GM Core
Chapter 2: Building Games
Environment
Source GM Core pg. 92
Primarily used during exploration, environment rules bring the locales your party travels through to life. You'll often be able to use common sense to adjudicate how environments work, but you'll need special rules for environments that really stand out.
Each of the environments presented in this section uses the terrain rules in different ways, so be sure to familiarize yourself with those rules before reading this section. Some environments refer to the rules for climate and natural disasters. Many places have the traits of multiple environments; a snowcovered mountain might use both the arctic and mountain environments, for example. For environmental features with effects based on how tall or deep they are, those effects vary further based on a creature's size. For instance, a shallow bog for a Medium creature might be a deep bog for smaller creatures, and a deep bog for a Medium creature could be only a shallow bog for a larger creature (and so insignificant for a truly massive creature that it isn't even difficult terrain).
The Environmental Features table (see below) lists the features of various environments alphabetically for quick reference. The Proficiency DC Band entry indicates a range of appropriate simple DCs for that environmental feature while also providing a rough estimate of the danger or complexity of the feature.
Each of the environments presented in this section uses the terrain rules in different ways, so be sure to familiarize yourself with those rules before reading this section. Some environments refer to the rules for climate and natural disasters. Many places have the traits of multiple environments; a snowcovered mountain might use both the arctic and mountain environments, for example. For environmental features with effects based on how tall or deep they are, those effects vary further based on a creature's size. For instance, a shallow bog for a Medium creature might be a deep bog for smaller creatures, and a deep bog for a Medium creature could be only a shallow bog for a larger creature (and so insignificant for a truly massive creature that it isn't even difficult terrain).
The Environmental Features table (see below) lists the features of various environments alphabetically for quick reference. The Proficiency DC Band entry indicates a range of appropriate simple DCs for that environmental feature while also providing a rough estimate of the danger or complexity of the feature.
Environmental Damage
Source GM Core pg. 92
Some environmental features or natural disasters deal damage. Because the amount of damage can vary based on the specific circumstances, the rules for specific environments and natural disasters use damage categories to describe the damage, rather than exact numbers. Use the Environmental Damage table to determine damage from an environment or natural disaster. When deciding the exact damage amount, use your best judgment based on how extreme you deem the danger to be.
Environmental Damage
| Category | Damage |
|---|---|
| Minor | 1d6–2d6 |
| Moderate | 4d6–6d6 |
| Major | 8d6–12d6 |
| Massive | 18d6–24d6 |
Aquatic
Source GM Core pg. 93
Aquatic environments are among the most challenging for PCs short of other worlds and unusual planes. PCs in an aquatic environment need a way to breathe (typically a water breathing spell) and must usually Swim to move, though a PC who sinks to the bottom can walk awkwardly, using the rules for greater difficult terrain. Characters in aquatic environments make frequent use of the rules for aquatic combat and the drowning and suffocation rules.
Currents and Flowing Water
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Ocean currents, flowing rivers, and similar moving water are difficult terrain or greater difficult terrain (depending on the speed of the water) for a creature Swimming against the current. At the end of a creature's turn, it moves a certain distance depending on the current's speed. For instance, a 10-foot current moves a creature 10 feet in the current's direction at the end of that creature's turn.
Underwater Visibility
Source GM Core pg. 93
It's much harder to see things at a distance underwater than it is on land, and it's particularly difficult if the water is murky or full of particles. In pure water, the maximum visual range is roughly 240 feet to see a small object, and in murky water, visibility can be reduced to only 10 feet or even less.
Arctic
Source GM Core pg. 93
The main challenge in an arctic environment is the extreme low temperature, but arctic environments also contain ice and snow. The disasters that most often strike in arctic environments are avalanches, blizzards, and floods.
Ice
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Icy ground is both uneven ground and difficult terrain, as characters slip and slide due to poor traction.
Snow
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Depending on the depth of snow and its composition, most snowy ground is either difficult terrain or greater difficult terrain. In denser snow, characters can attempt to walk along the surface without breaking through, but some areas might be loose or soft enough that they're uneven ground.
Desert
Source GM Core pg. 93
Desert encompasses sandy and rocky deserts as well as badlands. Though tundra is technically a desert, it's classified as arctic, as the climate is the primary challenge in such areas. Sandy deserts often have quicksand and sandstorms.
Rubble
Source GM Core pg. 93
Rocky deserts are strewn with rubble, which is difficult terrain. Rubble dense enough to be walked over rather than navigated through is uneven ground.
Sand
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Packed sand doesn't usually significantly impede a character's movement, but loose sand is either {rules 414 "difficult terrain"}} (if it's shallow) or uneven ground (if it's deep). The wind often shifts sand into dunes, hills of loose sand with uneven ground facing the wind and steeper inclines away from the wind.
Forest
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These diverse environments include jungles and other wooded areas. They're sometimes struck by wildfires.
