Post/Author/DateTime	Post
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:46 PM	Open for Business! Do you need a trap? Did you use an ingenious trap that you'd like to share with the community? This is the place for you! This 1001 list attempts to capitalize on the creativity of our community, while simultaneously making a useful resource that grows and evolves. This 1001 list will be strictly maintained. In the interest of making this thread as usable for the future, all acceptable entries will be copied to the first posts in the thread. Please follow the guidelines below. Any trap that does not follow then submission guidelines will not be "promoted". Feel free to comment on any of the traps, or complain about the proliferation of "1001" threads. Only the submitted traps, which meet the guideline, will be promoted, so that people who do not want to wade through garbage can peruse the first page. Please include the following elements in minimally formatted text. Trap Flavor Text (Where it appears, who built it, how it looks. Is the purpose of the trap to kill trespassers? To delay intruders? To damage intruders? To identify trespassers? To weed out the weak? How can the trap be disabled? This should be limited to one or two brief paragraphs) Trap Stat Block (see below for standard format) Additional Trap Stat Blocks (for multi-part traps) Credit: [Designer name] For guidelines in trap design and formatting, please see your DMG, or one of the online SRD documents: Easy to read Trap SRD (http://srd.plush.org/traps.html) HTML style Trap SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/traps.htm) RTF document from Wizards (http://www.wizards.com/d20/files/v35/Traps.rtf) TRAP STAT BLOCK FORMAT: Trap Name CR: mechanical or magical (aura) Trigger: [location, proximity (alarm, detect good, etc), sound, visual (arcane eye, clairvoyance, true seeing), touch, timed, spell] Reset [no reset, repair, manual, automatic, timed) Bypass (optional) [lock, hidden switch, hidden lock] Attack bonus (or saving throw or onset delay) Damage/Effect Search DC, Disable DC, Craft DC, price. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLE CR3 Trap The kobold sorcerer Slitherfang protects his valuables in a secret panel (Search DC20) in the base of his bed. His bed is a of the fur-lined sarcophagus stolen from a dwarf general's burial chamber, (the fur lining was Slitherfang's own addition). The secret compartment is further protected with a burning hands trap. The burning hands trap is placed inside the compartment, but facing outward so as not to damage the valuables inside. Burning Hands Trap: CR 3 Magic device (Faint Evocation) proximity trigger (alarm) automatic reset spell effect (burning hands, 5th-level wizard, 5d4 fire, DC 11 Reflex save half damage) Search DC 26; Disable Device DC 26. Cost: 2,500 gp, 200 XP. Credit: Olshanski_Home, Stat Block from SRD
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:47 PM	Hernak's Library: Hernak was a studious librarian that lived at a road side temple to Fharlanghn. The library was narrow, but had books stacked well up to the 20 foot ceiling, and used ingenious ladders on rollers to access the higher shelves. He despised disorder and became particularly angry with people taking books without his permission. In time, he crafted a number of mechanical traps on a select few well-conditioned books on the upper shelves. If anyone pulled out one of the trapped books, a hidden spring would violently thrust the ladder away, sending the meddler sprawling to the floor. Hernak's Upper-Shelf Trap CR: 1 Mechanical Touch Trigger Manual Reset Climb check (DC 15) required to maintain grip on ladder when it springs away from bookshelf. Damage/Effect: 20 foot fall (2d6 damage) Search DC 20, Disable DC 20, Craft DC 20, price 500 GP. Credit: Didge (Master DM Competition #5)/Olshanski
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:48 PM	Reserved for CR2 Traps
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:48 PM	Slitherfang's Treasure The kobold sorcerer Slitherfang protects his valuables in a secret panel (Search DC20) in the base of his bed. His bed is a of the fur-lined sarcophagus stolen from a dwarf general's burial chamber, (the fur lining was Slitherfang's own addition). The secret compartment is further protected with a burning hands trap. The burning hands trap is placed inside the compartment, but facing outward so as not to damage the valuables inside. Burning Hands Trap: CR 3 Magic device (Faint Evocation) proximity trigger (alarm) automatic reset spell effect (burning hands, 5th-level wizard, 5d4 fire, DC 11 Reflex save half damage) Search DC 26; Disable Device DC 26. Cost: 2,500 gp, 200 XP. Credit: Olshanski
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:49 PM	Mendola's No-Fly Zone. Mendola was a very powerful wizard and as well a very wealthy one. When he built his tower he knew that thieves and mercenaries would come and attempt to take what he had earned over so many years and as such devised many powerful traps to guard him. One of these traps is placed in an upper-floor observatory that has an open wall showing a magnificent view of the forests to the east of his tower. The trap is designed to prevent airborne or climbing thieves from gaining entrance to the tower via the open wall. (See "Mendola's Killer View in CR5 below). A fireball trap is placed above the wall and is triggered whenever a creature size Small or larger attempts to pass through the entrance from the outside in. If there are any grappling hooks attached to the window, the fireball burns through the rope but leaves the grappling hook inside the observatory. A trespasser climbing a rope can attampt to grab on to the railing (Climb DC 20) or else he takes 5d6 falling damage in addition to any possible fireball damage. A trespasser climbing the wall must make a climb check (DC20) or fall, but only if they take damage from the fireball. Fireball Trap CR: 4 Magical (moderate evocation) Trigger: proximity (alarm) Reset: Automatically resets every round. Damage/Effect: fireball, Wiz6, Ref 14 half; (6d6 fire) plus possible falling damage (5d6) Search 28, Disable 28, cost: 9,000 gp, 720 xp. Credit:The Scapegoat/Olshanski -------------------------------- Crippling Pit This pit trap is especially dangerous to rogues and dex-based fighters. It is not designed to kill, but rather to hinder and waste time or resources. This pit is especially dangerous when used in a harmful environment that requires dex-based skills to escape, like an area next to a sound-activated trap in which people need to move silently to pass, or next to a slippery ice-covered bridge that requires balance to navigate. Pit Trap with giant wasp poisoned blades CR 4 mechanical location trigger automatic reset DC 25 Reflex save avoids 10 ft. deep (1d6, fall); pit blades (Atk +10 melee, 1d4 blades per target, each dealing 1d4+1 slashing damage plus poison); poison (giant wasp poison; injury, DC 18 Fortitude save resists, 1d6 Dex/1d6 Dex); Search DC 25; Disable Device DC 25; Craft DC 20; Cost: 30,800 gp. Credit: Olshanski
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:50 PM	Querca's Wards: Querca was a dryad tasked with guarding an ancient shrine to Ehlonna. Her tree wad poisoned by a priest of Nerull and she was eventually driven mad. She laid several traps guarding the paths toward the shrine. These alchemical traps can be used by any non-arcane races in many settings. Querca's Acid/Tanglefoot Trap CR: 5 Mechanical Location Trigger Manual Reset Atk +14 ranged touch (1d6 acid, 1 splash; tanglefoot bag, Reflex 15 partial); Damage/Effect: Multiple targets (1d4 flasks of acid and 1d2 tanglefoot bags per target in a 10 ft. by 10 ft. area) Search DC 24, Disable DC 20, Craft DC 25, price 10,000 GP. Credit: Talanall (Master DM Competition #5) ---------------------------------------------------- Mendola's Killer View. Mendola was a very powerful wizard and as well a very wealthy one. When he built his tower he knew that thieves and mercenaries would come and attempt to take what he had earned over so many years and as such devised many powerful traps to guard him. One of these traps is placed in an upper-floor observatory that has an open wall showing a magnificent view of the forests to the east of his tower. The observatory is a long room, about 20 feet wide and 40 feet long, curving along the outer wall of the tower. There are several stone benches placed to observe the view, and a one foot railing to ‘stop’ people from falling. A few pigeons sit on the railing, but fly away at the first sign of movement. At the center of the room there is a statue of Mendola made of stone and holding in his hand a staff of gold with a large sapphire at its top. If anyone touches the staff, or walks past the statue, a magic mouth appears, and speaking in Mendola's voice, says "Please enjoy the view, it is the last thing you'll see", at which point a strong gust of wind trap is triggered that blows everyone out of the room where they fall 50 feet to the ground. If someone says "Enjoy the view" when they enter the room, the trap is supressed for one hour. Mendola occasionally needed to bring guests through this room, and his bypass phrase seemed like ordinary conversation, concealing the fact that the room was in fact, trapped. *Consider including Mendola's No-Fly-Zone trap (see CR4) Outside the window. Gust of Wind Trap CR: 5 Magical (moderate evocation) Trigger: touch and proximity (alarm) Reset: Automatically resets after one hour. Bypass: Phrase "Enjoy the view" (Bardic Knowledge DC 30) Damage/Effect: Greater gust of wind, Wiz7. (custom 4th level spell*) Fort 16 negates; blown away damage (1d4) plus falling damage (5d6) Search 29, Disable 29; Cost: 14,000gp, 1,120xp. *Greater gust of wind creates near-hurricaine-level winds in the entire room for a single round. The winds blow away any medium or smaller creature, knock prone any large creature, and check any huge creature. A flying creature is treated as one size smaller for purposes of the spell. Credit:The Scapegoat
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:51 PM	Kwarky's Fireball Trap is often used by rogue's guilds and assassin's organization in order to kill tresspassers and simultaneously to hone the skill of the guild members. Variations of the trap are also sometimes used by The fireball trap is placed in a foyer just before the main entrance to the guild; typically a 20-foot room. When someone approaches the door, a small droplet of flame falls from the ceiling. If the droplet hits the floor, it erupts into a fireball. If someone is aware of the nature of the trap, they can try to catch the droplet in thier hand (Reflex DC 15), and they can snuff out the firedrop without any harm. A person with awareness of the nature of the trap can choose to take 10 on thier reflex save and gains a +2 circumstance bonus to their Reflex save. Since the trap was designed by rogues, for rogues, it has a higher than expected disable device DC. Kwarky's Fireball Trap CR: 6 Magical (moderate evocation) Location trigger Automatic Reset Bypass: Intentional DC 15 reflex save (see text) Spell Effect (5th level Heightened Fireball 10th caster level, 10d6 fire, Reflex 17 half) Search DC 30, Disable DC 32, price 25,000 GP, 2,000 XP Credit: Kwarkyflame/Olshanski
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:52 PM	Reserved for CR7 Traps
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:53 PM	Kwarky's Advanced Fireball Trap is often used by rogue's guilds and assassin's organization in order to kill tresspassers and simultaneously to hone the skill of the guild members. Variations of the trap are also sometimes used by The fireball trap is placed in a foyer just before the main entrance to the guild; typically a 20-foot room. When someone approaches the door, a small droplet of flame falls from the ceiling. If the droplet hits the floor, it erupts into a fireball. If someone is aware of the nature of the trap, they can try to catch the droplet in thier hand (Reflex DC 15), and they can snuff out the firedrop without any harm. A person with awareness of the nature of the trap can choose to take 10 on thier reflex save and gains a +2 circumstance bonus to their Reflex save. Since the trap was designed by rogues, for rogues, it has a higher than expected disable device DC. Kwarky's Advanced Fireball Trap CR: 8 Magical (moderate evocation) Trigger: Location trigger Automatic Reset Bypass: Intentional DC 15 reflex save (see text) Spell Effect (Delayed Blast Fireball, 15th caster level, 15d6 fire, Reflex 20 half) Search DC 32; Disable DC 34; price 52,500 GP, 4,200 XP Credit: Kwarkyflame/Olshanski ------------------------------------ Antigua's Camouflaged Pit Antigua was a vain black dragon that used a pit trap as one of the first defenses to her lair. She would simply fly over it when she came in and out of her lair, and she'd listen for the sounds of the trap being sprung as an early warning of uninvited guests. Well-Camouflaged Pit Trap CR: 8 mechanical Location trigger 40 lbs in a 10x10 space. Repair Reset DC 20 Reflex save avoids 100 ft. deep pit (10d6 fall) Search DC 27; Disable DC 18; price 16,000 GP Credit: Morka, (Master DM Competition 5) -------------------------------------- Thamion’s "Watch Your Back" Vault Centuries ago, a powerful lawful good, wizard known as Thamion discovered a magic item of considerable power, power that he did not want to fall into the wrong hands. He created an vault designed to keep people out, or kill anyone that came in. One of the trapsmiths hired to construct the vault escaped before his memory was erased, and he told the details of one of the many traps found within the vault: A heavy iron door is locked with an amazing lock (DC 40). It doesn't appear to be trapped. The inside of the door, however, is trapped, so that only someone checking the door after opening the lock could find the trap. 2 rounds after someone passes through the door, the trap summons an invisible stalker behind the tresspasser, ideally to attack them with suprise, in order to take out the least defended and most vulnerable spellcasting tresspassers. Locked, Heavy Iron Door 2 in. thick, Open Lock DC 40, Break DC 28, Hardness 10, HP 60. "Watch Your Back" Trap CR: 8 Magical (moderate conjuration) Trigger: proximity trigger (alarm) No Reset Spell Effect (Summon Monster 7, 13th caster level, invisible stalker) Search DC 32; Disable DC 32; price 4,550 GP, 364 XP Credit: DougC (Master DM Competition #5)/Olshanski
