Explore the unknown worlds in search for the legendary Star League Treasure, sail among stars of space on your own space ship, uncover the wicked plots of pireates, or travel to a fabled city of magic in search for a long forgotten ritual- these are the kinds of adventures you might have when you play Stellar Winds.
• Quests: An introduction to quest and how they can lead you into adventure
• Encounters: A look at the game’s two kinds of encounters and the types of things you can do during an encounter.
• Rewards: Information about experience points, action points, treasure, and other rewards your character can win by completing quests and encounters.
• Exploration: Rules for traveling through areas, visiting distant worlds and space travel. This section covers the
basics of movement, as well as vision and light and dealing with obstacles that block your path.
• Environments: Details on the various environments heros will encounter in stellar winds.
• Rest & Recovery: Details on recovering hit points, healing surges, and powers, and on keeping watch while you rest.
Quest
Most adventures have a goal, something you have to do to complete the adventure successfully. The goal might be a personal one, a cause shared by you and your allies, or a task you have been hired to perform. A goal in an adventure is called a quest.
Quests connect a series of encounters into a meaningful story. The simplest adventures revolve around a single quest. For example, your quest might be to thwart goblin raiders in nearby ruins, to rescue a kidnapped merchant, or pirate a vessel.
Most adventures are more complex, involving multiple quests. A single major quest might drive your adventure. For example, a high priestess of Luna calls upon you to venture into the fringe of space to recover a magical crown of seeing. Any number of minor quests could complicate that task.
A wizard, hearing of your journey, offers to pay handsomely for one of the magic rings said to be found within the fortress. One of your friends believes that his mother, a paladin of Luna, died while exploring the fortress, and he seeks to recover her remains for a proper burial. Once you approach the fortress, you discover that the draconites living around it hold a number of human prisoners, and you might decide to free those prisoners.
You can also, with your DM’s approval, create a quest for your character. Such a quest can tie into your character’s background. For instance, perhaps your mother is the person whose remains lie in the forgotten fortress. Quests can also relate to individual
goals, such as a ranger searching for a magic bow to wield. Individual quests give you a stake in a campaign’s unfolding story and give your DM ingredients to help develop that story.
When you complete quests, you earn rewards, including experience points, treasure, and possibly other kinds of rewards. The Dungeon Master’s Guide includes guidelines for your DM about creating quests, evaluating player-created quests, and assigning rewards for completing quests.
Encounters
Encounters are where the action of the Stellar Winds game takes place, whether the encounter is a life-or-death battle against monstrous foes, a high-stakes negotiation with a duke and his vizier, or a death-defying climb up the of a space city.
Encounters serve many purposes. They are the times when Stellar WInds is most like a game, rather than an exercise in cooperative storytelling. They are when you most often bring your powers and skills to bear, when the information on your character sheet is most important. Even so, they should advance the story of an adventure; a pitched battle should have a reason and consequences that relate to your overall quest
In an encounter, either you succeed in overcoming a challenge or you fail and have to face the consequences. When an encounter begins, everyone has something to do, and it’s important for the whole group to work together to achieve success.
Two kinds of encounters occur in most Stellar Winds adventures: combat and noncombat encounters
Combat Encounters
Combat encounters rely on your attack powers, movement abilities, skills, feats, and magic items—just about every bit of rules material that appears on your character sheet. A combat encounter might include elements of a noncombat encounter. Chapter 8 provides the rules for combat encounters.
Noncombat Encounters
Noncombat encounters focus on skills, utility powers, and your own wits (not your character’s), although sometimes attack powers can come in handy as well. Such encounters include dealing with traps and hazards, solving puzzles, and a broad category of situations called skill challenges.
A skill challenge occurs when exploration or social interaction becomes an encounter, with serious consequences for success or failure. When you’re making your way through a dungeon or across the trackless wilderness, you typically don’t take turns or make checks. But when you spring a trap or face a serious obstacle or hazard, you’re in a skill challenge. When you try to persuade a dragon to help you against an oncoming orc horde, you’re also in a skill challenge.
In a skill challenge, your goal is to accumulate a certain number of successful skill checks before rolling too many failures. Powers you use might give you bonuses on your checks, make some checks unnecessary, or otherwise help you through the challenge. Your DM sets the stage for a skill challenge by describing the obstacle you face and giving you some idea of the options you have in the encounter. Then you describe your actions and make checks until you either successfully complete the challenge or fail.
Chapter 5 describes the sorts of things you can attempt with your skills in a skill challenge. You can use a wide variety of skills, from Acrobatics and Athletics to Nature and Stealth. You might also use combat powers and ability checks. The Dungeon Master’s Guide contains rules for designing and running skill challenges.
Reward
Although encounters involve risk, they also hold the promise of great rewards. Every successful encounter brings experience, measured in experience points (XP). As you adventure, you also gain action points, treasure, and perhaps rewards of reputation, status, or other intangibles. This table summarizes the rewards you gain as you adventure.
