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FabulousFizban
2013-10-11, 12:20 PM
What are some of the best ideas you've had for individual dungeon rooms?

I once had a room that had a minotaur flesh golem created by a mad alchemist. In the corners of the room were four transformers that constantly powered and healed the minotaur. The players had to destroy the transformers before they could kill the golem. All the while, the alchemist would cackle madly and fiddle with machinery at the far side of the room, protected by a wall of force. Bringing down the transformers also caused an overload that shut down his protective barrier.

Another room was a giant rotating locking mechanism that the players had to figure out how to move and align. I actually built that one out of styrofoam. It was pretty cool.

Sir_Thaddeus
2013-10-11, 02:35 PM
I've never actually used this in a game, but I had an idea for a room in a dungeon that was a bridge over a large pool of acid. At the far end of the bridge from the PCs would be a lever that, when activated, would cause the bridge to rotate. One of the dungeon inhabitants would activate this when the PCs would enter the room, and now the PCs have to make their way across a rotating bridge over a pool of acid.

Since I normally play 3.5, I was thinking of pulling out Dungeonscape and adding an Acidborn giant squid to the pool. That would make things interesting.

The main reason I never used this was it's hard to figure out when I could have. Too low level, and it's overly lethal. Too high level, and the mage just flies over. And the level at which it stops being too lethal is higher than the level when flight becomes available.

FabulousFizban
2013-10-11, 04:22 PM
You could make the pool diluted acid or some other more moderately caustic substance so that falling in isn't instant death but still dangerous.

nedz
2013-10-11, 04:55 PM
You could always go for the old Acid breathing Shark (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0541.html).

Sir_Thaddeus
2013-10-11, 05:30 PM
You could always go for the old Acid breathing Shark (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0541.html).

Actually, that shark has the template (Acidborn) that I mentioned. If I recall correctly, Rich Burlew helped write the splatbook it's in, Dungeonscape. I was thinking squid rather than shark, but I could probably replace it with the shark if it's lower CR.

And Fizban, that's actually a pretty good idea. I might try a lowered-dangerousness version in a future game.

Toy Killer
2013-10-11, 06:40 PM
I abhor the 30x30ft room + monster formula.

In any encounter I build, that's the first thing that goes. I'm pretty fond of putting in staircases, as they tend to make interesting widgets in tactical maneuvering.

My most head ache inducing, difficult encounter ever built and played was one for a Demon lord name Stul.

He was, in essence, an abyssal Myconid. I figured when the players finally got to face him, he would have a trippy shroom flavored encounter, including a tesseract. First mistake.

Noticing that it looked like a side scroller, and being a mushroom man, I put in two NPCs to protect him, one that rode a Raptor, and one that had a huge hammer.

I adjusted the towns history with including the start of a sewer system, and placed pipes all over.

During the encounter itself, Luigi was chucking fire balls at people as he rode Yoshi, zipping down and across the boards. Mario was a leap attack, power attacking monster that damn near OHKO'd a PC and Stul (Name retroactively decided, btw) was chucking out potions in the forms of mushrooms for his minions and getting pissed when the Players took them instead.

The combat took forever, simply because movement was irrationally weird, but ultimately, everyone had a good fun time taking down the Mario Brothers, and jokes were thrown about as the grappling monster in our party started using the NPCs as weapons. I had music set up for ambiance, but it took literally two lines of description for Stul before the bard took matters into his own hand and played the Mario theme from his iPod.

Oh, god... never designing a tesseract again.

Doorhandle
2013-10-11, 07:16 PM
Didn't we do this already?

(http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=281083)

Oh well.

Just as an addition, I'd like to have the players hunted by something like pyramid head: invincible, highly damaging, but SLOW. Have it slowly follow them throughout the dungeon.

FabulousFizban
2013-10-11, 07:27 PM
Well Doorhandle, I was looking for "best," not necessarily most lethal. If lethal is your preference then yes that forumn certainly fits. It could also be most entertaining, most ridiculous, most cathartic; I left the descriptor vague to get people's perspectives on the matter.

Also I was unaware of the other forumn...

Edit: I like the idea of an unstoppable pyramid head like creature as motivator.
"Well if we rest that thing could get us."
"Well if we don't rest I'll have no spells!"
"Well while you two have been arguing it has crept slowly down the corridor."

Doorhandle
2013-10-11, 08:09 PM
Well Doorhandle, I was looking for "best," not necessarily most lethal. If lethal is your preference then yes that forumn certainly fits. It could also be most entertaining, most ridiculous, most cathartic; I left the descriptor vague to get people's perspectives on the matter.

Also I was unaware of the other forumn...

Edit: I like the idea of an unstoppable pyramid head like creature as motivator.
"Well if we rest that thing could get us."
"Well if we don't rest I'll have no spells!"
"Well while you two have been arguing it has crept slowly down the corridor."

Fair enough, but going for maximum lethality allows in the REALLY gonzo stuff. And you did call this thing "dangerous dungeons."

Speaking of resting, I've had an idea where after they camp in a dungeon, they'd end up with their camp surrounded by kobolds who'd set fortifacions up in each room around those that the P.Cs are sleeping in. Possibly lead by a lawful kobold, as a more flexible morality would just kill them in their sleep which wouldn't be fun. :smalltongue:

Eladrinblade
2013-10-12, 02:28 PM
The single most dangerous "room" by itself that I ever used as a DM was this:

The players were in a cave that opened up into an abyss - a cliff-face that dropped farther down than their light could reach. Down the cliff-face, they could see a hole with mist dripping out of it. Since they had no other ways to go, they rappelled down. The opening was worked to resemble the mouth of a snake, inside being a chamber.

The chamber was thick with mist, and all they could see were bones on the floor, many of which were cracked. Upon exploring the room, they found it to be about 40ft. to a side, and circular, with the opposite end having a large (10ft. wide) iron seal depicting a tribal warrior in some jungle fighting a gigantic demonic serpent. The room is full of mist (a magical effect that can be dispelled), and one cannot see more than 10ft. away, and it is dark other than whatever lights they are carrying. The floor is covered in bones about half a foot deep (difficult terrain). The bones appear to be from large snakes (some of which are still mostly intact).

Upon touching the seal, which is designed to roll to one side (and is coated in contact poison), a bane effect is triggered (unless disabled), several large snake skeletons from the floor animate (the "cracks" are actually spell stitches, as the template), and a demonic serpent is summoned from the one on the seal; the serpent emerges from the one on the door, magically sliding out. It is a half-fiend dire snake with the vipergout spell as a spell-like ability (it summons small and medium fiendish vipers in addition to a snake swarm), which it physically vomits from it's mouth.

Technically, all of those were magic traps, which could be disabled at various DCs.

Inside the iron seal is a yuan-ti dungeon.

Doomboy911
2013-10-12, 08:53 PM
Right so I like to think of myself as quite dastardly when it comes to building traps and dungeons. So enjoy.

So the players find themselves in this maze and they begin to notice at the end of each corridor is mirrors that let them see around the corner. What luck! With this they can spot any monster that comes their way. Oh no here comes some fiendish minotaur looking extra terrifying better turn the corner, whoops spike pit. Jump across oh darn this way has some golem with a furnace thing in its stomach, why is the dm throwing such tough crap our way quick go this way. Oh crap spikes coming your way pull off a nice dodge now there is poisonous gas coming out crap. This way seems safe oh no an army of mind flayers coming your way turn left now. Fireball traps a coming.

The trick isn't in the monsters the monsters aren't there. The mirrors are just using illusions to make them think these things are coming their way to redirect them into the wrong path and into traps.

This room is pitch black Except for a glowing inscription illuminating a door "find the light" Suddenly a light appears a glowing chalice starts to float through the air. They lunge for it and find that it's actually floating in a gelatinous cube. Kind of simple but you can get into some really good visuals.

The players enter the room and see a sealed doorway, in the center of the room is a pool of some kind of slime and above them is a mirror reflecting the whole room. Suddenly the ceiling begins to descend. You try to stop it but your hands sink in. Crap it's a big gelatinous cube.

What you have to do is climb into the pool of slime and swim up the room isn't really a reflection they actually built the floor on the ceiling as well. in the well on the ceiling is a lever that opens the floor on the ground.

If you like those let me know and I'll tell you my best two ideas.