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:54 PM	Pyramid of Flesh trap is most often used by powerful undead to protect thier lairs, but it is occasionally used as a deathtrap to guard sacred grounds in which nobody is ever meant to tresspass. The trap is a chain of spells: flesh to stone, which turns the victim into a statue. On the very next round, the trap continues with stone shape, which turns the victim from a statue into a small stone pyramid. On the third and final round, the pyramid is subjected to stone to flesh. A victim gets one saving throw to avoid the full effects. If the first save is failed, the character must make a Fortitude save (DC15) to survive the process. If the victim survives the process, they still lack sufficient organs to breathe (mouth/throat/lungs/diaphragm), and must begin making constitution checks or suffocate (See drowning rules). All non-magical equipment is lost during the final transformation from stone to flesh. Very fast-acting adventurers can save thier companion by casting break enchantment before the statue is turned into a pyramid. Once a character has gone through an entire transformation, only limited wish or ressurection can restore them. Pyramid of Flesh Trap CR: 9 Magical Device (moderate transmutation) Trigger: proximity trigger (alarm) Automatic Reset (1 minute) Spell Effect 1 (flesh to stone, 11th level wizard, Fort 19 negates) Spell Effect 2 (stone shape, 5th level cleric, turns statue into pyramid) Spell Effect 3 (stone to flesh, 11th caster level, Fort 15 to survive) Search DC 31; Disable DC 31; price 73,500 GP, 5,880 XP Credit: RangerOrb/Olshanski
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:54 PM	Go Directly To Jail The Earthblood clan of fire giants has long grown weary of the sneaky smaller races. They are comfortable fighting any opponents of their own size, but they need some magical advantage to offset the trickery of their smaller foes. Just inside the entrance to their mountain stronghold, they have an ornate stone archway carved in the imagery of the grimacing heads of their smaller enemies--images of gnomes, dwarves, goblins, and halflings, bugbears, elves, drow, humans, kobolds, and other small and medium creatures can all be found carved in the archway. Any creature medium size or smaller that passes through the archway is subjected to a greater teleport spell. The destination is a low-ceiling locked room deep in the fire giant dungeon. Since the destination has a low ceiling, only creatures size medium and smaller are subject to teleportation, while any creature that is large or greater can pass through without worry. The "receiving room" is approximately 10 feet by 10 feet. Its floor is coated with a layer of dragon bile. The liquid contact poison seeps through clothes and armor, subjecting anyone standing in the room to dragon bile poison every round. The cell is checked each evening by guards to see if any unwanted intruders have been captured. Any smaller races with legitimate business are provided with a comfortable room to recover their lost strength. Greater Teleport Archway: CR 9 magic device (strong conjuration) proximity trigger (alarm) automatic reset bypass: creatures size large and above are uneffected. spell effect (greater teleport, 13th-level wizard, DC 20 Will save negates) Search DC 32; Disable Device DC 32. Cost: 45,500 gp, 3,640 XP. *Permanent Magic Aura (no Aura) on archway Increases CR by 1, Cost: 50 gp to hire NPC spell caster for magic aura and 450 gp for permanency. Floor Covered in Dragon Bile: CR 7 mechanical touch trigger no reset poison (dragon bile, DC 26 Fortitude save resists, 3d6 Str/0) Search DC 27; Disable Device DC 16. Market Price: 11,300 gp. Low-Ceiling Room: Ceiling is 7 feet high; Walls are standard masonry, Climb DC 15. Iron Door with Good Lock: Hardness 10; 60 hp; Break DC 28; Open Lock DC 30. Credit: Olshanski Home
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:55 PM	Reserved for CR11 Traps
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:56 PM	Reserved for CR12 Traps
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:57 PM	Reserved for CR13 Traps
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 01:59 PM	Reserved for CR14 Traps
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 02:01 PM	Reserved for CR15 Traps
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 02:02 PM	Reserved for CR16 Traps
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 02:03 PM	Reserved for CR17 Traps