Frequency | Reward |
Every | encounter XP |
Every milestone | Action point |
Every few encounters | Treasure |
Every quest | XP, treasure, other After about ten encounters A new level |
Experience Points
Experience points are a measure of your character’s learning and growth. When you complete an encounter or a quest, the DM awards you experience points (XP). The amount of XP depends on the difficulty of the encounter or the quest. Completing a major quest is comparable to completing an encounter, while minor quests bring smaller rewards
A 1st-level character starts with 0 XP. You accumulate XP from each encounter, quest, and adventure, always adding to your XP total. You never lose XP, and your total never resets to 0.
As you accumulate XP, you gain levels. The amount of XP you need for each level varies. For example, you need 1,000 XP to reach 2nd level but 2,250 to reach 3rd. When you gain 1,000,000 XP, you reach 30th level, the pinnacle of accomplishment. See “Gaining Levels,” for all you need to know about level advancement.
The Dungeon Master’s Guide contains guidelines for your DM on awarding experience points.
Milestones
You gain certain benefits when you reach a milestone—when you complete two encounters without stopping for an extended rest
Action Points
Your character starts with 1 action point. No more than once per encounter, you can spend an action point to take an extra action use certain feats, or use paragon path powers.
When you spend an action point, it’s gone, but you can gain more in two ways: by reaching a milestone or by taking an extended rest. Each time you reach a milestone, you gain an action point. After you take an extended rest, you lose any action points you haven’t spent, but you start fresh with 1 action point.
Magic Items
Each time you reach a milestone, you gain one additional use of a magic item daily power. Some magic items, particularly rings, also grow more powerful after you reach a milestone. See “Magic Items - Chapter 7,” for more information.
Treasure
Treasure comes in a variety of forms, but it falls into two basic categories: magic items you can use, and money you can spend to acquire items and services. Money can be coins, gemstones, fine art, or magic items you sell instead of use.
You don’t necessarily receive treasure at the completion of each encounter. Treasure is usually a reward for completing several encounters, a quest, or an adventure. Some creatures might carry—and use—magic items that become treasure after you defeat the creatures. Other creatures might keep chests of gold, or you might find treasure suspended in the slimy body of a gelatinous cube. Sometimes you find treasure locked in a vault, stockpiled in an armory, or heaped in a dragon’s hoard.
As your group finds treasure, having one person keep track of the items can be helpful. When the treasure includes an item that a character wants to use, that character can take the item, but make a note of the item on the group treasure list. Ideally, you end up with a fair distribution of magic items among the characters in your group.
You don’t need to divide the remaining treasure until you get back to town or until some other opportunity arises to spend your hard-earned spoils. Before dividing up the treasure, you might want to use it to pay for group expenses. Group expenses might include the cost for a ritual to resurrect a dead companion or to remove a curse. It’s up to your group to decide what is and isn’t a group expense.
When the time comes to divide your treasure, parcel it out as evenly as you can after paying for group expenses. Sell or disenchant magic items that no one wants, and add the value to the monetary treasure you found. Then, you can approach the distribution of monetary treasure in one of two ways:
1. Divide monetary treasure evenly among all the party members.
2. Divide monetary treasure among only the characters who didn’t get magic items.
Intangible Rewards
Intangible rewards include noble titles, medals and honors, favors, and reputation. Such rewards appear most often as quest rewards, as recognition of your work in completing a quest. If you perform a great many successful deeds in the name of the church they will grant you lord hood recognized in almost all socialites among the Confederation. With Lord hood you'll be granted special perks, and other opportunity that wouldn't necessarily be available to you.
You can’t buy anything with intangible rewards, and they don’t grant any combat bonuses. But they can be important in the campaign’s story, and they can help you out in social encounters. Don’t overlook the importance of contacts, favors, and fame, even if they don’t translate directly into fortune.
Exploration
A significant part of Stellar Wind adventures is exploration, which takes place between encounters. Exploration includes making your way through unmapped dungeon corridors, untracked wilderness, or a sprawling city and exploring the environment’s dangers and across the vastness of space.
Exploration usually involves movement, so this section covers the rules for moving when you’re not in an encounter. When you’re exploring, you need to know what you can see, particularly in a dark dungeon, so a discussion of vision and light follows the movement rules. During exploration, you interact with your environment in various ways: pushing objects around, fiddling with levers, searching rooms, picking locks, and smashing open chests. The last part of this section includes rules for doing such things.
Movement is what gets you from encounter to encounter and from one place to another within an encounter. This section provides rules for movement between encounters, whereas “Movement and Position,” Chapter 8. explains movement during a combat encounter.
Often a DM can summarize your movement, without figuring out exact distances or travel times: “You travel for three days and reach the dungeon entrance.” Even in a dungeon, particularly a large dungeon or a cave network, your DM can summarize movement between encounters: “After killing the guardian at the entrance to the ancient dwarven stronghold, you wander through miles of echoing corridors before you arrive at a chasm bridged by a narrow stone arch, which is broken in the middle.”
