Kobold dungeon "traps"

[Danielqueue1]

Inspired by Tucker's Kobolds, I had an Idea for a dungeon.

long ago *plot device* was hidden in the deepest depth of BBEG's trap ridden lair.
that was 500 years ago. he's dead. His followers died or left. kobolds moved in and took over, but the traps were far too complex for them to maintain/repair, so they replaced them with much simpler ones... themselves. using a system of tunnels to move from trap to trap undetected.

•the reloading-crossbow trap (they cleared out the old mechanism and now it's just kobolds with crossbows blindly firing through the tiny holes in the walls when they hear the click of a pressure plate.) (See also resetting-spears from wall trap etc)

• the weight-sensitive self-covering pit trap (kobold 1 watches from hole in ceiling, Kobold 2 pulls lever opening the trap when signal given, kobolds 3-6 pull the chain to lift the floor back into place.)

• self-locking-door (kobolds wait for party to enter, then sneak down the hallway, slam the door shut and lock it from the outside. If they are caught the party gains the keys to several other doors.)

• falling rocks traps (kobolds roll rocks through hole in ceiling then cover the hole with ceiling tile and put more rocks on it to make it hard to lift from below.)

• Gelatinous Cube traps (various) (Kobolds took a false wall from elsewhere in the dungeon and use it to block the Gelatinous cube, make false dead ends, or even push it to the hole in the ceiling above the party.

for extra fun, there are no pressure plates that still work, just a spotter kobold with a couple of rocks that make a -click- sound to signal the others.

the idea is that the dungeon starts out like a normal dungeon, lots of monsters and traps, but as they go along things start not adding up. they start finding things out of place, a good perception check lets them hear whispering in the walls and the pattering of small feet in the ceiling etc. And if they act quickly they could even capture a few of the kobolds and "ask them nicely" to bypass the traps or access the side tunnels.

I need more ideas for kobold traps. no magic beyond permanent illusions left over from 500 years past, and no alchemy, just cleverness and legwork.

[Mjolnirbear]

Beehives/wasps nests: in a part of the ceiling that has a small opening to the surface, the kobolds transplants some wasps or bees. The nests are glued to plates designed to fall on top of invaders if the trap is triggered. You could do the same with spiders or scorpions, but logically I wouldn't use it; they are mostly asocial predators and the kobolds would have to keep catching more to top up the jars as they died/escaped.

Diverted river: this becomes a waterfall falling through a grate on the ground, with the falls concealing an entrance. The grate is a trap door that is resettable by pressing a loose stone in the wall. The kobold presses the stone, walks across the grate, and uses a spear or stick hidden behind the falls to press the stone again. Otherwise, the invader falls into the grate and is swept away, taking bludgeoning damage and exiting the complex far from the party.

Double pit trap: originally an illusion concealing a trap in the original dungeon, the kobolds cunningly added onto it. Using discarded trash and half-rotten planks they make it look like it's concealing a trap or trip wire with surface area larger than the illusion, and the planks double as a bridge only strong enough to support Small creatures. Invaders stop to investigate, even partially clear debris, and see solid stone, but when the continue with confidence they fall into the original trap.

Dark flooded chamber: one unused chamber, partially flooded a foot or two due to another diverted stream. Carefully cultivated phosphorescent fungus glow inside a crude glass display case on a crude dragon shrine, looking from a distance like a magic item to make invaders curious. The kobolds have poured oil on the top of the water and laid a trip wire under the water near the shrine which triggers a fire trap out of the dragon's mouth, setting the entire group alight. Don't forget disadvantage to find the trip wire due to being underwater.

[Deox]

Barrels of pitch (mixed with beeswax). Roll these barrels down a slope, or break along the way, coating the ground. Use a simple torch to ignite (bonus points if players bend over / hold torch to the ground to see / investigate and ignite themselves).

Pending on the lair, if there is an otyugh, shambling mound or other similar monsters, have them be at the bottom of a dangerous, greased slope.

A tripwire linked to a box (think a chute with a closeable top) containing tons of spiders (swarms)?

Small, muck filled and 'shallow' puddle, that when crossed or walked through, contains a deeper section with spears, knives, etc. Combine with oil, as oil floats on water...

A brass or similar door handle / knob where there is a hot coal placed inside / other side.

A rope bridge, crossing over a chasm / gap / pit. Once on the other side, a mechanism (can be hidden, tied to a door, whatever) releases the bridge's tension ropes, causing the bridge to collapse.

Speaking of collapsing - collapse all the things. Walls, ceilings, floors, tables. Everything.

Clay jars filled with bees (or snakes). Could be dropped from above? Combine with arrow slits along the side of a narrow corridor.

From an old thread:

I once had an entire village as a kobold trap. Something's very wrong, and the locals refuse to talk about it, but they're definitely hiding something. The evidence points to a nearby kobold warren, and it's easy to infer that the kobolds are terrorizing and extorting the villagers. The local smith has some amazing magical gear he's happy to sell at steep prices, while implying he'll give them a huge retroactive discount if they can cut down on his overhead.... Careful observation will even let the PCs follow a furtive shipment of money right to the Kobold's door.

Unfortunately for the PCs, the secret the villagers are hiding isn't that they're being extorted by the local tribe, but that they're in league with them, luring a steady stream of adventurers to a fake warren that's nothing but traps and ambushes by kobolds. The tribe and the townsfolk sell off the looted gear, splitting the profits. The townsfolk also purchase supplies from merchants on the kobolds' behalf, giving the tribe access to significantly higher-quality trap-building supplies than the norm. Alas, unless the PCs have reason to suspect a double-bluff, a higher insight score only makes it more likely to notice the bait and fall for the trap.

To give the PCs a chance at avoiding walking into their doom, make sure one of the magic items the smith has for sale is something iconic that the PCs recognize as (until recently) belonging to a fellow adventurer, preferably one the party has met in person. Investigation into the town's finances and/or where the smith got his magic items can force the locals into having to outright lie, which might give away the game. Of course, at that point the PCs still have to decide what to do with both the locals and the tribe....

These buggers are extraordinarily small and wire-y. They would not be building tunnels, lairs, and paths greater than 4 to 5' (unless there was an explict need). Use this to force the party to crawl through spaces, allowing the kobolds to plink and poke with impunity. Let them continually ambush and retreat (hit and run).

Poison tipped everything.

Tunnels near bodies of water, allowing them to flood other sections of tunnel, washing the party away (and potentially into other traps).

[Skrum]

Are there rules for bees? Because that's an awesome trap.

[Deox]

Are there rules for bees? Because that's an awesome trap.

I don't believe there is one for bees, specifically, but one could use a swarm of wasps.

[Laserlight]

A pit trap with a gelatinous cube in it. Or rust monsters.

Stone stairs, especially well-used, can be pretty slippery. Oil or grease on a stair might well see someone tumble down.

[Great Dragon]

This looks like lots of fun, and good ideas, here.


Petmaster/s

In the middle of a long hallway the party hears the sound of a slab of thick wood slamming down from the ceiling and returning their gaze forward they see:

A Carrion Crawler is being herded towards them. The (1d10) Kobolds travel behind the Crawler and let it engage the party for the first round, in the hopes that some of the PCs are paralyzed. They then engage in Pact Tactics against the party.

Against still active heavy armored PCs, four Kobolds attack together.

Obvious Spellcasters are targeted by hand crossbows and the Crawler is encouraged to attack these as quickly as possible.

For extra, put a Dragon Wyrmling at the other end with 2d10 Kobolds.

Darts and Hand Crossbows fire from holes in the walls.

Adjust for party composition, size and level.

[Maelynn]

A while ago I had my players run a 'gauntlet' where Kobolds had done their best to create lots of traps. My favourite one was a very sneaky hidden one that couldn't be spotted with even the highest Passive Perception:

A large wooden door, closed with a large wooden beam that rests on metal supports. All the players need to do is lift the beam and open the door. However, the beam covers a small niche in the door that holds a diseased rat (or poisonous snake, or scorpion, etc) that attacks the hand that is holding the beam as soon as it is freed. In my case, the character in question received an instant 1 damage and had to roll a CON save or be infected with Sewer Plague.

[Danielqueue1]

I love a lot of these. Couple of points on some of the ideas, the idea is that the dungeon is already made, the kobolds moved in to it. So the large tunnels would already be there. The kobolds are trying to hide that they are there at all so direct assaults would be reserved to the very end. And some of the traps listed (gelly cube pit trap etc) really could have been there the whole time instead of the theme of "replaced by kobolds."

That being said, redirected river, lured/chased monsters, oil on the stairs, left over pitch and a torch, oil on water over tripwire, double pit trap etc are all rather awesome.

What do y'all think of

Obvious collapsing floor trap, not obvious hole in ceiling. When kobolds in ceiling see a person going to jump over the trap they knock something down the hole (tarp, old portcullis etc.) Stopping the leap mid jump so that the floor collapses. whatever that item was was also holding back a gelatinous cube which falls on them one round later.

[tieren]

I always try to think of uses for ball bearings and caltrops.

Maybe something like an obvious pendulum trap where all the PC's need to do is step to the side, but surprise, the ground they step into is covered in ball bearings/caltrops, spike growth, etc...

Don't get too hung up on gelatinous cubes, try a variety of oozes and puddings.

[Bloodcloud]

A gelatinous cube with recent half dissolved Kobold could help drive the message if they somehow failed to pick up the clues...

Also, a Predator Mode Batman Kobold activating traps in a dark room could be a real cool encounter, now that I think about it. Dragon sorcerer winged kobold with subtle spell metamagic, casting lotsa stuff to push the PC in traps...

[Maelynn]

Kobold Inventor. They have a skunk in a cage. Just waiting to be released.