Post by StoryTeller on Jan 22, 2006 7:01:38 GMT
Ogre Fist
From: Leif Roar Moldskred <leifm@stud.unit.no>
The Ogre Fist trap is a pretty basic, low-tech trap for a dead room (i.e. a room
that has no other function than being a trap.)
A large timber log is hung in the middle of the room. A rope goes from the back
of the log, through a couple of well-greased rings and to the door - opening
inwards.
Normally the log is pulled back a meter, the rope tied to the door and the door
closed (using considerable force) pulling the log even further back. Then the
door is locked, keeping the log in place.
When the door is unlocked it will spring open and the heavy log will come
swining through it. To prevent the log from stopping half-way, the doors are
made to be break at the sudden jolt at wide-open.
In addition to the considerable damage from the log itself, it contains more
than enough energy to throw anybody struck by it several meters back.
Normally, an Ogre Fist is made to throw anybody opening the door into a new trap
- a spiked pit, the trigger stone for a rockslide etc. Goblins are especially
found of revolving walls that locks after being used. The already battered
adventurer may find himself in a dark room, separated from his companions and
surrounded by dark-seeing and armed goblins.
There are also variations of this trap replacing the log with all manners of
heavy objects. Lead-cauldrons filled with acid, crates filled with quicksilver,
barrels of poision - sometimes even large monsters.
And since we are talking about a decoy-door here, and because of the simplicity
of the trap, it is almost impossible to disarm. The only safe way to deal with
it is not to stand right in front of the door when it is opened.
From: thijssen@ei.et.tudelft.nl (Andries Thijssen)
Just When Ya Thought it Was Safe
Build to pitfalls directly after each other. The PCs will discover the first pit
(sometimes the hard way, more often by being very careful). Since there is no
way around the pit, they will attempt to jump over it. That is when they jump
right into the second pit, which has been decorated with stakes and other nasty
stuff.
The Good Get Away
For your smart villians only. Have their escape route go through a (looking for
the right word here) chimney or other vertical hole. There are handholds in the
wall, which one uses to climb up. One of these handholds has some poison needles
in it, or a trigger for a dart trap or whatever. The villian (sp?) knows which
handhold is trapped and avoids it. Give each pursuing PC a 50% chance to set of
the trap.
If PCs slow down to check each handhold before putting their hands in it, have
the villian drop a heavy boulder or flaming oil down the tube. However, give the
villain enough of a head-start that he cannot be capturted by the PCs in the
tunnel, or shot down.
Treasure Ain't Always Treasure
Mix in a some poison with the other treasure. You might even want to label it as
potion of healing. (In that case, label the other potions too.)
Another idea:
Place fake traps in your dungeon. For example a floor tile which is not 100%
stable. (There are a few pieces of gravel beneath it.) When a PC steps onto the
tile announce 'You feel the floor moving beneath you'. Ask for saving throws and
stuff. Jumping away makes a lot of noise when wearing armour and might also
leave you prone. A perfect situation to have a monster attack. Works especially
well in combination with the first idea: i.e. place a fake trap in front and a
real one behind it.
On a roleplaying note:
Only intelleigent and crafty creatures make traps. The defenses of a dwarven
stronghold are probably riddled with traps. Orcs rely on crude traps such as
pits. Remeber that each trap requires an engineering effort by their builders
and also maintainance (esp. for poison or dart traps.) There is a difference
between traps and defenses. Traps work always, but are mostly one-shot and can
be avoided. Do not underestimate the value of murder- holes in the ceiling (esp.
for tiny corridors where the PCs have to crawl through). A door with murder
holes in it and a pit in front makes an impressive obstacle. The same with a set
of steel bars blocking a corridor. While the PCs are trying to open it, the
monsters lurk just otuside the infravision range of the PCs and open fire with
crossbows. Of course, the monsters are behind special defences, providing 75% or
even 90% cover.
