Weather Mastery (New)

[Power]

**Cost**: 4CP per weather type

**Activate**: 1PP per odd severity level; standard action

**Sustain**: per round/minute; standard action

**Range**: 100 ft. radius (centered on you)

You can manipulte weather to a lesser extent. You can only mauplate weather up to severty 3 and only change the weather by 3 levels (meaning if it was severty 2 cold and you warmed it up you could only make it severty 1 hot). It costs 1 PP less at levels 7 and 14.

This power works only when you are outdoors or in an extremely large space, like a covered football field.

### **Wind**

**Light Wind:** A gentle breeze, having little or no game effect.

**Moderate Wind:** A steady wind with a 50% chance of extinguishing small, unprotected flames, such as candles.

**Strong Wind:** Gusts that automatically extinguish unprotected flames (candles, torches, and the like). Such gusts impose a –2 penalty on ranged attack rolls and on Perception checks.

**Severe Wind:** In addition to automatically extinguishing any unprotected flames, winds of this magnitude cause protected flames (such as those of lanterns) to dance wildly and have a 50% chance of extinguishing these lights. Ranged weapon attacks and Perception checks are at a –4 penalty.

**Windstorm:** Powerful enough to bring down branches if not whole trees, windstorms automatically extinguish unprotected flames and have a 75% chance of blowing out protected flames, such as those of lanterns. Ranged weapon attacks are impossible, and even siege weapons have a –4 penalty on attack rolls. Perception checks that rely on sound are at a –8 penalty due to the howling of the wind.

**Hurricane-Force Wind:** All flames are extinguished. Ranged attacks are impossible (except with siege weapons, which have a –8 penalty on attack rolls). Perception checks based on sound are impossible: all characters can hear is the roaring of the wind. Hurricane-force winds often fell trees.

**Tornado:** All flames are extinguished. All ranged attacks are impossible (even with siege weapons), as are sound-based Perception checks. While natural winds of severity level 7 can result in a tornado, magically-altered winds of severity level 7 affects too small of an area to create this phenomenon. (Instead of being blown away [see Table: Wind], characters in close proximity to a tornado who fail their Fortitude saves are sucked toward the tornado. Those who come in contact with the actual funnel cloud are picked up and whirled around for 1d10 rounds, taking 6d6 points of damage per round, before being violently expelled (falling damage might apply). While a tornado’s rotational speed can be as great as 300 mph, the funnel itself moves forward at an average of 30 mph [roughly 250 feet per round]. A tornado uproots trees, destroys buildings, and causes similar forms of major destruction.)

**Table: Wind**

^ The siege weapon category includes ballista and catapult attacks as well as boulders tossed by giants.

^^ **Checked Size:** Creatures of this size or smaller are unable to move forward against the force of the wind unless they succeed on a DC 10 Strength check (if on the ground) or a DC 20 Fly check if airborne.

^^^ **Blown Away Size:** Creatures on the ground are knocked prone and rolled 1d4 × 10 feet, taking 1d4 points of nonlethal damage per 10 feet, unless they succeed at a DC 15 Strength check. Flying creatures are blown back 2d6 × 10 feet and take 2d6 points of nonlethal damage due to battering and buffeting, unless they succeed at a DC 25 Fly check.

Other Wind Effects:

**Duststorm:** When severity level 4 winds are created in a desert, it can create a duststorm, blowing fine grains of sand that obscure vision, smother unprotected flames, and can even choke protected flames (50% chance). At severity level 5, a duststorm deals 1d3 points of nonlethal damage each round to anyone caught out in the open without shelter and also poses a choking hazard (see Drowning, except that a character with a scarf or similar protection across her mouth and nose does not begin to choke until after a number of rounds equal to 10 + her Constitution score).

### **Cold**

Cold environments can deal either lethal or nonlethal cold damage to a creature. A creature dealt damage in this manner becomes fatigued (frostbitten), and cannot recover from fatigue or damage until warmed up. If a character takes an amount of nonlethal cold damage equal to her total hit points, any further damage from a cold environment is lethal cold damage.

Characters wearing a cold weather suit treat the Cold as if it were 1 level lower in severity, and may use the Survival skill to gain bonuses to saving throws against Cold. A large fire can be used to create an area of warmth in a cold environment. Cold deals damage according to Table: Cold.

**Table: Cold**

 4 (below 0° F)
 5 (below –20° F)
 6 (below -60° F)
 7 (below -120° F)

### **Heat**

Heat works very similarly to Cold. Hot environments can deal lethal or nonlethal fire damage to a creature. A creature dealt damage in this manner becomes fatigued (heatstroke), and cannot recover from fatigue or damage until cooled off (reaches shade, survives until nightfall, gets doused in water, and so forth). If a character takes an amount of nonlethal fire damage equal to her total hit points, any further damage from a hot environment is lethal fire damage.

