Post by StoryTeller on Jan 22, 2006 7:00:40 GMT
The Volcano (Convection) Trap
From: Alan Greenberg <algreenberg@dow.com>
Best trap I ever saw was built into the side of an active volcano. The room had
a natural corridor leading into it (no door!). There was a door at the far end.
Depending on how good a mood you're in the room can have nothing in it, fixed
furnishings, or mobile furnishings.
The trick is that the door leads into the volcano shaft ABOVE the lava pool.
Since heat rises, the air in the volcano is constantly moving upward. Opening
the door, creates a very high vacuum towards the door sweeping a character into
the lava pool unless they can react quickly with an appropriate spell or potion
or grab onto a handhold.
The best part of this trap is it is based on natural phenomena and therefore
really isn't a trap - so it doesn't show up with detect trap magic.
Between a Troll and a Sharp Place
From: QPAK01A@prodigy.com (JOEL F YODER)
As the delvers (good old Tunnels and Trolls term) walk down a long corridor,
they step on a flagstone that sinks a bit. Behind them a large panel in one wall
opens up and caltrops fall out. Suddenly, a large troll (or something too tough
for the characters to fight, anyway) rushes from around the corner ahead. Run!
p.s. this one was my revenge on players who liked to scatter caltrops around
liberally.
Vines and Boulders
From: QPAK01A@prodigy.com (JOEL F YODER)
The delvers are walking along a hallway whose walls and ceilings are covered
with vines. A few vines trail down from the ceiling 20' above, including a few
stout ones in the middle of the hallway. Suddenly, hidden panels open up on each
end of the hall and 10' diameter boulders begin rolling at the party. Actually,
these are illusions, and those who remain below will not be harmed. Those who
try to climb the vines, however, will find their hands stuck, and will be drawn
up though the hidden, vine-covered holes in the ceiling where a carniverous
plant waits to make their aquaintance.
Water Filled Hot Spot
From: kroal@infolink.net.il (Dan Gilboa)
This is a variation of the water-filled room. Any small room with one door will
do. Add a nice fountain (a marble kid pissing into a pool maybe) and some
burnt-down and wet bones.
After the party enters the room will be locked and water level will rise as
usual. Nothing will open the door! Let the water reach about throat-high. Then
the water stops and a fine quantity of oil will be spilled from above followed
by a jet of flame (ever seen burning oil at sea?). Any sensible player will take
a deep breath and dive. Very clever! On the third step many small holes will be
opened on floor level and water level will begin to go down slowly (and make it
real slow, there's plenty of oil up there...) -- they have a choice between
drowning, burning by oil, or being boiled alive, not a very easy choice to make.
Fountain
From: Chris Roberts (chris@novanet.ns.ca)
A pool of water is located at the intersection of two hallways:
| |
___| |___
0 <------------ pool
___ ____
| |
| |
Laying on the bottom of the pool are various pieces of treasure.
If anyone takes any item from the pool four walls of force seal off the exits
instaneously. The fountain starts to overflow the pool immediately, filling the
space in three rounds. Putting the item back will cause plates in the floor to
slide back and the water to drain through the holes. It takes 1 turn for all the
water to drain. After all the water is gone the walls of force disappear.
Placing a new item in the pool will cause some beneficial effect (bless, regain
1d4 hit pts, etc.)
To make this nastier you could disallow teleporting, etc. out of the area or
make any items actually removed become cursed.
The All-Is-Not-What-It-Seems Trap
From: Caleb Buchert (Pcalebb@sierra.net)
The PCs are walking down a hallway and see an open pit (10' wide, 20' across) in
the floor. It is filled with any liquid the DM wants (ie. green slime, sulphuric
acid, or just plain H2O). Dangling above the pit is a chain that a PC must jump
to in order to grab. The chain is made of a non-corrosive metal. It is connected
to a rope that goes around a pulley and is connected to a weight that is 20
pounds heavier than the chain. When the PC grabs the chain, he sinks into the
trap. The only way out besides swimming (if he/she doesn't die) is pulling hand
over hand out of the liquid. Then he/she can swing back and forth to land on
either side of the trap. If the PC lets go of the chain, the weight pulls it up.
The trap is then reset. Smart PC's will find a way to get the chain and pull it
until it's at it's end. They will then be able to swing across to the other
side.
#-----#
----!---- !
/ ! / !
/ ! / !
/ ! / !
/ ! / !
/ ! / !
/ ! / !
