[Requesting Suggestions] I made some death traps.

[Alshoodone]

So, I'm doing my normal bi-annual run of a session known in my group as "Slaughterfest" and, as per usual, it's getting a little bit hyped up, which makes me happy. First, Slaughterfest is a Sixteen Person game, with strict rules regarding being ready for your turn, and thinking ahead. With 15 people waiting in line, you'd best know what you want to do when your turn comes up, after all. More importantly, no whispering, as that's a point deduction.

Anyways, here's the deal. Slaughterfest is called Slaughterfest solely because it's essentially a meat grinder for player characters and their owner's tears. 3 people are walking out of this in-game, and everyone's already okay with getting killed off quick and early, and so, I decided to make this one [b]glisten[b] with dangerous traps. Four of which, (and the first four, no less) are completely capable of causing no small amount of trouble.

I'm open to suggestions and requests, but there are essentially four sections centered around Transmutation, Evocation, Necromancy and Enchantment magic.

These are the first four openers. I'd like to hear anyone's opinions on them, and if anyone has any ideas for the halls I'd love to discuss ideas. I'd also really like to hear which one's your favorite and why!

The Obelisk of Evil:

The Obelisk of Evil Cr 12
DESCRIPTION
Type Magical Trap; Trigger Moving the Obelisk; Reset Automatic (1 Round); Caster Level 15th
INTERACT
Notice Perception DC 0; Disable Disable Device Dc 28
EFFECT
As Circle of Death Heightened to 8th Level
If moved or attacked, 15d6 Hd of creatures effected. DC 22 Fortitude Save, or death. 20 foot radius burst. While returning to original location, all creatures in room that are dead are reanimated as Shadows.
OTHER
Break DC 26
Hardness 10
Health 40
A simple read magic spell can reveal, in writing, the following in Mavisian, “Stab me, move me. Blame your foolish soul. Into darkness with me, your soul is free to go.”
DESCRIPTION
“The Obelisk of Evil is a 4 inch thick, 4 foot tall shard of Bloodcrystal. It is, in actuality, completely unworked, and in fact is merely a properly removed chunk of the unnatural quartz that grew in it’s particular fashion. After infusing it with powerful evil necromantic power, it was placed in the slaughterdome at the request of the Necromantic branch of the Mavisian high family. Seeing amusement in the potential for such mass murder after being carefully informed at what it could do, Dmitri Mavis himself installed it in a starting room, curious as to how many fools would be foolish enough to kill themselves outright at the very beginning of the contest.”

The Obelisk of Rage:

The Obelisk of Rage Cr 12
DESCRIPTION
Type Magical Trap; Trigger Attacking the Obelisk; Reset Automatic (1 Round); Caster Level 15th
INTERACT
Notice Perception DC 0; Disable Disable Device Dc 28
EFFECT
As Delayed Blast Fireball Heightened to 8th Level
If attacked, 15d6 fire damage immediately spreads out in a powerful explosion from the obelisk, searing flesh black and choking the air out of the room. Dc 22 Reflex for half damage in a 20 foot radius.
OTHER
Break DC 32
Hardness 10
Health 160
A simple read magic spell can reveal, in writing, the following in Mavisian, “Molest me not, for I do not clash. My blood runs hot, and you’ll be ash.”
DESCRIPTION
“The Obelisk of Rage is a 4 inch thick, 6 foot tall pillar of super-heated Glassteel. Translucent and beautiful, it has ever-changing cracks inside of it that seem to melt and dance within. Forged by the ever vengeful members belonging to the house of anger, it was requested to be placed in the slaughterdome by Dmitri’s wife Cirice, whom enjoys it’s pleasant glow… along with the peculiar scent of scorched flesh that often follows from the fools who use it for revenge.”

The Obelisk of Avarice:

The Obelisk of Avarice Cr 12
DESCRIPTION
Type Magical Trap; Trigger Touching the Obelisk; Reset Automatic (Simulacrum destruction); Caster Level 15th
INTERACT
Notice Perception DC 0; Disable Disable Device Dc 28
EFFECT
As Flesh to Stone Heightened to 8th Level
If touched, the stone immediately attempts to turn the offender into a stone statue. The stone then creates a Simulacrum of that player’s visage immediately, breaking apart slowly as if being chiseled. The Simulacrum has all of that player’s abilities and gear, and begins combat with the present party. The simulacrum is particularly biased towards destroyed its counterpart, and actively attempts to do so each turn. If that player is destroyed (Or shattered) the Simulacrum dies immediately as well, and both remain dead. If the Simulacrum is killed, its blood will change the player back to normal, but the stone obelisk will immediately reform.
OTHER
Break DC 58
Hardness 10
Health 900
A simple read magic spell can reveal, in writing, the following in Mavisian, “So here you come with skin so supple, touch me once and there’ll be trouble. A masterpiece I will make, but your visage I shall break.”
DESCRIPTION
“The Obelisk of Avarice could be easily mistaken for a simple pillar, if it weren’t made of magically hardened marble and exactly 6 feet tall. It is 2 and a half feet thick of pure stone, and incredibly hard to break. Perplexed as to why the house of Avarice would deliver a simple block of stone, Dmitri ordered a simple house slave to touch the stone. As the man turned to stone and his double broke free from the rock to destroy him, he watched on with glee and clapped all the while. Disappointed that the rock didn’t reform, however, he immediately requested another with his own specifications. The new one now sits in the Transmutation section of the Slaughterdome, ready to greet it’s new challengers.”

