Reference Pages
Environments
Dynamic Locations & Scene Elements
Environments represent everything in a scene beyond the PCs and adversaries, such as the physical space, background NPCs, and natural forces.
Environment Stat Block
Each environment's stat block presents their necessary mechanical statistics:
Name
Unique identifier for the environment
Tier
PC tier the environment is designed to challenge
Description
An evocative one-line summary of the environment
Impulses
The manner with which the environment pushes and pulls people within it
Additional Components
Difficulty
Standard Difficulty for rolls against the environment
Potential Adversaries
Creatures that might be found in this environment
Features
Special environmental elements and mechanics
Environment Types
The type of scene it most easily supports:
Explorations
Wondrous locations with mysteries and marvels to discover.
Socials
Locations that primarily present interpersonal challenges.
Traversals
Dangerous locations where movement through and around the space itself is a challenge.
Events
Special activities or occurrences (rather than physical spaces).
Adapting Environments
Flexibility & Customization
Sometimes you want to use an environment but it's at the wrong tier for your party. Or you might want to replace a feature or two, then present it as an entirely different environment. Whether planning your session or even improvising an environment mid-session, you can adjust an existing environment's stat block to fit the needs of your scene or improvise elements as needed.
Design Philosophy
The environments framework is there to help organize ideas, not to stifle creativity.
Tier Adjustment
Quick Tier Scaling
When you need to quickly adjust a stat block to a different tier, you can simply replace its existing statistics with those listed on the Environment Statistics by Tier table, using the column that corresponds to your party's tier.
Benchmark Statistics: See the complete Environment Statistics by Tier table for precise difficulty scaling across all four tiers.
Feature Questions
Narrative Integration
Feature questions are prompts for plot hooks, narrative engines, and connections to other story elements.
Plot Hooks
Questions that generate story opportunities
Narrative Engines
Elements that drive ongoing story development
Story Connections
Links to broader campaign elements
Character Ties
Connections to PC backgrounds and motivations
Complete Environment Collection
Environment Stat Blocks
Complete collection of environments organized by tier and type, with full stat blocks, features, and adaptation guidance
See complete environment collections for all types: Explorations, Socials, Traversals, and Events across Tiers 1-4