TEXT: 1
  
  22
  Advanced Encounters:
  Terrain Toolbox
  Written by
  Matthew J. Hanson
  Cover Art by
  Caspar David Friedrich
  Interior Art by
  Joyce Maureira, Miguel Santos
  Edited by
  Sarah Burridge
  Advanced Encounters: Terrain Toolbox Published by Sneak Attack Press, Copyright 2011, 2012.
  Sneak Attack Press and the Sneak Attack Press logo trademarked by Sneak Attack Press.
  www.sneakattackpress.com
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  3
  Table of Contents
  Introduction  
  4
  Chapter 1: Building Terrain  
  5
  Chapter 2: Terrain Powers  
  8
   Table: Terrain Power Damage  
  9
  Chapter 3: Sample Terrain  
  10
   Sidebar: Starts Turn in or Willingly Enters  
  11
   Sidebar: Power Sources and Similar Powers  
  12
   Sidebar: Move in a Random Direction  
  14
   Sidebar: Number and Determine Randomly  
  15
   Sidebar: Magma  
  22
   Sidebar: Sample Variation  
  25
  Appendix 1: Terrain by Location  
  30
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  44
  Introduction:
  About This Book
  Welcome to Terrain Toolbox, the first of the Advanced 
  Encounters series. Like all books in the series, the book 
  provides advice and tools for the DM to create more 
  memorable encounters. Terrain Toolbox is designed to 
  increase creative use of terrain in your game. 
   
  The first chapter focuses on the process of creating 
  your own terrain and the design principles that were 
  used to create the sample terrains in the book. 
   
  The second chapter goes further, discussing terrain 
  powers, and how you can build them and use them in 
  your game. 
   
  The third chapter of the book includes nearly fifty 
  new sample terrains that you can easily drop into your 
  encounters, along with advice for using them, and ways 
  to modify the terrains.
  
  5
  Chapter 1:
  Building Terrain
  What is Terrain?
  Before we discuss how to use terrain, we should define 
  what terrain is. For our purposes, terrain is just about 
  everything that is not creatures or traps. Terrain usually 
  does not have an initiative, and typically does not attack 
  on its own (though it sometimes allows other creatures 
  to make attacks). 
   
  Terrain may move or damage creatures, but it is 
  not typically a threat outside of battle. A pool of acid 
  would be terrible for PCs to fall into, but unless they 
  are in a combat encounter, they can easily walk around 
  it. If a threat poses a danger on its own (a pool of acid 
  covered by a hidden trap door), it is most likely a trap, 
  rather than terrain (at least mechanically speaking).
  Why Use Terrain?
  There are a lot of reasons to incorporate terrain into 
  your encounters.
  Because it Makes Sense
  Almost no encounter can exist without terrain, as some 
  kind of terrain occurs as part of the environment. A bat-
  tle in a forest will include trees, a tavern brawl includes 
  tables and chairs, and a fight in a cave includes stalag-
  mites and cavern walls.
  Alter Difficulty
  You can use terrain to make encounters easier or more 
  difficult than the monster and trap XP total suggests. 
  Often this depends on how you pair monsters with ter-
  rain. For example, to make an encounter more difficult, 
  you might pair flaming oil (page 19) with fire elemen-
  tals. The elementals will shrug off the fire damage, but 
  the PCs will likely have to take damage or think care-
  fully about their positioning. On the other hand, if the 
  encounter includes swarms, you could make the fight 
  easier by including some terrain that allows the PCs 
  to make burst or blast attacks, such as exploding kegs 
  (page 15) or poisoncloud mushrooms (page 23).
   
  Some terrains can change the difficulty of any bat-
  tle for the side that has access to the terrain. Arrow slits 
  grant foes improved cover while they rain down arrows, 
  or one side might begin the encounter in control of a 
  healing font or magic circle. In these cases initial posi-
  tioning is important. Clever PCs might take advantage 
  of terrain that once benefited the enemy and turn it to 
  their own advantage.
  Provide Choices
  Terrain can keep encounters fresh by giving the player 
  characters additional choices. After many battles, PCs 
  may develop tried and true tactics that they employ in 
  every encounter. This helps the characters work effi-
  ciently, but it also creates the risk of monotonous battles.
   
  You can use terrain to encourage the PCs to try 
  new things, through both carrots and sticks. You might 
  use beneficial terrain to lure ranged characters into the 
  front, or include terrain powers that give the heroes ex-
  tra choices for how to use their standard action.
   
  Harmful terrain, on the other hand, might dis-
  courage characters from their normal tactics. A defend-
  er who likes to stand in the same square and keep op-
  ponents pinned down might change his mind when he 
  realizes that he is slowly sinking into the mud.
  Building Terrain
  When you create new terrain for your encounters, ask 
  yourself several questions:
  What is it?
  The first things to consider when building your terrain, 
  is what the terrain actually represents in the world of 
  the game. Think about what might be appropriate to the 
  environment where the encounter takes place. A wil-
  derness encounter might feature plants, while the ruins 
  of an ancient city might feature rubble or vestiges of an-
  cient magic.
  What does it do?
  While it can add richness to a setting to include details 
  that have no mechanical effect, for our purposes terrain 
  
  66
  should impact the game. It might be positive, negative, 
  or neutral. Below are a few things that terrain can do in 
  your encounters. These are some common terrain ef-
  fects, but not the only possibilities.
  Obstruction
  Obstructions are probably the most common type of 
  terrain. These are things that get in the characters’ way, 
  either by requiring additional squares of movement 
  (difficult terrain) or forcing the characters to make a 
  skill check (a narrow ledge) or by simply blocking their 
  way (a dungeon wall).
   
  For examples of obstructing terrain see: Crumbling 
  wall (page 13), giant’s shield (page 17), and pane of glass 
  (page 22).
  Alter Movement
  Terrain is not always difficult to move through, it can 
  affect movement in other ways. Some terrain might ac-
  tually make it easier for creatures to move, while other 
  terrain moves creatures automatically, or allows crea-
  tures to move in ways they normally cannot (such as 
  walls that creatures can walk up).
   
  For examples of terrain that alters movement see: 
  Conveyor belt (page 13), giant cog (page 16), and 
  thought flooring (page 27).
  Damage
  Some terrain simply deals damage to any creature that 
  enters the terrain or starts its turn within the terrain. 
  The damage is usually typed depending on the nature 
  of the terrain, and it usually deals 5 points of damage 
  per tier (5 damage for terrains level 1-10, 10 damage 
  for terrains level 11-20, and 15 damage for terrain levels 
  21-30).
   
  For examples of damaging terrain, see: Acid rain 
  (page 11), chaos mote (page 12), and rolling toxic cloud 
  (page 25).
  Negative Status Effect
  Some kinds of terrain impose status effects on the char-
  acter, such as slowing them, making them vulnerable to 
  a damage type, or inflicting a penalty to attacks. How-
  ever terrain should rarely inflict the daze condition, and 
  almost never make a character stunned, dominated, or 
  helpless.
   
  For examples of terrain with negative status effects, 
  see: Grasping claws (page 18), petrifying tree (page 23), 
  and sleep poppies (page 25). 
  Boon
  This terrain provides a bonus to characters that stand 
  within it or adjacent to it. This might be something as 
  simple as a small bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, de-
  fense, skill checks and the like.
   
  For examples of terrain that provides boons, see: 
  Blood mage’s circle (page 11), god’s blood (page 17), 
  and unholy altar (page 28).
  Healing
  Some terrain can heal creatures. This might require an 
  action, or it might happen automatically for everybody 
  in the area. Some terrain only heals specific kinds of 
  creatures, most frequently either living creatures or un-
  dead.
   
  For examples of terrain that provides healing, see: 
  Healing font (page 18), and unhallowed ground (page 
  27).
  Powers
  Some terrain has powers that heroes and villains can 
  use. These may be attack powers or utility powers, and 
  can have a wide range of effects. For more on terrain 
  powers, see Chapter 2: Terrain Powers.
   
  For examples of terrains with powers, see: Crum-
  bling wall (page 13), lift vine (page 19), and rug (page 
  25).
  Combination
  Many terrains have more than one effect. Just as difficult 
  terrain is the most common type of terrain, it is also the 
  most common to be combined with other types.
   
  For examples of combined terrain, see: Logs floating 
  down stream (page 21), and giant cogs (page 16).
  Does the Terrain Change?
  While most terrain remains the same during the course 
  of the encounter, there is no requirement that it must. 
  Indeed, terrain that changes can provide more dynamic 
  battles that cause PCs and their players to make new 
  choices.
  Activated
  This type of terrain begins with no or limited effect on 
  the battlefield. During the encounter, PCs or their en-
  emies may activate the terrain to receive its full ben-
  efit. Methods of activation might include skill checks, 
  spending healing surges, or simply spending an action. 
  It is typically a minor action to activate terrain.
  
  7
   
  For examples of activated terrain, see: Variation of 
  circle of spirit binding (page 12), and variations of heal-
  ing fount (page 18).
  Destroyable
  Creatures are able to destroy this terrain. For some ter-
  rain, they might simply need to inflict a certain amount 
  of damage, or they might need to deal damage of a cer-
  tain type. Other terrain might require a skill check to 
  destroy, while still other terrain might be automatically 
  destroyed by spending the appropriate action. Depend-
  ing on the nature of the terrain, creatures might be able 
  to destroy it all at once, or destroy it a few squares at 
  a time. Terrain that grants attack powers might be de-
  stroyed after making the attack.
   
  For examples of destroyable terrain, see: Encroach-
  ing gloom (page 14), god’s blood (page 17), and load 
  bearing pillar (page 20).
  Triggered
  Triggered terrain changes in response to another ac-
  tion. This might happen when a certain kind of creature 
  enters the square, or the terrain takes a certain kind of 
  damage. Triggered terrain can be among the most in-
  teresting as PCs and their foes compete to shape the ter-
  rain as they choose.
   
  For an example of triggered terrain, see: highly 
  flammable oil (page 19).
  Random
  This terrain changes randomly. Frequently, the GM will 
  make a die roll at the end of a combat round to deter-
  mine how the terrain changes in the coming round. 
  Random terrain keeps the PCs guessing, and prevents 
  them from knowing exactly what will happen on the 
  next turn.
   
  For examples of terrain with random effects, see: 
  Chaos mote (page 12), fire swamp (page 15), and light-
  ning pillars (page 20).
  Does the Terrain Move?
  Most terrain stays in one place during the battle, but 
  some types of terrain do not. Such terrain encourages 
  the PCs to move around the battlefield, either to avoid 
  hazardous effects, or to follow beneficial ones.
  Moving Terrain
  This terrain moves about the battlefield during the en-
  counter. It might move along a defined path, move at 
  random, or it might be attracted to or repelled by cer-
  tain creatures or objects (such as terrain that moves to-
  wards the nearest living creature).
   
  For examples of moving terrain, see: Dimensional 
  breech (page 14), and rolling toxic cloud (page 25).
  Spreading
  This terrain might start relatively small, but it grows 
  bigger as the combat progresses. It might spread a cer-
  tain number of squares per turn, it might double in size, 
  or it might spread into any adjacent square.
   
  For an example of spreading terrain see: Encroach-
  ing gloom (page 14).
  Portable Terrain
  Portable terrain does not automatically move, but crea-
  tures (whether PC or NPC) can move it. This may or 
  may not require a skill check. Creatures might move 
  it directly, either by pushing or pulling on it (Athletics 
  check), or by manipulating it in some other way (Ar-
  cana, Thievery, etc check). Moving the terrain this way 
  is either a minor or move action (it should only use a 
  standard action when moving the terrain also makes it 
  attack).
   
