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Deth Muncher
2010-05-31, 12:44 AM
Many people here hate the comic Ctrl+Alt+Del, but that's not what's being discussed here. What IS, however, is the trap described in the last panel of this (http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20100531)comic.

Go on, I'll wait.

Okay. So. What other hilarious, ridiculous or otherwise absurd traps have you encountered?

Hat-Trick
2010-05-31, 12:57 AM
Maybe if the Gnome was launched from a cannon or ballista? Double damage, I'd think.

Tar Palantir
2010-05-31, 12:58 AM
I created one pseudo-trap designed to soften up the PCs for the following encounter. Four buttons in the corners of the room had to be held down simultaneously to activate a lift down to the next level. However, holding down the buttons also opened up a shaft in the ceiling, from which a beholder descended, with every party member in a different firing arc. Made the fight a hell of a lot more dangerous :smallbiggrin:.

Lev
2010-05-31, 02:28 AM
Amulet of stickiness, once worn anything you touch becomes stuck to you like adhesive, including the amulet. Hilarity ensues.

Trapped fruitstand, if you pick up any of the fruit a carriage filled with small rocks rolls from the side at full speed and smashes into it. Now that's what I call a tasty hazard!

HunterOfJello
2010-05-31, 02:49 AM
Bear trap that drops a bear on a PC

Serpentine
2010-05-31, 02:49 AM
I used a trap in which, upon being triggered, a number of gelatinous cubes fell from the ceiling.

Myou
2010-05-31, 02:55 AM
I used a trap in which, upon being triggered, a number of gelatinous cubes fell from the ceiling.

I used a trapped door that, when you opened it, or even approached it, would trigger the floor to fall out from under you, dropping you on poisoned spikes, and then a gealtinous cube would drop on you.

Then the floor closes up again.

So you're trapped, impaled and being digested, to get out you have to kill the cube from the inside, climbe the slippery and acid-coated pit walls, and smash through the panels trapping you.

Players made their saves. :smalltongue:

Saintheart
2010-05-31, 03:20 AM
I've always wondered about some sort of trap that sets off an elixir of love effect...

Savannah
2010-05-31, 03:59 AM
For some time, I've wanted to make a trap that sprays barbeque sauce (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0098.html).
Now, thanks to Saintheart, I also want to make a trap that sets off an elixir of love. (Thanks!)

One of the more amusing that I've experienced made us believe that we were various animals. That was the day I discovered that one of our players can do a very good impression of a chicken. :smallamused:

Kobold-Bard
2010-05-31, 04:33 AM
The Metronome Trap: Upon triggering it this trap releases a random effect from a pre-determined table. You might get some 1d4 spikes, you might get a finger of death spell. Best used around the Badass weapon of Badassery to encourage the players to run the risk.

Pika...
2010-05-31, 04:47 AM
The Metronome Trap: Upon triggering it this trap releases a random effect from a pre-determined table. You might get some 1d4 spikes, you might get a finger of death spell. Best used around the Badass weapon of Badassery to encourage the players to run the risk.

So vicious. :smallbiggrin:

mabriss lethe
2010-05-31, 05:23 AM
The nursing home trap.
Requires a bit of backstory. The PCs found themselves in a retirement home run by and for the temple of Nerull. It was filled with elderly, senile, and extremely powerful clerics and necromancers. In order to keep them a bit more docile, a constant anti-magic field trap was in place on the entire floor. The party rogue, not cluing in to the nature of the place after several hints, is searching for traps.

Him: "I roll a [whatever] on my search check. Do I find any traps?"
Me: "Why yes, you do!"
Him: "I disarm it. I roll a[nother whatever] on my disable device check."

And then the party got mobbed by a double handful of casters, each lobbing off spells chosen completely at random from the PHB. It was rather entertaining...

Irreverent Fool
2010-05-31, 05:30 AM
The nursing home trap.
I love it!

My favorite is kind of a "classic" and works well at low levels to make the PCs hate and fear the DM. An open spiked pit blocks a tunnel. It looks to have been triggered some time ago, but a failed jump will still send a character plummeting toward some nasty-looking spikes. The characters will generally assume it's just your run-of-the-mill dungeon hazard and hop over it, especially if the DM just mentions it offhand.

On the other side of the pit is another trap, which they will land on when they jump. Bonus points if it slopes the floor toward the pit.