Characters in heavy clothing or armor take a -4 penalty on their saves against Heat. Creatures may use the Survival skill to gain bonuses to saving throws against Heat. Heat deals damage according to Table: Heat.

**Table: Heat**

 4 (above 110° F)
 5 (above 140° F)
 6 (above 180° F)
 7 (above 212° F)

### **Precipitation**

Precipitation has the most severe interaction with the other weather categories, as the conditions change depending on the temperature and wind.

When combined with Cold severity 4 or higher, snow effects are added to rain effects. When combined with Wind severity 4 or higher, storm effects are added to the rain effects. When combined with both Cold severity 4 and Wind severity 4, this results in rain, snow, and storm effects. Mist and fog are the exceptions to this, as they only appear when rain is not combined with either snow nor storm.

Severity of the snow or storm effects depends on the severity of the Precipitation, not the severity of the Wind or Cold.

**Note:** While water freezes at Cold severity 3, magic cannot cause rain to instantly become snow as it falls until severity level 4, since the magical water/cold is only augmenting the natural process, not replacing it.
**Table: Precipitation Severity**

**Rain Effects**

**Mist:** Mist grants all creatures concealment from any creatures over 100 feet away (all attacks suffer a 20% miss chance).

**Fog:** The caster may create light rain or fog. If fog is chosen, it obscures all sight beyond 5 feet, including darkvision. Creatures 5 feet away have concealment.

**Other rain effects:** Beginning at severity level 4, rain has the same effect on fires, ranged attacks, and Perception checks as wind of equal severity level. This does not stack with the penalties provided by wind. The rain also cuts visibility ranges by half, resulting in an additional –4 penalty on Perception checks due to poor visibility. It rains about 1 inch per hour at severity 4, 2 inches per hour at severity level 5, 5 inches per hour at severity level 6, and 10 inches per hour at severity level 7.

 5 (heavy)
 6 (flash flood)
 7 (great flood)

**Snow Effects**

Snow causes squares to count as difficult terrain. This requires 24 hours of snow at severity level 1, 8 hours at severity level 2, 1 hour at severity level 3, and happens immediately at severity level 4. At severity level 5, snow obscures vision as fog does. It costs 4 squares of movement to enter a square covered with heavy snow (about 2 feet). This requires 24 hours at severity level 4, 8 hours at severity level 5, 1 hour at severity level 6, and happens immediately at severity level 7. Heavy snow accompanied by strong or severe winds might also result in snowdrifts 1d4 × 5 feet deep, especially in and around objects big enough to deflect the wind—a cabin or a large tent, for instance.

**Storm Effects**

Beginning at severity level 4, storms will randomly strike a square with lightning, dealing 4d8 electricity damage (Reflex half) to everything in or above that square. This happens once per minute. This damage increases by 2d8 for every severity level above 4, to a maximum of 10d8 at severity level 7.

### **Aridity**

As Heat is the opposite of Cold, Aridity is the opposite of Precipitation. If the Precipitation is lowered below step 1 of Precipitation, it becomes step 2 of Aridity. If the Aridity is lowered below step 1 of Aridity, it becomes step 2 of Precipitation. Water left in open air loses about an inch of height per day for every level of combined severity between Heat and Aridity

This becomes 2 inches per combined level at Aridity severity level 6, and 4 inches per combined level for Aridity severity level 7.

In normal conditions, a character can go without water for 1 day plus a number of hours equal to his Constitution score. After this time, the character must succeed at a Constitution check each hour (DC 10, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. Characters that take an amount of nonlethal damage equal to their total hit points begin to take lethal damage instead.

Beginning at severity level 2, all creatures suffer a penalty equal to the Aridity severity level to all saving throws against effects that would cause fatigue or exhaustion, as well as to saving throws made against thirst.

At Aridity severity level 3 creatures must drink twice as much water per day to stay healthy.

At severity level 4, the amount of time a character can go without water before they must begin attempting checks, as well as the time between checks, is cut in half (12 + 1/2 Constitution score hours, checks every 30 minutes). This time is cut in half again for each severity level above 4.

Even if they are drinking enough water, targets in areas of extreme magically-enhanced aridity still suffer terrible effects as the water in their bodies is constantly sucked up by the environment around them. Targets in areas of high aridity suffer the same chance of suffering nonlethal damage (from desiccation) and suffering fatigue (but not fire damage) as if they were in Heat of the same severity level. This does not stack with the penalties provided by Heat or Cold. However, if combined with Wind or Heat of severity level 4 or higher, the combined effects drain the energy from all living creatures, rendering them sickened for as long as they are within this environment.

Characters who have taken nonlethal damage due to desiccation or from a lack of food or water are fatigued. Nonlethal damage from thirst or starvation cannot be recovered until the character gets food or water, as needed, or until they receive magical healing.