  For examples of portable terrain see: Floating stones 
  (page 16), giant’s shield (page 17), and mine cart (page 
  22).
  Reactive Terrain
  Reactive terrain is similar to portable terrain in that 
  creatures on the battlefield affect how the terrain moves, 
  but not by acting on it directly. Instead, the terrain 
  moves in response to something such as suffering a par-
  ticular kind of damage, or using a power from a partic-
  ular power source. Since the terrain always reacts, this 
  kind of terrain can be used either to threaten characters 
  or to give them an extra tactical advantage.
   
  For examples of reactive terrain see: chaos mote 
  (page 12), and magnetic spike block (page 21).
  
  88
  Chapter 2:
  Terrain Powers
  Terrain powers are similar to other powers, such as 
  those provided by magic items or character classes. 
  Terrain powers are tied to specific terrain and fre-
  quently require the PCs to be in a specific square to use 
  them.
   
  Terrain powers generally come in three varieties: 
  attacks, movement, and other.
  Attack
  Attack powers let a character make an attack against 
  one or more targets. They frequently require a standard 
  action to use, though occasionally require a minor ac-
  tion. Attack powers are the most complex to create, so 
  for more details, see Building Attack Powers following.
   
  For examples of terrain with attack powers, see: Bal-
  lista (page 11), and mine cart (page 22).
  Movement
  Movement powers provide alternative forms of move-
  ment, such as swinging on a rope, or flying through the 
  air. These forms of movement should be either faster 
  than PCs can normally move, or grant a movement 
  type they do not possess (such as flight, or teleport). 
  Not surprisingly, these powers typically require a move 
  action.
   
  For examples of terrain with movement powers, see: 
  Flight stone (page 16), and lift vine (page 19).
  Other
  This category is a catch all for powers that do not grant 
  an attack or movement. These might grant a bonus 
  to future attacks, heal the character, or grant the PC 
  elemental resistance. These powers generally require a 
  minor action.
   
  For examples of terrains with other powers, see: 
  Healing font (page 18), and unholy altar (page 28).
  Building Attack Powers
  Terrain attack powers are slightly more complex than 
  other terrain powers, but the following guidelines 
  should make building them straightforward.
  
  9
  Level
  The level of a terrain power determines the attack and 
  damage of the power. The level of the terrain power 
  should be roughly equal to the PCs’ level, through you 
  may raise it by a few levels to create more powerful ter-
  rain, or weaken it by a few levels to make the terrain less 
  powerful.
  Attack
  The attack bonus of terrain powers depends on the level 
  and the defense it targets. For attacks that target AC, the 
  power’s attack bonus is five plus the terrain’s level (L + 
  5). For attacks that target Fortitude, Reflex, or Will, the 
  power has a bonus of three plus the terrain’s level (L + 
  3).
  Damage
  Damage dealt by terrain powers may be low, medium, 
  or high. The damage category depends on factors such 
  as whether the power can be reused, what other condi-
  tion the power imposes, and whether it targets multiple 
  foes. Single use powers deal more damage than those 
  that creatures can reuse at-will, while those with no ad-
  ditional effects deal more damage than those that inflict 
  powerful conditions. Finally, powers that target mul-
  tiple foes deal less damage than those that hit a single 
  target.
   
  Terrain powers with low damage attacks deal an 
  average amount of damage equal to the terrain’s level 
  plus eight (L + 8). For medium damage, increase this by 
  twenty five percent (1.25 * [L + 8]). For high damage, 
  increase the low damage number by fifty percent (1.5 
  * [L + 8]). The chart below gives some sample damages 
  per level. To increase randomness, lower the static bo-
  nus and increase the number of dice or the dice type. 
  For less randomness, increase the static number and de-
  crease the number of dice or dice type.
   
  (Note that average damages per die are: d4 = 2.5, 
  d6 = 3.5, d8 = 4.5, d10 = 5.5, d12 = 6.5, d20 = 10.5)
  Conditions and Effects
  Terrain powers frequently have effects other than dam-
  age. They might inflict status conditions like dazing or 
  immobilizing. Terrain powers also frequently reshape 
  the terrain, particularly for single use terrain. For 
  example a terrain power that lets a hero topple a statue 
  may create difficult terrain where the statue fell.
  Level
  Low 
  Damage
  Medium 
  Damage
  High 
  Damage
  1 
  1d10 + 4 
  2d6 + 4 
  2d8 + 4
  2
  1d10 + 5 
  2d6 + 5 
  2d8 + 6
  3
  1d10 + 6 
  2d6 + 7 
  2d8 + 7
  4 
  2d6 + 5 
  2d8 + 6 
  2d10 + 7
  5
  2d6 + 6 
  2d8 + 7 
  2d10 + 8
  6
  2d6 + 7 
  2d8 + 8 
  2d10 + 10
  7
  2d8 + 6 
  2d10 + 8 
  3d8 + 11
  8
  2d8 + 7 
  2d10 + 9 
  3d8 + 12
  9
  2d8 + 8 
  2d10 + 10 
  3d8 + 13
  10
  2d10 + 7 
  3d6 + 12 
  3d10 + 11
  11
  2d10 + 8 
  3d6 + 13 
  3d10 + 12
  12
  3d6 + 10 
  3d8 + 12 
  4d6 + 16
  13
  3d6 + 11 
  3d8 + 13 
  4d6 + 17
  14
  3d8 + 9 
  3d10 + 11 
  4d8 + 15
  15
  3d8 + 10 
  3d10 + 12 
  4d8 + 16
  16
  3d8 + 11 
  3d10 + 14 
  4d8 + 18
  17
  3d8 + 12 
  3d10 + 15 
  4d10 + 16
  18
  3d10 + 10 
  4d8 + 14 
  4d10 + 17
  19
  3d10 + 11 
  4d8 + 16 
  4d10 + 18
  20
  3d10 + 12 
  4d8 + 17 
  6d6 + 21
  21
  3d10 + 13 
  4d8 + 18 
  6d6 + 22
  22
  4d6 + 16 
  4d10 + 15 
  6d8 + 18
  23
  4d6 + 17 
  4d10 + 17 
  6d8 + 19
  24 
  4d6 + 18 
  4d10 + 18 
  6d8 + 21
  25
  4d6 + 19 
  4d10 +19 
  6d8 + 22
  26
  4d8 + 16 
  6d6 + 21 
  6d10 + 18
  27
  4d8 + 17 
  6d6 + 23 
  6d10 + 19
  28
  4d8 + 18 
  6d8 + 18 
  6d10 + 21
  29
  4d8 + 19 
  6d8 +19 
  6d10 + 22
  30
  4d10 +18 
  6d8 + 20 
  6d10 +23
  
  10
  10
  Chapter 3:
  Sample Terrain
  This chapter presents many sample terrains built using 
  ideas presented earlier in this book.
  Reading Sample Terrain
  Terrains presented in this book use the following for-
  matting. Not all terrains have all these components. 
  Name and Sample Level: This lists the name of the ter-
  rain and the sample level. The sample level determines 
  the sample stats for the terrain, including the difficulty 
  of knowledge checks, and the attack and damage of any 
  terrain powers. The sample level is only a suggestion. 
  You can scale any of these terrains to any level.
   
  In most cases, terrain in your encounters should 
  be within a few levels of your PCs’ level.
  Flavor Text: This gives a brief description of how the 
  terrain appears.
  Set Up: This describes how to set up the terrain in 
  your encounters. It includes how big the terrain is, and 
  whether it is uniform or has several different parts.
  Knowledge: This lists what skills checks characters can 
  make to realize the effects of the terrain. Each entry lists 
  a DC that corresponds to the terrain’s sample level. For 
  different levels, consult the Difficulty by Level table in 
  your core rules book. Unless otherwise noted, a single 
  success against the target DC lets the PC know all the 
  terrain’s effects. Some terrain effects are so obvious that 
  PCs automatically know what they do.
  Effect: This describes the effects the terrain has on game 
  play. Any numbers given in parenthesis and italics are 
  specifics for the sample level chosen for the terrain.
  Movement: If the terrain moves, this describes how it 
  does so. Unless otherwise noted, terrain moves at the 
  end of the combat round. If the terrain does not have a 
  movement entry, it does not move.
  Terrain Powers: Some terrains also include powers in 
  their entry. These powers are formatted the same as 
  class powers. Consult your core rulebook for more in-
  formation.
  Advice
  In addition to their game statistics, this book also con-
  tains information on how you can use terrain in you 
  
  11
  game. All entries contain a section on encounter build-
  ing, but not all contain Variations: and reskinning.
  Encounter Building: This gives advice on how you 
  might include the terrain in your encounters, including 
  how to place it, what kind of foes the PCs might fight 
  on it, and—in some cases—what story implications it 
  could have.
  Variation: This describes how you can tweak the me-
  chanics of the terrain to have slightly different encoun-
  ters.
  Reskinning: Unlike Variations: that change the me-
  chanics of the terrain, reskinning gives suggestions on 
  how to keep the mechanics the same, but change the 
  description of the terrain to use it in another context.
  Sample Terrain, Listed  
  Alphabetically
  Acid Rain (Sample Level 12)
  The rain has a greenish tint. As it falls, it burns your 
  skin.
  Knowledge: Easy (DC 14) Arcana or Nature check.
  Setup: Acid rain is normally a large effect that deals 
  damage to anybody that is not under some kind of shel-
  ter.
  Effect: Any creature who starts in or willingly enters a 
  square of acid rain takes 5/tier acid damage. 
  Encounter Building: Because acid rain affects nearly 
  anybody in the open, combats with acid rain should fea-
  ture sections of the battle map both sheltered from the 
  rain, and open to it. Perhaps there are multiple build-
  ings, and heroes must brave the rain in order to reach 
  enemy enclaves. As acid rain is a weather condition (al-
  beit a magical one), it may start or end during the midst 
  of battle.
  Reskinning: You can easily substitute another element 
  for acid, such as a rain of fire or life draining necrotic 
  mist.
  Ballista (Sample Level 8)
  A siege weapon, like a massive crossbow, remains on the 
  battlefield.
  Skill: Automatic
  Set Up: Each ballista occupies a two by two square (as 
  a large creature).
  Effect: A ballista is difficult terrain. In addition, a char-
  acter occupying the ballista’s square can make a ballista 
  attack.
  Ballista Attack (Sample Level 8)
  You fire a bolt from the powerful siege weapon.
  Rechargeable (Standard action to load a bolt)
  Standard Action Ranged 30/60
  Attack: Level + 5 vs. AC (+13 vs. AC)
  Hit: High damage (3d8 + 12)
  Encounter Building: Ballistae are often placed in de-
  fensive positions on the battlefield, either with other 
  blocking or difficult terrain, or on higher ground. One 
  very effective use of ballista terrain is to begin with a 
  ballista under enemy control, but allow the possibility 
  for heroes to capture it.
  Reskinning: The ballista statistics can easily be used to 
  represent any kind of large battlefield weapon. These 
  might be another siege weapon, like a catapult or can-
  non, or a magical device like a lightning hurler.
  Blood Mage’s Circle (Sample Level 13)
  This arcane circle appears to be painted in blood.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 20) Arcana.
  Setup: A blood mage’s circle may occupy a square be-
  tween two to five squares on a side.
  Effect: When a creature standing in the circle uses an 
  arcane or similar power, he can choose to spend a heal-
  Starts Turn In or Willingly Enters
  One challenge of damaging terrain is lowering the 
  threat of PC abuse while still maintaining the terrain 
  as a credible threat. When terrain damages any crea-
  ture who enters the terrain, some PCs exploit forced 
  movement to push the enemy in and out of the terrain 
  repeatedly and argue that the foe should take damage 
  every time. When terrain only damages creatures if 
  they end their turn there, it allows PCs and monsters 
  alike to run across the terrain with impunity, lessening 
  some of its impact.
   
