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Archives of Nethys

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World Analysis

Source Galaxy Exploration Manual pg. 36
You perform a more focused scan of a world from orbit, sifting through a mountain of data to pick out pertinent information.

Activity: You spend the day performing detailed scans of certain aspects of the world and analyzing the data you collect. You must be in a starship orbiting a world to use this activity. Choose one or more of the following elements: the world’s sapient species, threat species, level of technology, level of magic, level of religion, level of accord, general alignment, large settlements, or a single planetary anomaly. The number of elements that can be analyzed in 1 day, per starship, depends on the number of nodes the starship’s computer has (1 with a basic computer or mononode, 2 with a duonode, and so on).
GMs can use the guidance in the Building Worlds section of this book (pages 46–47) to generate results for both the basic elements of a world and most of those listed above. The GM may determine that some aspects of a planet’s physical or cultural attributes are not discernible from orbit. For GM advice on planetary anomalies, see the sidebar below.
At the end of the day, attempt a separate skill check for each element you’re trying to learn more about. The type of skill check depends on the chosen element: Culture for alignment or level of accord, Engineering for level of technology, Life Science for sapient or threat species, Mysticism for level of magic or religion, Physical Science for large settlements. The type of skill check used for planetary anomalies varies by anomaly and is determined by the GM. Regardless of the skill used, the DC begins at 25 and is modified as normal (see the Sensor Modifiers sidebar). You can’t take 20 on this check.

Results: On each successful check, you learn basic information about the chosen element, such as the most populous threat species or the world’s relative level of magic. If you exceed the DC by 5 or more, you might also glean more detailed information at the GM’s discretion.