Auras

Auras represent magical energies surrounding a creature or object and are extremely varied in their function, providing everything from defensive class bonuses to allies, penalties to enemies, areas of a spell effect, areas of healing, and areas of damage. Auras of damage are perhaps the most common.

Some Auras are active at all times, specifically those that are natural abilities of creatures, while others must be activated through the use of a power or similar ability. Some aura effects will be constant (such as bonuses or penalties), while others will have effects that either react to a triggered effect or cause an automatic effect once per round (see the different Aura types below).

Each aura has a radius, which indicates the area around the creature that is effected. Overlapping aura effects, even if they are of the same type, stack with each other.

Elemental Auras

Perhaps the most common Aura types are those that deal a flat amount of elemental damage. These will typically surround creatures from elemental planes, but can also be the result of spell effects. Targets suffer damage from an elemental aura on the first segment in a round in which they come in contact with that aura. All targets are limited to taking damage once per round per aura, even if they move into, out of, and back into an aura in the same round. Elemental Auras are written in the following shorthand, where the amount of damage can be either flat damage or a number of dice.

Some elemental auras will alternatively trigger in response to an attack or similar actions. These are typically limited to once per round, or at least once per creature per round.

Attacking Auras

Some Auras will allow you to make an attack on all creatures who come in contact with the Aura. In this case, the first time a target comes in contact with the aura in a particular round, it is subject to an attack. If the attack hits, the creature suffers the Aura's effect. If the attack misses, there is typically no effect.

Alternatively, some attacking Auras will allow an attack on a single creature once per round as a free or immediate action. This attack is then made at the choice of the caster (or originating creature), or if on an object, based on specific conditions unique to that object.

Healing Auras

Some Auras grant Healing, Fast Healing, or Regeneration. In this case, the first time a target comes in contact with the aura each round, the target is healed a specific amount, either a flat number of Hitpoints, a number of dice of regained Hitpoints, or some denomination of the target's Healing Value. If a Aura grants Fast Healing or Regeneration, as long as a creature comes in contact with the Aura at least once in the round, it regains Hitpoints at the end of that round.

Alternatively, some Auras will allow healing of a single creature once per round as a free or immediate action. This healing is then granted at the choice of the caster (or originating creature), or if on an object, based on specific conditions unique to that object.

Constant Auras

Constant Auras are those that have a constant effect. Most of these Auras will grant a class bonus to allies within the area, impose a penalty to opponents, or impose an effect on all creatures or the area, such as Status Effects, creating areas of difficult terrain, or granting Concealment. The effect of the aura only applies to creatures (or objects) while they remain within the aura.