Your DM might evocatively describe the terrain you pass over, but the encounters along the way are the focus of your adventures. Sometimes it’s important, however, to know how long it takes to get from one encounter to another, whether the answer is in days, hours, or minutes. The rules to figure out travel time depend on two factors: your speed and the terrain you’re moving over.
Speed
The Base Overland Speed table shows how much distance a character who has a given speed covers in a day, an hour, or a minute of travel. A group of travelers moves at the slowest traveler’s pace, so most groups use the table’s first row (to accommodate the group’s dwarves and heavily armored members).
BASE OVERLAND SPEED
Speed | Per Day | Per Hour | Per Minute |
5 | 15 miles | 2½ miles | 250 ft. |
6 | 20 miles | 3 miles | 300 ft. |
7 | 25 miles | 3½ miles | 350 ft. |
Speed per Day: Player characters can sustain a normal walking pace for 10 hours of travel a day without tiring out. The Dungeon Master’s Guide explains what happens if you travel for more than 10 hours. Ordinary people can’t walk for more than 6 or 8 hours in a day, so their travel rate is more like 15 to 25 miles per day.
Speed per Hour: Your speed per hour on the Base Exploration Speed table assumes a walking pace. You can move overland at twice this speed, but it’s hard to sustain that pace. Rules in the Dungeon Master’s Guide cover what happens if you push yourself too hard.
Speed per Minute: Your speed per minute on the Base Exploration Speed table assumes a walking pace and is intended for travel that takes less than an hour. If you’re in a hurry, you can move overland at twice this speed.
Terrian
The distances on the Base Exploration Speed table assume relatively clear terrain—roads, open plains, or dungeon corridors that aren’t choked with rubble. Other terrain does slow your progress. How much? That depends on the prevalence of difficult terrain in the area.
Distance Multiplier | Terrian |
x 1/2 | Mostly difficult terrain: dense forests, mountains, deep swamps, rubble-choked ruins |
x 3/4 | Extensive difficult terrain: forests, hills, swamps, crumbling ruins, natural caves, cities |
x 1 | Very little difficult terrain: open fields, plains, roads, clear dungeon corridors |
To figure out how far you travel per day, hour, or minute, multiply the distance you travel, as shown on the Base Exploration Speed table, by the distance multiplier shown on the Terrain and Movement table.
Flying machines, when airborne, ignore distance multipliers for difficult terrain.
Mounts and Vehicles
Mount/Vehicle | Speed | Per Day | Per Hour |
Riding Creature | 10 | 50 miles | 5 miles |
Wheeled Car | 15 | 720 Miles | 60 miles |
Armored Transport | 15 | 300 miles | 30 miles |
Speeder Bike | 15 | 1000 miles | 100 miles |
Speeder Craft | 20 | 2000 miles | 200 miles |
Air Craft | 40 | 10200 miles | 850 miles |
Space Travel
When speaking of space travel in terms of Stellar Winds. The region of space that the universe takes place on the bordering edge of the alpha and beta quadrant of the Milkyway. The Universe is cut into quarters, which are divided into three dimensional sectors. Each sector is a 20 by 20 light year cube. Some sectors are more denser then others with nebula and celestial bodies. Most games are seleceted in a specific region of space that is comfortable for the DM to conduct his game. While Stellar Winds has a vast amount of space for it's alien empires the more popular one that has been use is a region known as the Frontier. A area of space on the edge of the Confederation and Dracotic Empire, and the Great Morass located in the Alpha quadrant.
Harzards of Space Travel
Space travel is nowhere near as easy as books and movies make it seem. Foreign objects are constant danger; even a micro-metoroid traveling at high enough velocity an punch a hole through a ship's hull and expose the crew to the vacuum of space. Ionizing radiation also poses a serious threat. Finally, characters must adapt to he weightlessness of space of suffer effects of space adaption syndrome (ASA), referred to colloquially as "Space Sickness."
Meteoroids: Meteorids are small rocks that travel through space at a speed of 7 miles per second. They can be as small as a grain of sand or as big as a mountain. Although they generally burn up in a planet's atmosphere before reaching the ground, meteoroids in space aren't likely to suffer such a fate. Instead, they slam into other objects, including starships and space stations, like volleys of rifle or artillery fire.
Unamored ships and space stations can easily survive impacts from the smaller meteroids, but larger ones can punch lethal holes in such fragile vessels. Fortunately, large meteoroids are rare and easier to detect before they can get too close to cause any real damage.
Collision Damage: When a meteoroid collides with a starship, space station or other object, both the meteoroid and the object it strikes takes damage.
Computer Use Check DC: A starship or station equipped with a sensor system can detect an incoming meteoroid; doing so requires a successful Computer Use check. A starship or space station cannot attempt to avoid or destroy a meteoroid if it fails to detect.
