traps-manual

8/7/2019 Traps-Manual

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Traps DeluxeCollection

This is a collection of traps categorized bylocation.

1. Chest+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++NAME: Double VisionLOCATION TYPE: Chest

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: failing to pick lockEFFECT TYPE: mechanical/magicalEFFECT: A blade chops off a piece of the player's finger, teleporting it to a high-level mage's tower, where the mage will create a duplicate (clone) of thecharacter.

NAME: The "Juvenile" ChestLOCATION TYPE: Chest

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: opening lockEFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: Within the lock of the chest are poison needles. If the character fails tosave against the poison, he/she loses 3 wisdom points, 4 strength points, and 5

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intelligence points. The character will also turn into a juvenile (13 to 15 humanyears.) The "aging" poison can be cured with a Remove Curse by a high levelmage.

NAME : Blue BoxLOCATION TYPE: ChestCONTEXT: You see a goblin about 20 feet down a corridor. The goblin keepsscreaming "Don't take my treasure! Don't take my treasure!" When thecharacters get close enough the goblin runs off. When the treasure box isopened a blue force field goes around the opener of the box. There is a blueknife inside of the box (Which has nothing to do with the trap.) The blue forcekeeps getting smaller and smaller. It keeps closing in on the person until theyget crushed. The only way out of the trap is to close the box. Kind of obvious buin a situation like that it is hard to think of.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanical

TRIGGER: opening chestEFFECT TYPE: magical

NAME: Pick a boneLOCATION TYPE: ChestCONTEXT: A chest made out of every bone in the human body. It cannot beforced open. If a person breaks a bone then that bone is broken in them. I.E. athief attempts to pick the lock (the mouth) he could end up with a broken jawbone. Hide the treasure under the chest.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT TYPE: magic

NAME : Dud MoneyLOCATION TYPE:ChestCONTEXT : Treasure chest full of copper coins. An illusion has been cast on the coins tomake them look like gold coins; it will fade within a few hours.EFFECT TYPE: magical

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2.Door

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++NAME: Familiar FacesLOCATION TYPE: DoorCONTEXT: 20' x 20' room, with 4 kobolds (originally).

TRIGGER TYPE: magicalTRIGGER: Any party member touches door to enter room.EFFECT TYPE: magical

EFFECT: A bright flash of light blinds the players and when their vision clearseach player is in a room with many kobolds. Each player in the party isteleported to a different location in the room and an illusion spell is cast on eachparty member. Each party member sees the other members of his party askobolds but none of his/her companions are anywhere in sight. Plus the extrafour kobolds, of course.

NAME: Musical doorLOCATION TYPE: DoorCONTEXT: A plain metal featureless door.

TRIGGER TYPE: MechanicalTRIGGER: The locking mechanism is a chime. It magically or mechanicallylistens for the ringing sound made when two metal objects clang together (suchas hitting a sword against the door). This sets up the proper vibrations in thedoor to create the proper pitch to automatically unlock and open the door.

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NAME: Shocking SurpriseLOCATION TYPE: DoorCONTEXT: Are you familiar with chemical cells (batteries)? If you get twodifferent types of metal, i.e. copper and zinc, with an electrolytic solution, i.e.salt water, between them and connect metal plates with wire to completecircuit, you get a current induced. This trap is of a set of double doors:

------- / | \ / | \ / | \

| [ | ] | | | | | | | | | |with metal handles on the iron reinforcing of the door. The metal of either dooris NOT touching the other but the metal hinges are connected to the ironreinforcing and to the metal handrails of the stairs leading up the door. Theother ends of the rails end in two corroded statues (one zinc, one copper) in thecenter of a little crescent pool of salt water. The two pools are connectedunderground through a pipe. The trap is sprung when someone grabs onehandle in each hand, with skin or conductor, closing circuit :) They take 2d6each round till they let go. Catch is that it is electricity (HUGE battery) so theycan't let go, plus anyone else who touches them takes 2d6 dmg and is flung

back 10 feet, or if they grab, and stuck to them and take 2d6 each round toountil released. Also anyone touching rails or statue at time takes dmg too andmay also become stuck.

**********DD*********** /--\___ /----\ ___ \ \/------\/ /| SS SS | /___/ \___\

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: touch the handleEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: The Stupid Door TrapLOCATION TYPE: DoorCONTEXT: The party comes to a door, above which is written, "The Word IsCthulhu". Trying to open the door will reveal that the door is sentient, and it willsolemnly inform the party that it will not open until the word has been said.Saying "Cthulhu" will have no effect. The thing is, to open the door, the partymust trick the door into saying "Cthulhu". (Asking the door what the password is

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will not work- the door will reply that if they don't know the word, they don'tdeserve to be let in.)I have come up with three ways to trick the door (assuming, of course, the doorisn't very bright).1) Tell it a knock-knock joke: "Knock-knock" "Who's there?" "Cthul" "Cthul who?Damn!"2) Start cheering: "Who's the eater of the world that's made of you and me? C-TH! U-L-U! Cthulhu! Cthulhu! Yeahhhhh, Cthulhu!!" The door will join in on thethird "Cthulhu."3) Blatantly mispronounce the word until the door, in exasperation, correctstheir pronounciation.If, however, Cthulhu hears his name, and sends someone to investigate, thedoor will (successfully) pretend to be non-sentient, and allow the delvers to takethe blame for the blasphemy and loose tongues.

TRIGGER TYPE: magicalTRIGGER: magic word

EFFECT: magical

NAME: Who forgot to put out the light?LOCATION TYPE: DoorCONTEXT: This is a fairly simple trap. I usually use it as a second layer. Place atorch or lantern near a trapped door. Usually, the PCs forget the light andconcentrate on the door. When they successfully open the lock it triggers thereal trap in the wall. Oil runs out of a trough through the flame of the torch andonto the party. It isn't usually deadly, but it is a good nuisance trap.


TRIGGER: open lockEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: the key is thekeyLOCATION TYPE: door/roomCONTEXT: There's a large room about 20'x20' with two doors opposite eachother. The ceiling to this room rises high into darkness and hanging out of thedarkness to the floor are three ropes. As soon as the last PC enters the room,

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the door slams shut and magically locks behind them. Both door are verydifficult to force, or pick open as there are no visible key holes.

The object here is to get the PCs to try to climb the ropes. Once a force greaterthan fifty pounds is applied, the rope pops free from the ceiling, dropping thecontents of a small secret compartment to the floor below. One drops a delayedblast fireball, another a stinking cloud, and the third releases the key to get outof here. Placing the key near the door will allow it's magic to show the key holethat earlier was non-existent.I hope other gamers out there find this one as fun to use as I did. I used it in ahigher level campaign to prevent actually killing the PCs but to teach them notto yank things that they are clueless to where they lead!

TRIGGER TYPE: magical/alarmTRIGGER: entering the roomEFFECT TYPE: magical

NAME : Musical KeyLOCATION TYPE: doorCONTEXT: When the players come to a locked door it can only be opened by akey. There are three keys by the door. There is an A, C, and D key. Now to makethis musical just make the only key to open the door the C key. The other keyswill let out spinning blades to hit the party. The A key in music would have twosharps so it would let out two spinning blades while the D key would let outthree since it is three sharps. The C music key has no sharps so that is why itopens the door. I would say good damage would be 3d6 if they miss a DC check


EFFECT TYPE: mechanical

3.Hallway

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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++NAME: A Different Kind of Spiked DoorLOCATION TYPE: Hallway

CONTEXT: A false door that looks important to the party. It should look like itopens inward and is locked (unpickable).TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: Trying to force open the doorEFFECT TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT: The door is a thin panel of wood attached to springs. Behind the panelis a set of spikes. If the party tries to force the door open, the springs willcompress and the panel will give way, which usually means that the personforcing the door open, will impale him/herself on the spikes. The damage done iadjustable by the number of spikes that were behind the panel and their depth,

but should follow something like (for AD&D): 3d4 + strength damage bonus ofthe person trying to knock the door down (since the harder they push the door,the more forcefully the spikes go in).

NAME: Spiked TunnelLOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT: A dead-end hallway, with spikes on the wall, at the end of the hall.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: Party crosses fulcrum point of hallway.EFFECT TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT: The "hallway" pivots 90 degrees, becoming a pit trap with spikes at thebottom.

NAME: The Infinite HallwayLOCATION TYPE: Hallway

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Warning: The characters will begin to feel very disoriented and have a lack ofenergy. This may warn them that there is something afoot. Also, any charactercarefully studying the wall may notice that the patterns of stone are exactly thesame every ten feet.

TRIGGER TYPE: MagicalTRIGGER: By some magical enchantment not known to any, including the vileDungeon Master, the electrical impulses from a character's body striking thefirst teleportation field are channeled back and activate the second teleportationfield. Any contact with the second teleportation field provides energy to it by thesame use of human (or elven or dwarven...) vital energy.EFFECT TYPE: MagicalEFFECT: As a party of characters walks down a hallway, they contact a(permanent) teleportation field, instantaneously teleporting them back ten feetand creating a second teleportation field just behind them. The teleportation isof a such a nature that it is too fast to be noticed, except for a slight feeling ofdisorientation. Thus, the party would walk, contact the field, be teleported back,

and continue walking without any stop. After about ten minutes of walking, thecharacters may begin to get worried. If, however, they turn and go back theother way down the hall, they will encounter the second field and be teleported

just before the first field, and much the same thing will happen.DISARM: The only way to disarm this trap that I can see, other then diggingaround it, is that the second teleportation field times out after twenty minutes othe characters not contacting either of the fields, thus not providing the fieldwith any energy. The first field, as stated before, is permanent.

