Caving I (sage ability)

Caving I is an amateur-status sage ability in the study of Mountaineer, granting the character the practical competence needed to move with reasonable safety through natural underground environments, including caves, tunnels and fissures.

The ability provides working knowledge of how to negotiate confined passages, judge footing on uneven or damp stone and recognise signs of instability in walls or ceilings. The character understands the management of light sources in enclosed spaces, the use of rope for descent and ascent, and the need to maintain orientation where natural landmarks are limited. Air quality, water flow and the presence of shafts or sudden drops can be assessed with basic reliability, reducing the risk of misstep or entrapment.

Challenges

The ability enables reasonable safety when managing the most common challenges associated with travelling through natural underground areas. A character with Caving I understands how to test stone before committing weight, how to distribute balance in confined spaces and how to use rope, light and touch together to maintain control of movement. The character is also able to recognise unsafe conditions before entering them, including loose scree, hollow or fractured stone, signs of recent water flow that suggest flooding risk and faint air movement that indicates deeper shafts or passages, allowing hazards to be avoided rather than discovered by misstep.

While many conditions within caves will still require a dexterity or constitution check to overcome, the following circumstances may be traversed without the need to roll:

• Vertical shafts and climbs, where the ascent or descent is supported by a properly secured rope and is free of obstructions such as falling water, ice or overhangs that would impede direct movement. The character knows how to brace with the feet against the shaft wall, keep the body aligned with the rope and avoid swinging or twisting, allowing steady progress without exhausting the arms.

• Constricted passages that lack significant turns and maintain dimensions of at least 18 inches square. The character understands how to advance by extending one arm forward and drawing the body through with controlled pressure from the legs, keeping the head low and avoiding panic. Claustrophobic response is suppressed, and breathing remains steady, so that distance alone does not impose a check.

• Open water surfaces, where movement does not require full submersion to pass an obstruction or traverse a tunnel. The character recognises safe entry and exit points, keeps gear raised or secured and uses slow, deliberate movement to conserve heat. So long as the water is in motion, no constitution check is required to endure cold exposure, unless the character remains immersed above the waist for six full rounds, or at the waist or below for 12 rounds.

• Bridges or ledges, where footing is firm and secure, regardless of the height or proximity of a drop. The character places each step with care, keeps the body close to the wall where possible and uses a free hand for balance, allowing safe passage without the need for a check even in exposed positions.

The ability does not apply where the passage is actively collapsing, where footing is unstable or shifting, where water forces full submersion or creates strong current or where the character is hindered by combat, excessive encumbrance or lack of light. In such cases, normal checks are required.

Checks

The ability also provides a +3 bonus to the relevant ability stat when making ability checks while encountering the following obstacles, reflecting the character’s familiarity with movement, balance and breath control in confined underground conditions:

• Mud, loose rock and slick surfaces, where the surface to be climbed or crossed is unstable, shifting or wet. Check is made against dexterity. The character knows how to test each step before committing weight, spread contact across hands and feet and avoid sudden movements that would cause slipping, reducing the chance of a fall or slide.

• Submerged passages, where the character must hold breath long enough to reach the far side while navigating without sight. Check is made against constitution. The character is able to remain calm, regulate breathing before submersion and move efficiently by touch, conserving air while avoiding panic.

Movement through such conditions is reduced to half normal rate, owing to the caution required for safe progress, at no greater than stride-1. These bonuses apply only where the character can move at a controlled pace and give proper attention to footing or breath. They do not apply where the situation is rushed, where the character is under direct threat or where conditions exceed ordinary cave hazards, such as strong currents, collapsing ground or complete disorientation.