  Most of the damaging terrain in this book uses 
  the phrase “starts its turn in or willingly enters.” The 
  intent is that creatures in the terrain take damage from 
  it exactly once each round. If they are pushed in and 
  out repeatedly, that is not “willingly entering,” but run-
  ning through it to reach your foe is. Forced movement 
  still serves a purpose, as the an enemy forced into dan-
  gerous terrain suffers damage as soon as it starts its 
  turn.
   
  The real key, however, is that the DM should use 
  common sense when adjudicating damaging terrain. 
  If you think a different wording would be more appro-
  priate, feel free to change to suit you needs.
  
  12
  12
  ing surge. He does not receive any hit points. Instead, he 
  enhances his power in one of the following ways:
  	
  •	Double	the	range	of	the	power.
  	
  •	Increase	the	area	of	a	burst	by	1	or	a	blast	by	2.
  	
  •	Roll	twice	for	the	attack	roll	and	use	the	better	
  result (applies only to one target).
  	
  •	Reroll	any	damage	dice	that	result	in	a	1	or	2	until	
  the die result is a 3 or higher.
  Encounter Building: Blood mage’s circles provide ad-
  ditional power for a price. They are best used when the 
  PCs face powerful foes and the heroes might need an 
  extra edge. Enemy spell casters can also use of the circle. 
  Remember that, by default, NPCs have 1 healing surge 
  per tier, though you might wave the surge requirement 
  for NPCs.
  Variations: You can easily change the benefits of the 
  blood mage’s circle, making them more or less power-
  ful. For truly powerful magic, you might increase the 
  number of surges a target spends. For example, for three 
  surges, the caster might automatically score a critical hit 
  against one target of the spell.
  Reskinning: A blood mage’s circle might affect divine 
  powers as a circle dedicated to a god of pain and suf-
  fering.
  Chaos Mote (Sample Level 21)
  A two-foot-wide whirling mass spews fire, lighting, and 
  frost.
  Setup: Each chaos mote occupies one square.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 26) Arcana.
  Effect: Any creature that willingly enters or starts its 
  turn in a square adjacent to the chaos mote takes 5/
  tier damage type. Any creature that willingly enters the 
  chaos mote’s square or starts its turn there takes 10/tier 
  damage of a random type. To determine the type, roll 
  1d6.
   
  1 = Acid damage, 2 = Cold damage, 3 = Fire dam-
  age, 4 = Lightning damage, 5 = Necrotic damage, 6 = 
  Psychic damage.
  Movement: Any time a creature uses an arcane power 
  or similar power (see boxed text on page 12),the chaos 
  mote is pulled 3 squares towards the creature that used 
  the power.
  Encounter Building: As the name implies, chaos motes 
  adds an element of chaos to the battlefield. By high lev-
  els, most characters have at least some kind of energy 
  resistance, and a chaos mote will keep them guessing if 
  they will be able to shrug off the damage.
   
  Chaos motes are most effective when at least one 
  side of the battle has an arcane caster.
  Variations: As written, chaos motes inflict one of six 
  damage types, but you could add or subtract types from 
  this list. You could also have the mote attracted to pow-
  er sources other than arcane. For example, a chaos mote 
  in the realm of a storm god might be attracted to divine 
  magic and deal necrotic, radiant, thunder, or lightning 
  damage.
  Circle of Spirit Binding (Sample Level 10)
  A magical circle decorated with religious symbols glows 
  on the floor.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 18) Arcana or Religion.
  Set Up: Each circle of spirit binding occupies a square 
  from two to eight squares on each side.
  Effect: A creature with resist insubstantial loses that 
  property while inside the circle.
  Encounter Building: A circle of spirit binding is meant 
  to aid characters when battling insubstantial creatures. 
  To provide the PCs with an interesting tactical choice, 
  you might place the circle of spirit binding in a far away 
  or even dangerous part of the battlefield.
  Variations: You may require the PCs to activate the 
  circle of spirit binding before its effect comes into play. 
  This could be a single check (moderate Religion, or dif-
  ficult Arcana or Nature), a skill challenge, or you may 
  require a check every round to keep the circle active.
  Reskinning: The idea of having a certain area strip a 
  foes defense can be transferred to other creatures and 
  powers. For example, a circle of silver might prevent a 
  lycanthrope from regenerating.
  Conducting Vein (Sample Level 6)
  The metallic vein stretches across the cavern floor.
  Knowledge: Easy (DC 11) Dungeoneering or Nature.
  Set Up: Conducting veins are typically a line of contig-
  uous squares that stretches from 4 to 10 squares long.
  Effect: When using a melee or ranged attack with the 
  lightning keyword, a creature can choose to target a 
  Power Sources and Similar Powers
  Many types of terrain in this book refer to powers 
  from a powers source, “or similar power.” This is be-
  cause unlike player characters, monster powers do not 
  list a power source. It is left up to the DM’s discretions 
  as to whether a monster’s power is similar to a partic-
  ular source. For example, the DM might decide that 
  a goblin hexer’s powers are similar to arcane powers, 
  while an angel of valor’s powers might be similar to the 
  divine power source.
  
  13
  square of conducting vein if it could legally target a 
  creature in that square. Treat each creature standing on 
  the conducting vein as though it were a target of the 
  attack. The attacker does not need line of sight to the 
  targets, only to a square of conducting vein. If a power 
  allows the attacker to target multiple targets, targeting 
  a creature on the vein and the vein itself only results in 
  one attack on the creature.
  Encounter Building: Conducting veins give creatures 
  that can use lightning powers an extra edge. It not only 
  allows these creatures to turn a single creature attack 
  into a multi-target attack, it also creates the possibility 
  to target creatures who would otherwise be untargeta-
  ble (if the vein bends around a corner, for example).
  Variations: To reduce the power of a conducting vein, 
  you might limit the number of squares along the vein 
  that the electrical attack can travel, or you might say 
  that only the creature nearest to the targeted square is 
  struck.
  Reskinning: Magical substances might channel other 
  energy types. Psionic resonate crystals might conduct 
  psychic damage, while elemental ice could channel cold 
  damage.
  Conveyor Belt (Sample Level 7)
  The floor begins to slowly move below your feet.
  Knowledge: Automatic
  Set Up: Conveyor belts are normally only one to four 
  squares wide, but may be very long. They typically go 
  in a straight line, but occasionally bend. When build-
  ing your encounter, choose a direction for the conveyor 
  belt.
  Effect: At the end of each round, any creature on the 
  conveyor belt is moved 4 squares along the conveyor 
  belt. This movement does not provoke opportunity at-
  tacks.
  Encounter Building: Conveyor belts are most effective 
  when there is something bad at the end of the conveyor 
  belt, such as a terrible trap, or massive saw blade. You 
  can raise the stakes even more by having an innocent 
  victim trapped on the conveyor belt.
  Variations: You can increase the speed of the conveyor 
  belt to make it more dangerous, or decrease the speed to 
  make it less threatening.
  Reskinning: The conveyor belt can be any terrain that 
  moves the characters at a fixed rate, such as a powerful 
  wind or a magic floor.
  Crumbling Wall (Sample Level 12)
  The ancient wall seems as though a strong push might 
  topple it.
  Knowledge: Easy (DC 14) Dungeoneering.
  Setup: The topple wall terrain power assumes that each 
  segment of the wall is 5 squares long.
  Effect: A crumbling wall is blocking terrain. It is an 
  easy (DC 14) Athletics check to climb the wall, but if 
  the creature rolls a natural 1, he accidentally brings 
  down the wall. This triggers the topple wall power and 
  the blast includes the triggering creature.
   
  A creature adjacent to the wall may use the topple 
  wall power.
  Topple Wall (Sample Level 12)
  The wall crumbles, covering all in its path.
  Single Use
  Check: The character must make a moderate 
  Athletics check (DC 19). Alternatively, the wall 
  topples as a free action if a character deals thun-
  der damage to it equal to the terrain’s level (12).
  Standard Action  
  Close blast 5 (special)
  Special: One entire edge of the blast must be 
  adjacent to the wall.
  Target: All creatures in blast.
  Attack: Level + 3 vs. Reflex (+15 vs. Reflex)
  Hit: Medium damage (3d8 + 12) and the target is 
  knocked prone and restrained (save ends). The 
  target cannot stand until it saves against being 
  restrained.
  Miss: Half damage and the target is not knocked 
  prone or restrained.
  Effect: The wall is destroyed. The area of the 
  blast is filled with difficult terrain.
  Encounter Building: Crumbling walls are primarily in-
  tended to aid the PCs. They are best used against large 
  numbers of enemies, particularly minions. It is possi-
  ble to include a crumbling wall for a brute monster to 
  demonstrate how strong the foe is.
  Variations: The terrain power of this wall assumes a 
  segment of wall 5 squares long. You could easily change 
  this to make the wall longer or shorter; however, past 
  a certain length, it makes more sense to use multiple 
  lengths of crumbling wall.
  Reskinning: A crumbling wall can easily be made into 
  anything that a hero might knock onto a foe, such as a 
  bookshelf or statue.
  
  14
  14
  Dimensional Breech (Sample Level 25)
  There seems to be a bend in space, showing several differ-
  ent parts of the room at once.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 29) Arcana.
  Setup: A dimensional breech occupies 1 square.
  Effect: A character that enters the dimensional breech’s 
  square is teleported 1d6/tier squares in a random direc-
  tion (see page 14).
  Movement: Each round, the dimensional breech moves 
  1d6 squares in a random direction. If it passes through 
  a creature’s space, that creature is teleported as though it 
  entered the dimensional breech’s square.
  Encounter Building: Dimensional breeches add a bit of 
  randomness to the encounter, especially in relation to 
  position. They are most relevant when many creatures 
  are on the battlefield, as this increases the odds that 
  somebody will fall through it. To increase the danger of 
  the dimensional breech, you can include other danger-
  ous terrain such as cliffs or pools of acid. If the random 
  movement takes the breech off the battlefield, a new one 
  can appear in the center of the battle.
   
  While a dimensional breech might initially seem 
  to be something to avoid, clever (or desperate) creatures 
  might intentionally step through, such as a mage hop-
  ing to escape the raging barbarian.
  Variations: As written, the dimensional breech moves 
  randomly, but its movement could follow a pattern, ei-
  ther being attracted to or repelled by certain kinds of 
  creatures or power sources.
  Encroaching Gloom (Sample Level 12)
  A chill fills your body as you pass through the shadows.
  Skills: Moderate (DC 20) Religion to identify the effect.
  Difficult Religion (DC 28) to know how to destroy it.
  Set Up: Begin with one or more squares of encroaching 
  gloom, which may or may not be adjacent to each other.
  Effect: Any creature in a square of encroaching gloom 
  gains vulnerable 5/tier necrotic and psychic. Whenev-
  er a creature regains hit points while on encroaching 
  gloom, he regains only half the normal amount.
   
  Anytime a creature uses a blast or burst power 
  with the radiant keyword, any square of encroaching 
  doom in the area becomes normal terrain. Any time a 
  melee or ranged attack with a radiant keyword targets a 
  creature, any square of encroaching doom in the target’s 
  space becomes regular terrain.
  Movement: At the end of each round, additional squares 
  of encroaching gloom appear adjacent to any square 
  currently containing encroaching gloom. There is one 
  new square of gloom for each initial square. Typically 
  new squares of gloom appear as close to living creatures 
  as possible.
  Encounter Building: Remember that the initial num-
  ber of squares of encroaching gloom also determines 
  how fast it spreads. Naturally, more squares of gloom 
  increase danger. The size of the battlefield also helps de-
  termine the number of initial squares. For an average 
  battle, you can use about 1 square of encroaching gloom 
  for every eight squares of the battlefield.
   
