DnD Desert Raiders Campaign Heat Dangers

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 ld6 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 ld4 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.