Pilot Check DC: Avoiding meteoroid requires a successful Pilot Check. Only starships or space stations that move are capable of avoding meteoroid.
Defense: Meteoroid's AC
Hardness: The meteoroid Hardness
Hit Points: meteoroid
d% Roll | Size | Collision Dmg | Use Computer DC | Pilot DC | Defense | Hardness | HP |
01-75 | No Meteoroid | - | - | - | - | - | - |
76-80 | Diminutive | 1d6 | 35 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 15 |
81-85 | Tiny | 2d6 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 30 |
86-88 | Small | 3d6 | 25 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 90 |
89-91 | Medium | 4d6 | 20 | 20 | 5 | 8 | 225 |
92-94 | Large | 1d100 | 15 | 25 | 4 | 8 | 1,125 |
95-97 | Huge | 3d100 | 10 | 30 | 3 | 8 | 4,500 |
98-99 | Gargantuan | 6d100 | 5 | 35 | 1 | 8 | 9,000 |
100 | Colossal | 12d100 | 0 | 40 | -3 | 8 | 36,000 |
Reentry
Anything that travels too fast in an atmosphere generates an enormous amount of friction, which produces tremendous heat (temperatures of 2,280 degrees Fahrenheit have been recorded.) Objects trying to enter a planetary atmosphere safely must shed velocity. However, decelerating consumes large amount of fuel, and many ships simply don't have enough. As an alternative, scientists have developed ways to slow ships in reentry by using the atmospheric friction itself. Ablative shielding or ceramic tiles take care of any excess heat. Even so, entering a planet's atmosphere is a tricky business; the angle of entry is precise, and deviation either way causes the heat to build up to quickly for the heat shield to reflect away from the ships. Worst yet, during the most intense heating, the ship is surrounded by a thin layer of plasma that blocks radio signals, and the crew has no contact with ground control.
Entering planetary atmosphere safely requires a Pilot check (DC 20) every rounds of reentry. Reentry can take up to typically 1d10 + 20 rounds. Success means that the ship only takes 3d6 points of fire damage each round. Failure means the ship's angle is too low, and that it is not shedding velocity fast enough; the ship takes 6d6 points of fire damage each round until the pilot succeeds at the pilot check to correct the angle of decent. If the check fails by 5 or more, the angle is too steep, and the ship takes 10d6 points of fire damage each round until the pilot succeeds at the Pilot check to correct the angle. Each round spent at too low an angle doses not count t words the number of rounds required to land the shipl the ship isn't making any downward progress. Conversely, each round spent too steep an angle counts as 2 rounds, indicating that the ship is decending much faster than it should.
Interstellar Travel
Some of the basics you will need to understand when speaking about interstellar travel in Stellar Winds is understanding the difference between, Real-Space, Phase-Space, and Astral-Space. All things are located in the universe with in the material plain. This is known as Real-Space. The other extreme is the area between the material plain and the pillers of energy explained in the galactic plains section. This is know as Astral-Space and often identified as the area where magical energy flows from.
Modern Science has been able to create a verity of different methods that could allow races to leave there home worlds and visit distant starts. Among these methods are known attending velocities that are faster then the speed of light in Real-Space, while others have sought to use magical means with technology to create giant Jump Gates that open artificial worm holes that weave in and out of the material realm, and astral realm with the final destination to be in the desired location.
Generally what signifies the difference between Starships and Systemships is their interstellar capability. All starships are equipped with some kind of Faster-Than-Light Drive. Allowing them to accelerate there ship to factors that are 10,15, even 20 times faster then Light Speed.
More sophisticated empires have outlined there galactic infrastructure with Giant Jump Gate, that link together in a network allowing ships to pass through them and enter what is called Phase-Space. Though these gates often have a very expensive toll fee.
Distance | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
1 Light Year | 1.0yr | 1.2mo | 9d 14h | 3d 14h | 1d 17h | 22h 20min | 13h 21min | 8h 33min | 5h 46min | 1.2mo |
5 Light Years | 5.0yr | 6mo | 2mo | 18dys | 9dys | 5dys | 3dys | 2dys | 1dys | 13.min |
1 Sector (20 l-yrs) | 20yr | 3yr | 1yr | 3mo | 1mo | 19dys | 11dys | 7dys | 5dys | 53min |
Across Confed (10,000 l-yrs) | 100,000yr | 9921yr | 2568 r | 984yr | 468yr | 255yr | 152 yr | 98 yr | 66yr | 6mo |
Jump Gates & Jump Networks
Jump gates consist of gigantic rings in space that use fusion reactors to generate a magnetic field capable of holding open and collapsing a wormhole. This allows star ships to enter a wormhole, engage their engines, and reduce the effective travel distant to the wormholes' exit point by a factor of 1,000. For example, the 48,360,000-mile trip from the Earth to Mars would be reduced to 48,360 miles via a jump gate. Thus a Starship with ion engines traveling through "phase space" could reach mars in approximately 1.6 hours (instead of 67.2 days).
