Travel Pace
A group of characters can travel overland at a Normal, Fast, or Slow pace, as described in “Playing the Game.” During any journey stage, the predominant terrain determines the characters’ maximum travel pace, as shown in the Maximum Pace column of the Travel Terrain table. Certain factors can affect a group’s travel pace.
Creating a Background
A character’s background represents what the character did prior to becoming an adventurer. Creating a unique background or customizing an existing one can reflect the particular theme of your campaign or elements of your world. You can also create a background to help a player craft the story they have in mind for their character. This section describes, step by step, how you can create backgrounds tailored for your world and the heroes in it.
Curses and Magical Contagions
A curse is a magical burden that lasts for a specified time or until it is ended by some means. A magical contagion is an adverse effect of magical origin that is contagious by definition. The following sections discuss curses and magical contagions in detail.
Environmental Effects
Deep Water
Fear and Mental Stress
Due to the nature of their vocation, adventurers tend to be less susceptible to fear and mental stress than common folk. Whereas a farmer might flee in terror from a bear or an apparition, adventurers are made of sterner stuff. That said, certain creatures and game effects can terrify or fray the mind of even the most stalwart adventurer. If you plan to use any of these rules, discuss them with your players at the start of the campaign.
Poison
Given their insidious and deadly nature, poisons are a favorite tool among assassins and evil creatures. Poisons come in the following four types:
Traps
Traps should be used sparingly, lest they lose their charm. A hidden pit can be a fun surprise, but too many traps in an adventure can lead players to become overly cautious, which slows down the game. The best traps are fleeting distractions that skilled characters can overcome in a short amount of time or deadly puzzles that require quick thinking and teamwork to overcome. Traps that are undetectable and inescapable are rarely fun.
Combat Encounters
The following features can make a combat encounter more interesting or challenging: