How to boost and improve tracking ability (aside from simply boosting surrvival

[Genuine]

What it says on the can. I'm looking for ways to make a characters tracking ability better. I'm not looking for ways to boost survival checks (plenty of resources for improving skill checks), nor am I looking for spells that help (not looking to scrye, and I know about spells like marked man). Oh, and I'm not looking for ways to improve perception in general, either (yes, scent helps).

I recall a feat that allows you to track at full speed without a penalty: was that homebrewed or real? I can't find it here, but that just might mean that my eyes are missing it.

Any other thoughts?

[sirpercival]

It's actually the 8th-level ranger ability.

I was going to suggest Martial Stance (Hunter's Stance), but you already covered scent

[Genuine]

There it is. Thank you.

I'm considering a tracker character in a low magic campaign (no casters allowed, though magic items are given out normally)(I've played with this DM before, he actually keeps the encounters reasonable for a purely mundane party)(we still have a lot of deaths, but its a fun group). I don't particularly want to run a ranger... what I'd really like to do is make myself a tracker 'package' of some sort.

Unfortunately, the 'can't have nice stuff without spells' problem is strong in this area. For what I thought was a pretty core fictional concept (the scarily competent tracker)(warning: tvTropes link), D&D just assumes that a wizard did it.

Irritating. I guess it's back to the usual skill boosting tricks.

[sirpercival]

Well, is it going to be mostly wilderness?  If it's a more urban campaign, you could play a half-elf bardiplomancer-ish guy and roll with Urban Tracking.

But basically what it comes down to is that tracking is just a skill check.  There's not much more to it...

[The_Laughing_Man]

I vaguely remember a prc from one of the completes that is tracking based. Bloodhound or something.

[snakeman830]

A 2-level dip in Warlock gets you at-will Detect Magic.  Notice the rules on lingering auras.

[Rags]

The Consecrated Harrier PrC from Complete Divine has 2 pretty cool tracking abilities, Impacable/Flawless Hunt.

[RobbyPants]

I vaguely remember a prc from one of the completes that is tracking based. Bloodhound or something.

I'm pretty sure it's Complete Adventurer. I think it's a reprint from Masters of the Wild. I haven't looked at either version in years, so I don't remember which is better.

[Azoriel]

Dunno if this would be in the purview of what you're looking for, but the Astral Tracking feat (Dragon Issue 313, page 110) gives you the ability to track on the Astral plane, as well as determining the destination of any teleportation effect from the point of origin with a successful DC 30 survival check.  (Success gives you enough knowledge of the destination that you could teleport there yourself, assuming you have some mode of teleportation.)

[zioth]

There's a PrC in Book of Exalted Deeds (stalker of kharesh?) that lets you smell evil, and gives you favored enemy(evil) which boosts survival checks. Combine with eight levels of ranger and you have a really good tracker.

[Kalleo]

There's a PrC in Book of Exalted Deeds (stalker of kharesh?) that lets you smell evil, and gives you favored enemy(evil) which boosts survival checks. Combine with eight levels of ranger and you have a really good tracker.

Beat me to it. Also, at level 5, the Stalker of Kharash gets "Track Evil," in addition to the scent of evil and favored enemy evil. It lets you track based on their evil aura alone, with a DC of only 10, increasing by 2 for every 10 minutes, hour, or day, depending on the strength of the evil aura. Pick up the Nemesis feat, and you also get the ability to auto-detect any evil creature within 60' of you, and pinpoint its exact location.

Also, the 4th level Ranger spell Implacable Pursuer spell lets you know the direction and distance between you and its target across any distance. Will Save negates, but you apply your favored enemy bonus to the DC if your target is an FE. With FE evil and even a bit of FE optimization, that can get quite high. http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=5029.0

[bobtheapple]

I vaguely remember a prc from one of the completes that is tracking based. Bloodhound or something.

I'm pretty sure it's Complete Adventurer. I think it's a reprint from Masters of the Wild. I haven't looked at either version in years, so I don't remember which is better.

Yes, its Complete Adventurer.  Bloodhound gets swift tracker at level 1, 3 levels earlier than Ranger, and gets the ability to track creatures under the effect of trackless step at 5.  Also has extra tracking speed for creatures he's studied (or studied the likeness of) for at least 10 minutes (may require autohypnosis to be actually useful).  Pretty sure the Masters of the Wild version was better though.

Other Track boosters:
Shaaryan Hunter from PGtF can track while mounted, initially at half her mount's speed without penalty, then at 6th level at her full mount's speed.
Consecrated Harrier from CDiv allows you to always know the direction and approximate distance (within 10%) of any creature you've ever wounded at level 8 (ECL 13) and at 10 can track across planes as well.  Other than that a sub-par class.

Spell-wise, there is Bloodhound (Ran 1) from CAdv, which lets you re-roll a failed track check; Implacable Pursuer (Ran 4/ Blk 4) from CDiv, which is pretty mediocre for its level because you must target the creature initially, but after that you know its exact location every round, or even what plane it traveled to if it changes plane.  Living Prints (Ran 3) from MoF negates any passage of time since the tracks were made, which is essentially just a bonus to track, but it can be massive if it has rained a lot, snowed, or just been a long time (max 30 days).  Also the duration is 1 hour/level.

[bruceleeroy]

triangulate with Circle Dance, teleport, the end.