Help Find a Monster

[WhiteDrag0n]

The idea here is to use the great combined brainpower of the internet to help DMs locate Monsters to populate thier dungeons. I'm starting this cuz I need help!

I am about to run my adventurers through a dungeon designed by thieves, basically, and I'm designing a puzzle trap where if they open the wrong door, BAM, monster. I need a monster that's OK with standing around for hundreds of years while maintaining my sneaky, trap filled, thief built, dungeon theme.

Undead seem too evil, plus I already had an undead dungeon, and Golums seem to wizardry, but I might have to resort to that eventually.

Their average lvl is 6 and it's D&D 3.5. Alternate campaign monsters are OK!

Thank you in advance!

[BillyBobJoe]

Ummm, any type of construct?

[Zherog]

If there's no source of food, water, and fresh air, you really have limited choices. You already mentioned undead and constructs; another option is some sort of outsider - though for that they still need to breath.

Rogues have Use Magic Device as a class skill, so it's not too hard to justify binding some sort of outsider to a task via a spell cast from a scroll.

[WhiteDrag0n]

Yes construct would work.

But I would like a specific suggestion.

For example Ragamuffin would be an interesting choice, being somewhat chaotic and I could see a bunch of thieves laughing about what it would do to the hapless adventures while corralling it into a closet sized space.

Edit: That's a good idea about the outsiders. I'm imagining these guys to have a sense of humor. So if you have any idea of something extra planar that a thief would summon to have a laugh at the good guys I'd like to hear it!

[aquaticrna]

one option would be to have monsters held in some sort of permanent stasis that is dispelled when they open the door. wouldn't do much for maintaining the dungeon but they wouldn't be breaking anything either...

edit: oh! other option, elementals! they should satisfy all your requirements and are very easily varied

[Kenneth]

Elementals. Minor fiends. Things like that that don't need any for of sustance to stay alive.

You could also put things like a girallon in stasis that un freezes as soon as the trap triggers. He will be angry and ready to brawl ( i have actually used a trap like this before, my players were "what the hell!!! how did a hydra survive down here for 300 years" then i explained the whole staiss thing. they smiled and said ' awesome' :) sometyimes i DO come up with neat ideas in terms of traps

Iamgine the players surpise when openeing a door reveals 2 dire lions that are ready to pounce. :)
(for background info.. my traps boild down to one of two extremes most times either your levle 15 and its a dart trap on teh chest coated with carrionc rawler poison,, or your lvl 3 and the whole room crushes you.. I tend to just randomly roll on teh traps for a perticualr CR, as trap making is something I am just not that great at the majority of the time)

[excruciarch]

You can just put a trap on the door with high DC and summon... just about anything you can summon.

[IthroZada]

I recall a published adventure where, when you entered a room, you activated a magical trap that summoned monsters. So the outsiders wouldn't need to be there all the time, just when trespassers are about.

[excruciarch]

2 IthroZada
And you can roll d% for determining what creature will be summoned. But my players got bored of traps like that quite soon. It's one time solution really.
PS
Giving your PCs a chance to evade encounter or disarm a trap like that will be a good decision. Roleplay-wise or in-game-experience-wise. People do love diversity.

[Delcor]

An interesting trap-monster combo I heard of was a pit trap, a basic 10ftx10ft pit trap, that falls into a gelatinous cube (large so it takes up the entire bottom of the pit).

I'm not sure if this works by RAW, and even though gelatinous cubes are technically CR 3 (4?), having a player fall into one may be a little harsh on a level 6 party.

[WhiteDrag0n]

Thank you for all the suggestions! I will utilize this board in the future!

[Moriato]

You could have some Flesh to Stone'd creatures in the room, and use a Stone to Flesh trap to reanimate them. That gives you the option of using any kind of creature, as long as it's not immune to Flesh to Stone

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Wight. Soon as they open the door, BAM negative level. Now the rest of the puzzle is going to be that much harder with a -1 to all of your d20's.

Some sort of ooze may work, maybe use a Living Spell (MM3), though their attack bonus is usually not great.

For a construct, use an Animated Object. A funny one would be an animated curtain inside the door, so when they go to move it aside it wraps around them and a hilarious fight ensues. Maybe put two animated objects there, a curtain and a suit of armor; the curtain wraps around their face, the suit of armor beats them in the head and they can't even see what's happening.

[Cerlis]

if the room isnt airtight and the only problem is food and water, i believe Elan race comes with enough Power points to sustain themselves daily. Since thats a racial ability you could add any class to that race for a decent encounter. Perhaps he is a prisoner of the thieves, he has "strange Powers" so they decided to use him instead of outright kill him. He's mind controlled (or just insane) and you could use binder, or warlock/dragonshaman or some class that gets access to unique abilities quickly.

(you could even advance this into a plot hook in which they use several mind control elan's as guard dogs. after they defeat the BBEG they get a device to turn off the mind control devices thus freeing any elan's they didnt defeat, gaining them as allies to escape the dungeon and as a future contact or plot point.)

[HalfDragonCube]

Some sort of ooze may work, maybe use a Living Spell (MM3), though their attack bonus is usually not great.

... Aaand that's my cue to say hello!

Seriously, though, a half-dragon gelatinous cube is perfect in this situation.

[Midnight_v]

+1 To wight, and Ooze: Door Marked "Do not Open"

+1 to Elan... I keep forgeting about them how very interesting.

+1 To summoning Trap.

I like all of those ideas.
I suggest...
A mimic.
No it hasn't been there forever... buuut... it is classic!