/ ! / *
---------
\ \
\ \
\ \
\_______\
# = pulleys
! = rope or chain
/ = walls above pit
\ = walls below pit
--- = floor, ceiling, and part of the rope.
* = the weight to counter-balance the chain.
They're in for Quite a Shock!
Nate Flory (flory@postoffice.ptd.net)
The party is wandering a corridor that slopes upwards and comes across a room
containing a round pool of water.
Observant characters will note a 'funny' smell in the air and a small object of
value lying in the pool. (The object should most likely be made of metal..
sword, rod, amulet, etc)
If they investigate closer, they notice the object is covered in very small
bubbles as if it were immersed in soda water. The trick to this trap is that the
object has been charged with a _Shocking Grasp_ spell or otherwise permanently
electrified. We all know that when you put an electrical charge in water, it
splits the H2O into oxygen and Hydrogen. (this explains the fizzing and funny
smell!)
Assuming the party is carrying torches, they will most likely never make it to
the point where they investigate this room! The hydrogen will ignite at the
slightest flame source.
Really nasty GMs are encouraged to consider sending a bunch of torch-wielding
kobolds up the tunnel if the party has figured out this trap and are using
magical light sources. This forces the party to stop them from entering the room
and preventing the big *BOOM*.
The Stupid Door Trap
Darren George (Darren.George@UAlberta.CA)
The party comes to a door, above which is written, "The Word Is Cthulhu". Trying
to open the door will reveal that the door is sentient, and it will solemnly
inform the party that it will not open until the word has been said. Saying
"Cthulhu" will have no effect. The thing is, to open the door, the party must
trick the door into saying "Cthulhu". (Asking the door what the password is will
not work- the door will reply that if they don't know the word, they don't
deserve to be let in.)
I have come up with three ways to trick the door (assuming, of course, the door
isn't very bright).
1) Tell it a knock-knock joke: "Knock-knock" "Who's there?" "Cthul" "Cthul who?
d**n!"
2) Start cheering: "Who's the eater of the world that's made of you and me?
C-T-H! U-L-U! Cthulhu! Cthulhu! Yeahhhhh, Cthulhu!!" The door will join in on
the third "Cthulhu."
3) Blatantly mispronounce the word until the door, in exasperation, corrects
their pronounciation.
If, however, Cthulhu hears his name, and sends someone to investigate, the door
will (successfully) pretend to be non-sentient, and allow the delvers to take
the blame for the blasphemy and loose tongues.
Wizards are _not_ nice trap builders
Jeff Naujok (naujok@execpc.com)
Author's Note: I ran this in the dungeon of a wizard's castle. It is not
especially nice, but it is cool to watch. A section of a long corridor changes
over to having a tiled floor. Half of the hexagonal tiles are white, the other
half are black. Every other black tile is actually a glass plate over a deep
shaft, at the bottom of each shaft is an iron spike. As the PCs walk onto the
area, they feel the floor shift slightly. Roll some dice and wince, like
something has gone wrong. Tell the PCs that they hear a squeal of metal on
metal, but then nothing else. What has actually happened is the pit beneath the
glass is being filled with some explosively flamable liquid from a large storage
tank. This takes about 10 seconds.
Towards the middle of the corridor is a second pressure plate, ten feet wide.
Stepping on this strikes steel on flint in the pit below. *Boom* The ignited gas
drives the spikes up through the glass plates. Each PC will be hit by 1-6
spikes, each doing 2d6 damage. The spikes embed themselves in the ceiling.
Now here's why it's a wizard's castle. The trap triggers a variant of the Mend
spell, causing all of the glass plates to reassemble. Then a teleport is
triggered, popping all of the spikes back into the bottom of the shafts. This
sudden removal of the spikes one round after the detonation causes the ceiling
to collapse. PCs still on the trap suffer an additional 6d6 of damage. After
three turns, a panel in the side wall will slide open, and a charmed gelatinous
cube will slink up and down the hallway removing the rubble from the floor. It
will then return to its cubicle, and the panel will slide shut. When it does, it
triggers a Wall of Stone across the ceiling, restoring the trap to pristine
condition, ready to use again.
Originally, this trap did more damage, but that was for 18th level players. This
version is a little less deadly, as it doesn't do fire damage and damage from
the breaking glass. To avoid the trap, all the players need to do, and what the
wizard does, is jump over the first pressure plate, thus not releasing the
flammable liquid.
The wizard was especially mean, because he put a set of double doors at the end
of this corridor. They opened onto blank rock. Of course there was a secret door
there that led on, but the PCs thought that the whole thing was just a trap, and
gave up on it.
