The nastiest traps

[Calthropstu]

I have a tendency to create extremely nasty traps in my pathfinder/dnd games.

Figured I could share a couple of my more successful ones, bounce ideas for new ones, and just generally discuss traps in general.

People, particularly at extremely high levels, discount the sheer effectiveness of traps, and most printed traps are kinda lame or too overdone.

My first trap that resulted in a tpk was a nasty little number against a 12th level party. They had no rogue type, so used their barbarion half ogre with a regeneration ring to simply soak trap damage. This trap didn't deal damage though. It dropped, elevator style, the 2 squares immediately behind the trigger sending those squares to a chamber below with a waiting fire hydra. It also dropped a wall where the squares stood. The barbarian was then set upon alone by the wizard they were trying to kill who was also 12th level. The barbarian failed a will save against dominate. The two characters managed to kill the hydra, but were seriously injured... and the cleric had been in the back by herself. Potions didn't do the job and when they caught up to the barbarian, they were promptly slaughtered. Trap rule: Traps can be designed to do worse than do damage. They can forcibly split the party. That is far more effective in my experience.

This next trap was a little on the ridiculous side, but it was against pathfinder mythic 20/10 characters. (I didn't allow mythic augmented timestop for obvious reasons)

A sorceror with a massive tower. The entire tower was covered in illusion magics. Every inch. Detect magic/arcane sight was practically useless.

Most of the illusions portrayed what was actually there, so interacting with most of the illusions didn't actually grant a saving throw either.

So they come to a weird sort of doorway covered by a type of dangling strips. The strips are nonmagical, but have the same illusion over them everything else has... and are lined with lead. They disguise a dispel wall and permanent silence on the other side.

Their wizards, who are the only ones with spellcraft, go in last... meaning the entire party but one wizard walks through and has all of their magic stripped... to suddenly have the entire room fall into a series of prismatic spheres. (The room was attached to a single column suspending it over a giant pit... a column the sorcerer disintigrated from the room above.)

[Yael]

DC 19 Search trap. A string that leads to a pitfall trap with a Gelatinous Cube frisko mix 10x10ft hole that when someone breaks the string that covers the Cube (from below) will open a ceiling trapdoor that holds another ooze of your liking. Can it be found? Ask RAW.

[mabriss lethe]

I once had a dungeon where several minor load bearing structures were created out of shadow illusions. (mixed in with regular illusions that hid passages or whatnot.) Dispelling the shadow illusions caused anything from targeted demolition of the room in question to triggering other sorts of traps, depending on which illusion was dispelled.

[Calthropstu]

I once had a dungeon where several minor load bearing structures were created out of shadow illusions. (mixed in with regular illusions that hid passages or whatnot.) Dispelling the shadow illusions caused anything from targeted demolition of the room in question to triggering other sorts of traps, depending on which illusion was dispelled.

Oooohhhhh. Without knowledge architecture(engineering for pf) you wouldn't stand a chance of discerning it. "detect magic" "You see an illusion magic." "I dispel it." "You die, no save."

[mabriss lethe]

Oooohhhhh. Without knowledge architecture(engineering for pf) you wouldn't stand a chance of discerning it. "detect magic" "You see an illusion magic." "I dispel it." "You die, no save."

Oh, no. You want to make if far more involved than a simple No-save death. Sure, it might (and probably will) cause a lot of HP damage to one or more PCs. But that's just the icing on the cake. Dispelling the illusion can cause a cave-in elsewhere that cuts off an escape route/safe space they've been camping. It could close off what would have been an easier route to their goal, forcing them to take a more dangerous one. It could simply dispel a shadow peg that held the trigger to a trap in place. A good trap should create a more challenging encounter for the players, not just kill off characters.

[bloated glutton]

Boulder trap that triggers halfway up a stairwell.
Pc's can make a strength (stabilety) check to avoid a bullrush from the heavy descending boulder.
If failed, the pc's are pushed down a trapdoor and a chute at the bottom of the stairwell.
The door only opens under heavy impact and leads to a monsters den.
It also disposes of the boulders fragments and potentially separates the party.

Just fill the den with kobolds or tyrannosaurus warbeasts as you like.

[Inevitability]

Remember those classical trap rooms that lock and start filling with water while someone desparately tries to unlock the door? Replace the water with acid and you should be good to go.

