Environmental Conditions

The Pokemon world is varied and can be dangerous for the unprepared. The farther one goes from civilization, the more wild and unpredictable the terrain becomes. This section is intended to assist with determining just how dangerous extreme conditions can be.

ACID/POISON

  • Acid and poison fumes deal direct Poison-type damage dependent on the type of exposure. Acid/Poison come in 4 ‘Corruption’ Tiers, which cover pollution, dissolving liquids, and poison/venom. Generally, the higher the tier, the more toxic or corrosive the substance is.
    • Wearing a Biohazard Suit or equipping a Poison Orb renders you immune to the following effects.
Corruption Tier Example
1 Most wastewater; Ekans venom; Citric acid
2 Oil spills; Weezing smoke; Sulfuric acid
3 Chemical spill; Muk’s muck; Hydrochloric acid
4 Radioactive water; Dragalage poison; Superacid
  • Corrosive acid deals Corruption Tier x 6 damage per round for contact, or Corruption Tier x 12 per round for total submersion in it. The fumes from most acids are also inhaled poisons.
    • There are many types of acids, some of which excel at melting certain substances. For example, acetone would be Super Effective at melting Normal-type objects, while hydrofluoric acid would be Super Effective against nearly everything.
    • Creatures immune to Poison-type damage can still Asphyxiate in acid if they are fully submerged in it.
  • Creatures that are not immune to Poison-type damage or the Poisoned status must hold their breath while in poisonous fumes or pass a DC Corruption Tier x 5 Athletics check each round. Failure to do either results in 1 Body Damage for 24 hours.
    • While rarer, some poisons inflict Mind or Spirit Damage instead… and some inflict all three.
    • For further details on poison gases, see the Fog, Smoke, and Other Aerosols section.

AVALANCHES/MUDSLIDES/ROCKSLIDES

  • In mountainous terrain, large amounts of matter can suddenly find itself subject to the forces of gravity. Unfortunately, sometimes you are in the way when this happens. In this case, the rules from the Kinematics section determines how much Collision Damage these will inflict upon you and how quickly it moves. Avalanches and the like are generally Object Size 6-8 and Weight Class 7.
    • Avalanches typically range in noise from 100 to 130+ db, making them rather easy to hear.
  • Avalanches and rockslides have two distinct areas: The bury zone (where the debris is falling) and the slide zone (the area the debris is spreading to encompass). Characters in the bury zone when the avalanche hits cannot react to it, are buried under its weight, and take full Collision Damage. Characters in the slide zone may spend an Interrupt Action to react to the avalanche as if it were any other object – those who fail their checks are also buried.
    • See the Buried Alive section for these unfortunate circumstances.

BURIED ALIVE

  • Some liquids, such as mercury, quicksand, mud, and others, are especially dense and can give the appearance of solid ground. Creatures that are standing on ground they are at risk of sinking into have a limited amount of time to escape to solid ground before they begin to sink, detailed in the table below. Creatures wearing Heavy Armor have 1 less round before they begin to sink.
    • These liquids typically cause creatures to sink at a rate of 1 meter per round.
    • Using the Weightless Balancer Acrobatics power allows you to travel on these surfaces safely.
Weight Class Rounds Before Sinking Rounds Before Going Under
1 7 1
2 6 2
3 5 3
4 4 4
5 3 5
6 2 6
7 1 7
  • Once you have begun to sink, you are Trapped unless you pass a DC 12 Athletics or Survival check to break free. Upon doing so you may shift, but are Slowed. You may evenly distribute your weight if you haven’t gone under yet, but you can only shift 1 meter per round while doing so.
  • When you’ve gone under, you need to hold your breath or begin Asphyxiating. See Suffocating/Drowning for details. At this point, you are Trapped unless you pass a DC 24 Athletics or Survival check to break free, at which point you may move 1 meter towards the surface. You’d better hope someone can get you something to grab onto.

