In searching the web for a good trap book and source, I find it somewhat lacking. There are many books of adventures and plots, but I was only able to find one trap book, and only after weeks of searching. It was good, but short. So I decided to make my own trap books, an ongoing project.

To me, traps are an integral part of an adventure. My players LOVE to find my traps, as I usually only place interesting and unusual traps (with an occasional normal one to catch them off-guard.) My players hate being killed by creatures, but usually don't mind being killed by a trap. Why? Because they have a lot of fun setting off my traps, just to see how they work. Most players seem to be like that. Traps are sometimes obvious (a chest sitting in the middle of an empty room, an unguarded treasure hall, etc.) and obvious traps are sometimes the best (especially if you have a hidden trap right next to it.) But everyone always has at least one player that HAS to know if it is a trap or not.

The main purpose of this book is to help Game Masters come up with an inventive game quickly, including traps. Traps are usually the point where I spend a lot of my time developing my game, and where I have the most fun as Game Master. The more sly and devious the trap, the more fun I have with it when it goes off. I just hate it when I have a good adventure put together and there are no traps when I wanted to put them in. And my players feel let down, too, since one of the most fun points of my adventures are to discover and try to disarm the traps without being killed in the process.

My idea of a good trap includes lots of fun details, one that will peak the curiosity of the players, and even if they die, will have fun doing it (Gee! That was NEAT!) I like the traps that are sometimes so obvious that players (mine especially) just HAVE to set off the trap just to see what it does. One or two of them generally get killed, but at least they enjoyed the show, and the other players had fun watching their 'companions' be squished, cut, sliced and diced to tiny bits.

This is an uncompleted version of the Traps Book. I figured I would place this much on-line since it is still useful, and fun to look at (and also, so I don't get the same traps over and over again.) If you want to add a trap, select that option from the my main home page.

The latest version of this Trap Collection is always at:

www.aros.net/~jseeley and my e-mail address is [email protected]. Let me know how you like it. If you want to submit a trap to be in the Collection, send E-mail to [email protected] with the word TRAP in the subject line.

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The Rolling Hallway

From: Jason Seeley <[email protected]>

This trap is a long corridor trap. As the PCs are walking down the hall, some of them may notice that there are grooves in the floor in the corridor in front of them. The ground is also somewhat rounded (you'll see why.) Actually, the grooves are fairly obvious to anyone paying attention, with about 1" of solid stone, upraised slightly, between each groove. Each groove is about 1' long, followed by another 1" of stone. The walls are smooth however, without any apparent cracks (it helps if there this corridor was constructed by dwarfs.) The first few grooves don't have any kind of pressure plate, but about 5' in, each groove after that has a pressure plate, until the last 5' of the corridor (this trap works best in a corridor at least 30' long, preferably longer, but that might be WAY too obvious... but...)

When a character steps on a pressure plate, it causes every bit of that hallway, even the 5' without pressure plates, to open a hole in one side of each part (alternating each side -- one left, next right, etc.) Immediately upon opening outward, a HUGE stone wheel will come out, roll in the groove, roll up the inclined opposite wall, then roll back into the hole, shutting completely and undetectably. This can, of course, be quite messy and unpleasant for anyone caught BETWEEN the stone and the wall, or the floor,

or halfway between stones (yuck.)

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The Greedy Party

From: Jason Seeley <[email protected]>

Now, what party is there out there that doesn't want to increase their ability scores? Not very many, I'm sure. Well, here is a trap to make them all wary of easy outs.

In a room, they will find various potions, scrolls, etc. (whatever, really) -- maybe even an electric chair (hehe.) The first character to quaff a

potion, read a scroll, sit in the chair, or whatever, has some kind of beneficial effect (temporary or permanent, GM's decision.) Anyone else

doing the exact same thing will have a malignant effect happen (ie, eletrocuted in chair, poisoned badly, blinded by scroll, etc.) Of course,

most players will want to try it for themselves to try to duplicate the effect on the first player. It is very fun to help the first player

understand that there was a beneficial effect, so that he can brag about it so that the other players try it, too. Maybe even have a good effect at random after the first (like a 5% chance or something.)

