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11 months ago ::
Jul 18, 2012 - 2:53AM
#2581
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Date Joined:
Jul 16, 2012
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#1906(I think)
The PC's encounter a 5’ tall humanoid (determine type of creature based on the sort of ability you want it to have: petrification = medusa, etc) statue set into a 5’ diameter disc in the middle of an octagonal room.
Whenever a light source is introduced to the room (and illuminates the statues 5’ area to any degree –i.e. even the shadowy region of a light source) the statue activates and the disc rotates. The disc rotates slowly so that the center of the statue’s “cone of vision” (60’ cone from the face of the statue) moves to one of its 8 positions every round (first round facing north, 2nd round facing NE, etc).
Should a PC fall within the activated statues rotating cone, have the statue in their own field of vision, AND be able to see the statue, they are subject to its effects (should they fail the saving throw). Ability drain is an excellent attack for the statue as it doesn’t affect their hit points (which is what they’re used to) but will stress the expediency of the task.
The key here is to learn how to escape the room while avoiding the statues effects. No light source is an obvious way thus darkvision would be useful. For that matter, ensuring the light never falls on the statues area would work too. Moving to always be in an unaffected area would also help. The PCs should be clever enough to figure some of this out (if not, drop a few hints in your own way).
This probably should be combined with a task that takes time, uses a skill that can be retried within a few rounds, and thus runs the risk of a PC getting caught in the area. Trap disabling and lock picking to name a few. Fighting a baddie to get a key would be equally challenging (Is the other enemy immune to the statues effects, or can the PCs use the statue to their advantage?).
I love this. My only query is which direction the statue spins to if there are several PCs in range of it. Random roll perhaps?
Just have the statue facing a random direction to start, then as soon as light hits it just make it rotate in one direction or the other. The statue would face one wall per round and would take 8 full rounds to make a full circle. This would last until the light source is removed. If you wanted to give them more or less time just change the number of walls the room has.
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11 months ago ::
Jul 18, 2012 - 5:25AM
#2582
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Date Joined:
Jul 16, 2012
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#3001 Catnap SurpriseThe PC’s see an open arched doorway, with colorful light spilling out from it, up ahead along the right side of a short decorated hallway. The hallway has Egyptian style paintings along either side of it depicting cats, cats held by women, and women with cat faces. Upon reaching the archway and looking in, the details of the room become clear. The room is circular, and about 40 feet in circumference, with 4 ornate alabaster column supports around its edge. Hanging from and around each column are yards upon yards of exquisite silk fabrics colored of purple, blue, yellow, and red, purely for decoration. Along the walls are murals of stalking cats catching greedy mice that are stealing crumbs from their masters. Hanging majestically in the middle of the room is a true masterpiece of a chandelier. It is made of polished Mithril with a thousand perfect crystals hanging about it like a magnificent heavenly rainfall. Magical light gently illuminates the crystals individually, which provides an extremely unique array of colorful brilliant lighting, which serves to highlight what is lying beneath it. Below the chandelier and atop a pedestal, sits a solid gold statue of a small, domesticated cat with shimmering emerald eyes. A detect magic spell will clearly show that the cat statue is magical as well as the chandelier. The cat is lying comfortably on its side and with its head raised and ears sticking straight up and looking towards the door. Spread out on the floor around the middle where the cat sits, in approximately a 10 foot area, lies hundreds of solid gold mice. As soon as anyone touches a mouse or the cat, the cat animates. Immediately it’s emerald eyes flicker with green flame and it is up on its paws, arching its back wildly and letting out a terrible screeching hiss. It's shriek lasts for one round and acts as a surprise. Anyone in the room must make a will save but this is only to make them feel as though they had a chance as the curse has no save.The curse turns them into a small rat/mouse. They are still themselves but their abilities and ability scores have changed to that of a Rat in the Monster Manual 1 page 278 with the exception of the intelligence score, which should be raised to 10, the same rule applies to the cat. For fun ask them what their characters favorite color is and make them that color. Or randomly make them a color of one of the silk sheets. They can take actions as a rat only. They are without any of their items because they will find themselvs cast into the cat’s world until the game is over. This is a small extra-dimensional space, no more than 50x50 feet, created by the cat where he turns into a spritely orange tabby cat with green eyes, long whiskers, and a shiny thick coat. The game commences. This game could be anything from a simple chase through a maze with a cheese at the end that allows escape for whomever takes a bite of it. This is the part where you as a DM can be as creative as you like. The first person to save themselves from becoming cat food, becomes a symbol of affection for the cat for forever and a day, when the encounter is finally over. If anyone is caught they are turned into a golden mouse and become part of the cat’s collection.You don't really want this to happen as the PC's had no chance in the first place outside of ignoring the room altogether. This is for some lighthearted fun you can laugh about later and they get to collect a nice prize in the form of golden mice and rare fine silks if they so desire. Upon completion they are returned into their regular forms with all of their magical items and clothing at their feet leaving them standing naked and ashamed. The cat itself will serve its master as an animal companion would serve any master. The cat and its chosen master share a telepathic bond allowing it to communicate at any distance. The cat can become golden and rigid or appear in its tabby form on command. You can give it additional perks if you like or have it serve as an exceedingly annoying curse as it is indestructible and is possibly always purring and rubbing at its masters legs, even during a pitched battle or while the PC is sleeping. The cat doesn't need to eat or sleep. You could have it serve a further purpose to aid the party in getting through the dungeon. Again, use your imagination here to add more fun and whimsy.
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11 months ago ::
Jul 20, 2012 - 1:18PM
#2583
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Date Joined:
Jul 16, 2012
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Mirror Mirror: To be or not to be?To venture further into a dungeon the PC’s must take a portal where they will enter a room with no doors. Before them is a grand banquet providing them with good food and drink and a +2 circumstance bonus to all saves and skill checks for 2 hours after partaking. After an hour the table and food disappears and 4 slabs appear in the middle of the room forming a diamond or square shape, leaving a 5-foot square in the middle of them. They are facing out and away from each other. The focus is to get the mirrors/slabs to face inward toward one another. The slabs are solid iron 7 feet tall and 3 feet wide and covered in a mithril veneer with magical inscriptions covering the back. They hover in place a few inches off of the ground. The front side is smooth but unreflective. When a mirror targets a PC, targeting whoever is closest and in direct line of sight, it will turn in place to follow them wherever they go in the room. If a PC gets within 10 feet of a mirror they begin to see an image of themselves that turns into an evil depiction 1 round later. The evil counterpart has similar abilities and is bent on destroying its target. The counterpart can occur only once for each target. The mirror will only change targets if its target dies or its target’s counterpart is destroyed. If the mirrors become turned inward on each other at the same time all counterparts are destroyed and the puzzle is solved. At this time the slabs fall backwards, in unison, 30 degrees and triggers a jagged obsidian pedestal to rise up from the floor. The pedestal stops 5 feet up and has a flat smooth top and is about 1 foot in circumference. One round after the pedestal stops the mithril veneer becomes liquid-like and begins to stretch away from the now visible plain iron slabs and toward the top of the pedestal where it forms a large ornate mithril key. The key is 1 foot long. It’s handle looks like the body of a spider with long spider legs fused together in an almost straight line forming the key’s spine and two large spider fangs hanging along the underside of the key. The back end of the key has the face of a gorgeous scowling drow female. Minute runes cover the key entirely giving it an etched look, which catches light like a million tiny, perfect diamonds. The key is magical and works to produce a doorway when pushed into a wall and turned to the left. It will create a magical keyhole for itself. It will create an opening up to 1000 feet long or until it finds an opening on the other side of most any wall or surface. As of now the key has only 3 uses and will be used to get out of this room.