  Since encroaching gloom instills vulnerability to 
  necrotic and psychic damage, it is best to combine it 
  with creatures that deal these kinds of damage. Undead 
  and some aberrant creatures are natural matches.
  Reskinning: Changing the damage types involved with 
  encroaching gloom may change what it represents. For 
  example, astral mist might bestow fire and radiant vul-
  nerability and is destroyed by necrotic.
  Move in a Random Direction
  Some terrains in this book move in a random direc-
  tion. You can easily do this by roll-
  ing an eight-sided die. Before you 
  roll, determine which direction is 
  going to be 1, and use the follow-
  ing chart to determine which di-
  rection corresponds to the num-
  ber rolled.
  
  15
  Exploding Keg (Sample Level 2)
  The wooden keg is filled to the brim with black dust.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 13) Arcana or Dungeoneer-
  ing.
  Setup: Each exploding keg occupies one square.
  Effect: These kegs are difficult terrain and provide cov-
  er. Kegs can be targeted as though they were creatures 
  (including by close and area attacks). Any keg that suf-
  fers 5 or more points of fire damage explodes, activating 
  the keg explosion power.
  Movement: Creatures can pick up a keg as a minor 
  action and carry it to any square. Alternatively, a crea-
  ture may push a keg with a moderate Athletics (DC 13) 
  check. This pushes the keg 1 square, plus an additional 
  square for every five points by which check beats the 
  DC.
  Encounter Building: As exploding kegs require fire to 
  ignite them, one or both sides of the fight should be able 
  to deal fire damage, preferably at a range (since hitting 
  them up close is dangerous). If you are planning to in-
  corporate exploding kegs in the near future and want 
  to make it easy for your PCs to blow them up, you can 
  hand out a flaming weapon slightly in advance.
   
  To add an impending danger, you can combine an 
  exploding kegs with a long trail of highly flammable oil 
  (page 19). A foe lights a square of oil at the far end of the 
  trail, and it creeps a square closer to the keg until there 
  is a loud kaboom.
   
  Finally, be careful when placing the explosive kegs, 
  and note that placing them close together might result 
  in a massive chain reaction.
  Variations: To add an extra element of chaos, you can 
  have the keg explosion fill a close burst that you deter-
  mine randomly (probably 1d3 or 1d4).
  Fire Swamp (Sample Level 15)
  You hear a distinct gurgling noise and then see the swamp 
  erupt in flame.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 22) Nature.
  Set Up: Place several squares of fire swamp in swamp 
  terrain. Assign each square a number.
  Effect: Fire swamp is generally placed in swamp terrain, 
  and is thus difficult terrain. At the beginning of the en-
  counter, all of the squares of fire swamp are inert.
   
  Each round randomly determines one square of 
  fire swamp. This square begins bubbling and making a 
  strange noise. On the next round, that square erupts in 
  flame. Any creature who willingly enters the square or 
  starts its turn there takes 10 /tier points of fire damage. 
  Any character who willingly enters or starts in an adja-
  cent square takes 5/tier points of fire damage. The flame 
  lasts for one round (and a new one erupts the next).
  Encounter Building: Like most damaging terrain, fire 
  swamps work well with enemies that can force move-
  ment. They also can work well with creatures that are 
  particularly vulnerable or resistant to fire.
  Variations: If you have many squares of fire swamp, you 
  can have more than one erupt each turn. You can also 
  have the eruption square move either randomly, or be 
  drawn to a creature.
  Reskinning: You can easily change the fire swamp to 
  be a vent of steam inside a volcano or a jet of flame on 
  another plane. If you change the damage type, it might 
  also become a static discharge in an alchemist’s lair or a 
  freezing blast in the ice giant jarl’s palace.
  Keg Explosion (Sample Level 2)
  The keg explodes in a burst of fire.
  Single Use
  Free Reaction  
   
  Close burst 2
  Trigger: The keg suffers 5 points of fire damage 
  from one attack, or any ongoing fire damage.
  Targets: All creatures in burst.
  Attack: Level +3 vs. Reflex (+5 vs. Reflex)
  Hit: High fire damage. (2d8 + 6 fire damage) and 
  the target is knocked prone.
  Miss: Half damage and target is not knocked 
  prone.
  Effect: Destroy the keg.
  Number and Determine Randomly
  Several kinds of terrain ask you to number the ter-
  rain that you set out and then at some point you will 
  determine randomly which specific terrain activates. 
  In these cases it is simplest to set out a number that 
  corresponds to a die type, and then roll that die to de-
  termine which activates. (For example, if you have six 
  squares of fire swamp [page 15], number them 1-6 and 
  each round roll 1d6).
   
  With some creativity however, you can find a way 
  to make nearly any number work. If you really want 
  seven lightning pillars (because seven is a holy num-
  ber to the god of lightning in your world) you could 
  roll 1d8 and reroll any result of an 8 until it comes up 
  as another number.
  
  16
  16
  Flight Stone (Sample Level 16)
  Wind seems to blow up from this stone, filling the air with 
  flotsam and jetsam.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 22) Arcana.
  Setup: Flight stones may occupy any number of square, 
  from a single square to the whole battlefield.
  Effect: A character on a square of flight stone can use 
  the flight from the stone power.
  Flight from the Stone (Sample Level 16)
  You leap from the stone and find that its magic 
  carries you into the air.
  At-will
  Move Action  
   Personal
  Effect: A creature standing on the stone may fly 
  a number of squares equal to its speed. If it does 
  not end this movement on a horizontal surface, 
  it falls.
  Encounter Building: Flight stones can give a boost 
  to PCs when they battle opponents with natural flight 
  speeds. They are also fun to use with multi-height ter-
  rains (such as floating stones on page 16, or solid clouds 
  on page 26), or other terrains that might be otherwise 
  difficult to reach.
  Variations: Flight from the stone might allow the char-
  acters to fly at a different rate. This might still be based 
  on speed, such as speed +2, or it might be a set rate, 
  such as 8 squares. To limit the amount of flight PCs ac-
  cess, the flight stone might only function once for each 
  character in the encounter, or just once ever.
  Floating Stones (Sample Level 22)
  These large chunks of rock hover in midair with no appar-
  ent support.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 27) Arcana to recognize the 
  move stone power.
  Setup: Floating stones may be any size and shape, and 
  may float any distance above the main surface.
  Effect: These large hunks of rock float a set distance 
  above the surface of the earth. Creatures may attempt to 
  use the move stone power to move the terrain.
  Encounter Building: You can use floating to add addi-
  tional levels to the battle. Placing the stones fairly close 
  together allows PCs to easily jump from one to the next, 
  while having them further apart means that PCs need to 
  move the stones, rely on missile weapons, or find some 
  other way to fly.
   
  Floating stones work well when paired with flying 
  monsters or those who use missile weapons.
  Variations: You can change the skill associated with 
  the power to Religion or Nature to flavor the floating 
  stones with divine or primal power. You can also have 
  the stones move on their own. Large chunks of floating 
  stone may have additional types of terrain upon them.
  Reskinning: Floating stones might not be stone, but 
  could be stable clouds, magical plants, or wooden plat-
  forms held aloft by balloons.
  Frictionless Stone (Sample Level 11)
  The stone seems to be polished to an unnatural sheen.
  Knowledge: Easy (DC 13) Dungeoneering or Nature
  Set Up: Frictionless stones may occupy any amount of 
  the battlefield.
  Effect: Anytime a character is subjected to forced move-
  ment (push, pull, or slide) while on frictionless stone, 
  the amount of forced movement increases by 1 square/
  tier.
  Encounter Building: Obviously, frictionless stone 
  works best when combined with creatures or other ef-
  fects that utilize forced movement. It can easily be com-
  bined with more dangerous terrain, increasing the abil-
  ity to push a creature off a ledge or into a toxic cloud.
  Variations: You can make the frictionless stone even 
  more powerful by increasing the bonus movement. This 
  might be a set number (2 squares/tier), or it could be 
  turned into a multiplier (double the normal amount of 
  forced movement).
  Reskinning: Ice can also increase the amount of forced 
  movement, and might be combined with weak flooring 
  (see page 28).
  Giant Cog (Sample Level 6)
  The large gear slowly turns, threatening to crush your 
  head.
  Knowledge: Easy (DC 11) Dungeoneering or Thievery.
  Set Up: A giant cog is a circular area that can be as little 
  as three squares across, up to eight squares across. Mul-
  Move Stone (Sample Level 22)
  The earth below your feet glides through the air.
  At-will
  Move Action  
   
  Personal
  Requirement: You must be standing on the 
  floating stones.
  Check: You must make a medium DC (22) Ar-
  cana check to move the stone.
  Effect: If successful, you move the floating stone 
  1 square, plus one additional square for every 5 
  by which the creature beats the DC.
  
  17
  tiple cogs tend to meet at right angles. Typically one cog 
  will be horizontal while one adjacent is vertical. Decide 
  a direction for the cog to turn (clockwise or counter 
  clockwise), and select one or more square where cogs 
  meet.
  Effect: At the end of each turn, any creature who is on 
  a cog moves one square in the direction that the cog ro-
  tates. If this puts a creature in a square adjacent to where 
  two cogs meet, the creature takes 5/tier damage and is 
  restrained until it escapes (moderate DC [15]). If the 
  cog’s movement put the character directly into a square 
  where cogs meet, the creature takes 10/tier damage and 
  is restrained until it escapes (difficult DC).
  Encounter Building: Giant cogs are typically compo-
  nents of giant machines that PCs must do battle on. 
  They frequently occur in groups, and may include other 
  mechanical terrain, such as conveyor belts (page 13). To 
  encourage PCs onto the cogs, you might station artil-
  lery monsters upon them, or have skirmishers or lurk-
  ers retreat to a cog after attacking a PC. Creatures that 
  can force movement or immobilize opponents increase 
  the odds that a PC is crushed in the teeth of the massive 
  gears.
  Variations: The giant cogs described here primarily 
  describe the horizontal cogs. Vertical cogs are similar 
  but characters may need to make an Athletics check to 
  climb or at least hang out to the teeth of the cog as it 
  pulls the creature upwards.
  Giant Scales (Sample Level 4)
  Each side of these massive scales could hold several crea-
  tures.
  Knowledge: Automatic.
  Set Up: Giant scales have two platforms and a central 
  pillar. The pillar is a single square, while the platforms 
  are between two squares and four squares in each di-
  mension.
  Effect: When an equal number of creatures are on the 
  platforms, both are 1 square (5 feet) off the ground. If 
  one has more creatures upon it, the platform with more 
  creatures falls to the ground, and the other platform ris-
  es to 2 squares (10 feet) off the ground.
  Encounter Building: Giant scales are useful in en-
  counters with various levels. They encourage teamwork 
  among the PCs, as it requires more than one character 
  to properly operate.
  Variations: To create an effect where scales launch a 
  creature into the air when somebody jumps onto the 
  other side, you might grant that character a round of 
  flight or a bonus to Athletics for one jump check.
  Reskinning: Giant scales can be used to represent any 
  structure that has a pivot, such as a giant seesaw or a 
  precariously balanced stone slab.
  Giant’s Shield (Sample Level 7)
  This massive shield was may have once been 
  worn by a giant. It is now mounted on a wooden 
  frame to hold it upright.
  Knowledge: Automatic
  Setup: A giant’s shield occupies 1 square.
  Effect: The giant’s shield is blocking terrain.
  Movement: A character adjacent to the shield can use a 
  minor action to move the giant’s shield 1 square with a 
  successful moderate (DC 16) Athletics check. For every 
  5 by which the result is above the DC, the character can 
  move the shield an additional square. Alternatively, a 
  character with two free hands may lift the shield and 
  carry it, but the creature is slowed while doing so. A 
  creature cannot move a giant’s shield into an occupied 
  square.
  Encounter Building: A giant’s shield is designed to al-
  low the combatants some control over their battlefield. 
  They might use the shield to provide cover, to create a 
  choke point, or to block an enemy’s escape.
  Variations: To make a giant’s shield truly massive, it 
  might occupy more than a single square. You might 
  also create a terrain power to allow creatures to slam 
  the giant shield into foes (similar to mine cart push on 
  page 22).
  Reskinning: A giant’s shield can be any large object that 
  is difficult but not impossible to move. It might be a gi-
  ant stone sphere, a pillar, or a statue.
  God’s Blood (Sample Level 29)
  The slick silver liquid radiates divine power.
  Knowledge: Automatic to realize impaired movement. 
  Moderate (DC 31) Arcana or Religion to understand di-
  vine boon.
  Setup: Squares of god’s blood may be adjacent or scat-
  tered throughout the battlefield. There should rarely be 
  more than six squares of god’s blood in any encounter.
  Effect: A square of god’s blood is difficult terrain. A char-
  acter may attempt to move through the blood at normal 
  speed with a moderate Acrobatics (DC 31) check, how-
  ever if the creature fails this check, it falls prone.
   