These gates are likely owned by megacorporations, local governments, or even galactic government and charge for their usage for the upkeep of there maintenance or sometimes profit. The toll varies according to the real distance between the jump gate and the exit point. Since they also act as giant single beacons on the intergalactic network these gates adjust them selves in the direction of another gate and lock on to a distant point in space. All of this is done by very sophisticated astrometical databases that are contently updated by astronomers.
A ship that has entered a Jump gate cannot stop, or change course. The ship moves through phase space until it reaches it's destination at the other jump gate. Owner of these gates have been known to shut gates from time to time preventing access to the space they are located in. Their even tragic situations when these gates are shut or fail with starships in them, this of course could potentially trap them forever in phase space.
Jump Drives
These drives allow ships to move faster then speed of light allowing them to move through real-space as they direct. These unites are often installed as add-ons to there current engine they have aboard. Since Jump Gate Technology consumes so much power it can only be mounted as large gates. Jump Drives simply create a magnetic field around the ship shielding it from the awful effects of light speed. In doing this the ship is propelled to FTL (Faster-Than-Light) in the direction it was pointing in.
Starships don't have to have specific locations they can use there FTL Engine too. They use the spatial data collected by observatories, though linking up to the galactic network. Then there ships computer with the appropriate software can make the calculations to make the jump to light speed. Allowing the crew of the starship to alter course at any time because they never leave real-space.
Faster-Than-Light (FTL Devices) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
1 Light Year | 1yr | 36d 12h | 9d 14h | 3d 14h | 1d 17h | 22h 20min | 13h 21min | 8h 33min | 5h 46min | 45min |
5 Light Years | 5yr | 20yr | 5yr | 6mo | 2mo | 18dy | 9dy | 5dy | 3dy | 13min |
1 Sector (20 ly) | 20yr | 3yr | 1yr | 2mo | 1mo | 19dy | 11dy | 7dy | 5dy | 53min |
Across Confed (10,000 ly) | 100,00yr | 9,921yr | 568yr | 468yr | 255y | 152yr | 98yr | 66yr | 61yr | 6mo |
Nav-Buoys
These buoyies are part of a intergalactic data network they shoot laser data at one another across the various sectors linking them the Galactic Network (internet). These buoys also are giant routers with wireless signal allowing ships that are passing by obtain connection to the Galactic Network. Once connected the ship can access the universal wide web, gn-mails, media, gn-phones, and so on.
Chartering
There are a few methods of getting around the universe among the more common ones is chartering a flight to a specific location. This often involves haring Starship owner to transport you and your belongings to a predetermined location. The prices can variry based on danger, distance, and length of the trip. On the other hand characters can book commercial flights that are bound from large intergalactic space ports. These flights can range from all levels of comfort, from a simple row of chairs, to hostel like bunks, or even suites.
Star Drive (Lost Technology)
Star Drives are specifically engines that were used during the ancient eras prior to the cataclysm. These powerful devices still boggle modern day scientist. The best theoretical hypothesis made based upon the artificats that have been recovered is that they are driven by unlimited power source. One that current technology has been yet to generate or harness. The studies have shown that the Star Drive works in much the same way as Jump Gates do, opening a hole in space and moving through Phase-Space skipping in between the plains. However the only difference is that the Star Drive seems to generate a stable tunnel strictly on the astral plain. This has come to be named as the Star-Way. Once inside the Star-Way like anything that is traveling on the astral plain their space craft will move 3,000 times faster then it's max engine out put. Allowing ships equipped with this ancient technology to get around the universe in astounding recorded times.
Environments
his section will describe various environments characters would encounter while the space adventure. Environments can vairy drastically from hot, cold or vacuum. Below you will find descriptions of the most basic environment situation to alien planetary environments bot hostile and hospitable.
Gravity
The force that gravity exerts on a person determines how they develop physically as well as their ability to perform certain actions. In addition, gravity affects the amount of damage a character takes from falling. Gravity conditions may vary considerably from one environment to the next. For ease of play these rules present four simplified gravity environments: normal gravity (1.0 g), low gravity (<1.0 g), high gravity (>1.0 g), and zero gravity (0 g). The following sections summarize the game effects for each type of environment.
Normal Gravity: “Normal gravity” equates to gravity on Earth. Environments with normal gravity impose no special modifiers on a character’s ability scores, attack rolls, or skill checks. Likewise, normal gravity does not modify a creature’s speed, carrying capacity, or the amount of damage it takes from a fall.
Low-Gravity Environments: In a low-gravity environment, the pull of gravity is significantly less than what we experience living on Earth. Although an object’s mass doesn’t change, it becomes effectively lighter. This means that creatures bounce when they walk. It becomes easier to move and lift heavy objects as well as perform Strength-related tasks. In addition, creatures take less damage from falling.
Speed: A creature’s speed increases by +5 feet in a low-gravity environment. This bonus applies to all of the creature’s modes of movement.
