jensen
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 111
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Post by jensen on Oct 15, 2010 3:38:45 GMT -6
A certain chamber has only three exits: an open door, a doorway barred with a large metal plate, and a somewhat rounding flight of stairs leading to a small door near the ceiling. If at least three human-sized persons are climbing the stairs at any time, their combined weight will cause the 'stairs' to move downwards - revealing that they are, in fact, standing on a large cogwheel, connected to a massive set of machinery (concealed beneath the floor and walls), which is put in motion by the turning of the cogwheel. A heavy metal plate will crash down, shutting off the open door (and possibly crushing anyone standing there), whilst the metal door that was previously closed will begin to slide upwards, releasing the snakes and scorpions that were trapped within.
If the PCs try to flee by running up the 'stairs', the cogwheel will keep turning and lift the metal door even further, releasing bigger and nastier beasties from their enclosure. Hold portal, cast on either the cogwheel or the metal door, will keep the mechanism in place for the duration of the spell, whereas an incautiously cast Knock spell could open the metal door all the way...
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Post by Random on Oct 15, 2010 4:42:37 GMT -6
Characters showered with gruesome fluid will experience terrible melting of the flesh, until they appear as mere skeletons. It is, fortunately, an illusion, and the characters will slowly return to their normal appearance. If this trap was located in a seldom-traveled part of a mega-dungeon, or if the effect had a long duration (say, a coupla weeks), this could potentially be turned into a massive benefit for the player characters; imagine, if you will, a group of perfectly ordinary-looking animated skeletons, whistling surreptitiously and walking into the lair of Dreadlawks the Vampiric Necromancer - who would challenge their being there? They might even have a few party members who had escaped the illusion, affording them with a perfect excuse if any of the vampire lord's minions should confront them: "Alive? Us? Oh, no! Your detect living ability must be mistaken, we're totally undead - except for this guy, he's... uhm, he's a prisoner, and we're taking him to the boss! Yes, that's it! So if you could just point us in the right direction... Oh, we don't need to bother him with it right now, we can just dump this filthy air-breathin' scum in the prison cell, or the treasure chamber, treasure chamber would work just fine, actually..."  Of course, if the effect lasted for several weeks, they could also get into all kinds of trouble when trying to rest up in town, carousing in taverns, shopping etc.  Plus, every time they ran into wandering adventuring groups, the NPC cleric/paladin would be hard-pressed to believe their cock-and-bull stories about them NOT being hell-spawned abominations... Good points. Nobody ever said tricks had to be harmful! |
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Post by kelvingreen on Oct 15, 2010 11:30:52 GMT -6
How do skeletons whistle? They have no lips!
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jensen
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 111
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Post by jensen on Oct 18, 2010 3:42:05 GMT -6
How do skeletons whistle? They have no lips! Run, guys! I think they've rumbled our disguises!  |
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Post by kelvingreen on Oct 18, 2010 11:44:02 GMT -6
Ha! I knew it! |
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Post by Random on Oct 18, 2010 20:25:04 GMT -6
Random magic item idea: A magical disguise that actually works. |
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jensen
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 111
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Post by jensen on Jan 27, 2012 8:02:34 GMT -6
15 months later, the thread rises from the grave...
Meet Bob Mawly, the Cyclops Rastafari.
Actually, Bob is not a real Rastafari; he's not even a real Cyclops. Bobarakz'nekumawrl used to be a friendly, peace-loving beholder - just a regular guy, really. Unfortunately, those pesky adventurers kept breaking into his cave and hacking at him with oversized cutlery, which cost him all his eyestalks and most of his good mood. He felt terribly embarrassed about his bald, scar-riddled scalp, and tried all kinds of wigs and hairpieces to cover it up, eventually settling under a huge Rasta yarn. After using some of the loot that all the dead adventurers had left behind (Bob didn't really want to kill them, but they kept pressing the issue) to pay a necromancer, Bob got himself a headless Zombie Giant to ride around on top of, to complete the disguise.
Nowadays, Bob tries to find time to hang out on top of his mobile Giant Zombie chair, chillin' and enjoying life; he likes to sing and tries to teach his body to accompany him on the ukulele (Bob had to pay the necromancer extra to reattach all the fingers that fell off). If he encounters a bunch of adventurers, he tries to trade some of his leftover magic items for medicinal pipeweed, or offer them to borrow some instruments and join him for a jamming session.
Of course, if anyone insists on attacking him again, they'll have a nasty surprise in store, since his central Anti-Magic eye is still fully functional.
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Post by Red Baron on Jan 24, 2014 18:24:20 GMT -6
Random magic item idea: A magical disguise that actually works. Any player using them has to actually wear a pair of groucho glasses as long as their character is disguised. If anybody at the table cracks up at them, the disguise is broken. |
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Plus, every time they ran into wandering adventuring groups, the NPC cleric/paladin would be hard-pressed to believe their cock-and-bull stories about them NOT being hell-spawned abominations...
