Exploration Activities

You analyze your environment to determine whether it's safe by checking the gauges and sensors on your armor or a field scientist's kit you're holding. You move at half your travel speed or slower. You automatically detect any environmental hazard that your armor protects against, including the severity of the environmental condition (such as the temperature, radiation level, the presence or lack of air, and so on).

You attempt a Stealth check to avoid notice while traveling at half speed. If you're Avoiding Notice at the start of an encounter, you usually roll a Stealth check instead of a Perception check both to determine your initiative and to see if the enemies notice you (based on their Perception DCs, as normal for Sneak, regardless of their initiative roll results).

You move at half your travel speed with your shield raised. If combat breaks out, you gain the benefits of Raising a Shield before your first turn begins.

You cast detect magic at regular intervals. You move at half your travel speed or slower. You have no chance of accidentally overlooking a magic aura at a travel speed up to 300 feet per minute, but must be traveling no more than 150 feet per minute to detect magic auras before the party moves into them.

Choose an ally attempting a recurring skill check while exploring, such as climbing, or performing a different exploration tactic that requires a skill check (like Avoiding Notice). The ally must be at least an expert in that skill and must be willing to provide assistance. While Following the Expert, you match their tactic or attempt similar skill checks.
Thanks to your ally's assistance, you can add your level as a proficiency bonus to the associated skill check, even if you're untrained. Additionally, you gain a circumstance bonus to your skill check based on your ally's proficiency (+2 for expert, +3 for master, and +4 for legendary).

You strain yourself to move at double your travel speed. You can Hustle only for a number of minutes equal to your Constitution modifier × 10 (minimum 10 minutes). If you're in a group that's Hustling, use the lowest Constitution modifier among everyone to determine how fast the group can Hustle together.

You safely implant or remove an augmentation on a willing creature. This takes 1 hour per item level of the augmentation if using a medkit or half the normal amount of time if you have access to a hospital or medical facility. Most shops that sell augmentations have staff willing to perform the surgery as part of the cost and are experienced enough that they can perform the surgery in 10 minutes per item level instead of 1 hour per item level. This activity can be performed in downtime mode, in which case it loses the exploration trait and gains the downtime trait.

You spend 10 minutes installing an upgrade into a suit of armor or weapon, placing the upgrade into an empty upgrade slot. You can also use this activity to uninstall an upgrade. You can't install more upgrades than there are upgrade slots.

You seek out information about your surroundings while traveling at half speed. You use Recall Knowledge as a secret check to discover clues among the various things you can see and engage with as you journey along. You can use any skill that has a Recall Knowledge action while Investigating, but the GM determines whether the skill is relevant to the clues you could find.

You record footage from your perspective using a comm unit or another device with a camera. This can be broadcast to a live audience or stored on a local device. The GM determines whether this significantly impacts your travel speed depending on the nature of your recording; simple footage doesn't affect your travel, while playing to the camera or lining up the best perspectives might require you to move at half speed.

You recharge an expended battery. This takes 1 minute if using a charging station, which can be found in most buildings and starships.

You repeatedly cast the same spell while moving at half speed. Typically, this spell is a cantrip that you want to have in effect in the event a combat breaks out, and it must be one you can cast in 2 actions or fewer. Repeating a spell that requires making complex decisions, such as figment, can make you fatigued, as determined by the GM.

You scout ahead and behind the group to watch danger, moving at half speed. At the start of the next encounter, every creature in your party gains a +1 circumstance bonus to their initiative rolls.

You Seek meticulously for hidden doors, concealed hazards, and so on. You can usually make an educated guess as to which locations are best to check and move at half speed, but if you want to be thorough and guarantee you checked everything, you need to travel at a Speed of no more than 300 feet per minute, or 150 feet per minute to ensure you check everything before you walk into it. You can always move more slowly while Searching to cover the area more thoroughly, and the Expeditious Search feat increases these maximum Speeds. If you come across a secret door, item, or hazard while Searching, the GM will attempt a free secret check to Seek to see if you notice the hidden object or hazard. In locations with many objects to search, you have to stop and spend significantly longer to search thoroughly.

You Sustain one effect with a sustained duration while moving at half speed. Most such effects can be sustained for 10 minutes, though some specify they can be sustained for a different duration. Sustaining an effect that requires making complex decisions, such as telekinetic tantrum, can make you fatigued, as determined by the GM.

