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Message: <blockquote data-quote="timASW" data-source="post: 6017484" data-attributes="member: 6698787">Here's the disconnect you guys dont seem to get. You dont need "tools" to do exploration. you shouldnt be "punishing" or "rewarding" it. Everything you described feels like a bunch of unnecessary gunk. Heres an example of how I do exploration and how I feel it should be done in a system ( of course right? Otherwise i would do it a different way)The characters are attempting to find their way down off the top of an active, but not erupting volcano....."Okay guys you can go back down the way you came up and go around the mountain at its base. You wont get lost and it wasnt a hard climb but it will take a lot longer. Or you can head down the other side of the mountain. Your not sure what you'll find but its probably going to be a lot faster. " (some back and forth among the players ending with them deciding the party ranger should lead them the shorter way) Okay ranger you lead the way, whats your survival skill ? ( 12 with mods ). "Okay you lead them around some snow banks and cravasses, lesser guides might have had a problem but you've got everything handled". 2nd day of travel...   Me "you see some fresh tracks of other travelers on the foot path. Make a survival check.... Okay they're such and such. "The cleric steps forward: "I'll go talk to them, my diplomacy is high". ( i check how high, not bad for his level) brief RP encounter. One roll, stories (foreshadowing) and some goods traded everyone goes on their way. "okay ranger you get everyone down the mountain and back on the road. You cut a few days easily off of the trip" Calculate XP for RANGER ONLY for CR 1 skill encounter (some danger, no real risk). Calculate XP for CLERIC ONLY. CR 2 skill encounter (no real danger, fair chance of failure) DONE.  No one else did anything. The rest of the party should not earn XP for following a guide through the mountains.   Wilderness exploration over, some wild-y things done, some RP in, some skills used. Extended skill challenge? Hell no. Do i need a bunch of tools? No i dont. No punishment, no need to track resources or surges or anything of the sort, because theres no good reason to clutter up the game that way anymore then theres a good reason to make the characters count out how many calories worth of rations they eat each day and carry. Rewards? A few skill based XP but nothing major. The reward was speeding the story along and getting a little foreshadow of dangers to come because of the RP encounter.</blockquote>

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