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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 4687632" data-attributes="member: 4937">More Nasty DM Tricks1) A Troll cleric uses his spells to grant himself resistance to fire and acid attacks.2) Secret door covered by tapestry which is infested with yellow mold.3) Otherwise easily detectable trap on floor hidden by straw, thick mist, or standing water.  Players that find means of removing concealment before progressing much more likely to avoid trap.4) Variation on above.  Deep pit trap in middle of room with large amount of standing water.  When trap is triggered (lever is pulled?) water drains into pit, sucking anyone without secure footing into pit.  Variant on this is lever opens door out of room, but sends flood down into lower level sweeping the players with it.   Variant on this is players are on lower level, and opening door sends flood down to this level.   Another variant is a 'funnel trap', where floor of room tilts toward pit.  This is most interesting when a flying creature simultaneously enters room, provoking fight on wet, sloped, slippery surface leading to pit.5) Players are investigating kobold/goblin lair in living cave passage.  Further into cave, kobolds/goblins have built a dam to provide power to trip hammers for their forges (possibly heard as repeated clanging sound when entering lair).  When goblins are alerted to intrusion (gaurds live to reach main settlement or sound warning trumpet), clanging sound stops because goblins have diverted water from retaining pond down passage the PC's are in.  PC's must find side passage above oncoming flood to make further progress, and risk either being swept over waterfall at lair entrance or trapped in corridor filled with water.6) Frame job.  Decietful evil cult creates easily found but false hideout and temple to other evil god, and drops hints in PC's path to help them find it.  When PC's raid temple, some patsies are killed, a few figures try to escape through carefully arranged escape routes, and evidence linking prominent evil temple in community to recent nefarious plots and murders is found.  Other evil temple is innocent (at least of this) and PC's charging headfirst into their headquarters will quickly find themselves over their heads.  Figuring out that they've been duped, and providing evidence of this may lead PC's to having very strange allies for a time.7) Trap door in ceiling dumps green slime on unwary below.8) Room contains a few large stone pillars, a porticlus (electrified), and a circlular stone table.  Investigating table finds four square recesses in it, and a cursory search of room finds 4 wooden poles that fit recesses in table.  Placing poles in table allow it to be used as simple capstan to lift porticlus.  This is sufficient puzzle for very novice parties.  For advanced parties, porticlus leads to dead end room containing nasty death trap.  Actual exit from room is trap door in floor revealed by pushing one of the stone pillars to side, which can be found only by a most careful search.  The later is what I actually used in dungeon.9) Players encounter circular room with mosiac floor and carved walls.  Stepping more than two steps into room causes a person to be attacked by magic missile/scorching ray/lightning bolt, and normal progress is thwarted at similar intervals.  The room is a ballroom, and floor must be danced across using a particularly famous dance step (requiring a perform check or multiple perform checks, armor check penalties apply) to traverse successfully.  Some clues to nature of puzzle might be found by examining room and making appropriate Knowledge check (geography to recall pattern on floor resembles folk dance native to area, heraldry to note significance of room, for example).10) Variation on the 'Beggar's Puzzle' mentioned earlier.  Players pass through a corridor with two sets of quite strong doors into a central region containing coffers of gold and other wealth.  Although the wealth seems to have no catch, the whole area is haunted by the spirit of a greedy miser who has the power to animate all the doors leading from the chamber, and exit from the area proves impossible (or at least, beyond the likely means of the characters at their current level) until not only do they replace the treasure, but 'donate' some of their own.  Only then will the 'Beggar with No Hands' allow them to pass on to a new area.  To add insult to injury, because the central nature of the 'Beggar' area, the party may have to traverse it multiple times (hopefully developing a real hatred for the 'Beggar' before obtaining the means to revenge themselves).</blockquote>

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