The (In)Complete Teleporting Pit --
(NOTE: This was sent to me in many variations, but this was the first one I got,
so that is why this one is here, and the others aren't.)
From: aboulton@cix.compulink.co.uk (Andrew Boulton)
Okay, here's a good one. Have a deep pit, concealed somehow. The victim falls
down, then, just before he hits the bottom, a teleport device/spell sends him
back up to the top, with the same velocity. You could keep him in this loop
forever, but an alternative is, after a while, (say, when he reaches *terminal*
velocity :-), to change the destination of the teleport...say, the same place,
but the opposite direction (ie up into the air - see if you can reach escape
velocity!)
Another one is to put the teleporter at the end of a corridor, with the
destination point at the other end, facing it. You then project the image of a
monster in front of the 'porter, and wait for the party to shoot it (and so
shoot themselves in the back).
The Gassy Pyramid
From: lawrence@msm.com (SL Nyveen)
It takes place inside an Aztec temple, but it could be anywhere underground, so
long as the surrounding soil, rock, and walls are porous to some degree (mine
had seams between the fitted stones).
The location is a 10'-wide passageway. It slopes up for a total rise of about
20', runs along for any distance (I used 120'), then slopes back down to the
original level. The ceiling and upper walls of the elevated portion are
plastered over so as to make them airproof.
The trap is that the elevated, airtight passageway collects natural methane
percolating up through the bedrock and sediments. The methane passes harmlessly
through the seams of the hallway, but where the plaster prevents it, it collects
in deadly and flammable concentrations.
I had others pass this way hundreds of years before the PCs, and had this temple
undisturbed since.
My DM's notes follow. I had "buffer rooms" at each end of the hallway, hung with
many thick, loose curtains, to contain explosions and protect the rest of the
rest of the complex.
Light will reveal a thin, uniform layer of soot along all surfaces. Close
examination of the gassy area will reveal that ceiling and walls are lined with
smooth plaster made to look like the rest of the masonry blocks.
In the gas-filled region, any flame will set off an explosion causing 6d6
damage. Everyone in the hallway will suffer this damage; those in the buffer
rooms save vs. paralyzation for half-damage.
Anyone walking in the gas must save vs. Con every 10 feet after the first 20,
regardless of speed, to avoid passing out. If a PC flies through, or is carried,
they must save only every 30 feet. If a PC is encumbered, they must save every
five feet. If a PC specifies he is holding his breath, the first (5 x Con) feet
do not require Con checks.
Three rounds after passing out, PCs must save each round vs. death or die of
suffocation.
Note that methane is colorless and odorless. My PCs found a good way around this
trap, the second time they tried it. They took large bags of water and
water-breathed their way through. They never use torches either. Oh well.
The Altar Riddle Trap
From: QUAH SONG CHIEK <med20006@leonis.nus.sg>
Send the players to a point in the game where they have to face a GUARDIAN.... a
big creature with whom they should not have too much trouble defeating. After
its destruction, the players will encounter an altar with three bowls on it. To
proceed further into the adventure, they would need to place one item in each
bowl. The wrong items will cause damage to the players in the form of a
lightning bolt or some other nasty spell. The correct items are:
One particular item, determined before-hand, collected in the adventure up
to the taste of the individual GMs... so things like a ring, mushroom, and
dirt are all possible.
The Silver Dagger of the Guardian. Nasty GM's could have the Guardian carry
more than one dagger...
One Gold Piece or any type of currency used in the particular world.
From: MadHatter <bmcrober@tezcat.com>
Whirlpool Entrance
A bowl shaped pond about 50' across and 50' deep is the entrance to an
underground crypt. At the bottom of the pond is a circle of 13 stone pillars
each 13' tall and their circle is 13' across. Written on each pillar are 2
letters : A - M on the top row, and N - Z on the bottom row of letters. A stone
'dome' covers the pillars and enough air is trapped there that the characters
could breathe it as they investigate the pillars. Each letter is depressable
like a button. On the bottom of the pond in the center of the pillars is a large
iron 'cork', however, with so much water pressure no amount of strength could
actually pull this plug. The characters are in possession of a scroll with a
riddle on it. By depressing the letters to spell this word suddenly the 'cork'
becomes ethereal for 5 rounds, during which time the characters and all the
water are washed into the crypt/lair below.