  A creature may attempt to draw power from god’s 
  blood to use an at-will attack power from a divine power 
  
  18
  18
  source or similar powers as a minor action. The creature 
  must be on or adjacent to a square of god’s blood. Tap-
  ping into the power destroys the square of god’s blood.
  Encounter Building: God’s blood is meant to be a boon 
  to those wielding divine power, but it is meant to be a 
  finite resource. There should only be a few squares of 
  blood, unless there are a large number of divine crea-
  tures in the battle. You can place squares of god’s blood 
  in difficult to reach locations as a reward for characters 
  who find a way to reach them. If both sides of the battle 
  have a divine caster, there might be a race to the blood, 
  or a battle for control of it.
   
  The default assumption is that the blood springs 
  from a long-dead and possibly forgotten god. However, 
  blood coming from a specific still living god might have 
  interesting story implications for the PCs.
  Variations: God’s blood might bestow a range of oth-
  er benefits on the PCs. (See other terrains like blood 
  mage’s circle on page 11 and unholy altar on page 28 for 
  suggestions).
   
  Each use of god’s blood might require destroying 
  more squares to be effective. While the first use might 
  destroy one square, the second use might destroy two, 
  and the third would destroy four.
  Grasping Claws (Sample Level 8)
  Skeletal claws reach from the ground and clutch your an-
  kles.
  Knowledge: Easy (DC 12) Religion.
  Setup: Areas of grasping claws may occupy any number 
  of squares.
  Effect: A living creature who ends its turn on a square 
  of grasping claws without having moved is grabbed by 
  the terrain (moderate [DC 16] to escape).
   
  Any creature who ends its turn grabbed is re-
  strained until it breaks the grab. For purposes of forced 
  movement breaking the grab, any square of grasping 
  claws is considered to be within its “reach.”
  Encounter Building: Grasping claws are designed to 
  strongly encourage creatures to move each turn. You 
  can combine them with skirmisher opponents, who 
  move frequently. Since the claws only target living crea-
  tures, most undead and construct are immune to the 
  effects.
  Variations: To increase the danger of grasping claws, 
  they might deal damage each turn to a creature they 
  have grabbed or restrained. You might allow the PCs to 
  attack the claws to break free.
  Reskinning: In a wilderness setting you can turn grasp-
  ing claws into grasping vines, while a wizard’s tower 
  might have animated chains.
  Healing Font (Sample Level 8)
  The white marble font contains clear water that glows 
  with an inner light.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 16) Religion.
  Set Up: Each healing font occupies one square.
  Effect: A healing font is difficult terrain. In addition, an 
  adjacent creature can use the healing drink power.
  Healing Drink (Sample Level 8)
  As you sip the water, you feel your wounds knit 
  together.
  Daily
  Special: Each creature may use this font only 
  once per day.
  Minor Action  
   
  Personal
  Effect: You regain a number of hit points equal 
  to your healing surge value.
  Encounter Building: Healing fonts are most valuable in 
  difficult encounters where the PCs face a high number 
  of foes and are likely to run out of powers that trigger 
  healing surges.
  
  19
  Variations: A healing font in an abandoned temple 
  might have lost its power over the years. It begins the 
  encounter without the ability to grant the healing drink 
  power. To activate the power, the characters must either 
  make a moderate Religion check, or a difficult Arcana 
  or Nature check (minor action).
   
  Alternatively, a character may expend one use of 
  a channel divinity power to automatically activate the 
  font (minor action; the character gains no other benefit 
  from using channel divinity in this way).
  Reskinning: The healing font could be used for any ter-
  rain that heals, such as a tree bearing magical fruit.
  Highly Flammable Oil (Sample Level 2)
  The floor is slick with oil, and sharp smelling fumes rise 
  from the liquid.
  Skills: Easy (DC 9) Nature or Dungeoneering to recog-
  nize the danger of falling. Moderate (DC 13) Nature or 
  Dungeoneering to realize its flammable nature.
  Set Up: Begin with any number of squares of highly 
  flammable oil. Squares should be clustered in puddles 
  of at least 4 adjacent squares.
  Effect: A creature that enters this oil must either move 
  at move at half speed or make a moderate (DC 13) Acro-
  batics check to move at full speed. If he fails this check, 
  the creature falls prone.
   
  If an area or close attack that deals fire damage 
  includes oil squares, or a creature taking ongoing fire 
  damage ends its turn on a square of highly flammable 
  oil, the highly flammable oil becomes flaming oil.
  Flaming Oil (Sample Level 2)
  The floor bursts into flames.
  Skills: Automatic for damage. Moderate (DC 13) Na-
  ture or Dungeoneering to extinguish the fire.
  Effect: A creature that begins its turn in or willingly en-
  ters a square of flaming oil suffers 5/tier fire damage. 
  At the end of the round any adjacent square of highly 
  flammable oil becomes flaming oil.
   
  A close or area attack that deals cold damage turns 
  flaming oil into highly flammable oil until the oil is ig-
  nited again.
  Encounter Building: Because highly flammable oil re-
  acts to fire, its true potential only comes out when either 
  the PCs or their opponents can use powers that deal fire 
  damage. If you want the flaming oil to primarily favor 
  the enemies, they should also have fire resistance or im-
  munity. As noted in the exploding keg entry (page 15), 
  the two can be paired effectively for an explosive battle.
  Variations: Creative players might be able to find other 
  ways to extinguish the flaming oil, or you might allow 
  them to use certain skills. Note that in real life, dumping 
  water on oil fires actually spreads them.
  Holy Lantern (Sample Level 14)
  The beacon glows with a holy light.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 21) Religion.
  Set Up: A holy lantern consists of two parts: the lantern 
  itself, and the zone of holy light it creates. The lantern 
  occupies one square, while the holy light creates a zone 
  of between three squares and five squares on each side.
  Effect: Living creatures within the zone of holy light 
  gain a +2 damage bonus per tier when using powers 
  that deal radiant damage. They also gain resist 5/tier ne-
  crotic damage.
  Movement: A character adjacent to the lantern to move 
  the zone of holy light up to 6 squares as a minor action.
  Encounter Building: Holy lanterns have the greatest 
  impact when the PCs are facing undead opponents. 
  These opponents should do their best to draw the he-
  roes away from the light, forcing the PCs to frequently 
  move the zone.
  Reskinning: A holy lantern is designed to help PCs fight 
  against undead. You can change the effects when bat-
  tling against other monsters. For example, when fight-
  ing fire monsters, it might be a frost lantern that adds to 
  attacks that deal cold damage and protects against fire.
  Lift Vines (Sample Level 4)
  These vines react to weight placed upon them, and recoil 
  upwards.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 14) Nature.
  Set Up: These vines are generally attached to something 
  high above the ground, and hang down to a low point 
  at ground level.
  Effect: A character in a lift vine’s square can grab the 
  vine to use the vine lift power.
  Vine Lift (Sample Level 4)
  At your touch the vine springs to life, pulling you 
  upwards.
  Rechargeable (When the character lets go of 
  the lift vine)
  Move Action  
  Personal
  Effect: The character moves from the low point 
  to any square between the lift vine’s low point 
  and its high point.
  
  20
  20
  Encounter Building: Lift vines are meant to be used in 
  multi-level battlefields where PCs need a quick way to 
  get from level to level. Because of this, control of a lift 
  vine might become an important goal in the battle. En-
  emy forces might place a soldier on the ground to guard 
  a lift vine that leads to artillery monsters, or skirmishers 
  might use lift vines to escape their foes.
  Reskinning: Lift vines could easily be turned into en-
  chanted ropes.
  Lightning Pillars (Sample Level 17)
  These wide pillars are made of polished copper and hum 
  with power.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 23) Arcana.
  Set Up: There should be at least three pillars and as 
  many as eight. Assign each pillar a number. Each pillar 
  occupies one square.
  Effect: A lightning pillar is blocking terrain. Each round 
  an arc of lightning erupts between two pillars. Roll ran-
  domly to determine which pillars activate (see page 15). 
  If you roll the same number twice, nothing happens for 
  that round.
   
  When pillars have been activated, squares in a line 
  between the pillars are filled with an arc of lightning. 
  Any creature who willingly enters a square with light-
  ning or starts its turn there takes 5/tier points of light-
  ning damage.
  Encounter Building: Lighting pillars work well with 
  creatures that have powers that inflict forced move-
  ment. These creatures can push an opponent into an 
  arc of lightning. Obviously, creatures who resist or are 
  immune to lightning will benefit from lightning pillars. 
  Creatures who can teleport can also gain an advantage 
  in rooms with lightning pillars as they can teleport to 
  the other side of the lightning, out of reach of their foes.
  Variations: To increase the risk of getting struck, you 
  can roll for more than two pillars to connect. You might 
  have two pairs of pillars each send an arc of lightning 
  to each other, or you might roll for three pillars that all 
  connect.
  Reskinning: You can easily change the type of energy 
  that the pillars radiate, or change them from pillars to 
  another object. The ruins of the temple to an evil god 
  might instead contain statues that arc bolts of necrotic 
  energy.
  Load Bearing Pillar (Sample Level 15)
  The strong stone pillar bears the weight of the ceiling.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 22) Dungeoneering check.
  Setup: Load bearing pillars occupy one square, and 
  reach from floor to ceiling.
  Effect: The pillar is blocking terrain. It has defenses 
  equal to its level + 12 (27) and 4 hit points per level (60 
  hp). If destroyed, it triggers the roof collapse power.  
   
  Additionally, it allows characters to use the dodge 
  out of the way power.
  Roof Collapse (Sample Level 15)
  As the pillar shatters, the roof collapses on those 
  below.
  Single Use
  Free Action  Close burst 2 (centered on pillar)
  Trigger: The pillar is destroyed.
  Target: Every creature in burst
  Attack: Level + 3 vs. Reflex (+18 vs. Reflex).
  Hit: High damage (4d8 + 16) and the target is 
  knocked prone and restrained (save ends). It 
  cannot stand from prone until it is no longer re-
  strained.
  Miss: Half damage and the target is not re-
  strained or knocked prone.
  Effect: The area of the burst is filled with rubble 
  (difficult terrain). A hole opens in the ceiling di-
  rectly above the blast.
  Dodge Out of the Way (Sample Level 15)
  You stand before the pillar, and dodge out of the 
  way just as your foe is about to strike.
  At-Will
  Move Action  
   
  Personal
  Special: You must ready an action to use this 
  power when a creature charges you. Alterna-
  tively you may spend an action point to use 
  this power as a free interrupt when a creature 
  charges you.
  Requirement: You must be adjacent to a 
  load-bearing pillar.
  Effect: You move your speed. This movement 
  does not provoke opportunity attacks from the 
  creature that charges you. The creature chang-
  ing you attacks the load bearing pillar instead of 
  you.
  Encounter Building: Load-bearing pillars are intended 
  to give the characters an extra powerful attack option 
  against tough opponents. It works best when the mon-
  sters make frequent charge attacks, allowing the PCs to 
  dodge out of the way.
  
