[RPG] Exploration and Adventuring, Part 2-

(c) Copyright 2009 Kyrinn S. Eis

Falling-

* 5' - 10' 1d4
* 1d6+1 per 10' beyond, to a maximum of 32d6+1d4+32
* Sloping ground x1/2 damage
* Soft ground x2/3 damage
* Snow, Sand, Dense Vegetation x1/3 damage


Lift-Shafts-

(Int + Wis + Cha) feet per Round ascending
Twice that if descending.

Base (33% + 5% per +1 of Int, Wis, and Cha each) to operate. Open Locks % may be added to the attempt. Failure to activate the Lift-Shaft results in a Fall.


Vision-

* Torches throw useful light out in a 25' radius, and burn for 1d4+2 Turns. If used as a club, while not burning, it does 1-2 points of damage, plus the characters bonuses. If used while burning, increase damage to 1d4 plus bonuses, with damage beyond Armour spreading at a rate of 1 + 1 per 3 Rounds, if not extinguished.

* Lanterns are more delicate, but much longer burning light sources, fed by a resevoir of fuel. If thrown or dropped, there is a base 60% chance that a fire 5' in radius spills out from point of contact. This fire does 1d6 points of damage, and spreads twice as fast as torch-fire.

* Light-wands are artifice of the contemporary era of Urutsk, and contain enough power to operate continuously for up to 24 hours, or many times that if for only a few minutes at a time. Focused beam out to 25' with (1.32x length)- wide cone. [RF: 0; +50%; 150]
* Greater Light Wands are capable of adjusting the colour and intensity of the light, with a 33' focused beam, and (1.17x length) in width. [RF: 1; +40%; 300]
* Greater Light Wands of Detection have the same characteristics as the Greater variety, with these additional abilities: +4 bonus to detect invisible or illusions in a 33* arc, out to a range of 15'. It is also capable of tracing a visible line from the wand to a distant object, no further than 1/2-mile in open terrain and no weather. [RF: 2; +30%; 2,700]


Hearing-

Urutsk's atmosphere is thinner than earth's, and as a result, sound transmits less and a shorter distance. This has an overall effect in that many predators are of the Ambush variety. However, Listen % are not affected, already factoring in the atmosphere.

* Identifying the direction and estimating distance is (15% +15% per +1 Int or Wis)
* Identifying by sound (10% +10% per +1 Int or Wis)
* Fighting by sound (+1, +1 per Int or Wis; replaces Str or Dex)

Stone or metal corridors magnify sounds, and angles distort them, lowering the Threshold by -10.
Dense vegetation or other baffling material muffles and increases the Hearing Threshold by +10.


Other Senses-

Tactile/Balance features extend to greater awareness of temperature, air-flow, grade of slope, approximate distance underground, etc.
A character's base chance is (15% +15 per +1 Int or Wis), with Yirinn and Western Isles Vrun individuals receiving a +15% to to the attempt.


Ambush and Surprise-

Ambush is when one group deliberately hides in order to inflict Surprise upon another group, for the purpose of gaining un-opposed actions. Ambushes have a base (33% +15% per 10' distant) chance of success, and increase the detection Threshold by a like total %.
If successful, the Ambushing group gains two full Rounds of action against those in the ambushed group who were Surprised. Those who were alerted to the Ambush, are able to act on the second Round as normal.

Surprise results in complete loss of 1 Round's actions.


Traps in Theory and Practise-

Once a Trap has been noticed, the player's solution is always preferred over a simple roll. Deliberately triggering a trap in the hopes of avoiding party damage is assumed to be easier than difficult, and the characters who make effort to do this systematically ought to be afforded more leniency than the party that blithely treads the halls of the Ancients.

If one desires to revert to dicing for success, the base is (33%, with +15% per +1 of Int), with an additional +5% if the character is Yirinn. Naturally, any %s in Remove Traps are added into the d% roll.

If an attempt to securely-trigger the trap is failed, no further attempts by the character in question can correct their course, and the trap is now primed to activate upon the next action to manipulate it, resulting in a +50 to the Target (i.e., 150).

Unless otherwise noted, Traps act as Ambushes if successful, and secondary circumstances may affect Ambushed individuals.


Hunting and Scavenging-

Hunting, after hearing the character travel description, becomes a Referee-adjudicated Ambush attempt versus the prey's Hearing and Vision counter-tests. Unarmed prey are largely at the mercy of the hunter.

Animals offer variable nutrition: (d10 x # of Fight Dice)
Each 5 Lbs. of the slaughtered animal increases its Food Value by +1, with each serving to act as a day's-worth of eating. Smoking the meat preserves it for extended travel.

Scavenging is a time-consuming process that often results in minimal returns.
Each 1d6 Hours spent Scavenging in an average environment yields 1d4 Food Value.


Deprivations-

Should the Referee need help arbitrating the effects of gradual starvation, apply a penalty of -1 Dodge Point per day of no nourishment, beyond (Con + 2) days. This would then simulate the listlessness of a character under such conditions.

Dehydration is a far more serious condition, and can quickly kill the character. Each day beyond (Con + 2) days results in the character's unconsciousness, and overall danger of being negative in Dodge Points by the same amount. This then means that the second day of no water is as if the character were at 0 Dodge Points, as regards activity level.

Some Referees may desire a more epic or cinematic game. If this is the case, a function of the character's Pacing Level (one-half Level for Cinematic, or 1x Level as a + to these survival times).


Overland Movement-

** All of the following is only intended as a rough guide and an aide for the Referee **

Open Terrain covered per day of travel is equal to (6 x Walking Speed) Units.
Rougher terrain reduces this rate to varying degrees, and is adjudicated by the Referee, taking into account local weather in the area being traversed. Indeed, rain may impede normal speed over open ground, but up or down hills, or along ridges, may require Dex Tests to avoid a slide (1d6 - 1d4 points of damage per 10' of Slide).

* Jungle, Mountains, Swamp: -30 Units
* Desert, Forest, Hills: -20 Units
* Clear, Plains, Trail: -10 Units
* Road: -0 Units

Each unit is roughly equal to 1/10th of a mile.
Once the total is determined, the day's travels are complete, and rest is necessary.


Exhaustion & Fatigue-

Whatever the cause of Fatigue, once it exceeds the character's (Constitution + Str), the character is Exhausted, and will sleep for 2d4+4 hours, downwardly adjusted by Experience.

* If forced to act while Fatigued, all actions are penalised a like amount.
* If roused during Exhaustion, each Turn of activity saps 1 Constitution point. If reduced to 0, the character has died of Exhaustion.


Environmental Exposure-

Wintry weather deposits snow in inches per hour, making travel through such storms or areas recently struck by them much more difficult and dangerous than normal for the terrain.
Ice patches on hard surfaces raise the Target on Technical Skills such as Move Silently and Hide, as well as Climb Walls.
Hiking up slopes, or even stairs to a time-lost temple, now in the glacial north, can prove dangerous in the extreme, with the better of Dex Test, Climb Walls, or Reflex Critical Test being used to determine if safe passage is secured. Walking down the same, would use the next-best of the three, to simulate its increased danger.

Movement through Snow is an additional -10 Units per 3".
Snow falls at 1d12" per hour, rolled per hour, for 2d6 Hours. If the result is 10-12, the snow continues for another 2d6 Hours, with an 11-12 indicating more of the same, and only on the third roll of a 12 does the snow continue unabated.

Protected Exposure to cold air saps 1 DP per 12 Hours of exposure. Raw Exposure to cold air saps 1 DP per (Constitution Score) minutes. Immersion in cold water saps 1 Constitution point from the score, per Round. Exposure to cold water and then cold air is measured against the current, debilitated Constitution Score.

Desert Heat and Sand operates more or less the same...
* Heat: -1 DP per 6 Hours
* Bare Heat: 1 DP per Turn
* Fire: 1d, increasing by Die-type each Round of continued exposure
* Blast or Lava: -1 Constitution point and 5 DP per Round


Swimming and Drowning-

As long as the character's Encumbrance is less than (5x Strength), it is treading water. Beyond this limit, and the character is beginning to drown.
Each Round of Drowning results in (1d8 - 1d4) points of Critical Damage (as if automatically in the Negatives), per Round. When the Lethal Threshold (Constitution Score + Str mod.) is exceeded, the character has drown, and died.

Stormy waters and cold waters each subtract 1x from the (5x Strength, 4x, 3x) test.


Water's Surface Travel-

Water vessels are discussed in their own section.
Travel by water permits fifty-percent more travel-time per day, and if qualified crew are operating the craft, it is capable of 24 hour travel, weather permitting.

97-00 'Black Weather' x2**
86-96 x1 1/2*
71-85 x1 1/3
41-70 Average Winds x1
26-40 x2/3
14-25 x1/2
06-13 x1/3
01-05 No wind, no movement by sail

*= The craft suffers 1d6 points of structural damage per hour under these strong winds and waves.
**= The craft suffers 2d6 points of structural damage per hour under these strong winds and battering waves.

The direction of the wind is emulated by rolling 1d12, read as a clock (with 12 being the same direction as the prow of the ship), and originates in that area and moves toward the opposite side of the clock-face.