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The Golden Chamber

From: Berg <[email protected]>

This trap is one I once used to take the collective egos of a group of players down a few notches. The players had stopped thinking about scenarios, merely using magic to batter their way through. Rather than pouring kobolds on the problem until it went away, I decided to let the PLAYERS divest their characters of magic items, more or less voluntarily. This trap only works properly with groups that use magic to solve EVERYTHING, from locked doors and monsters, to ordering food and paying for services (why pay when you can charm, for example).

The trap is a 40' long, 20' wide, and 20' tall chamber, at the end of a side-passage. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all made of pure, solid

gold. This should certainly draw in most PCS, and for those who are less greedy than normal, there is a shelf on the far wall, opposite the

entrance, with a glowing wand/sword/gem/statuette/whatever on it.

The trap functions fairly simply. When the object is lifted off of the shelf, there is a loud *CLICK* noise, but nothing else happens, as far as the PCS can see or hear. However, the floor is now a precisely balanced scale. ANY reduction in weight will trigger the trap. Calculate how much each PC weighs, including both body and equipment weight, and add 5 lbs. for the object removed from the shelf. Removing 5 or more pounds from the floor sets off the trap. Yes, replacing the object on the shelf WILL set off the trap. Adding more weight to the floor won't do any harm, and can actually disarm the trap, with enough weight. For example, putting 1000 lbs. of gold in the room after the trap was armed, while the PCS collectively (including equipment) only weight 900 lbs., means that they can now leave the room safely.

When it goes off, a multi-ton slab seals the only entrance, and the chamber is now airtight. At the same time, glowing runes appear on the walls, ceiling, and floor. Finally, all non-permanent spells and spell-like magical abilities within the room (and within 20' of the outside of the door) are permanently negated. Permanent spells simply cease to function while in the room, as do charged magic items. Permanent magic items function normally, but with a NASTY side effect, explained below.

Attacking any surface of the trap with a non-magical item will easily cause a hole. Attackers must strike ac 6 and do 10 points of damage to make a big enough hole to get air through. As soon as any part of the trap is breached, all magical effects of the trap (magic negation and that side effect listed below) are permanently and irrevocably dispelled. A human-sized hole requires inflicting 100 points of damage.

Now for the good part. Most magic-heavy PCS won't think of using a non-magical object to force the walls, some groups don't HAVE non-magical objects. Any person who strikes a surface of the trap with a magical object SUFFERS. The object must make a save vs. crushing blow, with NO bonuses at all, or be totally destroyed. Any object that is destroyed inflicts 1d4 damage on the wielder per level enchanted into the object (enchanted weapon, used to add pluses to a weapon is a 4th level spell, so a +2 dagger does 8d4 damage). The explosive destruction of magic items does no damage to the wall, nor does the weapon strike itself do any damage to the trap.

The wielder gets a save for half damage vs breath weapon. If the wielder is resistant to magical fire (innate resistance only. Efreeti are protected, spell-protected PCS are NOT), the save is for no damage, half if failed.

A special case occurs with items such as girdles of giant strength. Only magic used to influence the wall is affected. So a warmth ring won't explode, but a girdle of giant strength or a mattock of the titans will. Treat each point of strength above the wearer's normal strength as a separate strength spell for damage purposes. So a 16 strength fighter takes less damage from an exploding girdle of hill giant strength than a 14 strength fighter would.

Each special power of the weapon is treated as a separate spell (FEAR striking the wall with a sword that has 3 wish spells in it. *OUCH*).

