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Terrain Mastery

Edited by Peter Mork for The Guild Companion

Level Spell Area of Effect Duration Range Class
1 Study Terrain caster 1 day self U
2 Terrain Lore I caster 1 hr/lvl self U
3 Terrain Knowledge I caster 1 hr/lvl self U
4 Terrain Movement I caster 1 min/lvl self U
5 Terrain Combat I caster 1 rnd/lvl self U
6 Caving caster 1 hr/lvl self U
7 Terrain Lore II caster 1 hr/lvl self U
8 Terrain Knowledge II caster 1 hr/lvl self U
9 Terrain Movement II caster 1 min/lvl self U
10 Terrain Combat II caster 1 rnd/lvl self U
11 Survivalist caster 1 day self U
12 Terrain Lore III caster 1 hr/lvl self U
13 Terrain Knowledge III caster 1 hr/lvl self U
14 Terrain Movement III caster 1 min/lvl self U
15 Terrain Combat III caster 1 rnd/lvl self U
16 Wanderer caster 1 day self U
17 Terrain Lore IV caster 1 hr/lvl self U
18 Terrain Knowledge IV caster 1 hr/lvl self U
19 Terrain Movement IV caster 1 min/lvl self U
20 Terrain Combat IV caster 1 rnd/lvl self U
25 Terrain Movement X caster 1 min/lvl self U
30 Terrain Combat X caster 1 rnd/lvl self U
50 Terrain Mastery caster 1 min/lvl self U

1. Study Terrain: Caster "studies" a terrain to attune himself with it. This spell must be cast each day for 30 days to have an effect. The caster must spend at least 8 hours a day wandering through the terrain, alone. He must survive in the wild using only his own means (GM's discretion) so some terrains are easier to study than others. At the end of the 30 days, the caster has attuned himself with the terrain, which now becomes one of his "chosen" terrains. He can now use many of the spells on this list with that terrain.

For a complete description of various types of terrain, see the notes, below.

2. Terrain Lore I: The caster gains a +10 bonus to any Herb Lore, Fauna Lore, Flora Lore, and Region Lore maneuvers performed while in one of his chosen terrains.

3. Terrain Knowledge I: The caster gains a +10 bonus to any Survival, Shelter Finding, Fire Starting, Weather Watching, Foraging, Hunting, Star Gazing, Orienteering, and Direction Sense maneuvers performed while in one of his chosen terrains.

4. Terrain Movement I: The caster gains a +10 bonus to any Swimming, Sprinting, Climbing, Distance Running, Scaling, Hiding, Stalking, Riding, and Boat Piloting maneuvers performed while in one of his chosen terrains.

5. Terrain Combat I: The caster gains a special bonus of +10 do OB/DB and Ambush maneuvers while fighting in the outdoors in one of his chosen terrains. He also gains a +2 bonus to his Initiative Rolls and +2 ranks to his Ambush skill.

6. Caving: Caster gains a bonus of +30 to any Caving maneuver while underground in one of his chosen terrains.

7. Terrain Lore II: As Terrain Lore I, except the bonus is +15.

8. Terrain Knowledge II: As Terrain Knowledge II, except bonus is +15.

9. Terrain Movement II: As Terrain Movement I, except the bonus is +15.

10. Terrain Combat II: As Terrain Combat I, except the bonuses are +15 and +4, respectively.

11. Survivalist: While outdoors in one of his chosen terrains, the caster may go without food or drink without suffering penalties. He only need 2 hours rest per day to be fully restored. He also can resist extremes temperatures, gaining a special +20 bonus to Resistance Rolls against mundane heat and cold.

12. Terrain Lore III: As Terrain Lore I, except the bonus is +20.

13. Terrain Knowledge III: As Terrain Knowledge I, except bonus is +20.

14. Terrain Movement III: As Terrain Movement I, except the bonus is +20.

15. Terrain Combat III: As Terrain Combat I, except the bonuses are +20 and +6, respectively.

16. Wanderer: While outdoors in one of his chosen terrains, the caster can travel at double normal speed (overland movement only). He spends no exhaustion points, does not become fatigued, and may go without rest without suffering penalties. He also gains Nightvision for the duration. The caster's normal healing rate while outdoors is doubled, and he recovers from injuries without resting.

17. Terrain Lore IV: As Terrain Lore I, except the bonus is +25.

18. Terrain Knowledge IV: As Terrain Knowledge I, except the bonus is +25.

19. Terrain Movement IV: As Terrain Movement I, except the bonus is +25.

20. Terrain Combat IV: As Terrain Combat I, except the bonuses are +25 and +8, respectively.

25. Terrain Movement X: As Terrain Movement I, except the bonus is +50.

30. Terrain Combat X: As Terrain Combat I, except the bonuses are +50 and +10, respectively.

50. Terrain Mastery: While in one of his chosen terrains, the caster gains the benefits of each lower level spell on this list at once.

Notes: For the spells on this list to work, the caster must "study" a terrain with the 1st level spell on this list. By studying a terrain, the caster "attunes" himself with the environment and becomes an expert at moving, fighting and surviving in it. Each terrain must be studied separately, but GM may rule that very similar terrains may be eligible to apply spells in this list.

Here's a brief list of the type of terrains the caster may study.
Forest/Woods (temperate) Plains/Prairie/Savannah Hills Aerial/Sky (requires flight capabilities)
Rainforest/Jungle Coastal Lake/Inland waters Underwater (requires the ability to breathe water)
Desert/Wasteland (hot) Fluvial/Riverside Sea/Ocean Extraplanar*
Arctic/Tundra/Wasteland (cold) Marsh/Swamp Underground/Caves Void/Outer space*
Countryside/Rural/Mixed Mountain Volcanic

(*) These terrains must be studied separately for each sub-type (for example, extraplanar fire or extraplanar ethereal) and may involve special requirements and other spells/abilities to be studied (GM's discretion).

Editor's Note: This spell list is also available as a pdf