NAME: The Rolling HallwayCONTEXT: This trap is a long corridor trap. As the PCs are walking down the hall,some of them may notice that there are grooves in the floor in the corridor infront of them. The ground is also somewhat rounded (you'll see why.) Actually,the grooves are fairly obvious to anyone paying attention, with about 1" of solidstone, upraised slightly, between each groove. Each groove is about 1' long,followed by another 1" of stone. The walls are smooth however, without anyapparent cracks (it helps if this corridor was constructed by dwarfs.) The first

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few grooves don't have any kind of pressure plate, but about 5' in, each grooveafter that has a pressure plate, until the last 5' of the corridor (this trap worksbest in a corridor at least 30' long, preferably longer, but that might be WAY tooobvious... but...). When a character steps on a pressure plate, it causes every biof that hallway, even the 5' without pressure plates, to open a hole in one sideof each part (alternating each side -- one left, next right, etc.) Immediately uponopening outward, a HUGE stone wheel will come out, roll in the groove, roll upthe inclined opposite wall, then roll back into the hole, shutting completely andundetectably. This can, of course, be quite messy and unpleasant for anyonecaught BETWEEN the stone and the wall, or the floor, or halfway between stone(yuck.) TRIGGER TYPE: Mechanical

TRIGGER: Pressure plate

NAME: Fake TreasuresLOCATION TYPE: hallway/doorCONTEXT : When entering the area (generally a series of rooms and halls) theplayers see valuable treasures scattered along the halls. These range from silveand platinum figurines to gold brooches (very, very valuable). The players willfollow along, picking up the treasure (don't let them stop because ofencumbrance). When reaching the end, they will enter a room through a door.When all the players bearing the treasure they picked up get through, a stonewall will drop over the door, sealing them in. Then a powerful monster(s) will beteleported into the room, and the treasures will turn to tin and lead. When themonster is defeated, and only then, the stone wall covering the door theyentered through will disappear, thus letting them out.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: entering a roomEFFECT TYPE: magical

NAME: Spiked Stair TrapLOCATION TYPE: Hallway


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TRIGGER: on a set of stairs - somewhere near the middle is a false stair - when acharacter of a minimum certain weight treads on the stair, the stair coverbreaks - the characters foot falls into a group of angled spikes - the spikes areangled 45% downwards - so no damage is taken when the character steps onthe trap the weight of the character and the force of the fall will force the foot tothe bottom of the trap - If the character does not try to remove his/her foot verycarefully and take their time doing so - they will impale their foot on the spikes.(great one for catching thieves - they are unlikely to be wearing metalfooting!! :-)EFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: Between a Troll and a Sharp PlaceLOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT: As the delvers (good old Tunnels and Trolls term) walk down a longcorridor, they step on a flagstone that sinks a bit. Behind them a large panel in

one wall opens up and caltrops fall out. Suddenly, a large troll (or something tootough for the characters to fight, anyway) rushes from around the corner aheadRun! p.s. this one was my revenge on players who liked to scatter caltropsaround liberally.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: stepping on a flagstoneEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: Is this a blessing or a curse? (Fountain)

LOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT : A pool of water is located at the intersection of two hallways:| | ___| |___ \0


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space in three rounds. Putting the item back will cause plates in the floor toslide back and the water to drain through the holes. It takes 1 turn for all thewater to drain. After all the water is gone the walls of force disappear. Placing anew item in the pool will cause some beneficial effect (bless, regain 1d4 hit pts,etc.)To make this nastier you could disallow teleporting, etc. out of the area ormake any items actually removed become cursed.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanical/magicalTRIGGER: removing item from poolEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: Kill Yourself TrapLOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT : A long corridor, at the end of which are illusionary bars, with anillusionary (fill in creature that is too tough for the players to handle) behind thebars. Right in front of the bars is a teleporter that teleports only size T or smalle

items to behind the PCs. In between the two teleporters is a numbing zone,where pain cannot be felt. If the PCs are smart (and standard players), they willshoot arrows at the monster. Given enough time, they will kill themselves.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME : Wizards are not nice trap buildersLOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT:Author's Note: I ran this in the dungeon of a wizard's castle. It is not

especially nice, but it is cool to watch. A section of a long corridor changes overto having a tiled floor. Half of the hexagonal tiles are white, the other half areblack. Every other black tile is actually a glass plate over a deep shaft, at thebottom of each shaft is an iron spike. As the PCs walk onto the area, they feelthe floor shift slightly. Roll some dice and wince, like something has gone wrong

Tell the PCs that they hear a squeal of metal on metal, but then nothing else.What has actually happened is the pit beneath the glass is being filled with

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some explosively flamable liquid from a large storage tank. This takes about 10seconds.

Towards the middle of the corridor is a second pressure plate, ten feet wide.Stepping on this strikes steel on flint in the pit below. *Boom* The ignited gasdrives the spikes up through the glass plates. Each PC will be hit by 1-6 spikes,each doing 2d6 damage. The spikes embed themselves in the ceiling.Now here's why it's a wizard's castle. The trap triggers a variant of the Mendspell, causing all of the glass plates to reassemble. Then a teleport is triggered,popping all of the spikes back into the bottom of the shafts. This suddenremoval of the spikes one round after the detonation causes the ceiling tocollapse. PCs still on the trap suffer an additional 6d6 of damage. After threeturns, a panel in the side wall will slide open, and a charmed gelatinous cubewill slink up and down the hallway removing the rubble from the floor. It willthen return to its cubicle, and the panel will slide shut. When it does, it triggersa Wall of Stone across the ceiling, restoring the trap to pristine condition, readyto use again.

Originally, this trap did more damage, but that was for 18th level players. Thisversion is a little less deadly, as it doesn't do fire damage and damage from thebreaking glass. To avoid the trap, all the players need to do, and what thewizard does, is jump over the first pressure plate, thus not releasing theflammable liquid.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: pressure plateEFFECT TYPE: mechanical/magical

NAME: the All-Is-Not-What-It-Seems TrapLOCATION TRAP: HallwayCONTEXT: The PCs are walking down a hallway and see an open pit (10' wide,20' across) in the floor. It is filled with any liquid the DM wants (ie. green slime,sulfuric acid, or just plain H2O). Dangling above the pit is a chain that a PC must

jump to in order to grab. The chain is made of a non-corrosive metal. It isconnected to a rope that goes around a pulley and is connected to a weight thatis 20 pounds heavier than the chain. When the PC grabs the chain, he sinks into

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the trap. The only way out besides swimming (if he/she doesn't die) is pullinghand over hand out of the liquid. Then he/she can swing back and forth to landon either side of the trap. If the PC lets go of the chain, the weight pulls it up.

The trap is then reset. Smart PC's will find a way to get the chain and pull it untiit's at it's end. They will then be able to swing across to the other side.#-----#----!---- !/ ! / !/ ! / !/ ! / !/ ! / !/ ! / !/ ! / !/ ! / *---------

\ \

\ \\ \\_______\# = pulleys! = rope or chain

/ = walls above pit\ = walls below pit--- = floor, ceiling, and part of the rope.* = the weight to counter-balance the chain.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: pulling chainEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: Vines and BouldersLOCATIONE TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT: The delvers are walking along a hallway whose walls and ceilings arecovered with vines. A few vines trail down from the ceiling 20' above, includinga few stout ones in the middle of the hallway. Suddenly, hidden panels open upon each end of the hall and 10' diameter boulders begin rolling at the party.Actually, these are illusions, and those who remain below will not be harmed.

Those who try to climb the vines, however, will find their hands stuck, and willbe drawn up though the hidden, vine-covered holes in the ceiling where acarniverous plant waits to make their aquaintance.