  21
  Variations: You can make a load bearing pillar fill more 
  than one square or change the size of the burst caused 
  when the roof collapses. You can also choose to have 
  multiple pillars, all of which need to be destroyed in or-
  der to bring down the roof.
  Logs Floating Downstream (Sample Level 4)
  The fallen tree trunks float lazily down the river.
  Knowledge: Automatic.
  Set Up: Place one or more logs in river terrain. Each log 
  should be 1 square wide, and between 2 and 10 squares 
  long. There should be at least one square of water in be-
  tween each log. When you set up also determine the di-
  rection and speed that the water flows.
  Effect: Walking on a log floating downstream requires 
  an easy (DC 10) Acrobatics check. If the creature fails 
  by 4 or less, its movement ends, and the move action 
  is wasted. If it fails by 5 or more, it falls off the log into 
  the water. Climbing onto a log from the water requires 
  2 squares of movement in addition to making the Acro-
  batics check.
   
  Additionally, a character on a log can use the log 
  roll power.
  Movement: Each round, every log moves in the direc-
  tion that the water flows at the chosen speed. Creatures 
  on the logs move with them.
  Log Roll (Sample Level 4)
  With some fancy footwork, you spin the log you 
  are standing on.
  At-Will
  Check: You must be on or adjacent to a log, and 
  succeed a moderate (DC 14) Athletics or Acro-
  batics check.
  Minor Action  
  Close special
  Target: This power targets every creature on the 
  log other than you.
  Attack: Level + 3 vs. Reflex (+7 vs. Reflex)
  Hit: The target immediately makes a saving 
  throw. If successful, it falls prone. If it fails the 
  save, it falls into an adjacent square of water.
  Encounter Building: Typically, an encounter with logs 
  floating down stream will also feature river terrain and 
  dry land. By placing enemies with ranged attack powers 
  on the logs or on the other side of the river, characters 
  will be motivated to leap onto the logs to reach foes.
   
  To further complicate things, you could include a 
  third party who attacks anybody who falls into the river 
  (such as a swarm of piranhas).
  Reskinning: In a cold climate, the logs could be break 
  away chunks of ice. In a volcano you can use stone float-
  ing on molten lava. Other planes might have rivers of 
  acid or magic memory-draining water
  Magnetic Spike Blocks (Sample Level 13)
  Large iron blocks are covered with cruel spikes.
  Knowledge: Automatic knowledge of moving through 
  the spikes. Moderate (DC 20) Arcana to know the ef-
  fects of lightning.
  Set Up: Each magnetic spike block occupies one square.
  Effect: These large blocks are difficult terrain, and any 
  creature that willingly enters a square containing mag-
  netic spike blocks takes 5/tier damage.
  Movement: The first time each turn that a creature 
  within 10 squares of the magnetic spikes suffers light-
  ning damage, the magnetic spike block is pulled 2 
  squares towards the creature who took the damage. If 
  this movement pulls the spikes into the target’s square, 
  the target takes damage as though it had entered the 
  magnetic spike’s square.
  
  22
  22
  Encounter Building: As they are activated by lightning 
  damage, magnetic spike blocks are best utilized when 
  either PCs or villains are able to deal lightning damage 
  on a regular basis.
  Variations: You can increase the danger of the spikes 
  by increasing the distance that they move. For bigger 
  blocks, you can make the spikes blocking terrain.
  Mind Fuddling Fog (Sample Level 25)
  As you step into the golden mist, you feel dizzy.
  Knowledge: Automatic for obscuring. Moderate Ar-
  cana (DC 29) to know the mind fuddling effects.
  Setup: Mind fuddling fog may be any size and shape. It 
  should rarely fill more than a quarter of the battlefield.
  Effect: Areas of mind fuddling fog are lightly obscured. 
  Any character within a square of mind fuddling fog suf-
  fers a -1 penalty to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma 
  checks, as well as skill checks and attack rolls that are 
  based off of those abilities. (For monsters, assume they 
  use their highest ability for their attacks).
   
  Every round that a creature ends its turn in mind 
  fuddling fog, this penalty increases by an additional 
  -1. If the creature ends its turn in normal terrain, these 
  penalties reset.
  Encounter Building: Mind fuddling fog can potentially 
  be very debilitating to creatures who use Intelligence, 
  Wisdom, or Charisma. While at first the penalty is rath-
  er minor, it quickly adds up. To keep the terrain from 
  frustrating the PCs, you can provide clear ways for them 
  to avoid the fog or provide a reward for moving through 
  it (for a divine caster, you might place a pool of gods 
  blood from page 17 inside a pool of mind fuddling fog).
  Variations: Mind fuddling fog might become strength 
  draining fog by changing the ability it affects. To simpli-
  fy the math involved or reduce the escalating fear factor, 
  you can have the fog impose a static penalty (probably 
  -2) instead if it increasing each turn.
  Reskinning: The mind fuddling fog need not be a fog. 
  It might be the pollen of a hallucinogenic plant, a mind 
  draining creature from the realms beyond, or simply a 
  magical effect created by a powerful wizard.
  Mine Cart (Sample Level 3)
  The metal and wood cart sits on iron tracks.
  Knowledge: Automatic.
  Setup: Each mine cart occupies a single square. Mine 
  carts also require mine tracks, which are a single square 
  wide, but can be any number of squares long.
  Effect: The mine cart is difficult terrain and provides 
  cover. A creature who is on the mine cart when it moves 
  (see below) moves along with the cart. A creature can 
  also use the mine cart to trigger the mine cart push 
  power.
  Movement: A creature may attempt to push the cart as a 
  minor action. If it succeeds an easy Athletics check (DC 
  9) he pushes the cart up to 10 squares along the track (in 
  either direction). If the cart would enter the square of 
  another creature, it triggers the mine cart push power.
  Mine Cart Push (Sample Level 3)
  With a quick shove, you send the mine cart bar-
  reling down the track.
  At-Will
  No Action  
   
  Melee 1
  Trigger: The mine cart moves adjacent to a 
  creature and has further movement that would 
  cause it to enter the creature’s square.
  Target: The creature whose square the mine 
  cart would enter.
  Attack: Level +5 vs. AC (+8 vs. AC)
  Hit: Low damage (1d10+6) and the target is 
  knocked prone.
  Effect: The mine cart’s movement ends.
  Encounter Building: Mine carts can be a fun way to 
  give PCs both the ability to make additional attacks, and 
  to move faster across the battlefield.
  Pane of Glass (Sample Level 5)
  The window looks easy to shatter.
  Knowledge: Automatic.
  Setup: Panes of glass are generally drawn in between 
  squares. It may be any size.
  Effect: A pane of glass is blocking terrain, but does not 
  block line of sight. Creatures can attempt to shatter the 
  glass by targeting it with a ranged or melee attack. All 
  the defense equal ten plus the terrain’s level (15). The 
  glass has resist 5/tier all, but if it suffers damage beyond 
  that, the attack destroys the pane.
  Magma
  Realistically, magma, lava, or other molten rock would 
  kill any creature who enters is (no save). However for 
  a more fantastic version of lave, you might have any 
  creature in the lava suffer 10/tier fire damage, while 
  any creature adjacent to the lava might suffer 5/tier 
  lava damage. To represent the danger of being stuck in 
  the lava, you might look at the sinking effect of solid 
  clouds on page 27.
  
  23
   
  A creature may attempt to burst through the wall 
  with a Difficult Athletics check (DC 22). Failure means 
  the character’s movement ends. Success destroys the 
  pane and the creature may continue movement on the 
  other side of the pane.
   
  If forced movement pushes a creature into the 
  pane, the creature may make a saving throw. On a suc-
  cessful saving throw, the creature falls prone and the 
  forced movement ends. If the creature fails, it breaks 
  the pane, and forced movement continues on the other 
  side.
   
  However a pane is destroyed, it triggers the shatter 
  glass power.
  Shatter Glass (Sample Level 5)
  The glass shatters into a thousand razor-sharp 
  pieces.
  Single Use
  No Action  
   
  Close special
  Trigger: The pane of glass is destroyed.
  Target: This power targets each square adja-
  cent to the pane of glass.
  Attack: Level + 3 vs. Reflex (+8 vs. Reflex).
  Hit: Low damage (2d6 + 6).
  Effect: The area of the blast is filled with shat-
  tered glass (difficult terrain). Any creature who 
  willingly moves into a square of shattered glass 
  takes 5/tier damage, and is slowed (save ends).
  Encounter Building: You can use panes of glass to force 
  a choice between a more direct but dangerous route 
  (crashing through the glass) or a safer but longer route 
  (going around the glass). Creatures might intentionally 
  shatter the glass to damage foes.
  Variation: The shattered glass attack power assumes a 
  large pane of glass that shatters into many pieces. For 
  smaller sheets of glass you can maintain the other ef-
  fects, but remove the terrain power.
  Reskinning: The clear glass can be changed into a mir-
  ror, in which case it blocks line of sight. It can be made 
  into ice by granting it vulnerable 5/tier fire.
  Petrifying Tree (Sample Level 15)
  The elm seems to be made entirely of stone.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 22) Arcana
  Setup: Petrifying trees occupy one square, and have an 
  aura of between 1 and 5 squares.
  Effect: Any creature that ends its turn within the aura 
  of the petrifying tree is slowed (save ends). On the first 
  failed save, the creature is slowed and dazed (save ends). 
  On the second failed save the creature is petrified (save 
  ends). The creature may not save from the final stage of 
  petrifaction while within the zone of the tree.
  Encounter Building: Most encounters with petrifying 
  trees will either have one tree with a large aura, or sev-
  eral trees with have an aura of one square.
   
  Petrifying trees are often surrounded by statues 
  that are the remains of their former victims. This might 
  be an opportunity to introduce a motley collection of 
  NPCs who come from a range of time periods.
  Variations: To make petrifying trees a little less deadly, 
  you can allow the PCs to save against the final stage of 
  petrification even while in the aura of the tree. To make 
  them more dangerous, decrease the number of failed 
  saves that a creature needs to make before becoming 
  petrified.
  Reskinning: A petrifying tree might also represent the 
  severed head of a medusa, or an especially powerful 
  node of elemental earth.
  Poisoncloud Mushrooms (Sample Level 5)
  These large mushrooms have a white stalk and bright 
  read tops.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 15) Nature.
  Set Up: Each poisoncloud mushroom occupies one 
  square.
  Effect: A poisoncloud mushroom allows the use of the 
  poisoncloud attack power.
  Poisoncloud Attack (Sample Level 5)
  The mushroom explodes, releasing a cloud of 
  toxic spores.
  Single Use
  Free Reaction  
  Close Burst 1
  Trigger: A character enters a square containing 
  a poisoncloud mushroom, or a character hit the 
  mushroom with a melee or ranged attack. All de-
  fenses equal level + 12 (17).
  Target: All creatures in burst.
  Attack: Level + 3 vs. Fortitude (+8 vs. Fortitude)
  Hit: Medium poison damage (2d8 + 7).
  Encounter Building: When fighting swarms, poison-
  cloud mushrooms are a great benefit, especially when 
  characters lack burst or blast attacks of their own. In-
  telligent foes might try to use exploding mushrooms 
  against the PCs.
  
