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Lucent River Rapids

Environments Designed by RollWithJulian
Tier
2
Type
Traversal
Difficulty
14
Impulses
Capsize drown smash on rocks tangle in vines

Environment overview

Try to survive the rapids as predators swarm the boat.

Potential adversaries

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Features

Passives

passive
  • River Run

    Navigating the rapids requires a River Run Countdown with a value of 9 if the party is on the pontoon boat or 7 if they're in the skiff. It ticks down when the GM takes the spotlight. You can tick down this countdown without taking the spotlight to gain a Fear. When the countdown triggers, the party arrives safely through the rapids.

    Questions
    • What does the party see along the shoreline?
    • What strange formations do the rocks in this river have?
    • How do the craymeleons react to the rapids?
  • Boat Hull

    The integrity of the party's boat while navigating the rapids is represented by a Boat Hull Countdown, which starts at a value of 7 if the party is on the pontoon boat or 5 if they're in the skiff. It ticks down when the boat takes damage. When it triggers, the boat breaks apart and each PC takes Severe damage (which can be reduced to Major damage by marking an Armor Slot).

    Questions
    • What about the party's boat is particularly suited or unsuited to these rapids?
    • Is there any way to strengthen the boat's integrity?

Actions

action
  • Dangerous Waters

    Roll a d6 and introduce the corresponding obstacle. You can spend a Fear to choose an option instead of rolling.

    1. The boat takes damage as it gets tangled in some riverweed or runs aground. Until the boat is freed from the obstacle, don't tick down the River Run Countdown.

    2. One of the PCs goes overboard and takes 2d8+4 physical damage from the rocks. Until the PC is back on the boat, they have disadvantage on action rolls and must mark a Stress whenever they roll with Fear.

    3. An Eeligator climbs aboard the boat. Immediately spotlight them.

    4. An item or consumable from a PC's inventory falls overboard and begins sinking into the river. If you have previously rolled or chosen this obstacle, introduce option 5 instead.

    5. The boat careens toward a rock. If a PC doesn't intervene, the boat crashes into the rock and the Boat Hull Countdown ticks down. A PC can pilot the boat to try and avoid the damage. That PC must succeed on an Agility Reaction Roll. On a failure, they mark a Stress and the Boat Hull Countdown ticks down twice.

    6. The Eeligators slam into the boat, trying to capsize it. Roll a d4. If the result is higher than the current value of the Boat Hull Countdown, the boat flips over and each PC must succeed on a Strength Reaction Roll or take 2d12 physical damage as the boat capsizes. If the result is lower than the current value of the Boat Hull Countdown, tick down the countdown.

    Questions
    • What other hazards might the party encounter?
    • How do these obstacles highlight what the PCs are good at?
    • What happens to the craymeleons?

Reactions

reaction
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About this environment

The Lucent River Rapids traversal from The Dying Spire One Shot.

Lucent River Rapids

Tier 2 Traversal

Try to survive the rapids as predators swarm the boat.

Impulses: Capsize, drown, smash on rocks, tangle in vines

Difficulty: 14

Potential Adversaries: —

Features

River Run - Passive: Navigating the rapids requires a River Run Countdown with a value of 9 if the party is on the pontoon boat or 7 if they're in the skiff. It ticks down when the GM takes the spotlight. You can tick down this countdown without taking the spotlight to gain a Fear. When the countdown triggers, the party arrives safely through the rapids.
  • What does the party see along the shoreline?
  • What strange formations do the rocks in this river have?
  • How do the craymeleons react to the rapids?
Boat Hull - Passive: The integrity of the party's boat while navigating the rapids is represented by a Boat Hull Countdown, which starts at a value of 7 if the party is on the pontoon boat or 5 if they're in the skiff. It ticks down when the boat takes damage. When it triggers, the boat breaks apart and each PC takes Severe damage (which can be reduced to Major damage by marking an Armor Slot).
  • What about the party's boat is particularly suited or unsuited to these rapids?
  • Is there any way to strengthen the boat's integrity?
Dangerous Waters - Action: Roll a d6 and introduce the corresponding obstacle. You can spend a Fear to choose an option instead of rolling.

  1. The boat takes damage as it gets tangled in some riverweed or runs aground. Until the boat is freed from the obstacle, don't tick down the River Run Countdown.

  2. One of the PCs goes overboard and takes 2d8+4 physical damage from the rocks. Until the PC is back on the boat, they have disadvantage on action rolls and must mark a Stress whenever they roll with Fear.

  3. An Eeligator climbs aboard the boat. Immediately spotlight them.

  4. An item or consumable from a PC's inventory falls overboard and begins sinking into the river. If you have previously rolled or chosen this obstacle, introduce option 5 instead.

  5. The boat careens toward a rock. If a PC doesn't intervene, the boat crashes into the rock and the Boat Hull Countdown ticks down. A PC can pilot the boat to try and avoid the damage. That PC must succeed on an Agility Reaction Roll. On a failure, they mark a Stress and the Boat Hull Countdown ticks down twice.

  6. The Eeligators slam into the boat, trying to capsize it. Roll a d4. If the result is higher than the current value of the Boat Hull Countdown, the boat flips over and each PC must succeed on a Strength Reaction Roll or take 2d12 physical damage as the boat capsizes. If the result is lower than the current value of the Boat Hull Countdown, tick down the countdown.

  • What other hazards might the party encounter?
  • How do these obstacles highlight what the PCs are good at?
  • What happens to the craymeleons?

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