Post by calithena on Jan 10, 2010 8:53:27 GMT -6
This thread will be for a collaborative article about tricks and traps, inspired by the old lists in Greyhawk, Arduin, and elsewhere. Random got the ball rolling with his inventions in another thread and has given us permission to use them in his article - but, ONLY if others contribute their own ideas and we cull the best from his list and other submissions and credit them to everyone.
So, as soon as we get 40 new tricks and traps submitted in this thread, I will start culling for an article or two. Posting in this thread also means you give us permission to print your work with credit to you, although you will still own it and can re-use it, etc.
Here is Random's original list. Add your own!
An underground pool creates large magical bubbles that burst when striking the ceiling. However, they do not burst when grasped and can in fact be ridden to softly arrive at a lower dungeon level through a colossally deep pit.
Statues that stand motionless (well, they're statues!) unless adventures pass by them without saying hello or acknowledging their existence. They will then animate as rather insulted creatures, making a big enough fuss to be heard by nearby monsters.
A bowl of Alpha-Bits rests upon an altar. The letters must be removed and arranged in correct sequence to answer a riddle plastered upon a magical door.
Rooms which cause those entering them to gain temporary bonuses to their ability scores. These rooms might also contain monsters who benefit from the same (perhaps a Super Hero with maximum strength!).
Devices which have a multitude of buttons and levers, none of which do anything whatsoever, although the devices can be smashed. They contain hidden treasures (and perhaps monsters as well).
Doors which do not open under torchlight.
Doors which serve as magical gates to other dungeon levels (although this will not be immediately apparent).
Doors which may only be opened by group effort.
Doors which lead nowhere, but have a large matching key that sets off a trap, dealing dice of damage equal to the dungeon level to the wielder of the key.
After a falling portcullis trap, a lengthy corridor, perhaps several miles long, eventually ends with a teleporter back to the main dungeon area, but travelers will have long ago worried for suspicion of magical transportation and probably run short of torches.
A passage which seems to lead to a dungeon exit actually leads to a parallel world where every creature's alignment is reversed (other than those who are aligned with Neutrality). If desired by the DM, the adventurers may meet their "anti-selves" at the point of transition and have a grand battle.
Vegetation which appears to be deadly, evil, poisonous etc., is actually a garden of magical healing plants which cure blindness, disease, or insanity.
Furniture is animated to greet guests and invite them to sit down and relax, that the "master" will be in soon. They are actually covered in magical glue, and soon the "master" arrives to devour the helpless adventurers.
Room complexes which are all part of an ancient contraption built by an extinct race of colossal dwarves/gnomes.
Lice or other parasites that feed upon gold. They cling invisibly to adventurers' bodies and make their way to the gold pouches where they destroy coins over a period of several hours. If the destruction of the gold causes a change in encumbrance, the problem will be noticed by the affected character. The lice may be washed off by submerging in water.
A large pit which is also a teleporter leading to mid-air above the pit, causing the character to fall repeatedly until rescued (or starvation sets in).
Slides at the bottom of a pit which lead to lost treasures. Unfortunately, there is no obvious way to get them back out (the treasures are too large!) Even if a clever adventurer manages, most of the treasure will prove to be an illusion, with perhaps 1,000 GP per dungeon level being real.
A massive stone face has a dark mouth which is actually a portable hole. It can be stripped off, rolled up, and used later.
A wishing well grants one wish for every 100 GP (or perhaps 500 GP) thrown into it. These wishes last only for as long as the wishers remain within the room. The gold, of course, vanishes when it hits the water.
Monsters which are hidden as part of the treasure: Spears that sprout arms and legs and thrust their heads forward, gold coins that swarm and smother, etc.
Chest and cases that have different contents when placed upon various pedestals. Contents will range from treasures to monsters to maps to poison gas to just about anything.
Statues with missing parts made from valuable materials (gem eyes, a golden arm, etc.), which will simply reattach and turn to stone when placed upon the statue. This may or may not trigger anything special.
Have an area where monsters are magically constructed, run by next-to-unbeatable creatures. These constructs can be sold for exorbitant prices, but there is no guarantee that they will be very useful, or even follow orders properly.
A hall of gambling where various creatures win and lose large fortunes in short spans of time. The adventures may get in on the games, but will be accused of cheating when they win, requiring them to either run for their lives or take on the gambling hall's "security staff" in combat.
Items such as rings or swords that cause wielders to save or be trapped within the item. They are released upon the items' destruction.
Items which cause a character to grow inseparably attached to them, totally delusional about the items' "magical powers" of which they actually have none.
Items which are very useful (magical items), but are cursed and can never be employed when needed: Swords that won't come out of their sheaths, rings that fall off fingers, etc.
Treasures protected by magical cages. The items may be retrieved by using a 10' pole or similar device, although accidentally touching them to the cage causes an explosion.
A trapdoor that slides a character down to a lower dungeon level, while his companions witness the trapdoor slam shut, followed by lots of screaming and grinding noises (produced by magic).
A room full of monstrous (but harmless) slimes and jellies. They are actually food for a nasty creature who, if the jellies are destroyed, will storm throughout the dungeon level looking for the pests that raided his pantry.
A magic mouth that is actually the entrance to a miniature dungeon complex, complete with a great treasures and terrible dangers, but is only accessible to adventurers under the effect of a potion of diminuation or similar magics.
Magical sleep gas that causes adventurers to believe they have been transported to some fantastic paradise. They will awaken only when they realize the dream and perform a harmful action to themselves to "snap out of it." Meanwhile, their bodies will not receive any nourishment and will eventually die.
A vast and glorious treasure room contains a multitude of statues, made from solid gold, that appear of men from various ages of history. The statues all appear to be holding some sort of treasure and enjoying the richness of it. The room is subject to a terrible curse, that any creature taking the treasure will be transformed to solid gold. (Yes, golden man statues also count as treasure.)
A narrow slide leads to a room with no exits, containing two items, a decanter of endless water, and a (magically indestructible) puzzle box containing the stopper. (At this point the DM should hand the players an actual puzzle box and turn over an egg timer.) A secret door (or several), which only operates while dry, leads out of the room.
An ancient dragon has somehow become literally detached from reality. All damage to and from it are considered as if it were illusionary damage. Because of this, its treasure hoard has been long ago raided.
A room which creates illusionary images of those entering, images which begin battling foul illusionary beasts. The adventurers must protect their illusionary selves or be slain as by death spell.
A room of magical silence, which upon entering sets off loud (and unheard by the intruders) alarms throughout the dungeon level.
A deathtrap room where the floor slides from one side to the other, revealing a pit filled with blazing flames. The room contains but one treasure, a potion of fire resistance.
So, as soon as we get 40 new tricks and traps submitted in this thread, I will start culling for an article or two. Posting in this thread also means you give us permission to print your work with credit to you, although you will still own it and can re-use it, etc.
Here is Random's original list. Add your own!
An underground pool creates large magical bubbles that burst when striking the ceiling. However, they do not burst when grasped and can in fact be ridden to softly arrive at a lower dungeon level through a colossally deep pit.
Statues that stand motionless (well, they're statues!) unless adventures pass by them without saying hello or acknowledging their existence. They will then animate as rather insulted creatures, making a big enough fuss to be heard by nearby monsters.
A bowl of Alpha-Bits rests upon an altar. The letters must be removed and arranged in correct sequence to answer a riddle plastered upon a magical door.
Rooms which cause those entering them to gain temporary bonuses to their ability scores. These rooms might also contain monsters who benefit from the same (perhaps a Super Hero with maximum strength!).
Devices which have a multitude of buttons and levers, none of which do anything whatsoever, although the devices can be smashed. They contain hidden treasures (and perhaps monsters as well).
Doors which do not open under torchlight.
Doors which serve as magical gates to other dungeon levels (although this will not be immediately apparent).
Doors which may only be opened by group effort.
Doors which lead nowhere, but have a large matching key that sets off a trap, dealing dice of damage equal to the dungeon level to the wielder of the key.
After a falling portcullis trap, a lengthy corridor, perhaps several miles long, eventually ends with a teleporter back to the main dungeon area, but travelers will have long ago worried for suspicion of magical transportation and probably run short of torches.
A passage which seems to lead to a dungeon exit actually leads to a parallel world where every creature's alignment is reversed (other than those who are aligned with Neutrality). If desired by the DM, the adventurers may meet their "anti-selves" at the point of transition and have a grand battle.
Vegetation which appears to be deadly, evil, poisonous etc., is actually a garden of magical healing plants which cure blindness, disease, or insanity.
Furniture is animated to greet guests and invite them to sit down and relax, that the "master" will be in soon. They are actually covered in magical glue, and soon the "master" arrives to devour the helpless adventurers.