Carrying Capacity: A creature’s normal carrying capacity is doubled in a low-gravity environment. In addition, the creature gains a +10 bonus on any Strength check made to lift or move a heavy unsecured object.
Skill Check Bonuses: Creatures in a low-gravity environment gain a +10 bonus on Strength-based skill checks (including athletics checks).
Attack Roll Penalty: Creatures take a –2 penalty on attack rolls in a low-gravity environment unless they are native to that environment or have the Zero-G Training feat.
Damage from Falling: Creatures do not fall as quickly in a low-gravity environment as they do in a normal- or high-gravity environment. Falling damage Categories are increased by 10 feet.
Long-Term Effects: Long-term exposure to low-gravity conditions can cause serious problems when returning to normal gravity. A creature that spends 120 hours or more in a low-gravity environment takes 1d6 points of temporary Strength damage upon returning to normal gravity.
High-Gravity Environments
In a high-gravity environment, the pull of gravity is significantly greater than that which we experience living on Earth. Although an object’s mass doesn’t change, it becomes effectively heavier. It becomes harder to move and carry heavy objects as well as perform Strength-related tasks. In addition, creatures take more damage from falling. Even the simple task of walking or lifting one’s arms feels more laborious.
Speed: A creature’s speed decreases by –5 feet (to a minimum of 0 feet) in a high-gravity environment. This penalty applies to all of the creature’s modes of movement.
Carrying Capacity: A creature’s normal carrying capacity is halved in a high-gravity environment. In addition, the creature takes a –10 penalty on any Strength check made to lift or move a heavy unsecured object.
Skill Check Bonuses: Creatures in a high-gravity environment take a –10 penalty on Strength-based skill checks.
Attack Roll Penalty: Creatures take a –2 penalty on attack rolls in a high-gravity environment unless they are native to that environment.
Damage from Falling: Creatures fall more quickly in a high-gravity environment than they do in a normal- or low-gravity environment. Falling damage Categories are decreased by 10 feet.
Long-Term Effects: Long-term exposure to high-gravity conditions can cause serious problems when returning to normal gravity. A creature that spends 120 hours or more in a heavy-gravity environment takes 1d6 points of temporary Dexterity damage upon returning to normal gravity.
Zero-Gravity Environments
Creatures in a zero-gravity environment can move enormously heavy objects. As movement in zero gravity requires only the ability to grab onto or push away from larger objects, Climb and Jump checks no longer apply. Most creatures find zero-gravity environments disorienting, taking penalties on their attack rolls and suffering the effects of Space Adaptation Syndrome (space sickness). In addition, creatures in zero gravity are easier to bull rush than in other gravity environments.
Space Adaptation Syndrome: A creature exposed to weightlessness must make a Fortitude save (DC 15) to avoid the effects of space sickness. Those who fail the save are shaken, and those who fail the save by 5 or more are also nauseated. The effects persist for 8 hours. A new save is required every 8 hours the creature remains in a zero-g environment. Creatures with the Zero-G Training feat do not suffer the effects of space sickness.
Speed: While in a zero-gravity environment, a creature gains a fly speed equal to its base land speed, or it retains its natural fly speed (whichever is greater). However, movement is limited to straight lines only; a creature can change course only by pushing away from larger objects (such as bulkheads).
Carrying Capacity: A creature’s normal carrying capacity increases by 10 times in a zero-gravity environment. In addition, the creature gains a +20 bonus on any Strength check made to lift or move a heavy unsecured object.
Attack Roll Penalty: Creatures take a –4 penalty on attack rolls and skill checks while operating in a zero-gravity environment unless they are native to that environment or have the Zero-G Training feat.
Long-Term Effects: Long-term exposure to zero-gravity conditions can cause serious problems when returning to normal gravity. A creature that spends 120 hours or more in a zero-gravity environment takes 2d6 points of temporary Strength damage upon returning to normal gravity.
Weight vs. Mass: While an object in zero gravity loses weight, it does not lose mass or momentum. Thus, while a character could push a 10- ton piece of equipment around in space, albeit slowly, getting it to stop is a bit more difficult. If a character were to come between that piece of equipment and a solid object, that character would be crushed as if he were in full gravity—just more slowly. For simplicity, assume that a Strength check to lift or move an object in zero gravity gains a +20 circumstance bonus. However, stopping an object already in motion does not receive this same bonus.
Atmospheric Conditions
Corrosive Atmosphere: Some atmospheres (breathable or not) contain corrosive chemicals and gases. Corrosive atmospheres slowly eat away at foreign equipment and can cause significant equipment failure. The corrosion can be particularly troublesome in atmospheres that demand special survival gear, as any breach in a protective environmental suit renders it useless. Unprotected equipment exposed to a corrosive atmosphere takes 1d4 points of acid damage per hour of exposure. This damage ignores hardness and deals damage directly to the equipment, eating away at it slowly.
Creatures not wearing protective gear in a corrosive atmosphere take 1d4 points of acid damage per round of exposure.