COLD

  • Cold deals direct Ice-type damage. Once a creature has Fainted, any further damage from a cold environment also inflicts 1 Injury. Ambient Cold comes in 4 Tiers, which are detailed below.
    • Equipping an Ice Orb renders you immune to the following effects.
Cold Tier Temperature Range
1 5 to -15 Celsius (40 to 5 Fahrenheit)
2 -16 to -35 Celsius (4 to -30 Fahrenheit)
3 -36 to -55 Celsius (-31 to -70 Fahrenheit)
4 <-55 Celsius (<-70 Fahrenheit)
  • A creature in very cold weather must pass a Cold Check each hour, using Athletics or Survival. The DC for this check is equal to Cold Tier x 6, +1 per previous continuous check made. Failing this check inflicts damage equal to the check’s base DC. Creatures equipped with Winter Cloaks or a Flame Orb are treated as being 1 or 2 Cold Tiers lower, respectively.
  • Anyone who falls under 50% Max HP from failing a Cold Check is Slowed until they recover from the cold and don’t need to make Cold Checks anymore. Ice-type creatures or those with the Freezer capability are immune to the effects of cold.
  • Freezing, non-solid liquids have a similar cold range, but doubled (Tier 1 is 5 to -30 Celsius, Tier 4 is <-110 Celsius, etc.). Contact with a freezing liquid deals Cold Tier x 6 damage per round, or Cold Tier x 12 per round for total submersion in it.
    • It’s possible for water to reach Cold Tier 3 before freezing into ice. See the Ice Object Type section for details on Cold’s interactions with various objects.

Ice

Ice is a slippery substance, as is melted snow. While walking on ice or other cold, slippery surfaces, you must succeed with the Balance Skill Power or fall prone. If you fail a Balance check while moving on an icy surface, you lose control and travel half your Overland movement speed in the direction you were trying to go.

DARKNESS AND LIGHT

  • Almost every Trainer finds themselves in a cave or the woods at night at some point in their travels. Darkness poses quite a problem for creatures without the Blindsense or Darkvision capabilities. Dark-type Pokemon are naturally immune to being blinded and take no penalties for looking at things in darkness.
    • There are three levels of darkness which correspond to the Blinded status. While in Low Darkness (a darkened room; a well-lit night), any susceptible creatures are Slightly Blinded. While in Medium Darkness (nighttime), they are Blinded. While in Heavy Darkness (caves; magical shadows), they are Totally Blinded.
    • There are many forms of light sources, and Trainers should have at least one of them most of the time. When looking at something directly lit by a light source, you are no longer Blinded. Light sources also slightly light up an area that is twice their usual range (a Torch, for example, slightly lights up a radius up to 24 meters away), making it 1 step less dark than before.
Light Source Light Provided Duration
A Torch 12 meters; Radius 1 hour
Flashlight 50 x Tier meters; Cone             OR 100 x Tier meters; Line 4 x Tier hours; costs 1 PU x Tier to recharge
Pokedex 6 meters; Radius 8 hours; recharge during Downtime
Glow Capability Size Category x 5 meters; Radius Permanent
Open Flames 15 x Flame Tier meters; Radius Variable

FOG, SMOKE, AND OTHER AEROSOLS

    • Many Pokemon are capable of spraying various aerosols into the air around them to aid in their escape and sometimes Trainers might find themselves in a natural phenomenon, such as fog, smoke, dust, toxic fumes, or even clouds.
      • Being inside a cloud of smoke or fog makes it difficult to see in or out of it: For ‘clearer’ fogs, creatures inside it are considered to be Slightly Blinded, as are creatures attacking into or through it. Creatures in the cloud are also Covered. For dense fogs or thick smoke, they are Blinded instead, and those in the cloud are Heavily Covered. Getting caught in a cloud at night can render you Totally Blinded. However, some aerosols are completely translucent – poison gases, most notably.
      • Tier 1 Winds blow aerosols away in 4 rounds. Tier 2 Winds blow them away in 1 round. Tier 3 or higher winds instantly disperse them.
      • Creatures with the Air Balancer Acrobatics power are capable of riding winds and other gases. The denser the gas, the easier it is to ride.
  • ‘Solid’ air is not the same as aerosol – while ‘solid’ air is translucent, it is Blocking Terrain and can be walked upon.
  • Fire cannot spread into areas where it has already been extinguished or if the areas do not have flammable materials, such as objects that are weak to Fire. These objects typically become On Fire when reaching 50% Max HP from Fire-type damage. Some materials that are not weak to Fire may still be flammable and catch aflame when reaching 50% Max HP from Fire. Creatures within a square when it catches fire may also catch fire, as per the above rules.

HEAT

  • Heat deals direct Fire-type damage. Once a creature has Fainted, any further damage from a hot environment also inflicts 1 Injury. Ambient Heat comes in 4 Tiers, which are detailed below.
Heat Tier Temperature Range
1 30-45 Celsius (90-115 Fahrenheit)
2 46-60 Celsius (116-140 Fahrenheit)
3 61-75 Celsius (140-170 Fahrenheit)
4 75+ Celsius (170+ Fahrenheit)
  • A creature in very hot weather must pass a Heat Check each hour, using Athletics or Survival. The DC for this check is equal to Heat Tier x 6, +1 per previous continuous check made. Failing this check inflicts damage equal to the check’s base DC. Anyone wearing Heavy Armor takes a -3 penalty to their checks. Creatures equipped with Desert Cloaks or an Ice Orb are treated as being 1 or 2 Heat Tier lower, respectively.
  • Anyone who falls under 50% Max HP from failing a Heat Check is Suppressed until they recover from the heat and don’t need to make heat checks anymore. Fire-type creatures or those with the Heater capability are immune to the effects of heat.
  • Boiling liquids have a similar heat range, but doubled (Tier 1 is 60-90 Celsius, Tier 4 is 150+ Celsius, etc.). Contact with a boiling liquid deals Heat Tier x 6 damage per round, or Heat Tier x 12 per round for total submersion in it – see below for contact with lava.
  • Flames have their own Fire Tiers, determined by how hot the flames are. Most ‘natural’ fires are Tier 1 or 2 unless aided by external forces.
    • Flames created by creatures have a Flame Tier equal to the creature’s Tier unless stated otherwise.
Flame Tier Temperature Range Example
1 600-900 Celsius (1100-1650 Fahrenheit) Embers burning; an Emboar’s chin; a lantern
2 900-1200 Celsius (1650-2200 Fahrenheit) Wood fire; a Rapidash’s mane; a torch
3 1200-1500 Celsius (2200-2700 Fahrenheit) Propane flame; a Typhlosion’s explosion
4 1500+ Celsius (2700+ Fahrenheit) Hottest point in a fire; Mega Charizard X’s tail

Being on Fire

  • Creatures exposed to burning oil, bonfires, or other non-instantaneous magic fires might find themselves On Fire. Those at risk of catching fire through environmental means are allowed to use an Interrupt Action to make a DC 12 Acrobatics check to avoid the flame. Failing this check gives you the On Fire status. 

Spreading Flames

  • Unchecked, fire spreads quickly and unpredictably. Once a fire has burned an area, it will not return to that area. Once an area has been doused with water or covered in a non-flammable substance such as dirt or stone, the area is safe from the blaze in the immediate future. See the Fire Object Type section for details on Fire’s interactions with various objects.
  • Every round a fire burns, even if someone is trying to douse it, roll 1d10 per Flame and Heat Tier and consult the following table to determine the activity of the fire for that round and if it spreads into any 1-meter squares. This roll is for every fire that is active within the scene – do not make multiple rolls for multiple flames.
    • Grass-type objects that are on fire cause the flame to automatically spread to every Grass-type object adjacent to it, unless the object is wet.
d10 Roll Fire Reaction
1 The fire does not grow this round.
2 The fire grows 1 square to the north.
3 The fire grows 1 square to the east.
4 The fire grows 1 square to the south.
5 The fire grows 1 square to the west.
6 The fire does not grow this round.
7 The fire grows 1 square in all directions.
8 The fire grows 2 squares in all directions.
9 The fire grows 3 squares in all directions.
10 The fire grows 4 squares in all directions.
  • Fire cannot spread into areas where it has already been extinguished or if the areas do not have flammable materials, such as objects that are weak to Fire. These objects typically become On Fire when reaching 50% Max HP from Fire-type damage. Some materials that are not weak to Fire may still be flammable and catch aflame when reaching 50% Max HP from Fire. Creatures within a square when it catches fire may also catch fire, as per the above rules. 

Large Burning Objects

Nobody really wants to be concerned with figuring out how long something big takes to burn down in the middle of the game. To help with that, here are some rough guidelines to help with adjudication:

  • Determine how much HP the object has by using the guidelines in the Objects section. For example, a decently sized drywall house that is 11 meters long at its thinnest point would have (110 x 20) = 2200 HP. It takes 10 Fire-type damage per round while it is On Fire. The house will hit half (1100) HP in 110 rounds (18 minutes), and be completely destroyed in 220 rounds (36 minutes).
    • Being On Fire typically inflicts 60 Fire-type damage per minute, 600 per 10 minutes, and 3600 per hour.
    • The Type of a building may mean it resists or is weak to Fire-type damage. If it resists Fire, being On Fire typically inflicts 30 damage per minute, 300 per 10 minutes, and 1800 per hour.

If it is weak to Fire, being On Fire typically inflicts 90 damage per minute, 900 per 10 minutes, and 5400 per hour.

  • If you want to forgo that, just remember that small one-floor buildings (most common homes) are consumed in 6d8 minutes; larger buildings (more affluent homes; Pokemon Centers) are consumed in 4d20 minutes; and major structures (warehouses, castles, etc.) are consumed in 2d4 hours. 
    • Buildings that are weak to flames burn 50% quicker, and buildings that resist flames burn 50% slower.
  • Many structures or other large objects tend to collapse or fall apart while burning, especially when reaching 50% Max HP. See Kinematics for more details.

Dousing a Flame

Dousing a fire requires water or non-flammable material to be deposited on the burning area. Firefighters typically surround a burning area with non-flammable material to best contain it.

  • Creatures doing this may throw their payload by making an attack against an AC 2 to deliver their payload to the intended area – failure means the fire is too hot for you to properly throw your payload, but you do not waste it.
  • Ground, Rock, and Water-type attacks all may douse flames equal to their range – a single target attack can extinguish a single 1-meter square, while a Short Line attack can extinguish a 4 per Tier meter line.

Dense Smoke

Where there’s fire, there’s smoke. How much smoke an object puts out while burning is typically related to how much water vapor and fuel content is inside it – the more of either, the more smoke is generated. What “dense” smoke is remains left up to the GM, but is generally at the point where it becomes difficult to breathe.

  • A creature in dense smoke may hold their breath to avoid inhaling it (see Suffocation). If they do not hold their breath, they remain conscious for Athletics Rank x 3 rounds, fainting after the final round and becoming subject to Asphyxiation. See the  Fog, Smoke, and other Aerosols section for more details.

Lava

  • Lava or magma deals 30 damage per round upon contact with it, or 60 damage per round for total submersion in it. Damage from lava continues for 2 rounds after exposure ceases, but the creature Resists it one step further. Creatures immune to heat or Fire-type damage can still asphyxiate in lava if they are fully submerged in it.
    • A problem that comes with being around lava is the copious amounts of volcanic gases that inevitably come with it. These gases are spewed out along with lava, and are typically heavier than air and sink to the ground. They are generally Corruption Tier 2 or 3, depending on the fume’s toxicity, and inflict Body Damage. See the Acid/Poison and Fog, Smoke, and Other Aerosols sections for damage details and how to physically interact with the fumes, respectively.

