Environmental Hazards

Acid

While inside of acid, anyone who isn’t immune starts to take damage due to the acid burning and eating the skin of its target. Those inside of the acid take 2d8 damage per round of being in the acid. Being totally submerged in acid teals 10d8 acid damage to the one being submerged. In addition to this, the target may suffer from drowning.

In addition to all of this, while adjacent to acid the fumes deal damage to one’s lungs. Anyone near the acid without proper gear has an attack made against their Fortitude Defense (+4 Attack, +1 for every minute spent in the area) and on a successful hit the character is nauseated.

Atmosphere

Planets have varying atmospheres beyond the normal, breathable and sustainable ones. Some are more dangerous than others. Usually an armor or set of clothing can be outfitted with environmental protection to avoid these.

Corrosive

Corrosive atmospheres eat away at clothing, flesh, and even some metals. Those who begin their turn unprotected in corrosive atmospheres take a +4 attack (increasing by +1 on subsequent rounds in the atmosphere) to their Fortitude Defense. On a successful hit, they take 2d6 points of damage (or half on a miss).

Toxic

Toxic atmospheres have chemicals that harm living beings, and sometimes rust machinery. Those who begin their turn unprotected in toxic atmospheres take a +5 attack (increasing by +1 on subsequent rounds in the atmosphere) to their Fortitude Defense. On a successful hit, they take 1d6 points of damage (or half on a miss) and move 1 step down the condition track.

Avalanche/Rock Slide

Avalanches tend to occur on mountainsides and when a weapon or object makes a loud noise that causes it to come tumbling down. The GM decides the size and speed of an avalanche however it usually moves at a 4 square speed and is between 10x10 to 20x20 squares large. Avalanches have a +16 vs. their target's Reflex Defense, and on a successful hit deals 12d8+5 points of bludgeoning damage and moves those hit 1 step down the condition track. On a miss the damage is halved and they aren't moved down the condition track. If the avalanche beats their Reflex Defense by 5 or more they are buried under in the avalanche and must make a DC 30 Acrobatics check to crawl out, or an ally must spend 1 minute or more of digging to pull them out of being buried. Being buried can potentially lead to suffocation if they're stuck in there too long.

Rock slides function the same as an avalanche, yet deal 8d12+5 instead of 12d8+5.

Boiling Water

Being in boiling water deals 2d8 points of cold and fire damage, and being fully submerged in the boiling water deals 10d8 points of cold and fire damage. Characters who are submerged are at risk of drowning.

Blizzard/Sandstorm

Creatures and even building and objects inside of a blizzard all receive concealment. In addition, they have an attack made against their Fortitude Defense starting at +5 and increasing by +1 for every hour they remain in the blizzard. On a successful hit they take 1d6 points of cold damage and 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage and they're moved 1 step down the condition track. On a miss they take half damage and aren't moved down the condition track. A successful DC 24 Endurance check after the first attack roll is made grants the creature a +5 circumstance bonus to their Fortitude Defense against the next attack roll by the blizzard.

Sandstorms function the same way, except they take 2d6 points of bludgeoning damage.

Catching on Fire

When fire reaches a character’s hair, clothing, or other flammable materials on the character they have a chance of catching on fire. A character at risk of catching on fire has an attack made against their Reflex Defense (+4 Attack) and on a success they start taking 1d8 fire damage per round. A fire can be doused by at least a water skin.

If a character takes half their HP in fire damage while having been caught on fire, they receive an attack against their Fortitude Defense (+8 Attack) and on a success their eyes melt, and they are blinded until magical healing that restores blindness is cast.

Cave-In

A cave-in has an attack of +10 vs. Reflex Defense, and on a successful hit those within the cave-in take 10d6 points of bludgeoning damage (half damage on a miss). If the cave-in beats their Reflex Defense by 5 or more they are buried under in the avalanche and must make a DC 30 Acrobatics check to crawl out, or an ally must spend 1 minute or more of digging to pull them out of being buried. Being buried can potentially lead to suffocation if they're stuck in there too long.

Drowning

A character can hold their breath under water for a number of rounds equal to twice their Constitution. If a character takes a standard or full-round action, the remaining duration they can hold their breath for is reduced by 1. After this, they must make a DC 10 Endurance check in order to continue holding their breath. The check must be repeated each round, with the DC increasing by +1 for each previous save.

