Additional Gameplay Mechanics

Overview


 * In this chapter, you will find definitions for most of the terms you will encounter throughout this book.


 * Don’t get overwhelmed! Much of the content in this chapter won’t be relevant to all campaigns, and is provided for the benefit of your Pitfall Master.

Conditions

 * If more than one condition affects a character, apply them all. If certain effects can’t combine, apply the most hilarious effect.


 * Ability Damaged


 * The character has temporarily lost 1 or more ability score points. Lost points return at a rate of 1 per day unless noted otherwise by the condition dealing the damage. A character with Strength 0 falls to the ground and is helpless. A character with Dexterity 0 is paralyzed. A character with Constitution 0 is dead. A character with Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma 0 is unconscious. Ability damage is different from penalties to ability scores, which go away when the conditions causing them go away.


 * Ability Drained


 * The character has permanently lost 1 or more ability score points. The character can regain these points only through magical means. A character with Strength 0 falls to the ground and is helpless. A character with Dexterity 0 is paralyzed. A character with Constitution 0 is dead. A character with Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma 0 is unconscious.


 * Blinded


 * The character cannot see. He takes a −2 penalty to Armor Class, loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), moves at half speed, and takes a −4 penalty on Awareness Checks and on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) to the blinded character. Characters who remain blinded for a long time grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them.


 * Blown Away


 * Depending on its size, a creature can be blown away by winds of high velocity.


 * A creature on the ground that is blown away is knocked down and rolls 1d4 × 10 feet, taking 1d4 points of nonlethal damage per 10 feet. A flying creature that is blown away is blown back 2d6 × 10 feet and takes 2d6 points of nonlethal damage due to battering and buffering.


 * See Table: Wind Effects on page 242.


 * Checked


 * Prevented from achieving forward motion by an applied force, such as wind. Checked creatures on the ground merely stop. Checked flying creatures move back a distance specified in the description of the effect.


 * Confused


 * A confused character’s actions are determined by rolling d% at the beginning of his turn: 01–10, attack caster with melee or ranged weapons (or close with caster if attacking is not possible); 11–20, act normally; 21–50, do nothing but babble incoherently; 51–70, flee away from caster at top possible speed; 71–100, attack nearest creature. A confused character who can’t carry out the indicated action does nothing but babble incoherently. Attackers are not at any special advantage when attacking a confused character. Any confused character who is attacked automatically attacks its attackers on its next turn, as long as it is still confused when its turn comes.


 * Cowering


 * The character is frozen in fear and can take no actions. A cowering character takes a −2 penalty to Armor Class and loses her Dexterity bonus (if any).


 * Dazed


 * The creature is unable to act normally. A dazed creature can take no actions, but has no penalty to AC. A dazed condition typically lasts 1 round. Dazzled The creature is unable to see well because of over-stimulation of the eyes. A dazzled creature takes a −1 penalty on attack rolls and Awareness Checks.


 * Dead


 * The character’s hit points are reduced to −10, his Constitution drops to 0, or he is killed outright by a spell or effect. The character’s soul leaves his body. Dead characters cannot benefit from normal or magical healing, but they can be restored to life via magic. A dead body decays normally unless magically preserved, but magic that restores a dead character to life also restores the body either to full health or to its condition at the time of death (depending on the spell or device). Either way, resurrected characters need not worry about rigor mortis, decomposition, and other conditions that affect dead bodies.


 * Note that PCs cannot die except by choice. A PC who is “dead” is instead unconscious, badly injured, faking it, being a drama king or queen, confused, incapacitated, or otherwise incapable of acting until attended to by a healer of some kind. One exception is Penguin PCs, who do die when their hit points are reduced to -10. They do not remain dead for long as the Penguin God will resurrect them at his side in one turn. They will then need to wait till he reunites him with the rest of the party, which can be instantaneous or take up to a week depending if there is anything good on television.


 * Deafened


 * A deafened character cannot hear. She takes a −4 penalty on Initiative Checks, automatically fails Awareness Checks to listen, and has a 20% chance of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components. Characters who remain deafened for a long time grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them.


 * Disabled


 * A character with 0 hit points, or one who has negative hit points but has become stable and conscious, is disabled. A disabled character may take a single move action or Standard Action each round (but not both, nor can she take full-round actions). She moves at half speed. Taking move actions doesn’t risk further injury, but performing any Standard Action (or any other action the PM deems strenuous, including some free actions such as casting a quickened spell) deals 1 point of damage after the completion of the act. Unless the action increased the disabled character’s hit points, she is now in negative hit points and dying.


 * A disabled character with negative hit points recovers hit points naturally if she is being helped. Otherwise, each day she has a 10% chance to start recovering hit points naturally (starting with that day); otherwise, she loses 1 hit point. Once an unaided character starts recovering hit points naturally, she is no longer in danger of losing hit points (even if her current hit points are negative).


 * Dying


 * A dying character is unconscious and near death. She has −1 to −9 current hit points. A dying character can take no actions and is unconscious. At the end of each round (starting with the round in which the character dropped below 0 hit points), the character rolls d% to see whether she becomes stable. She has a 10% chance to become stable. If she does not, she loses 1 hit point. If a dying character reaches −10 hit points, she is dead.


 * Energy Drained


 * The character gains one or more negative levels, which might permanently drain the character’s levels. If the subject has at least as many negative Chapter 12 198 levels as Hit Dice, he dies. Each negative level gives a creature the following penalties: −1 penalty on attack rolls, Saving Throws, skill checks, ability checks; loss of 5 hit points; and −1 to effective level (for determining the power, duration, DC, and other details of spells or special abilities).


 * In addition, a spellcaster temporarily loses knowledge of one spell from the highest spell Tier available. This can include spells from the caster’s specialty. The PM can choose to either roll randomly or to allow the player to decide which spell is lost.


 * A PC who is “killed” from energy drain recovers a level a week. He may still adventure during this period, but cannot access abilities from levels they have not recovered. He saves and attacks at his effective level, rather than his true one. HP, feats, and skills are unaffected.


 * Entangled


 * The character is ensnared. Being entangled impedes movement, but does not entirely prevent it unless the bonds are anchored to an immobile object or tethered by an opposing force. An entangled creature moves at half speed, cannot run or charge, and takes a −2 penalty on all attack rolls and a −4 penalty to Dexterity. An entangled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a Concentration Check (DC 15 + the spell’s level) or lose the spell.


 * Exhausted


 * An exhausted character moves at half speed and takes a −6 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. After 1 hour of complete rest, an exhausted character becomes fatigued. A fatigued character becomes exhausted by doing something else that would normally cause fatigue.


 * Fascinated


 * A fascinated creature is entranced by a supernatural or spell effect. The creature stands or sits quietly, taking no actions other than to pay attention to the fascinating effect, for as long as the effect lasts. It takes a −4 penalty on skill checks made as reactions, such as Awareness Checks. Any potential threat, such as a hostile creature approaching, allows the fascinated creature a new saving throw against the fascinating effect. Any obvious threat, such as someone drawing a weapon, casting a spell, or aiming a ranged weapon at the fascinated creature, automatically breaks the effect. A fascinated creature’s ally may shake it free of the spell as a Standard Action.


 * Fatigued


 * A fatigued character can neither run nor charge and takes a −2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. Doing anything that would normally cause fatigue causes the fatigued character to become exhausted. After 8 hours of complete rest, fatigued characters are no longer fatigued.


 * Flat-Footed


 * A character who has not yet acted during a combat is flat-footed, not yet reacting normally to the situation. A flat-footed character loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any).


 * Frightened


 * A frightened creature flees from the source of its fear as best it can. If unable to flee, it may fight. A frightened creature takes a −2 penalty on all attack rolls, Saving Throws, skill checks, and ability checks. A frightened creature can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, the creature must use such means if they are the only way to escape.


 * Frightened is like shaken, except that the creature must flee if possible. Panicked is a more extreme state of fear.


 * Characters unable to flee (such as those trapped in a corner) will turn and fight. When doing so, they are at +2 on all attack rolls, Saving Throws, skills checks, and ability checks related to fighting the source of their fear, although they are still at the same penalties when fighting other creatures due to their distraction.


 * Grappling


 * Engaged in wrestling or some other form of hand-to-hand struggle with one or more attackers. A grappling character can undertake only a limited number of actions. He cannot attack any other squares and loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if Additional Gameplay Mechanics 199 any) against opponents he isn’t grappling.


 * Helpless


 * A helpless character is paralyzed, bound, sleeping, unconscious, or otherwise completely at an opponent’s mercy. A helpless target is treated as having a Dexterity of 0 (–5 modifier). Melee attacks against a helpless target get a +4 bonus (equivalent to attacking a prone target). Ranged attacks get no special bonus against helpless targets. As a fullround action, an enemy can use a melee weapon to deliver a coup de grace to a helpless foe. An enemy can also use a bow or crossbow, provided he is adjacent to the target. The attacker automatically hits and scores a critical hit. If the defender survives, he must make a Fortitude Save (DC 10 + damage dealt) or die.


 * Creatures that are immune to critical hits do not take critical damage, nor do they need to make Fortitude Saves to avoid being killed by a coup de grace.


 * Incorporeal


 * Having no physical body. Incorporeal creatures are immune to all nonmagical attack forms. They can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, +1 or better magic weapons, spells, spell-like effects, or supernatural effects.


 * Invisible


 * Visually undetectable. An invisible creature gains a +2 bonus on attack rolls against sighted opponents, and ignores its opponents’ Dexterity bonuses to AC (if any). (See Invisibility, under Special Abilities.)


 * Knocked Down


 * Depending on their size, creatures can be knocked down by winds of high velocity. Creatures on the ground are knocked prone by the force of the wind. Flying creatures are instead blown back 1d6 × 10 feet. Nauseated Experiencing stomach distress. Nauseated creatures are unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such a character can take is a single move action per turn.


 * Panicked


 * A panicked creature must drop anything it holds and flee at top speed from the source of its fear, as well as any other dangers it encounters, along a random path. It can’t take any other actions. In addition, the creature takes a −4 penalty on all Saving Throws, skill checks, and ability checks. A panicked creature can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, the creature must use such means if they are the only way to escape.


 * Characters unable to flee (such as those trapped in a corner) will turn and fight. When doing so, they are at +4 on all attack rolls, Saving Throws, skills checks, and ability checks related to fighting the source of their fear, although they are still at the same penalties when fighting other creatures due to their distraction.


 * Panicked is a more extreme state of fear than shaken or frightened.


 * Paralyzed


 * A paralyzed character is frozen in place and unable to move or act. A paralyzed character has effective Dexterity and Strength scores of 0 and is helpless, but can take purely mental actions. A winged creature flying in the air at the time that it becomes paralyzed cannot flap its wings and falls. A paralyzed swimmer can’t swim and may drown. A creature can move through a space occupied by a paralyzed creature—ally or not. Each square occupied by a paralyzed creature, however, counts as 2 squares.


