Classic Trap

[zergnase]

many folks can find traps to get a really hard to find trap you need to proper camouflage it... here is a good old ever green:

the thin floor

the floor is undermined to the point where it just supports itself plus a bit more, but not a normal adventurer, in natural surroundings this will be hard to implement but in a beholder drilled dungeon or in a dungeon with stone shaped stone walls / floors it is easy as cake and since it is done from below... how will you find it

add a noice source to make knocking to find it hard

but the totally harmless look should do the trick ... or slow the group down a lot so that the inhabitants can regroup

what do you think about this ever green ?

[TheElf]

Depends, but as I see you treat traps mostly as a standalone encounter. But when the players fight some enemy, chase some enemy and see where that enemy moved, etc. there can be a lot of traps that can activate.

Why?

Simply: Because the pressure plates are connected to a simple mechanism, if you press the same in some time twice (a mechanical clock measures this time) you activate the trap.

Or the pressure plate an the deadly part of trap are two different places. So the running enemy activates a trap that can kill anyone follow him.

Both traps can be easy to avoided by the residents, and can be deadly for the adventurers.

But we can speak about magical traps that can be activated only by the players.
Or a teleporter who teleports people wearing some medalion to one room, and everyone else in a room filled by acid.

The party will surely find it fun, since they won't look for traps at that time As you see it is easy to make deadly traps this ways.

[zergnase]

also "funny" approch

no i dont normally see traps as stand alone

but this one does good with or without critters (a bunch of specters being chased or chasing the PCs...

there are several classic traps which really live from the combination of critter and trap

iron golem with one or several wall(s) of fire (empowered)

rost the PCs and heal the golem, very funny

if needed add a targeted dispelling effect, it doesnt really raise the ECL but strongly increases the punishment

[TheElf]

One big question: where is the line between difficult / dangerous terrain and a trap?

[zergnase]

Originally Posted by TheElf

One big question: where is the line between difficult / dangerous terrain and a trap?

usually a trap is hidden till it is "sprung", also traps are usually crafted/manufactured and not natural.

heroes facing a stream of lava. for sure it is an obstacle for most of them. but it does them no harm until one of them takes a bath

[alioshin]

Originally Posted by zergnase

sure it is an obstacle for most of them. but it does them no harm until one of them takes a bath

this reminds me something that usually happens: try to place and lever with a table saying: PULL AND YOU WILL DIE !
all the players will pull it !!!!!!!!
(and will start crying when the GM says: ok, you are dead !)

[TheElf]

Or until there is an iron golem nearby, no?

[zergnase]

Originally Posted by alioshin

this reminds me something that usually happens: try to place and lever with a table saying: PULL AND YOU WILL DIE !
all the players will pull it !!!!!!!!
(and will start crying when the GM says: ok, you are dead !)

did something similiar...

placed a ring under a hemispherical permanent wall of force on a small stone altar. on the wall was a bottom "DO NOT PUSH". no one wanted to push it on its own... so the groups wizard dominated the groups paladin and made him push the bottom... some disjunction later the wall of force was gone as all the paladins items too...

but they found a +3 ring of protection ^_-

[TheElf]

I hope the wizards gear was sold then, to replace the lost items of the paladin

[zergnase]

no

not really...

the wizard placed a new domination on the paladin and then a new one just before the other stopped...

they where in a dungeon ... tomb of horror ... after the tomb the player left just after his wizard teleported away. the player of the dominated PC and the others didn´t reacted to the domination that well...