Storm Front

A storm front is organized weather that moves across the ground. Rotating systems, squall lines and dust fronts all appear from the ground as a visible wall on a known bearing, with a few hours of warning for anyone watching. Inside the front there is no visibility, no flight and no communication, and the damage comes from debris the wind picks up.

Regional environment Aerial (air)

Tropical Dry Temperate Continental Polar

Atmospheric Lowland

Crossing it

Navigate: DC 20
Forage: DC 18
Notice: DC 20

Parties should not travel inside a front. The forecast check decides when to move.

Exposure

Extreme Weather

Wind, whiteout or downpour heavy enough to take away visibility and then footing.

CON save, DC 13. End of each hour in the open. One level of exhaustion.
- Obscured
  
  The whole encounter is heavily obscured. Ranged attacks beyond 30 feet automatically miss and Perception by sight fails past that range.
- Wind
  
  A Medium or smaller creature in the open makes a DC 13 Strength save at the start of its turn or is moved 1d4 x 5 feet downwind.
- No travel
  
  A day spent traveling in it covers a quarter of the usual distance and still costs the hourly save.
- Shelter
  
  A built shelter, a vehicle or a sealed suit removes the save. A Wisdom (Survival) check at DC 12 finds or improvises one where the terrain allows.
- Grounded
  
  Nothing flies. A vessel caught airborne takes 4d6 bludgeoning damage per hour and its pilot makes a DC 15 check each hour to hold a heading.

In play

Blind

Inside the front the whole encounter is heavily obscured. Ranged attacks beyond 30 feet automatically miss.
Wind

A Medium or smaller creature in the open makes a DC 15 Strength save at the start of its turn or is moved 1d4 x 10 feet downwind and falls Prone.
Debris

Wind-blown debris hits for 2d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed DC 13 Dexterity save, once per round in the open.
Forecast

A DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check or any weather instrument gives 1d6 hours of warning. Without either, there is no warning.

Variations

Cyclonic system

Rotating and days across, with a brief calm at the eye, surrounded by the storm wall.
Squall line

Lasts hours instead of days, and is violent and fast-moving.
Dust front

Dry worlds. The wind carries abrasive grit, and that grit counts as a Contaminated Atmosphere.

Worlds it occurs on

Ionic A rocky world inside a field strong enough to hold a permanent ion storm across its surface and atmosphere.
Terran (Arid) A hot, dry rocky world habitable at its edges, with dune seas across the interior.
Terran (Barren) Rock and wasteland with a thin atmosphere or none, habitable but sparsely settled.
Terran (Verdant) A rocky world with liquid water, breathable air and a magnetic field to protect them, rare and the cause of most wars.
Zephyr A gas world with no surface, crossed by fast bands of wind that run at different speeds.

Built for this

Storm Caller Feat