 * Petrified


 * A petrified character has been turned to stone and is considered unconscious. If a petrified character cracks or breaks, but the broken pieces are joined with the body as he returns to flesh, he is unharmed. If the character’s petrified body is incomplete when it returns to flesh, the body is likewise incomplete, and there is some amount of permanent hit point loss and/or debilitation.


 * Prone


 * The character is on the ground. An attacker who is prone has a −4 penalty on melee attack rolls and cannot use a ranged weapon (except for a crossbow). A defender who is prone gains a +4 bonus to Armor Class against ranged attacks, but takes a −4 penalty to AC against melee attacks. Standing up is a move-equivalent action.


 * Shaken
 * A shaken character takes a −2 penalty on attack rolls, Saving Throws, skill checks, and ability checks.


 * Shaken is a less severe state of fear than frightened or panicked.


 * Sickened


 * The character takes a −2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, Saving Throws, skill checks, and ability checks.


 * Stable


 * A character who was dying but who has stopped losing hit points and still has negative hit points is stable. The character is no longer dying, but is still unconscious. If the character has become stable because of aid from another character (such as a Heal Check or magical healing), then the character no longer loses hit points. He has a 10% chance each hour of becoming conscious and disabled (even though his hit points are still negative).


 * If the character became stable on his own and hasn’t had help, he is still at risk of losing hit points. Each hour, he has a 10% chance of becoming conscious and disabled. Otherwise he loses 1 hit point.


 * Staggered


 * A character whose nonlethal damage exactly equals his current hit points is staggered. A staggered character may take a single move action or Standard Action each round (but not both, nor can he take full-round actions). A character whose current hit points exceed his nonlethal damage is no longer staggered; a character whose nonlethal damage exceeds his hit points becomes unconscious.


 * Stunned


 * A stunned creature drops everything held, can’t take actions, takes a −2 penalty to AC, and loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any).


 * Unconscious


 * Knocked out and helpless. Unconsciousness can result from having current hit points between −1 and −9, or from nonlethal damage in excess of current hit points.

Movement
Three Movement Scales


 * There are three movement scales, as follows.


 * Tactical, for combat, measured in feet (or squares) per round.
 * Local, for exploring an area, measured in feet per minute.
 * Overland, for getting from place to place, measured in miles per hour or miles per day.
 * Modes of Movement


 * While moving at the different movement scales, creatures generally walk, hustle, or run.


 * Walk


 * A walk represents unhurried but purposeful movement at 3 miles per hour for an unencumbered human.


 * Hustle


 * A hustle is a jog at about 6 miles per hour for an unencumbered Human. A character moving his speed twice in a single round, or moving that speed in the same round that he performs a Standard Action or another move action, is considered hustling.


 * Run (×3)


 * Moving three times speed is a running pace for a character in heavy armor. It represents about 9 miles per hour for a human in full plate.


 * Run (×4)


 * Moving four times speed is a running pace for a character in light, medium, or no armor. It represents about 12 miles per hour for an unencumbered human, or 8 miles per hour for a human in chainmail.

Tactical Movement


 * Use tactical movement for combat. Characters generally don’t walk during combat—they hustle or run. A character who moves his speed and takes some action is hustling for about half the round and doing something else the other half.


 * Hampered Movement


 * Difficult terrain, obstacles, or poor visibility can hamper movement. When movement is hampered, each square moved into usually counts as two squares, effectively reducing the distance that a character can cover in a move.


 * If more than one condition applies, multiply together all additional costs that apply. (This is a specific exception to the normal rule for doubling.)


 * In some situations, your movement may be so hampered that you don’t have sufficient speed even to move 5 feet (1 square). In such a case, you may use a full-round action to move 5 feet (1 square) in any direction, even diagonally.


 * You can’t run or charge through any square that would hamper your movement.

Local Movement


 * Characters exploring an area use local movement, measured in feet per minute.


 * Walk


 * A character can walk without a problem on the local scale.


 * Hustle


 * A character can hustle without a problem on the local scale. See Overland Movement, below, for movement measured in miles per hour.


 * Run


 * A character with a Constitution score of 9 or higher can run for a minute without a problem. Generally, a character can run for a minute or two before having to rest for a minute.

Overland Movement


 * Characters covering long distances crosscountry use overland movement. Overland movement is measured in miles per hour or miles per day. A day represents 8 hours of actual travel time. For rowed watercraft, a day represents 10 hours of rowing. For a sailing ship, it represents 24 hours.


 * Walk


 * A character can walk 8 hours in a day of travel without a problem. Walking for longer than that can wear him out (see Forced March, below). A character walking will typically cover a distance in miles equal to half their speed in squares.


 * Hustle


 * A character can hustle for 1 hour without a problem. Hustling for a second hour in between sleep cycles deals 1 point of nonlethal damage, and each additional hour deals twice the damage taken during the previous hour of hustling. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from hustling becomes fatigued.


 * A fatigued character can’t run or charge and takes a penalty of −2 to Strength and Dexterity. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue.


 * Run


 * A character can’t run for an extended period of time. Attempts to run and rest in cycles effectively work out to a hustle.


 * Terrain


 * The terrain through which a character travels affects how much distance he can cover in an hour or a day (see Table: Terrain and Overland Movement). A highway is a straight, major, paved road. A road is typically a dirt track. A trail is like a road, except that it allows only single-file travel and does not benefit a party traveling with vehicles. Trackless terrain is a wild area with no paths.


 * Forced March


 * In a day of normal walking, a character walks for 8 hours. The rest of the daylight time is spent making and breaking camp, resting, and eating.


 * A character can walk for more than 8 hours in a day by making a forced march. For each hour of marching beyond 8 hours, a Constitution Check (DC 10, +2 per extra hour) is required. If the check fails, the character takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from a forced march becomes fatigued. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue. It’s possible for a character to march into unconsciousness by pushing himself too hard.


 * Mounted Movement


 * A mount bearing a rider can move at a hustle. The damage it takes when doing so, however, is lethal damage, not nonlethal damage. The creature can also be ridden in a forced march, but its Constitution Checks automatically fail, and, again, the damage it takes is lethal damage. Mounts also become fatigued when they take any damage from hustling or forced marches.


 * See Table: Mounts and Vehicles for mounted speeds and speeds for vehicles pulled by draft animals.


 * Waterborne Movement


 * See Table: Mounts and Vehicles for speeds for water vehicles.

Table: Movement and Distance in miles (1 hour)

Table: Movement and Distance in miles (1 Day)

Table: Hampered Movement

Table: Terrain and Overland Movement

Table: Vehicles


 * If going downstream, add the speed of the current (typically 3 miles per hour) to the speed of the vehicle. In addition to 10 hours of being rowed, the vehicle can also float an additional 14 hours, if someone can guide it, so add an additional 42 miles to the daily distance traveled. These vehicles can’t be rowed against any significant current, but they can be pulled upstream by draft animals on the shores.

Exploration

 * Vision & Light Imps, Doppelgangers, and some robots have IR Vision, while elves and some robots have UV Vision. Everyone else, however, needs light to see by. See Table: Light Sources and Illumination for the radius that a light source illuminates and how long it lasts.


 * In an area of bright light, all characters can see clearly. A creature can’t hide in an area of bright light unless it is invisible or has cover.


 * In an area of shadowy illumination, a character with normal vision can see dimly. Characters with IR Vision and UV Vision are unimpeded. Creatures within this area have concealment relative to that character. A creature in an area of shadowy illumination can make a Stealth Check to conceal itself.


 * In areas of darkness, creatures without either IR Vision or UV Vision are blinded. Those characters with IR Vision can see fine, while those with UV Vision are treated as being in shadowy illumination.

Table: Light Sources and Illumination

Breaking and Entering


 * When attempting to break an object, you have two choices: smash it with a weapon or break it with sheer strength.


 * Smashing an Object


 * Smashing a weapon or shield with a slashing or bludgeoning weapon is accomplished by the sunder special attack. Smashing an object is a lot like sundering a weapon or shield, except that your attack roll is opposed by the object’s AC. Generally, you can smash an object only with a bludgeoning or slashing weapon.


 * Armor Class


 * Objects are easier to hit than creatures because they usually don’t move, but many are tough enough to shrug off some damage from each blow. An object’s Armor Class is equal to 10 + its size modifier + its Dexterity modifier. An inanimate object has not only a Dexterity of 0 (−5 penalty to AC), but also an additional −2 penalty to its AC. Furthermore, if you take a full-round action to line up a shot, you get an automatic hit with a melee weapon and a +5 bonus on attack rolls with a ranged weapon.


 * Hardness


 * Each object has hardness—a number that represents how well it resists damage. Whenever an object takes damage, subtract its hardness from the damage. Only damage in excess of its hardness is deducted from the object’s hit points (see Table: Common Armor, Weapon, and Shield Hardness and Hit Points; Table: Substance Hardness and Hit Points; and Table: Object Hardness and Hit Points).


 * Hit Points


 * An object’s hit point total depends on what it is made of and how big it is (see Table: Common Armor, Weapon, and Shield Hardness and Hit Points; Table: Substance Hardness and Hit Points; and Table: Object Hardness and Hit Points). When an object’s hit points reach 0, it’s ruined.


 * Very large objects have separate hit point totals for different sections.


 * Energy Attacks


 * Acid and sonic attacks deal damage to most objects just as they do to creatures; roll damage and apply it normally after a successful hit. Electricity and fire attacks deal half damage to most objects; divide the damage dealt by 2 before applying the hardness. Cold attacks deal one-quarter damage to most objects; divide the damage dealt by 4 before applying the hardness.


 * Ranged Weapon Damage


 * Objects take half damage from ranged weapons (unless the weapon is a siege engine or something similar). Divide the damage dealt by 2 before applying the object’s hardness.


 * Ineffective Weapons


 * Certain weapons just can’t effectively deal damage to certain objects.


 * Immunities


 * Objects are immune to nonlethal damage and to critical hits.


 * Even animated objects, which are otherwise considered creatures, have these immunities because they are constructs.


 * Magic Armor, Shields, and Weapons


 * Each +1 of enhancement bonus adds 2 to the hardness of armor, a weapon, or a shield and +10 to the item’s hit points.


 * Vulnerability to Certain Attacks


 * Certain attacks are especially successful against some objects. In such cases, attacks deal double their normal damage and may ignore the object’s hardness.


 * Damaged Objects


 * A damaged object remains fully functional until the item’s hit points are reduced to 0, at which point it is destroyed.


 * Damaged (but not destroyed) objects can be repaired with the Craft skill.


 * Saving Throws


 * Nonmagical, unattended items never make Saving Throws. They are considered to have failed their Saving Throws, so they always are affected by spells. An item attended by a character (being grasped, touched, or worn) makes Saving Throws as the character (that is, using the character’s saving throw bonus).


