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View Full Version : [4e] Trap Design (Prison of Zar'suul Spoilers)



Oracle_Hunter
2011-01-10, 12:23 PM
Prison of Zar'suul is a one-shot I'm running soon, so hopefully my Players will stay out of this thread.

The Party
6, LV 15 characters generated for a one-off.

Characters are moderately optimized as all Players are familiar with the system.

Background
The titular "Prison of Zar'suul" is an ancient temple of a now-dead God of Justice that was built to imprison a powerful Dragon. In addition to the Dragon's prison, the temple contained several powerful items that would be good to have on-hand in case the Dragon got loose.

Requirements
As a Classic Dungeon, the PoZ needs traps. Currently I am stuck on how to build these traps into fun encounters - as opposed to annoying roadblocks. Currently I envision the need for the following traps:

- A entry-room trap designed to scare off casual intruders and simple raiders
- One trap to protect Artifact A from serious looters
- A different trap to protect Artifact B from serious looters

Each trap should be "room sized" (i.e. something that can endanger everyone in the room) and should "run" for the length of an Encounter. I may or may not include some monsters (Troglodytes, possibly with Shadar-Kai leaders) with each trap - they'd be trying to loot the Artifacts.

Lethality-wise. I'd like the entry-room trap to be a LV 16 Encounter while each of the Trap Rooms should be around a LV 15. This is going to be an "endurance dungeon" so I'm not making the individual Encounters too punishing.

* * * *
So, any thoughts? I've looked through the DMG I traps and have access to the Dragon Magazine "trap building" article but I'm just stumped for what these encounters are going to look like.

Sipex
2011-01-10, 12:54 PM
I like the approach of building traps as puzzles so the solution isn't simply "Disarm it" or "Don't trigger it". This would be something that you may find in a zelda game or golden sun for instance.

Like, maybe the room is a maze of invisible walls? Players and monsters who walk into a wall become stunned until the start of their next turn. Players can take special actions to help determine where the walls are. For instance, those trained in Arcana can make an Arcana check to see all the walls (from their position) as solid walls. Players may also use a minor action to touch the edges of the square they're on to determine if a wall is near them or not and throwing items will also help determine where walls stop.

Or maybe the entire floor is lined with spike holes but the spikes don't pop out randomly, they have a specific pattern (maybe found somewhere else in the temple), maybe they can be manipulated at a control panel with a successful check so you can target the enemies with it?

edit: Maybe add an extra element as these are paragon heroes. For the maze maybe make it so the maze fills with water as the fight continues. For the spikes, maybe add an extra element that attacks an entire row or column of squares each per turn.

Mando Knight
2011-01-10, 02:45 PM
Give the traps a theme. Having a spikes trap in one room, a lava trap in the next, and a mirror trap in the third doesn't really fit. You could have multi-layered traps, where one is built into the original temple structure (for self-defense and such), and others were built on top of the existing architecture by those that trapped the dragon, for additional security.

The "original" traps would be themed according to the dead god, letting players make Religion or History checks to figure out (sooner) how to get around those traps. These would be the big traps: secret doors, laser-eye statues, and so forth. The "added" traps would generally then be smaller traps: auto-crossbows mounted in statues added by the second group or in corners, wards on the doors that require certain pass phrases known to the second group to pass (wrong answers get rewarded with magic blasts or such), and so forth.

Eorran
2011-01-10, 03:18 PM
I'd suggest a non-lethal trap for the entry, unless the God of Justice was really a God of Excessive Punishment For Minor Offences. However, non-lethal traps can get really creative.

Example: Start with teleportation effects that separate the party, dumping them into separate rooms. Unless they succeed at a skill check (chosen by you), they get booted back to the entrance, and have to try again (a different skill each time). After each failure, grant a penalty - maybe combat with a summoned or construct creature of their level -2, then level, then level +2? Maybe just a healing surge (depending on how much time you want to spend).

Characters who've passed the room check can try to assist those who still have to come through by figuring out which skill opens which door, and getting the randomizer to work for them. Or perhaps they can try an Aid Another through the machine to boost party members' checks.

Oracle_Hunter
2011-01-11, 11:47 AM
I'd suggest a non-lethal trap for the entry, unless the God of Justice was really a God of Excessive Punishment For Minor Offences. However, non-lethal traps can get really creative.
This is a good point, but it should be noted that this particular God of Justice is not of the pansy variety either :smalltongue:
I'll put some sort of non-lethal deterrence up front - an enchanted gate that is Arcane Locked with a Magic Mouth that warns people away in Supernal (angelic version) message and a comment that "only the faithful may enter." A Religion check (DC 20) will reveal the ritual phrasing that members of the order used when being challenged by Temple Guards - which is also the key to the Arcane Gate.
The anteroom still needs a moderately lethal trap to take care of imposters. Since the baddies didn't use the front gate, there probably shouldn't be any of them in the room. I guess I could just use a Golem encounter - but I already have one of those planned.

Ideas?

* * * *

Additionally, I figured out a trap for one of the Artifact Rooms
The Artifact will be suspended in an impenetrable force bubble above a seat on a dias. At 3 places around the room will be warrior statutes with swords at the ready. On the dias will be an inscription that makes reference to the three Faces of Justice (Mercy, Retribution, and Finality) [the warrior statues] and that only one who "truly understands justice" may receive the Artifact.

A DC 20 Religion Check will reveal that the Church of Justice actually has a lengthy prayer that is a mediation on the nature of justice. However the prayer is both lengthy and was originally written in Supernal.

