Knowledge of ancient civilizations, lost cultures, and forgotten myths, helping uncover relics, interpret ancient symbols, and understand powerful old-world artifacts or magic.
Situation: Your party enters a massive underground structure. Action: Use Archaeology to determine the site's age, cultural affiliation, and function. Roll vs DR depending on your familiarity with the culture/area: On success, you gain insights into potential threats, hidden passages, or activate dormant systems safely.
Situation: You uncover a strange relic covered in dust and corrosion. Action: Use Archaeology to assess its historical and functional value without damaging it. Roll vs DR depending on your familiarity with the culture etc.: Success lets you safely extract the item, gain lore ), or gain access to an old tech or coded message.
Situation: While reviewing fragmented maps, myths, or stellar cartography logs, you suspect a forgotten settlement or artifact vault lies nearby. Action: Use Archaeology to piece together clues from ancient records, planetary erosion patterns, or cultural migration paths. Roll vs DR 100–170: On success, you identify the likely location of a buried ruin, shipwreck, or hidden vault, gaining a map marker, a navigational bonus, or triggering a side quest with increased rewards for being first to discover the site.
Archaeology is the study of ancient civilizations, ruins, and artifacts—whether human or alien. It allows characters to identify historical significance, date structures, interpret symbols, and safely recover valuable items or knowledge. In gameplay, Archaeology can reveal forgotten lore, locate hidden chambers, or uncover ancient technologies. It is especially effective in derelict ships, ancient temples, or buried alien cities where knowledge has been lost to time.
To maximize its use, sequence Archaeology with skills like Alien Lore (to interpret non-human inscriptions), Engineering (to safely extract or reconstruct artifacts), or Trap Disarming (to avoid ancient defenses). For example, you might start with Archaeology to detect a ruin’s cultural style, use Alien Lore to interpret its religious significance, and then apply Crisis Negotiation if a guardian species is still watching over the site. In field expeditions, combining Archaeology with Survival ensures you reach and explore ruins efficiently while preserving their integrity. These combinations make Archaeology a key skill for explorers, scholars, and treasure hunters alike.