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2010-05-31, 06:11 AM
Pit trap, Gelatinous Cube at the bottom. Anyone who falls in and lands on the cube is automatically engulfed, as though they stumbled into it. If they escape it they must fly, levitate, or climb away before the end of their turn, otherwise they're automatically engulfed again since it will just let them fall back into it rather than support their weight. It can make AoOs against anyone trying to move away from it. On its turn it will attack anyone climbing up the sides of the pit, and they'll have to make climb checks or fall back in. This is usable at any level, for a higher level challenge put a Deeper Darkness at the top of the pit so they can't effectively target the cube or even know what has become of anyone who fell in. The Deeper Darkness can be Heightened so that it will take an even higher level light descriptor spell to overcome it. Gust of Wind made permanent blowing down into the pit will prevent flight out of it, so anyone trying to escape would have to be able to make the climb check. Advancing the cube would also help out against a higher level party. A bigger cube would require a bigger pit, in which case it should only be triggered once a certain number of creatures are on it. They could be pursuing something down a corridor which lures them into it even. It makes for a very interesting challenge, even in the mid to higher levels.

Cespenar
2010-05-31, 06:32 AM
For chuckles, a 10' deep pit with permanent Darkness and Silence on the bottom.

Drakevarg
2010-05-31, 06:38 AM
I love it!

My favorite is kind of a "classic" and works well at low levels to make the PCs hate and fear the DM. An open spiked pit blocks a tunnel. It looks to have been triggered some time ago, but a failed jump will still send a character plummeting toward some nasty-looking spikes. The characters will generally assume it's just your run-of-the-mill dungeon hazard and hop over it, especially if the DM just mentions it offhand.

On the other side of the pit is another trap, which they will land on when they jump. Bonus points if it slopes the floor toward the pit.

Even better: on the other side of the pit trap is another, concealed pit trap.

Heliomance
2010-05-31, 06:52 AM
Pit covered by a Shadow Conjuration Wall of Stone. It gets the party members with the high saves.

2xMachina
2010-05-31, 06:59 AM
Or the more real than reality shadows?

I disbelieve the fireball trap. OH GOD, IT BURNS WORSE!

Wish we can Shadow Conjuration up air. Yes, air. You disbelieve the air, and you can't breathe now. :P

Deca
2010-05-31, 07:02 AM
A concealed spike pit that also contains a teleport trap. Once a player lands on the spikes and gets hurt, he gets teleported to the other teleport trap...which just happens to be on the ceiling directly above the spike pit. Fun times.

2xMachina
2010-05-31, 07:05 AM
Is it an infinite loop?

Cause I think it keeps on teleporting him up, then fall down, then up, then down, then....

Etcetera
2010-05-31, 07:12 AM
Is it an infinite loop?

Cause I think it keeps on teleporting him up, then fall down, then up, then down, then....

Now you're thinking with portals!

How about a trap that teleports you to an identical room... in another complex hudreds of miles away. Not very deadly, but rather amusing.

OR a trap that teleports someone away and replaces them with a (fabricqted or something) statue.

Avilan the Grey
2010-05-31, 07:14 AM
One classic is the "well" or shaft in an open room, with some visible gold piles / something else clearly visible, just say 14-20 down. It is easy to scale the walls with a rope.

The problem is that on the bottom is our favorite: gelatinous cube, sitting on the bottom, the treasure visible through it.


For more classic and fun traps, both deadly and mundane

Watch me crash: Open spiked pit or already triggered spike trap. the corridor on the other side is actually an illusion on a wall, hiding a portal. The ceiling just above the pit is also hiding a portal, pointing downwards. Person jumps over the pit, gets teleported around and falls (plus the added speed of his or her's running jump) straight down into the spiked pit.

The naughty spyglass: A normal looking spyglass, old-fashioned model. When the looter picks it up and looks into it he or she sees an attractive naked person of the opposite sex, but out of focus. When he or she tries to adjust the focus, a spring-powered small blade is triggered that stabs the lookers eye. The combination of a small illusion spell and a mean old-fashioned trap.

The Paladin's Horror: ...Well actually the horror of any well-armored player. Room or wide corridor with a floor tile that activates large magnets on the walls. Anyone wearing metal armor has to do a STR saving throw or be attached to the wall. At the same time a hidden door is opened and 1d6 rust monsters come into the dungeon...

Prepared for dinner: (inspired by comment above) Either a psychological gag or a real horrific fate... Basically a simple trap that either sprays or dumps BBQ sauce on the players. If you are nice, and play it right, they will expect something big and nasty coming to eat them soon. If you are not nice, the next room will be filled with 2000 kobolds preparing for a BBQ... :smallamused:

Avilan the Grey
2010-05-31, 07:20 AM
One more: The Pack Man: One or more PCs are teleported via trap to a large room built like a labyrinth. On the floor are (mundane objects, pebbles or priceless gems, depending on the DMs liking). In the middle of two of the sides are teleports that goes back and forth, so you can go left and come out on the right side of the maze and the other way around.
The labyrinth is also home to four more or less unkillable foes (adamantum golems or something like that) that more or less move randomly but will in a hap-hazard way pursue a PC if he or she is spotted.
The only way to get out of this is to collect all the (mundane objects, pebbles or priceless gems, depending on the DMs liking). That will stop the golems in their tracks and open up a portal back.

