Navigate

Navigation
There are two basic modes of navigation when traveling the wilderness: directional and landmark. Landmark navigation depends on nearby landmarks, locations, and structures to provide the path, while directional navigation occurs when the party is traveling based on their own sense of direction.

A party decides which mode they will be navigating by on a per-watch basis, at the same time that they decide travel activities.

Landmark Navigation
Landmark navigation occurs when the party has a clear, visible destination in view: the snowy cleft mountain, the massive black tree on the hill, or the ruined fortress looming ahead. So long as the landmark is clearly in view, the party does not need to make checks to navigate to it.

If the party’s view is not always clear, such as when obscured by intermittent fog or dense jungle canopy, the party must have the landmark in clear view at least once every watch. If necessary, the party may stop to get a better view, such as by climbing a tree or using magic to levitate themselves. At the GM’s discretion, a Wisdom (Perception) check may be necessary.

Landmark navigation can also be used for continuous landmarks or terrain features, such as following a river, cliff-side, or coastline.

If the party wishes to travel to a landmark that is large or non-specific, such as a range of mountains, it is the GM’s discretion where exactly the party ends up; the broader the landmark, the more variance in the party’s eventual location.

Visibility
By default, the horizon is approximately 3 miles away, meaning anything without significant size or elevation cannot be seen past the 3 mile limit. However, larger objects typically can be seen from a greater distance, meaning that navigating by landmarks further than 3 miles away is possible, provided there are no obstructions in the way, like trees, hills, or buildings.

As a broad rule of thumb, a given landmark is visible from 3 miles away, plus one extra mile for every 100 feet the landmark rises above the surrounding terrain. Thus, a mountain range rising 8,000 feet above the surrounding land would be visible from 80-85 miles away. However, an individual mountain peak of 8,000 feet surrounded by mountains terrain 7,500 feet high would only be visible from 8 miles away while viewed from within those mountains.

The GM may call for a Wisdom (Perception) check to attempt to spot particular landmarks in areas where visibility may be uncertain. If a player wishes to gauge distance between two locations, the GM should call for an Intelligence (Perception) check. In an area that is lightly obscured, visibility is reduced to 1 mile. In an area that is heavily obscured, visibility is so low that landmark navigation becomes impossible.

Directional Navigation
Directional navigation occurs when the party has no clear visible destination, but is instead traveling based on their own sense of direction, instructions off a map, or directions from some other source. Under directional navigation, the party chooses a navigator, and the navigator chooses a direction for the group to travel.

When choosing a direction, the navigator may do so with absolute directions, e.g. “I would like to travel north.” They may also do so with relative directions, e.g. “I would like to travel rightward of our current facing.” If the navigator has means to know cardinal directions with certainty, such as the Keen Mind feat or through a compass, they may travel in an absolute direction without making a navigation roll.

What a navigator may not do is travel to locations known only by memory, e.g. “I would like to travel to that ruined temple we found two weeks ago,” nor may the navigator simply point to the party’s map and declare that they are traveling there.

Once per watch, the navigator must make a Wisdom (Survival) check to ensure the party is still traveling in the correct direction. The DC is determined by the terrain type that the party is currently traveling through; to figure out the typical DC for a given area, see page 50.

If another party member wishes to assist the navigator, they may do so, provided that they are proficient in Survival or have access to cartographer’s tools. This grants the navigator advantage on navigation rolls, though the assisting party member counts as spending their travel time navigating as well, meaning they cannot be on guard for danger or conducting other travel-time activities.

If the party is traveling at a slow pace, the navigator gains a +5 bonus to the navigation roll, and travelling at a fast pace imposes a -5 penalty. If the region the party is traveling through is lightly obscured, such as by fog, the navigation DC increases by 5. If the region is heavily obscured, such as by a storm, the navigation DC increases by 10.

Getting Lost
If the party navigator succeeds on their roll against the navigation DC, all is well, and they continue in their intended direction. If the navigator fails the roll, however, the party begins to go astray. If the navigator fails the roll by 5 or less, the party goes slightly astray. If the navigator fails the roll by more than 5, their travel route has gone significantly awry. In either case, the party will likely travel in a direction that is not their intended direction. The GM secretly rolls 1d12 and consults the Slightly or Significantly Lost tables, respectively. All new directions are relative to their intended direction.