So I'm new to DMing but my players are all new to dnd. My plan is to give them a rude awakening about traps and how checking for them is necessary.
They're just about to attempt to clear out a kobold infested mine and I need traps to set for them. What's the best/most creative trap you've seen?
the classic, pitfall leading to a gelatinous cube
You didn't specify, so now your thread will be filled with nubile young men in skirts, unless Veeky Forums suprises me and does the decent thing.
if you think it's necessary for them to learn this for your games and you actually want them to take something from it, as opposed to just being pissed off, I'd go for something that sounds really cool and does a bit of damage, but doesn't wipe them out or cause any major pains in the ass (having to waste hours hauling someone out of quicksand or taking a huge detour from a blocked-off passage or whatever)
like a huge, but old and rusty axe blade that swings out from behind a statue of an ancient hero, or something simple like that. save the really creative/devious stuff for instances when they are checking for traps, but maybe not where they need to be, or as carefully as they should
Burly old men in skirts?
...
We should have a thread like that one of these days. Do a "post your Barbarian in a dress" thread for shits and giggles, then make it really Weird, then spin it back around into a comedy.
Nope.
I've been thinking about the philosophy of traps in game design since I've been playing Skyrim. It seems traps in Skyrim come in only two flavors: those that are nothing more than a minor nuisance because you literally start the game with a healing spell, and those that kill you instantly--which is basically the same thing as a minor nuisance unless you're attempting a no-death run, in which case it's total bullshit.
It seems to me that the only way to avoid this is to mix traps with combat encounters. If you just have a trap by itself then you'll either have all the time in the world to find a way past it, or you'll just brute force your way past it and heal yourself afterwards. And having a trap be insta-death is either going to be trivial (if it's easily noticed) or it's going to feel like bullshit (if it's stealthy).
But, by mixing traps with combat encounters, you create an element of real strategy. The player will actually have to think on his feet and decide where to move, and how quickly to move, in a matter of moments. It creates tension without feeling tedious or feeling like cheap bullshit.
So basically, I argue that the ideal trap is one that lies in the middle of a room full of enemies that are shooting at you. I do remember one single instance of this in Skyrim, and it was hella fun.
I take that as a sign that you would prefer reversed traps then.
Only Veeky Forums could disappoint me by doing exactly what I expected them to do.
So... Scottish barbarians? Or if they have bagpipes, bardbarians?
>disappoint
>implying you don't like traps
What are you, gay?
Very rarely will your players give a shit how clever your trap is. Like says, they need to be part of a larger encounter otherwise they're just annoying resource wasters.
>mental masturbation in the form of death traps with bad physics that also only work in two dimensional space
pls
My favorite traps are the simple ones. A rotting floor board giving way, an unexpected draft blowing out a torch, dilapidated stairs that are missing steps, a locked door where the key was carried away years ago...
You mean dwarves right?
as provided most of the traps in that book are shit, but with a little clean up they can be excellent.
The problem with these traps - and traps in general - that most of these are completely avoidable by having a summoned creature (or henchman) walking ahead of the party. The worst part is that these ones are often overly elaborate while being some variation of a pit most of the time.
I've seen some traps that fuck over people who think they're in the "safe zone" like a treasure chest that drops the floor out of the entire room except for a few feet around it when opened, etc
room with collapsible exits, and can be rigged to fill with sand, quickly, to crush them with its weight, or slowly, to give you time to savor their slow death by suffocation
another reason to prefer simple hazards over traps
>toxic mold growing on the walls of an undisturbed cave
>algae making the footing very slippery and dangerous
>a bunch of highly flammable things around
>bat cave with toxic guano everywhere and air temperatures that are surprisingly high due to all the bats. Not giant or dangerous bats, just ordinary ones.
>little holes in the ground that turn out to be burrowing spider holes
>markings on the wall left by a previous adventurer indicating the presence of a trap, but there isn't one
>water that is much deeper than it appears
>water that is flowing faster than it appears
>a rickety old bridge that isn't safe
what about a real life trap?
murdeholes over small corridor, with portcullis at either end, so you can shoot them at leisure
YOU HEARD THE MAN
GET SOME KOBOLD TRAPS IN HERE, RIGHT NOW
I suggest assassins disguised as cute girls in distress.
That was more or less the 4e philosophy for them.
Traps had attacks like monsters and tended to just attack anything in their chosen area on their turn if triggered. Rather than HP, they had a number of Thievery checks to beat.
That's better because it's used as part of an encounter (like user earlier said), not as the encounter by itself.
10 spinning adamantine blades
blood for the blood god
gibs for the gib throne
Unless your party is interested in complex and subtle traps that have either high lethality or inflict conditions that cannot be quickly cured, like powerful exotic poisons or strange curses, on top of whatever mundane damage that might be healed up there is.
But then you need a group of played who like solving complex puzzle boxes of death and suffering, and you need to be clever enough to make the death and suffering gradual enough that it can be enjoyably overcome with effort.
Skyrim doesn't do this because it isn't about puzzles and psuedo-complex medieval puzzles don't sell millions of copies at $60 US.
the 5e module mines of phandelver has a really neat water trap that doesn't do much damage but (on a failed save) throws anyone caught in it flying out of the cave, soaked.
dm'd it twice and they've not avoided it yet.
>The problem with these IED's - and IED's in general - that most of these are completely avoidable by having a ground penetrating radar (pic related) or rollers mounted in front of the vehicle.
At which point insurgents started mounted the explosive a few feet back from the trigger so they still hit the target. Same applies to your dungeonbuilding.
Kobolds are scalie goblins, and there are SLIGHTLY fewer goblinfuckers than scalies on this board willing to ruin legitimately Veeky Forums threads. Next time you have a kobold question, substitute with goblin.
Goblins a shit.
Exactly!
Anyway to answer OP's question, try incorporating rotted bridges waiting to give way under the weight of a medium or larger-sized character, or maybe pungi spikes made of sewage-dipped dog teeth.
good crop
I need traps for a 3 story tower that prey on the mind. Things that trick the players into thinking one thing before springing something unexpected on them, with some mental saves thrown in there to embellish the effects.
The third floor has already been decided on:
Basically there are eight women chained to the walls in various states of injury and disarray. The demon that controls the tower is among them, but this is not obvious to the players. At the far end of the room is a door. I expect the players to expect a trap from the women and go straight to the door, which opens into free air. The first person to open the door must make a Mind roll. If they beat 30 (extremely unlikely) nothing happens. If they beat 15, they see illusions of the women rushing at them to shove them out the door. If they fail to beat 15, their feet are rooted to the spot. The illusions are weak but have a small chance of actually displacing the character somewhat, depending on how tough they are. This is also when the bossfight starts, which includes a charm mechanic (passing notes to the player in secret). If the players help the women, then I can get at least a surprise charm attack from the boss.
Any suggestions for the first and second floor? So far I have an idea for the first floor, paper enemies that aren't very dangerous but difficult to kill without using fire, and something very flammable on the floor, or gas jets or something. Also whatever happens the entrance would get blocked off (unless they failed to fall for the trap completely).
Also this is a contemporary time period. Suggestions?
rigged shotguns
nails in the floorboards
pure N2 atmosphere
realistic acid (looks just like water)
enemies disguised as hostages, being guarded by more guards
a completely empty room
mold that grows unto skin at an alarming rate
>obvious path is trapped with a simple trap
>less obvious path is trapped with a trap that's super deadly, harder to detect and easier to set off
>but only the first path is like this, the rest of the side-paths are not trapped
if they only run into that one trap, they're set.
There was that one trap that was a tripwire that released a giant spider.
Fuck, that pic is giving me flashbacks.
Games were hard back then.
i prefer obvious traps. ones where you can tell at a glance what you are getting into. that way you can behind it right away and start setting to work on it straight away.
>Spends $30million to defeat a $3.95 pipe bomb.
>Doesn't actually work.
America, folks.
>mental masturbation in the form of death traps with bad physics that also only work in two dimensional space
also can only be used once because it's nearly impossible to re-set many of them, would be absolute hell to maintain in any fashion, and often require technology vastly ahead of its time
if i recall correctly one of those traps required monofilament wires strung across a doorway, no joke
time for a really fucking dumb arms race that results in ridiculously complicated traps and literal armies of mooks flooding into dungeons to clear them out
>lewd face but small dick
eh
So is tucking a Disguise check or Bluff?
1d4chan.org
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT KOBOLDS
How would you do it?
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First floor trap: The old "levitating kamikaze floor tiles" trick. An illusion makes it look like there is no floor under the tiles, just a giant pit trap with spikes. Have fun as the players try to stay on the seemingly diminishing floor space, and feel free to have one or two come up from under them and take them along for the ride.
Second floor trap: Door they entered through screams, bursts into flame, and burns away to ashes, leaving a blank wall. The door to the next floor actively avoids them by sliding around on the walls, ceiling, and floor. The door must be successfully grabbed and pinned in order to be opened, and will allow passage through wherever it's opened. For instance, if it was on the floor, it opens down to the first floor. If opened on the ceiling, it opens up to the third floor. If the wall, it opens to the outside and a 20 foot drop. There are no stairs.
this, plus they often fit more naturally than traps into many more settings
Some of my favorite hazards are just rock walls with loose stones or maybe some hidden animal nesting away on a small perch that you've found yourself on as you go deeper into the cave.
don't forget to cover the spikes in venom, cave slime, or shit
That looks... unfun.
Ah, the old trap trap!
50 gallon barrel of personal lubricant at the top of a flight of stairs, rigged to tip and spill over as the door to the stairwell is opened. Cherry flavored.
Maze of mirrors. Behind some mirrors are powerful electromagnets that are triggered when someone passes in front of them.
20 foot deep ball pit.
20 inch deep ball pit in the next room.
Aviary full of easily startled birds. Some are tied by fishing line to the pins of hand grenades.
The player's 3rd grade classroom down to the tiniest detail, including their and their classmates coats and backpacks hanging in the back.
Room full of closely packed mannequins dressed similarly to the party. Some are animatronic and start to move as they move through the crowd. Some are enemies. Some are rigged with other traps.
Entire ceiling is covered with eye-hooks to which is tied high-strength fishing line and hooks at varying heights. Some eye hooks are grenade pins.
Had a thought, add an oscillating fan to the fishhook room.
Trapped chest is a good way to turn a dull character into a wary one.
Chest is attached to a pulley that runs to a hidden door mechanism, say behind a tapestry or a false wall. It opens up and floods the room with an appropriate number of hostile creatures that fit the dungeon. For kobolds it would probably be starved wolves. Bonus points if the chest placement puts the party in an awkward position. Alternatively, you could just pull a Dark Souls III and make the first chest they find a mimic. Mimics don't have to be chests, either. They could be wardrobes, doorways, couches, and whatnot. Use your imagination.
It's athleticism or acrobatics depending on your technique.
Room completely full of balloons. The sound of muffled hostage cries can be heard from somewhere in the room. Some balloons contain surprises. The floor looks black but is actually transparent, the room below is completely dark and covered in black, and enemies are similarly clad, making them all but invisible even in direct flashlight. They are using magnets to move around the speakers piping in hostage sounds in an attempt to separate the party, Once at least one member fails to remain in close contact with the other players, similarly clad enemies begin to enter the room.
An entire room painted pastel green, the entire ceiling is florescent lights completely eliminating shadows. The room is cluttered with furniture and inhabited by enemies in pastel green morph suits.
This room is full of control panels covered in knobs, levers, buttons, switches, dials, and keyboards. Monitors show hostages in bizarre death traps, ominous live video footage of busy intersections, lists of cities with population counters, and ominous countdowns. The antagonist is taunting them via speaker that the party cannot save them all. Provide pictures of control panels with numbers to reference if they want to push or interact with anything. Nothing is labeled clearly. Be ready to come up with sinister descriptions of consequences for anything control they touch. The far door of this room is unlocked and the correct course of action is to leave without touching anything.
A room full of civilians who seem to have nothing to do with the adventure. There are several stalls serving food and selling trinkets, and it has the feeling of a market square. No one in this room speaks the same language as the player characters, and seem confused at their presence.
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What's so bad about this? You fall in, you break the sticks with your feet. The sticks even provide a nice foothold/grab spot in case you do fall down.