It Isn't Always Nice When Demons Leave
A corridor goes east and then south to a dead end. On the north end where the
corridor branches there is a large 6' tall red face of a demon who looks like it
is yawning. Its mouth is wet. Half-way down the corridor to the south on the
eastern side there is a 1' lever angling 'up'. Pulling this lever down causes
three areas to go ethereal : the demon face's mouth, the 5' square section of
the wall next to the lever and the 10' square section of the floor at the
southern end of the dead end. A powerful stream of water will spew from the
demon's mouth down the center of the corridor, hitting the southern wall and
falling into the pit that has been uncovered by the ethereal floor. Any
characters standing in the middle of the corridor will be washed into the wall
and then down the pit. The person pulling the lever has a chance to jump through
the ethereal hole in the wall. Any characters standing next to the walls will be
fine as long as they keep flat against the wall or floor. There is an opposing
lever on the other side of the wall that can be lowered (which raises the lever
on the corridor side) and turning the trap 'off' thus returning the three
sections back to material state.
Are Magic Items Always Nice?
The party finds a magical diadem. If this diadem comes within 20' of any statue
in the crypt, the statue immediately animates and attacks the possessor unless
the deactivation word is spoken...
A Trick of the Light
A corridor runs west and then turns south 20' before entering a 30' wide, 60'
long and 10' tall chamber. The entire northern wall of this chamber, and the
northern section of the corridor where it turns south to enter this chamber, are
covered with rusted spikes. In the middle of the chamber, running from east to
west is a row of 1" thick iron poles which run from ceiling to floor. Touching a
pole sets off a wall of lightning along the entire wall (anyone touching the
pole saves vs magic at -4). The wall of lightning does 12d6 damage. In the
southern half of the chamber there is a ruby red light shining in a narrow beam
from the ceiling to the floor. This beam is 10' in front of the large face which
is in the middle of the southern wall. There is no apparent source for the
light, and any metal surface can reflect it. The face in the southern wall is 6'
diameter and made completely of obsidian and it appears to be a distorted human
face in the act of laughing. Both eyes are bulging and can be depressed. If both
eyes are depressed and the ruby light is not being shined onto the face a
complicated illusion will occur. The room appears to tilt very quickly to the
north, with that end dropping quickly to a 60 degree angle. Unless characters
state that they disbelieve they will stagger and slide to the north as anyone
would if a room tilted so suddenly on them! Anyone staggering into the poles
will set off the lightning. Anyone falling into the rusted spikes (which of
course still seem to line the entire northern wall) will impale themselves on
3-6 spikes doing 1-6 damage each with a 25% chance for each spike (not
cumulative) of contracting a disease. If the two eyes of the face are depressed
when the ruby light is being shined upon it the face can be easily moved south
and then it slides east revealing the passageway continuing to the south.
Out For A Swim
A 30' square room has a door on the western wall, southern most section, and a
door on the southern wall, eastern most section, and a door in the middle of the
northern wall. A 1' wide passage leads from the northern door to the southern
door. From the 1' wide passage the floor drops to a depth of 30' below the level
of the doors. This is all filled with water, including up to 1' above the level
of the passage, making the water even with the bottom of the doors. The trip is
easy between the northern and southern doors, though the trip to the western
door might be more difficult. You can place water elementals, water weirds,
crystal oozes or any other kind of nasty creature in there. The water below the
5' deep mark might be very murky just to add to the drama. Maybe the characters
would want to investiate it to see if there was another passage or anything
hidden down there... or perhaps the floor has a slime coating?
Don't Touch Me!
