DnD Desert Raiders Campaign Heat Dangers

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HEAT DANGERS

For game purposes, air temperature falls into one of the nine temperature bands described on Table 1-1.

TABLE 1-1: TEMPERATURE BANDS

Temperatures in the hot band or above can be hazardous to unprepared characters. Characters can take damage from such extreme hear, a condition generally referred to as heatstroke. At lower temperatures, this damage starts off as nonlethal while the character is still conscious, but it becomes lethal for those already rendered unconscious by heatstroke (with no saving throw allowed). A character who takes any nonlethal damage from heatstroke is considered fatigued.

A character with the Survival skill can receive a bonus on saving throws against heat and desiccation damage, and can apply this bonus to other characters as well. See the skill description, page 83 of the Player’s Handbook

The levels of protection described here refer to a character's protective measures against heat (see Protection against Heat, page 14).

Hot: In this temperature band, unprotected characters must make successful Fortitude saving throws each hour (DC 15 + 1 for each previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or any kind of armor take -4 penalties on their saves. Characters whose protection against heat is at least level 1 (such as from the Heat Endurance fear or carrying a parasol) are safe at this temperature range and need not make the save.

Severe Heat: In this temperature band, unprotected characters must make successful Fortitude saving throws Once every 10 minutes (DC 15, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or any kind of armor take -4 penalties on their saves, To be completely protected against severe heat, a character must have protection level 2 or higher (such as from wearing keepcool salve and carrying a parasol). A character with protection level 1 is considered partially protected, and such characters must attempt this saving throw only once per hour,

Extreme Heat: In this temperature band, unprotected characters take 1d6 points of lethal damage per 10 minutes (no save). In addition, unprotected characters must make successful Fortitude saving throws (DC 15, +1 per previous check) every 10 minutes or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or any kind of armor take -4 penalties on their saves. In addition, those wearing metal armor or coming into contact with very hot metal are affected as if by a heat metal spell (which lasts as long as the character remains in the area of extreme heat). A character must have protection level 3 or higher to be protected against extreme heat. Level 2 is considered partial protection, and such characters take damage and make saving throws once per hour instead of once per 10 minutes. Level 1 provides no protection.

Unearthly Heat: In this temperature band, which includes many environments normally deadly to all life, unprotected characters take 1d6 points of lethal damage and 1d4 points of nonlethal damage per round (no save). In addition, those wearing metal armor or coming into contact with very hot metal are affected as if by a heat metal spell (which lasts as long as the character remains in the area of unearthly heat). Characters with protection level 4 or higher are safe at this temperature range. Levels 2 and 3 are considered partial protection, and such characters take damage once per 10 minutes instead of once per round. Level 1 provides no protection.

Burning Heat: At some point, increasing temperatures push past even unearthly heat and graduate to actual burning-when material objects catch fire spontaneously due to the heat. For instance, paper catches fire at 451° F (and dried-out skin catches fire at around the same temperature). Characters carrying fuel for their lamps or other combustibles discover that it catches fire at around 260° F. Water boils at approximately 212° F (depending on barometric pressure), and many potions or elixirs could quickly boil away to nothing somewhere near that temperature range. In a region in this temperature band (also known as a fire-dominant area), characters take 3d10 points of fire damage per round. In addition, those wearing metal armor or coming into contact with very hot metal are affected as if by a heat metal spell (which lasts as long as the character remains in the area of burning heat). Generally, nonsupernatural methods of protection against heat offer no protection in areas of burning heat, and various levels of heat protection are meaningless if a creature is on fire unless it is immune or resistant to fire.

Treating Heatstroke

Nonlethal damage from heatstroke (including the accompanying fatigue) cannot be recovered until a character gets cooled off-by reaching shade, surviving until nightfall, getting doused in water, being targeted by endure elements, or the equivalent. Once the character is cooled or reaches a cooler environment (a temperature of 90 degrees or lower), the character responds normally to healing that removes nonlethal damage. When the character recovers the nonlethal damage taken from heatstroke, the fatigue penalties also end.

Protection against Heat

Few people venture into the waste without some form of protection against heat. By far the most common means of protection is dressing appropriately in flowing, light clothing or staying near shade and water. Magical protection further improves the chance to survive in hot, dry climates. In addition, special devices and alchemical concoctions can aid desert travel.

A character's protection against heat dangers is described by level of protection, which ranges from 1 to 5 or higher. Such levels of protection do not confer any special fire resistance - a red dragon's breath still does the same damage. However, equipment that provides a bonus on saving throws against heat dangers contributes its bonus whether it is complete, partial, or ineffective protection against that degree of heat. Thus, even though keepcool salve is not sufficient to offer even partial protection against extreme heat, a character with keepcool salve (see page 102) still adds the item's +1 circumstance bonus on saves against nonlethal damage dealt by an extremely hot environment.

To determine your protection level, begin with your base protection level as determined on Table 1-2, and then add any applicable equipment modifiers from Table 1-3. For example, a Bhuka using keepcool salve and armorbright has protection level 3 (a base of 1 for the Heat Endurance feat, with a +1 bonus for the salve and a +1 bonus for the armorbright), allowing that particular Bhuka to survive conditions of extreme heat indefinitely without harm.

TABLE 1-2: Base protection level against heat

• 0 Creature with no heat adaptations.
• 1 Creature with Heat Endurance feat (such as bhuka) 1 Nondesert cold-blooded animal or vermin
• 1 Monsters native to hot climates
• 2 Desert animal or vermin
• 2 Monsters native to waste terrain
• 3 Creatures with endure elements spell or effect

Heat Endurance Feat: Creatures with the Heat Endurance feat (see page 50).

Nondesert Cold-Blooded Animal or Vermin: Creatures native to temperate or warm climates with a variable body temperature that lets them function well in heat approaching that of human body temperature (such as insects, lizards, snakes, tortoises, and toads),

Monsters Native to Hot Climates: Creatures whose Environment entry mentions warm climate.

Desert Animal or Vermin: Animals with variable body temperatures or special adaptation to hot environments, such as heat dissipation or water conservation (camels, scorpions, sidewinder snakes, and so on).

Monsters Native to Waste Terrain: Monsters normally found in regions of extreme heat (including natives of fire-dominant planes) belong in this group.

Endure Elements: Creatures currently protected by an endure elements spell or similar effect.

TABLE 1-3: Equipment modifier to base heat protection

• 0 No special equipment
• +1 Armorbright
• +1 Desert outfit
• +1 Keepcool salve
• +2 Hydration suit
• +3 Improvised shelter

Armorbright: This special alchemical item is described on page 101 of this book. Desert Outfit: This special clothing item is described on page 101 of this book. Keepcool Salve: This special alchemical item is described on page 102 of this book. Hydration suit: This special clothing item is described on page 101 of this book. Improvised Shelter: This bonus applies to characters who are not attempting to travel, but who stop and seek shelter by digging into the sand, erecting a tent or windbreak, tapping water from desert vegetation, or the like.

Resistance to Fire

A character with a spell or effect granting resistance to fire applies this resistance to both lethal and nonlethal damage from hot temperatures. For example, a creature with resistance to fire 5 subtracts 5 from the ld6 points of lethal damage dealt per 10 minutes by extreme hear (and therefore might take 1 point of heat damage, if a 6 is rolled) and 5 from the Id4 points of nonlethal damage dealt. In this example, since the creature ends up not taking any nonlethal damage from the heat, it need not worry about heatstroke or heat exhaustion.