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 02:04 PM	Reserved for CR18 Traps
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 02:05 PM	Reserved for CR19 Traps
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 02:06 PM	Reserved for CR20+ Traps
Vaalingrade Ashland 11-16-05, 02:30 PM	I've got quite a few in the Ere text files, I'll dig some out for you. Question though: Do we have to use the stat 'block' format though? I hate those, so hard to read. Instead I suggest: Trap Name CR: mechanical or magical (aura) Trigger: [location, proximity (alarm, detect good, etc), sound, visual (arcane eye, clairvoyance, true seeing), touch, timed, spell] Reset [no reset, repair, manual, automatic, timed) Bypass (optional) [lock, hidden switch, hidden lock] Attack bonus (or saving throw or onset delay) Damage/Effect: Search DC, Disable DC, Craft DC, price.
olshanski_home 11-16-05, 03:02 PM	Thanks for the suggestion. The compressed stat block is now expanded, I've changed the examples and the guidelines in the first post.
l33t Shinobi 11-21-05, 03:15 PM	ahh, the 50KOFU(50 different kinds of f:censored:d up) my favorite (near?) epic trap. Story: the 50KOFU( or 50k) was invented by a kobald wizard named grix the thingomizer, and was made to be very lethal, a last resort before the entrace to throne rooms, hatcheries, and the like. the way the trap works is quite simple(not really) is there is obvious(DC15) evidence of a pit trap in the corridor, but when the victim moves forward to disable(or toggle the SpotDC15 bypass) he triggers blocks to fall from the celing, crushing him, the extra 800 pounds of rock overload the unstable floor, casting the hapless victim(and the rocks) down 50 eet into spears containing black lotus extract. the rocks then proceed to crush the victim again. assumeing the victim is still alive, and can get out from the rocks, he will find a conviniently placed ladder, leading up to ground level. as soon as 21 pounds of wieght is applied to the 3rd rung from the top, the ladder recesses into the wall, leaving our victim upsupported. a quick save means he can grap onto the lip of the trap wall, while failure means another plummet (only 4 ft this time) onto the rocks. it may be fourtunate that he made the save, but the scything blade that seals off the pit's opening is not. a save means you react by dropping down, falling to the rocks. after you can gather yourself again, the ladder has reappeared, this time supporting wieght all the way to the tiop, where you can see writing on the lid. it reads" conviently placed instructions on how to get out of this trap; HAHA, you just read explosive runes!" in common, elven, and dwarven. the resulting explosion sends them to the depths again, leaving them broken. a rather nasty trap, but my party rogue said his DD wasnt getting enought use. haha, sucker. heres the stat block. Name: 50KOFU CR: unknown Trigger: Proximity Reset: Repair Bypass:Magic; only kobalds and kobald-friend can pass damages... oh boy. Decoy Pit Trap: CR0 search15, DD15 Falling Celing Trap: CR9 seach 40 DD40 12d6 Deeper Spiked Pit Trap: CR? search and DD n/a 50 ft drop 5d6 + 1d6 spikes +20 melee 1d6+psn each(black lotus extract) + falling rocks again 8d6 Retracting Ladder: reflex 15 sends victim back down the pit( 10 ft shorter) 4d6 Scything Blade: screams across opening when ladder retracts. 20reflex 8d6 slashing+4d6 falling, or 4d6 falling on succesful save Explosive Runes: 6d6 force + 4d6 falling
olshanski_home 11-21-05, 03:51 PM	Thank you so much, L33t. The trap looks great. Unfortunately, the stat blooks are a bit incomplete. The fake trap is statted enough, but for the damage-dealing elements, we need a CR, Disable, Search, etcetera. Each damaging element of the trap needs the stat block, in order to get an accurate guage of what the trap really is. It looks to me like the trap is probably around CR14 or so, but it is hard to tell with the incomplete stats. For instance, the Scything Blade needs a search/disable (in order to figure out the CR). I have statted a few elements for you, but if you can stat out the explosive runes, retracting ladder, and poison spiked pit, we'll have a decent entry. Examples: Falling Ceiling Trap CR: 11 mechanical location trigger No Reset Reflex 25 avoids Damage/Effect: 12d6 crushing Search DC 40, Disable DC 40, Craft DC 35, price 88,000 gp. (CR 6 for damage, +2 for high search, +2 for high disable, +1 for reflex save) Scything Blade at pit exit CR: 8 mechanical Location trigger Automatic Reset Reflex 20 Partial Damage/Effect: 4d6 falling damage (automatic), 8d6 slashing (Reflex 20 avoids) Search DC 25, Disable DC 25, Craft DC 35, price 20,000 gp. (the damage puts the trap at CR6, the search and disable DCs increase the trap to DC 8.
