Survival
Full rules text, use cases, and edge-case handling for this skill.
Description
Survival covers the practical arts of wilderness living — tracking creatures, navigating without a map, foraging for food and water, predicting weather, and avoiding natural hazards. Where Nature is theoretical knowledge of the wild, Survival is the hands-on skill of staying alive in it.
Check
The GM calls for a Survival check when navigating, tracking, or dealing with wilderness challenges.
| Difficulty | DC |
|---|---|
| Easy | 10 |
| Medium | 15 |
| Hard | 20 |
| Very Hard | 25 |
| Nearly Impossible | 30 |
Common Uses
- Tracking a creature across terrain (DC set by trail freshness, terrain, and weather)
- Navigating to a destination without a map or in poor visibility
- Foraging for food and water during a day of travel
- Predicting weather for the next day
- Identifying natural hazards (quicksand, thin ice, avalanche risk)
- Following a trail obscured by rain, time, or counter-tracking
Tracking
The GM sets the DC for tracking based on how clear the trail is. Fresh tracks on soft ground are Easy (DC 10); week-old tracks after rainfall may be Nearly Impossible (DC 30). Moving at half speed while tracking allows careful examination of the trail. A failed check means the trail is lost — the party can search to recover it or return to the last known point.
Passive Score
Passive Survival (10 + modifier) may be used when the GM wants to determine whether an experienced wilderness character automatically notices a hazard, a trail, or a change in conditions without requiring a roll — particularly useful for overland travel where constant checks would slow the game.
Proficiency
Survival is a class skill for Rangers and Druids, and is common among characters with Outlander, Folk Hero, or similar backgrounds. In wilderness-heavy campaigns it sees constant use; in urban campaigns it is rarely called for.
Special
- Ranger (Natural Explorer): Doubles proficiency on Survival checks in favored terrain; the party cannot become lost by non-magical means; foraging yields food for the whole party. This feature makes Rangers dramatically more effective at wilderness navigation.
- Ranger (Primeval Awareness): Provides supernatural awareness of certain creature types in the area — complements Survival tracking with magical confirmation.
- Outlander background: Grants Survival proficiency and the Wanderer feature — the ability to always find food and water for the party in the wild, effectively making Survival foraging automatic.
- Find the Path (spell): Automatically leads to a known destination — replaces navigation Survival checks but not tracking or foraging.
- Hunter's Mark (spell): While marked, Ranger has advantage on Survival checks to track the marked creature.