Canopies
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Particularly dense forests, such as rainforests, have a canopy level above the ground. A creature trying to reach the canopy or travel along it must Climb. Swinging on vines and branches usually requires an Acrobatics or Athletics check. A canopy provides cover, and a thicker one can prevent creatures in the canopy from seeing those on the ground, and vice versa.
Trees
Source GM Core pg. 93
While trees are omnipresent in a forest, they typically don't provide cover unless a character uses the Take Cover action. Only larger trees that take up an entire 5-foot square on the map (or more) are big enough to provide cover automatically.
Mountain
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Mountain environments also include hills. The most common disasters here are avalanches.
Chasms
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Chasms are natural pits, typically at least 20 feet long and clearly visible (barring mundane or magical efforts to conceal them). The main danger posed by a chasm is that characters must Long Jump to get across. Alternatively, characters can take the safer but slower route of Climbing down the near side of the chasm and then ascending the far side to get across.
Rubble
Source GM Core pg. 93
Mountains often have extremely rocky areas or shifting, gravelly scree that makes for difficult terrain. Especially deep or pervasive rubble is uneven ground.
Slopes
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Slopes vary from the gentle rises of normal terrain to difficult terrain and inclines, depending on the angle of elevation. Moving down a slope is typically normal terrain, but characters might need to Climb up particularly steep slopes.
Swamp
Source GM Core pg. 94
Wetlands are the most common kind of swamp, but this category also includes drier marshes such as moors. Swamps often contain quicksand. Despite their soggy nature, swamps aren't likely to experience flooding since they act as natural sponges and absorb a great deal of water before they flood.
Bogs
Source GM Core pg. 94
Also called mires, bogs are watery areas that accumulate peat, are covered by shrubs and moss, and sometimes feature floating islands of vegetation covering deeper pools. Shallow bogs are difficult terrain for a Medium creature, and deep bogs are greater difficult terrain. If a bog is deep enough that a creature can't reach the bottom, the creature has to Swim. Bogs are also acidic, so particularly extreme or magical bogs can be hazardous terrain.
Underground
Source GM Core pg. 94
Underground environments consist of caves and natural subterranean areas. Artificial dungeons and ruins combine underground features with urban features like stairs and walls. Deep underground vaults have some of the same terrain features as mountains, such as chasms and cliffs. The most common disasters underground are collapses.
Urban
Source GM Core pg. 94
Urban environments include open city spaces and buildings as well as the interiors of constructed environments and structures, including climate-controlled satellite cities, orbital stations, and starship interiors. The building information in this section also applies to ruins and constructed dungeons. Depending on their construction and location, cities might be vulnerable to many sorts of disasters, especially fires and floods, while the interior of starships and space stations are more likely to be vulnerable to decompression and power outages.
Airlocks
Source GM Core pg. 94
Airlocks seal the climate-controlled environment inside a satellite or starship from the vacuum outside. Airlocks are also found within terrestrial facilities to keep breathable air in and contaminants or dangerous atmospheres out. A typical airlock consists of two interlocked doors with an interior compartment.
Catwalks
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Catwalks are walkways that cross over maintenance tunnels and warehouses or run alongside wider corridors. Catwalks are equipped with ladders or ramps to ascend and descend easily, and most have railings to prevent accidental falls. Moving from the ground to a catwalk without the use of a ladder likely requires Climbing, a High Jump, or a Leap followed by Grabbing an Edge and Climbing up.
Wide catwalks are easy to move across and commonly appear in warehouses, engineering bays, and other large spaces. Narrow catwalks are common in starship interiors and other places where spaces are cramped, and they're difficult terrain. Unstable catwalks and narrow catwalks that lack railings likely require creatures to Balance to cross safely. Creatures that fall off or are pushed off a catwalk take falling damage.
Characters on a catwalk can usually Take Cover. Depending on the catwalk's construction material and rails, as well as the positioning of creatures, catwalks could provide cover automatically.
Wide catwalks are easy to move across and commonly appear in warehouses, engineering bays, and other large spaces. Narrow catwalks are common in starship interiors and other places where spaces are cramped, and they're difficult terrain. Unstable catwalks and narrow catwalks that lack railings likely require creatures to Balance to cross safely. Creatures that fall off or are pushed off a catwalk take falling damage.
Characters on a catwalk can usually Take Cover. Depending on the catwalk's construction material and rails, as well as the positioning of creatures, catwalks could provide cover automatically.
Crowds
Source GM Core pg. 94
Crowded thoroughfares and similar areas are difficult terrain, or greater difficult terrain if an area is truly packed with people. You might allow a character to get a crowd to part using Diplomacy, Intimidation, or Performance.
A crowd exposed to an obvious danger, like a fire or a rampaging monster, attempts to move away from the danger as quickly as possible, but it's slowed by its own mass. A fleeing crowd typically moves at the Speed of an average member each round (usually 25 feet), potentially trampling or leaving behind slower-moving members of the crowd.
