What are your favorite traps?

[Sejs]

Call me old fashioned, but I'll always be a fan of the water-filled pit with something hostile in it trap.

Gelatinous cube or other ooze.. undead.. you name it. You're in a pit, you're drowning, and you're being eatten. What's there not to love?

 

[Dog Moon]

I like spell traps that work with the surrounding area/monsters. For example, a rune on the floor that casts Inflict Light Wounds whenever someone steps on that square is cool if put there by a Necromancer to use for his Undead minions. Even better are those who can Bull Rush others onto it. That way, you have an offensive and defensive trap in one.

I also thought it would be awesome/wrong to have a 5' wide and 40' long bridge leading into your castle. On each square is a Summon Monster Trap. I mean seriously, how wrong is that? The first guy charges forward and triggers every single square, summoning 8 monsters. Presumably several people are charging at once [though I suppose it wouldn't necessarily work that way in Dnd], so the next couple of people do the same and they're surrounded by a horde of summoned creatures.

Things like that.

 

[Treebore]

Another vote for mean old Grimtooth here. That series of books is the best resource a trap-happy GM could ever have.

My own favorite is nasty because it anticipates what the PCs will do, and uses their paranoia against them.

Spoiler

The trap has a clearly visible plaque on the wall, and a lever next to the plaque which reads "For a case of fire, don't pull lever." There's also a silent pressure plate that gets triggered whenever anybody gets close enough to read the plaque. Basically, the lever actually disarms the trap, so characters who follow the plaque's advice are fine. Those who assume the plaque is trying to mislead them let the trap go off- and when it does it's lethal. It slams plates of solid steel down on either side of the corridor the lever and plaque are in, and douses the area between the plates with oil right before starting up flame jets to burn everything there to a crisp.

The trap is called "For a Case of Fire."

I have 4 of the old Grimmy's myself, but I was talking about the 3E version of Grimmy done by Necromancer. It dissapointingly got no nominations in the ENNIEs either, even though it was submitted.

 

[Lord Zardoz]

One of my favorites is to have a number of archers behind cover that is lined with spikes, usually a large spiked log. Directly in front of the cover is a pit trap. The players charge forward to get at the archers, fall into the pit, and then the archers simply roll the cover in on top of the poor bastards in the pit, causing crushing damage, and trapping them beneath the heavy spiked object.

Another good one is a 10 foot deep pit, filled with say, 7 feet of water, and a grate that slams shut so that the top of the grate is just beneath the top of the water. The grate should be heavy (say 60 pounds). Basically, the player in the trap cannot easily lift the thing because his feet cannot touch the ground. The other added benefit of using a grate is that those with spears can stab at the guy as he drowns.

Both traps are very low tech, so you can get away with having them in dungeons populated by very low level monsters. And they will both trap the victim for a few rounds, putting him out of action. The first one can cause a good amount of damage without being stupidly lethal. The second trap is both more lethal and more scalable. Drowning is roughly just as dangerous to a 9th level character as it is to a 2nd level character. It will also put the player in jeopardy in a way that the players will most likley try very hard to get someone in there to help haul him out of the grate.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[paradox42]

I have 4 of the old Grimmy's myself, but I was talking about the 3E version of Grimmy done by Necromancer. It dissapointingly got no nominations in the ENNIEs either, even though it was submitted.

Yes, I know. I got the new one the instant I was aware it was finally in stores. By and large I like what they did in the rules changes and updates to the trap mechanics, but sadly my PCs (in both games) are beyond the "trap-filled dungeon" stage and wouldn't get much XP for traps anyway, so I'm not likely to use them again anytime soon. Book's still worth having.

And I agree on the ENnies, both for that and for the IH Epic Bestiary. Oh well.

 

[Agent Oracle]

Aces and eights with a 3? Assuming a pair of aces and a pair of eights, that is also 21.

D'oh!

Oh well, They never noticed that. The "dead man's hand" refers to a hand of cards that is supposedly phenominal bad luck, s it was, it would have lead the players to a deadfall with a skeletal knight at the bottom.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

My favorite 'trap' is something a major part of the dungeon needs to be constructed around..
a dungeon that should have an ample supply of bad guys.

The trap itself is simple... altho if you choose to use it, make sure to have your exit strategy planned!

Midway through a well occupied dungeon is a 100' long hallway.. huge! Columns and statues of valiant heroes, murals of dashing deeds and bloody combat... all the usual trappings of a main hallway leading to a throne room.

At the end of the door are two massive stone doors.. huge things.

They swing into the room beyond and are apparently locked and barred.

On the doors, in an ancient tongue, reads the words "The Doors of Perseverance. Those who enter will be rewarded beyond thier wildest dreams."
{second sentence optional depending on how greedy/mistrusting your group is}

The lock refuses to open, even with a Knock spell... the only way to open the door is by bashing it to bits. If the group does not have one, at least one of the statues weild a sledgehammer.


And you are wondering where the trap is?

well....I did say 'ample supply of bad guys'... the pounding on the door, or the chime of the knock spell, echos through the carefully designed dungeon..wafting through vents and echoing off corners... someone comes to investigate....

The ensuing combat makes enough noise to echo through the.... well, you probably get it by now

Behind the doors is a solid rock wall with the words "persistant little bugger, aren't you?".. signed by Grimtooth himself


And just like the last time I used this on a group.. I think I will run away now

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Traps that aren't a surprise. (The malfunctioning execution chamber is a wonderful example.) That way, it's not a punishment for PCs doing logical things like walking down hallways and looking in desks.

Traps that are logical, and aren't puzzles.

Traps that involve skill checks and combat simultaneously. (Basically, while the rogue is busily disarming the trap, the rest of the party has to fight off something nasty.)

 

[jmucchiello]

The "dead man's hand" refers to a hand of cards that is supposedly phenominal bad luck, s it was, it would have lead the players to a deadfall with a skeletal knight at the bottom.

Dead man's hand refers specifically to Aces and Eights, the legendary hand held by Wild Bill Hiccock when he was shot in the back during a game of poker in the fledgeling city of Deadwood. Yes, there is some historical backing behind those first few episodes of the HBO drama.

My favorite trap is the obvious, 10' x 10' open pit with a covered pit just beyond it. You have several open pits in the dungeon and eventually the cocky thief jumps across yet another pit and find himself falling into another pit (which automatically recovers itself, of course).

This trap even works from the other side. "There's a pit 20 feet ahead of you." "We go up to the edge and look down." "D'oh."

 

[Hussar]

Yeah, count me in for the water/spike filled pit with alligators (or whatever). Paricularly one with a self closing lid.

On the same idea, water filling rooms are a fun one too. Doesn't work very well at higher levels since the party can usually carve their way through the door PDQ. But, at lower levels, is way too much fun.

Traps that change the encounter are a lot of fun too. Such as a trap that releases grease all over the floor while releasing a flock of stirges. Or a trap that causes the parts of the room to be inaccessable, such as pits opening up, and changing the tactics of the encounter.