Traps for high levels?

[Ice&Fire]

How would one go about designing traps for higher level parties (14+) with high level arcane/divine/psionic/whatever casting?

I mean, I spose just sending them against a whole bunch of AMF, but that doesnt seem to imaginative , and the party would wise up to the presence of traps when they enter an AMF after a while

[Myou]

Traps that just cast high level spells at the party?

Maybe stuff like teleporting them into a sealed vat of acid that's full of acid-breathing sharks and lined with buzz-saws. That are electrified. And on fire.

The fire is also on fire.

[bosssmiley]

At high levels (above ~level 10) meaningful characters simply have too many options for an unreactive threat like a trap to anything more than a speedbump / damage tax. A high level trap in D&D depends on ability nullification.

[pingcode20]

At high levels, any form of passive defence is utterly useless. Traps, Walls, Mindless Undead - all useless.

It's got to be actively backed up by opponents with knowledge of the traps and exploiting them to their advantage. Even the humble pit trap is useful when the charging barbarian plummets right into it mid-charge - the rogue doesn't have time to find and disarm it mid-combat, after all.

All the 'sure win' techniques rely on having time to break them out - an opponent who exploits this requirement can turn even CR 1 traps into persistent dangers on the field.

[Johel]

Traps that just cast high level spells at the party?

Maybe stuff like teleporting them into a sealed vat of acid that's full of acid-breathing sharks and lined with buzz-saws. That are electrified. And on fire.

The fire is also on fire.

The adventurer version of the Oudini trick ?
"-Yep. He's locked into a vat, full of acid, with chains around his body. He got 10 seconds oxygen before he suffocate...and about the same before his body's disolved. The key's already disolved, by the way."



For the question :

Magical traps with alarm as a trigger.
"Summon Monster IX" once somebody get too close.
You make it automatic reset after 1 round.
You got waves of Bebiliths which will each stay for about 17 rounds, with 1 additionnal Bebilith appearing at each round.

Worst part of it ? They won't get much XP for that kind of obstacle.

[Jack_Simth]

"Summon Monster IX" once somebody get too close.
You make it automatic reset after 1 round.
You got waves of Bebiliths which will each stay for about 17 rounds, with 1 additionnal Bebilith appearing at each round.

Worst part of it ? They won't get much XP for that kind of obstacle.

Heh, a CR 10 trap that keeps a supply of 17 CR 10 critters around. Of course, if you're really mean, you make it periodic, so that it starts with a supply of the CR 10 critters, and just keeps summoning them over and over again.

But yes - for the most part, traps simply aren't interesting in isolation. However, the Chain Lightning trap in a room full of flesh golems (or the Inflict X Wounds {Mass or not} in the room full of undead, or the Acid Fog trap in the room full of Clay Golems, or the Delayed Blast Fireball trap in the room with the Iron golems, et cetera) does quite well. As do the various "stop" traps in the BBEG's lair (pit traps, web, whatever), or round/level buffing "traps" with normal creatures (why yes, this Haste trap targets all Devils. Why do you ask?). Traps go better in combination with creatures that are immune to the traps (or benefit from them) in one way or another.

[Johel]

Heh, a CR 10 trap that keeps a supply of 17 CR 10 critters around. Of course, if you're really mean, you make it periodic, so that it starts with a supply of the CR 10 critters, and just keeps summoning them over and over again.

But yes - for the most part, traps simply aren't interesting in isolation. However, the Chain Lightning trap in a room full of flesh golems (or the Inflict X Wounds {Mass or not} in the room full of undead, or the Acid Fog trap in the room full of Clay Golems, or the Delayed Blast Fireball trap in the room with the Iron golems, et cetera) does quite well. As do the various "stop" traps in the BBEG's lair (pit traps, web, whatever), or round/level buffing "traps" with normal creatures (why yes, this Haste trap targets all Devils. Why do you ask?).

Well, that's the idea
The trap summons monsters faster than the adventurers can kill them.