For an excellent 3PP source on traps is Rite Publishing #30 Traps for Tombs, with, of course, 30 traps designed specifically to fit your needs. It's highly rated!
Rather than necro that (excellent) linked thread...
One thing that works really well to avoid the constant "I move at 5 feet per round, searching every space I walk into," is to give clues to trapped areas, such as bloodstains or scorch marks that can be noticed with passive Perception (the rogue's modifier +10). Obviously, though, if you only describe these things when there is a trap, you'll not be doing anyone any favors, because no one will be surprised by traps in this way.
Ideally, you make a habit of describing hallways and rooms and doors and such enough, occasionally with these same grizzly details, that players are set at ease. "We've come across DOZENS of hallways with blood spatter! Seems like everybody does their killing in hallways...or maybe a lot of people have a nose-bleed allergy to halls." In any case, it's up to them whether they take a small part of your description to be important or not. The notice DC should be lower than the active Perception DC to actually find a trap, so that someone casually observing such things isn't going to basically automatically find the trap as well.
Even better if the evidence is there, but doesn't immediately indicate what the danger really is, or if, sometimes, the evidence is placed INTENTIONALLY to draw someone in, or keep them back, for the real trap!
Thanks guys for all the help so far!
I got to run my players through my dungeon with a bunch of these traps placed within it.
The sad thing is- the one trap that worked the most- I place there as a simple tool for the bad guys to use.
A Rope- that leads up to the ceiling. When pulled it causes bells to ring (Alerting the rest of the building that there is someone inside).
Of course- one of the players pulled said rope... and kept pulling it.
Simple, but effective I suppose. :P
A Rope- that leads up to the ceiling. When pulled it causes bells to ring (Alerting the rest of the building that there is someone inside).
Of course- one of the players pulled said rope... and kept pulling it.
Simple, but effective I suppose. :P
What was this character?
What was this character?A Rope- that leads up to the ceiling. When pulled it causes bells to ring (Alerting the rest of the building that there is someone inside).
Of course- one of the players pulled said rope... and kept pulling it.
Simple, but effective I suppose. :P
He was a Druid... and for some reason thought the door the rope was next to would open by pulling the rope.
Wow... Did he dump INT or what?
Maybe he was trying "Bardic Knock"
Ive been working on some trap stuff myself, and i found that an unusual aspect can make a trap really stand out.
Some rare components are
Magnets in the trigger, when a metal clad warrior passes, it can move a trigger
Displacement triggers, activate if someone wades through a pool of water.
light based trigger, starting a chemical reaction.
Air based trigger, see white phosphorous and go from there.
Ill see about posting my personal trap collection as a google doc.
In the meantime ill repost one of my own supertraps, designed to make use of unusual elements.
It is initially triggered when an unlucky delver steps on a pressure plate in the floor, causing a stone door to drop out of the ceiling behind the party, blocking the way they came. The edges of the door land on C shaped rocker plates, that push bars out of the walls into sockets in the door to lock it. The Bars have a sawtooth ratchet on the bottom so they only slide one way.
Inset into the door is a large gong, and when the door slams down the shock will ring the gong. This will shatter the delicate glass plugs set into the ceiling, allowing a large vat of acid to drain into the corridor through sprayers much like a modern fire suppression system.
As the acid burns the delvers and soaks the corridor two things will happen. The first is that as the level of acid in the tank drops it will move a lever that was attached to a float in the tank, causing a door at the opposite end of the corridor to slowly rise from the ground to seal other end of the hall. The party will naturally sprint for the exit before it closes.
But the acid soaking also triggers a secondary effect of dissolving the limestone tiles on the walls that hold back arrow traps. As the tiles dissolve, the hall will be randomly filled with flying arrows. For added fun, poison the arrows.
If the delvers are quick and lucky enough to make it to the closing door, they will have to hurl themselves over it to escape the acid and arrow stormed corridor. That will land them squarely on a pit trap just on the other side that has been collecting the acid that was draining out of the corridor.
I ain't even going to try to digitize my trap collection... I gave up making a Database after I started typing in the 127th entry.
Sadly they were lost when my last computer crashed...
I cried as I was in the middle of writing a 5 Page Paper (Calibri 8pt single spaced).
All but two of these are original, and those two I thought deserved special recognition:
OMG I just read Bman's post about interesting triggers and thought of a fun one: light-sensitive lichen.
2 of the PC's in my campaign are human, one is a 1/2 elf and they're all low level. This means they ALWAYS have a light source out during underground explorations. Have them walk into a really long hall and as they enter the light causes the lichen on the walls to visibly grow, spider-webbing out away from light.
The lichen isn't harmful (unless someone's REALLY allergic) but the rapid expansion is the trigger mechanism. As the party moves forward down the hall the vining tendrils of fungus expand causing the trap to go off. Best part is the party may just follow the lichen and be so engrossed that they don't notice the lead character has been scythed in the dark until they hear him scream!
ANNNDDDD...the rapid growth could also act as a warning as well. Wow, thanks Bramble!