Octopus Jack
2010-05-31, 07:52 AM
The multitrapped door of death:

The first trap dosn't really matter that much, a poison spray or spikey trap of death. The second trap is connected to the first trap and it is triggered upon the disarm of the first trap and has a circle of death effect or something nastier like that, there is also another trap on the door which is triggered when the second one is set off, it reprimes the first trap and also goes off. Also if you open or break down the door they all go off.

You are going to be hit by them all no matter what you do.

Muggins
2010-05-31, 08:09 AM
I usually put simple traps in the game I DM, but every so often I think of a trap and I manage to fit it into the next dungeon my party enters.

One such trap has a phantom trap is created in an obvious spot. When this phantom trap is disarmed by the party's rogue, the real trap is triggered and gas is released from the ceiling. The entrance and exit to the room become subject to one of those classic sliding doors which close from top to bottom, requiring the party to make a quick escape. Those who are too slow suffer a horrible death in they fail their fortitude save. If the trap isn't disarmed by the rogue then several inanimate objects in the room burst into life and attack the party. Once the group destroys the animated objects and continue onwards, when they reach the center of the room (in aspect of the distance between the entrance and the exit) the gas trap is triggered.

Another trap consists of a pit and some water. Once the party passes a certain point in the room, a mass of water is released (either stored, conjured or shadow conjured) behind the party. If they succeed a strength check (Or a climb check, if one of the party members is of small size and climbs onto the wall to wait it out) they manage to resist the water and stay on their feet. If not they are pushed into a pitfall. If you're running a game with a skill like swim, now's the time to make some checks and see if someone drowns or not. If they succeed the swim save (of if you don't have one) they can try to climb up the wall and return to their party. Those that are unable to reach the wall or can't move up it fast enough are greeted with a/an <insert aquatic creature here> that threatens to kill them if they're too slow.

There are several more "traps" I can think of, including:
- Explosive loot
- Illusions that make fellow party members seem like monsters
- Colourless gases with effects similar to a prismatic spray spell, causing effects ranging from confusion, disease, hallucinations, haste, slow, invisiblity and death.

Project_Mayhem
2010-05-31, 08:11 AM
The naughty spyglass: A normal looking spyglass, old-fashioned model. When the looter picks it up and looks into it he or she sees an attractive naked person of the opposite sex, but out of focus. When he or she tries to adjust the focus, a spring-powered small blade is triggered that stabs the lookers eye. The combination of a small illusion spell and a mean old-fashioned trap.

...

OK, I'm using this in my Ravenloft campaign.

Dr.Epic
2010-05-31, 08:20 AM
Why has no one posted this image yet?

http://imagemacros.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/its_a_trap.jpg

KjeldorMage
2010-05-31, 08:28 AM
I made this one a while back.


Come into a room where the object that the quest is about is sitting right out in the open.

It is a rather large room and looks pretty desolate. If anyone disturbs the object the entrance to the room closes with a giant stone slab.

Next, three doors open and behind those doors are...

...GIANT PLUSHGOLEMS!! Not only are they plush but they are of some of D and D greatest hits in terms of monsters.

Plushie ettercap, plushie umber hulk, etc...

And they don't even want to kill the adventurers, just give them smothering hugs.

Heliomance
2010-05-31, 08:33 AM
A corridor that, when you enter it, the door automatically shuts behind you. Doesn't lock or anything, it just won't stay open. At the other end is another door. Through that door is an identical corridor. Through the door at the end of that one is another identical corridor. Repeat until you get bored. Add an illusion spell that duplicates any marks the PCs make on the walls onto all the corridors. They'll think they're caught in a teleport loop, when they're not at all. Hilarity will likely ensue.

In a similar vein, have a crossroads, with all four paths leading to it being identical as far as can be seen from the crossroads. When they get to the centre, a Deeper Darkness descends for one round, then lifts. Nothing appears to have changed. In reality, they've been randomly teleported to face a different way at the same crossroads. If you're feeling particularly evil, add a Reverse Gravity effect so that sometimes they get teleported to the ceiling as well, without realising.

AmberVael
2010-05-31, 08:34 AM
Pit covered by a Shadow Conjuration Wall of Stone. It gets the party members with the high saves.

The really hilarious part will be when their party members get a new save with a bonus, for seeing their fellow fall right through. :smallamused:

boomwolf
2010-05-31, 08:35 AM
This trap can be used only in coridors fo 10 ft, 20 ft or so on. i used a 20 ft. corridor on my first invention of said trap:

The corridor goes like this: (a symbol is 5 ft.)