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11 months ago ::
Jul 20, 2012 - 1:37PM
#2584
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Date Joined:
Jul 16, 2012
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!Money Mummy!The PC’s enter a desert dungeon/tomb of a pharaoh designed to confuse and trap would be grave robbers. At the beginning of the actual dungeon, inside the pyramid or w/e, there is a hallway about 30 feet long and leading to a recessed doorway ahead and two circling hallways leading to the left and right of the recessed doorway. The passage to the right bends to the left and the passage to the left bends to the right and after 100 feet or so both passages lead to yet another levered doorway. As the party pulls levers and ventures through the doors they realize that when a lever is pulled the door opens to a new corridor leading to yet another door and lever. The problem is that when one door is opened all other doors are closed. Each passage has 3 doorways connected by short hallways to go through, but the third door is a portal. It looks like another hallway but when passing through the doorway the PC’s find themselves back in the initial hallway and looking at the recessed doorway. The key is to pull all three levers at the same time. When doing so it will activate a portal behind the center recessed doorway. The recessed door will be the only one that opens this time. When it opens the PC’s can enter into it and if they do they will see a hallway leading to a larger room that wasn’t shown before. Seeing into the room, there are visual hieroglyphs and murals painted in the Egyptian style with a large sarcophagus decorated in gold and blue and white glass sitting up on a 3 stepped platform and in between 2 large pillars. There are 2 raised fire pits on either side of the room standing about 3 feet high, 3 feet long, and 2 feet wide, and casting an eerie glowing light into the room. The hieroglyphs, with a DC 10 intelligence check, tell a tale of the people offering gold and precious gems to the pharaoh to honor him. When the PC’s enter the room a 10 round countdown begins and on the 10th round a dusty jet of air pushes out from the sarcophagus, then the door slams down behind them, and it starts to slowly open. One round later the sarcophagus is fully open and the PC’s see a mummy in perfect white wrappings, which have a slight mundane sparkling quality. A DC 20 spot check shows that the mummy’s wrappings have fine golden threads embroidered in them. The mummy stands around 6 feet tall and has white glowing eyes. The mummy takes 10 lumbering steps forward and down the steps to the floor where he will stop and reach out his arms, elbows bent at his sides, and a golden offering plate appears in his hands. He then extends his arms and the plate out forward awaiting an offering. The mummy waits. If the PC’s try to attack the mummy he will fight until he is defeated then he will dematerialize where he will then reappear 10 rounds later just as he had before. They can continue killing him several times if they wish, gaining less and less xp each time until the 5th time when he enrages and does whatever grand evil I wish to declare upon them as a punishment for stalling. The obvious point here is to give an offering that will appease the mummy and he will open the way for further exploration. If an offering worth 1 thousand gold pieces is placed on the plate, he will toss it into one of the fire pits and then return to his sarcophagus. Upon doing so the pits will burst into wild flames and light the room making it much brighter. During the mummy's return the door will again open allowing for a safe exit and the floor in the middle of the room will rise. Rectangle columns two feet thick and 3 feet wide each now begin to move. Each column raises in a line first 6 feet, then 5 feet, then 4 feet, then 3, then 2, and 1. A hidden stairway is uncovered that leads down into the darkness of the tomb. This is a fun way to open up a dungeon or to have a difficult way to actually get the treasure at the end of the dungeon, however you choose to use this simple entrance puzzle.
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11 months ago ::
Jul 21, 2012 - 7:37PM
#2585
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Date Joined:
Jul 18, 2010
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Perhaps this has been too long deeceased to ressurect and certainly it oughtn't be me doing it, but hey, I'm willing to pay some cleric for it.
Thanks for the necromancy, Katie.
It's nice to see a thread like this one come back. Especially when its return draws new contributors.
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6 months ago ::
Nov 21, 2012 - 10:42AM
#2586
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Date Joined:
Nov 21, 2012
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Well.... let see if any has any new ones, I think everyone had a couple of years to think. This one is simple but fun. 3004) There are tow parts of this trap, one in two seperate hallways. This can easily be used in a spiral style dungeon (square shaped, so all right turns..lol, really messes with PC's) When walk down the first hallway of this trap,(lets say 50' hallway) at 25" it looks like it comes to a dead end. The closer they get they see a square hole on the ground. It is currently filled with clay like mud. There is a rope tied the the edge of the hole and leads in the mud under the wall. In order for the party to move forward they have to go in and fully submerge themselves. The DM can choose what is needed to roll for holding breath. They will emerge on the other side of the wall but completly covered in the mud clay. The next right leads into a normal dungeon hallway with statues of warriors sporaticlly placed. With a standard spot or listen check (DM's choice) the hallway has a continious flow of warm air. The mixer with the air will harden the clay. And now the DM has new figurines...lol. NOTE: The hardening can happen 1D6 rounds. The rolls can consist of a strength check, or reflex save if one tries to hi the other PC. You can be as evil as you want here. Hopefully they try to wipe off the mud before they turn the corner.