  24
  24
  Variations: As written, the poison of the mushrooms 
  is fast acting, but to create a more lasting effect, a hit 
  could also deal ongoing damage, and possibly add an-
  other condition such as slowed or weakened. Either way 
  a saving throw should end the effect.
  Reskinning: Poisoncloud mushrooms could easily be 
  turned into any other terrain that explodes on contact. 
  This terrain might be common on the outer planes or 
  magically scarred areas, and could include crystals that 
  burst into freezing shards, or floating orbs that burst 
  into radiant light.
  Primal Grass (Sample Level 9)
  These plants surge with life in response to primal magic.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 17) Nature.
  Setup: Primal grass can occupy any number of squares.
  Effect: Anytime a creature is hit by a primal power or 
  similar power (see page 12) while standing on a square 
  of primal grass, the creature is also immobilized until 
  the end of its next turn.
  Encounter Building: As with all power-source related 
  terrain, primal grass functions best when at least some 
  of the combatants have primal powers. Primal grass 
  might give the PCs a boost when they deal with highly 
  mobile skirmishers. On the other hand, it can benefit 
  enemies who create zones that deal damage over multi-
  ple rounds.
  Reskinning: Primal grass can easily be tied to a different 
  power source. For example, it might be grasping shad-
  ows activated by the shadow power source, or it could 
  be ectoplasm activated by the psionic power source.
  Razor Glass (Sample Level 8)
  The smooth floor is covered with thousands of tiny sharp 
  edges.
  Knowledge: Automatic.
  Setup: Razor glass can occupy any number of squares.
  Effect: Any time a creature falls prone while on a square 
  of razor glass, it takes ongoing 5/tier damage (save 
  ends).
  Encounter Building: Razor glass is best combined with 
  monsters who are able to knock their foes prone.
  Variations: To make the razor glass more dangerous, it 
  can deal damage each time a creature falls in addition to 
  the ongoing damage.
  Reskinning: Razor glass can be turned into anything 
  else that cuts foes when they fall, possibly caltrops or 
  sharp grass.
  Revealing Glass (Sample Level 3)
  Looking though the pane of glass, you see a gnome 
  hunched behind the chair, but when you enter the room, 
  nobody is there.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 13) Arcana.
  Setup: Revealing glass may either occupy a square, or be 
  placed between squares. It is rarely more than a square 
  wide, but it may be very long.
  Effect: Revealing glass is a wall of blocking terrain. 
  Characters can see through the glass, and have line of 
  sight to objects on the other side, but not line of effect.  
   
  Additionally, characters on one side of the reveal-
  ing glass can see invisible creatures or objects on the 
  other side of the glass.
  Encounter Building: Revealing glass does little unless it 
  is combined with invisible creatures. While sometimes 
  foes can use it to spot invisible PCs, it is far more likely 
  to be used to spot invisible enemies. Revealing glass will 
  likely force the party to separate, with some on one side 
  to fight the invisible foes, and some on the other side to 
  spot them. 
  Variations: As written, revealing glass is quite solid. To 
  make it more fragile, you can combine it with a pane of 
  glass (page 22).
  
  25
  Rolling Toxic Cloud (Sample Level 14)
  The cloud of greenish yellow smoke billows towards you.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 21) Arcana, Nature, or 
  Dungeoneering.
  Setup: A toxic cloud starts covering an area of at least 
  three by three, and up to eight by eight squares. At the 
  beginning of the encounter, decide which direction the 
  cloud will move, and how fast (normally of speed of 2 
  to 6 squares).
  Effect: A character that willingly enters or starts its turn 
  in the toxic cloud suffers 10/tier poison damage. 
  Movement: Each round the toxic cloud moves the cho-
  sen number of squares in the chosen direction.
  Encounter Building: A toxic cloud can be used to force 
  the characters to move through the battle field. Mon-
  sters who are immune to poison, might use it as a base 
  to either dart in and out of, or to launch ranged attack 
  from.
  Variations: If you want the toxic cloud to have lasting 
  effects, it might also inflict ongoing damage, or anoth-
  er condition like weakened or slowed. In either case a 
  saving throw should end the effect. Thick clouds might 
  make the squares lightly or heavily obscured.
  Reskinning: The toxic cloud can be modified into near-
  ly any energy type. It might be combined with necrotic 
  damage to add a magical nature, or turned into fire to 
  create a fire storm.
  Rug (Sample Level 1)
  A large finely woven rug covers the floor.
  Knowledge: Automatic
  Set Up: Rugs range anywhere from a single square to 
  many squares long. Rugs are typically rectangular.
  Effect: A creature adjacent to the rug can use the pull 
  the rug out from under them power.
  Pull the Rug Out from Under Them (Sample 
  Level 1)
  You tug a corner of the rug, knocking your foes 
  from their feet.
  Single Use
  Requirement: You must be adjacent to the rug 
  to use this power.
  Minor Action  
   
  Close special
  Special: This power targets every creature 
  standing on the rug.
  Attack: Level + 3 vs. Reflex (+4 vs. Reflex).
  Hit: The target is knocked prone.
  Encounter Building: This terrain is primarily intended 
  to give the PCs an extra tool to use against their foes. 
  Knocking a foe prone can benefit any melee fighter, 
  but some gain extra benefit. For example, since prone 
  grants combat advantage to melee attackers, rogues will 
  particularly enjoy this power. It also works well to trip 
  up fast moving opponents and possibly allow vulnera-
  ble heroes to escape.
  Variations: To increase the power of the rug, you might 
  also have it push, pull, or slide the target, or even allow 
  it to deal damage. If it deals damage, think about mak-
  ing the power a standard action.
  Sleep Poppy (Sample Level 5)
  The red and orange blossoms smell of home.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 15) Nature.
  Setup: Sleep poppies frequently occupy a large area.
  Effect: Any creature who ends it turn in the sleep pop-
  pies is slowed (save end). On the first failed save, the 
  creature is dazed and slowed (save ends). Second failed 
  save, the character is unconscious (save ends). As long 
  as a character remains in the poppy field, he suffers a -2 
  penalty to these saving throws.
  Encounter Building: Sleep poppies can be deceptive-
  ly dangerous, so take care with their placement. A field 
  of sleep poppies might have several “islands” of normal 
  terrains where the main part of the battle takes place. 
  Sample Variation
  The river of dreams is based on the sleep poppies ter-
  rain. This is an example of how you can easily modify 
  a terrain’s mechanics and cosmetic appearance to suit 
  your needs.
  River of Dreams (Sample Level 18)
  These silvery rivers, originating from the Fairy Realm, 
  occasionally flow into the mortal world.
  Setup: A river of dreams can be as wide as any other 
  river, and it typically runs the length of the battlefield.
  Effect: The river of dreams, in many ways, functions 
  like any other river. The shallow banks are difficult 
  terrain, while the deeper sections require creatures to 
  make Athletics checks to swim.
   
  Additionally, any non-fey creature who enters the 
  river or drinks from it is slowed (save ends). On the 
  first failed save, the target is slowed and dazed (saved 
  ends). On a second failed save, the creature is uncon-
  scious, and remains asleep until it takes a short rest. 
  While in this deep sleep, creatures may have especially 
  vivid and possibly prophetic dreams.
  
  26
  26
  Variations: To make sleep poppies less dangerous you 
  can remove the penalty to saving throws. To make it 
  more dangerous, have creature fall unconscious after 
  only the first failed save. If you want to allow the PCs 
  to destroy the poppies, you might allow them to do so 
  with area or burst attacks. You might require the attack 
  to do a certain type of damage, such as fire or necrotic 
  damage.
  Reskinning: Sleep poppies can be used to represent any 
  area that might put creatures to sleep, such as a cloud of 
  sleeping gas, or a magical rune of sleep. To see a more 
  complex version of sleep poppies, look at Sample Vari-
  ation on page 25.
  Solid Clouds (Sample Level 24)
  As impossible as it seems, the clouds support your weight, 
  but for how long?
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 28) Arcana or Nature.
  Set Up: Solid clouds can be nearly any size and shape, 
  possibly filling the whole battlefield.
  Effect: If a creature that ends its turn on solid clouds 
  and did not move during its turn, it begins to sink into 
  the clouds. After a creature has begun to sink, it cannot 
  shift until it is no longer sinking. If a creature begins its 
  turn sinking and ends its turn without moving, it falls 
  through the solid clouds. 
  Encounter Building: Solid clouds are another terrain 
  that encourages typically sessile creatures to move each 
  turn. Solid clouds also increase the potency of many sta-
  tus effects, such as daze, prone, and immobilize. Clever 
  PCs might intentionally remain still if they want to drop 
  to the level below.
   
  Typically solid clouds are one of the higher levels 
  of a multi-level encounter. Few players will enjoy falling 
  to their death because they failed to save against immo-
  bilization.
  Variations: For more dangerous clouds, you can have 
  creatures fall through if they spend a single turn in the 
  same place. You can also make certain creatures im-
  mune to the clouds’ effects (such as immortal creatures, 
  or those with the air descriptor). You could grant some 
  creatures a “cloud walking” power that allows them to 
  walk on the clouds unhindered.
  Spiked Wall (Sample Level 8)
  The walls bristle with cruel spikes.
  Knowledge: Automatic
  Setup: Spiked walls can be placed like any other walls. 
  They frequently occur in the majority of the battlefield.
  Effect: A spiked wall is blocking terrain. If forced move-
  ment would cause a creature to enter a square of spiked 
  wall, instead the forced movement ends, and the crea-
  ture suffers 5/tier points of damage. 
  Encounter Building: Like other terrain that relies on 
  forced movement, spiked walls work best if the PCs and 
  the monsters both have powers that can push, pull, and 
  slide the targets. You can use spiked walls to encourage 
  PCs to enter the middle of the room, possibly driving 
  them closer to melee fighters.
  Reskinning: Spiked walls can turn into other blocking 
  terrain that damage those hit against them. It might be 
  a thorny hedge, or a pillar of eldritch energy.
  Stone of Kings (Sample Level 10)
  A mighty sword impales the granite slab.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 18) Arcana, History, or Re-
  ligion
  Effect: This stone is difficult terrain. It has a weapon 
  lodged in it (a magic item appropriate to the characters’ 
  level). A character may attempt to pull the weapon from 
  the stone by using the from the stone power.
  From the Stone (Sample Level 10)
  You tug the sword from the stone and feel a king-
  ly glow surround you.
  Single Use
  Check: The character tries to pull the weapon 
  from the stone by making a moderate (DC 18) 
  Athletics check.
  Minor Action  
   
  Close burst 10
  Effect: The character pulls the weapon from the 
  stone. All allies in the burst gain a +2 bonus to 
  attack rolls until the end of the encounter.
  Encounter Building: In a combat encounter, you should 
  place enemies between the PCs and the stone. These 
  foes may include constructs that have been placed as 
  guardians, or undead who were unworthy to wield the 
  weapon in the stone. The description of the king’s stone 
  and the weapon within it should be suitably impressive
  Variations: You can change the nature of the check 
  used to pull the weapon from the stone. To emphasize 
  the leadership needed to be a king, you might replace 
  the Athletics check with a Diplomacy check. To change 
  it to a stone of archmages holding a powerful staff, you 
  may use an Arcana check. You can allow the character 
  to automatically pull the weapon from the stone if they 
  meet certain story conditions, such as being the lost son 
  of the former king.
  
