D&D 5E I need help with my Kobold filled Dungeon!

Hey,

-Short Version-
I am working to construct a dungeon filled with Kobolds for future use and I am having trouble with how many traps I should use. So how many traps should I use in this 16 room dungeon?

-Long Version-
Alright so I am running a group online and we just had our first game in which a group of Kobolds kidnapped some commeners (Yes cliche I know) and now the adventurers are going to the Kobolds den. This Den has about 16 rooms and tons of tunnels, some of which are extremly small and only a Kobold (or a similar creature) could fit through. So now to the point, how many traps should I use in this dungeon? And what kind of traps should I use?

Thanks in advance!

What you need is Tucker's Kobolds: https://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/TuckersKobolds.pdf
5E comments: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?481255-Tuckers-Kobolds-5E-AKA-You-Little-Bastards!!!

I ran Tallows Deep for 5th level PCs. Its a 1E Dungeon adventure using goblins instead of Kobolds similar idea. Heres some conversion notes to give you and idea.

Goblin Tunnels

Goblin tunnels are small and cramped for medium sized creatures. They are treated as difficult terrain for medium sized creatures and are impassable for creatures of lare size or bigger.
While in a Goblin Tunnel creatures of medium size have disadvantage to hit and grant advantage on an opponent’s attack rolls.

Arrow Slits and Murder Holes
These are treated as ¾ cover and grant a +5 bonus to AC and dexterity saving throws. In addition the goblins gain a +2 bonus to hit while using these locations. The goblins have concealed them very well often using shadowed areas or painted canvas with peep holes. A DC 20 perception check notices them. Goblins behind the murder holes gain advantage on their stealth roles.

Alert
The skull Crusher tribe has been well drilled by Mgoglub and while in Tallows deep they have been trained to raise the alarm. A goblin will always try to alert the rest of them and certain spells such as fireball or thunderwave automatically alert the tribe.
The Goblins will activate the war drums which can be heard echoing through the mine. While on alert the PCs have disadvantage on stealth rolls as the Goblins are actively looking for intruders.

Location Conversion Notes.
6. Pit Trap. This pit trap is very hard to notice requiring a DC 20 perception check to notice. Should the PCs stand on it a DC 20 dexterity save is required. Failing the dexterity save results in 1d6 falling damage. In the bottom of the pit however there is a shrieker which will scream outputting the caverns on alert status.

8. Corridor of Traps. Each trap is 10’ deep and is a spiked pit trap. A DC 20 perception check notices something is up while a DC 20 investigation check is required to find the mechanism. The DC 20 dexterity save is required to avoid falling in the trap which deals 2d10 points of damage.

12. Water trap. The goblins flood this section of the dungeon as they have diverted an underground river. A DC 20 strength save is required to avoid being swept away. Success indicates the PCs have managed to grab hold of something although if they want to move while the water is flowing a DC20 athletics check is required. If the PCs can hold their breath long enough are swept into an underground cavern. Those who cannot drown.

19. Pit of spikes
This corridor has a pool of water with spikes visible. On each side is a narrow ledge requiring a DC 20 acrobatics (with advantage) check to navigate. Behind the walls on the ledges however are 3” holes with a goblin behind them. A DC 15 perception check looking specifically at the walls notices them followed by a spear point (Goblins get automatic surprise). Anyone struck by a spear must while on the ledge must make a DC 20 acrobatics check without advantage if in combat) or fall onto the spears taking an additional 2d10 damage.

22. Rat Room. This area conatins a sloped floor covered in a mixture of molasses and honey. Under the goo is oil. PCs standing here must make a DC20 dexterity saving throw or slide down the slope and falling 30; at the end of it (3d6 bludgeoning damage) landing in area 22A.
22A. There are 20 giant rats here. Due to the goo covering the PCs the rats gain advantage to hit. IN the Rat lair there is a +1 short sword.

23. Gate Trap. DC 20 save to avoid being hit with crashing gates (3d6 damage). There is a false ceiling containing murder holes and 18 Goblins. The false ceiling allows the Goblins to make stealth checks (with advantage)

24. Chimney. This chimney is easy to climb (DC10) but there are 2 Goblins at the top who throw large rocks down the chimney. A DC 20 dexterity save is required (with disadvantage) to avoid being hit for 3d6 damage. Any PC hit must make a DC 20 athletics check (with disadvantage) or get knocked back down the chimney for an additional 6d6 points of damage. The Goblins only have 2 large rocks.

25. Gondola Trap. The Goblins have rigged up a cage to a pulley system to get across this room which is above a pool of water. Should intruders get in the cage the and the Goblins are alerted the Goblins can shut the doors using poles and drop the cage into the water. The water contains a giant eel and the cage has a 20% chance of hitting the Eel for 3d6 points of damage making it very angry. The cage can be broken out of with a DC 25 athletics’ check.

27. Crush the Skull Arena. This area is dedicated to the Goblin deity Maglubiyet. Eac square here has a symbol on it representing one of the Goblins watching behind arrow slits. They have rigged up a bolder above each symbol that can be dropped on the “competitors” below. There are 30 Goblins here but they will engage the PCs if they escape the area in the Goblin Tunnels.
Boulders +7 t to hit, 2d10 damage DC 15 dex save for half damage.