You attempt to decipher complicated writing or literature on an obscure topic. This usually takes 1 minute per page of text, but might take longer (typically an hour per page for decrypting ciphers or the like). The text must be in a language you can read, though the GM might allow you to attempt to decipher text written in an unfamiliar language using Society instead.
The DC is determined by the GM based on the state or complexity of the document. The GM might have you roll one check for a short text or a check for each section of a larger text.

Once you discover that an item, location, or ongoing effect is magical, you can spend 10 minutes to try to identify the particulars of its magic. If your attempt is interrupted, you must start over. The GM sets the DC for your check. Cursed magic or esoteric subjects usually have higher DCs or might even be impossible to identify using this activity alone. Heightening a spell doesn't increase the DC to identify it.

You can gain access to a new spell of your tradition from someone who knows that spell or from magical writing like a spellbook or scroll. If you can cast spells of multiple traditions, you can Learn a Spell of any of those traditions, but you must use the corresponding skill to do so. For example, if you were an elemental mystic with the witchwarper multiclass archetype, you couldn't use Nature to add an arcane or occult spell to your witchwarper spell repertoire.
To learn the spell, you must do the following:

• Spend 1 hour per spell rank, during which you must remain in conversation with a person who knows the spell or have the magical writing in your possession.
• Have materials with the Price indicated in the Learning a Spell table.
• Attempt a skill check for the skill corresponding to your tradition (DC determined by the GM, often close to the DC on the Learning a Spell Table). Uncommon or rare spells have higher DCs; full guidelines for the GM appear on page 52 of Starfinder GM Core.

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 (page 415) that you can move through more quickly and without a check.

If you're an arcane spellcaster who prepares spells, you can attempt to prepare a spell from someone else's arcane spellbook or the like. The GM sets the DC for the check based on the spell's rank and rarity; it's typically a bit easier than Learning the Spell.

You attempt to access a local network, known as an infosphere, to come up with information on a topic. This typically takes 10 minutes of research to find information, with results like Recalling Knowledge on a topic. Larger investigations or topics could require several hours, while single-word answers of information common to that settlement's infosphere may only take a minute, based on the GM's discretion. Significant and longer investigations should use the research subsystem (GM Core). The GM determines the DC based on the topic you're researching. This can be further influenced by the quality of the local infosphere and what information it might possess on the topic, and how well organized it is.

You perform a basic task using a digital device, such as operating a basic program or playing a vidgame. You might also use this if the device you're using has a physical component, such as 3D-tracking or requiring specific motions to activate features. The GM determines the DC based on the action you're taking.

You try to access, control, or change an active secured system. In most cases, this attempt is made against a local computer system that you access directly or indirectly through use of a hacking toolkit. Attempt a Computers check to determine if you can access the targeted system. Computers with improved systems might require multiple successes to access.

You spend 10 minutes attempting to fix a damaged item, placing the item on a stable surface and using the repair toolkit with both hands. Roll a Crafting check. The GM sets the DC, but it's usually about the same DC to Repair a given item as it is to Craft it in the first place. You can't Repair a destroyed item.

You create a disguise to pass yourself off as someone or something you are not. Assembling a convincing disguise takes 10 minutes and requires a holoskin or similar disguise, but a simpler, quicker disguise might do the job if you're not trying to imitate a specific individual, at the GM's discretion.
In most cases, creatures have a chance to detect your deception only if they use the Seek action to attempt Perception checks against your Deception DC. If you attempt to directly interact with someone while disguised, the GM rolls a secret Deception check for you against that creature's Perception DC instead.
If you're disguised as a specific individual, the GM might give creatures you interact with a circumstance bonus based on how well they know the person you're imitating, or the GM might roll a secret Deception check even if you aren't directly interacting with others.

You canvass local markets, taverns, and gathering places in an attempt to learn about a specific individual or topic. The GM determines the DC of the check and the amount of time it takes (typically 2 hours, but sometimes more), along with any benefit you might be able to gain by spending credits on bribes, drinks, or gifts.

