Comments on: What’s Your Favourite Trap?

By: Nathan

Nathan — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 19:33:18 +0000

I devised a trap that i called a Stasis trap. It works for any level and is designed more for inside terrain but it could be adapted for any place. Anyway i the over all idea is pretty simple, but can be a total party kill if done incorrectly. Have 3 areas on the floor that are pressure plates. Each pressure plate is linked to a stasis chamber that holds a monster. As a player steps on the pressure plate, a switch happens. Monster comes out of stasis, and the player goes into stasis. The only way to get out of stasis is to have another creature hit the pressure plate freeing the trapped individual. Should all the players get trapped, skip forward in time 10 years and have some random monster step on the pressure plate freeing one of your players. Instant adventure hook there as well.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 02:26:38 +0000

The perpendicular gravity trap can actually be varied in a rather fun way. Set it up in an extremely long hallway (anywhere between 180 and 200 feet), and make it seem like the spiked wall will begin to chase them down. A spiked gate hanging on what appears to be a track works especially well when there’s no rouge in the party to check everywhere for a trigger. Even set up small little alcoves in the walls along the sides to make them think that they’ll have to dodge sooner or later, and just let them wait. At the far end, set a door, and just in front of it set the trap. I was nice and gave a will save to cancel the effect every 20 feet…but you’re still going to pick up a heck of a lot of speed dropping in that manner. And I was using semi-realistic rules…so the fighter in full plate moved a bit quicker…and quickly was making a new character.

By: Pig

Pig — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:29:58 +0000

I haven’t encountered anything that beats the sheer elegance and simplicity of a Sphere of Annihilation in a statue’s gaping mouth.

By: Tycho Brahe’s Underdeep: Lethal Traps « Jonathan Drain’s D20 Source: Dungeons & Dragons Blog

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:40:19 +0000

[...] Whatâ€™s Your Favourite Trap? [...]

By: Quicksilver

Quicksilver — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:10:43 +0000

To all who say “tehehehe, this trap is low CR but its so deadly” including commentors and author, any situation that increases the basic lethality of the trap also increases the CR. 3d6 at level one is obviously a possible deathtrap, and should be treated as a higher CR. The guards and wards “hiding” all sorts of other traps/monsters increase their CR because the encounter is *harder*.

My favorite trap’s include the deadly (high cr) teleport straight up at maximum distance. The resident wizard could just send a few shadows or abjured air elementals up to collect the bodies after a while.

The other fave is the “little girl cries about her cat up in a tree” when the party is good-aligned. The girl being a fey or some shapeshifting creature, the cat being a familiar or something that can be be left there. The heroes try to help, the treant the cat is stuck in attacks when the weakest hero is in range (evil druid or bad guy attack).

By: Frog

Frog — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:21:50 +0000

My favorite “naked teleport” leaves the victim’s possessions in an untidy pile and teleports a small pile of dust into the place they were standing…

By: Lofwyr

Lofwyr — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:47:44 +0000

I’m partial to the ‘modified teleport naked spell’. You know, the kind where only the character but not his stuff — including clothes — gets teleported 15 feet above the middle of the ocean where lots of dire sharks will hear him/her spash down in…or in the middle of a slavers’ stockade…or the local Baron’s daughter’s private chambers (with an audible alarm spell going off for the guards to hear, it the daughter & ladies-in-waiting aren’t present to scream their heads off)..or in the middle of a busy tavern…or an orc camp.

The beauty of those are they don’t have to be lethal…well, not inherently anyway. After all, the orcs won’t have initiative to begin the raping just right away.

It also separates the party…they might now know what happened to their buddy for quite a while. To be equally effective for higher level parties you have to have a target trap that prevents outbound teleportation, sending spells and stuff like that.

By: DeathTrapDM

DeathTrapDM — Thu, 22 May 2008 07:28:34 +0000

1. A false floor, underneath which is a pit 40′ deep with 20′ of Greek Fire and 2 nets covered in Alchemical Fire Part A & B (the oil that ignights when it comes into contact with the matching oil) the net burns quickly and deposits PC into oil pit that cant be extinguished easily. Does the PC hold his breath and hope his allies can get the fire out, or does he try to climb up the shear walls while covered in burning oil…

2. A large intricately carved statue of a Celestial hero (any cleric/paladin would recognize) with a sign that states simply “Sacrifice will be Rewarded” several Alters sit arround the room with carved openings aproximately the size of (put items you want the party to loose for the next fight here). if items are placed upon all the alters the alters become covered over with stone and magically sealed, then the statue comes to life and attacks the party (turning more demonic at the same time)

By: bg

bg — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 13:53:20 +0000

My two favorites-

Again, a variation on the simple pit trap, easy to jump over. Invisible wall of force on the other side.

The other, which is a party-killer:

After fighting their way through an underground dungeon, battling nefarious monsters, the players come upon a large room with a beautiful, obviously magical, golden door. Behind the door? A magma vent.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 10:55:21 +0000

Bridget Indeed