Blad
2008-09-09, 03:57 AM
This homebrewed trap, or cluster of traps, is supposed to be survivable by a level 4-5 party; however, it should also be challenging for them, because it is one of the most important defences of a tribe of goblinoids whose underground city is, until now, completely hidden from the surface world. Should the attack bonuses be modified, what level should it be, and how much XP should be awarded for it?
Goblin Smellpots Level ??? Blaster
Trap XP ???
From the other side of the room, you watch the rogue stealthily moving towards the double doors. As he gets to work opening them, you notice a wisp of blue smoke coming out of the keyholes. As soon as the rogue has unlocked the doors, he opens them with a flourish – and is enveloped by the large cloud of smoke that immediately starts spilling out.
A 10 ft wide, 45 ft long corridor is the only way into the goblin city. There is a set of double doors on each end. These sets of doors have two locks each, for both of which a key or a thievery check (DC 20) is needed - to enter from the outside, that is. From the inside, one just has to pull.
In the wall to the left – as one is entering the city – are three niches, each containing a kettle from which very dense blue fumes arise. The kettles are actually standing on top of a metal grid and are constantly being heated by hot air, coming from underneath.
The kettles contain a substance which smells a little like cheese gone bad, a little like meat gone bad, a little like a potion gone bad, and wholly disgusting, even actively sickening. It seems to have this effect on all creatures except goblinoids, who can pass through the fumes without any ill effect and even seem to enjoy it. This is because of a strange quirk of goblinoid physiology, which might somehow be connected to the remarkable resilience or to the radically different palate of the hobgoblin. (Heroes may find out all of this with the appropriate knowledge checks.)
In this case the goblins have exploited the anomaly by blocking all but one of the natural paths from the surface to their underground city, and by making sure that this single corridor is constantly filled with vapours that are harmful to all non-goblinoids.
The first kettle is located adjacent to a square on the right, one square away from the entrance and seven squares from the exit. The second kettle is halfway down the corridor, i.e. adjacent to the square on the right that is four squares away from both doorways, and the third kettle is even further along the same wall, one square away from the exit and seven squares from the entrance. However, the heroes can not actually see this, as the whole corridor is filled with fumes granting total concealment to everything in them.
Mechanically speaking, the trap does the following. Each of the kettles is a blaster that envelopes 10 squares into a wall effect. They all attack as an immediate action once the doors open, and then they roll initiative and all attack each round on their initiative count. The ‘wall’ is always organised in two rows of five squares each, but the exact position of these rows differs: if the doors on either side of the corridor are opened, then the kettle nearest to those doors will include the two squares on the other side of the door in its wall effect, meaning that the two squares halfway down the corridor will not be included. However, when the doors on both sides are closed, those two squares will actually be blasted by all three of the kettles, to reflect the fact that the fumes can’t leave the chamber.
The kettles make a +5 attack vs. Fortitude against any creature in the area of effect (and as the areas of effect overlap, the trap might attack one creature three times during a single turn). If it’s a hit, the creature is slowed (save ends) and gets a secondary attack, +4 vs. Fortitude, which renders it unconscious (save ends) if successful, with slowed (save ends) as an aftereffect. If the secondary attack hits, the trap gets a tertiary attack (+0 vs. Fortitude), which, if successful, renders the creature unconscious until it is no longer in the area of effect of any of the kettles (whether because someone has moved him or because of something that happened to the kettles).
After the trap’s turn has ended, the area affected by it remains heavily obscured for one round, and lightly obscured for one round after that. This makes it challenging for the heroes to find out where the fumes are coming from in the first place. If the area is heavily obscured, only a creature adjacent to a kettle has a chance of noticing its presence.
There are various countermeasures that might be taken. A party of adventurers might opt to pass through as quickly as possible, going straight for the door at the other side of the corridor and attempting to open it. They may also try to find and disable the kettles first; the lid, if dislodged (DC 20 thievery or strength check) , may be lowered over the kettle, preventing it from making attacks until the lid is taken off again. Furthermore, as heroes may discover if they are dropped prone, lying prone actually nets a +2 circumstance bonus on the fortitude defense against the attacks, as the fumes are less dense closer to the ground. Holding one’s breath, however, will not work because the harmful vapours can enter trough any orifice, even through skin. Lastly, there is a small hatch, located in the floor of the left-hand square halfway down the corridor, which is used to fuel the fire that is burning underneath the floor, heating the kettles through a primitive central heating system. If heroes find this hatch (Perception DC 25 for anyone in that square), one small or medium creature can just fit into the underlying chute and thus shield itself from the fumes. Being there, it can also attempt to extinguish the fire or otherwise disable the heating system, but even if this succeeds the traps will still remain operative for half an hour.
