Endurance (Skill)

Endurance (Con)

You have trained yourself to be in good physical condition and in resisiting the various dangers of the environment.

Check

This skill has several distinct uses, each listed below.

Forced March

You can walk for more than 8 hours in a day by making a forced march. After 8 hours of walking, you must make a DC 10 Endurance check every hour. The DC for this check increases by 2 for each hour of marching beyond 8 hours. If you fail a check, you take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. If you take any nonlethal damage from a forced march, you become fatigued. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue. It’s possible to march yourself into unconsciousness by pushing too hard.

You take your armor check penalty on all Endurance checks made for forced marches.

High Altitudes

Every hour you spend at altitudes beyond 5,000 feet, unless you acclimated to such altitudes, you must make a DC 15 Endurance check. The DC for this check increases by 1 for each check you have made. If you fail a check, you become fatigued. The fatigue ends when you descends to an altitude with more air.

At altitudes of 15,000 feet or more, you are in danger of altitude sickness. After each 6-hour period you spends at an such an altitude, you must make a DC 15 Endurance check. The DC for this check increases by 1 for each check you have made. If you fail a check, you take 1 point of damage to all ability scores. If you are acclimated to high altitudes, you receive a +4 competence bonus to this check.

Holding your Breath

You can hold your breath for a number of rounds equal to twice your Constitution score. If you take a standard action or a full-round action (such as making an attack), the remainder of the duration for which you can hold your breath is reduced by 1 round. (Effectively, a character in combat can hold his breath only half as long as normal.) After that period of time, you must make a DC 10 Endurance check every round to continue holding your breath. Each round, the DC for that check increases by 1. If you fail one of these checks, you begin to suffocate, or drown if you are underwater.

You can't hold your breath when you are unconscious; in this case you begin to suffocate or drown immediately upon being unable to breathe or being submerged.

In the first round, you are reduced to 0 hit points and fall unconscious. In the following round, you drop to –1 hit point and are dying. In the third round, you die from suffocation or drowning.

Cold Environments

In cold weather (below 40° F), if you are unprotected, you must make a DC 15 Endurance check each hour. The DC for this check increases by 1 for each check you have made. If you fail a check, you take 1d6 points of nonlethal cold damage.

In conditions of severe cold or exposure (below 0° F), if you are unprotected, you must make these checks nce every 10 minutes.

If you are wearing a cold weather outfit, you only need check once per hour for cold and exposure damage.

In extreme cold (below –20° F), you automatically take 1d6 points of lethal cold damage per minute. In addition, you must make a DC 15 Endurance check. The DC for this check increases by 1 for each check you have made. If you fail a check, you take 1d4 points of nonlethal cold damage.

If you have taken any nonlethal damage from cold or exposure, you are fatigued. These penalties end when you recover the nonlethal damage you took from the cold and exposure.

Deep Diving

You can avoid taking damage from high water pressure when diving more than 100 feet the surface. At such depth, you must make a DC 15 Endurance check every minute. The DC for this check increases by 1 for each check you have made. If you fail a check, you take 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage for every 100 feet you are below the surface.

Hot Environments

In very hot conditions (above 90° F), you must make a DC 15 Endurance check each hour. The DC for this check increases by 1 for each check you have made. If you fail a check, you take 1d4 points of nonlethal fire damage.

In severe heat (above 110° F), you must make these checks once every 10 minutes.

Extreme heat (air temperature over 140° F, fire, boiling water, lava) deals lethal damage. Breathing air in these temperatures automatically deals 1d6 points of fire damage per minute. In addition, you must make a DC 15 Endurance check every 5 minutes. The DC for this check increases by 1 for each check you have made. If you fail a check, you take 1d4 points of nonlethal fire damage.

If you are wearing heavy clothing or armor of any sort take, you a –4 penalty on any of these checks.

If you fall unconscious from the nonlethal damage, you begin taking lethal fire damage (1d4 points per hour in very hot conditions, or 1d4 every 10 minues in severe heat).

If you have taken any nonlethal damage from heat exposure, you are fatigued. These penalties end when you recover the nonlethal damage you took from the heat.

Long-Distance Swimming

Each hour that you swim, you must make a DC 20 Endurance check or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage from fatigue.

You take your armor check penalty on all Endurance checks made for long-distance swimming.

Overland Chase

Sometimes a chase occurs overland and could last all day, with the two sides only occasionally getting glimpses of each other at a distance. In the case of a long chase, an opposed Endurance check made by all parties determines which can keep pace the longest. If the creature being chased rolls the highest, it gets away. If not, the chaser runs down its prey, outlasting it with stamina.

You take your armor check penalty on all Endurance checks made for overland chases.

Recovering from Dying

If you are dying, every round, you must make an Endurance check with a DC equal to 10 + your negative hit point total. If you succeed, you become stable; if you fail, you lose 1 hit point. A natural 20 on this check is an automatic success.

If you have stabilized while your hit point total is negative, you must make an Endurance check one hour after becoming stable with a DC equal to 10 + your negative hit point total to become conscious. A natural 20 on this check is an automatic success. You can retry this check once per hour. If you are untended, you lose 1 hit point for each failed check, and you cannot begin to recover hit points naturally until you've rested for 8 hours and make another Endurance check with the same DC. If you fail this check, you lose 1 hit point, but this does not cause you to become unconscious. You can retry this check once per day.

Running

You can run for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution score, but after that you must make a DC 10 Endurance check to continue running. You must check again each round in which you continue to run, and the DC of this check increases by 1 for each check you have made. When you fail this check, you must stop running, and must rest for 1 minute (10 rounds) before running again. During this rest period, you can move no faster than one normal move action per round.

You take your armor check pepenalty on all Endurance checks made for running.

Starvation and Thirst

You can go without water for 1 day plus a number of hours equal to your Constitution score. After this time, you must make a DC 10 Endurance check each hour. The DC for this check increases by 1 each check you have made. If you fail the check, you take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. You can go without food for 3 days, in growing discomfort. After this time, you must make a DC 10 Endurance check each day. The DC for this check increases by 1 each check you have made. If you fail the check, you take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. If you have taken any nonlethal damage from lack of food or water, you are fatigued. Nonlethal damage from thirst or starvation cannot be recovered until you get food or water, as needed—not even magic that restores hit points heals this damage.

Special

If you have 3 or more ranks in Endurance, you may sleep in light or medium armor without becoming fatigued.

If you have the Athletic feat, you get a bonus on Endurance checks.