Environmental Effects: Difference between revisions
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[[Category:Epic Path]] | [[Category:Epic Path]] | ||
Outside the safety of city walls, the wilderness is a dangerous place, and many adventurers have gotten lost in its trackless wilds or fallen victim to deadly weather. The following rules give you guidelines on running adventures in a wilderness setting. | Outside the safety of city walls, the wilderness is a dangerous place, and many adventurers have gotten lost in its trackless wilds or fallen victim to deadly weather. The following rules give you guidelines on running adventures in a wilderness setting. | ||
== Environmental Damage == | |||
Hazardous environments can inflict damage to characters attempting to pass through them. In general, this damage is treated identically to normal damage, with the exception that some equipment specifically provides resistance to environmental damage, while providing no resistance to normal damage. An example of this is a tent, which reduces environmental damage by 5 points. This is treated as ER 5/- and DR 5/-, but only for purposes of resisting damage caused by environmental effects. If a mountain troll comes along and smashes the camper in the face with a rock, the tent won't help at all. | |||
==Altitude== | ==Altitude== | ||
High altitude travel can be extremely fatiguing – and sometimes deadly – to creatures that aren't used to it. Cold becomes extreme, and the lack of oxygen in the air can wear down even the most hardy of warriors. | |||
High altitude travel can be extremely | |||
Acclimated Characters Creatures accustomed to high altitude generally fare better than lowlanders. Any creature | '''Acclimated Characters:''' Creatures accustomed to high altitude generally fare better than lowlanders. Any creature which has spent at least a month of its life in high altitudes, or has a racial disposition towards high altitudes, is considered acclimated. Acclimated creatures gain a bonus to resist the effects of high altitudes. Undead, constructs, and other creatures that do not breathe are immune to altitude effects. | ||
Altitude Zones In general, mountains present three possible altitude bands: low pass, low peak/high pass, and high peak. | '''Altitude Zones:''' In general, mountains present three possible altitude bands: low pass, low peak/high pass, and high peak. | ||
Low Pass (lower than 5,000 feet): Most travel in low mountains takes place in low passes, a zone consisting largely of alpine meadows and forests. Travelers might find the going difficult (which is reflected in the movement modifiers for traveling through mountains), but the altitude itself has no game effect. | * '''''Low Pass (lower than 5,000 feet):''''' Most travel in low mountains takes place in low passes, a zone consisting largely of alpine meadows and forests. Travelers might find the going difficult (which is reflected in the movement modifiers for traveling through mountains), but the altitude itself has no game effect. | ||
Low Peak or High Pass (5,000 to 15,000 feet): Ascending to the highest slopes of low mountains, or most normal travel through high mountains, falls into this category. | * '''''Low Peak or High Pass (5,000 to 15,000 feet):''''' Ascending to the highest slopes of low mountains, or most normal travel through high mountains, falls into this category. Most creatures labor to breathe in the thin air at this altitude. Each hour spent traveling at this altitude inflicts 1d6 points of environmental cold (common energy) damage due to exposure. Furthermore, characters may only travel at this altitude a number of hours equal their CON modifier before becoming [[fatigued]]. The fatigue ends after a full night's rest, or when the character descends to an altitude with more air. Acclimated characters can travel at this altitude for an additional 4 hours before becoming fatigued, and can reduce the environmental cold damage by 1 point per hour. | ||
High Peak (more than 15,000 feet): The highest mountains exceed 15,000 feet in height. At these elevations, creatures are subject to both high altitude fatigue (as described above) and altitude sickness, whether or not they're acclimated to high altitudes. Altitude sickness represents long-term oxygen deprivation, and affects mental and physical | * '''''High Peak (more than 15,000 feet):''''' The highest mountains exceed 15,000 feet in height. At these elevations, creatures are subject to both high altitude fatigue (as described above) and altitude sickness, whether or not they're acclimated to high altitudes. Altitude sickness represents long-term oxygen deprivation, and affects mental and physical prowess. Each hour spent traveling at this altitude, characters suffer 3d6 points of environmental cold (common energy) damage due to exposure, and must make a [[Might]] check versus a [[Skill DC|Challenging]] DC for their level or become [[Exhausted]]. The exhausted condition persists until a full night's rest. Creatures acclimated to high altitude receive a +4 competence bonus on their might checks to resist altitude sickness, and can reduce the environmental cold damage by 1 point per hour, but eventually even seasoned mountaineers must abandon these dangerous elevations. | ||
==Avalanche== | ==Avalanche== | ||