Hi,
My PC party is set to trek through a dangerous marsh next session and I wanted to add a patch of quicksludge to their challenges...
My basic idea was this:
- A Survival DC 15 check notices that there's quicksludge in the area.
- Anyone entering a quicksludge square becomes stuck in the sludge and starts sinking. DC 18 Strength checks can be made each round to break free and enter an adjacent square. A failed check means you sink deeper.
- Sinking PC's have d4 rounds before they become submerged.
- The rules for being rescued are otherwise identical to those found on p.427 of the PFRPG Core Rulebook.
Now, I want to assign a correct CR to this hazard, but I can't work out how to do that using the guidelines presented in the book.
If I use the guidelines for creating traps, everything quickly adds up to a very high CR: Liquid CR +5, Never miss CR +2, Multiple targets CR+1, ... That makes CR 8 already! And I don't believe for one second that my quicksludge hazard is in any way comparable to a CR 8 trap; it will delay the PC's - surely. Maybe one of them will stumble in and catch a cold after being rescued. Worst case - one of 'em drowns. No way does that compare to a CR 8 encounter (which I assume would wipe them out entirely within six rounds).
Any advice on the matter is much appreciated!
Edit: I know I could easily substitute the drowning rules for a set amount of damage-per-round, but I don't want to do it like that.
-B