Radiation Belt
A magnetosphere captures the solar wind and holds it in torus-shaped belts around the world. The field that protects the surface concentrates the dose in the belts, so a safe route goes above or below a belt and never through it.
Exposure
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No pressure and no air to breathe, with survival measured in rounds.
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Countdown
Without a seal, a creature holds out for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier, minimum 1. At the end of that time its hit points drop to -1, unless they are already lower, and it is dying. It cannot be stabilized or regain hit points until it can breathe.
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Decompressed
Exposure inflicts the Decompressed condition, which a return to pressure does not by itself remove.
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Holding your breath
Holding a breath in vacuum ruptures the lungs. A creature that does so takes 2d6 damage on the first round and gains no benefit from the attempt.
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Sound
Sound does not travel. Verbal spell components, shouted orders and Perception by hearing all fail across open vacuum. Suit comms and touch are the only channels.
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Unfiltered light
Without air to filter it, the star's output arrives unreduced. An hour of unshielded exposure in direct sunlight counts as a failed Contaminated Atmosphere save against radiological dose.
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A world's or star's magnetic field in upheaval, so that instruments give false readings and comms fail.
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Instruments
Navigation and comms fail beyond Long range. Any check made with electronic assistance has disadvantage.
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Powered gear
Powered weapons and cybernetics stutter: a natural 1 on an attack or a check using them means the item is unusable until the end of the next turn.
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Induced current
Long conductors take on induced current. Unshielded power and data runs fail, and a creature in contact with one takes 2d6 lightning damage.
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Channeling
On a world with an active Rift tether, a natural 1 on a spell attack roll, or a target's natural 20 on a saving throw against a spell, rolls on the Surge Table.
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Free fall, where there is no down, no moving body stops on its own, and a missed handhold leaves a creature adrift.
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Movement
Moving requires a surface to push from. A creature with nothing in reach continues in the direction it last moved until it reaches something.
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Changing course
Changing direction mid-drift requires a DC 12 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. On a failure the creature continues as it was.
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Melee
An unanchored melee attack has disadvantage and pushes the attacker 10 feet away from the target after it resolves.
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No falling
There is no up, no down and no falling damage. A creature cannot be knocked Prone, and the Prone condition does not apply.
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Mag boots
Magnetic boots or a tether remove every entry above while a ferrous surface is underfoot, at the cost of half movement.
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In play
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Transit
A transit through a belt is one hour of Hard Radiation at DC 18 for anything without rated shielding. Every commercial lane routes around.
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Instruments
Magnetic Storm applies throughout. Navigation by instrument alone is at disadvantage.
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Cover
No patrols operate in a belt, so a vessel willing to take the dose is unlikely to be intercepted there.
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Ionizing dose
Unshielded, a creature gains a level of exhaustion each hour. A long rest does not clear it. A Medicine check at DC 12, a restorative spell or antiradiation drugs remove it. Rated shielding removes the effect, and most powered plate raises the interval to four hours.