Try having glowing runes, kept glowing with radium in the cuts. They provide weak light through the complex but force save vs radiation poisoning.
Ok B to the M; I think you've had enough coffee. I like traps, even mega traps, but your spoilered trap above reminds me of a trap in HS:
Pit trap. You hit bottom...acid bath at high pressure knocking you back down prone. While you're struggling to stand an internal lever flips when the acid tank empties, opening the bottom of the pit and you fall again...in a shower of acid.
THIS time when you fall the walls suddenly angle inward...and they're coated in razor blades. So now you're wedged in place, impaled on the blades, and burning with acid. Oh yeah; also poisoned needles inject into your legs.
If you're STILL not dead, any struggle does 2 things. One it attracts a creature below that is attracted to the poison in your legs, so it starts chewing. Also it releases a hatch that dumps maggots and rot grubs.
This was in a 3rd level, 1e game.
Okay, okay, haven't figured out a block for this yet, but....
You have a corridor filled with knee deep mud, with foul smelling water above it.
The mud is really rancid and forced save vs sickened condition, this throughs suspicion off what's gonna happen next.
Anyone who wades through the mud gets a hefty coating of it on their shoes.
When they emerge and the sticky mud begins to dry:
SUPRISE! it ignites. The mud being rich in phosphorous, which is sticky and ignites when exposed to air.
Now everyones shoes are effectively soaked in burning napalm.
No real way to disarm this one, making it more hazard than trap. Try a water walk, or clean carefully before exiting the water.
Brambleman thank you for that...
Water is obviously hindering the mud's explosiveness, so create water cantrip to clean it off (knowledge: nature for hints); perception checks for scorches showing flame gouts; if low level I'd ask if my rogue-ish character could crawl along the wall with Climb skill over the mud; if high level levitate/fly/water walk.
...or if you have the barbarian I had in my last campaign he just long jumps it with his ridiculous skill and a jump spell buff.
Or be like my Fighter with Red Dragon Hide Armour.
Why is it this previous trap reminds me of the Flaming Sack of Dog Poop Prank?
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The PCs enter a room filled with a very elaborate system of ropes and pulleys. The room is so thick with criss-crossing ropes it's difficult to see across it, and the only light in the room comes from various lanterns that are themselves part of the elaborate rigging-- seemingly there to shed light on the various other devices connected to the ropes. In one square there may be several keys, in another a large block of pulleys and a keyhole, in still another a net is stretched over a 10x10 area. Describe as much of this as you have the patience for, marking different squares on the grid and perhaps giving players different details based on Perception checks.
None of it does anything, except create difficult terrain/soft cover. In a few rounds, some mooks rush in and start a fight that would otherwise be fairly if not for the PCs being convinced that they're in danger of setting off a trap.
Or use Prestidigitation...
The PCs enter a room filled with a very elaborate system of ropes and pulleys. The room is so thick with criss-crossing ropes it's difficult to see across it, and the only light in the room comes from various lanterns that are themselves part of the elaborate rigging-- seemingly there to shed light on the various other devices connected to the ropes. In one square there may be several keys, in another a large block of pulleys and a keyhole, in still another a net is stretched over a 10x10 area. Describe as much of this as you have the patience for, marking different squares on the grid and perhaps giving players different details based on Perception checks.
** spoiler omitted **
Oh brother... Consider this so stolen.
@ Saturn & Fayth: lots of ways to pull this trick, have fun at the PCs expense and help out your mooks:
- a series of statues w/menacing faces venting thick clouds of smoke. Really it's JUST smoke but it provides a fog cloud for the undead archers above.
- same type of setup but the smoke is noxious; stinking cloud and either undead or a construct that doesn't need to breathe.
- a mud-slick area outdoors. The party's just come off an area of serious traps discouraging them from leaving the path. Once they're all in the single-file slime trail...ankheg from below.
I like faking out my players. The last game I had one PC roll a perception and upon success I described a very INTENSELY staring squirel. Nothing else; just a creepy squirrel. It was fun watching the party debate for like 15 minutes about how to "deal with" the squirrel.
I actually had my party encounter an area filled with Taxidermy Squirrels on Stumps after they fought a Wolf-In-Sheep's-Clothing. It was priceless watching them argue how best to deal with the "infestation".
Giant church bells on a tripwire or proximity switch. Deafens the group and summons monsters.
I actually had my party encounter an area filled with Taxidermy Squirrels on Stumps after they fought a Wolf-In-Sheep's-Clothing. It was priceless watching them argue how best to deal with the "infestation".
This is just a cruel joke. I hope there was some mad taxidermist who set this up in universe.
I actually had my party encounter an area filled with Taxidermy Squirrels on Stumps after they fought a Wolf-In-Sheep's-Clothing. It was priceless watching them argue how best to deal with the "infestation".This is just a cruel joke. I hope there was some mad taxidermist who set this up in universe.
An Alchemist who was obsessed with Zombies and the Dead.
Reminds me of another trap i pulled. Stuffed an angry zombie into a treasure chest.
Reminds me of another trap i pulled. Stuffed an angry zombie into a treasure chest.
Nice...