###########
OOXXXXXZZOOO
OOXXXXXZZOOO
OOYYYYYZZOOO
OOYYYYYZZOOO
###########

Legend:
# are walls
O is normal floor
X is an open spike pit trap, cover by an illusion of normal floor.
Y is normal floor, with an illusion of an open spike pit trap.
Z is an open spike pit trap, covered by an illusion of normal floor, that is in turn covered by another illusion of an open spike pit. (the Z illusion of the normal floor is the hardest to see through.)

Now imagine the fun inuses when each party member sees through another set of illusions.

Avilan the Grey
2010-05-31, 08:51 AM
Variant of the spyglass trap - Peepshow of Doom: This one was originally published in Grimtooth's Traps...

An old-fashioned peep show machine (you know the old photo ones that you look into and crank a lever around to switch pictures?). To start with it is ridiculously expensive, like 10 gold coins or something (depending on game system, make them cough up a good chunk of coin!)... The person looking into it sees an attractive female dressed in a belly dancer outfit and veil. When he or she cranks the lever the picture becomes more and more suggestive, until she is almost nude, and removes her veil. Turns out she is a gorgon.......

Steel their money AND petrify them! :smallbiggrin:

If you really really want them dead: After some spelunking in the dungeon they go down a very long, slightly downwards leaning (and badly lit) straight corridor; it should at least be so long that the ceiling at the end of the corridor is twice as far down as the floor at the beginning of the corridor.
No real features, and no door at the end or on the sides. At the end is a hidden floor tile (stretching from wall to wall and about 20 feet backwards) that is set so it won't trigger anything immediately but have a delayed effect, and an obvious decoy trap on the short end of the wall. After about 5-10 seconds the big tile goes "click" and tons and tons of water rushes into the corridor. If the small trap is not detected, or fails to be disarmed, the water is preceded by a sudden covering of the floor with Grease.
If the PCs can hold their breath to the end of the corridor, it wasn't long enough...

Avilan the Grey
2010-05-31, 08:59 AM
...

OK, I'm using this in my Ravenloft campaign.

Small items are usually overlooked as traps. Cursed, maybe, but not trapped.

Try the most basic one: A dog-whistle that attracts a very VERY mean (interdimentional?) creature if blowed into.

Or a long, sturdy rope with a small, hidden weak spot?

Why not see what exactly happens with the custom-built reverse-firing shotgun? (It is very nice of your friend not to aim it at anyone in particular when testing it after picking it up from the treasure pile / weapons locker, but it wasn't really going that way anyway...)

Or again, try the master-smith mithril helmet with acid trapped between the padding and the helmet, opening up when put on (this one could also be combined with a normal "curse", so it can't be removed easily)...

Lateral
2010-05-31, 09:21 AM
Immovable rods placed at head height + invisibility. So much fun.

Ravens_cry
2010-05-31, 09:23 AM
Variant of the spyglass trap - Peepshow of Doom: This one was originally published in Grimtooth's Traps...

An old-fashioned peep show machine (you know the old photo ones that you look into and crank a lever around to switch pictures?). To start with it is ridiculously expensive, like 10 gold coins or something (depending on game system, make them cough up a good chunk of coin!)... The person looking into it sees an attractive female dressed in a belly dancer outfit and veil. When he or she cranks the lever the picture becomes more and more suggestive, until she is almost nude, and removes her veil. Turns out she is a gorgon.......

Steel their money AND petrify them! :smallbiggrin:

Wow, she must be a real cow (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/gorgon.htm)!
Yes, I know Gorgon is the mythylogical name for the monster, but this topic IS about D&D. And I would call foul on any DM who said a picture of a Gorgon or Medusa (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/medusa.htm) is as effective at petrifaction as the creature themselves.
Still, cute none the less.

Irreverent Fool
2010-05-31, 09:48 AM
Wow, she must be a real cow (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/gorgon.htm)!
Yes, I know Gorgon is the mythylogical name for the monster, but this topic IS about D&D. And I would call foul on any DM who said a picture of a Gorgon or Medusa (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/medusa.htm) is as effective at petrifaction as the creature themselves.
Still, cute none the less.

To which as a DM, I would answer: "That's a pretty ballsy statement coming from a statue."

It's a magic item that casts flesh to stone when the figure removes her veil. Also, she is a medusa. Ta-da.

Jack_Simth
2010-05-31, 10:09 AM
Now imagine the fun inuses when each party member sees through another set of illusions.
You mean when someone recognizes that there's obviously multiple illusions involved, and pulls out a ten-foot pole to start testing everything, and/or casts True Seeing?

Melayl
2010-05-31, 03:23 PM
Variant of the spyglass trap - Peepshow of Doom: This one was originally published in Grimtooth's Traps...