With at least 1 minute of conversation, during which you engage in charismatic overtures, flattery, and other acts of goodwill, you seek to make a good impression on someone to make them temporarily agreeable. At the end of the conversation, attempt a Diplomacy check against the Will DC of one target. You can instead choose up to five targets if you take a –2 penalty. The GM might add other bonuses or penalties based on the situation. Any impression you make lasts for only the current social interaction unless the GM decides otherwise. See the Changing Attitudes sidebar for a summary of the attitude conditions.

With threats either veiled or overt, you attempt to bully a creature into doing what you want. You must spend at least 1 minute of conversation with the creature. At the end of the conversation, attempt an Intimidation check against the target's Will DC, modified by any circumstances the GM determines. (The attitudes referenced in the effects below are summarized in the Changing Attitudes sidebar and described in full in the Conditions Appendix.)

You spend 10 minutes treating one injured living creature (targeting yourself, if you so choose). The target is then temporarily immune to Treat Wounds actions for 1 hour, but this interval overlaps with the time you spent treating (so a patient can be treated once per hour, not once per 70 minutes).
The Medicine check DC is usually 15, though the GM might adjust it based on the circumstances, such as treating a patient outside in a storm, or treating magically cursed wounds. If you're an expert in Medicine, you can instead attempt a DC 20 check to increase the Hit Points regained by 10; if you're a master of Medicine, you can instead attempt a DC 30 check to increase the Hit Points regained by 30; and if you're legendary, you can instead attempt a DC 40 check to increase the Hit Points regained by 50. The damage dealt on a critical failure remains the same.
If you succeed at your check, you can continue treating the target to grant additional healing. If you treat it for a total of 1 hour, double the Hit Points it regains from Treat Wounds.

You plan a short journey. While this is most often used when traveling with a mech, vehicle, or starship, the same skill can be used to determine the optimal route to take while traveling on foot. This lets you plan a general heading on a planetoid or guide your starship on an in-system voyage. If you're navigating a short journey, you typically attempt a Piloting check only once per day, but some environments or changes might necessitate rolling more often. The GM determines the DC and how long this activity takes (usually just a minute or so). More unusual locales or those you're unfamiliar with might require you to have a minimum proficiency rank to Navigate.

You prepare for a longer journey into the stars, likely making use of your starship's Drift Engine (or similar FTL device). Attempt a Piloting check to determine if you can chart a suitable path to your ultimate destination. The GM determines how long this activity takes and the DC (GM Core).

Using the position of astronomical objects in the sky, traits of the geography or flora, or the behavior of fauna, you can stay oriented in the wild. Typically, you attempt a Survival check only once per day, but some environments or changes might necessitate rolling more often. The GM determines the DC and how long this activity takes (usually just a minute or so). More unusual locales or those you're unfamiliar with might require you to have a minimum proficiency rank to Sense Direction. Without a comm unit, you take a –2 item penalty to checks to Sense Direction.

You cover your tracks, moving up to half your travel Speed. You don't need to attempt a Survival check to cover your tracks, but anyone tracking you must succeed at a Survival check against your Survival DC if it is higher than the normal DC to Track.
In some cases, you might Cover Tracks in an encounter. In this case, Cover Tracks is a single action and doesn't have the exploration trait.

You follow tracks, moving at up to half your travel Speed. After a successful check to Track, you can continue following the tracks at half your Speed without attempting additional checks for up to 1 hour.
In some cases, you might Track in an encounter. In this case, Track is a single action and doesn't have the exploration trait, but you might need to roll more often because you're in a tense situation. The GM determines how often you must attempt this check.
You attempt your Survival check when you start Tracking, once every hour you continue tracking, and any time something significant changes in the trail. The GM determines the DCs for such checks, depending on the freshness of the trail, the weather, and the type of ground.

You spend 10 minutes focusing on the composition of your solar weapon. You can change your solar weapon’s damage type (typically choosing between bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing), selected traits, and weapon group. Your weapon maintains your selections until the next time you Re-Forge Solar Weapon.

You spend 10 minutes performing deeds to restore your magical connection. This restores 1 Focus Point to your focus pool. The deeds you need to perform are specified in the class or ability that gives you your focus spells. These deeds can usually overlap with other tasks that relate to the source of your focus spells. For instance, a witchwarper with focus points from their paradox can usually Refocus while using their paradox skill.