  27
   
  You can also easily change the bonus granted by 
  removing the weapon from the stone to better suit the 
  encounter.
  Reskinning: The magic item held in the terrain need 
  not be a weapon, and the thing holding it need not be a 
  stone. It could be a magical orb of force holding a pow-
  erful ring, or a pool of icy water holding a talisman.
  Thought Flooring (Sample Level 26)
  The arch wizard grins at you, seemingly standing on a 
  wall.
  Skills: Easy (DC 22) Arcana check.
  Setup: Thought flooring normally applies to an entire 
  battlefield.
  Effect: Any surface in this room (including walls and 
  ceiling) can be treated as ground. Moving from one sur-
  face to a perpendicular one (the floor to a wall) requires 
  1 square of movement.
  Encounter Building: Thought flooring can be used to 
  challenge the way that PCs thinking about their envi-
  ronment. Enemies may shoot spells from the walls or 
  ceilings, and the most direct way from one point to an-
  other might involve walking on multiple planes.
  Variations: Because thought flooring goes against a 
  creature’s natural instincts, you might require a skill or 
  ability check (such as Arcana, Dungeoneering, or Wis-
  dom) when traveling from one plane to another.
  Trick Staircase (Sample Level 4)
  With a click, the stairs shift to form a smooth ramp.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 14) Dungeoneering or 
  Thievery.
  Setup: Trick staircases look like any other kind of stair-
  case. They are normally one or two squares wide, and 
  four or more squares long. The control lever may be in 
  any square in the encounter, often some distance from 
  the staircase.
  Effect: A trick staircase initially appears to be nothing 
  but a normal staircase. However, if a creature spends a 
  minor action to pull the control lever, the stairs turn into 
  a sliding ramp. Creatures who are on the stairs when 
  they change must make a moderate Acrobatics check 
  (DC 14) or fall to the base of the stairs. Characters may 
  climb the ramp with an easy (DC 10) Athletics check.
  Encounter Building: When setting up a battle with a 
  trick staircase, you should look for ways to encourage 
  battle on the stairs, such as placing ranged foes at the 
  top of the stairs, or setting it up as a choke point. Either 
  PCs or enemies might start with control of the  switch 
  that activates the stairs, and you can set this point up as 
  a secondary objective.
   
  To add an element of danger. You can place a pit 
  trap at the base of the staircase. For more danger, fill the 
  pit trap with vipers.
  Variations: To make a trick staircase more difficult to 
  climb (and increase the DC) you might cover it with oil, 
  or another slippery substance.
  Unhallowed Ground (Sample Level 9)
  Merely approaching the area sends a shiver down your 
  spine and prickles your skin.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 17) Religion.
  Setup: Unhallowed ground can be any size and shape, 
  but generally should not be more than a quarter of the 
  battlefield.
  Effect: Undead creatures who are reduced to 0 hit 
  points while on a square of unhallowed ground are not 
  destroyed. Instead, at the start of their next turn they 
  reanimate with 1 hit point.
  Encounter Building: Unhallowed ground is best re-
  served for parties that have a fair number of powers that 
  inflict forced movement, and preferably at least one PC 
  with an at-will power. Intelligent undead will be reluc-
  
  28
  28
  tant to leave a zone of unhallowed ground, even if they 
  are primarily melee creatures facing a ranged threat.
  Variations: You may wish to include alternate ways to 
  mitigate the effects of unhallowed ground. For example, 
  undead might not reanimate if the killing blow comes 
  from a particular kind of damage (likely radiant), or 
  characters might be able to deactivate the unhallowed 
  ground with a skill check or short skill challenge. You 
  might also allow the PCs to destroy squares of unhal-
  lowed ground with certain powers (similar to encroach-
  ing gloom on page 14).
  Reskinning: You can change unhallowed ground to al-
  low it to affect creatures other than undead. The heart of 
  a creation forge might constantly reanimate constructs, 
  while the divine nexus of life might affect all living crea-
  tures.
  Unholy Altar (Sample Level 7)
  This dark alter is dedicated to a god of death and ruin.
  Knowledge: Easy (DC 11) Religion.
  Setup: An unholy altar occupies one square.
  Effect: The altar is difficult terrain. Additionally, it al-
  lows creatures to use the unholy blessing power.
  Unholy Blessing (Sample Level 7)
  You slice open the palm of your hand, sacrificing 
  your blood to the unholy god.
  Daily (Special)
  Special: Each creature may use this power once 
  per day.
  Minor Action 
   
   Personal
  Effect: Spend a healing surge. Until end of the 
  encounter, any time you make a damage roll, 
  you add 1d6 points of cold and necrotic damage. 
  This increases to 2d6 points of cold and necrotic 
  damage at level 21.
  Encounter Building: On one level, an unholy blessing 
  presents a strategic choice: whether spending a surge is 
  worth the bonus damage it imparts. It can also present 
  an ethical dilemma for certain heroes, as their blood 
  offerings are received by a dark god. NPCs might also 
  benefit from the blessings of this altar. Remember that, 
  by default, NPCs have one healing surge per tier. In this 
  case, the PCs might care more about preventing ene-
  mies from reaching the altar than from using it them-
  selves.
  Variations: An unholy altar might grant different bless-
  ings, such as a small bonus to defenses, or resistance 
  against particular types of damage.
  Reskinning: The blessing need not come from a dark 
  god, nor a god at all. It might also come from a primor-
  dial or a primal spirit. In these cases, it might be appro-
  priate to alter the bonus damage type. For example, a 
  primal spirit that embodies a ranging storm might grant 
  bonus thunder and lightning damage.
  Weak Flooring (Sample Level 1)
  The floor creaks as you set foot on it.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 12) Dungeoneering.
  Effect: Small or smaller creatures may pass over weak 
  flooring without difficulty. Medium creatures must ei-
  ther jump over the weak flooring or make a moderate 
  (DC 12) Acrobatics check. If failed, the floor breaks. If 
  there is an adjacent square that is not weak flooring, the 
  creature may make an immediate saving throw to grab 
  hold of the edge (characters must later make a DC 10 
  Athletics check to pull itself up). A character who fails 
  or has no stable terrain nearby falls to the level below. 
  Large or larger creatures automatically fall.
  Encounter Building: Weak flooring might just drop 
  PCs into a pit, but it can be even more effective when 
  the battlefield features multiple levels. Small opponents 
  may take advantage of their ability to run over weak 
  flooring with no concern. A band of kobold archers 
  
  29
  might build a nest whose only access point is a bridge of 
  weak flooring.
  Variations: To weaken or strengthen the flooring, you 
  can change the size of a creature that it can safely hold. 
  If the PCs fight against large monsters, you could make 
  it a goal of combat to lure their foes into the section of 
  weak flooring.
  Reskinning: As mentioned in frictionless stone (page 
  16), you can use weak flooring to represent thin ice.
  Wild Magic Zone (Sample Level 27)
  The air hums and crackles with latent arcane energy.
  Knowledge: Difficult (DC 39) Arcana.
  Setup: Wild magic zones may take up any number of 
  squares, up to the entire battlefield.
  Effect: Whenever a creature in the zone uses a power 
  that does acid, cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, psychic, 
  radiant, or thunder damage, the power instead deals a 
  random type of damage. Roll 1d8 and consult the list 
  below. If the power does more than one of these damage 
  types, roll for each damage type.
   
  1 = Acid, 2 = Cold, 3 = Fire, 4 = Lightning, 5 =
  Necrotic, 6 = Psychic, 7 = Radiant, 8 = Thunder.
  Encounter Building: A wild magic adds an element of 
  unpredictability to any battle. By the time they reach 
  high levels, many PCs will have secondary abilities that 
  key off of powers that deal a certain type of damage, and 
  a wild magic zone can throw a wrench into these plans. 
  This can be dramatic for certain battles, but should also 
  be handled with care.
  Variations: As written, the zone takes up a large but sta-
  tionary area. However, a wild magic zone could easily 
  move during the battle. Most likely it moves randomly, 
  though it might move in response to certain powers.
  Reskinning: A similar zone might automatically turn 
  one kind of damage into another, for example the strong 
  hold of the fairy queen of winter might turn all fire pow-
  er into cold powers.
  Zone of Reverse Gravity (Sample level 17)
  You suddenly realize that you are falling towards the ceil-
  ing.
  Knowledge: Moderate (DC 23) Arcana.
  Effect: Gravity in these areas is opposite from regular 
  terrain, causing creatures and objects to fall up instead 
  of down. If there is a solid barrier within the zone, crea-
  tures who strike it take falling damage based on the dis-
  tance as normal, otherwise they hang in the air.
  Encounter Building: Zones of reverse gravity in some 
  ways function similar to pit traps, dropping the crea-
  tures on the ceiling instead of the floor. When building 
  your battlefield, you might also wish to explore ways 
  that zones of reverse gravity might be used to navigate 
  around other hazards. Ranged creatures might want to 
  use the zone of reverse gravity to keep away from melee 
  characters. Those who are trained in Acrobatics might 
  jump into reverse gravity zones with impunity, relying 
  on their skills to avoid the damage.
  Variations: A particularly devious zone of reverse grav-
  ity might only affect certain kinds of creatures. Or the 
  direction of gravity might change at a regular interval 
  (such as every two rounds) or randomly (even rolls 
  make creatures fall up, odds they fall down).
  
  30
  30
  Appendix 1:
  Terrain by Location
  The following are lists of give a suggestions of different 
  sample terrains that might be found several environ-
  ments, and the page where the terrain can be found
  Caverns: Conducting veins (12), frictionless stone (16), 
  load bearing pillar (20), mine cart (22), razor glass (24), 
  spiked wall (26), weak flooring (28).
  Wilderness: Fire swamp (15), lift vine (19), logs float-
  ing down river (21), petrifying tree (23), poisoncloud 
  mushrooms (23), primal grass (24), sleep poppies (25).
  Urban: Ballista (11), blood mage’s circle (12), convey-
  or belt (13), circle of spirit binding (12), exploding keg 
  (15), giant cog (16), giant scales (17), giant’s shield (17), 
  healing font (18), highly flammable oil (19), holy lan-
  tern (19), lightning pillars (20), load bearing pillar (20), 
  logs floating down river (21), magnetic spike block (21), 
  mine cart (22), pane of glass (22), rug (25), spiked wall 
  (26), trick staircase (27), unholy altar (28).
  Ruins: Ballista (11), blood mage’s circle (11), circle of 
  spirit binding (12), crumbling wall (13), encroaching 
  gloom (14), giant’s shield (17), healing font (18), holy 
  lantern (19), lightning pillars (20), load bearing pillar 
  (20), spiked wall (26), stone of kings (26), unhallowed 
  ground (27), unholy altar (29), weak flooring (28).
  Magical: Acid rain (11), blood mage’s circle (11), chaos 
  mote (12), dimensional breech (14), flight stone (16), 
  floating stone (16), frictionless stones (16), grasping 
  claws (18), lightning pillars (20), magnetic spike blocks 
  (21), mind fuddling fog (22), petrifying tree (23), razor 
  glass (24), revealing glass (24), rolling toxic cloud (25), 
  solid clouds (26), thought flooring (27), unhallowed 
  ground (27), wild magic zone (30), zone of reverse grav-
  ity (29).
  Planes (any): Dimensional breech (14), floating stone 
  (16), frictionless stones (16), thought flooring (27), wild 
  magic zone (29), zone of reverse gravity (29).
  Outer Planes: Acid rain (11), chaos mote (12), god’s 
  blood (17), lightning pillars (20), rolling toxic cloud 
  (25), solid clouds (26), unholy altar (28). 
  Fairy Realm: Chaos mote (12), lift vine (19), mind fud-
  dling fog (22), petrifying tree (23), poisoncloud mush-
  rooms (23), primal grass (24), sleep poppies (25), solid 
  clouds (26).
  Shadow Realm: Circle of spirit binding (12), encroach-
  ing gloom (14), grasping claws (18), unhallowed ground 
  (27), unholy altar (28).
  
  31
  Good Little Children  
  Never Grow Up
  A horror-themed adventure for  
  D&D 4e. Available at RPGNow
  DriveThruRPG and Paizo.com
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/3rd Party/4th Edition/Sneak Attack Press/Advanced Encounters - Terrain Toolbox.pdf