The character with this skill has the learned the techniques for the careful unearthing of a site or ruin. This process involves shoring up crumbling foundations, choosing the proper tools, and protecting exposed finds. Without the proper use of this skill, delicate finds may be destroyed by crude and reckless digging. Characters with the excavation skill can ensure that the structural details of a dig are left intact so that further visits to the excavation site can still yield useful knowledge.
This skill can also be used to recover treasures that are buried in the ground. For example, the group finds an ancient city that is mostly buried and wants to search one of the ancient buildings that they believe once held treasure. A person with this skill can carefully excavate the building. They stand a much better chance of finding more treasure, and recovering it without breaking it, than someone who simply grabs a shovel and digs. Careful Excavation can taken anywhere from a couple of hours to many days, depending on the area being excavated and the consistency of the ground. With a normal dirt ground, a good working number is 1 cubic foot per hour.
Careful Excavation roll is equal to (DEX + KNOW + WP - 45) + (Rank x 5). |