 * Magic items always get Saving Throws. A magic item’s Fortitude, Reflex, and Will Save bonuses are equal to 2 + one-half its caster level. An attended magic item either makes Saving Throws as its owner or uses its own saving throw bonus, whichever is better.


 * Animated Objects


 * Animated objects count as creatures for purposes of determining their Armor Class (do not treat them as inanimate objects).


 * Breaking Items


 * When a character tries to break something with sudden force rather than by dealing damage, use a Strength Check (rather than an attack roll and damage roll, as with the sunder special attack) to see whether he succeeds. The DC depends more on the construction of the item than on the material.


 * If an item has lost half or more of its hit points, the DC to break it drops by 2.


 * Larger and smaller creatures get size bonuses and size penalties on Strength Checks to break open doors as follows: Fine −16, Diminutive −12, Tiny −8, Small −4, Large +4, Huge +8, Gargantuan +12, Colossal +16.


 * A crowbar or portable ram improves a character’s chance of breaking open a door.


 * Other ways to beat a trap


 * It’s possible to ruin many traps without making a Mechanics Check.


 * Ranged Attack Traps


 * Once a trap’s location is known, the obvious way to ruin it is to smash the mechanism—assuming the mechanism can be accessed. Failing that, it’s possible to plug up the holes from which the projectiles emerge. Doing this prevents the trap from firing unless its ammunition does enough damage to break through the plugs.


 * Table: Common Armor, Weapon, and Shield Hardness and Hit Points


 * Table: Substance Hardness and Hit Points


 * Table: Size and Armor Class of Objects


 * Table: Object Hardness and Hit Points

Table: DCs to Break or Burst Items


 * Melee Attack Traps


 * These devices can be thwarted by smashing the mechanism or blocking the weapons, as noted above. Alternatively, if a character studies the trap as it triggers, he might be able to time his dodges just right to avoid damage. A character who is doing nothing but studying a trap when it first goes off gains a +4 dodge bonus against its attacks if it is triggered again within the next minute.


 * Pits


 * Disabling a pit trap generally ruins only the trapdoor, making it an uncovered pit. Filling in the pit or building a makeshift bridge across it is an application of manual labor, not the Disable Device component of the Mechanics Skill. Characters could neutralize any spikes at the bottom of a pit by attacking them—they break just as daggers do.


 * Magic Traps


 * Dispel magic helps here. Someone who succeeds on a caster level check against the level of the trap’s creator suppresses the trap for 1d4 rounds. This works only with a targeted dispel magic, not the area version (see the spell description).

Ability Score Loss

 * Various attacks cause ability score loss, either ability damage or ability drain. Points lost to ability damage return at the rate of 1 point per day (or double that if the character gets complete bed rest) to each damaged ability, and the spells lesser restoration and restoration offset ability damage as well. Ability drain, however, is permanent, though restoration can restore even those lost ability score points.


 * While any loss is debilitating, losing all points in an ability score can be devastating.


 * Strength 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He lies helpless on the ground.


 * Dexterity 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He stands motionless, rigid, and helpless.


 * Constitution 0 means that the character is dead.


 * Intelligence 0 means that the character cannot think and is unconscious in a coma-like stupor, helpless.


 * Wisdom 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a deep sleep filled with nightmares, helpless.


 * Charisma 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a catatonic, coma-like stupor, helpless.


 * Keeping track of negative ability score points is never necessary. A character’s ability score can’t drop below 0.


 * Having a score of 0 in an ability is different from having no ability score whatsoever.


 * Some spells or abilities impose an effective ability score reduction, which is different from ability score loss. Any such reduction disappears at the end of the spell’s or ability’s duration, and the ability score immediately returns to its former value.


 * If a character’s Constitution score drops, then he loses 1 hit point per Hit Die for every point by which his Constitution Modifier drops. A hit point score can’t be reduced by Constitution damage or drain to less than 1 hit point per Hit Die.


 * The ability that some creatures have to drain ability scores is a supernatural one, requiring some sort of attack. Such creatures do not drain abilities from enemies when the enemies strike them, even with unarmed attacks or natural weapons.

Blindsight and Blindsense

 * Some creatures have blindsight, the extraordinary ability to use a non-visual sense (or a combination of such senses) to operate effectively without vision. Such senses may include sensitivity to vibrations, acute scent, keen hearing, or echolocation. This ability makes invisibility and concealment (even magical darkness) irrelevant to the creature (though it still can’t see ethereal creatures). This ability operates out to a range specified in the creature description.


 * Blindsight never allows a creature to distinguish color or visual contrast. A creature cannot read with blindsight.


 * Blindsight does not subject a creature to gaze attacks (even though IR Vision does).


 * Blinding attacks do not penalize creatures using blindsight. • Deafening attacks thwart blindsight if it relies on hearing.


 * Blindsight works underwater but not in a vacuum.


 * Blindsight negates displacement and blur effects.


 * Blindsense


 * Other creatures have blindsense, a lesser ability that lets the creature notice things it cannot see, but without the precision of blindsight. The creature with blindsense usually does not need to make Awareness Checks to notice and locate creatures within range of its blindsense ability, provided that it has line of effect to that creature. Any opponent the creature cannot see has total concealment (50% miss chance) against the creature with blindsense, and the blindsensing creature still has the normal miss chance when attacking foes that have concealment. Visibility still affects the movement of a creature with blindsense. A creature with blindsense is still denied its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against attacks from creatures it cannot see.

Breath weapon

 * A creature attacking with a breath weapon is actually expelling something from its mouth (rather than conjuring it by means of a spell or some other magical effect). Most creatures with breath weapons are limited to a number of uses per day or by a minimum length of time that must pass between uses. Such creatures are usually smart enough to save their breath weapon until they really need it.


 * Using a breath weapon is typically a Standard Action.


 * No attack roll is necessary. The breath simply fills its stated area.


 * Any character caught in the area must make the appropriate saving throw or suffer the breath weapon’s full effect. In many cases, a character who succeeds on his saving throw still takes half damage or some other reduced effect.


 * Breath weapons are supernatural abilities except where noted.


 * Creatures are immune to their own breath weapons.


 * Creatures unable to breathe can still use breath weapons. (The term is something of a misnomer.)

Charm and Compulsion

 * Many abilities and spells can cloud the minds of characters and monsters, leaving them unable to tell friend from foe—or worse yet, deceiving them into thinking that their former friends are now their worst enemies. Two general types of enchantments affect characters and creatures: charms and compulsions.


 * Charm


 * Charming another creature gives the charming character the ability to befriend and suggest courses of actions to his minion, but the servitude is not absolute or mindless. Charms of this type include the various charm spells. Essentially, a charmed character retains free will but makes choices according to a skewed view of the world.


 * A charmed creature doesn’t gain any magical ability to understand his new friend’s language.


 * A charmed character retains his original alignment and allegiances, generally with the exception that he now regards the charming creature as a dear friend and will give great weight to his suggestions and directions.


 * A charmed character fights his former allies only if they threaten his new friend, and even then he uses the least lethal means at his disposal as long as these tactics show any possibility of success (just as he would in a fight between two actual friends).


 * A charmed character is entitled to an opposed Charisma Check against his master in order to resist instructions or commands that would make him do something he wouldn’t normally do even for a close friend. If he succeeds, he decides not to go along with that order but remains charmed.


 * A charmed character never obeys a command that is obviously suicidal or grievously harmful to him.


 * If the charming creature commands his minion to do something that the influenced character would be violently opposed to, the subject may attempt a new saving throw to break free of the influence altogether.


 * A charmed character who is openly attacked by the creature who charmed him or by that creature’s apparent allies is automatically freed of the spell or effect.


 * Compulsion


 * Compulsion is a different matter altogether. A compulsion overrides the subject’s free will in some way or simply changes the way the subject’s mind works. A charm makes the subject a friend of the caster; a compulsion makes the subject obey the caster. Regardless of whether a character is charmed or compelled, he won’t volunteer information or tactics that his master doesn’t ask for.

Cold Immunity

 * A creature with cold immunity never takes cold damage. It has vulnerability to fire, which means it takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from fire, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.

Damage Reduction

 * Some magic creatures have the supernatural ability to instantly heal damage from weapons or to ignore blows altogether as though they were invulnerable.


 * The numerical part of a creature’s damage reduction is the amount of hit points the creature ignores from normal attacks. Usually, a certain type of weapon can overcome this reduction. This information is separated from the damage reduction number by a slash. Damage reduction may be overcome by special materials, by magic weapons (any weapon with a +1 or higher enhancement bonus, not counting the enhancement from masterwork quality), certain types of weapons (such as slashing or bludgeoning), and weapons imbued with an alignment. If a dash follows the slash then the damage reduction is effective against any attack that does not ignore damage reduction.


 * Ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an enhancement bonus of +1 or higher is treated as a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Similarly, ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an alignment gains the alignment of that projectile weapon (in addition to any alignment it may already have).


 * Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects that accompany the attack, such as injury type poison and injury type disease. Damage reduction does not negate touch attacks, energy damage dealt along with an attack, or energy drains. Nor does it affect poisons or diseases delivered by inhalation, ingestion, or contact.


 * Attacks that deal no damage because of the target’s damage reduction do not disrupt spells.


 * Spells, spell-like abilities, and energy attacks (even nonmagical fire) ignore damage reduction.


 * Sometimes damage reduction is instant healing. Sometimes damage reduction represents the creature’s tough hide or body. In either case, characters can see that conventional attacks don’t work.


 * If a creature has damage reduction from more than one source, the two forms of damage reduction do not stack. Instead, the creature gets the benefit of the best damage reduction in a given situation.

Disease

 * When a character is injured by a contaminated attack, touches an item smeared with diseased matter, or consumes disease-tainted food or drink, he must make an immediate Fortitude saving throw. If he succeeds, the disease has no effect—his immune system fought off the infection. If he fails, he takes damage after an incubation period. Once per day afterward, he must make a successful Fortitude saving throw to avoid repeated damage. Two successful Saving Throws in a row indicate that he has fought off the disease and recovers, taking no more damage.


 * These Fortitude Saving Throws can be rolled secretly so that the player doesn’t know whether the disease has taken hold.

Disease Descriptions


 * Diseases have various symptoms and are spread through a number of vectors. The characteristics of several typical diseases are summarized on Table: Diseases and defined below.


 * Disease


 * Disease names are optimized for hilarity. Feel free to invent local names for them that your party will snicker at.


 * Vector


 * The disease’s method of delivery—ingested, inhaled, via injury, or contact. Keep in mind that some injury diseases may be transmitted by as small an injury as a flea bite and that most inhaled diseases can also be ingested (and vice versa).


 * DC


 * The Difficulty Class for the Fortitude Saving Throws to prevent infection (if the character has been infected), to prevent each instance of repeated damage, and to recover from the disease.


 * Incubation Period


 * The time before damage begins.


 * Damage


 * The ability damage the character takes after incubation and each day afterward.

