Continuing our read of the Hazards section, we’ll now see a few Wilderness hazards. These are all naturally occurring, and most are extra-dangerous versions of the terrain we saw earlier.

Wilderness Hazards

Chokedust Cloud (Level 2 Lurker)

A more dangerous version of the stuff you might find in ash wastes, silt pools, and deserts with particularly fine sand. This is a 3-by-3 area of particularly fine and powdery stuff, and the slightest disturbance will cause it to form a cloud.

Characters can roll Perception to notice the area is different, and if they pass that first test they can roll an easier Nature one to learn exactly why.

The hazard triggers when someone steps into the area, or when a portion of it is included in a blast or burst attack. The entire area erupts into a choking cloud that attacks the Fortitude of those standing on it. On a hit it blinds and inflicts ongoing 5 damage (save ends). The cloud stays around after this - victims cannot save against its effects while they remain inside. I imagine it also attacks anyone who steps into it after this.

Characters can roll Acrobatics when moving into the area to avoid disturbing it, and they can roll Endurance to steel themselves and gain a +2 to Fortitude against the cloud’s next attack.

Badlands Tremor (Level 5 Lurker)

A small localized earthquake. It has four epicenter squares scattered through the encounter area. The GM can either roll randomly or place them for maximum inconvenience.

Characters can roll Perception to listen for the groaning noise that precedes the tremor, and then Nature to identify it as an incoming earthquake and (with a good enough roll) where the epicenters are.

The tremor starts when the encounter does - roll initiative for it. On its initiative count, a random epicenter makes a Close Burst 5 attack vs. Reflex that damages and knocks prone on a hit, half on a miss, and makes its area difficult terrain.

The only countermeasure is an Acrobatics check on your turn to brace yourself for the next tremor. Staying away from the tremor areas also works, but it might not be feasible depending on the map’s layout.

Silt Sink (Level 8 Lurker)

A much more dangerous version of the Silt Pool terrain from before. This is a 4-by-4 squares wide, 30-foot deep hole filled with silt.

It takes a Perception roll to notice the ground is different, and then a Nature check to realize this is a deep pit that could bury someone.

If someone steps onto the pit’s area, they suffer an attack against their Reflex. On a hit they take fall damage (3d10, as if the pit was empty), and then get immobilized and begin to take ongoing 5 damage until they escape.

An escape attempt requires a series of Athletics or Acrobatics check against the pit’s escape DC. Each success causes the victm to rise 10 feet towards the surface. If they’re still in the pit at the end of their turn, they remain immobilized however. So it takes 3 successes for someone to fully escape.

Another character can try to help the victim if they can find a way to reach them (such as with a long branch or pole), using a move action to automatically pull them up by 10 feet.

Devil Dune (Level 9 Obstacle)

A huge pile of loose sand that is currently being pushed by the winds and moving at a surprisingly high speed. This could be a natural phenomenon, or it could be the work of an angry spirit.

It can be automatically noticed, and there’s a Nature check to realize it’s dangerous. The dune rolls Initiative, and on its turn it shifts 4 square towards the nearest creature. When it enters a creature’s space, it can attack their Reflex to try to engulf them. This damages, slows, inflicts ongoing 5 damage, and obscures vision beyond 2 squares (save ends all). On a miss, it just slows for a turn.

Someone who starts their turn entirely inside the dune takes an attack against their Fortitude, which deals heavy damage and restrains. It takes an escape roll, not a save, to get out of the sand.

The only countermeasure, other than staying the heck away, is the option to roll Acrobatics as an interrupt before the dune attacks your Reflex. The result of the roll becomes your new defense against that attack, even if it was lower than your Reflex.

False Oasis (Level 13 Elite Lurker)

This 6-by-6 square area looks like an oasis, but it’s actually an illusion. Behind it is a 2-by-2 area filled with blood-sucking creeper plants, which counts as blocking terrain. Sounds like just the kind of thing a group of sand brides would set up.

An Insight check might let someone recognize the oasis as an illusion, but not identify what it hides. A harder Arcana test can do both.

If someone gets to within 3 squares of the illusion’s borders, the hazard rolls initiative. On its turn, the creepers reach out and try to pull the victim, an attack against AC that deals no damage and pulls the target 2 squares. This can target up to three creatures, so it not being an opportunity attack is actually an advantage. There’s enough time for multiple victims to approach the sweet, sweet illusion.

