Hazards/Equipment: Elemental Hazards

Hazards/Equipment: Elemental Hazards

Dragon Magazine #347 has a very interesting article called Elemental Hazards: An Exploration of the Inner Planes. The article describes various unique hazards, materials, and phenomena that can be encountered on the elemental planes. As a person who adores everything elemental-related, I must convert the article to GURPS. Such features make the Inner Planes feel very different and unique compared to the Material Plane. I've always entertained the idea of running a game set predominantly on an elemental plane, but it would probably be impossible to find players for that.

Elemental Plane of Air

Dream Mist

Dream mist is a very rare, wispy, pale-blue fog. A bank of dream mist typically stretches 130 yards in diameter. Any creature with IQ 6 or higher that inhales the mist must make a Will-2 roll or fall asleep for 1d hours. A successful roll makes the subject immune the the effects for one day. Dream mist is a magical effect.

Heaven Gems

Heaven gems are almost invisible crystals formed from solid air. Found blowing among the wind currents, a heaven gem makes anyone holding one harder to detect, see, or divine with any Information spells, regardless of the magic system used to cast them. A heaven gem reduces the diviner's effective margin of success by 1 for these purposes. Protective effects of multiple heaven gems do not stack. If removed from the Elemental Plane of Air, a heaven gem survives for one week before disintegrating into a puff of air. $50, - lb. LC4.

Razorgrit Storm

Hurricane-force winds of a razorgrit storm are full of microscopic grains of diamond and other hard substances. Razorgrit storm deals 1d-1 corrosion damage per second to anything within. Most razorgrit storms fill a 100-yard-diameter sphere, move 3 yards per second in a straight line, and last for 1d/2 hours. Rare razorgrit storms can grow as large as 300 yards in diameter.

Ripplewood

This dark-green woody vine has no leaves or roots, and can be up to 130 yards long. It draws all its nutrients from the surrounding air. Ripplewood always grows in web-like clusters with several vines interlocking. Clusters can simulate near weightlessness, with each plant choosing the center of the cluster as "down" for the purpose of subjective gravity. Ripplewood plants are sensitive to the weather and subtly shift their weight to slowly float on the wind currents toward calm areas.

Shimmer Air

Shimmer air forms near pockets of positive energy, appearing as floating clouds of brilliant flashes of multicolored light. Pockets of shimmer air can grow as large as several miles in diameter and give off light twice as far. Shimmer air produces no heat. Creatures without Protected Vision take a -2 to all Vision-based tasks while within the pocket of shimmer air. Consider this as a "positive" illumination penalty.

Sky Lotus

These small, stemless white flowers live on the Elemental Plane of Air, floating on the wind currents. They are known for their high nutritional value (one flower is equivalent to one day's ration) and the valuable drop of oil found within. They also contain a miniscule amount of arsenic that only becomes toxic once enough sky lotuses are consumed. Ten drops of sky lotus oil are equivalent to a potion of flight that is also a dose of arsenic (p. B439). A single intact sky lotus is worth $20.

Vacuum Vortex

A vacuum vortex is a stationary portal between the Elemental Plane of Air and the Quasielemental Plane of Vacuum that stretches out as far as one mile. The vortex is completely invisible to observers outside it. The center of the vortex has winds of more than 1,000 miles per hour, while at the farthest point of influence the winds are only about 50 miles per hour.

Vapor Field

A vapor field is a huge expanse of dark storm clouds shrounded in a dense fog. These semisolid clouds are capable of supporting up to 500 pounds per hex. Every yard of additional depth allows the vapor field to hold up an extra 500 pounds. Their size ranges from less than an acre to continental.

Whispering Wind

Whispreing wind carries sounds all across the Elemental Plane of Air. Sounds can travel thousands of miles over the course of centuries. A whispering wind can affect an area of any size, granting all creatures within its area a Hearing-4 check to hear it. The sound carried by a whispering wind typically lasts 1d minutes before it ends. You can use the following table to determine the sound randomly.