Typical Diseases
 * Malware
 * Robot-only. Causes robots to recite annoying advertisements during conversations. To cure, it requires an anti-virus software update and spending two hours running a virus scan.


 * Nescient Sickness
 * Spread in tainted water. Interrupts the brain’s ability to parse letterforms into text. Causes illiteracy and body hair loss for the duration of illness.


 * Noggin Necrosis
 * Feels like your brain is burning. Intelligence damage increases difficulty of casting.


 * Pharaoh’s Pneumonia
 * Spread by mummies. This affliction renders the infected unable to handle or touch fine goods like silk, varnished woods, precious stones, or refined metals. Contact with those materials causes 1d4 of immediate non-lethal damage and a reflexive drive to toss away and avoid the painful objects. An additional 1d4 of non-lethal damage is sustained per minute of contact. Characters with Pharaoh’s Pneumonia cannot be healed with magic while in contact with damaging materials.


 * Rolph-Lao’s Affliction
 * Symptoms include high fever, disorientation, and frequent bouts of hideous laughter.


 * Wicker Fever
 * Spread by rats and vermin. Those injured in filthy surroundings might also catch it, as may users of public toilet seats.

Table: Diseases

Healing a Disease
 * Use of the Heal skill can help a diseased character. Every time a diseased character makes a saving throw against disease effects, the healer makes a check. The diseased character can use the healer’s result in place of his saving throw if the Heal Check result is higher. The diseased character must be in the healer’s care and must have spent the previous 8 hours resting.
 * Characters recover points lost to ability score damage at a rate of 1 per day per ability damaged, and this rule applies even while a disease is in progress. That means that a character with a minor disease might be able to withstand it without accumulating any damage.

ENERGY DRAIN & NEGATIVE LEVELS

 * Some horrible creatures, especially undead monsters, possess a fearsome supernatural ability to drain levels from those they strike in combat. The creature making an energy drain attack draws a portion of its victim’s life force from her. Most energy drain attacks require a successful melee attack roll—mere physical contact is not enough. Each successful energy drain attack bestows one or more negative levels on the opponent. A creature takes the following penalties for each negative level it has gained:


 * −1 on all skill checks and ability checks.
 * −1 on attack rolls and Saving Throws.
 * −5 hit points.
 * −1 effective level (whenever the creature’s level is used in a die roll or calculation, reduce it by one for each negative level).
 * If the victim casts spells, she loses access to one spell as if she had cast her highest-level, currently available spell. (If she has more than one spell at her highest level, she chooses which she loses.) In addition, when she next prepares spells or regains spell slots, she gets one less spell slot at her highest spell level.
 * Negative levels remain for 24 hours or until removed with a spell, such as restoration. After 24 hours, the afflicted creature must attempt a Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ attacker’s Hit Dice + attacker’s Charisma Modifier). (The DC is provided in the attacker’s description.) If the saving throw succeeds, the negative level goes away with no harm to the creature. The afflicted creature makes a separate saving throw for each negative level it has gained. If the save fails, the negative level goes away, but the creature’s level is also reduced by one.
 * A character with negative levels at least equal to her current level, or drained below 1st level, is instantly slain. Depending on the creature that killed her, she may rise the next night as a monster of that kind. If not, she rises as a wight. A creature gains 5 temporary hit points for each negative level it bestows (though not if the negative level is caused by a spell or similar effect).

Environmental Hazards
Acid Effects
 * Corrosive acids deal 1d6 points of damage per round of exposure except in the case of total immersion (such as into a vat of acid), which deals 10d6 points of damage per round. An attack with acid, such as from a hurled vial or a monster’s spittle, counts as a round of exposure.
 * The fumes from most acids are inhaled poisons. Those who come close enough to a large body of acid to dunk a creature in it must make a DC 13 Fortitude Save or take 1 point of Constitution damage. All such characters must make a second save 1 minute later or take another 1d4 points of Constitution damage.
 * Creatures immune to acid’s caustic properties might still drown in it if they are totally immersed (see Drowning).

Cold Dangers
 * Cold and exposure deal nonlethal damage to the victim. This nonlethal damage cannot be recovered until the character gets out of the cold and warms up again. Once a character is rendered unconscious through the accumulation of nonlethal damage, the cold and exposure begin to deal lethal damage at the same rate.
 * An unprotected character in cold weather (below 40° F) must make a Fortitude Save each hour (DC 15, + 1 per previous check) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. A character who has the Survival skill may receive a bonus on this saving throw and may be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well (see the skill description).
 * In conditions of severe cold or exposure (below 0° F), an unprotected character must make a Fortitude Save once every 10 minutes (DC 15, +1 per previous check), taking 1d6 points of nonlethal damage on each failed save. A character who has the Survival skill may receive a bonus on this saving throw and may be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well (see the skill description). Characters wearing winter clothing only need check once per hour for cold and exposure damage.
 * A character who takes any nonlethal damage from cold or exposure is beset by frostbite or hypothermia (treat her as fatigued). These penalties end when the character recovers the nonlethal damage she took from the cold and exposure.
 * Extreme cold (below −20° F) deals 1d6 points of lethal damage per minute (no save). In addition, a character must make a Fortitude Save (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Those wearing metal armor or coming into contact with very cold metal are affected as if by a chill metal spell.


 * Ice Effects
 * Characters walking on ice must spend 2 squares of movement to enter a square covered by ice, and the DC for Agility Checks increases by +5. Characters in prolonged contact with ice may run the risk of taking damage from severe cold (see above).

Darkness
 * IR Vision allows many characters and monsters to see without any light at all, but characters with normal vision can be rendered completely blind by putting out the lights. Torches or lanterns can be blown out by sudden gusts of subterranean wind, magical light sources can be dispelled or countered, or magical traps might create fields of impenetrable darkness.
 * In many cases, some characters or monsters might be able to see, while others are blinded. For purposes of the following points, a blinded creature is one who simply can’t see through the surrounding darkness.
 * Creatures blinded by darkness lose the ability to deal extra damage due to precision.
 * Blinded creatures are hampered in their movement and pay 2 squares of movement per square moved into (double normal cost). Blinded creatures can’t run or charge.
 * All opponents have total concealment from a blinded creature, so the blinded creature has a 50% miss chance in combat. A blinded creature must first pinpoint the location of an opponent in order to attack the right square; if the blinded creature launches an attack without pinpointing its foe, it attacks a random square within its reach. For ranged attacks or spells against a foe whose location is not pinpointed, roll to determine which adjacent square the blinded creature is facing; its attack is directed at the closest target that lies in that direction.


 * A blinded creature loses its Dexterity adjustment to AC and takes a −2 penalty to AC.
 * A blinded creature takes a −4 penalty on Awareness Checks to Search and most Strength and Dexterity-based skill checks, including any with an armor check penalty. A creature blinded by darkness automatically fails any skill check relying on vision.


 * Creatures blinded by darkness cannot use gaze attacks and are immune to gaze attacks.
 * A creature blinded by darkness can make an Awareness Check to listen as a free action each round in order to locate foes (DC equal to opponents’ Stealth Checks). A successful check lets a blinded character hear an unseen creature “over there somewhere.” It’s almost impossible to pinpoint the location of an unseen creature. An Awareness Check that beats the DC by 20 reveals the unseen creature’s square (but the unseen creature still has total concealment from the blinded creature).
 * A blinded creature can grope about to find unseen creatures. A character can make a touch attack with his hands or a weapon into two adjacent squares using a Standard Action. If an unseen target is in the designated square, there is a 50% miss chance on the touch attack. If successful, the groping character deals no damage but has pinpointed the unseen creature’s current location. (If the unseen creature moves, its location is once again unknown.)
 * If a blinded creature is struck by an unseen foe, the blinded character pinpoints the location of the creature that struck him (until the unseen creature moves, of course). The only exception is if the unseen creature has a reach greater than 5 feet (in which case the blinded character knows the location of the unseen opponent, but has not pinpointed him) or uses a ranged attack (in which case, the blinded character knows the general direction of the foe, but not his location).
 * A creature with the scent ability automatically pinpoints unseen creatures within 5 feet of its location.

Falling

 * Falling Damage
 * The basic rule is simple: 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6.
 * If a character deliberately jumps instead of merely slipping or falling, the damage is the same but the first 1d6 is nonlethal damage. A DC 15 Athletics Check or DC 15 Agility Check allows the character to avoid any damage from the first 10 feet fallen and converts any damage from the second 10 feet to nonlethal damage. Thus, a character who slips from a ledge 30 feet up takes 3d6 damage. If the same character deliberately jumped, he takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and 2d6 points of lethal damage. And if the character leaps down with a successful Jump or Agility Check, he takes only 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and 1d6 points of lethal damage from the plunge.
 * Falls onto yielding surfaces (soft ground, mud) also convert the first 1d6 of damage to nonlethal damage. This reduction is cumulative with reduced damage due to deliberate jumps and the Jump skill.


 * Falling into Water
 * Falls into water are handled differently from falls into solids. If the water is at least 10 feet deep, the first 20 feet of falling do no damage. The next 20 feet do nonlethal damage (1d3 per 10-foot increment). Beyond that, falling damage is lethal damage (1d6 per additional 10-foot increment).
 * Characters who deliberately dive into water take no damage on a successful DC 15 Athletics Check or DC 15 Agility Check, so long as the water is at least 10 feet deep for every 30 feet fallen. However, the DC of the check increases by 5 for every 50 feet of the dive.

Falling Objects
 * Just as characters take damage when they fall more than 10 feet, so too do they take damage when they are hit by falling objects.
 * Objects that fall upon characters deal damage based on their weight and the distance they have fallen.
 * For each 200 pounds of an object’s weight, the object deals 1d6 points of damage, provided it falls at least 10 feet. Distance also comes into play, adding an additional 1d6 points of damage for every 10-foot increment it falls beyond the first (to a maximum of 20d6 points of damage).
 * Objects smaller than 200 pounds also deal damage when dropped, but they must fall farther to deal the same damage. Use Table: 1d6 Damage from Falling Objects to see how far an object of a given weight must drop to deal 1d6 points of damage.

Table: 1d6 Damage from Falling Objects
 * For each additional increment an object falls, it deals an additional 1d6 points of damage.
 * Objects weighing less than 1 pound do not deal damage to those they land upon, no matter how far they have fallen.