A crowd exposed to an obvious danger, like a fire or a rampaging monster, attempts to move away from the danger as quickly as possible, but it's slowed by its own mass. A fleeing crowd typically moves at the Speed of an average member each round (usually 25 feet), potentially trampling or leaving behind slower-moving members of the crowd.
Doors
Source GM Core pg. 95
Opening an unlocked door requires an Interact action (or more than one for a particularly complicated or large door). Stuck doors must be Forced Open, and locked ones require a character to Pick the Lock or Force them Open.
Automatic doors don't require an Interact action to open and instead operate based on proximity. Many automatic doors have control panels and are keyed to a security feature, such as an ID card or retinal scan. Such security features can usually be bypassed using Disable a Device.
Automatic doors don't require an Interact action to open and instead operate based on proximity. Many automatic doors have control panels and are keyed to a security feature, such as an ID card or retinal scan. Such security features can usually be bypassed using Disable a Device.
Elevators
Source GM Core pg. 95
Elevators are common in space stations, large starships, and buildings. Typically an enclosed chamber or flat platform, elevators move up and down a vertical shaft via technology or magic at the push of a button or other simple command. Because a single elevator traverses each elevator shaft, creatures can hail an elevator with an Interact action but often must wait for the elevator to arrive. Depending on how large or busy a building is, creatures could have to wait up to a minute or two. Once aboard, a creature can select their destination floor with an Interact action.
Prying open the door to an elevator shaft when the elevator isn't present or opening the ceiling hatch in an elevator car often requires 2 or more Interact actions to open. Often, the doors must be Forced Open or the hatch must be unlocked using Disable Device or Pick a Lock. Elevator shafts are equipped with ladders to ascend or descend. Creatures in an elevator shaft run the risk of falling or being crushed by an elevator car.
Prying open the door to an elevator shaft when the elevator isn't present or opening the ceiling hatch in an elevator car often requires 2 or more Interact actions to open. Often, the doors must be Forced Open or the hatch must be unlocked using Disable Device or Pick a Lock. Elevator shafts are equipped with ladders to ascend or descend. Creatures in an elevator shaft run the risk of falling or being crushed by an elevator car.
Floors
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Constructed floors of all varieties are easy to walk on. Damaged and very old floors often contain areas of uneven ground.
Maintenance Tunnels
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Maintenance tunnels are generally located below floors or inside the walls of large constructed structures and starships. Maintenance tunnels can be entered through narrow shafts, usually covered by panels or grates, that require 2 or more Interact actions to open. Most maintenance tunnels are crowded with machinery and are difficult terrain. Some are tight spaces that require Medium and larger characters to Squeeze.
Rooftops
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Rooftops make for memorable ambushes, chase scenes, infiltrations, and running fights. Flat roofs are easy to move across, but they're rare in any settlement that receives significant snowfall since heavy buildups of snow can collapse a roof. Angled roofs are uneven ground, or inclines if they're especially steep. The peak of an angled roof is a narrow surface.
Hurdling from roof to roof often requires a Long Jump, though some buildings are close enough to Leap between. A High Jump might be necessary to reach a higher roof, or a Leap followed by Grabbing an Edge and Climbing up.
Hurdling from roof to roof often requires a Long Jump, though some buildings are close enough to Leap between. A High Jump might be necessary to reach a higher roof, or a Leap followed by Grabbing an Edge and Climbing up.
Security
Source GM Core pg. 95
Across the galaxy, countless nations, planets, and galactic governments are protected by military forces. Most settlements have peacekeeping or law enforcement agencies whose agents and officers work in shifts to protect the settlement at all hours. These agencies are often based out of dedicated buildings and have financial and infrastructural support from the government. Many buildings, structures, and regions are patrolled by private security firms and mercenary forces.
Most buildings, structures, and space stations have security measures, typically including surveillance cameras or observation drones. Security guards often monitor these surveillance systems in designated rooms or buildings, or authorize remotely controlled drones or robots to defend a facility. Traps such as sentry turrets, laser turrets, and laser webs are also common security features.
Most buildings, structures, and space stations have security measures, typically including surveillance cameras or observation drones. Security guards often monitor these surveillance systems in designated rooms or buildings, or authorize remotely controlled drones or robots to defend a facility. Traps such as sentry turrets, laser turrets, and laser webs are also common security features.
Sewers
Source GM Core pg. 95
Sewers are generally 10 feet or more below street level and are equipped with ladders or other means to ascend anddescend. Raised paths along the walls allow sewer workers access, while channels in the center carry the waste itself. Less sophisticated sewers, or sections those workers don't usually access, might require wading through disease-ridden waste. Sewers can be accessed through sewer grates, which usually require 2 or more Interact actions to open.