When the character fails their Endurance check, they begin to drown. In the first round, they fall unconscious at 0 HP. In the following round, they drop to -1 HP and are dying. In the third round they drown to death.

It is possible to drown in substances other than water such as; quicksand, lava, and acid.

Dust Devil

A huge whirlwind that rages through the sands, any creature within 3 squares of the dust devil (typically counting as medium or large size) have an attack made against their Reflex Defense, this attack being made at a +7 and increasing by +2 for every square closer to the dust devil the creature is. On a successful hit they take 2d10+1 points of bludgeoning damage (half on a miss) and if the attack bypasses their Reflex Defense by 5 or more they are sucked into the whirlwind and tossed 1d6+6 squares away in a random direction of the GM's choice. Upon lading they take an additional 3d8 points of bludgeoning damage.

Electric Fence

Creatures touching an electric fence have an attack of +8 made against their Reflex Defense (or +16 if they are pressed against the fence), and take 5d6 points of electricity damage along with being moved one step down the condition track on a hit. On a miss they take half damage and aren't moved down the condition track. If they are pressed against the fence, they instead take 10d6 points of damage and are moved 2 steps down the condition track.

A high voltage fence deals 10d8 points of electricity damage (20d8 for being pressed against the fence).

Exposed Plasma Conduit

When a plasma conduit behind a character is intentionally shot (or hit due to GM determining a missed attack hits it), superheated plasma pours out with an attack roll of +11 vs. the target's Reflex Defense, dealing 5d8 points of fire damage to all adjacent squares and moving those adjacent 1 step down the condition track. On a miss this deals half damage and doesn't move the targets down the condition track. This plasma spill is continuous if there are creatures still adjacent to the plasma conduit while it spills out.

Falling Damage

Sometimes characters can be launched in the air or fall from large distances. If a character falls a certain number of feet, they will suffer falling damage on the following round of falling. In addition to this, they’ll take damage if they hit walls, ceilings, and other hard surfaces instead of landing on the ground.

For every 2 squares a character falls from, they take 1d6 points of damage (considered bludgeoning normally, spiked pits are piercing/slashing). The maximum amount of d6 a character can take is 20d6 at 40 sq. after which the damage is instantly lethal and will kill the person falling upon impact unless they have a way to stop this damage. DR does not save a creature falling from a lethal impact. At the end of a fall, the person who fell is prone.

Falling Objects

Objects of certain sizes which fall and land upon someone take damage. The object can be debris from a collapsing building, or the remains of a spaceship colliding with the planet it is trying to reenter. Regardless of the circumstance, the damage is listed here. Objects which go into the starship size categories are instantly lethal at Huge starship size.

Attacks which miss a character only deal half damage instead.

Lava/Magma

Lava or magma deals 3d8 points of fire damage per round while being exposed, unless the character is completely submerged, in which case they take 25d8 points of fire damage per round. Immunity to fire is also immunity to lava and magma.

Damage lasts for 1d3 rounds after exposure, but the damage dealt is halved. Characters who are immune to lava/magma/fire may still drown if completely submerged for too long.

Loose Sand/Quicksand

When a creature begins its turn in an area of sand that isn't very tightly packed, it is considered difficult terrain. In addition for every square they move within the loose sand they have an attack roll of +6 made against their Reflex Defense (an additional +2 is added on for every square beyond the first during that round) and on a successful hit they stop in that square and are only able to take a move action for the rest of their turn.

Quicksand follows similar rules to loose sand, except that on a successful hit they instead are stopped in that square and begin to sink. The creature first sinks to their waist, and are reduced to half speed (in addition to the reduction from difficult terrain) and receive attack rolls of +10 to their Reflex Defense for each square they move (an additional +4 is added on for every square beyond the first during that round). On a successful hit, they stop moving and sink down to their chest. At this point they are completely immobilized and considered helpless. On the round after, they begin to drown in the quicksand.

Low-Hanging Branches

When running through areas of low-hanging branches, an attack of +4 is made against their Reflex Defense (+2 for every square they move through that is also considered low-hanging branches) and those hit take 2d10 points of slashing damage. While mounted they instead take 2d10 x 2 points of slashing damage.