The Obelisk of Betrayal:

The Obelisk of Betrayal Cr 12
DESCRIPTION
Type Magical Trap; Trigger Reading the Rhyme; Reset (Complete quest); Caster Level 15th
INTERACT
Notice Perception DC 0; Disable Disable Device Dc 28
EFFECT
As Geas/Quest heightened to 8th Level
The first player who starts to read the front of the Obelisk is immediately accosted by a Dominate Monster spell, and must make a DC 22 Will save. The spell makes it a point to whisper horrible thoughts of betrayel in their minds, and at that player’s first opportunity they will attempt to deceive their allies, whether it’s a good idea or not. Whether this consists of running away from a combat, closing the doors behind them, or pushing them into something dangerous, doing so once immediately alleviates the order of the spell, and they’re immediately free from it. They can even go back and help their allies. As soon as the quest is complete, however, the Obelisk immediately resets.
OTHER
Break DC 30
Hardness 10
Health 160
On the front of the Obelisk, readable easily in common, is the following. “Foolish are you to read these phrases. Feel it now, your mind it hazes. You had so very long to go, let me show you now, who is friend and who is foe.”
DESCRIPTION
“The Obelisk of Deceit was actually designed in the fleeting hope that it would effect one of the other high house leaders in transit. Unfortunately for the rest of the world and the political strife that flows like water within Mavisia, however, it did not. Dismissed as a foolhardy and poor attempt to cause issue, the creator of the Obelisk of Deceit was slain. It wasn’t until the eye opened afterwards that they’d realized it had actually worked. To avoid any more problems, the four high houses agreed unanimously that the troublesome thing be placed in Slaughterdome for their amusement.”

[SanKeshun]

Interesting, powerful, and definitely troublesome, except that all four of these depend on interaction to activate. As traps go, they're nasty and high-level, but all can be easily avoided by just ignoring the strange pillars in the room.
For what you already have, the Obelisk of Betrayal is probably my favorite. It causes all manner of trouble for good role-players, and it's a great punishment for when somebody makes the mistake of interacting with the obelisks.
To help make these even more difficult to deal with, I would place similarly-styled pillars in the dungeon that provide beneficial effects (i.e., cure light wounds), so that when each group discovers a pillar, they don't know if it's good or bad.
If your goal with these traps is to cause immediate trouble for your players, I would try something a touch more, ah, sinister. Some ideas below. You'll notice that I'm being intentionally vague with caster levels and whatnot, because I don't know what level your party is, or how difficult you'd like these to be.

Transmutation thoughts:

Create a large chamber with eight doors leading off in different directions, and a series of levers on a pillar in the center. If a person enters the chamber, all doors immediately swing shut, and lock, including both arcane lock and hold portal. Depending on the combination of levers in the center, different doors open or close, but interacting with the levers alters your ability scores, and some of the levers switch other levers. The end result is that you either have to break down a very resistant door, or sacrifice one of your ability scores to escape the chamber. It also splits the party, which is entertaining.

Evocation thoughts:

A simple, but nefarious, trap that goes alongside evocation is a simple statue holding a chain. The chain is made of gold, has 8 links, and is attached to the statue (it can't be removed). Each time an attack is made, a delayed blast fireball goes off at the attacker's location, and one of the chain's links turns to iron. If no gold links are left, the fireball doesn't form. Each round at initiative 0, one link resets to gold.

Necromancy thoughts:

I do quite enjoy the idea of reanimating dead people in the chamber, but that can be taken a step further. Anyone entering the chamber is required to make a Will save or have their shadow become animated. It immediately attacks them, and until they defeat their shadow, they are anchored to their shadow's location as per the spell shadow anchor. Furthermore, anyone slain in the chamber while their shadow is animated becomes, eh, let's say a wraith. That should keep everyone busy.

Enchantement thoughts:

I really like your trap for this one. My only complaint remains that the PCs have to choose to interact with the trap before they're affected. I would change this so that the first person coming within 30 feet is automatically affected, and then anyone interacting with the pillar can still be affected. The pillar resets when no one is any longer within 30 feet, so that as each group discovers the pillar, one of their members is guaranteed to be affected.

I hope Slaughterfest goes well! Have fun with it!

[Alshoodone]

Well there's one more important thing about slaughterfest that I may not have mentioned in my original post. Namely that it's a player vs player dungeon intentionally, so most, if not all, of these traps are going to be triggered when some poor full gets bull rushed/repo'd/grappled into them. The evocation one goes off very easy because 3 creatures run in, and basically try to attack it at the first opportunity with reckless abandon.

The Stone Pillar activates if they so much as touch it, and curiosity is something adventurers are just poisoned with.

The idea is that some/all players have a habit, in slaughterfest, of using the traps against other players rather frequently. I'll be posting trap updates, but I'm trying to find out what the CR increase is for literal "Instant Death"