An old-fashioned peep show machine (you know the old photo ones that you look into and crank a lever around to switch pictures?). To start with it is ridiculously expensive, like 10 gold coins or something (depending on game system, make them cough up a good chunk of coin!)... The person looking into it sees an attractive female dressed in a belly dancer outfit and veil. When he or she cranks the lever the picture becomes more and more suggestive, until she is almost nude, and removes her veil. Turns out she is a gorgon.......

Steel their money AND petrify them! :smallbiggrin:

If you really really want them dead: After some spelunking in the dungeon they go down a very long, slightly downwards leaning (and badly lit) straight corridor; it should at least be so long that the ceiling at the end of the corridor is twice as far down as the floor at the beginning of the corridor.
No real features, and no door at the end or on the sides. At the end is a hidden floor tile (stretching from wall to wall and about 20 feet backwards) that is set so it won't trigger anything immediately but have a delayed effect, and an obvious decoy trap on the short end of the wall. After about 5-10 seconds the big tile goes "click" and tons and tons of water rushes into the corridor. If the small trap is not detected, or fails to be disarmed, the water is preceded by a sudden covering of the floor with Grease.
If the PCs can hold their breath to the end of the corridor, it wasn't long enough...

Ahhh...Grimtooth's Traps. Reminds me of the old days of 2E when my brother thought the DM's job was to try to kill all the players....

My favorite from that book was the Harlequin Goose: A crossbow hidden under the jakes (castle outhouse) that fired upwards when someone sat down...

Ranger Mattos
2010-05-31, 06:22 PM
For some time, I've wanted to make a trap that sprays barbeque sauce (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0098.html).
Now, thanks to Saintheart, I also want to make a trap that sets off an elixir of love. (Thanks!)

One of the more amusing that I've experienced made us believe that we were various animals. That was the day I discovered that one of our players can do a very good impression of a chicken. :smallamused:

Don't try any of those in our game :smallannoyed::smallbiggrin:

realbombchu
2010-05-31, 06:36 PM
I know it's not too creative, but curse a highly sought after magic item with the gender changing cursed property. Not deadly, but kinda funny.

Ravens_cry
2010-05-31, 07:02 PM
To which as a DM, I would answer: "That's a pretty ballsy statement coming from a statue."

It's a magic item that casts flesh to stone when the figure removes her veil. Also, she is a medusa. Ta-da.
That works. That works within the logic of the game and the universes it describes.
I would not be happy with being converted into a statuette, but hey, at least I have comfort in knowing the universe is a (somewhat) consistent place.
Thank you.

Savannah
2010-05-31, 08:20 PM
Don't try any of those in our game :smallannoyed::smallbiggrin:

*innocent look* Me? Do that in your game? Never. :smallbiggrin:

Avilan the Grey
2010-06-01, 01:25 AM
Ahhh...Grimtooth's Traps. Reminds me of the old days of 2E when my brother thought the DM's job was to try to kill all the players....

My favorite from that book was the Harlequin Goose: A crossbow hidden under the jakes (castle outhouse) that fired upwards when someone sat down...

That was a good one. The one that got me every time was the "piano floor".

For anyone not knowing that one:

Piano Floor:
Room with narrow (less wide than a human foot is wide) boards for a floor; long and straight and good quality, if slightly far between (a mm or so gap between boards). Problem is that every single board is resting on weak springs. Between the boards, just under them, are room-length razor-sharp blades, edge upwards. Step on it and see (and feel) your foot being cut in slices. Oh and if the pain makes you topple over...?

Avilan the Grey
2010-06-01, 01:26 AM
That works. That works within the logic of the game and the universes it describes.
I would not be happy with being converted into a statuette, but hey, at least I have comfort in knowing the universe is a (somewhat) consistent place.
Thank you.

You have to remember that Grimtooth's Traps were a book with Ideas, no stats, since it was meant to be used with any game system.

Ravens_cry
2010-06-01, 01:42 AM
You have to remember that Grimtooth's Traps were a book with Ideas, no stats, since it was meant to be used with any game system.
Yes, I guessed that. But this is thread is specifically about D&D traps. So any ideas presented should, as you did, be adapted to the constraints of that system.

At least in my opinion anyway.

Avilan the Grey
2010-06-01, 03:16 AM
Yes, I guessed that. But this is thread is specifically about D&D traps. So any ideas presented should, as you did, be adapted to the constraints of that system.

At least in my opinion anyway.

I figured a good DM would make it work, and Irreverent Fool did.

