Exploration Mode

Source Player Core pg. 438

While encounters use rounds for combat, exploration is more free form. The GM determines the flow of time, as you could be traveling by horseback across craggy highlands, negotiating with merchants, or delving in a dungeon in search of danger and treasure. Exploration lacks the immediate danger of encounter mode, but it offers its own challenges.

Much of exploration mode involves movement and roleplaying. You might be traveling from one town to another, chatting with a couple of merchants in an outpost along the way, or maybe having a terse conversation with the watchful city guards at your destination. Instead of measuring your rate of movement in 5-foot squares every round, you measure it in feet or miles per minute, hour, or day, using your travel speed. Rather than deciding on each action every turn, you’ll engage in an exploration activity, and you’ll typically spend some time every day resting and making your daily preparations.

Travel Speed

Source Player Core pg. 438

Depending on how the GM tracks movement, you move in feet or miles based on your character’s Speed with the relevant movement type. Typical rates are on the table below.

Travel Speed

Speed	Feet per Minute	Miles per Hour	Miles per Day
10 feet	100	1	8
15 feet	150	1-1/2	12
20 feet	200	2	16
25 feet	250	2-1/2	20
30 feet	300	3	24
35 feet	350	3-1/2	28
40 feet	400	4	32
50 feet	500	5	40
60 feet	600	6	48

The rates in the table assume traveling over flat and clear terrain at a determined pace, but one that’s not exhausting. Moving through difficult terrain halves the listed movement rate. Greater difficult terrain reduces the distance traveled to one-third the listed amount. If the travel requires a skill check to accomplish, such as mountain climbing or swimming, the GM might call for a check once per hour using the result and the table above to determine your progress.

Exploration Activities

Source Player Core pg. 438

While you’re traveling and exploring, tell the GM what you’d generally like to do along the way. If you do nothing more than make steady progress toward your goal, you move at the full travel speeds given in the table.

When you want to do something other than simply travel, you describe what you are attempting to do. It isn’t necessary to go into extreme detail, such as “Using my dagger, I nudge the door so I can check for devious traps.” Instead, “I’m searching the area for hazards” is sufficient. The GM finds the best exploration activity to match your description and describes the effects of that activity. Some exploration activities limit how fast you can travel and be effective.

These are most common exploration activities.

Exploration

An activity with this trait takes more than a turn to use, and can usually be used only during exploration mode.

Avoid Notice

Exploration

An activity with this trait takes more than a turn to use, and can usually be used only during exploration mode.

Defend

Concentrate

An action with this trait requires a degree of mental concentration and discipline.

Exploration

An activity with this trait takes more than a turn to use, and can usually be used only during exploration mode.

Detect Magic

Auditory

Auditory actions and effects rely on sound. An action with the auditory trait can be successfully performed only if the creature using the action can speak or otherwise produce the required sounds. A spell or effect with the auditory trait has its effect only if the target can hear it. This applies only to sound-based parts of the effect, as determined by the GM. This is different from a sonic effect, which still affects targets who can’t hear it (such as deaf targets) as long as the effect itself makes sound.

Concentrate

An action with this trait requires a degree of mental concentration and discipline.

Exploration

An activity with this trait takes more than a turn to use, and can usually be used only during exploration mode.

Visual

A visual effect can affect only creatures that can see it. This applies only to visible parts of the effect, as determined by the GM.

Follow the Expert

Exploration

An activity with this trait takes more than a turn to use, and can usually be used only during exploration mode.

Move

An action with this trait involves moving from one space to another.

Hustle

Concentrate

An action with this trait requires a degree of mental concentration and discipline.

Exploration

An activity with this trait takes more than a turn to use, and can usually be used only during exploration mode.

Investigate

Concentrate

An action with this trait requires a degree of mental concentration and discipline.

Exploration

An activity with this trait takes more than a turn to use, and can usually be used only during exploration mode.

Repeat a Spell

Concentrate

An action with this trait requires a degree of mental concentration and discipline.

Exploration

An activity with this trait takes more than a turn to use, and can usually be used only during exploration mode.

Scout

Concentrate

An action with this trait requires a degree of mental concentration and discipline.

Exploration

An activity with this trait takes more than a turn to use, and can usually be used only during exploration mode.

Search

Concentrate

An action with this trait requires a degree of mental concentration and discipline.

Sustain an Activation

Skill Exploration Activities

Chapter 4: Skills includes additional exploration activities.

Borrow an Arcane Spell: You use Arcana to prepare a spell from someone else’s spellbook (page 234).

Coerce: You use Intimidation to threaten a creature so it does what you want (page 240).

Cover Tracks: You use Survival to obscure your passing (page 246).

Decipher Writing: You use a suitable skill to understand archaic, esoteric, or obscure texts (page 228).

Gather Information: You use Diplomacy to canvass the area to learn about a specific individual or topic (page 239).

Identify Alchemy: You use Craft and alchemist’s tools to identify an alchemical item (page 237).

Identify Magic: Using a variety of skills, you can learn about a magic item, location, or ongoing effect (page 230).

Impersonate: You use Deception and usually a disguise kit to create a disguise (page 238).

Learn a Spell: You use the skill corresponding to the spell’s tradition to gain access to a new spell (page 230).

Make an Impression: You use Diplomacy to make a good impression on someone (page 239).

Repair: With a repair kit and the Crafting skill, you fix a damaged item (page 236).

Sense Direction: You use Survival to get a sense of where you are or determine cardinal directions (page 246).

Squeeze: Using Acrobatics, you squeeze though very tight spaces (page 233).

Track: You use Survival to follow tracks (page 246).

Treat Wounds: You use Medicine to treat a living creature’s wounds (page 242).

Rest and Daily Preparations

Source Player Core pg. 439

You’re at your best when you take time to rest and prepare. Once every 24 hours, you can take a period of rest (typically 8 hours), during which you heal naturally, regaining Hit Points equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1) times your level, and you might recover from or improve certain conditions. Sleeping in armor results in poor rest that leaves you fatigued. If you go more than 16 hours without resting, you become fatigued (you can’t recover from this fatigue until you rest at least 8 continuous hours).

After you rest, you make your daily preparations, which takes around 1 hour. You can prepare only if you’ve rested, and only once per day. During preparations:

• Spellcasters regain spell slots, and prepared spellcasters choose spells to have available that day.
• Focus Points, abilities that refresh during preparations, and abilities that can be used only a certain number of times per day, including magic item uses, are reset.
• You don armor and equip weapons and other gear.
• You invest up to 10 worn magic items to gain their benefits for the day (as explained in GM Core).