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TRIGGER TYPE: mechanical/magicalEFFECT TYPE: magical

NAME: TRAP 'O' GREEDLOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT: The characters enter a hallway 5'wide, 10'high, 50'long, with a door

at the far end. The walls are encrusted with huge gemstones, any one of whichwould be valued at least 10,000gp. If any character tries in any way to removeone of the gems (they can easily be pried loose with a dagger), the walls willslam together, as each has a POWERFUL spring device which will be triggeredby the removal of any one of the gems thus slamming the walls together liketwo giant hands clapping! Any character caught between the walls when theyslam shut will take 3d20 points of damage, and ALL breakable items must savevs. crushing blow. The walls will automatically reset themselves after a singlesuch strike. If the characters pass through the hall without touching any of thegems, nothing will happen to them, and they can go through the door, which isunlocked, and untrapped, if the DM is feeling generous.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT TYPE: mechanical (3d20 damage)

NAME: Whirlpool EntranceLOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT : A bowl shaped pond about 50' across and 50' deep is the entrance toan underground crypt. At the bottom of the pond is a circle of 13 stone pillars

each 13' tall and their circle is 13' across. Written on each pillar are 2 letters : A- M on the top row, and N - Z on the bottom row of letters. A stone 'dome' coverthe pillars and enough air is trapped there that the characters could breathe itas they investigate the pillars. Each letter is depressable like a button. On thebottom of the pond in the center of the pillars is a large iron 'cork', however,with so much water pressure no amount of strength could actually pull this plug

The characters are in possession of a scroll with a riddle on it. By depressing theletters to spell this word suddenly the 'cork' becomes ethereal for 5 rounds,

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during which time the characters and all the water are washed into the crypt/laibelow.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: 5 rounds

NAME : It Isn't Always Nice When Demons LeaveLOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT : A corridor goes east and then south to a dead end. On the north endwhere the corridor branches there is a large 6' tall red face of a demon wholooks like it is yawning. Its mouth is wet. Half-way down the corridor to the southon the eastern side there is a 1' lever angling 'up'. Pulling this lever downcauses three areas to go ethereal : the demon face's mouth, the 5' squaresection of the wall next to the lever and the 10' square section of the floor at thesouthern end of the dead end. A powerful stream of water will spew from the

demon's mouth down the center of the corridor, hitting the southern wall andfalling into the pit that has been uncovered by the ethereal floor. Any charactersstanding in the middle of the corridor will be washed into the wall and thendown the pit. The person pulling the lever has a chance to jump through theethereal hole in the wall. Any characters standing next to the walls will be fineas long as they keep flat against the wall or floor. There is an opposing lever onthe other side of the wall that can be lowered (which raises the lever on thecorridor side) and turning the trap 'off' thus returning the three sections back tomaterial state.


TRIGGER: pulling leverEFFECT TYPE: magical

NAME: Don't let the dog out!LOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT: The PCs come across a 10' long hallway. At the end there is an angrylooking monster or impossible-to-beat beast securely tied to a strong yet thin

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rope that goes into a hole in the wall behind the monster. About 5' down, thehallway turns right.As the PCs walk down the hall to the exit there is a weak tile that has a razorunder it with the rope running under the razor, so as the PC in the front steps onthe tile it will cut the rope letting the monster free to tear the PCs apart.Depending on the DM's mood you could have the tile also trigger a trap thatmakes two doors close (and maybe lock) off both exits!NAME: Its So Simple You're Sure To DieLOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT: The PC are walking down a hallway, room, passageway, etc. Theydiscover without much observation that there is a tripwire near the bottom ofthe floor. It is much thicker than most trip wires, so it can be seen very easily.Once it is seen the PC will most likely avoid the trip wire. The PC go a few moresteps, and then the entire floor will crumble to dust. The PC will then end up in atorture chamber, dungeon, pit, watery grave, etc. However, if they had hit thetrip wire a secret passageway would have opened up in the right side of the

wall. If they go down it they will have avoided the collapsing floor.TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: Bones, Bones Everywhere!LOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT: As the PC's walk down a hall, have walls spring up on all sides. Now havetwo panels in the ceiling open and bones drop out in massive numbers. Have someof the bones become skeletons, not all, though or it will simply be too much for the

PC's to fight off. I find 20 in all works well to wear them down. If not, make a speciaregenerating skeleton appear from all the leftover bones. It is a normal skeletonexcept turning it is treated as "special" and it regenerates as follows: fire and acidhave no effect; a solid blow (20) smashes it into a pile of bones but it reforms! Theonly way to dispose of it is blasting it into the next plane. The point is the PC's can'win. Once they fall over from damage, exhaustion, or whatever, the lich shows upand he reveals his evil plans (insert demonic plan here.)

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanical/magical

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EFFECT TYPE: mechanical/magical

NAME : Having a BallCONTEXT : The party comes across an obstacle in a 10' wide hallway, with a rooa few feet higher- a 10' spherical object, grayish-brown in color, pocked withsmall bumps, leathery in texture. Slightly springy to the touch, it blocks the

hallway! Fighter-types will probably want to slice it open, or at least stab it.Striking the object will let the players know what it is; a giant puffball! Anchoredto a small plot of earth at its base, it will pop quite loudly (50% chance ofattracting a wandering monster or guard) and fill an area 10-15 feet in front andbehind it with spores. The safe way to get around it is climb carefully over top oit! Extremely heavy characters may pop it anyway, or it may be accidentallypunctured. A small puncture may release only a jet of spores, which would affeconly a single character. Throwing something like an axe at it from further than15' away will avoid the spores, but still get the noise.Possible spore effects:

Coated characters are itchy for 2-8 turns, -2 on attacks and AC. Characters are blinded for 1-6 turns, and smell really bad. Spores are similar to Russet Mold (see Monstrous Compendium). Spores eat into organic material, unless killed by salt, alcohol or fire. Spores have individual effects like Myconid spores (see M.C.). Spores are poisonous, like Yellow Mold (see M.C.


NAME: Corridor of ChainsLOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT : Within the labyrinth is a corridor about 50' long. From the ceilinghangs chains of differing lengths and sizes. There is no floor, just a pit of spikesabout 20' deep. What the PC's need to do is get across the pit without falling in.Sounds easy enough, except that a few chains are attached to triggers. Manydifferent things could happen, use chart for easiness:

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01-20: Chain pulls out of ceiling, make dexterity check to grab another 21-30: Triggers dart trap. 31-40: Chain falls 10', make strength check, spikes raise 5'. 41-50: Triggers fireball trap. 51-60: Triggers dart trap. 61-70: Chain falls 5', make strength check, spikes raise 10'. 71-80: Chain is wet(slippery), make dexterity and strength check. 81-90: Triggers fireball trap. 91-100: Chain pulls out of ceiling, make dexterity check to grab another.

The space from the bottom of the pit to the ceiling is 40'. The chains can hangall the way down to the bottom, so the space from where a PC is to the top of aspike will have to be left to the DM. Also, when a chain falls a certain amount offeet, it raises the spikes up as fast as the PC's weight pulls the chain. So ineffect, a PC can impale himself on a spike because his weight pushed it up asfast as he fell, and squuuiiishhhhh. OUCH!


EFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: Hall of statuesLOCATION TYPE: HallwayCONTEXT : There's a long wide corridor that the PCs have to cross. Every tenfeet in an alcove is a statue of a warrior (about first level). This is fine but it endat a locked door. Should they bash it down or pick the lock that's also fine but ifthey cast any spells in this room a statue comes to life. A mage heavy party(like mine) should just cast more spells at them bringing more statues to life.Any magic causes this affect, however the spells/whatever do not have anyeffect except bringing statues to life.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT TYPE: magical

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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++NAME: The Pointless Trap

LOCATION TYPE: Lock

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: Early in the adventure, the characters will find a large (2') Crystal KeyAfter some time (hours?) of wandering, the characters will find a keyhole thatthe Crystal Key will fit perfectly into.EFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: Keyhole swallows Key as characters continue through maze, if placewhere Key was found originally is crossed again, Key will be there.

2.Pit+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NAME: Slime SlideLOCATION TYPE: PitCONTEXT: Any pit big enough for one individual (human) is perfect. It contains awaist high pool of slime (non-toxic, no ill-effect) that acts as an extremelyeffective lubricant.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanical or magicalTRIGGER: 1-4 rounds after entering pitEFFECT TYPE: mechanical effect; The floor will drop out from under the person in

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the pit, who will fall onto a slightly tilted slide. It would be best to use the SlimeBall trap as the destination of this slide.

NAME: Is something there?CONTEXT: A really simple trap: an illusionary pit. When the PCs try to jump orswing over it, they hit a tripwire , suspended a few feet off the ground. This willtrigger poison darts or whatever other type of trap you want.

NAME:Just When Ya Thought it Was SafeLOCATION TYPE: PitCONTEXT: Build two pitfalls directly after each other. The PCs will discover thefirst pit (sometimes the hard way, more often by being very careful). Since thereis no way around the pit, they will attempt to jump over it. That is when they

jump right into the second pit, which has been decorated with stakes and other

nasty stuff.TRIGGER: MechanicalEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: The (In)Complete Teleporting PitLOCATION TYPE: PitCONTEXT: Okay, here's a good one. Have a deep pit, concealed somehow. Thevictim falls down, then, just before he hits the bottom, a teleport device/spellsends him back up to the top, with the same velocity. You could keep him in this

loop forever, but an alternative is, after a while, (say, when he reaches*terminal* velocity :-), to change the destination of the teleport...say, the sameplace, but the opposite direction (ie up into the air - see if you can reach escapevelocity!).Another one is to put the teleporter at the end of a corridor, with the destinationpoint at the other end, facing it. You then project the image of a monster in fronof the 'porter, and wait for the party to shoot it (and so shoot themselves in theback).

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If someone falls in, make the next 2 or 3 pits water filled, dry and empty, and/orillusionary, but otherwise fairly safe. It's far better to scare the players with thepossibility of character death than it is to actually kill them all off.