Goblin Smellpots Level ??? Blaster
Trap XP ???
From the other side of the room, you watch the rogue stealthily moving towards the double doors. As he gets to work opening them, you notice a wisp of blue smoke coming out of the keyholes. As soon as the rogue has unlocked the doors, he opens them with a flourish – and is enveloped by the large cloud of smoke that immediately starts spilling out.
A 10 ft wide, 45 ft long corridor is the only way into the goblin city. There is a set of double doors on each end. These sets of doors have two locks each, for both of which a key or a thievery check (DC 20) is needed - to enter from the outside, that is. From the inside, one just has to pull.
In the wall to the left – as one is entering the city – are three niches, each containing a kettle from which very dense blue fumes arise. The kettles are actually standing on top of a metal grid and are constantly being heated by hot air, coming from underneath.
The kettles contain a substance which smells a little like cheese gone bad, a little like meat gone bad, a little like a potion gone bad, and wholly disgusting, even actively sickening. It seems to have this effect on all creatures except goblinoids, who can pass through the fumes without any ill effect and even seem to enjoy it. This is because of a strange quirk of goblinoid physiology, which might somehow be connected to the remarkable resilience or to the radically different palate of the hobgoblin. (Heroes may find out all of this with the appropriate knowledge checks.)
In this case the goblins have exploited the anomaly by blocking all but one of the natural paths from the surface to their underground city, and by making sure that this single corridor is constantly filled with vapours that are harmful to all non-goblinoids.
The first kettle is located adjacent to a square on the right, one square away from the entrance and seven squares from the exit. The second kettle is halfway down the corridor, i.e. adjacent to the square on the right that is four squares away from both doorways, and the third kettle is even further along the same wall, one square away from the exit and seven squares from the entrance. However, the heroes can not actually see this, as the whole corridor is filled with fumes granting total concealment to everything in them.
Mechanically speaking, the trap does the following. Each of the kettles is a blaster that envelopes 10 squares into a wall effect. They all attack as an immediate action once the doors open, and then they roll initiative and all attack each round on their initiative count. The ‘wall’ is always organised in two rows of five squares each, but the exact position of these rows differs: if the doors on either side of the corridor are opened, then the kettle nearest to those doors will include the two squares on the other side of the door in its wall effect, meaning that the two squares halfway down the corridor will not be included. However, when the doors on both sides are closed, those two squares will actually be blasted by all three of the kettles, to reflect the fact that the fumes can’t leave the chamber.
The kettles make a +5 attack vs. Fortitude against any creature in the area of effect (and as the areas of effect overlap, the trap might attack one creature three times during a single turn). If it’s a hit, the creature is slowed (save ends) and gets a secondary attack, +4 vs. Fortitude, which renders it unconscious (save ends) if successful, with slowed (save ends) as an aftereffect. If the secondary attack hits, the trap gets a tertiary attack (+0 vs. Fortitude), which, if successful, renders the creature unconscious until it is no longer in the area of effect of any of the kettles (whether because someone has moved him or because of something that happened to the kettles).
After the trap’s turn has ended, the area affected by it remains heavily obscured for one round, and lightly obscured for one round after that. This makes it challenging for the heroes to find out where the fumes are coming from in the first place. If the area is heavily obscured, only a creature adjacent to a kettle has a chance of noticing its presence.
There are various countermeasures that might be taken. A party of adventurers might opt to pass through as quickly as possible, going straight for the door at the other side of the corridor and attempting to open it. They may also try to find and disable the kettles first; the lid, if dislodged (DC 20 thievery or strength check) , may be lowered over the kettle, preventing it from making attacks until the lid is taken off again. Furthermore, as heroes may discover if they are dropped prone, lying prone actually nets a +2 circumstance bonus on the fortitude defense against the attacks, as the fumes are less dense closer to the ground. Holding one’s breath, however, will not work because the harmful vapours can enter trough any orifice, even through skin. Lastly, there is a small hatch, located in the floor of the left-hand square halfway down the corridor, which is used to fuel the fire that is burning underneath the floor, heating the kettles through a primitive central heating system. If heroes find this hatch (Perception DC 25 for anyone in that square), one small or medium creature can just fit into the underlying chute and thus shield itself from the fumes. Being there, it can also attempt to extinguish the fire or otherwise disable the heating system, but even if this succeeds the traps will still remain operative for half an hour.