Axolotl
2010-06-01, 03:21 AM
You have to remember that Grimtooth's Traps were a book with Ideas, no stats, since it was meant to be used with any game system.There was a coll 3e version by Necromancer Games. I don't think it had the Medusa peep show but it had the Piano floor and an awful lot of other "fun" traps.

panaikhan
2010-06-01, 07:25 AM
heheh...
I own quite a few of the Grimtooth books, including 'his' only adventure (and my players hated me for it lol)

I love one quote from Traps Lite:
"Remember, that while steel cuts deep, ridicule cuts deeper - and the wounds, though invisible, hurt nonetheless"

As for my own non-deadly traps, I've used a needle-trap coated with a magical dye that turns living flesh flourescent blue. Not good for the rogue's subsequent Hide checks...

Avilan the Grey
2010-06-01, 08:27 AM
As for my own non-deadly traps, I've used a needle-trap coated with a magical dye that turns living flesh flourescent blue. Not good for the rogue's subsequent Hide checks...

A more common variant of that is one that we have seen in many modern "Whodunnit" TV shows: The (for the victim) unknown mark that the trap has given them, making it possible for...


The owner of the house
The town guards
The thieves guild
The demon looking for the PCs
...Etc


...to easily identify them.

Oh and you could always ridicule them by spraying them with something like the fish-pheromone from that Futurama episode... Imagine a PC not being able to walk outside because of the 100000 very "interested" rats that keeps climbing on him?

Macrovore
2010-06-01, 02:19 PM
My favorite trap has to be the following:
upon triggering the trap, the victim is the target of four spell effects, in sequence: Flesh to Stone, Rock to Mud, Mud to Rock, and Stone to Flesh.
This creates the hilarious and deadly effect of melting people. Bonus point if the trap trigger upon opening some sort of vessel, for example, a chest or ark. :)

Optimystik
2010-06-01, 02:37 PM
Why am I not surprised that the traps in this thread are funnier than CAD?

Axolotl
2010-06-01, 02:40 PM
Why am I not surprised that the traps in this thread are funnier than CAD?Because like most people you've stopped expecting anything of quality from CAD long ago?

strider24seven
2010-06-01, 03:51 PM
My personal favorites:
1) The BBEG in one of our campaigns was a lich, who hid his phylactery in a Deck of Many Things, which he modified... heavily. He included the Gnomish Cockpunch card ftw. Our Wizard is wearing a cup to all games now.

2) Anything with a gelatinous cube.

3) A trap sets the room on fire. The only ways to douse the fire are two levers, one labeled H2O, the other labeled CO2. If you pull the H2O, the whole place is flooded, and the trap casts Lightning Storm every 1d4 rounds in the room. If you pull the CO2, the trap casts Wall of Force around you and summons 2d12 Augmented, Awakened Assassin Vines.

4) Any trap that kills you, reanimates your corpse, and then drowns you in Holy Water.

5) An old 2nd ed trap: Summon a Fallen Planetar to turn the party's Paladin. Either his head asplodes or he decapitates the Wizard with his Holy Avenger!

6) The old Shadow Conjuration Wall of Stone trick. Preferably with a Prismatic Wall behind it.

7) Shadow Conjuration Anything cast by a well-built Shadowcraft Mage. Wall of Fire is my favorite. Because it burns hotter than the real thing.

8) Run a ticking timer before the trap goes off, starting at 5:00, but secretly flip a coin every 5 rounds (0:30) to see if the trap detonates.

9) Anything that is mis-labeled.

10) A trap that fires a Rod of Wonder at you.

Ravens_cry
2010-06-01, 03:59 PM
I figured a good DM would make it work, and Irreverent Fool did.

And I praised that, taking an descriptive idea and making it work within the system.
I just don't like arbitrary DM '. . .and you die' effects.

Person_Man
2010-06-01, 04:15 PM
The Ice Cream Cone: When the PCs pass over the trapped space, they must make a DC XX Dex check or fall into a deep cone shaped pit (with the narrow end at the bottom), taking (1d6 * 10ft) falling damage. At the bottom of the pit is a pressure plate liked to a Create Food trap suspended above the heads of the cone. Each round for XX rounds the Create Food trap drops several gallons of ice cream on the heads of the PCs, until the cone is entirely filled with and has a large mound of ice cream on top as well. The PCs can attempt to Climb out of the pit, with a DC of XX + 1 for each round that ice cream has been dropped on them. After the 3rd round of having ice cream dropped on their heads, PC's must check for drowning.

Once per day the Whatever Monster that lives in the dungeon comes by, checks to see if it has any new dessert, eats the contents, and resets the trap.

Poil
2010-06-01, 04:37 PM
I think I could settle for permanent invisible grease at the top of a long staircase and a magic mouth laughing at everyone who falls.

A large locked and trapped (preferably poison) chest, inside is a slightly smaller locked and trapped chest and inside is yet another and so on until the smallest just contains a small folded note. Guess what spell the trapmaker prepared that morning?

A room full of piñatas and certain floor tiles cause random ones to fall down and burst spreading marbles all over the place.