Sewer Gas
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Sewer gas often contains pockets of highly flammable gas. A pocket of sewer gas exposed to a flame explodes, dealing moderate environmental fire damage to creatures in the area.
Stairs
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Stairs are difficult terrain for characters moving up them, and shoddy stairs might also be uneven ground. Stairs designed for larger creatures are greater difficult terrain both up and down when used by significantly smaller creatures, or might require them to Climb on every step.
Streets
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Most settlements have streets that were largely established organically as the settlement grew. These roads vary from alleys as narrow as 5 feet to massive multilane highways over 100 feet wide. Most basic streets are 30 feet wide and divided into two lanes. Streets are generally paved with concrete. If the roads are in poor repair, they could be difficult terrain or uneven ground.
Street signs and lights direct traffic along roads, streetlamps cast light along their length, and sidewalks flank both sides of the street for pedestrians. Intersections, crosswalks, corridors, underground tunnels, and raised platforms enable pedestrians to cross thoroughfares safely. Breaking traffic laws is likely to draw the attention of local law enforcement and increases the threat of vehicular accidents.
Street signs and lights direct traffic along roads, streetlamps cast light along their length, and sidewalks flank both sides of the street for pedestrians. Intersections, crosswalks, corridors, underground tunnels, and raised platforms enable pedestrians to cross thoroughfares safely. Breaking traffic laws is likely to draw the attention of local law enforcement and increases the threat of vehicular accidents.
Walls
Source GM Core pg. 96
Well-built structures have exterior walls of steel, concrete, brick, or stonemasonry. Smaller, lower-quality, or temporary structures might have wooden or plastic walls. Interior walls tend to be less sturdy; they could be made of wooden planks, or even simply of thick, opaque paper held in a wooden frame. An underground structure might have thick walls carved out of solid rock to prevent the weight of the ground above from collapsing the structure. Rules for climbing and breaking walls are in the sidebar under Urban environment.
Weird
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Weird environments are unpredictable and erratic. Weird environments are often found on irregular planets or places scarred by powerful magic or other strange phenomena. A weird environment might be a patchwork of disparate ecosystems, with a lava field inexplicably bordering arctic tundra, or a bizarre biome such as a shallow, luminescent sea afloat with psychic jellyfish exhaling their emotions in jets of color and sensation. Psystorms and radiation are examples of threats that might be encountered in weird environments.
Outer Space
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Outer space holds countless stars, planets, and other cosmic bodies. Most characters will venture into space during their adventuring career. Shuttling between planets, visiting an orbiting space station, or traveling to a distant star system are examples of common travel that require a journey through outer space. Most travelers embark on such trips aboard a starship, which protects them from outer space's environmental dangers.
Cosmic Radiation
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Stars and other powerful cosmic bodies are radioactive. Most habitable planets have atmospheres that repel their emissions, allowing only a negligible amount of cosmic radiation in occasional bursts. Usually, creatures on a planet with no atmosphere are constantly exposed to mild to severe radiation.
Drift Beacons
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Drift beacons are satellites tethered to the Drift, the plane used for rapid interstellar transportation by many civilizations across the galaxy. Drift beacons act as landmarks for Drift travel and relay long-range communications through outer space. Most Drift beacons are artificially constructed and maintained by the Church of Triune, but their designs can vary significantly, ranging from simple industrial buoys to extradimensional pagodas.
Solar Flares
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Sometimes a star releases bursts of intense energy that are visible as flares of roiling plasma arcing out from its surface. Creatures and objects on or near a star's surface take massive fire damage and major persistent electrical damage from a solar flare. Solar flares disrupt technology up to millions of miles away from the star. A solar flare causes electronics and radio communications to gain the glitching condition or stop working for up to 1d6 hours.
Vacuum
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Space is a vacuum, meaning it contains no breathable air and has zero gravity. Creatures in a vacuum are at risk of suffocation and take minor bludgeoning damage each minute. In addition, they are untethered and require special propulsion to move. Space has no effective temperature, and a creature retains its body heat for several hours in a vacuum. Sound doesn't travel in a vacuum, meaning most sonic effects don't function. Creatures with the cosmic trait are immune to many of the effects of a vacuum.
Decompression
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Decompression occurs when a creature suddenly transitions from a pressurized environment to a vacuum, such as by getting shoved out of an airlock or being inside a starship that sustains heavy damage. Such a creature takes moderate bludgeoning damage and immediately begins suffocating (they can't hold their breath). Decompression can also apply to characters in underwater environments.
Atmosphere
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An atmosphere is a layer of gases held in place by a planet's gravity. There are various types, and some are hazardous.
Normal Atmosphere
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This atmosphere is made up of gases such as oxygen and nitrogen that most creatures can safely breathe. Planets with normal atmospheres have weather patterns that vary depending on climate. Planets such as Castrovel and Verces have normal atmospheres. Artificial atmospheres, like the one on Absalom Station, are usually normal.