KwarkyFlame 11-29-05, 11:22 PM	The room is it has a door at the other side it it 20x20ft it appears empty. Milo walks to the door and turn the door knob. A small bead falls from the ceilling. upon hitting the floor it explodes into a fire ball immersing the entire group in fire. CR: 10 Magical No Reset Reflex Save DC 25 half Damage/Effect 10d6 fire damage Search DC 25, Disable Device DC 25 (I use this every now and then but I'm not sure if the CR is right)
ragingmaro 12-06-05, 06:58 PM	Anyone have any new traps?
Ranger_ORB 12-06-05, 07:58 PM	CR: ??? (I don't remember how to get the CR of traps) Magical No Reset Fortitude Saves: 20, 19, 19, 20 Damage/Effect: If pass first no effect. If fail first but pass second they are stone. If fail first and second then pass third they are a pile of mud. If fail first, second, and third they are a pile of stone. If fail all they are a pile of flesh on the ground. Not sure *I'm sorry some stuff is missing, I don't have anything with me ATM* This trap was designed to get rid of intruders instantly (or close to it). It uses the spells: Flesh to Stone, Transmute Rock to Mud, Transmute Mud to Rock, Stone to Flesh.
olshanski_home 12-06-05, 10:57 PM	I'll update these soon, I've had a busy schedule. EDIT: Added Qwarkyflame's trap. I gave it two stat blocks, one for CR6 and one for CR8.
olshanski_home 12-09-05, 12:44 PM	RangerOrb, I modified your trap somewhat and presented it as a CR9 Trap. I think the new method works well, eliminates a few steps and several saving throws. Please, for all of you that are so quick to post to other 1001 threads, or that enjoy making a good trap... please consider posting your idea here. Trap Flavor Text Trap Name CR: mechanical or magical (aura) Trigger: [location, proximity (alarm, detect good, etc), sound, visual (arcane eye, clairvoyance, true seeing), touch, timed, spell] Reset [no reset, repair, manual, automatic, timed) Bypass (optional) [lock, hidden switch, hidden lock] Attack bonus (or saving throw or onset delay) Damage/Effect: Search DC, Disable DC, Craft DC, price. Credit
Always-Late 12-10-05, 03:57 PM	Do these have to be traps in the traditional sense, or can they just fill the same niche as traps? (For example, that sphere of annihilation in the Tomb of Horrors. And of course, not that overpowered.)
olshanski_home 12-10-05, 09:06 PM	They don't have to be bona-fide traps. They can be tricks or hazards. However, in order to get "placed" in the upper listings, (I picture this thread one day being several pages long)... they have to have as many stats as a DM would need to run the encounter, playing by the rules and straight from the post. IE: just saying "A room of reverse gravity and when you step on some tiles they explode" will not make the cut. What you need to do is explain what the explosion damage is, what are the chances of stepping on the tiles, how many tiles are there, and why is the room reverse gravity.... There are other things in the Tomb of Horrors that would make the cut: the archway that strips you naked and/or changes your alignment or gender... etcetera... as long as you have the actual stats of how it can be avoided (or healed), and what is an appropriate CR, you are probably in business. The CR9 "Pyramid of Flesh trap" is pretty interesting. If you just had trick doors, that required a password to get through, and blasted anyone who failed to give the correct password, I'd call that a trap. (Riddle rooms, etcetera, all would be acceptable).