Thin Atmosphere
Planets with thin atmospheres have less oxygen per breath than the standard Earth atmosphere. Many thin atmospheres are the equivalent of being at a high elevation on Earth, such as on top of a mountain or in the upper atmosphere. A creature exposed to a thin atmosphere must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 20) every hour. On the first failed save, the creature is fatigued. A fatigued creature that fails a subsequent save becomes exhausted for as long as it remains in the thin atmosphere. After 1 hour of complete, uninterrupted rest in a normal atmosphere, an exhausted creature becomes fatigued. After 8 hours of complete, uninterrupted rest, a fatigued creature is no longer fatigued.
Thick Atmosphere
Thick atmospheres are those that contain a more dense concentration of certain elements, like nitrogen, oxygen, or even carbon dioxide, than the standard Earth atmosphere. These dense atmospheres sometimes contain a different balance of elements, while others simply contain a higher number of gas particles in each breath. The effects of exposure to a thick atmosphere are similar to those of a thin atmosphere (see Thin Atmosphere, above), except the Fortitude save DC is 15 instead of 20
Toxic Atmosphere
Some atmospheres (breathable or not) contain toxic gases that are debilitating or lethal to some or all forms of life. The atmosphere is treated as always containing a type of inhaled poison.
Vacuum
Despite some popular myths, moving into a vacuum does not cause the body to explosively decompress, nor does it cause instant freezing as heat bleeds away from the body. Rather, the primary hazards of surviving in the vacuum of space are the lack of air and exposure to unfiltered ionizing radiation.
On the third round of exposure to vacuum, a creature must succeed on a Constitution check (DC 20) each round or suffer from aeroembolism (“the bends”). A creature that fails the save experiences excruciating pain as small air bubbles form in its bloodstream; such a creature is considered stunned and remains so until returned to normal atmospheric pressure. A creature that fails the Constitution check by 5 or more falls unconscious.
The real danger of vacuum comes from suffocation, though holding one's breath in vacuum damages the lungs. A character who attempts to hold his breath must make a Constitution check (DC 15) every round; the DC increases by 1 each round, and on a successful check the character takes 1 point of Constitution damage (from the pressure on the linings of his lungs). If the check fails, or when the character simply stops holding his breath, he begins to suffocate. In the next round, he falls unconscious with 0 hit points. The following round, he drops to –1 hit points. On the third round, he drops to –10 hit points and dies.
Unfiltered radiation bombards any character trapped in the vacuum of space without protective gear. A creature exposed to this ionizing radiation suffers from severe sunburn as well as the effects of radiation exposure; the degree of exposure depends on the nearest star's classification (see Star Systems below for more information).
Decompression
he sudden decompression of a starship, vehicle, or other object can be dangerous to creatures inside. Whenever a sealed environment within a vacuum is breached, all of the air inside rushes out quickly to equalize the air pressure. Creatures within the decompressing environment must succeed on a Reflex save (DC 15) or be thrust toward the breach (and possibly beyond it) at a speed of 60 feet per round. Creatures that are three size categories larger than the breach's size category are big enough not to get dragged toward the breach (no Reflex save required). For example, a Fine breach pulls only Fine, Diminutive, and Tiny creatures toward it; creatures of Small size or larger are unaffected.
If the breach's size category is larger than the creature's size category, the creature passes through the opening and is blown out into the vacuum. If the breach's size category is the same as the creature's size category, the creature is blown out into the vacuum and takes 1d6 points of damage as it gets pushed through the breach. If the breach is one or two size categories smaller than the creature's size category, the creature isn't thrust into the vacuum but takes 2d6 points of damage as it slams against the area around the breach. It takes another 2d6 points of damage each round until the air completely evacuates from the decompressed compartment or until the creature pulls itself away from the breach with a successful Strength check (DC 20).
The time it takes for all of the air to evacuate from a compartment depends on the size of the breach and the volume of the decompressing compartment, as shown in Table: Decompression Times.
Once the air has completely rushed out through the breach, the pressure equalizes and the interior environment becomes a vacuum.
Breach Size | Decompression Time |
Fine (1-inch square) | 3 rounds per 10-foot cube of air |
Diminutive (3-inch square) | 3 rounds per 10-foot cube of air |
Tiny (6-inch square) | 2 rounds per 10-foot cube of air |
Small (1-foot square) | 2 rounds per 10-foot cube of air |
Medium (2 1/2-foot square) | Large (5-foot square) |
Large (1 Square) | 1 round per 10-foot cube of air |
Huge (2 Squares) | 1 round per 20-foot cube of air |
Gargantuan (3 Squares) | 1 round per 30-foot cube of air |
Colossal (4 Squares) | 1 round per 40-foot cube of air |
Vision & Light
As you explore an adventure environment, the DM tells you what you see, from the obvious, such as the dimensions of a corridor, to the hidden, such as a pit trap. You automatically see the obvious, but you use the Perception skill to try to see the hidden. If you aren’t actively searching an area, the DM determines whether you see hidden objects or creatures by using your passive Perception check.