Of course, the other party members should have something to do too, right? Maybe a few acidborn sharks are summoned into the room?

Alternatively, you could have the acid somehow be magical (Major Creation, perhaps?) and put a clay golem in there to replace the sharks. The best part is that the usual tactics against clay golems (flying, kiting) are all unavailable in the confined room of death.

[Rangô]

Hey there!

I've a book Traps and Treachery, from Legends and Lairs saga, it's not official but is foundated in d20 system. I just encourage you to have a look, you will be amazed with all the traps imagined by Blackstone's insane mind.

You'll find a lot of content here, how to build your own traps, cost, challenge raiting, DC... divided into main types, mechanicals and magicals. As an example, I really loved the prison problem of Blackstone; first part consists in a classical scuttle under your feet, then you fall down the slide and activate a spell of reduce person, the slide tunnel narrows ending in a tiny room without exits. If you fail Reflex salvation to not falling and Fortitude to negate reduction effect fine, else when the reduction effect is over you won't be able to scape locked in a 5 feet cube, claustrophobic.

[ShurikVch]

Silent alarm trap.

If PCs will trigger it, then their next encounter will be heavily entrenched, and reinforcements come in every turn

[Yahzi]

a waiting fire hydra.

Did it eat? Sleep? Read Hydra Monthly or go on dates?

has all of their magic stripped... to suddenly have the entire room fall into a series of prismatic spheres.

Was that fun, cost-effective, or rational? Why do parties walk through doors in your world?

Here's a trap I read about that I think you'll enjoy: An empty room with the illusion of air cast on it. When they enter the room, all of the air is pumped out. But they don't notice, because the illusion of ai makes them think everything's fine. So they suddenly can't make any sound (no air) and all start taking suffocation damage and then die.

Or, my personal favorite: A door is actually a portal that leads to the heart of the sun. Good times!

[Inevitability]

Was that fun, cost-effective, or rational? Why do parties walk through doors in your world?

Here's a trap I read about that I think you'll enjoy: An empty room with the illusion of air cast on it. When they enter the room, all of the air is pumped out. But they don't notice, because the illusion of ai makes them think everything's fine. So they suddenly can't make any sound (no air) and all start taking suffocation damage and then die.

Or, my personal favorite: A door is actually a portal that leads to the heart of the sun. Good times!

Calm down. You seem to be overreacting. Remember, we're talking about pretend traps in a pretend game you've read exactly one paragraph about: who are you to criticize said game's DM?

[icefractal]

Was that fun, cost-effective, or rational? Why do parties walk through doors in your world?

For some random kobold cave to have, no, that would be ridiculous. But keep in mind, this was against "pathfinder mythic 20/10 characters".
At that level, a mage has the ability to set up a trap like that just by waking up in the morning and spending a fairly trivial amount of money (or none, if they use Blood Money. ). Attacking a foe in their stronghold that they've had months to prepare? You should be expecting that kind of thing. And really, 20th level characters should probably have some defenses/Contingencies against it.

Or, my personal favorite: A door is actually a portal that leads to the heart of the sun. Good times!

Portals to the sun are indeed an issue once Gate comes online. Not just in traps, but imagine opening one up in the center of a city! How I handle it IMC, if even using a conventional solar system, is that the sun itself is a god. So you can't open a portal within its divine realm (which I'd call a radius reaching half-way to the inner-most planet) without its permission.

But the more general case of "Plane Shift / Gate as a trap"? Yeah, that's fair play once you get to the level where those are a thing. It's nasty, but that's why you need to be prepared. And maybe gain entrance in a less expected way.

[Shalist]

I've always wanted to do something with permanently shrunken / enlarged features (i.e. a ceiling) that drastically expand / shrink if someone with an AMF wanders too close. Or using liquids instead for some hydraulic goodness, or simply to quickly flood or drain a room. It'd be a nice addition for a dungeon full of purely magical traps.

Alternately, visual traps (i.e. 'symbol of --', explosive runes, etc.) that are invisible or simply lurking behind illusions. Even just a few here and there might discourage the party from using see invisible or true seeing. Similarly, that old gag where you watch someone through a portrait's eyes, except in this case it'd be several medusa doing the watching, and a small part of the wall and portrait are an illusion.