From: Alan Greenberg <algreenberg@dow.com>
Best trap I ever saw was built into the side of an active volcano. The room had
a natural corridor leading into it (no door!). There was a door at the far end.
Depending on how good a mood you're in the room can have nothing in it, fixed
furnishings, or mobile furnishings.
The trick is that the door leads into the volcano shaft ABOVE the lava pool.
Since heat rises, the air in the volcano is constantly moving upward. Opening
the door, creates a very high vacuum towards the door sweeping a character into
the lava pool unless they can react quickly with an appropriate spell or potion
or grab onto a handhold.
The best part of this trap is it is based on natural phenomena and therefore
really isn't a trap - so it doesn't show up with detect trap magic.
Between a Troll and a Sharp Place
From: QPAK01A@prodigy.com (JOEL F YODER)
As the delvers (good old Tunnels and Trolls term) walk down a long corridor,
they step on a flagstone that sinks a bit. Behind them a large panel in one wall
opens up and caltrops fall out. Suddenly, a large troll (or something too tough
for the characters to fight, anyway) rushes from around the corner ahead. Run!
p.s. this one was my revenge on players who liked to scatter caltrops around
liberally.
Vines and Boulders
From: QPAK01A@prodigy.com (JOEL F YODER)
The delvers are walking along a hallway whose walls and ceilings are covered
with vines. A few vines trail down from the ceiling 20' above, including a few
stout ones in the middle of the hallway. Suddenly, hidden panels open up on each
end of the hall and 10' diameter boulders begin rolling at the party. Actually,
these are illusions, and those who remain below will not be harmed. Those who
try to climb the vines, however, will find their hands stuck, and will be drawn
up though the hidden, vine-covered holes in the ceiling where a carniverous
plant waits to make their aquaintance.
Water Filled Hot Spot
From: kroal@infolink.net.il (Dan Gilboa)
This is a variation of the water-filled room. Any small room with one door will
do. Add a nice fountain (a marble kid pissing into a pool maybe) and some
burnt-down and wet bones.
After the party enters the room will be locked and water level will rise as
usual. Nothing will open the door! Let the water reach about throat-high. Then
the water stops and a fine quantity of oil will be spilled from above followed
by a jet of flame (ever seen burning oil at sea?). Any sensible player will take
a deep breath and dive. Very clever! On the third step many small holes will be
opened on floor level and water level will begin to go down slowly (and make it
real slow, there's plenty of oil up there...) -- they have a choice between
drowning, burning by oil, or being boiled alive, not a very easy choice to make.
Fountain
From: Chris Roberts (chris@novanet.ns.ca)
A pool of water is located at the intersection of two hallways:
| |
___| |___
0 <------------ pool
___ ____
| |
| |
Laying on the bottom of the pool are various pieces of treasure.
If anyone takes any item from the pool four walls of force seal off the exits
instaneously. The fountain starts to overflow the pool immediately, filling the
space in three rounds. Putting the item back will cause plates in the floor to
slide back and the water to drain through the holes. It takes 1 turn for all the
water to drain. After all the water is gone the walls of force disappear.
Placing a new item in the pool will cause some beneficial effect (bless, regain
1d4 hit pts, etc.)
To make this nastier you could disallow teleporting, etc. out of the area or
make any items actually removed become cursed.
The All-Is-Not-What-It-Seems Trap
From: Caleb Buchert (Pcalebb@sierra.net)
The PCs are walking down a hallway and see an open pit (10' wide, 20' across) in
the floor. It is filled with any liquid the DM wants (ie. green slime, sulphuric
acid, or just plain H2O). Dangling above the pit is a chain that a PC must jump
to in order to grab. The chain is made of a non-corrosive metal. It is connected
to a rope that goes around a pulley and is connected to a weight that is 20
pounds heavier than the chain. When the PC grabs the chain, he sinks into the
trap. The only way out besides swimming (if he/she doesn't die) is pulling hand
over hand out of the liquid. Then he/she can swing back and forth to land on
either side of the trap. If the PC lets go of the chain, the weight pulls it up.
The trap is then reset. Smart PC's will find a way to get the chain and pull it
until it's at it's end. They will then be able to swing across to the other
side.
#-----#
----!---- !
/ ! / !
/ ! / !
/ ! / !
/ ! / !
/ ! / !
/ ! / !
/ ! / *
---------
\ \
\ \
\ \
\_______\
# = pulleys
! = rope or chain
/ = walls above pit
\ = walls below pit
--- = floor, ceiling, and part of the rope.
