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Exploration & Survival | Homebrew Directory

Exploration

Fearsome foes and great destinies await adventurers in dungeons, castles, and otherworldly planes, but no adventurer can make a name without reaching those destinations first. While traveling, the adventurers must check to see if they can navigate the wilderness, avoid dangerous encounters, and not get lost. This is comprised of an Exploration roll: two or more dice rolled, based on the distance, danger, and preparedness of your group's journey. The size of the dice rolled is based on the environment, danger, and preparedness of your group, while the number of dice rolled is determined by the length of the journey and size of your traveling group.

• Planning the Journey. Find out how many hours of travel it will take for you to reach your destination by dividing the distance of your journey by your group's travel speed after applying all modifiers.
  • Distance. Determine how many miles you will be traveling.
  • Speed. Determine your travel speed (in miles per hour) by dividing the speed of the slowest member of your traveling party by 10.
  • Pace. Determine your group's travel pace, which may affect travel speed and ability checks. Ability check effects influence any ability checks made during Exploration and subsequent Survival rolls during that period of travel.

• Die Size. Determine the die size of the Exploration test based on the environment, modified by various factors as explained on the chart below:

• Dice Pool. Determine the base dice pool, which has a minimum of 2 dice. The following factors increase or decrease the dice pool:

• Exploration Actions. Each creature in the group can take one Exploration Action from the following list:
  • Scout. You scout the area ahead of the group, relaying information about the path ahead to the party. Make a Dexterity (Stealth) check with a difficulty equal to Action DC. On a success, increase the size of the dice in your pool by one step, plus an additional step for every increment of 5 you succeeded by. Additionally, you remain alert to dangers while on the road, and become aware of any encounters that result during Exploration. Only one actor can take this action for ever three members of the party.
  • Guide. Using maps, landmarks, or grit, you make sure your party reaches their destination. Make a Intelligence or Wisdom (Nature or Navigation) check with a difficulty equal to Action DC. On a success, reduce the dice pool by 1 die, plus an additional die for every increment of 5 you succeeded by. Only one actor can take this action for ever three members of the party. Certain locales, such as cities, ruins, or other planes of existence, may allow Arcana, Society, or Religion instead of Nature.
  • Ward. You remain alert to immediate danger and clear a path for the rest of your group. Make a Strength (Athletics) or Wisdom (Perception) check with a difficulty equal to Action DC. On a success, you may reroll 1 die in the Exploration Pool after seeing the results, plus an additional die for every increment of 5 you succeeded by. Additionally, you remain alert to dangers while on the road, and become aware of any encounters that result during Exploration.
  • Acquire Resources. You search for resources on the road to help replenish your party's supplies. Take the Forage or Hunt Survival Action and apply the result to your next Survival.
  • Use Tool. You can use the Exploration Action of a Frontier Tool you are proficient with.
  • Tend Animals. You tend to the wild creatures of your group. Make a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check and reduce your result by 10. Reduce your party’s Size by the result, to a maximum of the Size contributed by animals, familiars, and other beasts in your party for this Exploration and your next Survival.
  • Help. As long as you have proficiency with the associated skills or tools, you grant advantage to the Exploration Action of another creature.
  • Free Time. You leave travel concerns to your companions. You can spend all of the time you would have otherwise spent traveling on downtime. The GM is the final arbiter on which downtime actions can be performed based on the method of travel.
• Magic. Some spells, like Find the Path, can grant benefits as outlined in their description. Characters can cast these spells in addition to taking Exploration Actions, but each spell can only be cast by a single character once per Exploration. The party may benefit from multiple creatures casting the same spell if they happen to know it.
• Exploration Roll. Roll the Exploration Dice Pool. If no numbers match, your exploration goes off without a hitch, and you arrive at your destination. When Exploration is over, the DM may call for a Survival roll, or you will continue on your adventure.
  • Encounters. For every pair of dice with matching numbers, roll a random encounter, which takes place at some point during the travel. If three or more dice match, roll an additional encounter for each matching die, all of which encounter simultaneously.
  • Getting Lost. If any matching dice were odd, any number of creatures in the party make a group DC 10 Wisdom (Nature or Investigation/Navigator's Tools) check and roll a number of d4s equal to the number of dice that matched. Your party gets lost for a number of hours equal to the result of the d4s minus the amount you exceeded the Wisdom check by. The next time your party makes a Survival roll, your party gets a penalty to its Food, Water, and Shelter rolls equal to the hours your party was lost.

