Heartfire Slag Vent
The Heart of the Forge is not merely a furnace. It is a sealed chamber of living heat, fed by channels beneath the battlefield. This damaged safety vent now interprets movement, impact, and spilled blood as signs of sabotage. It vents gouts of slag across the forge floor, forcing combatants to keep moving while the heartfire grows hotter.
Heartfire Slag Vent
Defenses
Detection
“A circular iron grate surrounds a fist-sized opening in the forge floor. Beneath it, orange light pulses like a heartbeat, and thin threads of molten metal creep through the seams. Every few moments, the grate exhales a breath of sparks.”
Standard Engagement
The hazard activates when a creature without the forge's master seal enters the central foundry floor or when the forge's heartfire is disturbed.
The hazard takes 2 actions each round. On its first action, it vents slag into two 10-foot-by-10-foot zones within 60 feet. On its second action, it superheats one active vent and uses Cracking Floor against each creature adjacent to that vent. The hazard prefers zones containing multiple creatures and avoids areas occupied by creatures bearing the forge's master seal.
The hazard resets automatically at the start of each round while the forge's heartfire remains active. If disabled, it remains inactive until repaired or deliberately reactivated.
The hazard designates two 10-foot-by-10-foot squares within 60 feet as slag zones. Each creature in a slag zone attempts a DC 22 basic Reflex save. On a failure, it takes 4d6 fire damage and is pushed 5 feet toward the nearest vent. On a critical failure, it takes double damage and is also clumsy 1 for 1 round. The hazard then designates two different slag zones.
A creature that ends its turn adjacent to an active vent takes 2d6 fire damage. A creature can avoid this damage by succeeding at a DC 20 Reflex save, representing a last-second leap from the cracking floor.
The hazard begins with three marked vent zones: the central grate and two branching floor channels. A marked zone is visibly glowing and counts as difficult terrain for creatures other than the hazard. The hazard cannot select the same zone for Slag Eruption in consecutive rounds unless fewer than two other marked zones remain available.
When a creature critically fails a save against Slag Eruption, the nearest unattended metal object takes 2d6 fire damage. If that object is part of the forge, the hazard gains one additional marked vent zone until the end of its next turn.
A creature that succeeds at a DC 21 Crafting check while adjacent to a quenching trough can redirect the trough's water into one marked vent zone. That zone is suppressed for 1 round, but the trough is emptied and cannot be used again without refilling.
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