Radiation Sickness

When characters are exposed to radiation, they may be afflicted with radiation sickness. Radiation sickness functions exactly like exposure to any other disease, following the normal rules for diseases. The Fortitude save DC and the effects of radiation sickness vary with the dose of radiation to which a creature is exposed.

Radiation exposure has five degrees: mild, low, moderate, high, and severe. To determine the degree of exposure, start with the type of exposure: either an irradiated area or a specific source of radiation. Then consult Table: Radiation Exposure to determine the degree of exposure based on the total time of exposure within a given 24-hour period (rounding up).

The degree of the exposure determines the severity of the radiation sickness, as indicated on Table: Radiation Sickness. At low levels, radiation sickness is a slow disease. Often, a sick character suffers no severe short-term effects. This is reflected in the fact that even with a failed Fortitude save, the character might not suffer any Constitution loss.

Table: Radiation Exposure
	-Time of Exposure-
Situation	1 rnd	1 min	10 min	1 hr	1 day
Character in irradiated area:
Lightly irradiated	mild	mild	mild	mild	mild
Moderately irradiated	mild	mild	low	low	low
Highly irradiated	low	low	moderate	moderate	moderate
Severely irradiated	moderate	moderate	high	high	severe
Character exposed to radiation source:
Mildly radioactive materials	mild	mild	low	low	low
Highly radioactive materials	moderate	moderate	high	high	severe
Severely radioactive materials	moderate	high	severe	severe	severe

Table: Radiation Sickness
Degree of Exposure	Fort Save DC	Damage
Mild	12	1d4–2 Con*
Low	15	1d6–2 Con*
Moderate	18	1d6–1 Con
High	21	1d6 Con
Severe	24	2d6 Con
*Minimum damage 0 Con.