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Mastering the Wild / Hazards and Disasters

Reflective Snow (CR 2)

Source Ultimate Wilderness pg. 149
Glittering fields of fresh snow can pose a danger to unprepared travelers during the daylight hours, as the sun reflecting from the fields of white can be dazzling or even blinding. Travelers through such areas risk having their eyes become sunburned—a condition known as snow blindness. A creature in an area of reflective snow is automatically dazzled, and for each hour it spends in such an area, it must succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save or succumb to snow blindness, becoming blind for 24 hours. Wearing protective eye gear that reduces the amount of sunlight hitting the eyes negates the dazzled condition and the chance of developing snow blindness. A character can reduce the duration of snow blindness to 1d6 hours with a successful DC 20 Heal check as long as she keeps her eyes covered or wears protective eye gear. Spells such as remove blindness/deafness heal snow blindness immediately. Creatures that are particularly susceptible to bright light take a –4 penalty on saves to resist snow blindness. To a lesser extent, staring out over vast stretches of sunlit water or desert can have the same effects as staring at reflective snow, but the save to avoid blindness in this case is only DC 10.