A Skill Challenge commences in which one person must sit on the seat and recite the entire Prayer in Supernal. Each check will be Hard (if he cannot speak Supernal) or Moderate (if he can) but when he fails a check 2 things happens:

(1) He must make a Moderate Endurance check or lose a Healing Surge
(2) One of the Statues is activated and tries to kill him

The Statutes will be homebrew but designed to do Massive Damage while being "poppable." The Statue will activate a spectral warrior that either has a low amount of HP or "pops" like Shaman Spirit Companions. When a Statue is "killed" it will respawn on the start of the next turn at the origin square of a given Statue.

This will give the rest of the party something to do while the (occupied) Religion Checker is making checks 1/round. After 3 failures the three Statues will be activated and the Religion Checker will be booted out of the chair (-1 Surge) and the party can flee the room - or fight forever :smalltongue:

The Statues will only be active as long as the Failed Checker remains in the room or until the Skill Challenge is Successfully completed.
Thoughts on that one?

* * * *

I'm already using an "invisible wall" trap so great minds think alike :smallbiggrin:

Aside from that - it's a Paragon game, so I'd prefer to have something a little more exciting than "spikes and pits" if possible.

BlackSheep
2011-01-11, 12:01 PM
A Skill Challenge commences in which one person must sit on the seat and recite the entire Prayer in Supernal. Each check will be Hard (if he cannot speak Supernal) or Moderate (if he can) but when he fails a check...

Thoughts on that one?


Supernal isn't a standard language for most races. I think the PHB even mentions that you're not allowed to take it as a Language Known at character creation unless you're a Deva. After that, it requires a feat, doesn't it? Is it likely that any of the PCs will know it? If not, I would meditate on exactly how hard it's going to be to achieve a sufficient number of successes before failing three times.

That said, I might allow the players fighting off the statues one free action per round to Aid Another the reciter by shouting advice to him. That free action could itself be a skill check so that it's not an automatic bonus. (And when I say one per round, I mean one for the whole party, since multiple people shouting at once would get confusing.)

Sipex
2011-01-11, 12:52 PM
You make a good point, I'm still coming off heroic so I've yet to up the ante on many of my traps.

Lesse, some ideas.

Dark Room

The room is drenched in enternal darkness and filled with many simple hazards and possibly monsters which adore the dark (or don't depend on sight). Also in the room is the artifact which sheds dim light (enough to tell where it is and see the squares adjacent to it and two lanterns which shed light on their square and each adjacent square.

The darkness is a trap which gets it's own initiative, on it's turn it extinguishes all sources of light except the three already included in the room. For many things (candles, sun rods, etc) it will also destroy the item. In addition, on it's turn the darkness causes 2d10 necro damage to anyone not within the radius of one of the 3 permenant sources.

Make sure the route to the artifact isn't a straight shot (although you can make it seem that way at first, make sure you have some contingencies in place so one teleportation effect won't finish the room off).

Oracle_Hunter
2011-01-12, 10:31 AM
Supernal isn't a standard language for most races. I think the PHB even mentions that you're not allowed to take it as a Language Known at character creation unless you're a Deva. After that, it requires a feat, doesn't it? Is it likely that any of the PCs will know it? If not, I would meditate on exactly how hard it's going to be to achieve a sufficient number of successes before failing three times.

That said, I might allow the players fighting off the statues one free action per round to Aid Another the reciter by shouting advice to him. That free action could itself be a skill check so that it's not an automatic bonus. (And when I say one per round, I mean one for the whole party, since multiple people shouting at once would get confusing.)
Well, I am going to be using the DMG 42 "Moderate" and "Hard" DCs which assume someone only moderately trained in a skill to be trying them. Since the Players can pick their Throne Sitter, I figure that the Hard DCs will at least provoke a few failures to keep things interesting.

Still, I should double-check to make sure that someone has Religion covered well. I'm pretty sure they do, but it's good to think about.

Plus, anyone could use Comprehend Language to Speak Supernal after having heard it from the Front Gate :smallbiggrin:



Dark Room
The room is drenched in enternal darkness and filled with many simple hazards and possibly monsters which adore the dark (or don't depend on sight). Also in the room is the artifact which sheds dim light (enough to tell where it is and see the squares adjacent to it and two lanterns which shed light on their square and each adjacent square.

The darkness is a trap which gets it's own initiative, on it's turn it extinguishes all sources of light except the three already included in the room. For many things (candles, sun rods, etc) it will also destroy the item. In addition, on it's turn the darkness causes 2d10 necro damage to anyone not within the radius of one of the 3 permenant sources.

Make sure the route to the artifact isn't a straight shot (although you can make it seem that way at first, make sure you have some contingencies in place so one teleportation effect won't finish the room off).
Eh, mazes like this are vulnerable to TP effects and I don't want to just "nullify" them. Remember that the traps are set up by an ancient Order of Justice and are supposed to keep looters away while leaving the Artifacts available if one of their members need them.

That's one of the benefits of the Throne Trap - a real member of the Order would probably have that prayer book available; a real temple guardian would have had it memorized.

Still, this has been a good brainstorming session! Keep it up :smallbiggrin:

BlackSheep
2011-01-12, 12:54 PM
For a justice themed temple/prison, I'm thinking scales. Scales that need to be balanced or unbalanced in thematic ways, maybe?

I can't think of good ways to handle the rather obvious choices available to the party, though.

Oracle_Hunter
2011-01-12, 03:51 PM
Eh, maybe I'll go with a "mess of traps" for the anteroom. Get some dart traps, some wall spikes, etc. and put them all in a room with a somehwat complicated path.

Put some baddies in there as "scouts" and you can have a pretty fun Encounter - particularly if neither side knows where the traps are :smallbiggrin:

* * * *

I can't think of how to make the "Scales" thing work either - much less as a protective measure. I mean, it should be something that an Order of Justice would set up which could be bypassed by The Faithful and lethal to their enemies... and (unintentionally) can be spoofed by intrepid adventurers :smallbiggrin: