Intelligence.
Use this skill to prevent a character from becoming lost, to plot a course, or to identify her location by checking the stars, landmarks, ocean currents, or a GPS device.
Check: Make a Navigate check when a character is trying to find her way to a distant location without directions or other specific guidance. Generally, a character does not need to make a check to find a local street or other common urban site, or to follow an accurate map. However, the character might make a check to wend her way through a dense forest or a labyrinth of underground storm drains.
For movement over a great distance, make a Navigate check. The DC depends on the length of the trip. If the character succeeds, she moves via the best reasonable course towards her goal. If the character fails, she still reaches the goal, but it takes the character twice as long (the character loses time backtracking and correcting his or her path). If the character fails by more than 5, she travels the expected time, but only gets halfway to her destination, at which point the character becomes lost.
A character may make a second Navigate check (DC 20) to regain her path. If the character succeeds, she continues on to her destination; the total time for the trip is twice the normal time. If the character fails, she loses half a day before she can try again. The character keeps trying until she succeeds, losing half a day for each failure.
When faced with multiple choices, such as at a branch in a tunnel, a character can make a Navigate check (DC 20) to intuit the choice that takes the character toward a known destination. If unsuccessful, the character chooses the wrong path, but at the next juncture, with a successful check, the character realizes her mistake.
A character cannot use this function of Navigate to find a path to a site if the character has no idea where the site is located. The GM may choose to make the Navigate check for the character in secret, so she doesn’t know from the result whether the character is following the right or wrong path.
A character can use Navigate to determine her position on earth without the use of any high-tech equipment by checking the constellations or other natural landmarks. The character must have a clear view of the night sky to make this check. The DC is 15.
Action: A Navigate check is a full-round action.
Special: A character can take 10 when making a Navigate check. A character can take 20 only when determining her location, not when travelling.
A character with the
Guide feat gets a +2 bonus on all Navigate checks.
