**Quick rule:** Exploration is **not a 3-action turn**. Describe what your character is doing as the group travels. Doing nothing except travelling uses full travel speed; many exploration activities use **half travel speed**. Some permit no skill roll unless an appropriate situation arises. **Source:** *Player Core*, pp. 430–432.
## Your most useful choices
| Exploration activity | Pace / time | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| **Avoid Notice** | Half speed | Move stealthily. Usually roll **Stealth for initiative** if an encounter starts; also determines whether enemies detect you. |
| **Scout** | Half speed | Watch for threats and alert the team. Everyone in your party gets **+1 circumstance to initiative** at the start of the next encounter. |
| **Search** | Usually half speed | Meticulously scan for secret doors, concealed hazards and objects; GM makes appropriate secret Seek checks. To guarantee you check everything, you may need to go **300 ft/min**, or **150 ft/min** to check before entering a hazardous area. |
| **Investigate** | Half speed | Continually look for useful clues using relevant **Recall Knowledge** skills; GM rolls secret checks. |
| **Defend** | Half speed | Move with a shield raised, gaining its benefit if combat begins before your first turn. **Requires a shield.** |
| **Analyze Environment** | Half speed | Use armour environmental protection or a **field scientist’s kit** to monitor environmental hazards your protection detects, including severity. |
| **Detect Magic** | Half speed | Repeatedly cast **detect magic**; requires access to the spell. Slower travel may be necessary to catch auras before you reach them. |
| **Follow the Expert** | Match ally’s activity | Expert-or-better ally helps you attempt a relevant recurring skill task. You can include your level in proficiency even if untrained and get **+2/+3/+4 circumstance** depending on whether ally is expert/master/legendary. |
| **Hustle** | Double travel speed | Sustain for **Constitution modifier × 10 minutes**, minimum 10 minutes. Group uses the lowest Constitution modifier. |
| **Repeat a Spell** | Half speed | Recast a spell (typically a cantrip taking 2 actions or fewer) regularly as you travel. |
| **Sustain an Effect** | Half speed | Maintain one sustained effect during travel, normally for up to 10 minutes unless specified otherwise. |
| **Livestream** | Varies | Record or stream from a camera-equipped comm unit; routine footage need not slow travel, but production may. |
| **Recharge** | 1 minute | Recharge an exhausted battery at a charging station. |
| **Install Upgrade** | 10 minutes | Install or remove a weapon/armour upgrade using a repair kit and a free hand, subject to available slots. |
**Other exploration tasks using skills:** **Access Infosphere** (Computers, usually 10 minutes), **Hack** (Computers and hacking toolkit), **Gather Information** (Diplomacy, typically 2 hours), **Repair** (Crafting and repair toolkit, usually 10 minutes), **Treat Wounds** (Medicine and medkit, 10 minutes), **Track / Navigate / Sense Direction** (Survival), **Identify Magic** (appropriate magic skill), **Decipher Writing** (appropriate skill). Some have proficiency or equipment requirements; check individual rules. **Source:** pp. 186–209, 431.
## First steps for an exploration scene
1. **Choose a purpose:** *Are we trying to stay unnoticed, spot a hazard, study clues or prepare for trouble?*
2. **Name your activity:** e.g. “I Scout”, “I Search the maintenance tunnels”, or “I Analyze Environment”.
3. **Check the pace:** full speed, half speed or a timed task as above.
4. **Resolve any change in circumstance:** GM checks when something meaningful is encountered; don't roll every few metres without a reason.
**Campaign example:** On a Society visit to Botscrap, Legion **Searches** for hidden maintenance hazards, Tanaka **Investigates** unusual radiation readings, and Karg **Scouts** the access corridor. These are illustrations of player choices, **not** new rules.