Intel - Survival is a required skill for any intrepid explorer, soldier or space fairer. With this skill, you have the best chance of surviving in the harshest and most dangerous environments, whether that be on a barren asteroid or a planet with a toxic atmosphere.
You know how to identify and locate sources of food, water, and shelter, as well as how to create makeshift shelter and traps to protect yourself from the elements or hostile creatures. You have knowledge of basic first aid techniques and are able to identify and treat common injuries and illnesses that may occur in alien environments.
Your training has taught you to be aware of your surroundings at all times and to recognize signs of danger or hazards that may be lurking in the environment. You can navigate and travel through difficult terrain and locate the safest routes to your destination.
hostile environments, include extreme temperatures, poisonous atmospheres, radiation, and deadly alien creatures. With Intel - Survival, you are more likely to be prepared for anything that comes your way, and can adapt to any environment to give you the best odds for your survival.
Whether you are exploring uncharted planets or battling in the depths of an asteroid mine, you are the one who will most likely will make it out alive.
Each survival situation will have a difficulty rating based on the hostility of the environment, available resources, and duration of exposure. The more extreme the conditions, the higher the difficulty.
When you attempt to survive in hostile environments, find food and water, create shelter, navigate terrain, or identify hazards, you will make an Intel - Survival skill check against the environment's difficulty rating. The GM may apply Boons or Banes based on factors such as available equipment, weather conditions, your familiarity with the environment type, or time pressure.
Rather than spending skill points to move up skill levels, You may instead spend skill points to purchase any of the following tricks.
Cost: 2 Skill points
Requires: Tactical Training
Frequency: Once per Lockdown
Effect: You can gain a basic understanding of a new environment within minutes. When entering an unfamiliar hostile environment, spend 10 minutes observing - you automatically identify the primary dangers, potential resources (food, water, shelter), and general survival strategies. Grants +1d4 Boon to all Survival checks in that environment for the rest of the operation.
Cost: 2 Skill points
Requires: Tactical Training
Frequency: Once per Lockdown
Effect: You make the most of limited resources and can scavenge for materials in even the most barren environments. When searching for resources in hostile environments, you automatically find sufficient supplies for basic survival (food, water, materials) even where others would find nothing.
Cost: 2 Skill points
Requires: Tactical Training
Frequency: Once per Lockdown
Effect: You know how to start fires with minimal resources. You can create fire in any environment using whatever materials are available - even in rain, wind, or with damp materials. This allows you to stay warm, cook food, purify water, and signal for help. Takes only 1-2 minutes instead of 10-20.
Cost: 6 Skill points
Requires: Expert Training
Frequency: Once per Op
Effect: You know how to provide advanced medical care in the field using natural or improvised materials. You can treat injuries, illnesses, poisoning, and infections common in harsh environments. When treating patients in wilderness conditions, you gain +1d8 Boon and can stabilize critical injuries that would normally require a medical facility.
Cost: 6 Skill points
Requires: Expert Training
Frequency: Once per Op
Effect: You can read environmental signs to predict weather patterns and hazards before they occur. You automatically predict storms, temperature changes, atmospheric shifts, or environmental dangers 2-6 hours before they arrive, giving you time to prepare shelter or seek safety.
Cost: 6 Skill points
Requires: Expert Training
Frequency: Once per Op
Effect: You can track prey or avoid predators using environmental factors and behavioral knowledge. You can follow tracks across any terrain (rock, water, urban), determine the exact number and type of creatures, estimate how long ago they passed, and predict where they're heading. You gain +1d8 Boon when tracking or evading pursuit.
Cost: 10 Skill points
Requires: Master Training
Frequency: Once per Mission
Effect: You can survive in environments that would kill others. For one mission, you can operate in extreme conditions (vacuum, toxic atmosphere, extreme radiation, crushing pressure, etc.) for extended periods with minimal protection. Your body adapts rapidly, and you know exactly how to extend survival gear beyond its normal limits.
Cost: 10 Skill points
Requires: Master Training
Frequency: Once per Mission
Effect: You can construct exceptional shelters from whatever materials are available. Given 1 hour and any environment, you can create shelter that protects your entire squad from the elements, provides warmth, is defensible, and is virtually undetectable from outside. The shelter remains stable for weeks and can be reused.
Cost: 10 Skill points
Requires: Master Training
Frequency: Once per Mission
Effect: Your survival mastery borders on supernatural. For one operation in hostile wilderness, you and your squad automatically succeed on all basic survival checks (food, water, shelter, navigation). You can lead your team through deadly environments without losses, finding safe routes that shouldn't exist and resources in impossible locations.
Each supply cache grants a stacking Boon to Intel - Survival rolls in that region:
Boons apply when:
Supply caches provide material assistance during missions:
GM Note: Cache contents depend on what was stored during creation. Supplies can be depleted and need replenishment.
Supply caches require periodic maintenance:
Kara establishes emergency caches in the Badlands: