Rules / Exploration / G.R.A.P.H.
G.R.A.P.H.
The G.R.A.P.H. System
G.R.A.P.H. rates how hostile an environment is on five scales: Gravity, Radiation, Atmosphere, Pressure and Heat/cold. The ratings tell you what the environment does to you, how often you must check, and what protection you need. Most checks are Fortitude saves.
Exposure Checks
When an entry calls for an exposure check, make a Fortitude save against the listed DC. Success: you avoid escalation for that interval (or take the entry's success result, if it has one). Failure: you suffer the listed effect (Strain, Environmental Damage, or exposure to an affliction).
Prolonged Exposure
The longer you stay exposed, the worse it gets. Each exposure check you've already made during the same continuous exposure gives you 1 level of Disadvantage on the next one (the second check has 1, the third has 2, and so on, with no limit). Every check counts, pass or fail: the checks measure how long you've been exposed. Leaving the hazard (or getting proper protection) ends the exposure and resets the count. Advantage from gear, spells or talents cancels these levels as usual.
For afflictions caught this way (Radiation Sickness, Toxic Atmosphere Poisoning), the same Disadvantage applies to your interval saves while you're still exposed. Once you're out, you roll against the DC alone.
Protection & Time Scales
With complete protection you ignore that hazard entirely; with partial protection, follow the entry's note (usually one step less severe, or checks less often). Hazards that last make you repeat checks as long as you're exposed, at the interval listed for that rating (weeks, days, hours, minutes or rounds). If an environment becomes immediately lethal (vacuum, crushing depth, inferno), the GM may call for checks every round.
Environmental Damage
Some environments and disasters deal damage that varies with the circumstances, so they name a category instead of dice. Pick the category by how extreme the danger is and roll it; if an effect gives exact dice, use those instead.
| Category | Damage |
|---|---|
| Minor | 1d6–2d6 |
| Moderate | 4d6 |
| Major | 8d6–12d6 |
| Massive | 16d6–24d6 |
Gravity
| Rating | Effect |
|---|---|
| G0 Zero | Physical actions involving motion take 3 levels of Disadvantage, reduced by 1 for every 3 Acrobatics ranks (rounded up: 1–3 ranks −1, 4–6 −2, 7+ −3). Each 3 feet moved costs 1 foot of Speed. You can't fall. |
| G1 Low | Physical actions take 1 Disadvantage. Unless you have Ranks in Acrobatics, each 2 feet moved costs 1 foot of Speed. Falling damage is halved. |
| G2 Moderate | No special effects. |
| G3 High | Physical actions take 1 Disadvantage. Each foot moved costs 2 feet of Speed. Jump distances are halved. Falling damage is doubled. Each day: 1 Strain (Fortitude DC 10 halves, rounded down). |
| G4 Very High | Physical actions take 2 Disadvantage. Each foot moved costs 3 feet of Speed. Falling damage is tripled. Each hour: 2 Strain (Fortitude DC 15 halves, rounded down). |
| G5 Super High | Physical actions take 3 Disadvantage. Each foot moved costs 4 feet of Speed. Falling damage is quadrupled. Each minute: 3 Strain (Fortitude DC 20 halves, rounded down); if you are Prone or crawling, once every 10 minutes instead. |
Radiation
| Rating | Effect |
|---|---|
| R0 Zero | No effect for most creatures. |
| R1 Low | No immediate threat. |
| R2 Moderate | Fortitude DC 10 per week (or part of one) of exposure. E-suits, vehicle hulls and habitats usually give complete protection. |
| R3 High | Fortitude DC 15 per day (or part of one). Soft e-suits give partial protection (treat as R2); hard e-suits, hulls and habitats give complete protection. |
| R4 Extreme | Fortitude DC 20 per hour (or part of one). E-suits give partial protection (treat as R3); vehicles and habitats give complete protection. |
| R5 Lethal | Fortitude DC 25 per minute. E-suits give partial protection (treat as R4); only major vehicles and habitats protect reliably. |
Radiation is handled as an affliction: on a failed exposure check you are exposed to Radiation Sickness. Aether radiation from leylines uses the same schedule and DCs but rolls on the Aether Exposure table instead (see Hexploration).