Heat Dangers
 * Heat deals nonlethal damage that cannot be recovered until the character gets cooled off (reaches shade, survives until nightfall, gets doused in water, is targeted by endure elements, and so forth). Once rendered unconscious through the accumulation of nonlethal damage, the character begins to take lethal damage at the same rate.
 * A character in very hot conditions (above 90° F) must make a Fortitude saving throw each hour (DC 15, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or armor of any sort take a −4 penalty on their saves. A character with the Survival skill may receive a bonus on this saving throw and may be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well (see the skill description). Characters reduced to unconsciousness begin taking lethal damage (1d4 points per hour). In severe heat (above 110° F), a character must make a Fortitude Save once every 10 minutes (DC 15, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or armor of any sort take a −4 penalty on their saves. A character with the Survival skill may receive a bonus on this saving throw and may be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well. Characters reduced to unconsciousness begin taking lethal damage (1d4 points per each 10-minute period).
 * A character who takes any nonlethal damage from heat exposure now suffers from heatstroke and is fatigued.
 * These penalties end when the character recovers the nonlethal damage she took from the heat.
 * Extreme heat (air temperature over 140° F, fire, boiling water, lava) deals lethal damage. Breathing air in these temperatures deals 1d6 points of damage per minute (no save). In addition, a character must make a Fortitude Save every 5 minutes (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Those wearing heavy clothing or any sort of armor take a −4 penalty 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.


 * Boiling water deals 1d6 points of scalding damage, unless the character is fully immersed, in which case it deals 10d6 points of damage per round of exposure.


 * Catching on Fire
 * Characters exposed to burning oil, bonfires, and non-instantaneous magic fires might find their clothes, hair, or equipment on fire. Spells with an instantaneous duration don’t normally set a character on fire, since the heat and flame from these come and go in a flash.
 * Characters at risk of catching fire are allowed a DC 15 Reflex Save to avoid this fate. If a character’s clothes or hair catch fire, he takes 1d6 points of damage immediately. In each subsequent round, the burning character must make another Reflex saving throw. Failure means he takes another 1d6 points of damage that round. Success means that the fire has gone out. (That is, once he succeeds on his saving throw, he’s no longer on fire.)
 * A character on fire may automatically extinguish the flames by jumping into enough water to douse himself. If no body of water is at hand, rolling on the ground or smothering the fire with cloaks or the like permits the character another save with a +4 bonus.
 * Those unlucky enough to have their clothes or equipment catch fire must make DC 15 Reflex Saves for each item. Flammable items that fail take the same amount of damage as the character.


 * Lava Effects
 * Lava or magma deals 2d6 points of damage per round of exposure, except in the case of total immersion (such as when a character falls into the crater of an active volcano), which deals 20d6 points of damage per round.
 * Damage from magma continues for 1d3 rounds after exposure ceases, but this additional damage is only half of that dealt during actual contact (that is, 1d6 or 10d6 points per round).
 * An immunity or resistance to fire serves as an immunity to lava or magma. However, a creature immune to fire might still drown if completely immersed in lava (see Drowning, below).

Smoke Effects
 * A character who breathes heavy smoke must make a Fortitude Save each round (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or spend that round choking and coughing. A character who chokes for 2 consecutive rounds takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. Smoke obscures vision, giving concealment (20% miss chance) to characters within it.

Water Dangers


 * Any character can wade in relatively calm water that isn’t over his head, no check required. Similarly, swimming in calm water only requires skill checks with a DC of 10. Trained swimmers can just take 10. (Remember, however, that armor or heavy gear makes any attempt at swimming much more difficult. See the Swim skill description.)
 * By contrast, fast-moving water is much more dangerous. On a successful DC 15 Athletics Check or a DC 15 Strength Check, it deals 1d3 points of nonlethal damage per round (1d6 points of lethal damage if flowing over rocks and cascades). On a failed check, the character must make another check that round to avoid going under.
 * Very deep water is not only generally pitch black, posing a navigational hazard, but worse, it deals water pressure damage of 1d6 points per minute for every 100 feet the character is below the surface. A successful Fortitude Save (DC 15, +1 for each previous check) means the diver takes no damage in that minute. Very cold water deals 1d6 points of nonlethal damage from hypothermia per minute of exposure.

Etherealness

 * Phase spiders and certain other creatures can exist on the Ethereal Plane. While on the Ethereal Plane, a creature is called ethereal. Unlike incorporeal creatures, ethereal creatures are not present on the Material Plane.


 * Ethereal creatures are invisible, inaudible, insubstantial, and scentless to creatures on the Material Plane. Even most magical attacks have no effect on them. See invisibility and true seeing reveal ethereal creatures.
 * An ethereal creature can see and hear into the Material Plane in a 60-foot radius, though material objects still block sight and sound. (An ethereal creature can’t see through a material wall, for instance.) An ethereal creature inside an object on the Material Plane cannot see. Things on the Material Plane, however, look gray, indistinct, and ghostly. An ethereal creature can’t affect the Material Plane, not even magically. An ethereal creature, however, interacts with other ethereal creatures and objects the way material creatures interact with material creatures and objects.
 * Even if a creature on the Material Plane can see an ethereal creature, the ethereal creature is on another plane. Only force effects can affect the ethereal creatures. If, on the other hand, both creatures are ethereal, they can affect each other normally.
 * A force effect originating on the Material Plane extends onto the Ethereal Plane, so that a wall of force blocks an ethereal creature, and a magic missile can strike one (provided the spellcaster can see the ethereal target). Gaze effects and abjurations also extend from the Material Plane to the Ethereal Plane. None of these effects extend from the Ethereal Plane to the Material Plane.
 * Ethereal creatures move in any direction (including up or down) at will. They do not need to walk on the ground, and material objects don’t block them (though they can’t see while their eyes are within solid material).
 * Ghosts have a power called manifestation that allows them to appear on the Material Plane as incorporeal creatures. Still, they are on the Ethereal Plane, and another ethereal creature can interact normally with a manifesting ghost. Ethereal creatures pass through and operate in water as easily as air. Ethereal creatures do not fall or take falling damage.

EVASION & Improved EVASION

 * These extraordinary abilities allow the target of an area attack to leap or twist out of the way. Lighter Fighters and Shapeshifters have evasion as a class, but certain other creatures have those abilities, too.
 * If subjected to an attack that allows a Reflex Save for half damage, a character with evasion takes no damage on a successful save.
 * As with a Reflex Save for any creature, a character must have room to move in order to evade. A bound character or one squeezing through an area cannot use evasion.
 * As with a Reflex Save for any creature, evasion is a reflexive ability. The character need not know that the attack is coming to use evasion.
 * Lighter Fighters and Robot Shapeshifters cannot use evasion in medium or heavy armor. Doppelganger Shapeshifters cannot use evasion in any armor. Some creatures with the evasion ability as an innate quality do not have this limitation.


 * Improved evasion is like evasion, except that even on a failed saving throw the character takes only half damage.

Fast healing

 * A creature with fast healing has the extraordinary ability to regain hit points at an exceptional rate. Except for what is noted here, fast healing is like natural healing.
 * At the beginning of each of the creature’s turns, it heals a certain number of hit points (defined in its description).
 * Unlike regeneration, fast healing does not allow a creature to regrow or reattach lost body parts. A creature that has taken both nonlethal and lethal damage heals the nonlethal damage first. Fast healing does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation.
 * Fast healing does not increase the number of hit points regained when a creature polymorphs.

Fear

 * Spells, magic items, and certain monsters can affect characters with fear. In most cases, the character makes a Will saving throw to resist this effect, and a failed roll means that the character is shaken, frightened, or panicked.

Shaken
 * Characters who are shaken take a −2 penalty on attack rolls, Saving Throws, skill checks, and ability checks.

Frightened
 * Characters who are frightened are shaken, and in addition they flee from the source of their fear as quickly as they can. They can choose the path of their flight. Other than that stipulation, once they are out of sight (or hearing) of the source of their fear, they can act as they want. However, if the duration of their fear continues, characters can be forced to flee once more if the source of their fear presents itself again.
 * Characters unable to flee (such as those trapped in a corner) will turn and fight. When doing so, they are at +2 on all attack rolls, Saving Throws, skills checks, and ability checks related to fighting the source of their fear, although they are still at the shaken penalties when fighting other creatures due to their distraction.

Panicked
 * Characters who are panicked are shaken, and they run away from the source of their fear as quickly as they can. Other than running away from the source, their path is random. They flee from all other dangers that confront them rather than facing those dangers.
 * Panicked characters will fight if they are prevented from fleeing as if they were frightened, but are at +4 instead of +2 against the source of their fear, and are at -4 instead of -2 against all others.

Becoming Even More Fearful
 * Fear effects are cumulative. A shaken character who is made shaken again becomes frightened, and a shaken character who is made frightened becomes panicked instead. A frightened character who is made shaken or frightened becomes panicked instead.

Fire immunity

 * A creature with fire immunity never takes fire damage. It has vulnerability to cold, which means it takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from cold, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.

Incorporeality

 * Spectres, wraiths, and a few other creatures lack physical bodies. Such creatures are insubstantial and can’t be touched by nonmagical matter or energy. Likewise, they cannot manipulate objects or exert physical force on objects. However, incorporeal beings have a tangible presence that sometimes seems like a physical attack against a corporeal creature.


 * Incorporeal creatures are present on the same plane as the characters, and characters have some chance to affect them.
 * Incorporeal creatures can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, by magic weapons, or by spells, spell-like effects, or supernatural effects. They are immune to all nonmagical attack forms. They are not burned by normal fires, affected by natural cold, or harmed by mundane acids.
 * Even when struck by magic or magic weapons, an incorporeal creature has a 50% chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source—except for a force effect or damage dealt by a ghost touch weapon.
 * Incorporeal creatures are immune to critical hits and extra damage from being favored enemies. They move in any direction (including up or down) at will. They do not need to walk on the ground. They can pass through solid objects at will, although they cannot see when their eyes are within solid matter.
 * Incorporeal creatures hiding inside solid objects get a +2 Circumstance Modifier on Awareness Checks to listen, because solid objects carry sound well. Pinpointing an opponent from inside a solid object uses the same rules as pinpointing invisible opponents (see Invisibility, below).
 * Incorporeal creatures are inaudible unless they decide to make noise.
 * The physical attacks of incorporeal creatures ignore material armor, even magic armor, unless it is made of force (such as mage armor or bracers of armor) or has the ghost touch ability.
 * Incorporeal creatures pass through and operate in water as easily as they do in air.


 * Incorporeal creatures cannot fall or take falling damage.
 * Corporeal creatures cannot trip or grapple incorporeal creatures.
 * Incorporeal creatures have no weight and do not set off traps that are triggered by weight. Incorporeal creatures do not leave footprints, have no scent, and make no noise unless they manifest, and even then they only make noise intentionally.