Survival

At the end of each day, the adventurers must check to see how well they are surviving on the road. This is composed of three d100 tests: one for Food, one for Water, and one for Shelter. The difficulty of each test is based on the environment the adventurers find themselves in. Each test is determined individually from one another: a location can be lush in Food, Sparse in Water, and Hostile in Shelter.

• Food. This roll represents the adventurer’s ability to find, prepare, and ration food for their party. A Lush environment is one that has abundant flora and fauna that can be eaten, like a forest or ocean. A Sparse environment is one that has sporadic food, such as a savannah. A Barren environment is one with little to no food, such as a wasteland.
• Water. This roll represents the adventurer’s ability to find, prepare, and ration water for their party. A Lush environment is one that has abundant potable water that can be drunk, like a clean river. A Sparse environment is one that has sporadic sources of water, such as a field with rare, small streams. A Barren environment is one with little to no potable water, such as a desert or the ocean.
• Shelter. This roll represents the adventurer’s ability to find and prepare shelter, and to keep alert to danger throughout the night. A Safe environment is one that has abundant natural shelter materials and few dangers, like a tranquil forest. An Unsafe environment is one that has either natural shelter or few hazards, such as a mountain pass. A Hostile environment is one with no shelter and many dangers, such as a lion’s hunting ground.

Bonuses and Penalties

Other factors may provide additional bonuses or penalties to these d100 tests, or circumvent them completely:

• Group Size. Larger groups may be able to help each other, but they are also harder to take care of. For every creature above five, all d100 tests get a -1 penalty. A party of 6 has a -1 penalty, while a party of 11 has a -6 penalty.
  • Tiny creatures only count for half of a creature; an odd number of Tiny creatures is rounded down.
  • Larger creatures contribute more to the size of the group, while Tiny creatures count for fewer.
  • Creatures who do not need to eat or drink do not count towards Group Size for their respective tests, and automatically succeed on saving throws from complications on these tests.
  • Creatures who voluntarily abstain from food or water do not count towards Group Size for their respective tests, but during the Complications phase, they must roll a d6. The creature suffers the Minor Starvation/Dehydration Complication on a result of 1-4, the Moderate Starvation/Dehydration Complication on a result of 5, or the Major Starvation/Dehydration Complication on a result of 6, in addition to any other Complications it suffers. If it is already rolling a Starvation/Dehydration complication, it saves against the highest DC with disadvantage.
• Supplies. While the adventurers have Supplies, they can gain a bonus to all applicable tests if the group spends 1 gp for each creature. Larger creatures require more supplies, while Tiny creatures count as less. Most Supplies grant a +10 bonus, but some may provide larger benefits. Depleted Supplies grant no benefits until they are replaced.
• Inclement Weather. Severe weather may provide Advantage or Disadvantage on the d100 test. For example, a severe rainstorm may grant Disadvantage on the Shelter roll, but Advantage on the Water roll, while exceptionally hot environs may grant Disadvantage on the Water roll.
• Notoriety. Certain activities may draw attention to the party, making it harder to camp safely. Making a bunch of noise, lighting large campfires, or creating shelters that are especially conspicuous may create penalties.
• Settlement. Being in a town or city likely provides access to abundant food, water, and shelter, provided it is paid for or given by a patron. This will usually cause all d100 tests to automatically succeed.
• Magic. Some spells, like Goodberry, Create Food and Water, and Tiny Hut can grant benefits to these d100 tests as outlined in their description, or may even create Safe Havens. Characters can cast these spells in addition to taking Survival Actions, but each spell can only be cast by a single character once per Survival. The party may benefit from multiple creatures casting the same spell if they happen to know it.
• Safe Haven. Being in a town or city likely provides access to abundant food, water, and shelter, provided it is paid for or given by a patron. This will usually cause all d100 tests to automatically succeed. See below.

