You attempt a skill check to try to remember a bit of knowledge regarding a topic related to that skill. The GM determines the DCs for such checks and which skills apply.
Critical Success You recall the knowledge accurately and gain additional information or context.
Success You recall the knowledge accurately or gain a useful clue about your current situation.
Critical Failure You recall incorrect information or gain an erroneous or misleading clue.
The following skills can be used to Recall Knowledge, getting information about the listed topics. In some cases, you can get the GM’s permission to use a different but related skill, usually against a higher DC than normal. Some topics might appear on multiple lists, but the skills could give different information. For example, Arcana might tell you about the magical defenses of a golem, whereas Crafting could tell you about its sturdy resistance to physical attacks.
Arcana: Arcane theories, magical traditions, creatures of arcane significance, and arcane planes.
Crafting: Alchemical reactions and creatures, item value, engineering, unusual materials, and constructs.
Lore: The subject of the Lore skill’s subcategory.
Medicine: Diseases, poisons, wounds, and forensics.
Nature: The environment, flora, geography, weather, creatures of natural origin, and natural planes.
Occultism: Ancient mysteries, obscure philosophy, creatures of occult significance, and esoteric planes.
Religion: Divine agents, divine planes, theology, obscure myths, and creatures of religious significance.
Society: Local history, key personalities, legal institutions, societal structure, and humanoid culture.
The GM might allow checks to Recall Knowledge using other skills. For example, you might assess the skill of an acrobat using Acrobatics. If you’re using a physical skill (like in this example), the GM will most likely have you use a mental ability score—typically Intelligence — instead of the skill’s normal physical ability score.
You try to provide food and shelter for yourself, and possibly others as well, with a standard of living described on page 294.
The GM determines the DC based on the nature of the place where you’re trying to Subsist. You might need a minimum proficiency rank to Subsist in particularly strange environments.
Unlike most downtime activities, you can Subsist after 8 hours or less of exploration, but if you do, you take a –5 penalty.
Critical Success You either provide a subsistence living for yourself and one additional creature, or you improve your own food and shelter, granting yourself a comfortable living.
Success You find enough food and shelter with basic protection from the elements to provide you a subsistence living.
Failure You’re exposed to the elements and don’t get enough food, becoming fatigued until you attain sufficient food and shelter.
Critical Failure You attract trouble, eat something you shouldn’t, or otherwise worsen your situation. You take a –2 circumstance penalty to checks to Subsist for 1 week. You don’t find any food at all; if you don’t have any stored up, you’re in danger of starving or dying of thirst if you continue failing.
You move across a narrow surface or uneven ground, attempting an Acrobatics check against its Balance DC. You are flat-footed while on a narrow surface or uneven ground.
Critical Success You move up to your Speed.
Success You move up to your Speed, treating it as difficult terrain (every 5 feet costs 10 feet of movement).
Failure You must remain stationary to keep your balance (wasting the action) or you fall. If you fall, your turn ends.
You try a difficult maneuver while flying. Attempt an Acrobatics check. The GM determines what maneuvers are possible, but they rarely allow you to move farther than your fly Speed.
Success You succeed at the maneuver.
Failure Your maneuver fails. The GM chooses if you simply can’t move or if some other detrimental effect happens. The outcome should be appropriate for the maneuver you attempted (for instance, being blown off course if you were trying to fly against a strong wind).
Critical Failure As failure, but the consequence is more dire.
You contort yourself to squeeze through a space so small you can barely fit through. This action is for exceptionally small spaces; many tight spaces are difficult terrain that you can move through more quickly and without a check.
Critical Success You squeeze through the tight space in 1 minute per 10 feet of squeezing.
Success You squeeze through in 1 minute per 5 feet.
Critical Failure You become stuck in the tight space. While you’re stuck, you can spend 1 minute attempting another Acrobatics check at the same DC. Any result on that check other than a critical failure causes you to become unstuck.
If you’re an arcane spellcaster who prepares from a spellbook, you can attempt to prepare a spell from someone else’s spellbook. The GM sets the DC for the check based on the spell’s level and rarity; it’s typically a bit easier than Learning the Spell.
Success You prepare the borrowed spell as part of your normal spell preparation.
Failure You fail to prepare the spell, but the spell slot remains available for you to prepare a different spell. You can’t try to prepare this spell until the next time you prepare spells.
Using your body, a lever, or some other tool, you attempt to forcefully open a door, window, container or heavy gate.
With a high enough result, you can even smash through walls.
Without a crowbar, prying something open takes a –2 item penalty to the Athletics check to Force Open.
Critical Success You open the door, window, container, or gate and can avoid damaging it in the process.
Success You break the door, window, container, or gate open, and the door, window, container, or gate gains the broken condition. If it’s especially sturdy, the GM might have it take damage but not be broken.
Critical Failure Your attempt jams the door, window, container, or gate shut, imposing a –2 circumstance penalty on future attempts to Force it Open.
You Stride, then make a vertical Leap and attempt a DC 30
Athletics check to increase the height of your jump. If you didn’t Stride at least 10 feet, you automatically fail your check.
This DC might be increased or decreased due to the situation, as determined by the GM.
Critical Success Increase the maximum vertical distance to 8 feet, or increase the maximum vertical distance to 5 feet and maximum horizontal distance to 10 feet.
Success Increase the maximum vertical distance to 5 feet.
Failure You Leap normally.
Critical Failure You don’t Leap at all, and instead you fall prone in your space.
You Stride, then make a horizontal Leap and attempt an Athletics check to increase the length of your jump. The DC of the Athletics check is equal to the total distance in feet you’re attempting to move during your Leap (so you’d need to succeed at a DC 20 check to Leap 20 feet). You can’t Leap farther than your Speed.
If you didn’t Stride at least 10 feet, or if you attempt to jump in a different direction than your Stride, you automatically fail your check. This DC might be increased or decreased due to the situation, as determined by the GM.
Success Increase the maximum horizontal distance you Leap to the desired distance.
Failure You Leap normally.
Critical Failure You Leap normally, but then fall and land prone.
Requirements You have at least one hand free. The target can’t be more than one size larger than you.
You push an opponent away from you. Attempt an Athletics check against your opponent’s Fortitude DC.
Critical Success You push your opponent up to 10 feet away from you. You can Stride after it, but you must move the same distance and in the same direction.
Success You push your opponent back 5 feet. You can Stride after it, but you must move the same distance and in the same direction.
Critical Failure You lose your balance, fall, and land prone.