Tell me about a cool room in your dungeon...

[fredramsey]

Ok. I'm putting together an old-fashioned doesn't-have-to-make-any-sense dungeon, and am looking for cool ideas for rooms to snag

You don't have to give monster stats, or monsters at all, it's up to you. Just describe the room, and tell me what makes it "cool".

 

[Chaldfont]

Here's one I used.

A round, domed chamber 30 ft. in diameter. Metal spikes (like the blades of polearms) protrude from the walls of the dome. The PCs enter from one side and on the opposite side is an exit. The floor is covered by a thick, knee-high layer of creepy fog. You can give easy Listen checks to hear a soft humming coming from the floor.

Under the fog, the floor is spinning at a ridiculous speed. Anyone trying to cross the room by traversing the room is thrown violently (in a random direction, use d12 and refer to a clock) into the spikes (use an appropriate CR spiked pit trap for damage rules). Clever PCs can try to climb around the walls using the spikes and hand-holds, but this should be a difficult climb check with the risk of taking damage from the spikes. Remember that any PC who fails a climb check by five or more falls to the floor only to be thrown back into the spikes.

This trap room works best if PC levels are too low for flying magic, but use of spider climb or levitation should be rewarded. For added spice, put poison or impale a couple of zombies on the spikes. If you are nice, you could put a lever on the wall by the exit to halt the spinning floor. If you are mean, you can hide the lever and/or trap it in some way (I prefer contact poison and/or sovereign glue in these situations).

 

[fredramsey]

Outstanding! I love it. Just what I was looking for, thanks!

 

[fredramsey]

Sharing

Ok, maybe more people will share if I do

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The stone archway leading into this high-ceilinged room bears ornate swirled carvings. The capstone of the arch is a carved in the shape of eight arrows radiating from a central point - the symbol of Chaos. In the center of the room is a human skeleton standing on its own, with a scimitar in one hand and holding a steel shield in the other, with a shortbow and quiver on its back. But the scene is stranger still: an identical skeleton stands on the back wall as though it were a floor!

Once the characters enter the room, the skeletons animate and attack.

You now can see that there is a skeleton standing on each of the four walls, as well as the ceiling! The room is 20'x20', with a 20' high ceiling.

The skeleton on the floor moves to engage you in melee, while the other 5 skeletons draw their bows and prepare to fire. There is a 5'x5' trap door on the ceiling. It is closed. Roll for Initiative!

Anyone who touches a wall can easily shift their gravity to that wall. Same with the ceiling. Make the characters figure this out on their own. The skeletons will not leave their initial "plane of gravity".

Once the skeletons are defeated, the characters can open the trap door on the ceiling. They can climb up (gravity shifts to normal once they are in the shaft) to room (wherever).

The skeletons weapons are serviceable, but mundane. There is no other treasure.

 

[Chaldfont]

That one's pretty cool. I like it.

Here's another short one. Sneaky kobolds stage a short ambush and then flee down a corridor. Rash PCs chase after them (don't they always?) but once they reach a certain point, the kobolds release two gates (in front and behind) to cage them in. The kobolds then pull another lever to open a chute, spilling several cockatrices down upon their victims. Then the kobolds use cover to keep shooting at the PCs with ranged weapons.

Small PCs can climb up the chute, which leads back behind the kobolds' position. Strong PCs can lift the gates.

If the PCs get defeated, the kobolds use magic to restore them in order to steal their equipment, but not before restraining them somehow.

 

[fredramsey]

Cool. I had a similar idea:

Dead-end corridor that lures the characters into it.

A kobold (or something else) steps in behind the PCs with an Iron Flask.

That's when they release the Gelatinous Cube.

 

[Terwox]

Silly one I ran once:
There's a lever at the end of a room.
Search check DC30 to see the floor can fall away, DC24 to see the ceiling is has a trapdoor. Character with the scent ability get a +8 to the search check, gnomes with their noses get a +2.
Pulling the lever makes the trapdoor in the ceiling open up, which makes 3000 silver coins pour out slowly, over the course of 5 rounds.
Pulling the lever also makes acid bubble up from the floor. The floor is eaten through and collapses in one round.
The pool is five feet deep, and melts the silver down instantly when it falls in the pool.
The mission, of course, is to save as much silver as possible in the tiny amount of time.
You could also always label the level "Treasure."
Hallways into the room keep their footing, although people who stand in the room should get an easy reflex save to get out of the way before the room collapses. (Under DC10 I'd imagine, if they don't say they get out of the way when the acid bubbles up.)

 

[Stormborn]

Some ideas I have used in the past:

Potion Closet: especially appropriate near a wizard's lair. A small pantry that contains numerous mutlicolored botteles and vials, none of which are labeled, all of which are sealed. Most of the potions have minor comical effects (skin or hair turns blue etc.) that wear off in 24 hours with little in game impact, others contain things like tiny elementals, poisions, or useful potions. Situate this in some area where the PCs have very little time to search or analize the contents and see what happens.

Not Undead Guards: After having the PCs fight zombies or skeletons at an earlier level I had a room guarded by constructs that were made to look like skeletons. This is especially good against a group that has worked out tactics for dealing with undead. Won't slow them down much, but a roudn or two can be a big difference depending on what else is going on.

The Giant's Bedroom: Oversized furniture and items (all to big for the PCs to use) and the Giant's pet lurking under the bed.

 

[fredramsey]

Cool. Love the Giant's Bedroom - simple idea but could spawn all sorts of cool situations...

Some ideas I have used in the past:

Potion Closet: especially appropriate near a wizard's lair. A small pantry that contains numerous mutlicolored botteles and vials, none of which are labeled, all of which are sealed. Most of the potions have minor comical effects (skin or hair turns blue etc.) that wear off in 24 hours with little in game impact, others contain things like tiny elementals, poisions, or useful potions. Situate this in some area where the PCs have very little time to search or analize the contents and see what happens.

Not Undead Guards: After having the PCs fight zombies or skeletons at an earlier level I had a room guarded by constructs that were made to look like skeletons. This is especially good against a group that has worked out tactics for dealing with undead. Won't slow them down much, but a roudn or two can be a big difference depending on what else is going on.

The Giant's Bedroom: Oversized furniture and items (all to big for the PCs to use) and the Giant's pet lurking under the bed.

 

[Mystery Man]

A silver octogon room with no features save a bass relief carving on each wall of a face. One per wall on seven walls the eighth wall is the door. Each face is expressing a different emotion; happy (smiling), sad (crying), thinking (frown) and so on. Searching the room no matter how high of a roll will reveal nothing. The walls, faces and floor are seamless.