Survival Actions

Before rolling the Tests, each creature may take one Survival Action (or two, if the creature only requires 4 hours of rest) which may provide further benefits to the roll. A creature can forgo sleep to take 1 extra Survival Action for every 2 hours awake (3 for most creatures), but during the Complications phase, they must roll a d6. The creature suffers the Minor Poor Rest Shelter Complication on a result of 1-4, the Moderate Poor Rest Shelter Complication on a result of 5, or the Major Poor Rest Complication on a result of 6, in addition to any other Complications it suffers. If it is already rolling a Poor Rest complication, it saves against the highest DC with disadvantage. Regardless, the creature cannot take a Long Rest

If a group consists of a single actor, they may instead take two additional Survival Actions, and if a group consists of only two actors, they may each take one additional Survival Action. If the action requires an ability check, use the Environment DCs on the table above. On a failure, most checks have no drawback, though some do – and all carry risks in the event of critical failure:

Food

• Forage. You attempt to gather edible herbs and fruit. Make an Intelligence or Wisdom (Nature or Herbalism) check equal to the Food Environment DC. Success grants a bonus on the Food d100 test equal to the difference between the result and the DC (minimum 1).
• Harvest. You harvest game and slain creatures for food. Make a Dexterity (Harvesting) check equal to the Food Environment DC or the Harvest DC of the slain creature. Success grants a bonus on the Food d100 test equal to 5 plus twice the difference between the result and the DC. This action can only be taken if someone succeeded on the Hunt action, or if the corpses of edible creatures were preserved from combat earlier that day.
• Hunt. You attempt to hunt edible creatures in the area. Make a Dexterity (Stealth) against the Shelter Environment DC and a Wisdom (Nature) check against the Food Environment DC. Success on the Wisdom (Nature) roll enables one creature to take the Harvest action, while success on both grants advantage on their rolls. Failure on the Dexterity (Stealth) roll causes the hunter to lose hit dice equal to the amount they failed by at the end of the long rest. If they cannot, they gain a level of Fatigue, plus 1 more Fatigue for every 5 hit dice they cannot spend.
• Prepare. You attempt to cook your rations. Make an Intelligence or Wisdom (Cook Utensils) check with a DC equal to the Shelter Environment DC. Success grants a bonus on the Food d100 test equal to half the difference between the result and the DC (minimum 0), and grants Advantage on the Food d100 test.

Water

• Forage. You attempt to hunt for potable water. Make a Wisdom (Nature) check. Success grants a bonus on the Water d100 test equal to 5 plus the difference between the result and the DC.
• Purify. You attempt to remove any impurities from your supply of water. Make an Intelligence or Wisdom (Nature or Brewing) check with a DC equal to the Shelter DC. Success grants a bonus on the Water d100 test equal to half the difference between the result and the DC (minimum 0), and grants Advantage on the Water d100 test.

Shelter

• Survey. You search for safe lodgings, and keep an eye out for dangers. Make a Wisdom (Perception) check equal to the Shelter DC. Success grants a bonus on the Shelter d100 test equal to half the difference between the result and the DC (minimum 0), and grants Advantage on the Shelter d100 test.
• Camp. You attempt to set up camp for your party. Make a Wisdom (Nature) check equal to the Shelter DC. Success grants a bonus on the Shelter d100 test equal to the difference between the result and the DC (minimum 1).
• Keep Watch. You volunteer more of your night towards keeping vigil against dangers. Make a Constitution or Wisdom (Resilience) check equal to the Shelter DC. Success grants a bonus on the Shelter d100 test equal to 5 plus twice the difference between the result and the DC. Failure causes the watcher to lose hit dice equal to the amount they failed by at the end of the long rest. If they cannot, they gain a level of Fatigue, plus 1 more Fatigue for every 5 hit dice they cannot spend. Only one actor can take this action for every three actors in the group.