GRAVITY DIFFERENCES

  • There are 6 Tiers of Gravity, ranging from 0-5. Levels higher than 5 are typically fatal for most creatures, dealing 1 Injury per round of exposure.
    • 0: Zero gravity, usually reserved for being in space.
    • 1: Very low gravity, used for moons or large asteroids.
    • 2: Low gravity, used for small planets such as Mars
    • 3: Earth-like gravity, used for Earth-sized planets. 
    • 4: Heavy gravity, used for large planets like Jupiter.
    • 5: Very high gravity, usually artificial in nature, such as G-force exerted on a jet plane pilot.
  • All humans and Pokemon have a Home Gravity, which is what they’ve most adapted to. For the vast majority of terrestrial creatures, their Home Gravity is 3 and will not be listed in Pokedex entries.
    • For each step the environment differs from your Home Gravity value, take a -2 penalty to your Athletics and Acrobatics rolls.
    • For each step the environment is higher than your Home Gravity value, make the following changes:
      • -1 Evasion
      • -1 to all Movement Capabilities
      • Your maximum height and distance when jumping decreases by 50%.
      • Decrease your effective Power by 1.
      • Increase your effective Weight Class by 1.
      • If the environment is at least 2 steps higher, you cannot use Levitate or Sky speeds.
    • For each step the environment is lower than your Home Gravity value, make the following changes:
      • Your maximum height and distance when jumping increases by 50%.
      • Increase your effective Power by 1.
      • Decrease your effective Weight Class by 1.

Zero-G Movement

  • Creatures with Levitate, Swim, and Teleporter capabilities may move around as normal. Sky capabilities can be used so long as there is an atmosphere – they do not function in vacuums. Creatures do not need to pass Athletics checks to climb along surfaces with handholds. 
    • The Free Floating capability lets a creature use the higher of their Overland or Sky speed to move around in zero gravity.
  • If you push off a wall, you move at the same rate each round until you hit another object or use a movement capability to stop yourself. The speed you travel each round is equal to your maximum Long Jump distance.

HUMIDITY

  • There are only three Tiers of Humidity: High Humidity (70%-100%), Normal Humidity (30-70%) and Low Humidity (0%-30%). High humidity indicates that an area typically or has recently received precipitation, and vice versa.
    • High humidity typically causes Normal, Rock, and Steel objects of all kinds to deteriorate 1 Tier faster. In high humidity areas, only objects that are Weak to Fire are flammable at all. Additionally, Electric-type objects recharge and absorb PU at half the normal rate (Pokemon are unaffected).
    • Low humidity areas are susceptible to flames, as only objects that Resist Fire are not flammable to some degree. Additionally, Electric-type objects recharge and absorb PU at twice the normal rate.

OXYGEN DIFFERENCES

  • These rules are typically used for high altitudes, where there is little oxygen content, but sometimes Trainers find themselves in places with too much oxygen. Oxygen differences are split into 4 categories: Extremely High, High, Low, and Extremely Low. Creatures with the Breathless and Hardy 2 capabilities don’t care about any of this, but creatures with the Hardy 1 capability are treated as being 1 step more neutral (Extremely High becomes High, Low becomes normal, etc.).
    • Extremely Low oxygen typically ranges from 5000-8000 meters above sea level. Creatures in this range experience 1 Mind Damage per day of exposure, on top of the effects of Low oxygen. There is not enough oxygen to breath above 8000 meters.
    • Low oxygen typically ranges from 3000-5000 meters above sea level. Creatures in this range experience 1 Body Damage per day of exposure.
    • High oxygen does not occur naturally, but can be generated by some Grass pokemon and through specific Moves. Poison effects that corrode Steel objects act 1 Tier higher and objects that are Weak to Fire are more easily set aflame. Bug-type Pokemon that live in these environments for at least a month are 1 Size Category larger.
    • Extremely High oxygen is even rarer. Non-Bug creatures in these environments experience 1 Body Damage per day of exposure. Poison effects corrode 2 Tiers higher now, and all objects that do not Resist Fire are more easily set aflame. Bug-type Pokemon that live in these environments for at least a month are 2 Size Categories larger.
      • Creatures with the Oxygen Acclimation 1 capability do not suffer Body damage, and Oxygen Acclimation 2 makes them immune to Mind Damage from this as well. If a creature spends at least 8 hours a day in a Low Oxygen range for 1 week, it gains +1 Oxygen Acclimation capability. This capability goes away if they spend 1 consecutive week out of Low Oxygen range.