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Spiked Stair Trap

From: Paul Middleton <[email protected]>

on a set of stairs - somewhere near the middle is a false stair - when a character of a minimum certain weight treads on the stair the stair cover breaks - the characters foot falls into a group of angled spikes - the spikes are angled 45% downwards - so no damage is taken when the character steps on the trap the weight of the character and the force of the fall will force the foot to the bottom of the trap - If the character does not try to remove his/her foot very carefully and take their time doing so - they will impale there foot on the spikes. (great on for catching thieves this one - they are unlikely to be wearing metal footing!! :-)

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Sand Filled Room

From: [email protected] (Neil Watson)

I like to use a variation of the water room. Once the door locks I begin to fill the room with sand, not water. Sand makes is harder for the PC's to move, which useful because there are usually creatures in the sand, scorpions, snakes, use your imagination. One last bonus about sand, you don't have to worry about inconveniences like water breathing magic!

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Follow the Bouncing Boob

From: Berg <[email protected]>

This trap is one of my sure-fire killers. In grimtooth's scale, while the golden room is 3 skulls, this one is 4 skulls, possibly 5 skulls.

Take a room, at least 100' long, 80' wide, and 80' tall. Use a variant reverse gravity to make gravity highly relative. Now fill the room with

pillars stairways that don't go anywhere, archways, statues holding assorted sharp objects, etc. Each stairway, statue, pillar, or 10'x10'

section of floor, ceiling, wall, or other large surface is considered to be a room 'feature', explained below.

Every time a PC takes a step in this room, there is a chance that the direction of gravity will shift (maybe just 1 degree, or maybe as much as 180). Roll two grenade scatters for every 10'x10' section traversed, or whenever the PC steps onto a new room feature (stepping from stairs to floor, pillar to statue, or walking 11' in a straight line, etc). The first scatter is vertical, the second is horizontal. The point halfway between the two results is the new direction of down. Or, for simplicity, roll 1d6. 1 = gravity stays normal, 2 = down is now straight ahead, 3 = down is behind you, 4 = down is to the left, 5 = down is to the right, 6 = down is straight above you.

Whenever the down direction changes, unless a PC can grab something, they will fall, taking normal damage. Check every 10' of fall to see if they hit something. If they hit something, they stop falling, and take damage. To make the check, roll under their dexterity, just like an ability check. Success means they grabbed onto something before they fell, failure means they fall. Another check is made, same way, for every 10' fallen, success means they grabbed something, hit something, or otherwise stopped their fall.

Unfortunately, hitting something else is moving to a new feature, so roll another d6 to see which direction is now down (with all associated dex checks to avoid falling)...

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All fall down. And down, and down, and down...

From: Berg <[email protected]>

This one is one of my more humorous traps, but still, it is almost 100% guaranteed to kill one PC (but the others won't be harmed at all, except for their pride).

This is another variant reverse gravity trap, only this one is actually fairly pleasant. At first, anyway. The trap is a spherical room, polished to glassy smoothness, with a pair of doors on the equator. The entrance door, and the exit door opposite it. Both doors are made of solid oak, iron-banded, and cannot be forced open in the normal ways (even knock or Bigby's clenched fist spells won't touch it, iit's too strong). The entranc door opens easily, but the exit door is securely locked and barred, from

the other side.

The trap has several fundamental laws of physics disabled. First, there is no terminal velocity, or friction. Second, objects moving in a straight line do not necessarily keep moving in a straight line. Finally, you don't lose any momentum from hitting things, and gravity is towards the wall you fall towards.

Basically, you walk in, plummet, bounce off the floor, which is now the ceiling as far as you are concerned, and fall towards the floor, which is a spot opposite the one you just bounced off of. And with no terminal velocity, you just keep accelerating. In all cases, down is the direction opposite the wall you just hit (and bounced off of). When you hit, you can make a dex check to change your angle, so you bounce off at a totally new (and random) angle. Make a dex check, success means roll 1d4, 1 = right, 2= left, 3 = back, 4 = ahead, and that is the direction of down.

There is one exception here. The exit door. If someone hits that, they do not bounce, and if they have more than 20d6 of falling damage accumulated, they smash through it (destroying the door, and probably dying instantly in the process). Anyone who lands in the exit doorway (after the door has been smashed), or in the entrance doorway lands unharmed on the floor (painful, but no damage). Anyone who hits the closed exit door and takes less than 20d6 damage will weaken the door, and take full damage themselves (for example, hitting the door and taking 15d6 damage means that the next impact only takes 5d6 to shatter the door). Final note, anyone with the Spelljammer skills of Zero-G combat or space fighting will be able to control their bounces, so as to bounce where they want to go (on a successful dex check), eliminating the 1d4 roll for new direction.

Special option: Eliminate the exit door, and make the entrance door a one-way teleporter (or a one-way secret door). Then, wait for falling PCS to hit lightspeed (remember, velocity will effectively double each time they fall across the room), then teleport them somewhere else. Great way to get them to another world, for some special adventuring (Athas, anybody?).

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What Goes Up, Must Come Down

From: [email protected] (Andrew Spring (FCTS-97))

The PCs see a shaft, like those in mines, with no ladder. looking up it, they see sharp spike sticking out of a dead end. looking down, they see a floor, with the shaft ending into a room maybe 20 feet down.

vvvvv<--spikes

__________I | I_________<----ceiling

|

__________ | _________<---floor PCs are on

I | I

I | I <-----shaft

__________I | I_________<---roof of lower floor, end of shaft

Rope--->|

________________________

The shaft has a reverse gravity spell on it, and the rope also does, so it appears that the rope falls down as it should. it is tied to the spikes. If a PC attempts to climb down on the rope, or to jump, they land on the spikes, and take damage depending on the DM. Another variant is that if the PCs try to climb down the rope, there is no revers gravity, but the spikes fall on them instead. they hate these!

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The Painful Foot Dart

From: Viola Krings <[email protected]>

This trap is triggered by weight on a part of the floor. The walls are plated with wood. When someone steps on the trigger, a click is heard, and a dart shoots out from the wall on each side, leaving the wooden panels ripped off. The dart shoot out at the height of one's hips.

A few yards after that, again a pressure plate will cause the click, but this time, the dart pairs come at foot level, and one pair in front of the passing character, one a bit behind, so he will go unharmed unless he tries to jump away.

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Chooser Ain't the Loser

From: [email protected] (Neil Watson)

The party falls down a chute which was originally a set of stairs. Just as they begin collecting their wits they hear the sound of stone grinding on stone. They look up just in time to see a huge stone block sliding down the chute to crush the players. Here's the twist, where the players are standing there is an alcove to hide and be safe from the block. It's only large enough for one person!!!! Will they die together or fight for survival (every man/women for themselves)?

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Deadly Pit of Doom

From: Berg <[email protected]>

This trap is for when the PCS venture into a truly lethal dungeon (drow shrines and illithid strongholds for example). It is gonna kill the guy who trips it, and probably anyone nearby as well.

The trap is a 30' deep, 10' wide square pit trap. The bottom 10' of the shaft is filled with green slime. At the 11' mark, there is a side passage

off of the main shaft, at a right angle. Also at that point is an angled mirror. The effect is of an empty-looking 30' deep pit. From the mirror, up to within 4' of the top, is pure, clear water. For purposes of this trap, it doesn't matter if it is open or closed, open is far more dramatic,

closed is more lethal. Place a skeleton in the side passage of the pit for aesthetics.

Further, the water is invisible, and has an illusion of a water filled pit over it.

What does this mean? It means that the pit looks like a 30' deep pit filled with water, with a skeleton at the bottom, as seen from the top. It's a killer in 3 ways. First, you could drown, second the slime could eat you, and third, you could die in the fall.

A clever party will try to disbelieve the pit trap, and if they succeed, will see a dry 30' deep pit with or without a skeleton at the bottom.