NAME: Cold FeetLOCATION TYPE: Pit

TRIGGER TYPE: Mechanical/magicalEFFECT: mechanicalCONTEXT: A room of various dimensions can be used. A chandelier with variousamounts of oil burn above a pit trap. The walls of the pit trap a covered withbrown mold. The chandelier is rigged to fall in when the pit trap is sprung.Most characters that fall in the pit will die, as by the time they are able to workon getting out, they are frozen. The people left out of the pit or the trigger'ercan also be caught as the brown mold can grow to epic proportions Also, do notforget the flame damage of those in the pit from the fire.

NAME : SMILELOCATION TYPE: large holeCONTEXT : The PCs walk down a long corridor, with in the end a deep hole,that's completely visible. When they close in on the hole (about 50 feet), theyhear crying. When they reach the edge, they'll see a little baby, crying in thehole. BUT when they touch the baby, the PCs hands are stuck on the baby; theysimply won't get off. Its a paralytic poison to, they can't move a muscleanymore. The baby starts laughing and slowly begins to eat them. (By the way,

the baby has got AC 10, (it doesn't wear a metal diaper or something) but whenthere are PCs on, it gains the combined AC of all of them. (100 xp)

NAME : THE LIQUID FLOOR TRAPLOCATION TYPE: pitCONTEXT: Have the characters open a door into a metal corridor with a paneledfloor. There is a cold wind blowing from the end of it, and a bright light, not

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unlike sunlight, is emanating from the end. Preferably, the characters have beenin a dungeon for a while and are looking for a way out. The trap in this room is apit in the paneled floor. This pit has a permanent HEAT METAL spell cast on itsbottom. This pit is about 8' deep and is filled with molten aluminum. When in itsmolten form, aluminum looks just about the same as it usually does with just ahint of silver. This makes it look no different from the rest of the floor panels.

The wind they feel is actually a NORTH WIND spell (found in DRAGON MAGAZINEANNUAL #1) with permanency cast on it. This gives the illusion of an exit andgets rid of the heat from the pit. The light is from a LIGHT spell cast on the wallat the end of the corridor. Falling into the trap usually means instant death, butyou can apply whatever damage you want.

NAME: Trick Pit TrapLOCATION TYPE: PitCONTEXT : This trap is works great on thieves and mages. First have the party

be chased by a monster(s) and make them arrive at a pit that cannot be crossedby a teleport spell (It is dark and they can`t see the opposite side.) Actually, thepit is an illusion. It is impossible to levitate because there is an anti-magicbarrier. The only way to cross is to climb the walls. But in the ceiling there aremany holes where crossbowmen can fire bolts at the PCs without being harmed

TRIGGER TYPE: magicalEFFECT TYPE: magical

NAME : Pit Guardian

LOCATION TYPE: Pit/RoomCONTEXT: A trap lies hidden in the floor, and it's a relatively small hole, whichlands the PC right on a spot which triggers a Contingency spell which activatesthe nearby stone golem (or any other sort of animated monster(s)), which nowperceives the hapless PC as its mortal enemy. It quickly attacks, but many aparty is quick enough to let down a rope or other way of climbing up. The stonegolem simply waits beneath the hole. This isn't the good part. After going downto the next level, the PC finds him(or her)self right in front of the golem. You

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see, the pit leads down to the next level, so there's the stone golem (orwhatever) after his blood. It will not attack any other players, unless they standon the trigger spot, in which case it refocuses its attacks on that PC. The worstpart is that if the monster is destroyed, the trigger spot grows (DM/GM'sdiscretion towards the speed of growth and size of the room) until it fills theroom. Stepping on the trigger spot again at ANY time will cause the stone golemto reform again...and attack.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT TYPE: magical

3.Room+++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++++++++++++++++NAME: The SpiderLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: As the players enter a room, a huge spider is waiting for them. It doesnot move; it is simply clinging to a huge web. There is a torch in the wall, andthe players will notice that the web is quite flammable. The spider is, in fact, abomb. Lighting the webs not only sets everything aflame, it also detonates thebomb. Ouch.


EFFECT TYPE: mechanicalNAME : Fill the Room with WaterLOCATION TYPEE: RoomCONTEXT: The PCs come into a room that has two levers in it. One starts fillingthe room with water the other drains it of water. The doors lock behind theplayers. The only way out is to fill the room with water (the pressure on thedoors almost breaks them open. They can then smash the door down and all the

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water comes flooding out. I gave the party a suitable reward for this trap. Thelevers were knocked out of the wall by the retreating water. They were madeout of silver (aren't I a nice DM .....hehehe)

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: pull leverEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME : I am Rubber, You are Glue...LOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: The PCs enter a room which has a gargoyle on a pedestal. Itcontinually looks at the heroes, jeers at them, and occasionally swipes (butnever hits) one if he or she gets too close. Eventually, one of the PCs gets fed upwith this, and attacks. Now this is the best part: For every point of damage thehero does, subtract one from his own total. Neither he nor his compatriots noticthe wounds (in fact, they aren't there... yet!) The gargoyle seems to miss on allits attacks on the PC. After the hero has done enough damage to bring his own

life total to 0, the statue becomes inanimate, and maybe even crumbles. Afterthe person leaves the room, however, he or she takes all the damageimmediately, dies, and the gargoyle recompiles and taunts them even more.

There's a particularly nasty variant I've created on this one: a special tauntingspell, that requires a wisdom check every round (-1 cumulative per round timesthe number of allies fallen to this trap) or else the person(s) failing engage incombat, only to fall to the same trap.

NAME: Some magic you got there!LOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: In the center of an otherwise empty, totally ordinary, middle-sizedroom, a gem-encrusted crown floats in a sparkling column of golden light. Anydetection reveals that the entire room radiates magic. But it's not the magicthat's going to harm the hapless adventurers...more like the lack of it. Sooner orlater, someone is probably going to try to dispel that glowing column to get thecrown, since the golden light appears to be some sort of magical force field.

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(This works best in a system like AD&D where "Dispel Magic" is an area-affectspell) As soon as that spell goes off, the *floor* vanishes. So does the pillar oflight, but nobody is going to be worried about the fact that the crown is fake;under the floor, of course, is a pit built to your specs. (I like about a 20' drop to athicket of spikes, myself) The floor was a magical wall of stone, deliberately casto be "magically brittle" and with no defense against any attempt at dispellingit. It's their own magic that does them in.

TRIGGER TYPE: magicalTRIGGER: dispel magicEFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: fall into pit

NAME: Sinking floorLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: As you are walking through a dungeon you come to a door with a

stalagmite which can be hopped over. When you open the door you see shelveson the walls which contain gold and platinum ingots and various large magicalitems. The shelves are on all sides of the room except for the door's side. Whenthe greedy PC's step into the room it sinks 1 inch for every 4 pounds the playersare carrying. The same occurs when the items are removed from the shelf. Thewalls are slippery to the touch and not climbable. A dispel magic disintegratesthe floor, but the players will plummet to their death. Solution: Tie a rope to thestalagmite and pull yourself up, the magic items may be obtained by flightspells or other whatever.


TRIGGER: weight of playersEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: Sword in the FallsLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: This is an item trap. It consists of a room behind a waterfall. Thebigger the waterfall the better. The doorway to this room has a magical field to

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keep water out. (Note this will do no harm to typical adventurers, but it willexclude water elementals and the like.) The room is lit by a glowing sword set ina large white (marble) stone in the center of the room. (Think of Arthur's test.) Acrystal dome covers the hilt and the portion of the blade which extends from thesword. The stone and the crystal are enchanted with a spell to destroy water.(Again this will not harm the typical adventurer.) The crystal dome is fairly easyto break and any warrior worth the name should be able to pull the sword fromthe stone without difficulty. There is no sheath for the sword and it is silver ofvery high workmanship and obviously enchanted. If the adventurers leave thesword and the crystal dome alone, nothing happens. The room would evenmake a good place to camp since everything but the adventurers ignores theplace entirely. If the crystal or stone is broken or the sword somehow removedfrom the stone, all the spells against water in the room vanish. If they look theparty will notice that spray from the falls now enters through the doorway, but itdid not earlier.Upon further examination it will be noted that the sword is actually made of two

very soft silvery metals--sodium and potassium. (The sword is soft enough thatyou could cut it with a butter knife.) If the party has the sword in the air in theroom for more than 2 hours they will notice that it has tarnished. If they carrythe sword from the room, without taking extreme precautions, it willspontaneously ignite and do lots ( 6d10 ) of damage to whomever is carrying it.If the sword is left exposed in the room, for more than one hour after theprotective spells fall, there is a 10% chance per ten minutes that it will ignite.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: removal of swordEFFECT TYPE: mechanical/magical

NAME : Cool off TimeLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT : The PCs enter a square room. The entrance and the exit both sealup. The ceiling is really a glass panel with a horde of water just sitting on top ofit. There is an illusion to make the glass look like the ceiling. There are tubes inthe walls about 1" in diameter and plugged with stone stoppers. This trap works