If a character starts their turn adjacent to the actual creeper squares, they’re targetted by an opportunity action that attacks their Fortitude and, on a hit, weakens and inflicts ongoing 10 necrotic damage (save ends). On a miss, it deals 5 necrotic damage.

If you can’t pierce the illusion or staying away is not an option, you can destroy the false oasis with violence (105 HP, vulnerable 15 radiant).

Dust Funnel (Level 15 Blaster)

A tornado, more or less.

Roll Initiative for the hazard when combat starts, and choose a square on the battle map. On its first turn, the dust funnel manifests in a Close Burst 2 around that square, and takes up that much space.

A Perception or an easier Nature test can identify this spot as the forces build up, before the funnel manifests.

On its turns, the funnel moves 1d10 squares and makes an attack against anyone who happens to be in its area. On a hit, it damages, knocks prone, and immobilizes its targets (save ends). Until the target passes a save, they get dragged along with the funnel whenever it moves. Of course, targets who get dragged along will suffer the attack again next turn, since they will be in reach of it.

Imagine if this thing manages to grab every other combatant, monsters and PCs alike. That’d be hilarious.

Characters can make a hard Nature check to figure out where the funnel will move in its next turn, and if they can’t escape its path they can spend a standard action to grab onto something and get +4 to all defenses against its next attack.

Desert Glass (Level 17 Obstacle)

We already saw what an even mix of sand and powdered glass can do. This is a stretch of ground that’s mostly pure glass, in much bigger chunks. It’s super slippery and cuts you to ribbons if you fall.

The hazard covers 20 contiguous squares, in any configuration the GM wants. All of them are difficult terrain. If they’re not obvious, such as if there’s a thin layer of sand over them, they can be identified with a Perception test.

Anyone who enters, starts their turn, or stands up from prone on one of these squares takes an attack against Reflex that damages, knocks prone, and inflicts ongoing 10 damage (save ends). It the target was already prone, they are dazed for a turn instead.

If one or more squares of the glass are included in an area attack that has the cold, thunder, or force keywords, the affected squares make a Close Burst 1 attack that deals the same amount of immediate and ongoing damage as the other one, and then disappear. They got shattered and blew up.

Venomous Spines (Level 21 Blaster)

These are from a species of tree that grows on some of the rare jungle biomes of Athas. When someone gets near, the tree forcibly ejects an omni-directional cloud of venomous spines.

A Perception check can notice there’s something funny about that tree. A Nature check can identify it before the PCs enter its range.

The attack hits a Close Burst 5 around the tree, dealing heavy poison damage and making a secondary attack that on a hit blinds and inflicts ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends). On a miss, it deals half damage.

Someone who knows the tree is dangerous can close in without triggering it with an Acrobatics or Stealth check. They can then use hard Nature checks to reduce the size of the burst by 2 per successful check, entirely “disarming” the tree with the third success. I’m guessing they’re plucking the spines.

Defiled Plain (Level 24 Obstacle)

A patch of ground so thoroughly defiled it’s not just dead, it’s “undead”. Anyone stepping on it will have their life force drained.

A Perception check can tell the ground is unnatural, and an Arcana check can identify its danger.

The attack deals heavy necrotic damage and inflicts vulnerable 10 to all damage (save ends). The first failed save causes the target to lose a healing surge, and the second one makes the vulnerability permanent until cured by a ritual like Remove Affliction. A miss deals half damage.

A character near or on the affected area can make a hard Arcana check to neutralize it for a turn. Characters without Arcane Defiling powers or abilities have a +2 on this test. Those who have these take a -2 instead. A preserver (which I assume means someone without those abilities) can choose to spend 2 healing surges to destroy the hazard, which I guess means they can restore some of the place’s lost life. The book says those healing surges can only be regained through an extended rest, which feels redundant but I guess means no other trick that would normally allow an early recovery can do so.

Final Impressions

These hazards are generally scarier versions of the terrain we saw earlier, so they’re certainly appropriate for inclusion in battles taking place in that terrain.

And that’s it for the book! I hope you enjoyed the reading. I’m trying to think of what to do next, so any suggestions are welcome.