Atmosphere
| Rating | Effect |
|---|---|
| A0 Vacuum | Handled under Pressure P0. |
| A1 Inert | No breathable air. You need your own air supply or you risk suffocation. |
| A2 Moderate | Breathable; no precautions. |
| A3 Toxic | A respirator (or better) is needed to filter the poisons. Unprotected creatures make exposure checks against Toxic Atmosphere Poisoning, set by how toxic the air is: mildly toxic DC 10 each hour; toxic DC 15 every 10 minutes; highly toxic DC 20 each minute. Prolonged exposure applies. |
| A4 Corrosive | Needs full-body protection and an independent air supply. Soft e-suits last 1d6 days before failing; hard e-suits far longer (with maintenance). Unprotected exposure deals Moderate acid Environmental Damage each minute, risks suffocation, and calls for an exposure check against Toxic Atmosphere Poisoning (DC 15) each minute. Prolonged exposure applies. |
| A5 Super Corrosive | Soft e-suits dissolve in 1d6 hours; hard e-suits last 1d6 days. Once your suit fails, exposure deals Major acid Environmental Damage each round, risks suffocation, and calls for an exposure check against Toxic Atmosphere Poisoning (DC 20) each round. Prolonged exposure applies. |
Pressure
| Rating | Effect |
|---|---|
| P0 Vacuum | No air and nothing to carry heat. You need sealed breathing and skin protection, or you risk suffocation. Heat and cold in vacuum depend on light and shade (the GM uses the H ratings). |
| P1 Very Thin | Unprotected: Fortitude DC 15, or 1 Strain. Strain from lack of oxygen can't be removed until you've had breathable air for 1 hour. |
| P2 Thin | Sudden exposure: 1 Disadvantage on all physical checks until you acclimate (24 hours). A respirator, vacuum mask or e-suit cancels the penalty. |
| P3 Moderate | No effect. |
| P4 Dense | Unprotected: Fortitude DC 10 each hour, or 1 Strain. A respirator makes it once a day; e-suits fully protect. |
| P5 Very Dense | Unprotected exposure deals Moderate crushing Environmental Damage each minute, and a Fortitude save (DC 15; prolonged exposure applies) or 2 Strain. |
| P6 Crushing | Unprotected exposure deals Major crushing Environmental Damage each round, and a Fortitude save (DC 20; prolonged exposure applies) or 3 Strain. Only major vehicles and habitats protect reliably. |
Heat and Cold
| Rating | Effect |
|---|---|
| H0 Absolute Zero | Unprotected exposure deals Major cold Environmental Damage each round, and a Fortitude save (DC 20; prolonged exposure applies) or 3 Strain. Soft e-suits reduce checks to once an hour; hard e-suits fully protect. |
| H1 Frigid | Unprotected exposure deals Moderate cold Environmental Damage each minute, and a Fortitude save (DC 15; prolonged exposure applies) or 2 Strain. Heavy bundled clothing or shelter makes it once an hour; e-suits fully protect. |
| H2 Cold | Spending at least half a day here doubles your food needs. Unprotected: Fortitude DC 10 each hour, or 1 Strain. |
| H3 Normal | No effect. |
| H4 Hot | Spending at least half a day here doubles your water needs. Unprotected: Fortitude DC 10, or 1 Strain. |
| H5 Extreme Heat | Unprotected exposure deals Moderate fire Environmental Damage each minute (each round if the scene is immediately lethal), and a Fortitude save (DC 15; prolonged exposure applies) or 2 Strain. |
| H6 Inferno | Unprotected exposure deals Major fire Environmental Damage each round, and a Fortitude save (DC 20; prolonged exposure applies) or 3 Strain. |
Winter clothing cancels severe cold's damage and reduces extreme cold's damage to that of severe cold. Weather sets the day's Heat rating outdoors (see Hexploration › Weather).