Environmental Rules

Cold and exposure deal nonlethal damage to the victim. A character can’t recover from the damage dealt by a cold environment until she gets out of the cold and warms up again. An unprotected character in cold weather (below 40° F) must succeed at a Fortitude save each hour (DC = 15 + 1 per previous check) or take 1d6 nonlethal cold damage. A character can attempt Survival skill checks to gain a bonus to this saving throw and might be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well (see page 148).

In conditions of severe cold (below 0° F), an unprotected character must succeed at a Fortitude save every 10 minutes (DC = 15 + 1 per previous check) or take 1d6 nonlethal cold damage. A character can attempt Survival skill checks to gain a bonus to this saving throw and might be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well.

Extreme cold (below –20° F) deals 1d6 lethal cold damage per minute (no saving throw). In addition, a character must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC = 15 + 1 per previous check) each minute or take 1d4 nonlethal cold damage. Colder environments can deal more damage at the GM’s discretion.

A character who takes any damage from cold or exposure is beset by frostbite or hypothermia (same as fatigued). These penalties end when the character recovers the nonlethal damage she took from the cold and exposure.

A character that falls takes 1d6 damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6. A character that takes damage from a fall lands prone.

If a character deliberately jumps instead of merely slipping or falling, the damage is the same but the first 1d6 is nonlethal damage. On a successful DC 15 Acrobatics check, the character avoids taking damage from the first 10 feet fallen and converts the damage from the second 10 feet to nonlethal damage. For example, a character who slips from a ledge 30 feet up takes 3d6 damage. If the same character deliberately jumps, he takes 1d6 nonlethal damage and 2d6 lethal damage. And if the character leaps down with a successful DC 15 Acrobatics check, he takes only 1d6 nonlethal damage and 1d6 lethal damage from the plunge.

The damage from the first 10 feet of a fall onto a yielding surface (such as soft ground or mud) is converted into nonlethal damage. This conversion is cumulative with damage reduced through deliberate jumps and successful Acrobatics checks.

A character can’t cast a spell or activate an item while free-falling unless the fall is greater than 500 feet or the spell or item can be used as a reaction. Casting teleport or a similar spell while falling doesn’t end the character’s momentum; it just changes her location, meaning that she still takes falling damage, even if she arrives atop a solid surface.

Gravitational differences between planets have the potential to hinder characters or make them superheroes—and sometimes both at the same time. Most planets habitable by humanoids have a gravity level defined as standard, which makes them similar enough that trying to arbitrate the difference isn’t necessary. Others, however, require special consideration. For planets with gravities that aren’t quite standard but don’t fall into the exact categories below, the GM might decide to assume the effects are proportional. For example, a planet with half standard gravity allows player characters to jump twice as high, whereas one with 1-1/2 standard gravity cuts jump heights by a third. In all cases, these effects last until the PCs adjust to the gravity (a process that typically takes about a month of living under such conditions). See Flying on page 259 for information about flying on planets with high or low gravity.

Heat deals nonlethal damage to the victim. A character can’t recover from the damage dealt by a hot environment until she gets out of the heat and cools off.

A character in very hot conditions (above 90° F) must attempt a Fortitude saving throw each hour (DC = 15 + 1 per previous check) or take 1d4 nonlethal fire damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or armor of any sort take a –4 penalty to their saving throws. A character can attempt a Survival check to receive a bonus to this saving throw, and might be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well (see page 148).

In severe heat (above 110° F), a character must attempt a Fortitude saving throw once every 10 minutes (DC = 15 + 1 per previous check) or take 1d4 nonlethal fire damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or armor of any sort take a –4 penalty to their saves. A character can attempt a Survival check to receive a bonus to this saving throw and might be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well (see page 148).

Extreme heat (air temperature over 140° F, boiling water, fire, and lava) deals lethal fire damage. Breathing air in extreme heat deals 1d6 fire damage per minute (no saving throw). In addition, a character must attempt a Fortitude saving throw every 5 minutes (DC = 15 + 1 per previous check) or take 1d4 nonlethal fire damage. Hotter environments can deal more damage at the GM’s discretion.

A character who takes any damage from heat exposure suffers from heatstroke (same as the fatigued condition; see page 276). These penalties end when the character recovers from the nonlethal damage she took from the heat.

Boiling water deals anywhere from 1d6 to 10d6 fire damage per round of exposure, depending on water temperature and level of immersion.

Radiation is a very real threat to adventurers, whether it’s the radiation emitted from stars or the radiation generated by various technological wonders of the universe. Radiation is a poison effect (see page 414) that weakens an affected creature’s Constitution and can also inflict an affected creature with a disease called radiation sickness. Radiation dangers are organized into four categories: low, medium, high, and severe. The effects of these categories of radiation are described on Table 11–8: Radiation Levels.

A character who needs to sleep must get at least 6 hours of sleep every night. If she doesn’t, she must attempt a Fortitude save (DC = 15 + 1 per previous check) after each night she doesn’t sleep enough. The first failed check causes her to become fatigued and take a –1 penalty to saving throws against effects that cause the asleep condition (see page 273). A second failed check causes her to become exhausted, and the penalty to saving throws against effects that cause the asleep condition increases to –2.

A character who inhales heavy smoke must attempt a Fortitude save each round she’s within the smoke (DC = 15 + 1 per previous check) or spend that round choking and coughing. A character who chokes for 2 consecutive rounds takes 1d6 nonlethal damage. Smoke obscures vision, providing concealment (20% miss chance).

Characters might find themselves without food or water and with no means to obtain them. In normal climates, Medium characters need at least a gallon of fluids per day to avoid thirst and about a pound of decent food per day to avoid starvation; Small characters need half as much. In very hot climates, characters need two or three times as much water to avoid thirst.

A character can go without water for 1 day plus a number of hours equal to his Constitution score. After this time, the character must succeed at a Constitution check each hour (DC = 10 + 1 per previous check) or take 1d6 nonlethal damage.

A character can go without eating food for 3 days. After this time, the character must succeed at a Constitution check (DC = 10 + 1 per previous check) each day or take 1d6 nonlethal damage.

A character who has taken any damage from lack of food or water is fatigued. Damage from thirst or starvation cannot be recovered until the character gets food or water, as needed—not even magic that restores Hit Points heals this damage.

A character who has no air to breathe can hold her breath for a number of rounds equal to twice her Constitution score. If a character takes a standard or full action, the remaining duration that the character can hold her breath is reduced by 1 round. After these rounds have elapsed, the character must attempt a Constitution check (DC = 10 + 1 per previous check) each round in order to continue holding her breath.

When the character fails one of these Constitution checks, she begins to suffocate. In the first round, she is reduced to 0 Hit Points and is unconscious and stable. In the following round, she is no longer stable and begins dying (see page 275). In the third round, she suffocates and dies.

An unconscious character must begin attempting Constitution checks immediately upon losing air supply (or upon becoming unconscious, if the character was conscious when her air was cut off). Once she fails one of these checks, she immediately drops to 0 Hit Points and is dying (see page 275). On the following round, she suffocates and dies.

Land-based creatures usually have considerable difficulty when fighting in water, as it affects a creature’s attack rolls, damage, and movement (see page 137 for more on swimming). The following adjustments apply whenever a character is swimming, walking in chest-deep water, or walking along the bottom of a body of water.