A sarcophagus will Wither anyone touching it without speaking the proper
phrase...
From: Leif Roar Moldskred <leifm@stud.unit.no>
The Ogre Fist trap is a pretty basic, low-tech trap for a dead room (i.e. a room
that has no other function than being a trap.)
A large timber log is hung in the middle of the room. A rope goes from the back
of the log, through a couple of well-greased rings and to the door - opening
inwards.
Normally the log is pulled back a meter, the rope tied to the door and the door
closed (using considerable force) pulling the log even further back. Then the
door is locked, keeping the log in place.
When the door is unlocked it will spring open and the heavy log will come
swining through it. To prevent the log from stopping half-way, the doors are
made to be break at the sudden jolt at wide-open.
In addition to the considerable damage from the log itself, it contains more
than enough energy to throw anybody struck by it several meters back.
Normally, an Ogre Fist is made to throw anybody opening the door into a new trap
- a spiked pit, the trigger stone for a rockslide etc. Goblins are especially
found of revolving walls that locks after being used. The already battered
adventurer may find himself in a dark room, separated from his companions and
surrounded by dark-seeing and armed goblins.
There are also variations of this trap replacing the log with all manners of
heavy objects. Lead-cauldrons filled with acid, crates filled with quicksilver,
barrels of poision - sometimes even large monsters.
And since we are talking about a decoy-door here, and because of the simplicity
of the trap, it is almost impossible to disarm. The only safe way to deal with
it is not to stand right in front of the door when it is opened.
From: thijssen@ei.et.tudelft.nl (Andries Thijssen)
Just When Ya Thought it Was Safe
Build to pitfalls directly after each other. The PCs will discover the first pit
(sometimes the hard way, more often by being very careful). Since there is no
way around the pit, they will attempt to jump over it. That is when they jump
right into the second pit, which has been decorated with stakes and other nasty
stuff.
The Good Get Away
For your smart villians only. Have their escape route go through a (looking for
the right word here) chimney or other vertical hole. There are handholds in the
wall, which one uses to climb up. One of these handholds has some poison needles
in it, or a trigger for a dart trap or whatever. The villian (sp?) knows which
handhold is trapped and avoids it. Give each pursuing PC a 50% chance to set of
the trap.
If PCs slow down to check each handhold before putting their hands in it, have
the villian drop a heavy boulder or flaming oil down the tube. However, give the
villain enough of a head-start that he cannot be capturted by the PCs in the
tunnel, or shot down.
Treasure Ain't Always Treasure
Mix in a some poison with the other treasure. You might even want to label it as
potion of healing. (In that case, label the other potions too.)
Another idea:
Place fake traps in your dungeon. For example a floor tile which is not 100%
stable. (There are a few pieces of gravel beneath it.) When a PC steps onto the
tile announce 'You feel the floor moving beneath you'. Ask for saving throws and
stuff. Jumping away makes a lot of noise when wearing armour and might also
leave you prone. A perfect situation to have a monster attack. Works especially
well in combination with the first idea: i.e. place a fake trap in front and a
real one behind it.
On a roleplaying note:
Only intelleigent and crafty creatures make traps. The defenses of a dwarven
stronghold are probably riddled with traps. Orcs rely on crude traps such as
pits. Remeber that each trap requires an engineering effort by their builders
and also maintainance (esp. for poison or dart traps.) There is a difference
between traps and defenses. Traps work always, but are mostly one-shot and can
be avoided. Do not underestimate the value of murder- holes in the ceiling (esp.
for tiny corridors where the PCs have to crawl through). A door with murder
holes in it and a pit in front makes an impressive obstacle. The same with a set
of steel bars blocking a corridor. While the PCs are trying to open it, the
monsters lurk just otuside the infravision range of the PCs and open fire with
crossbows. Of course, the monsters are behind special defences, providing 75% or
even 90% cover.
The (In)Complete Teleporting Pit --
(NOTE: This was sent to me in many variations, but this was the first one I got,
so that is why this one is here, and the others aren't.)
