CHAPTER 2
BUILDING ADVENTURES
adventures. The Dungeon Master’s Guide (page 91) even lists “battlefield” as a category of plains terrain. While some plains are devoid of natural structures, nearly any manufactured feature can exist on a plain. Fences and cottages are common in farmland regions, while defensive fortifications can be built anywhere war is expected.
Aquatic Battlefields On the surface of the sea, great ships might pound each other with artillery, attempting to gain supremacy over trade lanes or waterways. But within the water, sahuagin might mass against tritons, or merfolk could try to overthrow an aboleth and its minions. Battles underwater more closely resemble aerial combat than land melee: Troops attack from above or below, without much terrain in the way. In some cases, an underwater volcano, a kelp forest, or a sunken city might be the site of a battle. Most of the features and fortifications described in the following sections do not have an underwater analogue. Visibility is, however, a greater concern underwater, since the blood that escapes from wounded combatants clouds the water like smoke (as well as attracting unwanted complications, such as swarms of sharks). Underground Battlefields Large-scale battles in subterranean areas take place in massive caverns or great tunnel complexes. The presence of a natural ceiling usually precludes the use of high-arcing artillery, and the environmental features lend themselves to defense and the creation of defensive fortifications. Most structures are manufactured from stone, given the dearth of available lumber in the depths of the world. Light, or the lack of it, is a factor for most races; even drow can only see out to 120 feet in complete darkness, far shorter than line of sight on the surface world. Urban Battlefields When the outer defenses fall, the battle might move into a city’s streets. Buildings, back alleys, and sewers provide many ways for a defending force to move about unseen or for an invading army to infiltrate. Narrow thoroughfares reduce an army’s ability to outflank opponents, and most fighting is reduced to skirmishes between units or houseto-house battles. While earthworks might only exist in parklike areas or within the grounds of a manor, barricades and other debris might litter an urban battlefield. The buildings themselves provide a unique terrain feature, and offer cover for archers or other harrying forces.
BARRIERS AND OBSTACLES
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Some terrain features serve as obstacles and barriers that hinder or obstruct movement. Most barriers must be crossed, climbed, or destroyed by advancing troops. Other obstacles must be avoided in order to circumvent some negative effect, usually damage. Some of the following terrain features are also discussed in Chapter 3 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Fences: Fences provide barriers that hamper the movement of oncoming soldiers. They might be erected as part of a war effort, or they might have been built in peacetime by a farmer or other inhabitant of the area. Fences are usually made of wood or stone. It costs 1 extra square of movement to cross a fence. A creature can make a DC 20 Jump check to cross a fence without impeding movement, and a mounted character must succeed on a DC 15 Ride check to keep from being thrown during the jump. Wooden fences have hardness 5 and 15 hit points per 10foot section. Stone fences, whether made of stacked rocks or bonded by mortar, have hardness 8 and 30 hit points per 10-foot section. Fences might provide a measure of cover as well, depending on their construction (for example, a wooden rail fence versus a solid stone wall) and height. Parapet: A parapet is a low stone wall on the edge of a raised platform, wall, or roof. On a battlefield a parapet might be constructed atop a rampart to provide additional cover for defending troops. As a low wall, a parapet provides cover and has hardness 8; each 10-foot section has 45 hit points. Walls: Walls can be made of wood or stone. The game statistics for walls can be found in Table 3–9: Walls, page 60 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Stone walls on a battlefield usually follow the rules for masonry walls, although the walls of a fortification might be superior or even reinforced masonry. Wooden walls that surround structures are called palisades. When time allows, walls constructed on battlefields are built with battlements, allowing troops to stand atop the wall and fight. Troops on a battlement have cover against any foe attacking from below and gain the benefit of higher ground when making melee attacks on those scaling the wall. Climbing over a battlement without the aid of a rope or a ladder requires a DC 25 Climb check. Special Walls: Though most battlefield walls are constructed by manual labor, the presence of spellcasters on a fantasy battlefield might result in magical walls of varying types. In some cases a wall might be a natural feature of a battlefield, such one made of ice (whether natural or magical) in a very cold region. Various kinds of special walls, most of them magical ones, are briefly discussed below; see the spell descriptions in the Player’s Handbook for other particulars. Fire: A wall of fire blocks line of sight but does not impede movement. A creature takes damage passing through the wall. Cold damage destroys a wall of fire. Force: A wall of force does not block line of sight, but it does provide total cover. Such walls are impassable and cannot be climbed. Ice: An ice wall has hardness 0 and 3 hit points per inch of thickness for each 10-foot section. Fire attacks do full damage to an ice wall, whether manufactured or magical (that is, one resulting from a wall of ice spell). Climbing an ice wall bare-handed requires a DC 30 Climb check; using spikes or crampons reduces the DC to 20. Iron: An iron wall has hardness 10 and 30 hit points per inch of thickness for each 10-foot section. Magical iron walls (such as those created by a wall of iron spell) are