>party enters mountain fortress
>Sees large door to inner sanctom once inside
>Notices floor in front of door breaks away
>Slayer readies crossbow with rope attached to bolt
>Dumbass alchemist who has wings flys ahead
>Crosses breakaway floor
>Volley of arrows from the left
>Chain lightning from the right
>massive damage to alchemist party gets reamed with lightning
>Door is just wall decor, rogue finds real door soon after with lever to disabling traps
>Basically as the alchemist crossed the floor he triggered a set of crystals that act as eyes and activated the trap
Saw this in another trap thread on Veeky Forums a couple years ago.
Party is walking down a narrow hallway. Suddenly a pit trap opens. The poor party member is about to fall into a pit that is 20' deep, and only 5' wide on either side. The PC falls to the bottom activating the second part of the trap. Directly above the pit, another trap door opens, and drops two gelatinous cubes, on on top of the other.
The PC is trapped/pinned under/in the first GC. If they manage to escape the first one, they are instantly grabbed/inside of the second. Once they manage to escape that one, they have a 10' climb to make it out of the pit.
i think the idea is the sticks injure you on the way down to make it harder to climb out
>What's the best/most creative trap you've seen?
Marriage
>What's so bad about this?
uneven steps. Nobody ever uses unever steps.
old castles had a couple of steps that were very slightly higher or lower than the rest causing an enemy who was running up or down to trip on them and fall or simply be slowed down, giving a chance for the defensers, who were used to the stair layout, to flee or attack the invader.
Furthermore the enemy had to constantly look down carefully at the steps so he wouldn't be able to run very fast.
i find this quite cute
>Both dubs
so le edgy! players are great tools for acting out your torture porn power fantasies!
with the amount of stairs in my campaign map this will be hilarious
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Would post the file but given that it is 24MB a link has to do.
You're fucking boring, unimaginative, and a shitty DM.
Christ the vietnam war was a mess.
I'm glad that we won it, am i rite guys?
reportedly, even Vietnam war had easymode moments
>1) take acid
>2) bumrush gook tunnels
>3) ???
>4) come back 2 days later with 10+ trophy thumbs
Or the third option which has a chance of resulting in a instant death if the character fails a save.
In that case either you discover the trap and avoid it through cleverness, or by carelessness your player character's life depends on the whims of chance.
For instance having a basilisk trapped in a small room with a single window disguised as either a mirror or a painting to a major room in a bedroom of a mansion.
I like your idea for the second floor trap but I have doubts people I play with can figure that out.
Not everyday we see a vietnamese fa/tg/uy.
Bridget is best trap
Show me a better trap.
who drew this? a communist?
Whatever, I'm not a botanist.
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My favorite:
>foot sized put filled with downwards facing lubricated with human feces and refuse
The nigga who gets his foot trapped in there can't pull it out without tearing up his leg even more, and it's already filled with shit. I hope he liked dying a painful blood poison theme'd death.
How I build traps:
>cover everything sharp with feces
>the best trap is just lots of sharp things in an area people have to walk
>elaborate traps have a lot of places to fail, simple is better
>sharp things + poison
>no seriously shit onto the spikes
GEM
GLUED
TO THE FLOOR
Is this what an act of pure evil looks like?
A room with a timer that starts ticking down, a button that resets the timer, and doors that lock the players in once the countdown starts. You'll need a physical timer, preferably one of the mechanical kitchen variety with a nice loud ominous tick. You can add other ornamentation or details to the room to give further distraction to the party. It's best to use this room after introducing some source of time pressure. Remind them no out of character comments, since this is now a Real Time Encounter.
When the timer hits zero the exit unlocks.
One final important detail when planning to use this trap is that the DM must be sitting closest to the nearest exit so as they can make a quick escape.
elf slave glued to the floor
That hole is about big enough for your foot, not a whole man. When you step in it, your foot pushes the spikes in so they angle down and are pressing against your flesh.
(the reason they do it like this is because doing it this way means it's basically custom tailored to you).
If you try to pull your leg out, they dig in more, impaling into your flesh.
upon closer inspection you realize the dried up fluid is actually not glue
lmao
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...doesn't reverse trap mean a girl pretending to be a boy?
I prefer a basilisk trapped in a pitch black room. Character stumbles in, hears a hissing sound, lights a torch. Oops.
I bet you fuck women, you homo
Trap your traps. Oh they found the mechanism that traps the door and opened the cover to disable it? Explosive rune on the mechanism.