The Nettle Yard's Living Perimeter
The Nettle Yard is a living defensive perimeter that treats the battlefield as a body to be protected. Its roots undermine footing, its vines lash at intruders, and its thorned growth pulls against walls, barricades, and wooden supports. The hazard becomes most dangerous when combatants ignore the yard's shifting anchor stones and allow the perimeter to tighten around them.
The Nettle Yard's Living Perimeter
Defenses
Detection
“A waist-high ring of iron stakes, cracked paving stones, and thorny nettle vines surrounds the yard. The vines twitch toward movement, while pale green sap glistens along their barbs.”
Standard Engagement
The hazard rolls initiative when a creature crosses the inner boundary of the yard, damages a supporting wall or barricade, or attempts to move an anchor stone.
The hazard acts on its initiative. On its turn, each active section can use Grasping Vines against one creature within 30 feet. If a section has been damaged since the hazard's last turn, it instead attempts to Collapse the Yard in its area, then becomes inactive until the end of the next round. The hazard has three sections, each linked to one anchor stone.
The hazard resets at the start of each round while at least one anchor stone remains active. A disabled section regrows at the end of its suppression. The hazard does not reset once all three anchor stones are destroyed.
The hazard lashes at a creature within 30 feet of an active section. The target attempts a DC 24 Reflex save. On a critical success, the target is unaffected. On a success, the target takes 2d8 slashing damage. On a failure, the target takes 2d8 slashing damage and is immobilized until it Escapes against DC 24. On a critical failure, the target takes 4d8 slashing damage, is knocked prone, and is immobilized until it Escapes against DC 24.
When a section collapses, creatures in its 10-foot-by-10-foot area attempt a DC 24 Reflex save. On a failure, a creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage and falls prone. On a critical failure, it also becomes buried beneath rubble and roots, requiring a successful DC 22 Athletics check to Escape.
A creature that begins its turn immobilized by the hazard takes 1d6 persistent bleed damage from the thorns. The persistent damage ends if the creature Escapes or if another creature Interacts to cut away the vines.
The yard has three sections, each occupying a roughly 20-foot stretch of perimeter and linked to one anchor stone. A section is inactive while its anchor stone is disabled or destroyed.
A creature can move through a section's spaces, but those spaces are difficult terrain. The first time a creature enters a section during a turn, it must succeed at a DC 22 Reflex save or take 1d6 slashing damage. This damage does not trigger Grasping Vines.
If two or more sections are inactive, the remaining section becomes frantic. Its Grasping Vines damage increases to 3d8, and its Reflex save DC increases to 25.
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