Malfunctioning Blast Door

Opening and closing at random intervals, this blast door has an attack of +6 vs. Reflex Defense and deals 5d6 points of bludgeoning damage on a successful hit (and dealing no damage on a miss).

Pit/Sinkhole

Any creature ending its turn adjacent to the pit or sinkhole has an attack of +8 made against their Reflex Defense, and on a successful hit they fall into the hole taking falling damage appropriate to the size of the hole. Every subsequent round the attack roll increases by +2.

Psychokinetic Phenomenon

These masses of psychic energy are harmful for those within it, and have an attack of +8 made against their Will Defense. On a successful hit they take 5d8 points of psychokinetic damage and are confused for 1 round. This effect is hourly.

Smoke

A character who breathes in heavy smoke has an attack made against their Fortitude Defense (+4 Attack, +1 per previous check made) and on a success they spend the turn coughing and choking. A character who chokes for 2 consecutive rounds take 1d6 nonlethal damage per round of choking thereafter. Smoke conceals vision, imposing a 20% miss chance.

Starvation and Thirst

A character can go 1 day without water + 1 additional day per Constitution score. After this time, the character must pass an Endurance check (DC 10, +1 per previous check made) each hour and on a failed check they take 1d6 nonlethal damage. Characters brought to 0 HP this way start taking lethal damage instead.

A character can go without food for 3 days in growing discomfort. After this time, the character must pass an Endurance check (DC 10, +1 per previous check made) each day and on a failed check they take 1d6 nonlethal damage. A character brought to 0 HP this way start taking lethal damage instead.

Storm (Holy or Unholy)

Storms of holy or unholy energy rage in certain areas where these energies are prevalent. Rather than affecting creatures physically, they affect them spiritually. An attack of +12 is made against the Will Defense of those in the storm, and on a successful hit they take 8d6 points of damage appropriate for the type of storm (holy or unholy). This effect is hourly.

Suffocation

A character who has no air to breathe can hold their breath for 2 rounds per Constitution score. If a standard or full-round action is taken, the character loses 1 round that they can hold their breath for. After this, they must make a DC 10 Endurance check in order to continue holding their breath. The check must be repeated each round, with the DC increasing by +1 for each previous save.

When a character fails one of these Endurance check, they begin to suffocate. In the first round, they fall unconscious at 0 HP. In the following round, they drop to -1 HP and are dying. In the third round they suffocate to death.

Thornbushes

Being in the same square as a large thornbush harms those inside. An attack of +5 is made against their Reflex Defense for every round creatures remain within it, and they take 1d10 points of piercing damage on a successful hit (a miss deals half damage). A thornbush can be sliced through with slashing weapons, or burnt through with fire weapons. Thornbushes are considered to have 10 HP for the sake of this, and increase their HP by 10 for every size category they are considered beyond medium.

Traffic

Vehicles moving down a highway have a chance of striking those who enter into the freeway. An attack roll of +10 vs. Reflex Defense is made against anyone beginning their turn in the area of traffic. On a successful attack they take 16d6 points of bludgeoning damage, and on a miss they take 2d6 points of bludgeoning damage as they're sideswiped by a vehicle. This area is considered difficult terrain.

Vacuum

When a creature begins its turn in a vacuum environment (such as the vacuum of space) and doesn't have ample survival gear for breathing in space, they receive an attack against their Fortitude Defense (this attack is made at a +20, and increases by +5 for every subsequent round) and on a successful hit the target takes 2d6 points of damage and moves 2 steps down the condition track. Every round thereafter the damage increases by 2d6 and they move 2 more steps down the condition track. If the damage accumulated is equal to their Fortitude Defense, they die due to explosive decompression. If they are knocked unconscious due to being brought down the condition track, they die due to suffocation.

Whirlpool

If a creature or vehicle enters into the square of a whirlpool while in the water, they start getting sucked into the center of the whirlpool. This is a +10 attack vs. the target's Reflex Defense (increasing by +1 for every subsequent round in the whirlpool) and on a successful hit the target takes 2d10+3 points of bludgeoning damage and is moved 3 squares of the GM's choice (usually nearing the center with 1 of these squares). On a miss, the target doesn't take any damage and is moved 1 square of the GM's choice. This area is considered difficult terrain for the purpose of movement.