SKILL DAMAGE

Typically, prolonged malnutrition or exposure to dangerous environments have a negative effect on one’s health, and by extension, one’s skills. Creatures that feed on Aura energy have been known to steal parts of a person’s soul or mind. These effects reduce the creature’s Skill Ranks in a specific category: Body, Mind, and Spirit. While any loss is debilitating, losing all Skill Ranks in a single category can be devastating.

  • Body Skills at 0 means that the creature is dead.
  • Mind Skills at 0 means the creature cannot think at all and loses its Intelligence score, becoming Comatose.
  • Spirit Skills at 0 means the creature cannot feel any sensations and falls Comatose.

Skill Ranks can never fall below 0. When a creature’s Skill Rank is reduced, target the highest Skill Rank in that category. For example, a Trainer’s Master Combat Rank would be targeted before their Expert Athletics Rank. When a creature’s Rank is reduced, it cannot use Skill Powers it no longer qualifies for and any that are active immediately fail. When Skill Ranks are equal, the player decides which Skill Rank is damaged.

  • Skill Damage returns at the rate of 1 point per day (starting at the lowest Skill Rank), or 2 points per day if the character gets bed rest unless the condition dealing the damage notes otherwise.
    • This rate is doubled when under the effects of the Treat Patients Medicine Education power.

SUFFOCATION/DROWNING

  • Creatures without the Breathless or Gilled capability can hold their breath for 3 rounds per Athletics Skill Rank, or 6 rounds per Rank if they resist the material they are immersed in (Fire for lava; Water for water; Steel for acid, etc.). 
  • If the creature takes a Standard or Full Action, the remaining duration the creature can hold its breath for is reduced by 1 round. After this period of time, they must pass a DC 7 Athletics check to continue holding their breath. This check must be repeated each round,  with the DC increasing by +1 for each previous success. 
  • Fainted creatures must begin making Athletics checks immediately upon being submerged (or upon Fainting if they were conscious when submerged). When you fail this check, you gain the Asphyxiated status until you can breathe again.

VACUUMS

  • If you ever find yourself in a vacuum, leave. Vacuums have no air, or much of anything in them, and creatures without the Breathless or Vacuum Immunity capabilities have their Athletics Rank number of rounds before they Faint and begin Asphyxiating. Holding your breath in a vacuum is actively harmful and inflicts 1 HP Tick of damage for every round you do it, on top of not actually helping in any way.
    • Creatures with the Vacuum Tolerance capability have Athletics Rank number of minutes before they Faint.
    • Due to the lack of oxygen, fires are incapable of sustaining themselves inside a vacuum. Most liquids will begin to boil 1 Heat Tier sooner than they normally would. 

WATER

  • Swimming in most liquids is detailed by the Swim power. However, sometimes you unintentionally find yourself in dangerous water situations, such as in fast-moving water. Creatures must pass a DC 12 Athletics check to avoid going under in these circumstances. Upon failure, the character takes 5 direct Water-type damage per round, or 10 if flowing over rocks and cascades.
    • Depending on the speed of the water, a Medium-sized creature or object will be carried up to 30 meters per round. Mini/Tiny creatures can travel up to 60 meters per round, while Gigantic creatures can travel up to 10 meters per round.
  • Deeper water inflicts pressure damage upon inhabitants without the Rock, Steel, or Water-type, or the Pressureless capability. For every 10 meters a creature is below the surface, it takes 1 direct Typeless damage per minute. Succeeding on a DC 12 Athletics check (+1 per previous check made) means the diver takes no damage during that minute.
    • Very deep water (1000+ meters) is generally pitch black and Cold Tier 1. See the Cold section for details on being submerged in water this cold.
    • Creatures equipped with Scuba Gear are treated as being 1 Cold Tier lower and do not suffer pressure damage.