You can keep yourself and others safe and fed in the wild. The table below gives the DCs for various tasks that require Survival checks.
Survival does not allow you to follow difficult tracks unless you are a ranger or have the Track feat (see the Restriction section below).
| Survival DC | Task |
|---|---|
| 10 | Get along in the wild. Move up to one-half your overland speed while hunting and foraging (no food or water supplies needed). You can provide food and water for one other person for every 4 points by which your check result exceeds 10. |
| 15 | Gain a +2 bonus on all Fortitude saves against severe weather while moving up to one-half your overland speed, or gain a +4 bonus if you remain stationary. You may grant the same bonus to one other character for every 1 point by which your Survival check result exceeds 15. |
| 15 | Keep from getting lost or avoid natural hazards, such as quicksand. |
| 15 | Predict the weather up to 24 hours in advance. For every 5 points by which your Survival check result exceeds 15, you can predict the weather for one additional day in advance. |
Survival also pertains to the usage of ropes. The table below lists example actions and DCs.
| Survival DC | Task |
|---|---|
| 10 | Tie a firm knot |
| 10* | Secure a grappling hook |
| 15 | Tie a special knot, such as one that slips, slides slowly, or loosens with a tug |
| 15 | Tie a rope around yourself one-handed |
| 15 | Splice two ropes together |
| Varies | Bind a character |
| *+2 for every 10 feet of distance the grappling hook is thrown, to a maximum DC of 20 at 50 feet |
Securing a grappling hook requires a Survival check (DC 10, +2 for every 10 feet of distance the grappling hook is thrown, to a maximum DC of 20 at 50 feet). Failure by 4 or less indicates that the hook fails to catch and falls, allowing you to try again. Failure by 5 or more indicates that the grappling hook initially holds, but comes loose after 1d4 rounds of supporting weight. This check is made secretly, so that you don’t know whether the rope will hold your weight.
When you bind another character with a rope, any Escape Artist check that the bound character makes is opposed by your Survival check.
You get a +10 bonus on this check because it is easier to bind someone than to escape from bonds. You don’t even make your Survival check until someone tries to escape.
Finding tracks or following them for 1 mile requires a successful Survival check. You must make another Survival check every time the tracks become difficult to follow.
You move at half your normal speed (or at your normal speed with a –5 penalty on the check, or at up to twice your normal speed with a –20 penalty on the check). The DC depends on the surface and the prevailing conditions, as given on the table below:
| Surface | Survival DC | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Very soft ground | 5 | Fresh snow, thick dust, wet mud, or any other surface that holds deep, clear impressions of footprints. |
| Soft ground | 10 | Surfaces soft enough to yield to pressure, where footprints are frequent but shallow. |
| Firm Ground | 15 | Most normal outdoor surfaces (such as lawns, fields, woods, and the like) or exceptionally soft or dirty indoor surfaces (thick rugs and very dirty or dusty floors) |
| Hard Ground | 20 | Surfaces too hard to hold any footprints, where only faint traces like scuff marks and displaced pebbles can be tracked. |
Several modifiers may apply to a Survival check made to track, as given on the table below.
| Condition | Survival DC Modifier |
|---|---|
| Every three creatures in the group being tracked | -1 |
| Size of creature or creatures being tracked: | |
| Fine | +8 |
| Diminutive | +4 |
| Tiny | +2 |
| Small | +1 |
| Medium | +0 |
| Large | -1 |
| Huge | -2 |
| Gargantuan | -4 |
| Colossal | -8 |
| Every 24 hours since the trail was made | +1 |
| Every hour of rain since the trail was made | +1 |
| Fresh snow cover since the trail was made | +10 |
| Poor visibility: | |
| Overcast or moonless night | +6 |
| Moonlight | +3 |
| Fog or precipitation | +3 |
| Tracked party hides trail (and moves at half speed) | +5 |
| *1 For a group of mixed sizes, apply only the modifier for the largest size category. | |
| *2 Apply only the largest modifier from this category. |
If you fail a Survival check to find or follow tracks, you can retry after 1 hour (outdoors) or 10 minutes (indoors) of searching.
Varies. A single Survival check may represent activity over the course of hours or a full day. A Survival check made to find tracks is at least a full-round action, and it may take even longer.
Throwing a grappling hook is a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Tying a knot, tying a special knot, or tying a rope around yourself one-handed is a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Splicing two ropes together takes 5 minutes. Binding a character takes 1 minute.
Varies. For getting along in the wild or for gaining the Fortitude save bonus noted in the table above, you make a Survival check once every 24 hours. The result of that check applies until the next check is made. To avoid getting lost or avoid natural hazards, you make a Survival check whenever the situation calls for one. Retries to avoid getting lost in a specific situation or to avoid a specific natural hazard are not allowed. For finding tracks, you can retry a failed check after 1 hour (outdoors) or 10 minutes(indoors) of searching.
While anyone can use Survival to find tracks (regardless of the DC), or to follow tracks when the DC for the task is 10 or lower, only a ranger (or a character with the Track feat) can use Survival to follow tracks when the task has a higher DC.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Survival, you can automatically determine where true north lies in relation to yourself.
A ranger gains a bonus on Survival checks when using this skill to find or follow the tracks of a favored enemy.
If you have the Self-Sufficient feat, you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks.
Any rule that references the Use Rope skill should instead refer to Survival, as the two skills have been combined.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Survival, you get a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (dungeoneering), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made while underground.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (nature), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks in aboveground natural environments (aquatic, desert, forest, hill, marsh, mountains, and plains).
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (geography), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made to keep from getting lost or to avoid natural hazards.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (the planes), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made while on other planes.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Search, you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks to find or follow tracks.
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