   2d   Sound

   2     People laughing and singing

   3     Speech from a strange, unknown language

   4     Whispers; low murmurs

   5     Rain or severe storm

   6     Sounds of distant combat

   7     Wings flapping and sounds of birds

   8     Bells or musical instrument

   9     Screams, cries for help or of discontent or mourning

   10   Magical incantations

   11   Prayers

   12   Draconic roar

Elemental Plane of Earth

Adamant Algae

This rare algae grows where small pools of water collect around thick veins of adamantine. Adamant algaee looks like black slime on the water surface that secretes a thick, shiny, dark red liquid with a strong acrid smell and metallic taste. This liquid grants the imbiber +2 to HT rolls for the purpose of natural healing for 24 hours. A creature must drink at least one ounce for each 100 pounds of its weight. A typical pool of water contains 32 ounces of the adamant algae discharge. An ounce of this secretion is worth $10. If removed from its pool, the algae dies in one hour and any of its secretions become diluted and worthless within 30 minutes. Storing it in an adamantine vial keeps it fresh for up to one month.

Choke Mold

This bright yellow mold emits very dim light and devours air, creating pockets of vacuum responsible for unexpected air currents. Choke mold typically appears in groups of 1d+2 patches, and it can grow on any surface. A craeture within 2 yards of a patch of choke mold cannot breathe, unless it is also in a hex with a stoneshroom (see below).

Darkshine

This crystallizing, glossy black fungus grows into razor-sharp shards up to 2 yards long. Each time a creature moves into a hex covered by darkshine, roll 3d. On 12 or less, the creature steps into a blade, taking thrust cutting damage based on its own ST to a random foot. A creature can avoid the chance of stepping into a blade by making a DX-4 roll, if it is aware of the darkshine. A creature damaged by darkshine cannot benefit from supernatural healing for one minute. A hex of darkshine erodes away in one hour if continuously exposed to any source of light more powerful than a candle.

Ghost Tunnels

Ghost tunnels are natural caverns and passages that randomly appear and disappear. None know the exact mechanism of their behavior and formation, but it is thought that ghost tunnels never affect the same area twice. This is a magical phenomenon that can be detected with Detect Magic. A creature caught in a ghost tunnel when it disappears takes 5d crushing damage per second as large-area injury from the instantly reappearing stone. Treat rigid armor as flexible armor for the purpose of blunt trauma. Each second, the creature moves 1d yards toward the nearest space big enough to accomodate it.

Gripsilt

Made of a fine dust with an extremely unusual adhesive property, gripsilt grains have dozens of burrs, allowing them to stick to nearly anything. Gripsilt can be spotted with a Survival (Plane of Earth) roll.  It is impossible to swim through or tread water in gripsilt; a creature caught in it sinks to the bottom and begins to suffocate when it can no longer hold its breath.

    If a creature steps in, it must roll vs. Swimming-4 (or HT-8) every second, at double encumbrance penalties. Any success lets it flop to safety. Each failure costs 1 FP – and at 0 FP, each FP costs 1 HP. Rescuers must win a Quick Contest of their highest ST plus (others’ total ST)/5 against twice the victim’s ST to pull him out. Rescue attempts take one second apiece. The rescuee decides whether to cooperate or attempt Swimming – he can’t do both.

Iron Coal

This rare type of coal burns without smoke, emits light like wood, and uses only a negligible amount of oxygen. Iron coal burns five times longer than an equal amount of wood but gives off just as much heat and light. It fetches prices as high as $10 per pound. A torch made with an iron coal tip burns for 5 hours and costs $10.

Mineralmites

These microscopic pests weaken stone in a way that is very difficult to detect. The mites pass through rock and stone, leaving it the consistency of chalk, barely able to support its own weight. This so-called "rock rot" can be spotted with a Survival (Plane of Earth) roll. A character crossing a floor with rock rot must make a successful DX-4 roll or fall through. A pit formed in this way extends 2dx5 feet deep and widens out to 2d+2 feet in diameter. Most of the stone becomes a fine dust that actually cushions the fall - calculate falling damage as a collision with a soft surface.

Pure Ore

Ores, even extraordinary ones, on the Material Plane have purer counterparts on the Elemental Plane of Earth. Items made of metal smelted from pure ore have DR twice higher than usual. +24 CF.

