Wilderness Trees
Hunting, Delving, Beast Handling.
3 trees5 advancements + 1 ultimate1 skill point each, 2 for the ultimate
Hunting
Tracking, Trapping, Butchering
- 1
Tracker 1 pt
You read the ground like a book.
Core: Follow fresh, obvious tracks at full speed. Determine from tracks: creature type, approximate number, size, and direction of travel.
Advantage: Old trails (hours/days old), tracking in rain, tracking through difficult terrain, reading detailed information (health, emotional state, whether pursued).
- 2
Trapper 1 pt
You catch what you can't chase.
Core: Set simple snares using natural materials in 10 minutes. Your traps catch small game reliably enough that hunting on the march costs you half the usual Stamina. A trap line of 6 snares takes 1 hour and covers a quarter-mile.
Advantage: Traps for large/dangerous prey, concealed traps (requires active searching), traps in difficult terrain, live capture.
- 3
Silent Stalker 1 pt
You get close without being noticed.
Core: Move silently through natural terrain at half speed. Approach within 60 feet of wildlife without alerting them.
Advantage: Silent movement at full speed, approaching within 30 feet, masking scent (8 hours), stalking alert/dangerous prey, the Cunning save to hunt outside game-rich country.
- 4
Read the Signs 1 pt
Tracks tell you more than direction.
Core: Determine from tracks: how long ago they passed, creature's approximate health, whether wounded. Follow trails up to 1 day old.
Advantage: Tracking across stone/water/hard surfaces, trails 3+ days old, reading emotional state, determining if prey is being pursued.
- 5
Field Dressing 1 pt
Nothing goes to waste.
Core: Butcher any creature in 1 hour, extracting usable meat. Identify valuable parts (hide, bones, claws). Preserve meat for 3 days without salt, so a kill you dress feeds your party for the full 3 days.
Advantage: Fast butchering (30 min), maximum meat extraction, harvesting organs/venom glands, preserving meat for 1 week+.
- 6
Ultimate: Apex Predator 2 pts
Prerequisite: 3+ other Hunting advancements
You are the top of the food chain.
Core: Track any creature across any terrain, even through water or over stone. Traps can hold horse-sized creatures. Butcher creatures in 10 minutes. Identify any creature by tracks, scat, or kills. The Cunning save to hunt always passes, whatever the country. Hunting costs you half the usual Stamina on the march and none when the party stops for it.
Advantage: Tracking magical/planar creatures, trapping legendary beasts, identifying creatures that shouldn't exist.
TOTAL: 7 points
Delving
Underground Navigation, Hazards, Vertical Movement
- 1
Depth Sense 1 pt
You feel where you are underground.
Core: Have a rough sense of depth. Notice obvious air currents. Feel generally which direction leads out.
Advantage: Precise depth (within 10 ft), sensing passages/caverns from air flow, always knowing nearest exit direction.
- 3
Hazard Recognition 1 pt
You see danger before you step in it.
Core: Identify obviously unstable structures. Recognize clearly bad air or obvious gas. Know which common underground creatures are dangerous.
Advantage: Subtle instabilities, gas pockets before entering, dangerous fungi, all underground hazards.
- 4
Rope Work 1 pt
Vertical shafts don't slow you down.
Core: Set reliable anchors. Tie knots that hold. Climb and descend ropes safely.
Advantage: Anchors that never fail, full speed rope movement, hauling any weight the rope bears.
- 5
Underground Survival 1 pt
You can live below ground indefinitely.
Core: Find water underground with effort. Identify obviously safe food sources. Manage light resources.
Advantage: Reliable water finding, identifying all safe food (fungi, fish, insects), extended stays without resupply.
- 6
Ultimate: Master Delver 2 pts
Prerequisite: 3+ other Delving advancements
The depths hold no secrets from you.
Core: Navigate in complete darkness by sound/feel. Sense approaching creatures through vibration. Map complex systems from partial exploration.
Advantage: Perfect darkness navigation, sensing hidden creatures, mapping impossible labyrinths.
TOTAL: 7 points
Beast Handling
Care, Communication, Animal Behavior
- 1
Animal Care 1 pt
You keep animals healthy and content.
Core: Provide basic care that keeps animals healthy. Recognize obvious illness or injury. Know what common animals need.
Advantage: Stabilizing dying beasts (1 round), healing (restore 1 Vigor per 10 minutes), recognizing poison/magical ailments, etc.
- 2
Calm the Beast 1 pt
Frightened and hostile animals trust you.
Core: Calm obviously panicked domestic animals. Approach non-aggressive wild animals without startling them.
Advantage: Panicked animals (instantly), aggressive animals (1 minute), approaching without triggering fight/flight, calming exotic beasts.
- 3
Animal Messenger 1 pt
Your beasts carry messages and retrieve objects.
Core: Train animals to return to familiar locations. Have beasts carry simple items or wait at locations.
Advantage: Complex routes, carrying messages, fetching specific objects, patient waiting (days), leading people.
- 4
Read the Animal 1 pt
Animals tell you things without words.
Core: Read obvious animal emotional states. Notice when animals have been recently stressed. Understand basic animal body language.
Advantage: Reading recent experiences (fear, predators, humans), trained beasts answering yes/no, wild animals revealing territory dangers.
- 5
Endurance Handler 1 pt
Your animals go farther and work longer.
Core: Get good performance from well-cared-for animals. Keep mounts in good condition on normal journeys.
Advantage: 50% farther travel, double work duration, enduring harsh conditions, surviving short rations.
- 6
Ultimate: Beast Whisperer 2 pts
Prerequisite: 3+ other Beast Handling advancements
You speak the beast's language.
Core: Instantly attempt to tame any beast you encounter. Communicate basic concepts to any animal.
Advantage: Taming hostile/exotic creatures, complex communication, befriending magical beasts, commanding multiple animals.
TOTAL: 7 points