Need some appropriate traps for my kobold lair

[NewJeffCT]

Until a party gets teleport or pass wall, it is REALLY easy to kill PCs.

Well, I want to put the fear of death in them - just not kill them.

 

[Tom Servo]

If I recall correctly the old ad&d boxed set Dragon Mountain has a mountain full of pretty wily kobolds.

Funny story: Again if I recall correctly, the module had a trap that was basically a bear trap that fell from the ceiling. The trigger was meant to fall on the character's head then snap shut on the neck. When I ran it the character that set off the trap was a minotaur (we had just gotten the Complete Book of Humanoids), the trap fell....and then just sort of balanced on his horns for a second. lol Okay, okay, old man story over.

Anyways, there might be something to salvage from that resource.

 

[am181d]

Well, I want to put the fear of death in them - just not kill them.

Sure! My general rule of thumb is: Start with a trap that's really evil and essentially unbeatable, and then poke 2-3 holes in it. Ideally, you want a couple of different ways the PCs can work around the trap, so the PCs don't get stuck. (My rule of thumb is that at least one should be an elegant "duh" solution and one should be a skillable solution.)

 

[Thunderfoot]

Sorry, traps come in two flavors, those that are meant to kill and those that are meant to maim in order to slow the party down so they can be killed later.

Any trap that is meant to be defeat-able, isn't a trap, it's puzzle.

Good ideas for booby traps can be found in several real life historical examples, the jungle traps of the Japanese, Koreans and Vietnamese of WWII, Korean and Vietnam respectively. Trench traps of the German, French and English troops of WWI. The temple and pyramid traps of the ancient Egyptians and the list goes on.

The traps were there for a reason, to kill. Anything else is just plain fantasy.

Good ideas for converting traps to RPG stats include high damage, poisons and the like. You kobolds should be giving it the old college try as it were. Yes, the PCs are heroes, just make sure they earn the title. Near lethal traps include scything blades, arrow traps, explosion/magical tripwire traps, naptha grenades attached to a tripwire/sparking system (chance for trap failure).

 

[howandwhy99]

From my AD&D PHB notes:

TRAPS, TRICKS, AND ENCOUNTERS
“During the course of an adventure, you will undoubtedly come across various forms of traps and tricks, as well as encounter monsters of one sort or another. While your DM will spend considerable time and effort to make all such occurrences effective, you and your fellow players must do everything within your collective power to make them harmless, unsuccessful or profitable. On the other hand, you must never allow preparedness and caution to slow your party and make it ineffective in adventuring. By dealing with each category here, the best approach to negating the threat of a trap, trick, or encounter can be developed.”

Traps – “Traps are aimed at Confining, Channeling, Injuring, or Killing characters.

Confining Traps – “are typified by areas which are closed by bars or stone blocks, although some might be pits with valves which close and can only be opened by weight above. Most confinement areas will have another entrance by which a capturing or killing creature(s) will enter later. It is usually impossible to avoid such areas, as continual minute scrutiny makes exploration impossible and assures encounters with wandering/patrolling monsters. When confined, prepare for attack, search for ways out, and beware of being channeled.”

Channeling Traps – “are often related to confining ones. Walls that shift and doors which allow entry but not egress are typical. While they cannot be avoided, such traps can be reacted to much as a confining trap is. However, they also pose the problem of finding a way back. Careful mapping is a good remedy.”

Injuring Traps – “traps which wear the strength of the party away prior to the attaining of their goal, are serious. Typical injuring traps are blades which scythe across a corridor when a stone in the floor is stepped on, arrows which fire when a trip rope is yanked, or spears released when a door is opened. Use of a pole or spear as a prod ahead might help with these, and likewise such a prod could discover pits in the floor. The safest remedy is to have some healing at hand – potions or spells – so as to arrive relatively undamaged.”

Killing Traps – “are typical of important areas or deep dungeon levels. Deep pits with spikes, poisoned missiles, poisoned spikes, chutes to fire pits, floors which tilt to deposit the party into a pool of acid or before an angry red dragon, ten ton blocks which fall from the ceiling, or locked rooms which flood are examples of killing areas. Again, observation and safety measures (poles, spikes thrown ahead, rope, etc.) will be of some help, and luck will have to serve as well.”

Tricks – So many tricks can be used that it is quite impossible to thoroughly detail any reasonable cross-section here.” They are limited only by imagination, so players should rely on their own guile. “Tricks are best countered by forethought and discernment. They can be dealt with by the prepared and careful party, but rashness can lead to real trouble. Your DM will be using his imagination and wit to trick you, and you must use your faculties to see through or at least partially counter such tricks.”

Irksome – designed to bother characters.

Misleading – Often paired with irksome. “Assume that there are several rooms with a buzzing sound discernible to those who listen at doors and/or enter them. Does this cause the party to prepare for battle only to find nothing? Or is there some trick of acoustics which allows sound from a nearby hive of giant wasps to permeate the rooms? In the latter, the party might grow careless and enter yet another ‘buzzing’ room unprepared so as to be prepared by angry wasps.”

Illusions – “can annoy, delay, mislead or kill a party. There can be illusionary creatures, pits, fires, walls and so on. But consider an illusion of a pile of gold cast upon a pit of vipers."

Confuse / Strand – “Slanting (or sloping) passages, space distortion areas, and teleporters…” “They foul up maps, take the group to areas they do not wish to enter, and so on. The same is true of sinking / rising (elevator) rooms, sliding rooms, and chutes.” “Consider a chute at the bottom of a pit, or one at the end of a corridor which slopes upwards – so that the effect is to deposit the party on the original level but seemingly one deeper. Rooms can turn so as to make directions wrong, secret doors can open into two areas if they are properly manipulated, and seemingly harmless things can spell death.”

 

[NewJeffCT]

Thanks HowandWhy - good summary.

 

[aco175]

I always like traps that limit or force movement into area of other traps or monsters. Say the kbolds have a pit with a cube or other slime in it and have a way of pushing pcs into it. Maybe something like a random swinging log, this way they take damage and get pushed a number of squares. Maybe the log is at a higher height than the koblods and only affects medium creatures.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Thanks - good idea.