From: aboulton@cix.compulink.co.uk (Andrew Boulton)
Okay, here's a good one. Have a deep pit, concealed somehow. The victim falls
down, then, just before he hits the bottom, a teleport device/spell sends him
back up to the top, with the same velocity. You could keep him in this loop
forever, but an alternative is, after a while, (say, when he reaches *terminal*
velocity :-), to change the destination of the teleport...say, the same place,
but the opposite direction (ie up into the air - see if you can reach escape
velocity!)
Another one is to put the teleporter at the end of a corridor, with the
destination point at the other end, facing it. You then project the image of a
monster in front of the 'porter, and wait for the party to shoot it (and so
shoot themselves in the back).
The Gassy Pyramid
From: lawrence@msm.com (SL Nyveen)
It takes place inside an Aztec temple, but it could be anywhere underground, so
long as the surrounding soil, rock, and walls are porous to some degree (mine
had seams between the fitted stones).
The location is a 10'-wide passageway. It slopes up for a total rise of about
20', runs along for any distance (I used 120'), then slopes back down to the
original level. The ceiling and upper walls of the elevated portion are
plastered over so as to make them airproof.
The trap is that the elevated, airtight passageway collects natural methane
percolating up through the bedrock and sediments. The methane passes harmlessly
through the seams of the hallway, but where the plaster prevents it, it collects
in deadly and flammable concentrations.
I had others pass this way hundreds of years before the PCs, and had this temple
undisturbed since.
My DM's notes follow. I had "buffer rooms" at each end of the hallway, hung with
many thick, loose curtains, to contain explosions and protect the rest of the
rest of the complex.
Light will reveal a thin, uniform layer of soot along all surfaces. Close
examination of the gassy area will reveal that ceiling and walls are lined with
smooth plaster made to look like the rest of the masonry blocks.
In the gas-filled region, any flame will set off an explosion causing 6d6
damage. Everyone in the hallway will suffer this damage; those in the buffer
rooms save vs. paralyzation for half-damage.
Anyone walking in the gas must save vs. Con every 10 feet after the first 20,
regardless of speed, to avoid passing out. If a PC flies through, or is carried,
they must save only every 30 feet. If a PC is encumbered, they must save every
five feet. If a PC specifies he is holding his breath, the first (5 x Con) feet
do not require Con checks.
Three rounds after passing out, PCs must save each round vs. death or die of
suffocation.
Note that methane is colorless and odorless. My PCs found a good way around this
trap, the second time they tried it. They took large bags of water and
water-breathed their way through. They never use torches either. Oh well.
The Altar Riddle Trap
From: QUAH SONG CHIEK <med20006@leonis.nus.sg>
Send the players to a point in the game where they have to face a GUARDIAN.... a
big creature with whom they should not have too much trouble defeating. After
its destruction, the players will encounter an altar with three bowls on it. To
proceed further into the adventure, they would need to place one item in each
bowl. The wrong items will cause damage to the players in the form of a
lightning bolt or some other nasty spell. The correct items are:
One particular item, determined before-hand, collected in the adventure up
to the taste of the individual GMs... so things like a ring, mushroom, and
dirt are all possible.
The Silver Dagger of the Guardian. Nasty GM's could have the Guardian carry
more than one dagger...
One Gold Piece or any type of currency used in the particular world.
From: MadHatter <bmcrober@tezcat.com>
Whirlpool Entrance
A bowl shaped pond about 50' across and 50' deep is the entrance to an
underground crypt. At the bottom of the pond is a circle of 13 stone pillars
each 13' tall and their circle is 13' across. Written on each pillar are 2
letters : A - M on the top row, and N - Z on the bottom row of letters. A stone
'dome' covers the pillars and enough air is trapped there that the characters
could breathe it as they investigate the pillars. Each letter is depressable
like a button. On the bottom of the pond in the center of the pillars is a large
iron 'cork', however, with so much water pressure no amount of strength could
actually pull this plug. The characters are in possession of a scroll with a
riddle on it. By depressing the letters to spell this word suddenly the 'cork'
becomes ethereal for 5 rounds, during which time the characters and all the
water are washed into the crypt/lair below.