And then there's the bane of players everywhere, the most devious trap of all:

Spoiler

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Lair of the Trapmaster (comic frequently NSFW):

[BilltheCynic]

I remember reading a thread on the Wizard's website that had a wealth of insanely awesome traps, but unfortunately it's gone and I can't find a mirror . Ah well, let's see if I can remember some of them (and add in a couple of my own):

Spoiler: Guard Door

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The PCs come up to a large iron door, and a little peephole opens with two beady eyes looking out. A gruff voice denies them passage and insists that they leave. If the PCs try to go in anyway through any means (unlock it, bash it down, etc.) the door rips itself from its hinges and slams itself into the nearest PC. It is then that they find out that the peephole and voice was an illusion, and the door is animated object. Roll initiative.

Spoiler: Jump the pit THUNK

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The PCs find a standard pit trap on the floor of a corridor. On the other side of it are baddies plinking them from a range. What the PCs don't see it the immovable rod with permanencied invisibility set in midair above the pit. If they try to jump over the pit they smack into the rod and fall into the pit. It turns out that the bottom of the pit is coated in tar, which is both sticky and highly flammable, as the bad guys above soon demonstrate.

Spoiler: Up up and away

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The PCs need to go up to another area, but find that the way up is a sheer wall. "Fortunately", there is a long rope that is anchored at the top. Unfortunately, the rope is covered in sovereign glue, as the first PC who grabs onto it finds out. Even more unfortunately, the rope feeds through a loop at the top and is anchored to a large boulder held back by a wooden structure that is designed to give away if 100 lb of pressure is applied to it. Pressure like when the other PCs are trying to pull their stuck friend off. The boulder breaks out and goes down, pulling the stuck PC up (reflex save to avoid smacking the boulder as they pass each other) then hits the ceiling. The others PCs also have to save to avoid falling boulder. And of course you now have one PC separated quite far from the group, which can lead to all sorts of fun scenarios.

Spoiler: This door leads to the pool

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A classic. The PCs unlock a very sturdy, thickly sealed door. It turns out on the other side of a door is a lake. A lake bed, more specifically. And all that water is now rushing into the room they're in. Have fun swimming!

Spoiler: Lethal Wall of Text

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The PCs are looking for info on X, which is "conveniently" carved into a wall at the bottom of a dungeon. Have it written in an obscure language that not all of the PCs can read to justify giving the reader a notecard. It should read something like this:

(lots of words)...But BBEG, though devious and cunning, is not invincible. Indeed, should one find a way to make him Explosive Rune, they would soon find themselves subjected to even worse a fate than those smitten by the Holy Hand Grenade...(More Words)

Give them a moment to realize that the words "Explosive Rune" actually are explosive runes and savor that look of dawning horror. For added fun, the other side of the wall is actually hollow is full of poisonous (non-flammable, non-explosive) gas. Now that they explosive rune has blown the wall apart, the gas is now leaking in. Roll fortitude saves.

[Bucky]

AGC had some good ones.

Like this - illusionary wall in front of a Prismatic wall with an illusionary figure walking through both.

Followed up with a pit trap that drops back into the Prismatic wall.

And a hole in a Forbiddance effect so that anyone trying to teleport across the pit ends up above it instead.

[Calthropstu]

Did it eat? Sleep? Read Hydra Monthly or go on dates?


Was that fun, cost-effective, or rational? Why do parties walk through doors in your world?

Here's a trap I read about that I think you'll enjoy: An empty room with the illusion of air cast on it. When they enter the room, all of the air is pumped out. But they don't notice, because the illusion of ai makes them think everything's fine. So they suddenly can't make any sound (no air) and all start taking suffocation damage and then die.

Or, my personal favorite: A door is actually a portal that leads to the heart of the sun. Good times!

The party was 20/10 mythic. Walking into the lair of a 20/10 mythic spell caster who had a kingdom out to get him, a book with thousands of true names making him an enemy of planar creatures, and had pissed off hell. The guy had so many enemies, it was ridiculous. On the other hand, he had a huge number of allies as well. The players were given all of that information.

Once you hit that level of power, the things you come up against literally HAVE to be extremely nasty in order to even pose a threat.

Note: 20/10 mythic means they weren't actually killed by all of that.

But they DID wake up without their gear, and a warning to not try coming after him again. Which they of course ignored. Of course, they went back to find the whole place gone, but that's a story for a different time.