Identify Clean Water (sage ability)

Identify clean water is an amateur-status sage ability in the study of Forester, allowing the character to determine whether naturally occurring water is safe for drinking. The ability relies on observation, odour, a small taste test and analysis of the surrounding environment, including the presence of plant and animal life.

Unlike magical detection methods, this skill is based on practical knowledge and experience, enabling the character to assess potential contaminants, such as mineral deposits, biological hazards, and human or animal pollution. This ability is critical for survival in the wilderness, where access to clean water can mean the difference between life and death.

• Clear, flowing water will most likely have a purity rating of 16 to 20. Most dangerous impurities will be in the form of mining run-off or animal disease which is transmitted into the water from defecation.
• Slow moving water will contain silt and will tend to have a rating anywhere from 5 to 17. The most dangerous impurities are naturally occurring diseases, such as black water fever or cholera, proliferating from detritus or defecation somewhere upstream.
• Clear ponds are spring-fed water bodies that may contain algae and will have a rating of 12 to 20, depending on the surrounding terrain and vegetation. A mountain tarn with a rock or sand bottom will be purest, while a prairie or forest pond without much silt will be least pure.
• Clear lakes are defined as water bodies that are fed by rivers; they will have a rating of anywhere from 10 to 18; like clear ponds, this will depend on terrain and vegetation.
• Stagnant ponds and lakes will have suspended silt, detritus and growing algae, with a rating of 1 to 11. This includes freshwater stagnant marshes.

Purity ratings are as follows:

Purity Rating	Water Taste	Effects
20	pure, unusually fresh	clean; no effect
19	pleasant	1 in 1000 chance of containing gastro-intestinal parasites
18	agreeable	1 in 100 chance of causing a gastro-intestinal disease
17	odd, earthy	1 in 10 chance of causing a gastro-intestinal disease
16	peculiar, metallic	1 in 6 chance of causing a gastro-intestinal disease
14-15	queer, stale	1 in 2 chance of any disease
13	bitter	2 in 3 chance of any disease
11-12	rank	3 in 4 chance of any disease
9-10	mouldy	3 in 4 chance of any disease, +1 severity
7-8	rancid, mouldy	5 in 6 chance of any disease, +2 severity
4-6	hint of decay, mouldy	7 in 8 chance of any disease, +3 severity
1-3	putrid, rotting	9 in 10 chance of being poisonous