* = the weight to counter-balance the chain.
They're in for Quite a Shock!
Nate Flory (flory@postoffice.ptd.net)
The party is wandering a corridor that slopes upwards and comes across a room
containing a round pool of water.
Observant characters will note a 'funny' smell in the air and a small object of
value lying in the pool. (The object should most likely be made of metal..
sword, rod, amulet, etc)
If they investigate closer, they notice the object is covered in very small
bubbles as if it were immersed in soda water. The trick to this trap is that the
object has been charged with a _Shocking Grasp_ spell or otherwise permanently
electrified. We all know that when you put an electrical charge in water, it
splits the H2O into oxygen and Hydrogen. (this explains the fizzing and funny
smell!)
Assuming the party is carrying torches, they will most likely never make it to
the point where they investigate this room! The hydrogen will ignite at the
slightest flame source.
Really nasty GMs are encouraged to consider sending a bunch of torch-wielding
kobolds up the tunnel if the party has figured out this trap and are using
magical light sources. This forces the party to stop them from entering the room
and preventing the big *BOOM*.
The Stupid Door Trap
Darren George (Darren.George@UAlberta.CA)
The party comes to a door, above which is written, "The Word Is Cthulhu". Trying
to open the door will reveal that the door is sentient, and it will solemnly
inform the party that it will not open until the word has been said. Saying
"Cthulhu" will have no effect. The thing is, to open the door, the party must
trick the door into saying "Cthulhu". (Asking the door what the password is will
not work- the door will reply that if they don't know the word, they don't
deserve to be let in.)
I have come up with three ways to trick the door (assuming, of course, the door
isn't very bright).
1) Tell it a knock-knock joke: "Knock-knock" "Who's there?" "Cthul" "Cthul who?
d**n!"
2) Start cheering: "Who's the eater of the world that's made of you and me?
C-T-H! U-L-U! Cthulhu! Cthulhu! Yeahhhhh, Cthulhu!!" The door will join in on
the third "Cthulhu."
3) Blatantly mispronounce the word until the door, in exasperation, corrects
their pronounciation.
If, however, Cthulhu hears his name, and sends someone to investigate, the door
will (successfully) pretend to be non-sentient, and allow the delvers to take
the blame for the blasphemy and loose tongues.
Wizards are _not_ nice trap builders
Jeff Naujok (naujok@execpc.com)
Author's Note: I ran this in the dungeon of a wizard's castle. It is not
especially nice, but it is cool to watch. A section of a long corridor changes
over to having a tiled floor. Half of the hexagonal tiles are white, the other
half are black. Every other black tile is actually a glass plate over a deep
shaft, at the bottom of each shaft is an iron spike. As the PCs walk onto the
area, they feel the floor shift slightly. Roll some dice and wince, like
something has gone wrong. Tell the PCs that they hear a squeal of metal on
metal, but then nothing else. What has actually happened is the pit beneath the
glass is being filled with some explosively flamable liquid from a large storage
tank. This takes about 10 seconds.
Towards the middle of the corridor is a second pressure plate, ten feet wide.
Stepping on this strikes steel on flint in the pit below. *Boom* The ignited gas
drives the spikes up through the glass plates. Each PC will be hit by 1-6
spikes, each doing 2d6 damage. The spikes embed themselves in the ceiling.
Now here's why it's a wizard's castle. The trap triggers a variant of the Mend
spell, causing all of the glass plates to reassemble. Then a teleport is
triggered, popping all of the spikes back into the bottom of the shafts. This
sudden removal of the spikes one round after the detonation causes the ceiling
to collapse. PCs still on the trap suffer an additional 6d6 of damage. After
three turns, a panel in the side wall will slide open, and a charmed gelatinous
cube will slink up and down the hallway removing the rubble from the floor. It
will then return to its cubicle, and the panel will slide shut. When it does, it
triggers a Wall of Stone across the ceiling, restoring the trap to pristine
condition, ready to use again.
Originally, this trap did more damage, but that was for 18th level players. This
version is a little less deadly, as it doesn't do fire damage and damage from
the breaking glass. To avoid the trap, all the players need to do, and what the
wizard does, is jump over the first pressure plate, thus not releasing the
flammable liquid.
The wizard was especially mean, because he put a set of double doors at the end
of this corridor. They opened onto blank rock. Of course there was a secret door
there that led on, but the PCs thought that the whole thing was just a trap, and
gave up on it.