Always-Late 12-11-05, 02:52 AM	Okay, this ain't a trap, and it isn't formatted right, but I call it The Unwary PC Killer Required: A very deep chasm, 20+ ft wide. Two permament Tenser's Floating Disks. Two stone slabs. One permanent image. Directions: Using Tenser's Disks and stone slabs, make several stepping stones across the chasm about 5 feet apart. Make one of them illusionary. 20d6 falling damage, no save, since the nearest thing to grab's 5 feet away, and you don't disbelieve unless you interact with it. By then, you should be falling to your death. Damage: 20d6 falling. Save: None. Search DC: 60, to sense magic. Spot DC: 80, to defeat illusion. Reset: Not required. Of course, not everybody will be able to pull off permanent Tenser's Floating Disks and Permament Images. So without further ado, I give you: The Unwary PC Killer, Lite Required: One chasm. One sentry. One room with a 0.5" x 0.5" hole facing the chasm room. One level 1 sorceror. Directions: Place a sentry about one minute's worth of travel ahead of the chasm. Have the sentry warn the sorceror when there are PC's coming. The sorceror immediately casts two floating disks, lifting two prepared stone slabs. The sorceror then enters the concealed area, casts silent image, and concentrates. Damage: 20d6 falling. Save: None. Search DC: 60, to sense magic. Spot DC: 80, to defeat illusion. Reset: Automatic. (Sorceror.) No CR, since this can wipe out a sixth level party just as easy as a first.
TheScapegoat 12-11-05, 01:11 PM	“A Killer View” Mendola was a very powerful wizard and as well a very wealthy one. When he built his tower he knew that thieves and mercenaries would come and attempt to take what he had earned over so many years and as such devised many powerful traps to guard him. One of these traps was placed on causeway that had an open wall showing a magnificent view of the forests to the east of his tower. There are many stone benches along this open path and a one foot railing to ‘stop’ people from falling. The room is 8 foot by 15 foot section with a door at each end and a ceiling above. At the center of the path there is a statue of Mendola made of stone and holding in his hand a staff of gold with a large sapphire at its top. At the base of the state there are magical runes that encircle it and then move out in a line going toward the wall of the tower and toward the open side. The runes, if crossed, or if the staff is touched will cause an enormous gust of wind to come from the walls of the tower covering the length of the room. Gust of Wind Trap CR: 6 Magical (aura) Trigger: location, proximity Reset: Automatically resets after one hour. Bypass: Targeted Dispel Magic DC 25 Damage/Effect: 5d6, the spell will toss someone off the tower causing a fall of 50 feet to the forest below. Search 10, Disable 30, Craft DC 35, 19,500gp, 1,560xp. Any creature on the causeway when the spell is triggered can make a Fort save DC 20 to top from being blown off the ledge. If failed medium-size or smaller creatures are blown away, large creatures are knocked down, huge creatures are checked and gargantuan or colossal creatures have no effect. Few Questions as im not totaly familiar with making traps: 1) I made the Dispel Magic DC 25 tho i don't think thats per the rules of Dispel Magic (it would be lower) but i wanted it to be a bit tough, but an option. I upped the CR by 1 however, is this sufficient? 2) I made this trap a magical device but it seems better served as just a Spell-Trap, but i wasn't sure since it had a bit of mechanics involved. 3) Is the creation cost correct? If this would just be considered a spell-trap and not a magical device i think it might be wrong. 4) I only have my DMG 3.0 atm, is the wind effects the same as 3.5?
olshanski_home 12-11-05, 02:04 PM	Thanks scapegoat: The "Gust of wind" spell is less powerful, and cannot quite manage the effects you are describing are the equivalent of "Hurricaine" winds, while the spell gust of wind only manages "windstorm" levels. We can easily get past this by saying that this is a custom spell. All magic device traps can be bypassed with Dispel magic, so you don't need to include it as a bypass. Bypass is reserved for the creater's (or the creater's friends) method of getting past a trap. Since the damage caps out at about 5d6, and it doesn't bother large or flying creatures, I think it should be about CR3-4. The only "spell-traps" are actual spells like Glyph of warding, fire trap, symbol, and other spells that are themselves traps, so you did the correct thing by calling it a magic device. I'll make a the necessary changes and include it as a CR4 trap.