Invisibility

 * The ability to move about unseen is not foolproof. While they can’t be seen, invisible creatures can be heard, smelled, or felt.
 * Invisibility makes a creature undetectable by vision, including IR Vision and UV Vision. Invisibility does not, by itself, make a creature immune to critical hits, but it does make the creature immune to extra damage from being a favored enemy.
 * A creature can generally notice the presence of an active invisible creature within 30 feet with a DC 20 Awareness Check. The observer gains a hunch that “something’s there” but can’t see it or target it accurately with an attack. A creature who is holding still is very hard to notice (DC 30). An inanimate object, an unliving creature holding still, or a completely immobile creature is even harder to spot (DC 40). It’s practically impossible (+20 DC) to pinpoint an invisible creature’s location with an Awareness Check, and even if a character succeeds on such a check, the invisible creature still benefits from total concealment (50% miss chance). A creature can use hearing to find an invisible creature. A character can make an Awareness Check to listen for this purpose as a free action each round. An Awareness Check result at least equal to the invisible creature’s Stealth Check result reveals its presence. (A creature with no ranks in Stealth makes a Stealth Check as a Dexterity Check to which an armor check penalty applies.) A successful check lets a character hear an invisible creature “over there somewhere.” It’s practically impossible to pinpoint the location of an invisible creature. An Awareness Check that beats the DC by 20 pinpoints the invisible creature’s location.

Table: Awareness Check DCs


 * A creature can grope about to find an invisible creature. A character can make a touch attack with his hands or a weapon into two adjacent 5-foot squares using a Standard Action. If an invisible target is in the designated area, there is a 50% miss chance on the touch attack. If successful, the groping character deals no damage but has successfully pinpointed the invisible creature’s current location. (If the invisible creature moves, its location, obviously, is once again unknown.)
 * If an invisible creature strikes a character, the character struck still knows the location of the creature that struck him (until, of course, the invisible creature moves). The only exception is if the invisible creature has a reach greater than 5 feet. In this case, the struck character knows the general location of the creature but has not pinpointed the exact location.


 * If a character tries to attack an invisible creature whose location he has pinpointed, he attacks normally, but the invisible creature still benefits from full concealment (and thus a 50% miss chance). A particularly large and slow creature might get a smaller miss chance.


 * If a character tries to attack an invisible creature whose location he has not pinpointed, have the player choose the space where the character will direct the attack. If the invisible creature is there, conduct the attack normally. If the enemy’s not there, roll the miss chance as if it were there, don’t let the player see the result, and tell him that the character has missed. That way the player doesn’t know whether the attack missed because the enemy’s not there or because you successfully rolled the miss chance.


 * If an invisible character picks up a visible object, the object remains visible. One could coat an invisible object with flour to at least keep track of its position (until the flour fell off or blew away). An invisible creature can pick up a small visible item and hide it on his person (tucked in a pocket or behind a cloak) and render it effectively invisible. Invisible creatures leave tracks. They can be tracked normally. Footprints in sand, mud, or other soft surfaces can give enemies clues to an invisible creature’s location.
 * An invisible creature in the water displaces water, revealing its location. The invisible creature, however, is still hard to see and benefits from concealment.
 * A creature with the scent ability can detect an invisible creature as it would a visible one. A creature with the Blind-Fight feat has a better chance to hit an invisible creature. Roll the miss chance twice, and he misses only if both rolls indicate a miss. (Alternatively, make one 25% miss chance roll rather than two 50% miss chance rolls.) A creature with blindsight can attack (and otherwise interact with) creatures regardless of invisibility.


 * An invisible burning torch still gives off light, as does an invisible object with a light spell (or similar spell) cast upon it.
 * Ethereal creatures are invisible. Since ethereal creatures are not materially present, Awareness Checks, Scent, Blind-Fight, and blindsight don’t help locate them.
 * Incorporeal creatures are often invisible. Scent, Blind-Fight, and blindsight don’t help creatures find or attack invisible, incorporeal creatures, but Awareness Checks can help.
 * Invisible creatures cannot use gaze attacks.
 * Invisibility does not thwart detect spells.
 * Since some creatures can detect or even see invisible creatures, it is helpful to be able to hide even when invisible.

IR Vision

 * IR Vision is the extraordinary ability to optically perceive heat radiated below the human visible spectrum, regardless of the presence of light sources. The shapes of all objects warmer than absolute zero are visible by IR Vision, but surface details like text are not discernible. IR Vision does not pierce illusions like invisibility. Creatures with IR Vision are still susceptible to gaze attacks. IR Vision is not spoiled by light.

Paralysis

 * Some monsters and spells have the supernatural or spell-like ability to paralyze their victims, immobilizing them through magical means. (Paralysis from toxins is discussed in the Poison section below.)
 * A paralyzed character cannot move, speak, or take any physical action. He is rooted to the spot, frozen and helpless. Not even friends can move his limbs. He may take purely mental actions, such as casting a spell with no components.
 * A winged creature flying in the air at the time that it becomes paralyzed cannot flap its wings and falls. A swimmer can’t swim and may drown.

Poison

 * When a character takes damage from an attack with a poisoned weapon, touches an item smeared with contact poison, consumes poisoned food or drink, or is otherwise poisoned, he must make a Fortitude saving throw. If he fails, he takes the poison’s initial damage (usually ability damage). Even if he succeeds, he typically faces more damage 1 minute later, which he can also avoid with a successful Fortitude saving throw. One dose of poison smeared on a weapon or some other object affects just a single target. A poisoned weapon or object retains its venom until the weapon scores a hit or the object is touched (unless the poison is wiped off before a target comes in contact with it). Any poison smeared on an object or exposed to the elements in any way remains potent until it is touched or used.

Delivery Methods
 * Poisons can be divided into four basic types according to the method by which their effect is delivered, as follows.


 * Contact
 * Merely touching this type of poison necessitates a saving throw. It can be actively delivered via a weapon or a touch attack. Even if a creature has sufficient damage reduction to avoid taking any damage from the attack, the poison can still affect it. A chest or other object can be smeared with contact poison as part of a trap.


 * Ingested
 * Ingested poisons are virtually impossible to utilize in a combat situation. A poisoner could administer a potion to an unconscious creature or attempt to dupe someone into drinking or eating something poisoned. Assassins and other characters tend to use ingested poisons outside of combat.


 * Inhaled
 * Inhaled poisons are usually contained in fragile vials or eggshells. They can be thrown as a ranged attack with a range increment of 10 feet. When it strikes a hard surface (or is struck hard), the container releases its poison. One dose spreads to fill the volume of a 10-foot cube. Each creature within the area must make a saving throw. (Holding one’s breath is ineffective against inhaled poisons; they affect the nasal membranes, tear ducts, and other parts of the body.)


 * Injury
 * This poison must be delivered through a wound. If a creature has sufficient damage reduction to avoid taking any damage from the attack, the poison does not affect it. Traps that cause damage from weapons, needles, and the like sometimes contain injury poisons.

Table: Poisons

Characteristics
 * The characteristics of poisons are summarized on Table: Poisons. Terms on the table are defined below.


 * Type
 * The poison’s method of delivery (contact, ingested, inhaled, or via an injury) and the Fortitude Save DC to avoid the poison’s damage.


 * Initial Damage
 * The damage the character takes immediately upon failing his saving throw against this poison.
 * Ability damage is temporary unless marked with an asterisk (*), in which case the loss is a permanent drain. Paralysis lasts for 2d6 minutes.


 * Secondary Damage
 * The amount of damage the character takes 1 minute after exposure as a result of the poisoning, if he fails a second saving throw. Unconsciousness lasts for 1d3 hours. Ability damage marked with an asterisk is permanent drain instead of temporary damage.


 * Price
 * The cost of one dose (one vial) of the poison. It is not possible to use or apply poison in any quantity smaller than one dose.


 * Perils of Using Poison
 * A character has a 5% chance of exposing himself to a poison whenever he applies it to a weapon or otherwise readies it for use. Additionally, a character who rolls a natural 1 on an attack roll with a poisoned weapon must make a DC 15 Reflex Save or accidentally poison himself with the weapon.


 * Poison Immunities
 * Creatures with natural poison attacks are immune to their own poison. Nonliving creatures (constructs and undead) and creatures without metabolisms (such as elementals) are always immune to poison. Oozes, plants, and certain kinds of outsiders are also immune to poison, although conceivably special poisons could be concocted specifically to harm them.

Rays

 * All ray attacks require the attacker to make a successful ranged touch attack against the target. Rays have varying ranges, which are simple maximums. A ray’s attack roll never takes a range penalty. Even if a ray hits, it usually allows the target to make a saving throw (Fortitude or Will). Rays never allow a Reflex saving throw, but if a character’s Dexterity bonus to AC is high, it might be hard to hit her with the ray in the first place.

Regeneration

 * Creatures with this extraordinary ability recover from wounds quickly and can even regrow or reattach severed body parts. Damage dealt to the creature is treated as nonlethal damage, and the creature automatically cures itself of nonlethal damage at a fixed rate.

Certain attack forms, typically fire and acid, deal damage to the creature normally; that sort of damage doesn’t convert to nonlethal damage and so doesn’t go away. The creature’s description includes the details. Creatures with regeneration can regrow lost portions of their bodies and can reattach severed limbs or body parts. Severed parts die if they are not reattached. Regeneration does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation. Attack forms that don’t deal hit point damage ignore regeneration. An attack that can cause instant death only threatens the creature with death if it is delivered by weapons that deal it lethal damage.

Resistance to energy

 * A creature with resistance to energy has the ability (usually extraordinary) to ignore some damage of a certain type each round, but it does not have total immunity.

Each resistance ability is defined by what energy type it resists and how many points of damage are resisted. It doesn’t matter whether the damage has a mundane or magical source. When resistance completely negates the damage from an energy attack, the attack does not disrupt a spell. This resistance does not stack with the resistance that a spell might provide.

Scent

 * This extraordinary ability lets a creature detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell.
 * A creature with the scent ability can detect opponents by sense of smell, generally within 30 feet. If the opponent is upwind, the range is 60 feet. If it is downwind, the range is 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at three times these ranges.


 * The creature detects another creature’s presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If it moves within 5 feet of the scent’s source, the creature can pinpoint that source.
 * A creature with the Track feat and the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom Check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. The DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry’s odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Track feat. Creatures tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.
 * Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights. Water, particularly running water, ruins a trail for air-breathing creatures. Water-breathing creatures that have the scent ability, however, can use it in the water easily.
 * False, powerful odors can easily mask other scents. The presence of such an odor completely spoils the ability to properly detect or identify creatures, and the base Survival DC to track becomes 20 rather than 10.


 * Drowning
 * Any character can hold his breath for a number of rounds equal to twice his Constitution score. After this period of time, the character must make a DC 10 Constitution Check every round in order to continue holding his breath. Each round, the DC increases by 1.
 * When the character finally fails her Constitution Check, she begins to drown. In the first round, she falls unconscious (0 hp). In the following round, she drops to −1 hit points and is dying. In the third round, she drowns.
 * It is possible to drown in substances other than water, such as sand, quicksand, fine dust, and silos full of grain.

UV vision

 * UV Vision is the additional perception of light above the Human-visible spectrum. It does not work in absolute darkness. UV Vision allows sight of surface details like printed text even in low light situations. The presence of light does not spoil UV Vision.

Vehicular Movement & Combat

 * For simply traveling from point to point, the vehicle used is largely a matter of personal style and finances. Skill checks are only required in extraordinary circumstances. These rules are primarily focused on ground vehicles—cars, trucks, and light military vehicles. The rules can be modified for boats, heavier armored vehicles, and aircraft.

