The Heat Wave Part 2

Heat As a Hazard

After thankfully surviving some of the hottest days of the year here in the Pacific Northwest we return as promised to continue our series on the Heat Wave imagined this time as a trap. From now on we'll be referring to it as a hazard just to keep the language consistent with the system. Before 2E you wouldn't find me anywhere near a Pathfinder product I find a lot to like about this edition of the game and actually prefer it to DnD 5e in a lot of ways. That is of course not to say that I'm in love with the heavy amounts of math or unnecessary complexity found in many parts of the game. But, I do feel more comfortable breaking things in this house when I know the foundations are so solid.

The Hazard

The premise of the Burning Sunlight Lens hazard is that of an enchanted magnifying glass held inside of a window or even a reflective that absorbs sunlight before an unsuspecting creature walks by and gets its feet melted into the floor before being vaporized. Ideally you would place a few of these around a room where a chase might go down or a skirmish where foes (or the players) can use these no-go zones to their advantage. 

Burning Light Lens Complex (Level 8)

{Environmental} {Mechanical}

Stealth DC: 23

Description: A voluminous sun ray concentrated in a 15-ft line emerging from an enchanted lens inside of a window pane or mirror. 

Disable: Thievery {Expert} to crack the lens without triggering the trap. Dispel Magic {Level 4; Counteract DC 28} to thwart the enchantment.

AC 28; Fort +21, Ref +14

Hardness 16, HP 60 (BT 30),

Burning Light[reaction] Trigger: A creature walks into the area of the light. Effect: The lens hums to life and the trap rolls initiative.

Routine (1 Action):  On its initiative, the lens melts the ground trapping each creature within its area. Creature's already trapped by Burning Light are instead burned for 2d10+11 fire damage. On their turn, trapped creatures can make a DC 28 Athletics check to escape. On each subsequent turn after activation the area expands by 5-ft outward and the damage of Burning Light is doubled.

Reset: The lens deactivates 1 minute after all creatures leave the area but resets immediately thereafter

Omens

I know typically in Pathfinder we can just do "Check for traps" or passively perceive them with a secret check but I like to still do it in the older style so that my players have to investigate more creatively. So here are some optional clues to help you set the scene where the trap is hiding.

- A lingering haze amidst around the light coming from the window.

- Piles of ashes in the path of light. 

- Stained glass window (which contains the Lens) depicting a mural with an adventurer kneeling before a massive solar disc. Adventurer on fire.

- The stone floor of the chamber is cracked and blackened as if by fire. 

- The smell of sulphur and brimstone.

- A low vibration and heat emanating from one side of the walls in the room. (The side where the Burning Sunlight Lens window is.)

Options

I'm more of a re-skinner most of the time rather than someone who makes new things up from whole cloth so here are a few ideas for alternative versions of the hazard. 

- Place the trap on a ceiling or skylight in a 20-ft square instead of a line. Alternatively, the floor.

- Remove the escalation and make the beam as long as the corridor you put it in. Gets blocked by barriers or just stops at barriers now so that characters can manipulate it to their advantage.

- Make it set things/people on fire or Dazzle/Blind them.

- Make it a mirror that reflects off of all the other reflective surfaces in a room. 

- Change the trigger to go off only when they look at the lens rather just when walking into the radius. 

What's Next

Going to experiment on implementing this trap in an over bright palace along with other solar themed creatures. Next time we'll be going over the Heat Wave as a monster using the Chronicles of Darkness method of monster creation to make a narrative monster of it with Dread Powers to match. 

Thanks for reading.





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