TheScapegoat 12-11-05, 07:47 PM	Yeah thanks for information. What you said brings up another question for me, if dispel magic gets rid of a trap then would it still reset after an hour is i made it? The reason for dispel in my mind was so that the creater had a means to bypass but if dispel magic made it go away completly that would not be a good thing. :D Also about gust of wind, yeah i wasn't to sure. It just said "check DMG for Wind Effects" and i used a high enough DC that would cause normal characters (elfs, humans, etc.) to be knocked off the ledge. Thanks for updating it for me. :P This is a great post btw, VERY disapointing to see so few responses and to see it drop to page 2. First 1001 post worth reading more then once (least one that ive seen).
olshanski_home 12-12-05, 10:42 AM	A magic device trap is like a magic item. Dispel magic supresses it temporarily, as long as a CL check is made. A spell trap (symbol, fire trap, glyph of warding), I believe is bona-fide dispelled... since it is nothing more than a single-use spell. I've gone ahead and added your trap as a CR5 trap, and I was also inspired to make a companion CR4 trap to go with it (to prevent people from climbing or flying back in through the open window). I also changed "Causeway" to "Observatory", because I believe a causeway is a small earth bridge between an island and the mainland, whereas an "observatory" better suits a room with a view designed to overlook the countryside.
TheScapegoat 12-12-05, 03:27 PM	Yeah heh i thought a causeway was like a catwalk, and in my mind that was the closest thing i could think of for what i wanted. But observatory is a great choice. PS-I'll never win a DM comp with you and everyone who writes as well as you to compete against. :(
olshanski_home 12-12-05, 03:49 PM	PS-I'll never win a DM comp with you and everyone who writes as well as you to compete against. :(Thanks for the feedback. (And thanks for contributing a trap) I'll be sitting out any Master DM contests that don't have a limited word count or a "limited fluff" qualifier in the future. The contests have just gotten too long for my tastes.
AlphaSquirell 12-12-05, 04:03 PM	I thought a causeway was a paved path. In Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers, the causeway is that giant curved ramp that goes up to the door. This is the same ramp that Gimli is "tossed" to, and that Theoden leads the charge on at the end.
olshanski_home 12-12-05, 04:19 PM	Dictionary definition of Causeway 1. A raised roadway, as across water or marshland. 2. A paved highway. I was not aware of #2. However, since we are talking about a room in a tower with an open view, I still think "Observatory" was slightly better. I was originally going to go with "Conservatory", but I realized that the trap would also blow all of the plants out of the building as well!
olshanski_home 12-24-05, 12:12 PM	I've seen some good ideas for traps, especially on the Rules Counseling board, I'm hoping that more readers will be encouraged to post thier traps here.
Acheron 12-24-05, 02:23 PM	This trap requires a narrow 5ft ledge 25 or more feet long. Two wall scythes are placed 15 ft apart (with 1 sqaure in the middle). When the PC enters the square, both wall scythes sweep inward. Since the trap is 10 feet tall and the scythes are too close together, the PC cannot evade in the normal fashion. The only "safe" haven from the scythes is over the cliff, and we all should know how "safe" the 40+ drop is :D No Where to Run Cr: 6+ (see below) Trigger: Pressure plate 30lbs Reset: Automatic Bypass: Disable Device 25 (representing the many wall scythes) Damage/Effect: 20d4+40 Search 25 Save Ref 21; 18 Price: 75,000 gold The second save is for grabbing the cliff edge after saving the first effect. The CR is atleast 6 maybe 7 but depends on how far the drop is. Opptional: By adding 3'' long spikes to the cliff edge, you can add 1d4+ for every 10 pounds the person weighs because they hanging by the spikes that have ripped throught their hands. Hope you like it!