Silent Stones

Silent stones resemble pumice visually. They magically absorb all sound in a hex, rendering area completely silent. A silent stone only works when exposed directly to the air and does not function if places within a container of any kind. A silent stone has DR 1, HP 1, weight 0.05 lb, and costs $1,000. A silent stone removed from the Elemental Plane of Earth crumbles to worthless dust one month later.

Stoneshrooms

This chalky fungus can grow on any stony surface. These mushrooms are a source of two vital commodities: food and breathable air. Stoneshrooms feed off minerals in the rock, then spread spores in a puff of breathable air. Eating a stoneshroom is equivalent to a meal's worth of food. For 24 hours after eating a stoneshroom a creature has Breath-Holding 1. A stoneshroom remains fresh and useful for only one day after being picked. A fresh stoneshroom weight 0.1 lb and costs $10.

Elemental Plane of Fire

Ash Willow

This tree with dark red bark can reach 40 yards of height, feeding off the heat of lava pools. Ash willows continually smolder and rain ash all around them, eventually creating a unique ashen landscape. One treee can create 1 pound of ash each day for every 10 feey of its height. Roots spawns 1d/2 new trees each month. Ash affects movement in the same way snow does.

Cerulean Magma

Thought to be the hottest substance on the Elemental Plane of Fire, this bright blue lava also produces a highly corrosive green clouds of smoke. A pool of cerulean magma typically is roughly 6 yards in diameter. All damage dealt by heat and fire, including the damage of cerulean magma and the plane's fire, within 32 yards of a pool of cerulean magma gets a (2) armor divisor if it did not already have one. The green smoke created by a pool of cerulean magma covers a 12-yard-diameter area centered in the pool, dealing 1d+1 corrosion damage per second.

Ebony Mote

Ebony motes are storms of darkness and cold that appear as lines of dark shadows cast from the distance. An array of ebony motes covers an area roughly 120 yards in diameter and lasts 1d minutes. Ebony motes usually move in a straight line at Move 5. An ebony mote array cloaks the area within it in darkness impenetrable to normal vision and Infravision, and deals 1d non-incendiary burning damage  per second from extreme cold to everything within.

Ember Root

Elemental Plane of Fire is home to a strange, poisonous plant that looks like a burnt coconut (1d-1 toxic damage upon ingestion). However, the plant's roots hold a juice similar to natural water. This juice is immune to heat, staying at a warm but drinkable 70 degrees no matter its surroundings). This plant grows on any solid stone, but never on lava, and only in areas of extreme heat in excess of 300 degrees. A single ounce of ember root provides nourishment equivalent to a day's worth of water. A typical ember root holds 1d ounces of juice. On the Elemental Plane of Fire, fresh ember root is worth $50 per root while the juice is worth $10 per ounce.

Fyrite

Fyrite ore always feels cool to the touch. Veins of it form near pools of cerulean magma - the only substance a blacksmith can use to work it. Metal items made of fyrite have DR 30 against fire, but take double damage from cold. +9 CF.

Hardfire

Chunks of this red and orange mottled quartzlike rock weighing roughly a pound each can be found on the banks of cerulean magma pools. Holding a hardfire stone deals 1d-1 burning damage per second, so protection is required. When removed from the Elemental Plane of Fire, hardfire falls apart at a rate of 1 ounce per week. Hardfire stones have DR 3 and HP 1 per ounce. If reduced to 0 HP, it explodes, dealing 1d burning explosive damage per two ounces. Efreet merchants sometimes sell these stones on other planes for $80 per ounce.

Inferno Star

These tremendous yellow balls of flame with a radius of a mile or more emit an aura of calm, suppressing winds and sapping strength of those who come too close. An inferno star's draining power affect everyone regardless of Temperature Tolerance, DR against heat/fire, or Immunity to Noxious Fire Effects. Inferno stars move at Move 2 in a straight line until contacting something solid that is at least a quarter of their mass or larger, at which point they bounce in a new direction.