Characters in Vehicles
 * A character in a vehicle fills one of several possible roles, which determines what the character can do.


 * Driver
 * The driver of the vehicle controls its movement. Most vehicles have only one position from where the vehicle can be driven, so the person seated there is the driver. Driving a vehicle is, at a minimum, a move action, which means that the driver may be able to do something else with his attack action. There can be only one driver in a vehicle at one time.


 * Copilot
 * A copilot can help the driver by aiding him on his rolls. The copilot must be seated in a location where he can see the road and advise the driver (in a car, this generally means the front passenger seat). Aiding the driver is a move action, leaving the copilot with an attack action each round to do something else. A vehicle can have only one copilot at a time. A copilot can also drive the vehicle if the driver cannot or chooses not to, provided there is a second set of controls at the copilot’s seat (usually true in aircraft, but not ground vehicles).


 * Gunner
 * Some vehicles have built-in weapons. If such a weapon is controlled from a location other than the driver’s position, a character can man that position and become the gunner. A vehicle can have as many gunners as it has gunner positions.


 * Passenger
 * All other personnel aboard the vehicle are considered passengers. Passengers have no specific role in the vehicle’s operation, but may be able to fire weapons from the vehicle or take other actions.

Scale
 * These rules use two scales. If the encounter involves both vehicles and characters on foot, use character scale. If the scene involves only vehicles, and they’re likely to move at much higher speeds than characters or creatures on foot, use chase scale.


 * Character Scale
 * Character scale is identical to the standard movement scale: It’s carried out on a grid in which each square equals 5 feet. In character scale, most vehicles are large enough to occupy multiple squares on the map grid. How many squares a vehicle occupies is specified in the vehicle’s description. When moving a vehicle, count the squares from the vehicle’s rear. When turning, pivot the vehicle on the rear square toward which it is turning. When firing weapons, count squares from the location of the weapon. In character scale, more than one ground vehicle cannot occupy the same square.


 * Chase Scale


 * In chase scale, each square of the grid represents 50 feet.
 * In chase scale, most commonly encountered vehicles occupy only one square. (Some especially large vehicles, such as ships or jumbo jets, might occupy more than one square.) More than one vehicle can occupy the same square. Vehicles in the same square are considered to be 20 feet apart for the purposes of determining range for attacks.

Vehicle Sizes
 * Vehicles use the same size categories as characters and creatures, as shown on Table: Vehicle Sizes. The vehicle’s size modifier applies to its initiative modifier, maneuver modifier, and Defense. (The size modifier is already included in the vehicle statistics on Table: Vehicles)

Table: Vehicle Sizes Facing
 * Unlike with characters, when dealing with vehicles, the vehicle’s facing (the direction it’s pointing) is important. Facing indicates the direction in which the vehicle is traveling (assuming it’s not moving in reverse).

Getting Started
 * Most vehicles can be entered with a move action and started with a second move action. An exception is noted in a vehicle’s description when it applies.


 * Initiative
 * There are two options for determining initiative in vehicle combat. The first is individual initiative just as in normal combat, where each character rolls separately. This is probably the best method if most or all characters are aboard the same vehicle, but it can result in a lot of delayed or readied actions as passengers wait for drivers to perform maneuvers. An alternative is to roll initiative for each vehicle using the vehicle’s initiative modifier. This is particularly appropriate when characters are in separate vehicles, since it allows everyone aboard the same vehicle to act more or less simultaneously.

Vehicle Speed
 * Vehicle speed is expressed in five categories: stationary, alley speed, street speed, highway speed, and all-out. Each of these speed categories represents a range of possible movement (see Table: Vehicle Speeds and Modifiers). Each round, a vehicle moves according to its current speed category.


 * Declaring Speed
 * At the beginning of his action, a driver must declare his speed category for the round. The driver can choose to go one category faster or slower than the vehicle’s speed category at the end of the previous round. A stationary vehicle can change to alley speed in either forward or reverse. Most vehicles cannot go faster than alley speed in reverse.


 * Stationary
 * The vehicle is motionless.


 * Alley Speed
 * This speed is used for safely maneuvering a vehicle in tight spaces, such as alleys and parking garages. It tops out at about the speed a typical person can run.


 * Street Speed
 * The vehicle is traveling at a moderate speed, up to about 35 miles per hour.


 * Highway Speed
 * The vehicle is moving at a typical highway speed, from about 35 to 80 miles per hour.


 * All-Out
 * The vehicle is traveling extremely fast, more than 80 miles per hour.


 * Moving
 * On his action, the driver moves the vehicle a number of squares that falls within the vehicle’s speed category. Unlike characters, a vehicle cannot double move, run, or otherwise extend its movement (except by changing to a higher speed category).
 * Every vehicle has a top speed, included in its statistics on Table: Vehicles. A vehicle cannot move more squares than its top speed. This means that some vehicles cannot move at all-out speed, or even highway speed.
 * Count squares for vehicles just as for characters. Vehicles can move diagonally; remember that when moving diagonally, every second square costs two squares’ worth of movement. Unlike with moving characters, a vehicle’s facing is important; unless it changes direction, a vehicle always moves in the direction of its facing (or in the opposite direction, if it’s moving in reverse).

The Effects of Speed
 * A fast-moving vehicle is harder to hit than a stationary one—but it’s also harder to control and to attack from.
 * As shown on Table: Vehicle Speeds and Modifiers, when a vehicle travels at street speed or faster, it gains a bonus to Defense. However, that speed brings along with it a penalty on all skill checks and attack rolls made by characters aboard the vehicle—including Agility Checks to control the vehicle and attacks made from it.

Driving a Vehicle
 * Driving a vehicle is a move action, taken by the vehicle’s driver. During his move action, the driver moves the vehicle a number of squares that falls within its speed category. The driver can attempt maneuvers to change the vehicle’s course or speed. These maneuvers can be attempted at any point along the vehicle’s route. The driver can choose to use his attack action to attempt additional maneuvers. The two kinds of vehicle movement are simple maneuvers and stunts.


 * Simple Maneuvers
 * A simple maneuver, such as a 45-degree turn, is easy to perform. Each is a free action and can be taken as many times as the driver likes while he moves the vehicle. However, simple maneuvers do cost movement—so a vehicle that makes a lot of simple maneuvers will not get as far as one going in a straight line. Simple maneuvers do not require the driver to make skill checks.


 * Stunts
 * Stunts are difficult and sometimes daring maneuvers that enable a driver to change his vehicle’s speed or heading more radically than a simple maneuver allows. A stunt is a move action. It can be taken as part of a move action to control the vehicle, and a second stunt can be attempted in lieu of the driver’s attack action. Stunts always require Agility Checks.

Simple Maneuvers
 * During a vehicle’s movement, the driver can perform any one of the following maneuvers.


 * 45-Degree Turn
 * Any vehicle can make a simple 45-degree turn as part of its movement. The vehicle must move forward at least a number of squares equal to its turn number (shown on Table: Vehicle Speeds and Modifiers) before it can turn. Making a 45-degree turn costs 1 square of movement.


 * Ram
 * At character scale, a driver does not have to perform a maneuver to ram another vehicle—he only needs to drive his vehicle into the other vehicle’s square, and a collision occurs (see Collisions and Ramming).


 * At chase scale, however, more than one vehicle can occupy the same square and not collide—so ramming another vehicle requires a simple maneuver. The driver moves his vehicle into the other vehicle’s square and states that he is attempting to ram. Resolve the ram as a collision, except that the driver of the target vehicle can make a Reflex Save (DC 15) to reduce the damage to both vehicles by half.


 * Sideslip
 * A driver might wish to move to the side without changing the vehicle’s facing, for instance, to change lanes. This simple maneuver, called a sideslip, allows a vehicle to avoid obstacles or weave in and out of traffic without changing facing. A sideslip moves a vehicle 1 square forward and 1 square to the right or left, and costs 3 squares of movement.

Stunts
 * Stunts are maneuvers that require an Agility Check to perform successfully. Unsuccessful stunts often result in the vehicle ending up someplace other than where the driver intended. When this happens, the vehicle collides with any objects in its path. Remember that the check/roll modifier from Table: Vehicle Speeds and Modifiers affects all Agility Checks made by the driver and attack rolls made by all occupants of the vehicle.


 * Avoid Hazard
 * Vehicle combat rarely occurs on a perfectly flat, featureless plain. When a vehicle tries to move through a square occupied by a hazard, the driver must succeed on an Agility Check to avoid the hazard and continue moving.
 * Structures simply cannot be avoided. Also, if a driver cannot make a check (if he has used all his actions for the round in performing other stunts), he automatically fails to avoid the hazard. In such cases, a collision occurs.
 * The DC to avoid a hazard varies with the nature of the hazard.
 * On a failed check, the vehicle hits the obstacle. For caltrops, this means the caltrops make an attack against the vehicle (see Caltrops). An oil slick forces the driver to make an Agility Check (DC 15) to retain control of the vehicle (see Losing Control). Failing to avoid an object results in a collision with the object (see Collisions and Ramming).

Table: DC to avoid hazard
 * Bootleg Turn
 * By making a bootleg turn, a driver can radically change direction without turning in a loop. However, in so doing, the vehicle comes to a stop.


 * Before a vehicle can make a bootleg turn, it must move in a straight line at least a number of squares equal to its turn number. To make a bootleg turn, simply change the vehicle’s facing to the desired direction. The vehicle ends its movement in that location, at stationary speed.
 * The DC for a bootleg turn depends on the change in facing.
 * On a failed check, instead of facing the desired direction, the vehicle only changes facing by 45 degrees. Make an Agility Check to retain control against a DC equal to the DC for the bootleg turn attempted (see Losing Control).

Table: Facing Change
 * Dash
 * With a dash stunt, a driver can increase the vehicle’s speed by one category. (This increase is in addition to any speed change made at the beginning of the driver’s action; if the driver increased speed at that time, he can accelerate a total of two categories in the same round.) The vehicle’s total movement for the round cannot exceed the maximum number of squares for its new speed category. (The squares it has already moved before attempting the dash count against this total.)
 * The DC for a dash is 15. The driver can only succeed at one dash per round.
 * On a failed check, the vehicle does not change speed categories.


 * Hard Brake
 * With a hard brake stunt, a driver can reduce the vehicle’s speed by up to two categories. (This is in addition to any speed change made at the beginning of his action; if the driver reduced speed at that time, he can drop a total of three categories in the same round.) The vehicle’s movement for the round ends as soon as it has moved the minimum number of squares for its new speed category. (If it has already moved that far before attempting the hard brake, it ends its movement immediately.)


 * The DC for a hard brake is 15. The driver can only succeed at one hard break per round.
 * On a failed check, the vehicle does not change speed categories. Make an Agility Check (DC 15) to retain control (see Losing Control).


