Are there any traps that can be included in a campaign that takes place in the modern time? Better yet, are there puzzles? Since there will be limited combat I would like to include other types of challenges. Suggestions?
The ole Acid From The Showerhead trick?
Cyanide tablets in the perk tube of the coffemaker?
The Carbon Monoxide cyliders in the furnace closet should be a definate clue not to mess with the thermostat.
Behind another painting is a 8" round wall safe facade.
The facade covers the back of am449 shell that will 'expell' 1d4-1 grenades into ever square in the room that then go bang. You can usually just assign straight 3d6 RefDC15 for each grenade... thats 88 times the Fast has to try screaming "I use Evasion!"
Here the page to link to each country type on the wiki site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouncing_Betty
falling chandalier
Steps that collapse together to make a ramp, which dumps the party into the basement
Fish tank with undead electric eels
A closet that opens to reveal a toy monkey baning symbols (insert special mind effect of your choice.. or have it do nothing but keep making the sound of symbols appear at random times)
secret doors (dc 20 search check)
A clown that pops out of the wall
A player piano who's music acts as a "confusion" spell
A popcorn maker that keeps making popcorn untill it fills the locked room, "drowning" everyone in buttery goodness.
Riddles
You'll find the exit in the thing that reverses everything without moving anything (mirror)
I was made on the first day (light lightbulb, light switch) Dc 10 knowlede: Philosophy and religion
So for part of my campaign my party will be visiting the mansion of a cult leader. It is supposedly empty. I plan to have animated objects (like stuff from Beauty and the Beast, but much more malicious), ghosts, and other typical haunted house conventions. I would also like to throw some traps at them, but what kind of traps can I incorporate? The typical arrow, boulder, or sand traps from D&D don't quite fit in at a mansion.
Are there any traps that can be included in a campaign that takes place in the modern time? Better yet, are there puzzles? Since there will be limited combat I would like to include other types of challenges. Suggestions?
Hm. Well, looking to a real-life trapster (bright engineer, but a paranoid nut), some of his included:
China cabinet: Removing a specific dish would trigger a shotgun blast at point-blank range.
Wine rack: Removing five bottles triggered a shotgun blast at close range.
Sideboard: Moving a stack of plates triggered... yep, you guessed it... a shotgun blast at point-blank range.
If you prefer more variety, keep in mind that other projectile weapons are available, from tranquilizer darts to sharp blades. There's also shaped-charge lightbulbs, poison-gaslamps, and the ever-popular ceailing-beam battering ram.
(The trapster, alas, forgot one trap, and died of... yep... a shotgun blast.)
If the mansion is old, forget prepared traps; the word "deathtrap" is applied to such structures for a reason. Rotting joists, decaying ceilings, foul air... the environment itself is more dangerous than any trapster's designs.
As for puzzles, these would be placed carefully in a mansion environment, either for enjoyment (why yes, the herring is red) or as a personal challenge to others (Solve this one, Henry!) or as a personal matter (I love this one...).
A classic puzzle you can use is the Towers of Hanoi:
Three sticks, all of the same height and diameter. On one stick are a number of rings, stacked large-to-small. The objective: Transfer all of the rings to another stick *one at a time*, without stacking a larger ring atop a smaller ring.
Potential outcomes:
Break a ring: The counterweight can no longer be tripped for a success. Rings can be broken by dropping or by placing a larger ring atop a smaller one.
Take more than one ring. "Why am I hearing the music from "Raiders"... ?"
Solve the puzzle: The treasure/clue/secret passage is revealed!
Hm. Well, looking to a real-life trapster (bright engineer, but a paranoid nut), some of his included:
China cabinet: Removing a specific dish would trigger a shotgun blast at point-blank range.
Wine rack: Removing five bottles triggered a shotgun blast at close range.
Sideboard: Moving a stack of plates triggered... yep, you guessed it... a shotgun blast at point-blank range.
Put the shotgun at different levels for the above traps; knees, waist, chest, head... and barring armor you would get some interesting results.
So for part of my campaign my party will be visiting the mansion of a cult leader. It is supposedly empty. I plan to have animated objects (like stuff from Beauty and the Beast, but much more malicious), ghosts, and other typical haunted house conventions. I would also like to throw some traps at them, but what kind of traps can I incorporate? The typical arrow, boulder, or sand traps from D&D don't quite fit in at a mansion.
Says who? Unless we're talking about a mansion built in the late 20th-Century by an architect or homeowner with a modern taste, it's not wrong to have arrows (or crossbow bolts or darts) being employed as harmful traps.
Are there any traps that can be included in a campaign that takes place in the modern time? Better yet, are there puzzles? Since there will be limited combat I would like to include other types of challenges. Suggestions?
The most modern trap is an alarm with laser tripwire or trigger. Most mansion would install reinforced material that would shut or drop down on every windows and entry doors to trap the "intruders" inside, at the same time alert the homeowner and invited occupants so they can head into a safe room.