    Inferno Star Effects

    Distance from Surface             Effects

    -1 or more miles (inside)            As below but damage is 12d burn per second

    0 yards (surface)                         As below plus 6d burn damage per second

    >1 mile                                       HT-5 roll every minute or lose 2 FP and be blinded permanently

    1-10 miles                                  HT-1 roll every minute or lose 2 FP and be blinded permanently

    11-100 miles                               HT roll every minute or lose 1 FP and be blinded for 1d hours

Lambent Flames

Lambent flames are semi-translucent, flickering fields of purple fire ranging in size from a few square feet to dozens of miles. These oases are not permeated by the plane's heat, staying as a constant hot but bearable temperature of 120 degrees. Unfortunately, lambent flame fields are not stable, their size and shape changing almost constantly. Lambent flames are a magical effect that can be detected via Detect Magic.

Elemental Plane of Water

Amber Barnacles

Up to a foot in diameter each, these thin-shelled, golden barnacles grow in colonies of 2d creatures on almost anything, including ice and coral. Even a slightest touch sets off their defensive mechanism, dealing 1d-1 burning damage to everything in its hex and making everyone damages roll HT to avoid being physically stunned.

Brine Coral

This rust-colored coral is found floating in small pieces of less than 1 foot in diameter. It constantly releases a highly acidic solution into the water. Within 10 yards, everything takes 1d-2 corrosion damage per second; within 4 yards, everything takes 1d-1 corrosion damage per second; within 2 yards, everything taked 1d corrosion damage per second.

Chromatic Shells

These tiny translucent shells that can be found in the currents of the plane frequently change colors, sometimes seemingly at random and sometimes in responds to something. Chromatic shells change with the emotions of creatures nearest to them. These shells never have any inhabitants. Sages believe that the mollusks that produce these shells live on the Astral Plane until death, discarding their shells to the Elemental Plane of Water. These shells are popular and beautiful, costing $100 each.

Entangle Weed

This almost invisiblee seaweed traps victims like a giant net. This hazard can be noticed with a successful Survival (Plane of Water) roll. If a creature moves into a hex occupied by the entangle weed, it is grappled with ST 14. Each hex of entangle weed has DR 1 and HP 5, and it can only be damaged with cutting, burning, or corrosion attacks. A patch of entangle weed usually stretches about 200 yards in diameter and grows an additional 1d yards per day.

Fluidstone

In its natural state, fluidstone is a slimy, black tar. When heated to boiling temperatures, it hardens, appearing as a dark blue glass. Before it solidifies completely, it can be shaped like clay. In light, solid fluidstone appears to contain liquid inside. Armor made of fluidstone acts as normal steel armor, but each 25% of body coverage gives the wearer a +1 to Swimming due to its natural buoyancy. Solid fluidstone taken from water immediately evaporates. +2 CF.

Liquid Air

Spherical pockets of this rare liquid appear as massive air bubbles. Despite being a liquid, it allows air-breathing creatures to breathe normally inside; water-breathing creatures, however, cannot breathe it. If removed from water, liquid air immediately evaporates. Liquid air is a magical, unstable substance. Occasionally, pockets of liquid air simply dissipate.

Platinum Pearls

These silver-white pearls measure 2-3 inches across. Platinum pearls can absorb up to 10 points of electrical damage per inch of diameter, even if simply carried in a pocket. After absorbing their allotted amount of damage, they crumble to dust. A platinum pearl is worth $100 per inch. They degrade at the rate of 1 inch per week if removed from the Elemental Plane of Water.

Shiver Sludge

This mass of translucent crystalline-coated gray slime is of a spherical shape roughly 500 feet in diameter. It can detect heat sources, including warm-blooded creatures, within 1 mile and is automatically drawns toward them at Move 1. Shiver sludge has DR 20 against fire and cold. Shiver sludge can be detected with a Survival (Plane of Water) or Per-4 roll. A creature engulfed in shiver sludge must make a HT roll every second or lose FP. Treat FP lost to shiver sludge as FP lost to extreme cold for the purpose of recovery.

Thin Water

These bubbles of crystal-clear water appear in roughly spherical blobs about 500 feet in diameter. Water Move in areas of thin water is doubled. Areas of thin water usually form near a vortex connecting to the Positive Energy Plane, and slowly dissipate after a few years.