Explores

You love discovering and exploring new locations, whether a tranquil valley, a dangerous wasteland, or a forbidding planet—and you have the necessary skills to survive and thrive in those places.

Genre themes: druid or ranger (fantasy), survivor (postapocalypse, science fiction), planetary explorer (science fiction)

GM intrusions: Maps get lost. An important detail is overlooked. An NPC disparages the character for being ignorant or uncivilized.

Tier 1: Exploration Survivor

You know how to survive in new and strange locations. After spending at least ten minutes in a region and succeeding on a survival task (generally difficulty 2, or whatever the GM determines is appropriate to the area), you find something useful you were seeking. The useful thing might be shelter in the form of a cave or tree hollow, materials to start a fire, fresh water, a game animal you bring down with ease, edible plants and fungi, or something to counteract a bleeding wound or poison.

You are able to feed yourself and five allies for as long as you remain in this region.

Once you've been to a notable location within a region (such as your campsite or a prominent landmark), you know the general direction and distance to it from where you are right now. Enabler.

Tier 1: Tough

You can take an additional minor wound. Enabler.

Tier 1: Untamed Recovery

You gain an extra one-action recovery each day. Enabler.

Tier 2: Beast Companion

You gain a follower that is a level 2 beast of your size or smaller that accompanies you and follows your instructions. You and the GM must work out the appearance and personality of your beast. Its movement is based on its creature type (avian, swimmer, and so on).

If your beast companion dies, you can use your resources hunting in the wild for a few days to locate and befriend a new one. Enabler.

Tier 2: Experienced Explorer

Your experience with creatures, plants, and substances in various regions gives you some additional protection against them. Your defense rolls against poison are eased and you reduce wounds from poison by one step (major to moderate, moderate to minor, minor to none). For example, if you are bitten by a snake whose poison inflicts a moderate wound, you'd only take a minor wound from the poison.

You are immune to natural diseases.

When in the wild, natural effects such as tall grass, thick brush, rugged terrain, landslides, and bad weather do not hinder you or slow your movement, and any wounds from them are reduced by one step.

Finally, you can find edible food and potable water in the wilderness, enough to feed yourself and a few other people, if given an hour or so to explore. Enabler.

Tier 3: Animal Senses and Sensibilities

Most of the time, if you're about to walk into an ambush or a trap that is level 4 or lower, the GM should alert you (though depending on the circumstances, you may not have time to warn your companions).

Even if you are unaware of an incoming attack, the attacker doesn't gain any advantage against you, such as from surprise. Enabler.

Tier 3: Wilderness Encouragement (3 Intellect)

Your knowledge and experience allow you to help others rest and recover. While in the wilderness or when talking about your time in the wilderness, choose one ally within short range who can understand you (you can choose yourself). The ally can immediately make an extra one-action recovery or remove a moderate wound. You can't use this ability on the same creature again until they've used one of their own recoveries. Action.

Tier 4: Wild Camouflage (4 Intellect)

By adjusting your clothing, using various disguise tricks, and drawing upon your deep knowledge of your surroundings, you are hard to make out in the wilderness until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. While you are camouflaged, you gain two assets to dodge and stealth. This effect ends early if you do something to reveal your presence or position—attacking, using a special ability with an obvious effect, moving a large object, and so on. Action.

Tier 4: Wilderness Awareness (4 Intellect)

Your connection to the natural world extends to a degree that some would call supernatural. While in the wilderness, you can extend your senses 1 mile (1.6 km) in any direction and ask the GM a very simple, general question about that area, such as "Where is the enemy camp?" or "Is my friend Deithan still alive?" or "Where's the most poisonous thing I could find?" If the answer you seek is not in the area, you receive no information. Action.

Tier 5: Explorer's Awareness

You're instinctively vigilant about potential threats, foes, obstacles, and hazards in your line of sight. When you use Effort on initiative and perception tasks, you gain two free levels of Effort. Enabler.

Tier 5: The Wild Is on Your Side (5 Intellect)

Nature itself intervenes against your foes within short range. Until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, rocks trip them, vines entangle them, insects bite them, small animals distract or confuse them, and so on, hindering all their tasks. You can only use this ability when in a wilderness environment. Enabler.

Tier 6: One With the Wild (6 Intellect)

You and your allies gain an unusual connection to the wilderness within long range until you use a one-hour or longer recovery. This has three effects:

• Natural animals and plants in the area will not knowingly harm you or your allies.
• You and your allies increase their Might Edge, Speed Edge, and Intellect Edge by 1.
• Any recoveries made during this period restore twice as many points.

Action to initiate.

Tier 6: Survivor

If you have a minor or moderate wound, you can rally without using any Might points. This ability renews each time you take a recovery. Enabler.