29. Goblin Common Room. There are 16 Goblins here behind half cover (+4 AC). One of them is suicidally brave and charges the PCs screaming “Maglubiyet”

30. Maglubiyets Shrine. This area has 4 Goblins and a Goblin Priest serving Maglubiyet.

31. Grunth. Grunth is Grishogs steward and he has the honour of facing the PCs in battle. He is a Goblin Boss.

31. Swarm. Grishog the Goblin Warlord is here (Use stats for a small Hobgoblin Captain) He will order the Skullcrusher tribe to Swarm the PCs and he has 84 Goblins here. Only a few can engage the PCs at a time however. Run this as a series of smaller encounters but with no respite between the waves. Each wave is 20 Goblins Once the last goblin falls roll initiative for the next wave. Grishog will come out on the 4th round.
Each PCs also gets the benefit of the hordebreaker ability of the hunter ranger. A Hunter Ranger with the hordebreaker ability get an additional attack.

Bladecoder said:

. So how many traps should I use in this 16 room dungeon?

Click to expand...

There's no hard & fast rule, nor even any soft & loose rule of thumb. So, just go with whatever multiple of 16 feels right to you...

One trap. Enough to remind the players that there are traps, but not so many that they spend hours testing every square of ground and play gets repetitive and boring. Place it late on, maybe guarding the tunnel leading to the boss treasure room.

Here's a scheme: the boss kobold has his own room where he normally lives. It's reached by a normal tunnel. A side tunnel from that leads to his treasure room but it's trapped to prevent the ordinary kobolds sneaking in and stealing his treasure. They know about the trap, which is a lethal masonry trap, and don't use the side tunnel, so it's dusty and looks abandoned. The boss has a secret door from his own room to the treasure room, but the ordinary kobolds don't know about the secret door; they believe that the boss knows a secret way of disarming the trap in the tunnel but they've never been able to discover that secret because there isn't one. Actually, the boss can disarm the trap if he needs to, but only from inside the treasure room. There is a rotating wall sconce that connects to the trap through levers and rods buried behind the masonry (inaccessible to rogues with thieves' tools) to enable/disable it.

If cornered in his own room, the boss may slip through the secret door into his treasure room, grab the treasure, turn the sconce to disable the trap and escape down the disused tunnel.

There are two kinds of traps you should be considering here:

Passive traps, which are left in key areas and used to protect areas when creatures aren't around. Such as Pit traps and locks that have poison coated spring-needles.

Active traps, which are mechanisms and defenses that creatures have to actively employ and used against the PC's in engagements. These are way more fun. Imagine a Kobold Guard pulling a lever and dumping people into a pit. All of the trap goodness, with almost none of the opportunity to search for them.

Ideally, you will sparingly use the passive kind near the entrance of the lair, around the prisoners, and possibly around the bosses room or treasure room. They are important areas that would logically have extra protection. Every other room should have an active trap, perhaps even two or three of them in the big rooms, because Kobolds are cowards and will use every dirty trick they can in order to give them the edge in combat.


Also, you may be interested in some discussion about the Kobolds featured in Volo's Guide:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...sters/page25&p=6993281&viewfull=1#post6993281
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...sters/page26&p=6994219&viewfull=1#post6994219
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...sters/page26&p=6995329&viewfull=1#post6995329

Don't forget 'alarm' traps, that signal deeper levels of the cave about an intrusion.

This gives a few permutations:

1) Players trip it - they hear alarm bells and shouting! The drama increases.

- Do they charge in, and try to take advantage before defenses are fully set up?
- Do they flee, and try to come back later and be better prepared?
- Do they grind it out with hit and run?

2) Players find the trap and disarm it. Reward them!

- They get surprise on the first encounter or two.
- They fight lower levels of enemies in some places than otherwise.
- They can get surprisingly far with stealth and blitzkrieg attacking.
- Some battles become 'try to prevent an enemy from getting away and warning everyone'.

If you think about the defenses as tactical this way, then you can create some really interesting room shapes and hallway configurations that make for a much more fun experience than corridor/room/corridor.

I’d say use them when they’re meaningful – a few doors, too-obvious bits of treasure lying around, that corridor that has all those bones strewn about (or alternately, that nice, well-swept corridor in the other direction), and during key encounters (like putting scything blade traps between a group of kobold archers and the PCs).

Puzzles might also be good to throw in there to provide variety while still maintaining the theme. They can unlock access to treasure, or a shortcut, but I tend to avoid using puzzles that they have to solve to proceed unless I absolutely have to.

Kobolds are trap masters and they build traps habitually. Even simple arrangements of things should be a trap. E.g. the old bucket-on-top-of-the-door trick. Or, why store your sundries in a nice stable stack when you could build a precarious pile? And I'm sure that kobold children play with marbles, and I'll bet their parents chide them for cleaning up the marbles and praise them for leaving them sprawled out on a stair. Speaking of stairs, kobold maintenance crews make sure that every fourth stair is too weak to hold the weight of anything even slightly heavier than a kobold, so use caution when transporting a heavy bucket of offal which you intend to put on top of a door.

Listen to [MENTION=30438]Ralif Redhammer[/MENTION]. Don't just put in traps because. They should be there for a reason, and the kobolds that live there have to live with the traps. That means they can't get in the way of daily life.

If they do or would get in the way of daily life, then they would be bypassed, disabled or circumvented by the kobolds themselves. Paths through/around the tripwire and pressure plates would become so regular detecting them would be trivial.

As for Tucker's Kobolds... read it for inspiration, but I would never suggest someone actually setup play that way. It's... well, goes back to the days of adversarial DMing and IMO really isn't the best way to create an adventure that players enjoy.