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good if you have done one where water has poured through similar holes. ThePCs trigger a pressure plate that sends a lead ball from above the glass ceilingdown into the water. Of course the ball drops through the water, breaks theglass, and water pours out onto the PCs. The walls have to be very clay likehere. The PCs hopefully realize that getting the stoppers out will allow the waterto drain out (the water leaves about 1' at the top for breathing, air will get lousybut there will be air because of any reason you want). It works, that is, if the PCscan get the stoppers out (make it easy). The water drains out to a point (at thelevel, what ever it may be) and a layer of clay is washed off the walls. The PCscan then see a seam around the exit door. They can pry (with swords that mightbend! Or anything else they may have) the door off and then leave. *** Optiona*** Be nasty and have some kind of monster in the water.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: enter the roomEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME :BUBBLE-BUBBLE-TOIL-IN-TROUBLELOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: When characters enter this room, they will be unable to see usingANY means, as there is a magical darkness in the room which can not bedispelled. The floor is held steady by clamps in the walls. When a characternears the center of the room, a pressure plate activates the release of theholding clamps, which withdraw into the walls. At this point, the door to thisroom will disappear, and if any characters are in the doorway when thishappens, they will be either caught inside or outside the room, or trapped in the

wall where the door used to be (determined by how far through the door theywere),being killed instantly if caught within the wall. The floor is now a disc upona pivot. ANY! movements by characters within the room result in the characterlosing his/her balance, unless a dex check is made successfully. Any attempt tocast spells will not only result in the requirement of a dex check to maintainbalance, but will result in automatic spell failure. The characters will notice abubbling sound below them as of liquid boiling. In actuality, this boiling liquid iswater with a device which agitates it causing the bubbling. The water is actually

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about room temperature. Also hidden within the walls below are small furnaceswhich create a heat & burning smell, which wafts up through small vents frombelow, creating the illusion of a boiling death waiting below. In the room, abovethe floor, several small blind flying creatures will make swooping attacks uponthe characters doing 1d4 damage per attack. The only way out of this room is todive into the water, where they will find a grate at the bottom, which leads outto a small tunnel. The tunnel will take them to another room and from therethey can get to the rest of the dungeon and more of the DM's nasty toys anddevices. The grate can be removed with a successful strength check.


NAME: The Dart RoomLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: The PC's come to a door at the end of a corridor. They will likely

search it for traps. There are none. If the PCs open the door, they cannot seeanything beyond the doorway. It is dark, and the players get a feeling ofvastness. There is, in fact, something there: a very, very thin thread issuspended from wall to wall about 3 feet beyond the doorway, and one footabove the floor. A PC within 2 feet of the thread has a chance see it (1/3 Wisdomscore). When it is broken, the PC may not even feel it, depending on clothesworn on the shins. However, ten seconds after it is broken, the front few playersfeel a slight puff of air on exposed skin. Half a round later, all PC's are struck bya shower of whizzing darts, taking 2d20 hits. Each dart causes 1d2 points ofdamage. The darts can be retrieved by surviving PC's. They are about an inch

long and the fletching is skewed, causing a very irregular flight path, whichmakes them useless for any weapon, but ensures that all PCs within the roomare struck. It the PC's collect the darts, there are 1000 darts found lying aboutthe room. This trap doesn't sound like much, but for some masochistic reason,my players got a real kick out of it.


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NAME: Sand Filled RoomLOCATION TYPE: Room

TRIGGER: mechanical/magicalEFFECT: Variation of the water room. Once the door locks I begin to fill the roomwith sand, not water. Sand makes is harder for the PC's to move, which is usefulbecause there are usually creatures in the sand, scorpions, snakes, use yourimagination. One last bonus about sand, you don't have to worry aboutinconveniences like water breathing magic!

NAME: Water Filled Hot SpotLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT :This is a variation of the water-filled room. Any small room with onedoor will do. Add a nice fountain (a marble kid pissing into a pool maybe) andsome burnt-down and wet bones.

After the party enters the room will be locked and water level will rise as usual.Nothing will open the door! Let the water reach about throat-high. Then thewater stops and a fine quantity of oil will be spilled from above followed by a jetof flame (ever seen burning oil at sea?). Any sensible player will take a deepbreath and dive. Very clever! On the third step many small holes will be openedon floor level and water level will begin to go down slowly (and make it realslow, there's plenty of oil up there...) -- they have a choice between drowning,burning by oil, or being boiled alive, not a very easy choice to make.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanical/magicalEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: The Torch of IncinerationLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: As the PCs enter the room magical stone doors seal the room makingit air tight, and there is an alcove 1' by 1' and 2' deep in a wall with flamesburning in it and a switch in the back. (now would be a good time to remind youPCs that fire uses oxygen and people kind of die without it) Any item weapon,

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stick, rock, etc. that enters the flame must save vs. Magical Fire or explodecausing 1D8 points of fire damage to anyone within 2 feet. If a person puts ahand in the flame it will be slightly warm but not hot enough to hurt them andthey can easily flip the switch and raise the doors. The amount of time it takesto run out of air depends on the size of the room.

TRIGGER TYPE: magicalEFFECT TYPE: magical

NAME: They're in for Quite a Shock!LOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: The party is wandering a corridor that slopes upwards and comesacross a room containing a round pool of water. Observant characters will notea 'funny' smell in the air and a small object of value lying in the pool. (The objecshould most likely be made of metal.. sword, rod, amulet, etc).If they investigate closer, they notice the object is covered in very small bubbles

as if it were immersed in soda water. The trick to this trap is that the object hasbeen charged with a _Shocking Grasp_ spell or otherwise permanentlyelectrified. We all know that when you put an electrical charge in water, it splitsthe H2O into oxygen and Hydrogen. (this explains the fizzing and funny smell!).Assuming the party is carrying torches, they will most likely never make it to thepoint where they investigate this room! The hydrogen will ignite at the slightestflame source.Really nasty DMs are encouraged to consider sending a bunch of torch-wieldingkobolds up the tunnel if the party has figured out this trap and are using magicalight sources. This forces the party to stop them from entering the room andpreventing the big *BOOM*.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: torchEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

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NAME: Ogre FistLOCATION TYPE: Room

TRIGGER: mechanicalEFFECT TYPE: mechanicalCONTEXT: The Ogre Fist trap is a pretty basic, low-tech trap for a dead room(i.e. a room that has no other function than being a trap.) A large timber log ishung in the middle of the room. A rope goes from the back of the log, through acouple of well-greased rings and to the door - opening inwards. Normally the logis pulled back a meter, the rope tied to the door and the door closed (usingconsiderable force) pulling the log even further back. Then the door is locked,keeping the log in place. When the door is unlocked it will spring open and theheavy log will come swimming through it. To prevent the log from stopping halfway, the doors are made to be break at the sudden jolt at wide-open.In addition to the considerable damage from the log itself, it contains more thanenough energy to throw anybody struck by it several meters back.Normally, an Ogre Fist is made to throw anybody opening the door into a new

trap - a spiked pit, the trigger stone for a rockslide etc. Goblins are especiallyfound of revolving walls that locks after being used. The already batteredadventurer may find himself in a dark room, separated from his companions andsurrounded by dark-seeing and armed goblins.And since we are talking about a decoy-door here, and because of the simplicityof the trap, it is almost impossible to disarm. The only safe way to deal with it, isnot to stand right in front of the door when it is opened.

NAME: Chess Is the Best

LOCATION TYPE: RoomTRIGGER: mechanicalEFFECT: magicalCONTEXT:

You need a chessboard, and a chess set to run the trap. Do not show the PC'sthe chessboard and pieces until the first player steps on a square, else youmight give the trap away.

OUT -------| |------- | | ----------------- h |w|b|w|b|w|b|w|b| ----------------- g |b|w|b|w|b|w|b|w| ----------------- f |w|b|w|b|w|b|w|b| ----------------- e |b|w|b|w|b|w|b|w| ----------------- d |w|b|w|b|

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w|b|w|b| ----------------- c |b|w|b|w|b|w|b|w| ----------------- b |w|b|w|b|w|b|w|b| ----------------- a |b|w|b|w|b|w|b|w| ----------------- | | -------| |------- IN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Essentially you find a room with a chess board for a floor with a space at eachend. Some force prevents you from flying across or climbing the walls. Orteleporting across, etc. A force also stops you from being able to stand across obetween squares.Once you step on a square, you essentially become the chess piece for the

relevant square you stood on. You are white and thus move first. You can onlymove as that piece can move. A rook up/down/sideways, a bishop diagonallyonly, etc. Only the 8 back row pieces are available, no pawns.Also a corresponding piece appears at the other end of the chess board. The DMcontrolled piece. Thus if you step on square a1, you become a rook and a rookappears at square h1. At a2, you are a Knight and a Knight appears at h2. At a3a Bishop and a Bishop appears at h6. If you step on a4 you are a Queen and aQueen will appear at h5. King similarly.If a player reaches the DM's back row and is safe at that position, then theplayer may leave the chess board. (Obviously if the PC takes the DM's piece he

can safely stand at the DM's side of the chessboard) The DM's opposing piecealso disappears.

The fastest way across is to become a rook, you get to move first, thus you canimmediately move 8 spaces forwards and take your opponent. This of course ishow the owner of this little trap uses this room. The player characters of coursedon't even know it is a chess game and will thus most likely not do this. Usuallyyou end up having 3 or more PC's on the board.

The PC's cannot afford to swap pieces to gain an advantage whereas the DMcan, thus giving the DM an advantage. 1 on 1, crossing isn't difficult. Multiplepieces makes it more interesting. heh heh heh!If a PC steps onto the same square as a PC's piece that is already in the game,you can either allow 2 (or more) of the same piece, in which case another DMpiece arrives. swap the second PC for the first and the first exits back to the PCside of the board, or not allow this.What happens when one side loses the King is also variable, from all pieces ofthat side then die, (ouch for the PC's :-)) to just the King can die.What happens if a PC loses his piece is up to the individual DM, I usuallydescribed a pretty horrific scene of the PC being suitably killed by the chess

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piece, (see the PC game battle chess for ideas) but was actually transported tosome prison cell less his equipment/clothes/etc. Whatever equipment/clothesthe DM was nice enough to return to the PC could be found elsewhere, perhapsanother cell in the same room. The cells could be found by the other PC's at alater time in the dungeon.It is a very 'open' trap, it can be modified as the trap progresses. You could alsodo this with draughts, rather than chess pieces.

NAME: Follow the Bouncing BoobTRIGGER: mechanicalEFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: This trap is one of my sure-fire killers.

Take a room, at least 100' long, 80' wide, and 80' tall. Use a variant reversegravity to make gravity highly relative. Now fill the room with pillars stairwaysthat don't go anywhere, archways, statues holding assorted sharp objects, etc.

Each stairway, statue, pillar, or 10'x10' section of floor, ceiling, wall, or otherlarge surface is considered to be a room 'feature', explained below.Every time a PC takes a step in this room, there is a chance that the direction ofgravity will shift (maybe just 1 degree, or maybe as much as 180). Roll twogrenade scatters for every 10'x10' section traversed, or whenever the PC stepsonto a new room feature (stepping from stairs to floor, pillar to statue, orwalking 11' in a straight line, etc). The first scatter is vertical, the second ishorizontal. The point halfway between the two results is the new direction ofdown. Or, for simplicity, roll 1d6. 1 = gravity stays normal, 2 = down is nowstraight ahead, 3 = down is behind you, 4 = down is to the left, 5 = down is to

the right, 6 = down is straight above you.Whenever the down direction changes, unless a PC can grab something, theywill fall, taking normal damage. Check every 10' of fall to see if they hitsomething. If they hit something, they stop falling, and take damage. To makethe check, roll under their dexterity, just like an ability check. Success meansthey grabbed onto something before they fell, failure means they fall. Anothercheck is made, same way, for every 10' fallen, success means they grabbedsomething, hit something, or otherwise stopped their fall.

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Unfortunately, hitting something else is moving to a new feature, so roll anothed6 to see which direction is now down (with all associated dex checks to avoidfalling)...

NAME : All fall down. And down, and down, and down...TRIGGER: mechanicalEFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: This one is one of my more humorous traps, but still, it is almost 100%guaranteed to kill one PC (but the others won't be harmed at all, except for theirpride).

This is another variant reverse gravity trap, only this one is actually fairlypleasant. At first, anyway. The trap is a spherical room, polished to glassysmoothness, with a pair of doors on the equator. The entrance door, and the exdoor opposite it. Both doors are made of solid oak, iron-banded, and cannot beforced open in the normal ways (even knock or Bigby's clenched fist spells won'

touch it, it's too strong). The entrance door opens easily, but the exit door issecurely locked and barred, from the other side.The trap has several fundamental laws of physics disabled. First, there is noterminal velocity, or friction. Second, objects moving in a straight line do notnecessarily keep moving in a straight line. Finally, you don't lose anymomentum from hitting things, and gravity is towards the wall you fall towards.Basically, you walk in, plummet, bounce off the floor, which is now the ceiling asfar as you are concerned, and fall towards the floor, which is a spot opposite theone you just bounced off of. And with no terminal velocity, you just keepaccelerating. In all cases, down is the direction opposite the wall you just hit

(and bounced off of). When you hit, you can make a dex check to change yourangle, so you bounce off at a totally new (and random) angle. Make a dexcheck, success means roll 1d4, 1 = right, 2 = left, 3 = back, 4 = ahead, and thais the direction of down.

There is one exception here. The exit door. If someone hits that, they do notbounce, and if they have more than 20d6 of falling damage accumulated, theysmash through it (destroying the door, and probably dying instantly in theprocess). Anyone who lands in the exit doorway (after the door has been

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smashed), or in the entrance doorway lands unharmed on the floor (painful, butno damage). Anyone who hits the closed exit door and takes less than 20d6damage will weaken the door, and take full damage themselves (for example,hitting the door and taking 15d6 damage means that the next impact only takes5d6 to shatter the door). Final note, anyone with the Spelljammer skills of Zero-G combat or space fighting will be able to control their bounces, so as to bouncewhere they want to go (on a successful dex check), eliminating the 1d4 roll fornew direction.Special option: Eliminate the exit door, and make the entrance door a one-wayteleporter (or a one-way secret door). Then, wait for falling PC's to hit lightspeed (remember, velocity will effectively double each time they fall across theroom), then teleport them somewhere else. Great way to get them to anotherworld, for some special adventuring (Athas, anybody?).

NAME: A Role-playing Trap

LOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: A rusty lever protrudes from the far wall. Overhead, a tremendousblock of iron hangs from a cable.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: pulling leverEFFECT TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT: The DM should listen to the characters' debate about what to do. If theydecide to pull the lever for reasons such as "To leave no stone unturned" thenpulling the lever opens a secret door. If they decide to pull the lever "Just for thehell of it" then pulling the lever will drop the block, crushing all in the room.

NAME: Deadly SpikesLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: The floor is covered with 2 inches of dust; there is miscellaneousbroken furniture around the room.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: tripwire or pressure plate

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EFFECT TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT: 1d12 spikes, doing 1d10+10 damage each, strike and impale thecharacter automatically (no dodge or parry). An impaled character can't get offthe spikes unless helped by another character, or unless s/he can fly or levitateoff.VARIANTS: If there are other characters, skeletons in the furniture come to lifeand attack them.

NAME: Floating Rug and TableLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: In the center of the room is a pit (spikes optional). Covering the pit isa rug or tapestry with a levitation spell on it. In the center of the rug is a smalltable, also levitated, on which is a small object of the DM's choice.

TRIGGER TYPE: MechanicalTRIGGER: Stepping on the rug

EFFECT TYPE: MechanicalEFFECT: Falling into the pit, taking damage.

NAME: Glass StormLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: Any large circular room. Thousands of glass shards (like brokenwindow panes) lying about the entire room. A pillar in the center of the room,with some valuable object sitting upon it.WARNING: Touching the object causes a wind to blow through the room, causing

the shards to jingle together.TRIGGER TYPE: magicalTRIGGER: taking the objectEFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: A constant wind storm causes all the crystal shards to fly about theroom striking the party. Each party member in the room will take damage (3d6)per round until the object is put back or the party can leave the room.

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NAME: Hole in TwoLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: Any room not on the lowest floor. A large hole is cut in the floor ofthis room. On the far side of the hole is a shelf on which is sitting a valuableobject. Through the hole, the floor below can be seen. The hole is actually a

pane of glass thick enough to hold up a person. A spell has been cast upon thewindow pane to give it the look and feel of stone. (Have characters find this outon their own, so they will hope the hole is an illusion).

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanical or magicalTRIGGER: picking up the objectEFFECT TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT: The illusion on the object is dispelled; it's really a small rock. Largeboulders fall from the ceiling directly onto the window pane, shattering it, andthe person who took the object will fall through to the floor below takingdamage (2d6) from the fall.

NAME: Pointless Trap (Part II)LOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: Machine with 24 levers next to a door and lots of pretty Lights

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: pulling leverEFFECT TYPE: magical or electricalEFFECT: The door cannot be broken through or opened; it's false. If any level ispulled, everyone in the room feels an electrical jolt, but suffers minimal damage(1 point). Lights change color. The purpose of this trick is to see how long thecharacters will pursue a completely irrelevant track.

NAME: Slime BallLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: Spherical room.

TRIGGER TYPE: magical or mechanical

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TRIGGER: entering roomEFFECT TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT: The room is actually a sphere within a sphere. The inner surface of theouter sphere and the outer surface of the inner sphere are lubricated with highlyslippery slime (non-toxic.) When someone enters, the door will close. Due toNewton's Law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Whenthe character tries to move one way, the inner sphere will rotate and the outersphere will rotate in the opposite direction.

NAME: The Big Bag BangLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: Circular room 20' in diameter and 15' high, with a catch on the ceilingwith a leather bag, and a 2' diameter hole in the floor, directly below the bag.

TRIGGER TYPE: magicalTRIGGER: About 5 seconds after anyone enters the room, the bag starts falling

toward the hole.EFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: Explosion when the Bag of Holding enters the Portable Hole.VARIANTS: For low-level parties, the bag might be subject to Feather Fall to letpeople have more time to do something, or the ceiling might be higher.

