Hazards & Environments 

Characters may face extreme weather, collapsing structures, toxic environments, or treacherous terrain. Use the table below to determine the environmental toll on characters and gear. Outcomes unresolved here will be determined by the GM.

 Environmental Resolution

When a hazard triggers, the GM determines which attribute the player must roll to endure or avoid the danger, typically the following:

• Physiology: Used to resist extreme temperatures, poisons, starvation, crushing force (e.g., leaning into a heavy wind or resisting toxic spores), etc.

• Safety: Used to dodge sudden, localized environmental threats like falling boulders, collapsing ceilings, exploding traps, etc.

• Cognition: Used to outsmart the environment, such as navigating a maze before freezing,  finding a pocket of breathable air in a burning building, etc.

Environmental & Area of Effect (AOE) Damage 

AOE rules are applied when a player rolls to resist or avoid environmental hazards. 

Environmental Hindrance 

Environmental hazards can affect a character’s psychology and equipment stability, which can incur hindrances and banes. 

Status Conditions & Complications 

The GM will determine any hindrances imposed by the environment. Multiple failures can lead to the following banes incurred:

• Strained -1 (Physiology): Incurred from frostbite, heat exhaustion, or carrying heavy loads through mud. Affects locomotion and physical actions.

• Agitated -1 (Emotion): Incurred from maddening environments, pitch-black darkness, or claustrophobic caves. Imposes a -1 penalty to all attributes.

• Uncertainty -1 (Cognition): Incurred from reality-bending anomalies or shifting mazes where the character's senses lie to them.

Knockdowns & Treacherous Terrain

Sudden shifts in the environment (earthquakes, slick ice, rushing water) can knock a character off their feet, rendering them Vulnerable:

• The character immediately incurs the Agitated bane until they stand back up.

• Crawling 1 distance counts as 2 distances moved.

• The character is restricted to only 1 standard action, and must forfeit either 1 standard action or your movement to stand up.

Environmental Durations & Time Frames

Refer to the dice table when tracking how long a localized hazard lasts (like a spreading fire, a cloud of poisonous gas, or an acid rainstorm), or how long it takes a hazard to manifest.

Hazard Manifestation Time

If the characters are waiting for an environmental shift (e.g., "When will the floodwaters recede?" or "How long until the blizzard hits?"), refer to the Happens Now table. 

Hazard Duration Time

If a hazard has a lingering effect on a zone or character, refer to the Duration Table to track rounds or turns.

Longer durations are determined by the GM. 

Characters who have activated the Sheer Resilience (Endurance) boon ignore any wounds sustained from the surrounding inanimate environment or harsh environmental conditions (such as extreme cold or intense heat) for the boon's duration. Use this to reward characters who specialize in heavy physical survival.