 * Hard Turn
 * A hard turn allows a vehicle to make a turn in a short distance without losing speed.
 * A hard turn functions like a 45-degree turn simple maneuver, except that the vehicle only needs to move forward a number of squares equal to half its turn number (rounded down).
 * The DC for a hard turn is 15.


 * On a failed check, the vehicle continues to move forward a number of squares equal to its turn number before turning, just as with a simple 45-degree turn. Make an Agility Check (DC 15) to retain control (see Losing Control).


 * Jump
 * A driver can attempt to jump his vehicle across a gap in his path.
 * To make a jump, the vehicle must move in a straight line a number of squares equal to its turn number. If the vehicle doesn’t have enough movement left to clear the gap, it must complete the jump at the start of its next turn.
 * The DC for a jump depends on the width of the gap, modified by the vehicle’s speed category.


 * On a failed check, the vehicle fails to clear the gap, and instead falls into it (or collides with the far side). Determine damage as for a collision (see Collisions and Ramming).

Table: Gap Width Table: Speed-based DC Modifier for gap jumps
 * A shallow gap (1 to 3 feet deep) is equivalent to a Medium-size object; the vehicle may be able to avoid taking collision damage from the failed jump by treating the far side as a hazard and then continue moving (see Avoid Hazard, above).
 * A moderately deep gap (4 to 10 feet deep) is equivalent to a Huge object. The vehicle can only drive out of the gap if the walls are not too steep.
 * A deeper gap (11 feet or deeper) is equivalent to a Colossal object. The vehicle can only drive out of the gap if the walls are not too steep.
 * If the gap is filled with water, the vehicle takes only half damage from the collision with the ground. However, if the water is too deep or the bottom is too soft (PM’s discretion), the vehicle might not be able to move.


 * Sideswipe
 * During a vehicle’s movement, a driver can attempt to sideswipe a vehicle or other target, either to deal damage without fully ramming it or to cause another driver to lose control of his vehicle.
 * At character scale, a vehicle must be side by side with its target (that is, occupying the square or squares directly to its side) and moving in the same direction. Attempting a sideswipe costs 1 square of movement.
 * At chase scale, the vehicle must be in the same square as its target and moving in the same direction. There is no movement cost.
 * If the stunt is successful, the sideswiping vehicle and the target both take damage as if they had collided (see Collisions and Ramming), except that the collision multiplier is 1/4, and the target (or driver of the target vehicle) can make a Reflex Save (DC 15) to reduce the damage to both by half. If the target is another vehicle, the driver must succeed at an Agility Check (DC 15) at the beginning of his next action or lose control of the vehicle.
 * The DC for a sideswipe is 15. It’s modified by the relative size and speed of the target.

On a failed check, both vehicles take damage as though the sideswipe attempt was a success. However, the other driver does not need to make a check to retain control. Driver Options
 * Here is what a vehicle driver can do in a single round:


 * Choose the Vehicle’s Speed


 * The driver may increase or decrease his vehicle’s speed category by one (or keep it the same).


 * Optional Attack Action
 * If the driver wants, he can use his attack action before moving the vehicle. If the driver does so, however, he will be limited to a single stunt during movement.


 * Movement
 * Move the vehicle any number of squares within the vehicle’s speed category. Along the way, perform any number of simple maneuvers (limited only by their movement cost). The driver may also attempt a single stunt as part of the movement (or two, if the driver didn’t take his attack action before moving).


 * Optional Attack Action
 * If the driver did not take an attack action before moving and performed one or fewer stunts, the driver has an attack action left.


 * Collisions and Ramming
 * A collision occurs when a vehicle strikes another vehicle or a solid object. Generally, when a vehicle collides with a creature or other moving vehicle, the target can attempt a Reflex Save (DC 15) to reduce the damage by half.


 * Resolving Collisions
 * The base damage dealt by a vehicle collision depends on the speed and size of the objects involved. Use the highest speed and the smallest size of the two colliding objects and refer to Table: Collision Damage.

Table: Collision Damage Die Type Table: Collision Damage Number of Dice
 * After finding the base damage, determine the collision’s damage multiplier based on how the colliding vehicle struck the other vehicle or object. (For vehicles moving in reverse, consider the back end to be the vehicle’s “front” for determining the collision multiplier.) Consult Table: Collision Direction for a multiplier.
 * Once the damage has been determined, apply it to both vehicles (or objects or creatures) involved in the collision. Both vehicles reduce their speed by two speed categories. If the colliding vehicle moved the minimum number of squares for its new speed category before the collision, it ends its movement immediately. If not, it pushes the other vehicle or object aside, if possible, and continues until it has moved the minimum number of squares for its new speed category.
 * The driver of the vehicle that caused the collision must immediately make an Agility Check (DC 15) or lose control of the vehicle (see Losing Control, below). The driver of the other vehicle must succeed on an Agility Check (DC 15) at the beginning of his next action or lose control of his vehicle.

Table: Collision Direction Damage to Vehicle Occupants
 * When a vehicle takes damage from a collision, its occupants may take damage as well. The base amount of damage depends on the cover offered by the vehicle.
 * Each of the occupants may make a Reflex Save (DC 15) to take half damage.

Losing Control
 * A collision or a failed stunt can cause a driver to lose control of his vehicle. In these cases, the driver must make an Agility Check to retain control of the vehicle. If this check is successful, the driver maintains control of the vehicle. If it fails, the vehicle goes into a spin. If it fails by 10 or more, the vehicle rolls. Remember that the check/roll modifier from Table: Vehicle Speeds and Modifiers applies to all Agility Checks.
 * An out-of-control vehicle may strike an object or other vehicle. When that happens, a collision occurs (see Collisions and Ramming, above).


 * Spin
 * The vehicle skids, spinning wildly.
 * At character scale, the vehicle moves in its current direction a number of squares equal to the turn number for its speed, then ends its movement. Once it stops, roll 1d8 to determine its new facing: 1, no change; 2, right 45 degrees; 3, right 90 degrees; 4, right 135 degrees; 5, 180 degrees; 6, left 135 degrees; 7, left 90 degrees; 8, left 45 degrees.Reorient the vehicle accordingly.


 * At chase scale, the vehicle moves 1 square and ends its movement. Roll to determine its new facing as indicated above.


 * Roll
 * The vehicle tumbles, taking damage. At character scale, the vehicle rolls in a straight line in its current direction for a number of squares equal to the turn number for its speed, then ends its movement. At the end of the vehicle’s roll, reorient the vehicle perpendicular to its original direction of travel (determine left or right randomly).
 * At chase scale, the vehicle rolls one square before stopping and reorienting.
 * At either scale, a vehicle takes damage equal to 2d6 × the character scale turn number for its speed (use the turn number from character scale even at chase scale). The vehicle’s occupants take damage equal to 2d4 × the character scale turn number for its speed (Reflex Save, DC 15, for half damage).

Hide and Seek
 * When being pursued, a driver can attempt a Stealth Check to lose the pursuer in heavy traffic, or a Bluff Check to misdirect the pursuer before turning onto an off-ramp or a side street.
 * To make a Stealth Check, use the normal rules for hiding (see the Stealth skill description). The normal size modifiers apply, but because the driver is hiding among other vehicles, most of which are size Large or Huge, he gains a +8 bonus on the check. This use of the Stealth Skill can only be attempted in fairly heavy traffic; in lighter traffic, the GM might not allow it or might apply a penalty to the check.
 * A driver can use Bluff to make a pursuer think he is going a different direction from what the driver intends. Just before making a turn onto an off-ramp or side street, make a Bluff Check opposed by the pursuer’s Awareness Check. If the driver is successful, the pursuer takes a −5 penalty on any Agility Check needed to make the turn to follow the driver. If the other driver can make the turn using only simple maneuvers and does not have to make an Agility Check, the Bluff attempt has no effect.

3 Dimensional Movement
Tactical Aerial Movement
 * The number of squares a vehicle can move at this speed


 * The number of squares a vehicle must move at this speed before making a turn


 * A stationary vehicle cannot move or maneuver
 * Once movement becomes three-dimensional and involves turning in midair and maintaining a minimum velocity to stay aloft, it gets more complicated. Most flying creatures have to slow down at least a little to make a turn, and many are limited to fairly wide turns and must maintain a minimum forward speed. Each flying creature has a maneuverability, as shown on Table: Maneuverability. The entries on the table are defined below.


 * Minimum Forward Speed
 * If a flying creature fails to maintain its minimum forward speed, it must land at the end of its movement. If it is too high above the ground to land, it falls straight down, descending 150 feet in the first round of falling. If this distance brings it to the ground, it takes falling damage. If the fall doesn’t bring the creature to the ground, it must spend its next turn recovering from the stall. It must succeed on a DC 20 Reflex Save to recover. Otherwise, it falls another 300 feet. If it hits the ground, it takes falling damage. Otherwise, it has another chance to recover on its next turn.


 * Hover
 * The ability to stay in one place while airborne.


 * Move Backward
 * The ability to move backward without turning around.


 * Reverse
 * A creature with good maneuverability uses up 5 feet of its speed to start flying backward.


 * Turn
 * How much the creature can turn after covering the stated distance.


 * Turn in Place
 * A creature with good or average maneuverability can use some of its speed to turn in place.


 * Maximum Turn
 * How much the creature can turn in any one space.


 * Up Angle
 * The angle at which the creature can climb.


 * Up Speed
 * How fast the creature can climb.


 * Down Angle
 * The angle at which the creature can descend.


 * Down Speed
 * A flying creature can fly down at twice its normal flying speed.


 * Between Down and Up
 * An average, poor, or clumsy flier must fly level for a minimum distance after descending and before climbing. Any flier can begin descending after a climb without an intervening distance of level flight.

Table: Maneuverability in Three Dimensions Evasion & Pursuit
 * In round-by-round movement, simply counting off squares, it’s impossible for a slow character to get away from a determined fast character without mitigating circumstances. Likewise, it’s no problem for a fast character to get away from a slower one.
 * When the speeds of the two concerned characters are equal, there’s a simple way to resolve a chase: If one creature is pursuing another, both are moving at the same speed, and the chase continues for at least a few rounds, have them make opposed Dexterity Checks to see who is the faster over those rounds. If the creature being chased wins, it escapes. If the pursuer wins, it catches the fleeing creature.
 * Sometimes a chase occurs overland and could last all day, with the two sides only occasionally getting glimpses of each other at a distance. In the case of a long chase, an opposed Constitution Check made by all parties determines which can keep pace the longest. If the creature being chased rolls the highest, it gets away. If not, the chaser runs down its prey, outlasting it with stamina.

Moving Around in Squares
 * In general, when the characters aren’t engaged in round-by-round combat, they should be able to move anywhere and in any manner that you can imagine real people could. A 5-foot square, for instance, can hold several characters; they just can’t all fight effectively in that small space. The rules for movement are important for combat, but outside combat they can impose unnecessary hindrances on character activities.