Corrosive Atmosphere
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A corrosive atmosphere is made of caustic gases and creates dangerous weather patterns, such as acid rain. A corrosive atmosphere deals minor to moderate acid damage per minute to creatures and objects. Certain metals, stones, and treated materials might resist a specific type of corrosive atmosphere.
Thick Atmosphere
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A thick atmosphere has high air pressure. Breathing a thick atmosphere usually requires characters to attempt a Fortitude save every hour to avoid becoming sickened until they begin breathing normal air. The value of the sickened condition depends on the specific atmosphere (typically sickened 1).
Thin Atmosphere
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A thin atmosphere has low air pressure and often lacks enough oxygen to keep characters healthy. Breathing a thin atmosphere for more than a few hours causes non-acclimated characters to become fatigued. Severely thin atmospheres require characters to attempt a Fortitude save every hour or become drained. The value of the drained condition depends on the specific atmosphere (typically drained 1).
Toxic Atmosphere
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A toxic atmosphere contains gases that are poisonous to most creatures. Breathing a toxic atmosphere typically deals minor poison damage per minute.
Climate
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Weather is more than just set dressing to establish mood—it has mechanical effects you can combine with environmental components to create a more memorable encounter. Weather can impose circumstance penalties on certain checks, from –1 to –4 based on severity.
Fog
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Fog imposes a circumstance penalty to visual Perception checks, depending on the thickness; it causes creatures viewed through significant amounts of fog to be concealed; and it cuts off all visibility at half a mile or less—possibly much less. Conditions limiting visibility to about a mile are called mist, and those that do so to about 3 miles are called haze.
Precipitation
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Precipitation includes rain as well as colder snow, sleet, and hail. Wet precipitation douses flames, and frozen precipitation can create areas of snow or ice on the ground. Drizzle or light snowfall has little mechanical effect beyond limited visibility.
Visibility
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Most forms of precipitation impose circumstance penalties on visual Perception checks. Hail often is sparser but loud, instead penalizing auditory Perception checks. Especially heavy precipitation, such as a downpour of rain or heavy snow, might make creatures concealed if they're far away.
Fatigue
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Precipitation causes discomfort and fatigue. Anything heavier than drizzle or light snowfall reduces the time it takes for characters to become fatigued from overland travel to only 4 hours. Heavy precipitation can be dangerous in cold environments when characters go without protection. Soaked characters treat the temperature as one step colder (mild to severe, severe to extreme; see Temperature).
Thunderstorms
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High winds and heavy precipitation accompany many thunderstorms. There's also a very small chance that a character might be struck by lightning during a storm. A lightning strike usually deals moderate electricity damage, or major electricity damage in a severe thunderstorm.
Temperature
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Often, temperature doesn't impose enough of a mechanical effect to worry about beyond describing the clothing the characters need to wear to be comfortable. Particularly hot and cold weather can make creatures fatigued more quickly during overland travel and can cause damage if harsh enough, as shown in the Temperature Effects table below.
Appropriate cold-weather gear can negate the damage from severe cold or reduce the damage from extreme cold to that of particularly severe cold.
Appropriate cold-weather gear can negate the damage from severe cold or reduce the damage from extreme cold to that of particularly severe cold.
Temperature Effects
| Category | Temperature | Fatigue | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incredible cold | –80°F or colder | 2 hours | Moderate cold every minute |
| Extreme cold | –79°F to –20°F | 4 hours | Minor cold every 10 minutes |
| Severe cold | –21°F to 12°F | 4 hours | Minor cold every hour |
| Mild cold | 13°F to 32°F | 4 hours | None |
| Normal | 33°F to 94°F | 8 hours | None |
| Mild heat | 95°F* to 104°F* | 4 hours | None |
| Severe heat | 105°F* to 114°F | 4 hours | Minor fire every hour |
| Extreme heat | 115°F to 139°F | 4 hours | Minor fire every 10 minutes |
| Incredible heat | 140°F or warmer | 2 hours | Moderate fire every minute |
| * Adjust temperatures down by 15° in areas of high humidity. | |||
Wind
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Wind imposes a circumstance penalty on auditory Perception checks depending on its strength. It also interferes with physical ranged attacks, imposing a circumstance penalty to attack rolls involving such weapons, and potentially making attacks with them impossible in powerful windstorms. Wind snuffs out handheld flames; lanterns protect open flame from the wind, but particularly powerful winds can extinguish these as well.
Moving in Wind
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Wind is difficult or greater difficult terrain when Flying. Moving in wind of sufficient strength requires a Maneuver in Flight action, and fliers are blown away on a critical failure or if they don't succeed at a minimum of one such check each round.