You can’t see anything without some light. Many dungeons are illuminated, since only a few monsters are at home in utter darkness.
Dungeons are often illuminated by torches (sometimes magic torches that never stop burning), ceiling panels magically imbued with light, great oil-filled braziers or stone channels that burn continuously, or even globes of light that drift through the air.
Caverns might be filled with phosphorescent fungi or lichen, extraordinary mineral veins that glimmer in the dark, streams of glowing lava, or eerie auroralike veils of magic fire undulating high above a cavern floor.
Categories of Light
Bright Light: This category includes the light provided by most portable light sources, daylight, and the light cast by surrounding fires or lava. There are no special rules for vision in bright light.
Dim Light: This category includes the light provided by a candle or another dim light source, moonlight, indirect illumination (such as in a cave interior whose entrance is nearby or in a subterranean passageway that has narrow shafts extending to the surface), and the light cast by things such as phosphorescent fungi. Characters who have normal vision can’t see well in dim light: Creatures in the area have concealment. Characters who have low-light vision or darkvision see normally in dim light.
Darkness: Darkness prevails outside on a moonless night or in rooms with no light sources. Characters who have normal vision or low-light vision can’t see creatures or objects in darkness. Characters who have darkvision can see without penalty.
Light Sources
It’s a rare mission that doesn’t end up in the dark somewhere, and heroes need a way to see. See Table: Light Sources for the radius that a light source illuminates and how long it lasts.
Item | Light | Duration |
Candle | 1 Square | 12 Hours |
Torch | 4 Squares | 2 Hours |
Halogen lantern | 8 Squares | 24 Hours |
Flashlight | 5 Squares | 6 Hours |
*Creates a beam 6 squares long and 1 square high.
Rest & Recovery
Sooner or later, even the toughest adventurers need to rest. When you’re not in an encounter, you can take one of two types of rest: a short rest or an extended rest.
About 5 minutes long, a short rest consists of stretching your muscles and catching your breath after an encounter. At least 6 hours long, an extended rest includes relaxation, sometimes a meal, and usually sleep.
Short Rest
A short rest allows you to renew your encounter powers and spend healing surges to regain hit points. (No Wounds)
✦ Duration: A short rest is about 5 minutes long. ✦ No Limit per Day: You can take as many short rests ✦ No Strenuous Activity: You have to rest during a short rest. You can stand guard, sit in place, ride on a wagon or other vehicle, or do other tasks that don’t require much exertion. ✦ Renew Powers: After a short rest, you renew your encounter powers, so they are available for your next encounter. ✦ Spend Healing Surges: After a short rest, you can spend as many healing surges as you want (see “Healing,”). If you run out of healing surges, you must take an extended rest to regain them. ✦ Using Powers while You Rest: If you use an encounter power (such as a healing power) during a short rest, you need another short rest to renew it so that you can use it again. ✦ Interruptions: If your short rest is interrupted, you |
Extended Rest
Once per day, you can gain the benefits of an extended rest.
✦ Duration: An extended rest is at least 6 hours long. ✦ Once per Day: After you finish an extended rest, you have to wait 12 hours before you can begin another one. ✦ No Strenuous Activity: You normally sleep during an extended rest, though you don’t have to. You can engage in light activity that doesn’t require much exertion. ✦ Regain Hit Points and Healing Surges: At the end of an extended rest, you regain any hit points you have lost and any healing surges you have spent. ✦ Powers: At the end of an extended rest, you regain all your encounter powers and daily powers. ✦ Action Points: At the end of an extended rest, you lose any unspent action points, but you start fresh with 1 action point. ✦ Interruptions: If anything interrupts your extended rest, such as an attack, add the time spent dealing with the interruption to the total time you need to spend in the extended rest. ✦ Wounds: A character can be under Long term-Care can gain 1 wound for a successful heal check. |
Sleeping and Waking Up
You need at least 6 hours of sleep every day to keep functioning at your best. If, at the end of an extended rest, you haven’t slept at least 6 hours in the last 24, you gain no benefit from that extended rest. When you’re asleep, you’re unconscious. You wake up if you take damage or if you make a successful Perception check (with a –5 penalty) to hear sounds of danger. An ally can wake you up by shaking you (a standard action) or by shouting (a free action).
Keeping Watch
Adventurers typically take turns keeping watch while their companions sleep. If five characters are in your group, each of you can take a turn on watch duty for 1½ hours and sleep for 6 hours, so that you spend a total of 7½ hours resting. When it’s your turn on watch, you actively look for signs of danger. When you start your shift on watch, make a Perception check. If something occurs during your watch, the DM uses the result of your Perception check to determine whether you notice. If your entire group sleeps at the same time without setting a watch, the DM uses your individual passive Perception scores, counting the –5 penalty for being md wake up.GravityMagic Items