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6 months ago ::
Nov 23, 2012 - 6:15PM
#2587
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Date Joined:
Mar 16, 2001
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We do a lot of "burning building" situations because there happen to be a lot of that sort of thing in our scenarios. It's as simple as an environmental encounter where you take a character and have them either have to burst through/out of a burning area and/or jump over a burning pit (and the like). I'm not sure why this happens so much in our games. It could be that the group is fond of fire or somethign like that.
..
Gamer Chiropractor - Hafner Chiropractic 305 S. Kipling st,Suite C-2, Lakewood, Co 80226 www.hafnerchiropractic.com
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6 months ago ::
Nov 28, 2012 - 4:39PM
#2588
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Date Joined:
Nov 28, 2012
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3005) I used this one a couple of weeks ago.
There is a long hallway, any length would work. Halfway down is lone door that is easy to unlock. Once it is unlocked and the group steps inside there are three glass display cases inside. It doesn't matter what is in 2 of the cases. I wanted to scare my low level party, so one case had a 3 silver tipped stakes on a black silk cloth. The middle display case appears to be empty, except for a small hole about the size of a fist in it.
The trap itself was sprung once the door was unlock. The "empty case" had a Gelatinous Cube in it which escapes down the drain and back into the hallway the group just came from.
As a DM you have the option of having the Cube come towards the party or be chasing the party. Mine was chasing the party, as my group has a knack for not paying attention to anything behind them. But it is up to you as to how your dungeon/castle/evil wizard tower is laid out.
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6 months ago ::
Nov 29, 2012 - 4:50PM
#2589
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Date Joined:
Oct 20, 2012
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Hopefully nothing too similar is already in the list.
Avarice (3006) - The party finds themselves trapped in a plain room 25',25' ish, in the center of the room is a wooden pedestal. On tha pedastal is a rare gem. Upon the first party member touching the gem all party members are dominated. A booming voice speeks to all of the party members. The voice demands a show and promises reward for a good preformance. Every round the party is forced to make an attack against another party member. Before the attack a party member may choose to attempt a saving throw against the domination. Players take 1/4 damage. At the end of the event the players recieve the damage they dealt in gold multiplied by 10(ish?) (IE 23 damage = 230 gold). Players also find that the voice has wormed it's way into their mind, for every attack they made, the chracter takes1d6 damage Kinda situational, but if you have a greedy party or a party of less than high moral standards, It gives the players a chance to roleplay through their characters decision. Funniest Csae is the pascifist leader who never makes the saving roll and nukes him/herself once they make a save.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 05, 2012 - 1:01PM
#2590
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Date Joined:
Nov 28, 2012
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3007 -
This room has a control pannel on the southern wall. 4 levers, 3 switches, 2 buttons, and 1 slot. On the ground in the center of the chamber is a stone block. On the block are two tankards of scummy water. Wrapped around the bottom of the block is a chain. In the corner of the room is the bust of an orc with an eyepatch. The bust is made out of a milky crystal. Spot check of DC 16 will notice a coin in the center of the bust. Breaking the crystal will release a poison gas cloud in the face of whoever breaks it. 2d4, save for half, poison does 1d4 every day until healed.
The normal sized door is actually a mimic in disguise.
Mimic - (52 hp)
(15 AC)
(Slam 1d8+4)
(CR 4)
Putting the coin in the slot will open up the wall on the western side of the room into another chamber.
Of course the locations of the doors and what not can be changed to suit your dungeon. I put this in against a low level party that was half dwarves. Knowing full well they would smash the bust as soon as they knew it was of an orc. Again can be tailored to your PC.
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