Archetypes & Examples

Hazard Archetypes

Most hazards fit one of a handful of shapes, whatever their flavour. Building a new one usually means picking the shape that matches the danger you want, then filling in the fiction.

• Instant Strike (Reactive): one trigger, one save, one burst of damage or a debuff. The shape of most traditional traps.
• Displacement / Entrapment (Reactive): no damage; instead it moves, seals in or separates whoever set it off.
• Ambient Affliction (Sustained): a trigger and one save, then a staged, worsening condition that plays out over several rounds through the character's own recovery saves.
• Utility / Puzzle (Reactive, no threat): a trigger with no danger at all, simply revealing something to interact with.
• Spawner: a hazard whose only job is to bring in a real combatant. Its own stat block stays small; the danger is a spawned Adversary handled by normal combat rules from then on.

Worked Examples

Each of these demonstrates one of the shapes, and each is an actor in the Hazards compendium, ready to place.

Hidden Pit — Level 0

A shallow pit disguised under debris, cloth or loose earth.

• Nature: Reactive. Detection DC: 15.
• Trigger: A creature steps onto the hidden cover.
• Passive Awareness (Thievery): Rung 1 (Skill Bonus 1+): The ground looks slightly disturbed. Rung 2 (Skill Bonus 6+): A faint seam where the cover doesn't match. Rung 3 (Skill Bonus 11+): The pit cover's outline is obvious. Rung 4 (Skill Bonus 16+): The holding mechanism is clear; it can be disabled without a roll (GM's call).
• Reaction save: Reflex vs DC 15: Fortune on Jump to Safety, Misfortune on Duck and Cover.
• Effect: Reflex save. Failure: falls in, 1d6 bludgeoning. Success: catches the edge.
• Disable: Thievery DC 15 — wedge the door or jam the mechanism.
• Reset: Close and reset the door from the pit's edge.

Sealed Passage — Level 1

A corridor section whose walls grind shut behind whoever passes the threshold.

• Nature: Reactive. Detection DC: 16.
• Trigger: A creature crosses the hidden threshold.
• Hardness 8, Durability 40, BT 20 (the sealed wall itself can be broken through once shut).
• Passive Awareness (Thievery): Rung 1 (Skill Bonus 2+): The stonework here looks newer. Rung 2 (Skill Bonus 7+): A faint seam runs across floor and ceiling. Rung 3 (Skill Bonus 12+): You see where a sealing wall would emerge. Rung 4 (Skill Bonus 17+): You spot the release and know how to jam it.
• Reaction save: Reflex vs DC 16: Fortune on Jump to Safety, Misfortune on Brace for Impact.
• Effect: Reflex save. Failure: a stone wall seals behind the creature (no damage). Success: it scrambles back through. The wall has Hardness 8, Durability 40, BT 20.
• Disable: Thievery DC 16 — jam the mechanism.
• Reset: Reopen the wall and reset the mechanism from the far side.

Sinking Mire — Level 3

Ground that looks solid but is a deceptive bog.

• Nature: Sustained. Detection DC: 18.
• Trigger: A creature steps onto the surface.
• Passive Awareness (Survival): Rung 1 (Skill Bonus 4+): The ground is a little too smooth and glossy. Rung 2 (Skill Bonus 9+): A faint sucking sound bubbles up now and then. Rung 3 (Skill Bonus 14+): Clear signs of a bog disguised as ground. Rung 4 (Skill Bonus 19+): You see a safe path around or across.
• Reaction save: Reflex vs DC 18: Fortune on Duck and Cover, Misfortune on Jump to Safety.
• Effect: Reflex save. Failure: Sinking condition. Success: steps back as the ground gives.
• Disable: Survival DC 18 — mark a permanent safe path.
• Reset: The surface settles after 24 hours.

Whispering Alcove — Level 0

A wall section that opens onto a hidden alcove or passage.

• Nature: Reactive. Detection DC: 15.
• Trigger: A specific action near the wall (a word, a knock pattern).
• Passive Awareness (Thievery): Rung 1 (Skill Bonus 1+): The wall sounds slightly hollow. Rung 2 (Skill Bonus 6+): A faint draft from a hairline seam. Rung 3 (Skill Bonus 11+): You find exactly where the mechanism is. Rung 4 (Skill Bonus 16+): You know the specific action that opens it.
• Effect: The wall swings open. No danger.
• Reset: Closes when everyone moves away or after 1 minute (GM's call).

Warded Effigy — Level 4

A carved effigy bound to animate a guardian construct when disturbed.

• Nature: Reactive. Detection DC: 19.
• Trigger: A creature touches, moves or tries to take the effigy.
• Passive Awareness (Mysticism keyed to Perception): Rung 1 (Skill Bonus 5+): The carved eyes seem to follow movement. Rung 2 (Skill Bonus 10+): Faint runes are etched into the base. Rung 3 (Skill Bonus 15+): The sigils are a binding/animation ward. Rung 4 (Skill Bonus 20+): You know exactly what guardian will appear and roughly what it can do.
• Effect: A guardian construct (built as an Adversary) animates and joins the scene; combat proceeds normally.
• Disable: Thievery DC 19 — deactivate the runes before disturbing it.
• Reset: None; spent once triggered or disabled.