Dungeon Terrain
Pathfinder Core Rulebook, page 410
The following rules cover the basics of terrain that can be found in a dungeon.
Walls, Doors, and Detect Spells
Stone walls, iron walls, and iron doors are usually thick enough to block most detect spells, such as detect thoughts. Wooden walls, wooden doors, and stone doors are usually not thick enough to do so. A secret stone door built into a wall and as thick as the wall itself (at least 1 foot) does block most detect spells.
Stairs
Stairs are the most common means of traveling up and down within a dungeon. A character can move up or down stairs as part of their movement without penalty, but they cannot run on them. Increase the DC of any Acrobatics skill check made on stairs by 4. Some stairs are particularly steep and are treated as difficult terrain.
In this section
- Walls Masonry walls—stones piled on top of each other, usually but not always held in place with mortar—often divide dungeons into corridors and chambers.
- Floors As with walls, dungeon floors come in many types.
- Doors Doors in dungeons are much more than mere entrances and exits. Often they can be encounters all by themselves. Dungeon doors come in three basic types: wooden, stone, and iron.
- Cave-Ins and Collapses (CR 8) Cave-ins and collapsing tunnels are extremely dangerous. Not only do dungeon explorers face the danger of being crushed by tons of falling rock, but even if they survive they might be buried beneath a pile of rubble or…
- Slimes, Molds, and Fungi In a dungeon’s damp, dark recesses, molds and fungi thrive. For purposes of spells and other special effects, all slimes, molds, and fungi are treated as plants.