Even on the ground, particularly strong winds might require a creature to succeed at an Athletics check to move, knocking the creature back and prone on a critical failure. On such checks, Small creatures typically take a –1 circumstance penalty, and Tiny creatures typically take a –2 penalty.
Even on the ground, particularly strong winds might require a creature to succeed at an Athletics check to move, knocking the creature back and prone on a critical failure. On such checks, Small creatures typically take a –1 circumstance penalty, and Tiny creatures typically take a –2 penalty.
Gravity
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Most habitable planets have gravity similar to Earth or the world of Lost Golarion, defined as normal gravity. Other environments have higher or lower gravity, potentially debilitating characters or empowering them like superheroes.
Extreme Gravity
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An environment with extreme gravity is dangerous for most characters. In addition to the effects of high gravity, a character takes minor to moderate bludgeoning damage per minute.
High Gravity
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An environment with high gravity will be oppressive for most creatures. The Bulk of all creatures and objects is doubled, meaning creatures acclimated to normal gravity can carry only half as much. Creatures used to normal gravity move at half Speed and can jump only half as high and far. Physical ranged attacks are impossible beyond the third range increment (instead of the sixth). Creatures that fall in high gravity take bludgeoning damage equal to the distance they fell.
Normal Gravity
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Normal gravity environments have conditions similar to planets like Earth or Lost Golarion.
Low Gravity
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An environment with low gravity is liberating for creatures accustomed to normal or higher gravity. The Bulk of all creatures and objects is halved, meaning creatures acclimated to normal gravity can carry twice as much and jump twice as high and far. Physical ranged attacks are possible up to the twelfth range increment (instead of the sixth). Creatures that fall in low gravity take no damage for the first 10 feet of a fall and then take bludgeoning damage equal to a quarter of the remaining distance it fell.
Zero Gravity
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Environments such as outer space and some small satellites have zero gravity (also referred to as zero-g). Creatures in zero-g have the clumsy 1, off-guard, and untethered conditions. A creature in a zero gravity environment can lift and carry 10 times their normal amount and multiplies the ranges of thrown weapons by 10.
Movement in Zero Gravity
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Creatures in a zero-g environment float aimlessly without a method of propulsion, cosmic flight, or nearby objects to Push Off of. Creatures with a natural fly Speed can't use their fly Speed in zero-g unless they have the cosmic trait. Creatures flying via propulsion, such as jetpacks, starship thrusters, and spells like fly or void vessel, are unaffected. Unless a creature has a means of moving in zero-g, it gains the untethered condition.
Radiation
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Radiation is a threat to adventurers, whether it's the radiation emitted from stars or the radiation generated by various technological wonders of the universe.
Radiation and Technology
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Radiation has a disrupting effect on technological items. Low-level radiation typically has no effect on technological items, but higher levels of radiation impose the glitching condition on technological equipment. This effect typically lasts until the item is removed from the source of radiation. Technological items exposed to particularly powerful radiation stop working entirely until they're removed from the source of radiation and permanently gain the glitching condition until they're repaired.
Radiation Sickness
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Radiation sickness is a disease that damages a creature's body at a cellular level, causing sickness and even death. Radiation sickness is often grouped into four broad categories: mild, severe, extreme, and incredible. The effects of these categories of radiation sickness are described in Diseases, though other types of radiation sickness are known to exist.
Natural Disasters
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Climate and environmental features can be a hindrance or long-term threat, but natural disasters represent acute danger, especially to those directly exposed to their fury.
Acid Rain
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Acid rain is a catchall term for corrosive precipitation. Acid rain affects visibility and causes fatigue like normal precipitation but also deals minor acid damage each minute. Acid rain sometimes occurs as part of a thunderstorm.
Avalanches
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Though the term avalanche specifically refers to a cascading flow of ice and snow down a mountain's slope, the same rules work for landslides, mudslides, and other similar disasters. Avalanches of wet snow usually travel up to 200 feet per round, though powdery snow can travel up to 10 times faster. Rockslides and mudslides are slower, sometimes even slow enough that a character might be able to outrun them.
An avalanche deals major or even massive bludgeoning damage to creatures and objects in its path. These victims are also buried under a significant mass. Creatures caught in an avalanche's path can attempt a Reflex save; if they succeed, they take only half the bludgeoning damage, and if they critically succeed, they also avoid being buried.
An avalanche deals major or even massive bludgeoning damage to creatures and objects in its path. These victims are also buried under a significant mass. Creatures caught in an avalanche's path can attempt a Reflex save; if they succeed, they take only half the bludgeoning damage, and if they critically succeed, they also avoid being buried.
Burial
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Buried creatures take minor bludgeoning damage each minute, and they potentially take minor cold damage if buried under an avalanche of snow. At the GM's discretion, creatures without a sufficient air pocket could also risk suffocation. A buried creature is restrained and usually can't free itself.
