Two Dozen Nasty DM Tricks

[Humanaut]

I almost fell for #9 once, the DM BBwizard had made a simulacrum of himself and sent it after us, when we killed it, it turned to snow and we knew we were duped... but ahh... something glows magic! I try on the necklace w/o thinking... ah! Not quite dead with party help.

I'll have to think awhile for RBDM traps i've used.

 

[cjais]

Sorry if my initial post came across as thread-crapping. I'm aware that some people find this style of play exciting.

What I prefer is more mundane, "realistic" traps. Traps that can be circumvented by the actual inhabitants of the dungeon, and traps meant to actually impede, kill or trap invaders, in contrast to being designed to annoy or mess with the player's expectations.

If the inhabitants can make whole rooms that reverse gravity, or go to the lengths of poisoning the mechanism for disarming a trap, I don't see why they just don't make traps that are much more lethal to begin with. I don't like when traps hinder the inhabitant's movement and escape options.

Most of all, I dislike traps that rely overly on magic. I don't see the fun or excitement in running over characters with illusions and petrifying basilisks. However, some of these suggestions are quite good. I like the more mundane tricks with pit traps and movable walls/ceilings etc.

 

[Gunton The Terrible]

Ambush room

I designed a room to ambush my PCs. When they were adventuring through a dungeon and came to an obvious liar there were two ways to go. A "Y" intersection with an obvious lair one way and a typical tunnel the other.

The entrance of the lair resembled a two story castle gate so it was well fortified with archers on the second floor. Not very inviting.

The second tunnel ran some 70 feet to the ambush room. The humanoid tribe behind the gate watches the party go by and alerts the welcoming party at the end of the other tunnel.

The room at the end of the tunnel was 5 by 10 squares. The party enters through an open archway in the NW corner. A bare dusty 2 story room (maybe a few dried blood stains on the floor) with a single door in the SE corner. The trap consists of mechanical trap designed to give the ambushers a sever advantage. The ambushers are positioned behind arrow slits on the N and S wall on the second floor. The arrow slits are covered.

The mechanical trap springs when the false door in the SE corner is pulled. Three things are set off.
1) A 10 foot spiked pit opens in front of the false door.
2) A stone slab the size one square falls from the ceiling from the last hallway square at the entrance. Those making their reflex save had the choice of rolling into the room or the hallway.
3) The covers on the arrow slits fall away. Eight archers and two spell casters get the surprise round.

Roll for initiative!!

I threw this at the party with the idea that at least one PC should die. It was a simple non-magic way for the humanoids to remove unwanted pests trying to invade their home.

The PCs did surprise me. Not one died. Of course they were wetting themselves which was reward enough.

The pit offered some cover for those willing to dive in and at their level the damage was just a nuisance at best. The PC that fell in decided to buff up before coming out. Good for him, but the rest of the party was running around the room screaming for him to come out. Through obscuring mists, force walls, and shape rock ( or rock to mud, I forget which) the party managed to escape through the second floor area and found them selves a back way into the lair.

They still talk about that battle some two years+ later.

 

[Aberzanzorax]

You gave me an idea!

The "triple portcullis" (assumption is 3rd ed, but could be adapted for 4e)

Trigger: a magic fountain in the middle of the room (it has an alarm spell triggering the trap). Who can resist a magic fountain?

Portcullis the first: the entry door.

Portcullis the second: the exit door.

Portcullis the third (the pain in the butt one): this is a horizontal grate with 3 by 3 inch holes. It falls on the players, including extra weight. Falling a mere 10 feet, it does 1d6 damage.

In 3e allow a str check with "aid another" from everyone in the room to hold it up. In 4e, I'd assume a skill challenge might be warranted here.

So the players now are left holding up a heavy metal portcullis, or, having failed the check, are stuck with a mere 2 feet of clearance...i.e. they are prone.


Then, kobold rogues, goblin rogues or somesuch belay down from the ceiling and start stabbing the players through the grates. Their extra weight warrants a new strength check with a +2 to the difficulty. Players have a -4 to hit if prone (or if not prone, they are busy holding up the grate, lose their dex bonus, and must make str checks every time they are injured).

The attackers have a +4 to hit.

On top of this, both sides benefit from a +4 to AC from cover...yielding a totaly of no penalty to hit from the attackers, but a total of -8 to hit for the prone pcs.

EDIT: forgot to remember the +1 for "higher ground" of the guys on top.

To make it more deadly:
1. Add spikes (poisoned or not) to the falling portcullis.
2. Add alchemist fire or some other grenade attack that isn't affected by cover.
3. Add a creature that can attack in such a small space: a swarm of rats for example.
4. Add a creature that can move back and forth: Kobold vampires or ghosts. Ghosts wouldn't have to worry about the cover, while vampires could gaseous form through the grate.
5. Instead of just one grate, make two, with the top one having much larger holes. Then give the attackers reach weapons. Players can't fight back unless they have crossbows or reach weapons.

 

[merelycompetent]

The "triple portcullis" (assumption is 3rd ed, but could be adapted for 4e)...

I like!

Other options to consider:
* Add a lightning para-elemental (or substitute another electric shock generating critter) dropping into the room once the annoying portcullis falls. That should generate some penalties to saves vs. electrical damage.
* Make the room 2' deep in water. That should make the "clearance" mentioned a bit more exciting. (Look up the rules for holding your breath ahead of time...)
* The portcullis falling unleashes a swarm of vermin. Gotta hate it when you're prone, pinned, and just kicked over a fire ant nest.
* The portcullis is actually a killer mimic.
* The portcullis has Magic Mouth (pre-4E spell; 4E ritual) cast on it. As soon as it falls, it starts screaming, "I've Got Him! I've Got Him!!" in Orcish.
* Insult + injury: Portcullis falls on you, followed by part of the weakened and crumbling ceiling.

 

[Aberzanzorax]

Ha! Nice!!!

My favorite was the room 2' deep in water. It's both a clue and a hazard...the best combo, so players have to contend with it, but don't feel cheated with its' existence.

 

[Wik]

I really like the scorpion zombie idea, but I know in 4e, that could really just be a variation on an existing monster, and not really "RBDM". However, the contact poison on a harmless trap is pretty much PERFECT. I'll need to steal that one, eventually.

Great thread.

 

[El Mahdi]

(Only a friendly post - I'm not picking a fight - just as I didn't think you were either. And not trying to convince you of anything, just making an observation.)

What I prefer is more mundane, "realistic" traps. Traps that can be circumvented by the actual inhabitants of the dungeon, and traps meant to actually impede, kill or trap invaders, in contrast to being designed to annoy or mess with the player's expectations. ...

But wouldn't a bad guy designing a trap based on how typical adventurers think, thereby leading themselves into trouble, be doing just that? Exploiting the tendancies of their adversaries (sic. Adventurers) is exactly what smart bad guys/monsters do.

Seems like most of these "dirty tricks" do just that. Most of those tricks leave nobody to really be blamed except the adventureres themselves for walking right into them (because of greed, curiosity, etc. typical character motivations). Doesn't seem overly mean to me. Almost all of those traps/tricks are easily circumvented by the inhabitants/bad guy simply because: they know they are there.

Most of those traps and tricks are "designed to impede, kill or trap invaders". It's just that the players ruin the bad guys well laid plans and escape death despite them. For me, that's the entire spirit of D&D right there (along with killing things and taking their stuff).

As a DM I love stuff like this. However, they aren't something I use all of the time. Traps and tricks like these are something I might only use once a session, or even every other session. And, I won't allow them to turn into a TPK, or even, usually, a character death. But, I guarantee the players will remember it for a very long time. They do become legendary stories of the players to be talked about for a very long time. That to me is a definite win-win, for players and DM alike.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Do people really find these "tricks" exciting? I find most of these so metagamey and reliant on circumstantial knowledge of the player characters (and their spells), it becomes far more about the DM screwing the players over, than about the enemy trying to foil their attempts.

I find a number of them a step removed from "Rocks fall, everyone dies" myself. Its the typical grognard "guess what I'm thinking" style of adversarial DM'sing that I detest. "Oh, you use a 10 foot pole to probe for random pit traps? It now sets off a pit trap 10 feet from the pressure point." "You search for traps? You set off the explosive runes" "You cast detect magic? You cause the invisible explosive runes to glow, reading them...."

Good job fatbeard. You abused your god powers. *golf clap*.

 

[Orius]

Do people really find these "tricks" exciting? I find most of these so metagamey and reliant on circumstantial knowledge of the player characters (and their spells), it becomes far more about the DM screwing the players over, than about the enemy trying to foil their attempts.

Yup. You have to be a DM to really appreciate them.