Urban

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Constructed floors of all varieties are easy to walk on. Damaged and very old floors often contain areas of uneven ground.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.