Allies or bystanders can attempt to dig out a buried creature. Each creature digging clears roughly a 5-foot-by-5 foot square every 4 minutes with a successful Athletics check (or every 2 minutes on a critical success). Using shovels or other proper tools halves the time.
Allies or bystanders can attempt to dig out a buried creature. Each creature digging clears roughly a 5-foot-by-5 foot square every 4 minutes with a successful Athletics check (or every 2 minutes on a critical success). Using shovels or other proper tools halves the time.
Blizzards
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Blizzards combine cold weather, heavy snow, and strong winds. They don't pose a single direct threat as other disasters do; instead, the combination of these factors all at once poses a substantial impediment to characters.
Collapses
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Collapses and cave-ins occur when caverns or buildings fall, dumping tons of rock or other material on those caught below or inside them. Creatures under the collapse take major or massive bludgeoning damage and become buried, just as with an avalanche. Fortunately, collapses don't spread unless they weaken the overall integrity of the area and lead to further collapses.
Earthquakes
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Earthquakes often cause other natural disasters in the form of avalanches, collapses, floods, and tsunamis, but they also present unique threats such as fissures, soil liquefaction, and tremors.
Fissures
Source GM Core pg. 100
Fissures and other ground ruptures can destabilize structures, but more directly they lead to creatures taking bludgeoning damage from falling into a fissure.
Soil Liquefaction
Source GM Core pg. 100
Liquefaction occurs when granular particles shake to the point where they temporarily lose their solid form and act as liquids. When this happens to soil, it can cause creatures and even whole buildings to sink into the ground. You can use the earthquake spell for more specific rules, though that spell represents only one particular kind of localized quake.
Tremors
Source GM Core pg. 100
Tremors knock creatures prone, causing them to fall or careen into other objects, which can deal bludgeoning damage appropriate to the severity of the quake.
Floods
Source GM Core pg. 100
Though more gradual floods can damage structures and drown creatures, flash floods are similar to avalanches, except with a liquid mass instead of a solid one. Instead of burying creatures, a flash flood carries creatures and even massive objects away, buffeting the creatures and potentially drowning them.
Gravity Wells
Source GM Core pg. 100
Gravity wells are dense objects or regions that generate their own gravity. Gravity wells create an area of difficult terrain or greater difficult terrain (depending on their density) for a creature moving away from them. At the end of a creature's turn, it moves a certain distance depending on the gravity well's mass. For example, the malfunctioning artificial gravity generator of a starship moves a creature 10 feet toward it at the end of that creature's turn.
Magnetic Storms
Source GM Core pg. 100
Magnetic storms are spikes in magnetic activity that interfere with technology on certain planets. Unshielded technology starts glitching during a magnetic storm and stops working during a severe magnetic storm.
Psystorms
Source GM Core pg. 100
A psystorm is a magical weather pattern that occurs on some planets. Winds that howl with alien voices, sudden flashes of color and sound, and other bizarre phenomena accompany psystorms. Creatures without shelter take minor to moderate mental damage each minute during a psystorm. There's also a chance that a character might be struck by a bolt of magical energy during a psystorm. An energy bolt usually deals moderate damage of a randomly determined type.
Sandstorms
Source GM Core pg. 100
Mild sandstorms and dust storms don't present much more danger than a windy rainstorm, but they can cause damage to a creature's lungs and spread diseases across long distances. Heavy sandstorms deal minor slashing damage each round to those exposed to the sand, force creatures to hold their breath to avoid suffocation, or both.
Tornadoes
Source GM Core pg. 100
In a tornado's path, wind conditions impose severe circumstance penalties, but creatures that would normally be blown away are instead picked up in the tornado's funnel, where they take massive bludgeoning damage from flying debris as they rise through the cone until they're eventually expelled (taking bludgeoning damage from falling).
Tornadoes usually travel around 300 feet per round (roughly 30 miles per hour). They normally travel a few miles before dissipating. Some tornadoes are stationary or travel much faster.
Tornadoes usually travel around 300 feet per round (roughly 30 miles per hour). They normally travel a few miles before dissipating. Some tornadoes are stationary or travel much faster.
Tsunamis
Source GM Core pg. 100
Tsunamis present many of the same dangers as flash floods but are much larger and more destructive. Tsunami waves can reach 100 feet or more in height, wrecking buildings and creatures alike with massive bludgeoning damage from both the wave itself and debris pulled up along its path of destruction.
Volcanic Eruptions
Source GM Core pg. 100
Volcanic eruptions can contain any combination of ash, lava bombs, lava flows, pyroclastic flows, and vents.
Ash
Source GM Core pg. 101
Ash from volcanic eruptions is hot enough to cause minor fire damage each minute. It limits visibility like a thick fog and can make air unbreathable, requiring characters to hold their breath or suffocate. Ash clouds generate ash lightning strikes, which typically deal moderate electricity damage but are very unlikely to hit an individual creature. Ash buildup on the ground creates areas of uneven ground, difficult terrain, or greater difficult terrain, and ash in the atmosphere can block the sun for weeks or even months, leading to colder temperatures and longer winters.