A box, hatch, door, etc that throws a pie in your face if you examine it. Baked with acid of course.

A small box with a crank on one side. Working the crank plays a merry tune but it also summons a large monster that tries to snap your head off.

Cespenar
2010-06-01, 05:35 PM
As a feature that can be added to any trap-filled dungeon: a black, floating hourglass with skulls embedded on it appears above the characters as they enter the area, accompanying them to wherever they go. The hourglass has a time limit to, say, half of what would be a reasonable time to finish the area.

The "catch" is, that the hourglass doesn't actually do anything.

Irreverent Fool
2010-06-01, 05:37 PM
And I praised that, taking an descriptive idea and making it work within the system.
I just don't like arbitrary DM '. . .and you die' effects.

Yeah, I feel bad when I end up using save-or-die effects on the party. After a couple graphic character deaths, I've made sure to use save-or-sucks unless I'm sure the party has a method of avoiding or mitigating the doom.

Just last session, I knew the party had been holding onto a stone to flesh scroll for some time, so I gave an enemy spellcaster a casting of flesh to stone. The party's sorcerer ended up petrified in mid-air and dropping through the docks below into a stormy sea in statue form. Everyone freaked out and started going through their inventories. They were overjoyed when they found the scroll in the warlock's haversack and sent someone to fix the sorcerer up. She ended up getting swept quite a ways away due to failed swim checks thereafter, but managed to get back into the fight without spending more than one round as a statue.

Note that the "it casts spell X" explanation can be used to solve most of the arbitrary DM-says-you-die situations.

I saw a lovely trap in an April Fool's edition of Dungeon (iirc; It may have been a webcomic). The party enters a grand room lit by a chandelier and lined with tapestries and so forth. Across the way stands a lone goblin, looking quite surprised but ready to fight to the death. Thinking little of such a puny creature, the party rushes in to attack. The floor beneath the goblin is hinged, dropping the characters into a pit with a behoolder who was controlling the goblin 'puppet' above. Meanwhile the mimic that was posing as a chandelier drops down behind anyone who didn't fall for the puppet.

(Cespenar is good butler! Yes!)

Lycanthromancer
2010-06-01, 05:43 PM
The Striptease: A permanent arcane eye spell in a room triggers a Chained greater dispel magic (or, if you want to be really cruel, disjunction), attached to a Chained animate objects spell, specially prepped to animate the entire party's clothing and gear. The victims party members start out auto-pinned and start choking, and must make an opposed grapple check to shed their clothes; otherwise, they start taking constriction damage PDQ. Any dispel attempt triggers the traps again.

Venus DIE Trap: Basically, you step on a teleportation square circle (for extra fun, have it activated similar to The Striptease, above, after a greater dispel) and you're dropped in a 100' x 100' x 10' room deep underground with no door, inside of a Fell Drain'd, ringed wall of fire (directed inward), with a custom Energy Admixture (negative energy) applied, and a Transdimensional Spell'd antilife shell. You get your levels drained by the wall, while allips inside the room try to hit you with Wisdom drain. The room is also filled with wights (from adventurers who've been level-drained to death), shadows, wraiths, spectres, and devourers, who catch on fire as they enter the wall of fire, and deal fire damage as they try to eat you (the wall only deals half damage to the undead, but it's just enough to keep the space you appear in clear for more victims to teleport in). Why is the room filled with all these undead? Well, originally it was just an allip, but people who've died either turn into more allips (because they were Wis-drained to death), into wights (because they were level-drained to death), or have died due to hp damage and were hit by the resetting trap that casts create greater undead once per day. The area is also unhallowed and desecrated, with a mass vigor spell applied (this is a constant effect, meaning it doesn't expire after a year has passed); this helps the undead heal after they've been burned. Why is this funny? TPKs are fun!

By the way, you probably shouldn't use that last one unless your party is pretty well epic.

strider24seven
2010-06-01, 08:18 PM
That last one’s pretty brutal, Lycanthromancer, even by my standards.

Of course, you could just make the whole area inside of a Gelatinous Cube in the belly of an Permanently Giant Sized Dire Shark in the belly of a Tarrasque. Just for the extra digestion damage. And Awaken the Dire Shark and make it a Cerebremancer, so that it can cast spells and manifest powers on the pour souls inside its belly. If you can get the Tarrasque to have class levels, make it a Cerebremancer too. And cover everything in Green Mold so they take Cold damage too.

Why, you may ask? So you can add a few extra d6 digestion damage, and the possibility of casting spells and powers on them too. Of course, this hinges on the fact the someone has line of effect to their insides. Otherwise, you have to rely on the Dire Shark and the Tarrasque casting Love’s Pain on the party while they are digesting.

