Obstacle: This encounter features a barrier of some sort that the party must bypass or cross before they can proceed. Common obstacles include natural barriers such as chasms, mountains, rivers of molten lava, and the like. Passive wards and protective spells, such as walls of force can be considered obstacles.

Obstacles are not usually effective when high-level characters are involved, because they usually have access to enough spells and abilities to deal with them quickly. Obstacles, however, serve to use up a party’s resources and are very effective when combined with a combat encounter. A mile-deep chasm might not pose much of a threat to a party of 15th-level characters all by itself, but it could prove quite a hassle if the far side were occupied by a tribe of stone giants hiding behind cover while they hurl rocks at the PCs. A pair of beholders lurking in the chasm effectively negate magical means to cross the crevasse, though the first character who makes the attempt is likely to discover this the hard way.

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