Room complexes which are all part of an ancient contraption built by an extinct race of colossal dwarves/gnomes.
Lice or other parasites that feed upon gold. They cling invisibly to adventurers' bodies and make their way to the gold pouches where they destroy coins over a period of several hours. If the destruction of the gold causes a change in encumbrance, the problem will be noticed by the affected character. The lice may be washed off by submerging in water.
A large pit which is also a teleporter leading to mid-air above the pit, causing the character to fall repeatedly until rescued (or starvation sets in).
Slides at the bottom of a pit which lead to lost treasures. Unfortunately, there is no obvious way to get them back out (the treasures are too large!) Even if a clever adventurer manages, most of the treasure will prove to be an illusion, with perhaps 1,000 GP per dungeon level being real.
A massive stone face has a dark mouth which is actually a portable hole. It can be stripped off, rolled up, and used later.
A wishing well grants one wish for every 100 GP (or perhaps 500 GP) thrown into it. These wishes last only for as long as the wishers remain within the room. The gold, of course, vanishes when it hits the water.
Monsters which are hidden as part of the treasure: Spears that sprout arms and legs and thrust their heads forward, gold coins that swarm and smother, etc.
Chest and cases that have different contents when placed upon various pedestals. Contents will range from treasures to monsters to maps to poison gas to just about anything.
Statues with missing parts made from valuable materials (gem eyes, a golden arm, etc.), which will simply reattach and turn to stone when placed upon the statue. This may or may not trigger anything special.
Have an area where monsters are magically constructed, run by next-to-unbeatable creatures. These constructs can be sold for exorbitant prices, but there is no guarantee that they will be very useful, or even follow orders properly.
A hall of gambling where various creatures win and lose large fortunes in short spans of time. The adventures may get in on the games, but will be accused of cheating when they win, requiring them to either run for their lives or take on the gambling hall's "security staff" in combat.
Items such as rings or swords that cause wielders to save or be trapped within the item. They are released upon the items' destruction.
Items which cause a character to grow inseparably attached to them, totally delusional about the items' "magical powers" of which they actually have none.
Items which are very useful (magical items), but are cursed and can never be employed when needed: Swords that won't come out of their sheaths, rings that fall off fingers, etc.
Treasures protected by magical cages. The items may be retrieved by using a 10' pole or similar device, although accidentally touching them to the cage causes an explosion.
A trapdoor that slides a character down to a lower dungeon level, while his companions witness the trapdoor slam shut, followed by lots of screaming and grinding noises (produced by magic).
A room full of monstrous (but harmless) slimes and jellies. They are actually food for a nasty creature who, if the jellies are destroyed, will storm throughout the dungeon level looking for the pests that raided his pantry.
A magic mouth that is actually the entrance to a miniature dungeon complex, complete with a great treasures and terrible dangers, but is only accessible to adventurers under the effect of a potion of diminuation or similar magics.
Magical sleep gas that causes adventurers to believe they have been transported to some fantastic paradise. They will awaken only when they realize the dream and perform a harmful action to themselves to "snap out of it." Meanwhile, their bodies will not receive any nourishment and will eventually die.
A vast and glorious treasure room contains a multitude of statues, made from solid gold, that appear of men from various ages of history. The statues all appear to be holding some sort of treasure and enjoying the richness of it. The room is subject to a terrible curse, that any creature taking the treasure will be transformed to solid gold. (Yes, golden man statues also count as treasure.)
A narrow slide leads to a room with no exits, containing two items, a decanter of endless water, and a (magically indestructible) puzzle box containing the stopper. (At this point the DM should hand the players an actual puzzle box and turn over an egg timer.) A secret door (or several), which only operates while dry, leads out of the room.
An ancient dragon has somehow become literally detached from reality. All damage to and from it are considered as if it were illusionary damage. Because of this, its treasure hoard has been long ago raided.
A room which creates illusionary images of those entering, images which begin battling foul illusionary beasts. The adventurers must protect their illusionary selves or be slain as by death spell.
A room of magical silence, which upon entering sets off loud (and unheard by the intruders) alarms throughout the dungeon level.
A deathtrap room where the floor slides from one side to the other, revealing a pit filled with blazing flames. The room contains but one treasure, a potion of fire resistance.
, complete with humorous diagrams showing how the hapless adventurers were brutally dismembered, decapitated, defenestrated etc. - However, this will be so much easier! What a lovely idea, I approve! 
EDIT: Oh, and have an Exalt, Random. 