It Isn't Always Nice When Demons Leave
A corridor goes east and then south to a dead end. On the north end where the
corridor branches there is a large 6' tall red face of a demon who looks like it
is yawning. Its mouth is wet. Half-way down the corridor to the south on the
eastern side there is a 1' lever angling 'up'. Pulling this lever down causes
three areas to go ethereal : the demon face's mouth, the 5' square section of
the wall next to the lever and the 10' square section of the floor at the
southern end of the dead end. A powerful stream of water will spew from the
demon's mouth down the center of the corridor, hitting the southern wall and
falling into the pit that has been uncovered by the ethereal floor. Any
characters standing in the middle of the corridor will be washed into the wall
and then down the pit. The person pulling the lever has a chance to jump through
the ethereal hole in the wall. Any characters standing next to the walls will be
fine as long as they keep flat against the wall or floor. There is an opposing
lever on the other side of the wall that can be lowered (which raises the lever
on the corridor side) and turning the trap 'off' thus returning the three
sections back to material state.
Are Magic Items Always Nice?
The party finds a magical diadem. If this diadem comes within 20' of any statue
in the crypt, the statue immediately animates and attacks the possessor unless
the deactivation word is spoken...
A Trick of the Light
A corridor runs west and then turns south 20' before entering a 30' wide, 60'
long and 10' tall chamber. The entire northern wall of this chamber, and the
northern section of the corridor where it turns south to enter this chamber, are
covered with rusted spikes. In the middle of the chamber, running from east to
west is a row of 1" thick iron poles which run from ceiling to floor. Touching a
pole sets off a wall of lightning along the entire wall (anyone touching the
pole saves vs magic at -4). The wall of lightning does 12d6 damage. In the
southern half of the chamber there is a ruby red light shining in a narrow beam
from the ceiling to the floor. This beam is 10' in front of the large face which
is in the middle of the southern wall. There is no apparent source for the
light, and any metal surface can reflect it. The face in the southern wall is 6'
diameter and made completely of obsidian and it appears to be a distorted human
face in the act of laughing. Both eyes are bulging and can be depressed. If both
eyes are depressed and the ruby light is not being shined onto the face a
complicated illusion will occur. The room appears to tilt very quickly to the
north, with that end dropping quickly to a 60 degree angle. Unless characters
state that they disbelieve they will stagger and slide to the north as anyone
would if a room tilted so suddenly on them! Anyone staggering into the poles
will set off the lightning. Anyone falling into the rusted spikes (which of
course still seem to line the entire northern wall) will impale themselves on
3-6 spikes doing 1-6 damage each with a 25% chance for each spike (not
cumulative) of contracting a disease. If the two eyes of the face are depressed
when the ruby light is being shined upon it the face can be easily moved south
and then it slides east revealing the passageway continuing to the south.
Out For A Swim
A 30' square room has a door on the western wall, southern most section, and a
door on the southern wall, eastern most section, and a door in the middle of the
northern wall. A 1' wide passage leads from the northern door to the southern
door. From the 1' wide passage the floor drops to a depth of 30' below the level
of the doors. This is all filled with water, including up to 1' above the level
of the passage, making the water even with the bottom of the doors. The trip is
easy between the northern and southern doors, though the trip to the western
door might be more difficult. You can place water elementals, water weirds,
crystal oozes or any other kind of nasty creature in there. The water below the
5' deep mark might be very murky just to add to the drama. Maybe the characters
would want to investiate it to see if there was another passage or anything
hidden down there... or perhaps the floor has a slime coating?
Don't Touch Me!
A sarcophagus will Wither anyone touching it without speaking the proper
phrase...