NAME: The Killer MaypoleLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: The party walks into a room with stone walls. In the center of theroom is a metal pole with arms extending from it, near the top. The floor is shiny

and slick with some liquid.TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: Pressure plates in floor inside and outside room detect when thewhole party is inside room (that is, pressure plate outside has nothing on it, andthe one inside has something on it).EFFECT TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT: The door swings closed. The metal pole begins turning, and the armsextending from it rub against the wall. More of the liquid is pumped out of the

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top of the pole. The pole is made of steel, the walls are flint. The liquid is oil....you can guess what happens next. Ouch?

NAME: Topsy TurvyLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: Any large cave (at least 20 x 20'). Upon close examination of the flooand ceiling, many holes about the size of dimes and nickels (in the thousands onboth) are clearly visible. A large amount of treasure on the opposite end of theroom is piled against a wall.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: The first player to step over the holes will set off the trap.EFFECT TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT: The holes on the floor will lift the character into the air with a constantblast of air (up to 350 pounds). The holes in the ceiling will also blast air of thesame force downward, sending the character spinning and tumbling in mid-air.

The character caught in the trap will get sick and suffer 1 point of damage afterhis constitution score divided by 4 (rounding down) number of rounds have pastIf the character is in the trap more than 5 rounds, he will black out.DISARM: Behind the holes are large fans run by magical means. If a staff ofconsiderable strength (magical, etc.) are shoved into the holes, and a strengthroll is successful, the fan is jammed; otherwise, the character attempting todisarm it will suffer 1d4 of damage. If the floor fan is stopped first, the charactein the trap will be forced to the floor, suffering damage and vice-versa for thefloor fan.

NAME: Water Water EverywhereLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: A 40' circular chamber with exits on opposite sides. Contains a 30'circular pool with a 7' diameter base for a 20' high statue of a minotaur in thecenter of the pool. The statue looks loose. Moving the statue causes it to falldown and block the door through which the party entered; below it appears tobe a tunnel down to a passage parallel to the line between this room's

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entrances. This is actually an illusion.TRIGGER TYPE: mechanicalTRIGGER: Entering "tunnel"EFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: The character that entered the tunnel will see that s/he is in a concave6' deep pit. A force field goes up covering the top of the pit. When anothercharacter tries to poke at the force field, s/he will be pushed into the center ofwhere the statue used to be by a rising wall of water. A Water Weird (seeMonster Manual) will attack the party. As long as the water weird is alive, theforce field covering the pit will drop 4 inches every round. When the WaterWeird is dead, the force fields will be broken.

NAME: The Greedy PartyEFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: Now, what party is there out there, that doesn't want to increase their

ability scores? Not very many, I'm sure. Well, here is a trap to make them allwary of easy outs. In a room, they will find various potions, scrolls, etc.(whatever, really) -- maybe even an electric chair (he he.) The first character toquaff a potion, read a scroll, sit in the chair, or whatever, has some kind ofbeneficial effect (temporary or permanent, DM's decision.) Anyone else doingthe exact same thing will have a malignant effect happen (i.e., electrocuted inchair, poisoned badly, blinded by scroll, etc.) Of course, most players will wantto try it for them to try to duplicate the effect on the first player. It is very fun tohelp the first player understand that there was a beneficial effect, so that he canbrag about it so that the other players try it, too. Maybe even have a good effec

at random after the first (like a 5% chance or something.)

NAME: The Golden ChamberThis trap is one I once used to take the collective egos of a group of playersdown a few notches. The players had stopped thinking about scenarios, merelyusing magic to batter their way through. Rather than pouring kobolds on theproblem until it went away, I decided to let the PLAYERS divest their characters

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of magic items, more or less voluntarily. This trap only works properly withgroups that use magic to solve EVERYTHING, from locked doors and monsters,to ordering food and paying for services (why pay when you can charm, forexample).The trap is a 40' long, 20' wide, and 20' tall chamber, at the end of aside-passage. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all made of pure, solid gold. Thisshould certainly draw in most PC's, and for those who are less greedy thannormal, there is a shelf on the far wall, opposite the entrance, with a glowingwand/sword/gem/statuette/whatever on it.

TRIGGER: The trap functions fairly simply. When the object is lifted off of theshelf, there is a loud *CLICK* noise, but nothing else happens, as far as the PC'scan see or hear. However, the floor is now a precisely balanced scale. ANYreduction in weight will trigger the trap. Calculate how much each PC weighs,including both body and equipment weight, and add 5 lbs. for the objectremoved from the shelf. Removing 5 or more pounds from the floor sets off thetrap. Yes, replacing the object on the shelf WILL set off the trap. Adding moreweight to the floor won't do any harm, and can actually disarm the trap, with

enough weight. For example, putting 1000 lbs. of gold in the room after the trapwas armed, while the PC's collectively (including equipment) only weight 900lbs., means that they can now leave the room safely.EFFECT: When it goes off, a multi-ton slab seals the only entrance, and thechamber is now airtight. At the same time, glowing runes appear on the walls,ceiling, and floor. Finally, all non-permanent spells and spell-like magicalabilities within the room (and within 20' of the outside of the door) arepermanently negated. Permanent spells simply cease to function while in theroom, as do charged magic items. Permanent magic items function normally,but with a NASTY side effect, explained below. Attacking any surface of the trap

with a non-magical item will easily cause a hole. Attackers must strike AC 6 anddo 10 points of damage to make a big enough hole to get air through. As soonas any part of the trap is breached, all magical effects of the trap (magicnegation and that side effect listed below) are permanently and irrevocablydispelled. A human-sized hole requires inflicting 100 points of damage. Now forthe good part. Most magic-heavy PC's won't think of using a non-magical objectto force the walls, some groups don't HAVE non-magical objects. Any personwho strikes a surface of the trap with a magical object SUFFERS. The object

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must make a save vs. crushing blow, with NO bonuses at all, or be totallydestroyed. Any object that is destroyed inflicts 1d4 damage on the wielder perlevel enchanted into the object (enchanted weapon, used to add pluses to aweapon is a 4th level spell, so a +2 dagger does 8d4 damage). The explosivedestruction of magic items does no damage to the wall, nor does the weaponstrike itself do any damage to the trap. The wielder gets a save for half damagevs breath weapon. If the wielder is resistant to magical fire (innate resistanceonly. Efreeti are protected, spell-protected PC's are NOT), the save is for nodamage, half if failed. A special case occurs with items such as girdles of giantstrength. Only magic used to influence the wall is affected. So a warmth ringwon't explode, but a girdle of giant strength or a mattock of the titans will. Treaeach point of strength above the wearer's normal strength as a separatestrength spell for damage purposes. So a 16 strength fighter takes less damagefrom an exploding girdle of hill giant strength than a 14 strength fighter would.Each special power of the weapon is treated as a separate spell (FEAR strikingthe wall with a sword that has 3 wish spells in it. *OUCH*).

NAME: A Trick of the LightLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: A corridor runs west and then turns south 20' before entering a 30'wide, 60' long and 10' tall chamber. The entire northern wall of this chamber,and the northern section of the corridor where it turns south to enter thischamber, are covered with rusted spikes. In the middle of the chamber, runningfrom east to west is a row of 1" thick iron poles which run from ceiling to floor.

Touching a pole sets off a wall of lightning along the entire wall (anyone

touching the pole saves vs magic at -4). The wall of lightning does 12d6damage. In the southern half of the chamber there is a ruby red light shining ina narrow beam from the ceiling to the floor. This beam is 10' in front of the largeface which is in the middle of the southern wall. There is no apparent source forthe light, and any metal surface can reflect it. The face in the southern wall is 6'diameter and made completely of obsidian and it appears to be a distortedhuman face in the act of laughing. Both eyes are bulging and can be depressed.If both eyes are depressed and the ruby light is not being shined onto the face a

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complicated illusion will occur. The room appears to tilt very quickly to thenorth, with that end dropping quickly to a 60 degree angle. Unless charactersstate that they disbelieve they will stagger and slide to the north as anyonewould if a room tilted so suddenly on them! Anyone staggering into the poleswill set off the lightning. Anyone falling into the rusted spikes (which of coursestill seem to line the entire northern wall) will impale themselves on 3-6 spikesdoing 1-6 damage each with a 25% chance for each spike (not cumulative) ofcontracting a disease. If the two eyes of the face are depressed when the rubylight is being shined upon it the face can be easily moved south and then itslides east revealing the passageway continuing to the south.

TRIGGER TYPE: mechanical/ magicalTRIGGER: touch of iron poleEFFECT TYPE: magical/mechanical

NAME : KNOCK, KNOCK **BOOM**LOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: Room is a perfect cube (10'+ cubed) with one or two doors (notlocked!) The trap is magical: inside the room is a sphere of pure magical energy(see Note 1) held in place by 6 RINGS of Spell Turning (see Note 2) place in theexact center of each wall, floor and ceiling, the door(s) just happen to be in thecenter of the wall(s). When the door is opened the Ring no longer contains thesphere's perfect integrity. The magical energy shoots out of the room like sodapop from a shaken bottle.


EFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: ALL rods, wands, & Staffs become fully charged then overload as in aretributive strike (see DMG on damage) other Items gain power then overload aabove. the each PC will take damage in the form of 1d12 / charge in room savevs magic for half damage (except for the person who opens door [no save])Note 1. charge in room is size of room cubed (eg 10' room =1000 charges[10*10*10] a 5'room = 125 charges [5*5*5]. The DM could be "Nice" andsubtract charges from the total used in "CHARGING ITEMS" to reduce damage.

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Note 2. When Door is Opened all The RINGS of SPELL TURNING become non-magical, but if removed without destroying the can be re-enchanted GP value orings : 1000 gp each

NAME: Out For A SwimLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: A 30' square room has a door on the western wall, southern mostsection, and a door on the southern wall, eastern most section, and a door in themiddle of the northern wall. A 1' wide passage leads from the northern door tothe southern door. From the 1' wide passage the floor drops to a depth of 30'below the level of the doors. This is all filled with water, including up to 1' abovethe level of the passage, making the water even with the bottom of the doors.

The trip is easy between the northern and southern doors, though the trip to thewestern door might be more difficult. You can place water elementals, waterweirds, crystal oozes or any other kind of nasty creature in there. The water

below the 5' deep mark might be very murky just to add to the drama. Maybethe characters would want to investiate it to see if there was another passage oanything hidden down there... or perhaps the floor has a slime coating?

NAME : The Lowering Ceiling (and if that weren't enough, Water, too!)LOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: PCs enter a circular room, 30' diameter, with a 10' diameter pit (30'deep) in the center. Directly over the pit is a hole in the ceiling covered with arusty grate (it can support 25 lbs. of weight before falling.) Opposite the door

from the pit is a 6' tall rod, fixed into the floor (hole in the ceiling above.) Oncethe PCs enter, the door locks behind them, and the 15' high ceiling begins todescend. PCs must tie a rope to the rod, and climb down the pit to escape theceiling. Once the ceiling touches the floor, a stream of water starts to pour downfrom above, filling the hole at 5' per turn. There is a watertight trapdoor in thebottom of the pit if the PCs are fast enough. If the grate is still there, PCs maydrown. If it was removed (as is likely), they may float up unless armored heavilyWhere either exit goes is up to the DM.

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TRIGGER TYPE: magical/alarmTRIGGER: entering the roomEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: The One Way Easy, Round Trip PainfulLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: The corridor leads to a 45-degree downward slope to a pit of water (5wide), and there is another slope on the opposite side. The slopes are coveredwith downward pointing blades, so you can go down, but not up. A venus flytrap, possibly with something in the water.


NAME: Hot n' Cold

LOCATION TYPE: RoomCONEXT: This trap involves 2 rooms in a dungeon (or castle or whatever) thatare joined to each other by a single doorway (no door, unless you want to makeit REALLY hard on your players).

The first room of the trap is enchanted to make it very cold (I run PalladiumFRPG so I use hundreds of wards on the walls that are permanent) and thedoorway (or door) to the other side is a good 100 feet away. The party mustpass through this room in order to get to their goal.

The 2nd room is enchanted in the same way, except that it is to the HEATextreme. Most players that I throw this trap up against make themselves

resistant to cold to get through the 1st room, but once they do that, then theycan't make themselves resist fire for the 2nd one (there is a time period toprepare, and since they are in the extreme cold room, they would freeze todeath before the time period expired)

Therefore, they have to REALLY think (or get really lucky on their saving throw,that is at -10 if they go through the heat room while resisting cold) in order toget past the Heat room. Once a player gets trough the trap, the rest can followeasy enough provided there is a mage in the group that can Teleport each

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member to the one that got past it all. BTW, failure to make the saving throughwhen passing from the Cold to Heat room (if the player is resisting cold) meansdeath. Ashes, to tell the truth. No hope of reincarnation

NAME: Bars on AcidLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: The PCs reach a room with metals bars going across the room. TheFirst Bar is 2' from the ground. The second is 5' from the ground. The Third isdoubled up, one 2' from the ground, and one 5' from the ceiling. Then the fourthis 4' from the floor and 4' from the ceiling (10 ft. Tall ceiling, ground refers tohall level). The floor drops 20ft from the hall level and then there is a pool ofacid. The acid is any contact acid you chose. You might not want it to do muchdamage cause it would really be hard to rescue the PC in the first place (acid onthere hands when they grab the rope to pull them selves out, and there wouldbe acid all over them in the first place. The acid is only like 1 1/2' deep.____________________________________

o o o --->o o o ---->

______ o o o o ________| ||~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

TRIGGER TYPE: noneEFFECT TYPE: mechanical

NAME: CHEMISTRY KABOOM!

LOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT : Have the adventurers walk through a room that negates all magicallight sources, a rock with continual light and/or magical weapons, then thecharacters are forced to use torches. A side view of the room follows:

---\ /----\ /----\ /----\IN-> \--/ \--/ \--/ \________

--\ /--\ /--\ /--\OUT-> \____/ \____/ \____/ \_________

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Each dip in the gradually sloping floor is filled with chlorine gas, just enough tomake the adventurers gag and run to higher ground, the next rise in the floor,without thinking. In each of the vaulted ceilings there is hydrogen gas, andwhen hydrogen comes in contact with fire...KABOOM! Add in the amount ofdamage you feel is adequate. The sound from the explosion will cause deafnessfor 2d6 rounds. This is great for spellcasters! Of course all flammable materialswill catch on fire (this a nice way to burn the clothes right off the back of thepc's). See if the pc's figure it out by the third ceiling. If a couple of the pc'scontinue naked, add another trapped room that is extremely cold, and watchwhat happens.

NAME: Watch your step!LOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: The PC's fall down a chute into a large "checker board" room. You cahave as many tiles as you like. Each "square" is a pressure plate which has four

holes it. At the other end of the room, there is a lever which opens a door. Theproblem is, every pressure plate stepped on causes 4 spikes to shoot from theground on another tile! For example, stepping on tile 5 causes spikes to shootfrom tile 12. No pattern is required, just make sure the PC's aren't allowed tostand on the same tiles. This trap caused the demise of 3 out of 4 PC's in mylast campaign.


NAME: Wind blows, glass flowsLOCATION TYPE: RoomCONTEXT: Any large circular room. Thousands off glass shards (like brokenwindow panes) lying about the entire room. A pillar in the center of the room,with some valuable object sitting upon it.WARNING: Touching the object causes a wind to blow through the room, causingthe shards to jingle together.

TRIGGER TYPE: magical

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TRIGGER: taking the objectEFFECT TYPE: magicalEFFECT: A constant wind storm causes all the crystal shards to fly about theroom striking the party. Each party member in the room will take damage (3D6)per round until the object is put back or the party can leave the room.

4.Any+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++NAME: Leg TrapLOCATION TYPE: Stone floor


TRIGGER: Stepping on a pivoted stoneEFFECT TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT: When stepped on, one of the flagstones pivots on edge and drops theleg into a hole, breaking the knee on the pivoted stone and piercing the footwith the spike down in the hole. Then the spike, when stepped on, triggers acrossbow firing into the leg *under the floor*. The bolt is barbed along its lengthwith flange for feathers that stops its progress. It is also longer than the hole iswide, trapping the pierced leg. This is a bitch to remove, it takes a bolt cutter,hacksaw, or clever magic to remove the leg from the hole now that it is pinned.VARIANTS: The firing of the crossbow can a) ring the dinner bell in the room of

the monster next door, b) can start flooding the room with burning oil, orsewage, or water, or whatever. Or c) it can trigger a Magic Mouth that growlslike something hungry down in the hole. Good for panic. Or simply a springblade that leaves a stump looking for a pegleg.

NAME: The Ghostly Mother-In-LawLOCATION TYPE: Any

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TRIGGER TYPE: MagicalTRIGGER: Stepping on a certain location by any sentient non-undead creature.EFFECT: The victim is beset by a Ghost that is a Mother-In-Law with avengeance. No attacks, no damage, but life will be a misery. You can't turn herwith anything but a court order.

NAME: What Goes Up, Must Come DownLOCATION TYPE: Shaft

TRIGGER TYPE: magicalEFFECT TYPE: mechanicalEFFECT: The PC's see a shaft, like those in mines, with no ladder. looking up it,they see sharp spikes sticking out of a dead end. Looking down, they see a floorwith the shaft ending into a room maybe 20 feet down.

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dart shoots out from the wall on each side, leaving the wooden panels rippedoff. The darts shoot out at the height of one's hips.A few yards after that, again a pressure plate will cause the click, but this time,the dart pairs come at foot level, and one of the pair in front of the passingcharacter, one a bit behind, so he will go unharmed unless he tries to jumpaway.

NAME: The Altar Riddle TrapLOCATION TYPE: AnyCONTEXT: Send the players to a point in the game where they have to face aGUARDIAN.... a big creature with whom they should not have too much troubledefeating. After its destruction, the players will encounter an altar with threebowls on it. To proceed further into the adventure, they would need

traps-manual

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