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View Full Version : Making Good Traps



The Blackbird
2011-02-14, 09:22 PM
Okay so for a while now I've stopped using traps altogether in my sessions after I and the players got bored of the whole check every door in the dungeon for traps scenario. I love the use of traps in dungeons though, but I find my old ways boring. So I'm looking for creative ideas to make trapping in my dungeons interesting again.

Jack_Simth
2011-02-14, 09:33 PM
Okay so for a while now I've stopped using traps altogether in my sessions after I and the players got bored of the whole check every door in the dungeon for traps scenario. I love the use of traps in dungeons though, but I find my old ways boring. So I'm looking for creative ideas to make trapping in my dungeons interesting again.
Mix with creatures.

CR-1 Covered Pit Traps in strategic areas of the BBEG's throne room. Sure, you can have the rogue look for them... with the BBEG standing right there lobbing fireballs at you. Sure, you could have the fighter Charge him... and fall into a pit trap....

Spell traps that benefit those who 'live' there. Inflict X wounds traps and intelligent undead. You hit one of the ghouls, it steps on the Inflict Light Wounds trap square, and back off - good as new. If you disable the trap, the battle goes much easier. But to disable the trap, you have to spend a few actions while the ghouls are trying very hard to keep you from doing so. Do note that this also works with most golems, as they also have recharge methods.

Land Outcast
2011-02-14, 09:51 PM
Turn traps into something interactive either with the characters or the players:

Instead of the Giant Boulder(tm) just rolling over those who failed their reflex save... make them roll initiative against it (make sure it doesn't outright splatter those who go after the boulder). Then they can run down the passageway searching for niches, or sideway passages, perhaps making reflex saves not to fall prone... or maybe some Sunder Fanatic Barbarian wants to try his luck at breaking it, or at stopping it, or the rogue takes that anvil form the portable hole.
Someone gets caught by it? Reflex save, if it is succesful (and a Balance check is too) now the character is on top of the boulder running.
Make them timed: the players have four minutes to safely disarm a jenga tower, succesful Disable Device checks give them extra time.
Make them solve a trap through something similar to minesweeper, succesful disable device reveal extra tiles.
Make the entire floor collapsible, only moving as the horse (chess) allows for safe passage. But -here's the catch- they must get to tile X in less than N moves (and you make that the shortest route available), or must do so as the horse: jumping, or -if you are really mean- they must get to tile X in exactly N moves (even though an easier way would be in N-2 moves).
my 4cp

dsmiles
2011-02-14, 10:12 PM
[$0.02]

Two words:

GRIMTOOTH'S TRAPS

[/$0.02]

Amnestic
2011-02-14, 10:16 PM
HP-tax, skill check traps out of combat are almost universally boring, not to mention easily solvable by anyone with a Wand of Lesser Vigor.

Jack_Simth's suggestion is a good one. Weave them into combat to create a more tactical environment. Treat them less like traps and more like odd terrain choices. Swinging blades they have to avoid, pitfalls, the occasional flame spurt from the floor...things like that.