ranking up a hunter skill requires not only additional Secondary Skill points, but also proven experience tracking and hunting the creatures in question. As an example, leveling up is not enough of a justification to become a Rank 5 Dragon Hunter, if you have never actually successfully tracked and killed a Dragon.

Rank1 – Receive +1 Advantage when tracking Beasts (or other specified Order/Metarace) with a Threat Rating up to 5 and gain +3 to hit & +1 damage (physical melee & ranged) when attacking them
Rank2 – Receive +2 Advantage when tracking Beasts (or other specified Order/Metarace) with a Threat Rating up to 10 and increase hunter combat bonus to +6 to hit & +2 damage (physical melee & ranged) when attacking them
Rank3 – Receive +3 Advantage when tracking Beasts (or other specified Order/Metarace) with a Threat Rating up to 15 and increase hunter combat bonus to +9 to hit & +3 damage (physical melee & ranged) when attacking them
Rank4
 – Receive +4 Advantage when tracking Beasts (or other specified Order/Metarace) with a Threat Rating up to 20 and increase hunter combat bonus to +12 to hit & +4 damage (physical melee & ranged) when attacking them
Rank5 – Receive +5 Advantage when tracking any Beast (or other specified Order/Metarace) and increase hunter combat bonus to +15 to hit & +5 damage (physical melee & ranged) when attacking them

Bushcraft


Bushcraft is an essential set of skills for those who live their lives in the wild or spend a great deal of time traveling off the beaten path. This makes it an ideal choice for solo adventurers but also highly valuable when traveling with companions that are unaccustomed to life in the wild. Bushcraft encompasses a variety of skills, from simple techniques to start fires, basic tracking and navigational skills, and even advanced methods of using the natural world to your advantage in any situation.

Rank1 – Can start fires and create crude torches with naturally occurring materials in almost any environment (no flint, fuel or other store bought items required)
Rank2 – Possess natural navigational skills such as navigating by stars or other celestial bodies, reading signs in the surrounding environments (i.e. growth of moss, direction of running water, prevailing winds, and other such natural/instinctual methods). Also when resting in natural environments, your entire party receives a minimum Shelter value of 10% (see Resting)
Rank3 – Can make many useful items from naturally occurring materials; common examples would be making rope or twine from plant or animals fibers, containers or vessels from plant or animal parts, etc… Also when resting in natural environments, your entire party receives a minimum Shelter value of 20% (see Resting)

Traps


While trapping wild animals for food is an essential survival skill, it can also have benefits when applied to other creatures as well. Traps are often employed as a deterrent for would be thieves and can even have combat applications if used in conjunction with setting up an ambush. Having a trappers knowledge also makes it easier for you to detect others traps as well. See Supplementary Rules: Traps for more details.

Rank1 – Grants +2 Advantage when detecting traps (including passively). Allows for the out-of-combat deployment of simple traps (with the appropriate materials, typically readily available in the wild).
Rank2 – Grants +4 Advantage when detecting traps (including passively). Allows for the out-of-combat deployment of complex traps (with appropriate materials/mechanisms, must be purchased)
Rank3 – Grants +6 Advantage when detecting traps (including passively). Allows for the out-of-combat deployment of superior traps. (with appropriate materials/mechanisms, must be purchased)

Petty Thievery


Petty Thievery allows a on-stealth class or NPC a limited amount of primary stealth skills that can be used while hiding. Petty Thievery is not intended as a means to grant additional skill points to Stealth Classes and therefore cannot be taken as a secondary skill by ANY Stealth Class. Stealth Skills acquired via Petty Theivery Skills can gain ranks, but will typically never be as powerful as when used by a true Stealth Class, however they can still come in handy in those tight (and locked) situations.

Rank1 to 5 – Awarded one Stealth skill point, per Petty Thievery Rank, to spend as you see fit, however you cannot put more than 3 points into any given skill

Lightning Reflexes


The ability to react quickly in the face of danger can not only save your life but also the lives of your friends. The tide of many battles has been turned by one individual’s ability to think and act fast. A character must have Initiative 13 or higher in order to take this skill.
Mutually Exclusive with Extra Sensory Perception – cannot have both

Rank1 – Adds +1 to the characters Initiative stat premanently, up to a maximum of 20
Rank2 – Dodge contribution to AC is increased by 1.5 times; effect is cancelled if wearing any “Noisy” Mail armor or any type of Plate armor
Rank3 – Dodge contribution to Resistances (where aplicable) is increased by 1.5 times; effect is cancelled if wearing any “Noisy” Mail armor or any type of Plate armor
Rank4 – May reroll one dice per battle on rolls to hit with physical (or be hit), block, parry, disarm, dodge, or any agility, dodge, or initiative stat test

Extra Sensory Perception


There exist those that are gifted with exceptionally keen senses. Some even say that they are so gifted that they can sense events moments before they actually happen. A character must have Perception of 13 or higher in order to take this skill.
Mutually Exclusive with Lightning Reflexes – cannot have both

Rank1 – Adds +1 to either the characters Perception stat permanently, up to a maximum of 20
Rank2 – If being attacked by a target that is both hidden AND undetected, you still benefit from dodge, block, parry, ward-off, impale, counter-attack or any other out-of-turn reactionary/defensive measure
Rank3 – Once per day you can automatically detect any hidden targets within range of your senses
Rank4 – Once per day you take a single dice roll and change it manually to any outcome you choose.