Natural Hazards
Even without the threats of supernatural environments, the world is a dangerous place. The following natural hazards expand on those presented in the Dungeon Masters Guide.
AVALANCHES
A typical avalanche (or rockslide) is 300 feet wide, 150 feet long, and 30 feet thick. Creatures in the path of an avalanche can avoid it or escape it if they're close to its edge, but outrunning one is almost impossible.
When an avalanche occurs, all nearby creatures must roll initiative. Twice each round, on initiative counts 10 and 0, the avalanche travels 300 feet until it can travel no more. When an avalanche moves, any creature in its space moves along with it and falls prone, and the creature must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw, taking 1d10 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. When an avalanche stops, the snow and other debris settle and bury creatures. A creature buried in this way is blinded and restrained, and it has total cover. The creature gains 1 level of exhaustion for every 5 minutes it spends buried. It can try to dig itself free as an action, breaking the surface and ending the blinded and restrained conditions on itself with a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check. A creature that fails this check three times can't attempt to dig itself out again. A creature that is not restrained or incapacitated can spend 1 minute freeing a buried creature. Once free, that creature is no longer blinded or restrained by the avalanche.
Falling into Water
A creature that falls into water or another liquid can use its reaction to make a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to hit the surface head or feet first. On a successful check, any damage resulting from the fall is halved.
Falling onto a Creature
If a creature falls into the space of a second creature and neither of them is Tiny, the second creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be impacted by the falling creature, and any damage resulting from the fall is divided evenly between them. The impacted creature is also knocked prone, unless it is two or more sizes larger than the falling creature.
Spell Equivalents of Natural Hazards
Numerous spells emulate the wrath of nature, and you can use spell effects to represent a variety of natural hazards. The Spells as Natural Hazards table presents some common environmental dangers and the spells you may use to approximate them.
Spells as Natural Hazards
| Natural Hazard | Approximate Spell |
| Ball lightning |
Chromatic orb |
| Blizzard | Cone of cold, ice storm, sleet storm |
| Earthquake | Earthquake |
| Falling debris | Conjure barrage, conjure volley |
| Flood | Control water, tsunami |
| Fog | Fog cloud |
| Lava bomb | Fireball, produce flame |
| Lightning | Call lightning, lightning bolt |
| Meteor | Fireball, meteor swarm |
| Mirage | Hallucinatory terrain |
| Pyroclastic flow | Incendiary cloud |
| Radiation | Blight, circle of death |
| Smoke | Fog cloud |
| St. Elmo's fire | Faerie fire |
| Swamp gas | Dancing lights |
| Tidal wave | Tsunami |
| Toxic eruption | Acid splash |
| Toxic gas | Cloudkill, stinking cloud |
| Thunder | Thunderwave |
| Volcanic lightning | Storm of vengeance |
| Whirlpool | Control water |
| Wildfire | Fire storm, wall of fire |
| Windstorm | Gust of wind |