Miscellaneous

• First Aid. You spend your time healing the injuries of yourself or others. Make Wisdom or Intelligence (Medicine) check and reduce your result by 10. You can spend 2 of your remaining result to allow one creature to recover a Hit Die, and 5 to reduce the duration of a disease, lingering injury, or other negative effect by a day.
• Recover. You focus all of your time on rest and recovery. If you take a Long Rest, you recover all of your Hit Dice and reduce the duration of any diseases, lingering injuries, exhaustion, or other negative effects by an additional day. You cannot use another Survival Action if you Recover, even if you have an ability that says otherwise.
• Use Tool. You can use the Survival Action of a tool you are proficient with.
• Tend Animals. You tend to the wild creatures of your group. Make a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check and reduce your result by 10. Reduce your party’s Size by the result, to a maximum of the Size contributed by animals, familiars, and other beasts in your party.
• Help. As long as you have proficiency with the associated skills or tools, you grant advantage to Survival Action of another creature.
• Chores. You perform small-but-vital chores around the camp, from fetching supplies to doing laundry. A single d100 test of your choice gets a +2 bonus, or all three gain a +1 bonus.
• Free Time. You leave camp upkeep to your companions. You gain two hours of downtime that can be used for personal projects.

Determine the Result

Once the final modifiers have been established, roll a d100 and add or subtract the modifiers to get the final result, then compare it to the environment tables to determine if it is a Success, Failure, Critical Failure, or Critical Success.

• Success. On a success, your party is able to find appropriate food, water, or shelter for your group, and suffers no complications. Your party must earn three successes in order to gain the benefits of a Long Rest.
• Failure. On a failure, your party is able to find some food, water, or shelter, but encounters some sort of difficulty. Roll on the Complications table for that type of test and suffer the associated complication.
• Critical Failure. On a critical failure, your party encounters significant setbacks while finding food, water, or shelter. Roll twice on the Complications table and suffer the complication of the lower result.
• Critical Success. On a result of over 100, your party finds great success on the road. You may choose to take a normal success, or you may roll on the Survival Windfall chart and reap the rewards – but be aware that there is a small chance for Complications to roll up as well! Regardless, a Critical Success counts as two successes towards qualifying for a Long Rest.

Safe Havens

Locations like villages, cities, druid groves, and even certain powerful magical conjurations such as Magnificent mansions count as Safe Havens. Most Safe Havens have Food, Water, and Shelter in abundance, meaning all three d100 Tests are automatic successes. In rare instances, the DM may still require one or more d100 tests, albeit with bonuses, such as when resting in a Magnificent Mansion in a place where the door might be discovered. Party members can still take Miscellaneous Survival Actions while in a Safe Haven.

Most Safe Havens must be obtained through some means, be it through spells, abilities, coin, favors, or patrons. There are also multiple tiers of living expenses which may include benefits or penalties with them. Prices and lifestyles may vary based on availability, but the average prices are as follows (half room, half board):

Traveling Montages and Time Skips

Though Survival rolls are often made at the end of each day, longer journeys may be combined together for brevity’s sake, as rolling more than 3 or 5 times in a row becomes tedious. The DM may collate time in 2, 3, 5, 10, or even 30 days at a time. Regardless of how long, consequences affect the party at the end of the collated time period.

Summoned Creatures and Companions During Survival

Familiars, animal companions, steeds, and other creatures interact with Survival as well:

• Create Homunculus. Homunculi can take Survival Actions that it can sensibly accomplish. It does not need to eat, drink, or breathe, so it does not count towards the Group Size.
• Find Familiar/Flock of Familiars. Familiars can take Survival Actions that it can sensibly accomplish. If normal familiars do, they are active enough that they count towards the Group Size. Those summoned via Flock of Familiars only last for an hour, so they do not count towards the Group Size.
• Find Steed/Animal Companions. Companion creatures can take Survival Actions that they can sensibly accomplish, so long as they can be done within the duration. If they are present to do so, they count towards the Group Size.
• Summon spells. Summoned creatures can take Survival Actions that they can sensibly accomplish, so long as they can be done within the duration of their spell. If they are only around for 1 hour, they do not count towards the Group Size.

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