Lycanthromancer
2010-06-01, 09:06 PM
That last one’s pretty brutal, Lycanthromancer, even by my standards.Note that every adventurer that dies to an allip makes both an allip and a greater undead. :smallamused:

The Glyphstone
2010-06-01, 09:11 PM
In terms of Hilarious traps, I like the ones that turn out to be jokes. For example:

the Timer Trap

A simple room, but with spikes lining the (tall) ceiling, tiny holes in the walls, odd runes on the floor, and all sorts of dangerous-looking iconography. When the players enter the room, the door behind them shuts and locks itself, and cannot be opened via Open Lock or Knock. Nor can the door in front. A large, visible timer is attached to the exit door, that begins counting down from....5 minutes or so, and has a big red button below it. Pushing the button resets the timer to maximum.

When the timer reaches 0, the door opens.

Fuzzie Fuzz
2010-06-01, 09:35 PM
In terms of Hilarious traps, I like the ones that turn out to be jokes. For example:

the Timer Trap

A simple room, but with spikes lining the (tall) ceiling, tiny holes in the walls, odd runes on the floor, and all sorts of dangerous-looking iconography. When the players enter the room, the door behind them shuts and locks itself, and cannot be opened via Open Lock or Knock. Nor can the door in front. A large, visible timer is attached to the exit door, that begins counting down from....5 minutes or so, and has a big red button below it. Pushing the button resets the timer to maximum.

When the timer reaches 0, the door opens.



Hee-hee, my players struggled with this one for an hour of real-life time. It was awesome. :smallbiggrin:

Merk
2010-06-01, 10:16 PM
In terms of Hilarious traps, I like the ones that turn out to be jokes. For example:

the Timer Trap

A simple room, but with spikes lining the (tall) ceiling, tiny holes in the walls, odd runes on the floor, and all sorts of dangerous-looking iconography. When the players enter the room, the door behind them shuts and locks itself, and cannot be opened via Open Lock or Knock. Nor can the door in front. A large, visible timer is attached to the exit door, that begins counting down from....5 minutes or so, and has a big red button below it. Pushing the button resets the timer to maximum.

When the timer reaches 0, the door opens.



This... this is incredible.

The Glyphstone
2010-06-01, 11:02 PM
The fun is multiplied if you employ a physical egg timer/stopclock to sit on the table in front of them.:smallcool:

Coidzor
2010-06-02, 12:20 AM
Many people here hate the comic Ctrl+Alt+Del, but that's not what's being discussed here. What IS, however, is the trap described in the last panel of this (http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/)comic.

Go on, I'll wait.

Okay. So. What other hilarious, ridiculous or otherwise absurd traps have you encountered?

http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20100531 Silly person not using a permalink.

Deth Muncher
2010-06-02, 01:25 AM
http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20100531 Silly person not using a permalink.

I don't know what you're talking about, Talking Corpse. :smallbiggrin:

Morph Bark
2010-06-02, 07:56 AM
This thread is great. I certainly plan on using more traps in our next campaign! As a DM, I've never used that many traps, I used to focus moreso on monsters with strategies. The other guy in our group that occassionally DMs (and who is the main DM in our current campaign) uses traps more often... I guess I should repay him in kind sometime. :smalltongue:

Anyhoo, an idea I had for a simple trap was something that hopefully enforces the roleplay aspect a little. Best used with a Paladin in the party.

Crouching Trapster, Fallen Celestial: This is a simple trap that is far from obvious (high Search DC), which simply changes how someone's alignment registers (aura-wise for clerics and pallies and as per detect {alignment}), which won't be noticeable for a while (the alignment the trap forces on them is, of course, diametrically opposed to most of the party members). The victim doesn't even know s/he triggered a trap. A little further into the dungeon, the party will meet with a Celestial of sorts (appropriate to their CR), who tells the party that one of them has fallen to evil.

Cue the party fuddling around with detect evil and possibly starting infighting whilst the Celestial uses subtle spells to bring them down one by one (the trap's victim as last of course).

Alternatively, instead of a celestial a fiend may be used who approaches the victim of the trap and tells him/her something along the lines of "you've done your job well, now we can crush these goody two-shoes together for the glory of [insert evil god/demon lord/archdevil here]!" Then you can see whether the victim of the trap actively tries to ward off his/her fellow party members who attack him/her or whether s/he will focus on the fiend. :smallamused:

Machiavellian
2010-06-02, 11:25 AM
My DM made Xedillian (From Oblivion:Shivering Isles)-themed traps that played with the party's head. The traps weren't deadly, but were focused on making our PCs go Mad, such as a Kobold in a room with a hallucinogenic gas the Kobold was immune to, which makes it Colossal++++ (appears to be) bust is still small. THAT was a riot when the Big Bad Barbarian was curled up in the fetal position, crying on how we should be dead