What Rules Supported "Exploration"

[Scribble]

What rules would you say over the various editions directly supported "exploration" in the game?

 

[DEFCON 1]

What rules would you say over the various editions directly supported "exploration" in the game?

I don't know if there were many, actually. The difference being though... was that there were many fewer rules about combat and roleplaying too. So with ALL facets of the game having less complexity and a more equal focus... it didn't give the impression that exploration was as back-burnered as it does now.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Perception skills. Overland movement and encumbrance. Various movement and perception-based spells. Traps, secret doors, and related rules. Random encounter tables. Tracking.

In other words, a significant number of minor rules on the side.

 

[Scribble]

If people could be specific as to which rules, and how they directly supported exploration that would be cool.

 

[Mattachine]

* Skills
* Overland movement
* Encumbrance
* Food/water/light sources
* Exploration spells/items

 

[Salamandyr]

also rules for getting lost.
resource tracking was more emphasized.
Wandering monsters!

 

[dkyle]

For 4E:

Skills (primarily Thievery, Stealth, Perception, Nature, Dungeoneering, and maybe Arcana, for Detect Magic)
Rituals (there's a whole category for "Exploration", but others would qualify)
Powers (particularly certain Druid forms)
Magic Items (Portable Hole [I like 4E's take on it better than 3.5's], Flying Carpet, etc.)


Now, I don't necessarily think they're good rules; I don't like how binary and flat skills are, and Rituals are too often either useless, or turn-key solutions to problems, requiring little creativity.

 

[CM]

3e and 4e had pretty extensive lists of statted-out generic traps, hazards and locations-as-rewards in the DMGs. If memory serves, in earlier editions they tended to be adventure-specific.

Thief skills and later the nonweapon proficiency and skills systems.

Just about every environment- or plane-specific sourcebook has stats or tables in one form or another for interacting with the local geography, weather, flora and fauna. One of my favorites back in 2e was the Elminster's Ecologies boxed set for FR.

edit: whoops, started the post before your clarification in post #4.

 

[Minigiant]

The rarely used Tracking rules.

I remember the time I shocked a DM when I had my ranger convince the party not to engage in his railroading chase scene because "It just snowed. I can track them later. The wizard needs spells."

 

[hanez]

Pick locks
detect doors
Divination spells scrying, clairvoyance, clairaudience
detect alignment ect
tracking
knowledge history, nature ect
gather information