Lava Bombs
Source GM Core pg. 101
Pressure can launch lava into the air that falls as lava bombs: masses of lava that solidify as they fly and shatter on impact, dealing at least moderate bludgeoning damage and moderate fire damage.
Lava Flows
Source GM Core pg. 101
Lava flows are an iconic volcanic threat; they usually move between 5 and 60 feet per round over normal ground, so characters can often outrun them. However, flows can move up to 300 feet per round in a steep volcanic tube or channel. Lava emanates heat that deal minor fire damage even before it comes into contact with creatures, and immersion in lava deals massive fire damage each round.
Pyroclastic Flows
Source GM Core pg. 101
Mixes of hot gases and rock debris, pyroclastic flows spread much faster than lava, sometimes more than 4,000 feet per round. While cooler than the hottest lava, pyroclastic flows are capable of overwhelming entire settlements. They work like avalanches but deal half of their damage as fire damage.
Vents
Source GM Core pg. 101
Steam vents shoot from the ground, dealing moderate fire damage or more in a wide column. Acidic and poisonous gases released from beneath the surface can create wide areas of hazardous terrain that deals at least minor acid or poison damage.
Vortex
Source GM Core pg. 101
Swirling windstorms sweep through the atmosphere of some planets, especially gas giants. Vortexes are more powerful than tornadoes, often traveling at speeds over 400 miles per hour. Some dissipate within hours, while others rage for years, fueled by superheated volatile gases. Vortexes deal massive bludgeoning damage each minute to creatures and objects (often including starships) in their path and carry them for hundreds of miles. Superheated vortexes also deal massive fire damage.
Wildfires
Source GM Core pg. 101
Wildfires travel mainly along a front moving in a single direction. In a forest, the front can advance up to 70 feet per round (7 miles per hour). They can move up to twice as fast across plains due to a lack of shade and the relatively low humidity. Embers from the fire, carried by winds and rising hot air, can scatter, forming spot fires as far as 10 miles away from the main wildfire. Wildfires present three main threats: flames, heat, and smoke.
Flames
Source GM Core pg. 101
Flames are hazardous terrain, usually dealing moderate damage and potentially setting a character on fire, dealing moderate persistent fire damage. The flames from a small fire are often less dangerous than the advancing heat from the front of a large fire.
Heat
Source GM Core pg. 101
Wildfires increase the temperature in advance of the front, reaching nearly 1,500°F at the fire's arrival, as hot as some lava. This begins as minor fire damage every round at a reasonable distance from the front and increases to massive fire damage for someone within the wildfire.
Smoke
Source GM Core pg. 101
Wind can carry smoke far in front of the wildfire itself. Smoke imposes a circumstance penalty to visual Perception checks, depending on the thickness. It causes creatures viewed through significant amounts of smoke to be concealed, and it cuts off all visibility at half a mile or less. Near or within the wildfire, the combination of smoke and heated air require characters to hold their breath or suffocate.
Environmental Features
| Feature | Proficiency DC Band |
|---|---|
| Airlocks | Untrained–trained |
| Atmosphere | — |
| Avalanches | Expert–legendary |
| Blizzards | — |
| Bogs | Untrained–trained |
| Catwalks | Untrained-trained |
| Canopies | Trained–master |
| Chasms | — |
| Collapses | Expert–legendary |
| Cosmic Radiation | Expert–legendary |
| Crowd | Trained–master |
| Currents | Trained–master |
| Decompression | Untrained–expert |
| Doors | — |
| Earthquakes | Trained–legendary |
| Elevators | — |
| Floods | Expert–legendary |
| Floors | Untrained–expert |
| Fog | — |
| Gravity | — |
| Gravity Wells | Trained–master |
| Ice | Trained–master |
| Lava | Expert–legendary |
| Magnetic Storm | Trained–master |
| Maintenance Tunnels | Untrained–expert |
| Precipitation | — |
| Psystorms | Expert–legendary |
| Radiation | — |
| Rooftops | Trained–master |
| Rubble | Untrained–expert |
| Sand | Untrained–expert |
| Sandstorms | Trained–master |
| Security | — |
| Sewers | — |
| Slopes | Untrained–trained |
| Snow | Untrained–expert |
| Stairs | Untrained–trained |
| Streets | Untrained–trained |
| Temperature | — |
| Tornadoes | Master–legendary |
| Trees | Untrained–master |
| Tsunamis | Master–legendary |
| Underwater Visibility | — |
| Vacuum | Untrained–trained |
| Volcanic Eruptions | Trained–legendary |
| Vortex | Expert–legendary |
| Walls | See entry |
| Wildfires | Expert–legendary |
| Wind | Untrained–legendary |