Anyone who goes in in heavy armor is gonna have trouble when they hit the water. But that isn't the worst part. The mirror is capable of supporting the weight of the water on it, but NOTHING else. Entering the pit causes the mirror to break. This drops a volume of water, 15'x10'x10' into a 10'x10'x10' volume of green slime. The water drops, and the wet slime fountains up and onto the party around the top of the pit. Anyone in the pit dies. Anyone within 10' makes a half dex check to avoid the slime, anyone within 20' makes a normal dex check (30' total).

To make matters worse, waterlogged green slime does NOT burn.

To disarm the trap, cast dispel illusion, dispel magic, transmute water to dust, shatter, and fireball. This will make it just a 30' deep pit.

Possibly with some sort of door at the bottom.

If someone falls in, make the next 2 or 3 pits water filled, dry and empty, and/or illusionary, but otherwise fairly safe. It's far better to scare the players with the possibility of character death than it is to actually kill them all off.

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Cold Feet

From: [email protected] (Brian Martin)

A room of various dimensions can be used. A chandelier with various amounts of oil burn above a pit trap. The walls of the pit trap a covered with brown mold. The chandelier is rigged to fall in when the pit trap is sprung.

Most characters that fall in the pit will die as by the time they are able to work on getting out, they are frozen. The people left out of the pit or the trigger'er can also be caught as the brown mold can grow to epic proportions Also, do not forget the flame damage of those in the pit from the fire.

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Chess Is the Best

From: [email protected] (Jonathon Buckel)

You need a chessboard, and a chess set to run the trap. Do not show the PC's the chessboard and pieces until the first player steps on a square, else you might give the trap away.

OUT

-------| |-------

| |

-----------------

h |w|b|w|b|w|b|w|b|

-----------------

g |b|w|b|w|b|w|b|w|

-----------------

f |w|b|w|b|w|b|w|b|

-----------------

e |b|w|b|w|b|w|b|w|

-----------------

d |w|b|w|b|w|b|w|b|

-----------------

c |b|w|b|w|b|w|b|w|

-----------------

b |w|b|w|b|w|b|w|b|

-----------------

a |b|w|b|w|b|w|b|w|

-----------------

| |

-------| |-------

IN

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Essentially you find a room with a chess board for a floor with a space at each end. Some force prevents you from flying across or climbing the walls. Or teleporting across, etc. A force also stops you from being able to stand across or between squares.

Once you step on a square, you essentially become the chess piece for the relevent square you stood on. You are white and thus move first. You can only move as that piece can move. A rook up/down/sideways, a bishop diagonally only, etc. Only the 8 back row pieces are available, no pawns.

Also a corresponding piece appears at the other end of the chess board. The DM controlled piece.

Thus if you step on square a1, you become a rook and a rook appears at square h1. At a2, you are a Knight and a Knight appears at h2. At a3 a Bishop and a Bishop appears at h6. If you step on a4 you are a Queen and a Queen will appear at h5. King similarly.

If a player reaches the DM's back row and is safe at that position, then the player may leave the chess board. (Obviously if the PC takes the DM's piece he can safely stand at the DM's side of the chessboard) The DM's opposing piece also disapears.

The fastest way across is to become a rook, you get to move first, thus you can immediatly move 8 spaces forwards and take your opponent. This of course is how the owner of this little trap uses this room. The player characters of course don't even know it is a chess game and will thus most likely not do this. Usually you end up having 3 or more PC's on the board.

The PC's cannot afford to swap pieces to gain an advantage whereas the DM can, thus giving the DM an advantage. 1 on 1, crossing isn't difficult. Multiple pieces makes it more interesting. heh heh heh!

If a PC steps onto the same square as a PC's piece that is already in the game, you can either allow 2 (or more) of the same piece, in which case another DM piece arrives. swap the second PC for the first and the first exits back to the PC side of the board, or not allow this.

What happens when one side loses the King is also variable, from all pieces of that side then die, (ouch for the PC's :-)) to just the King can die.

What happens if a PC loses his piece is up to the individual DM, I usually described a pretty horific scene of the PC being suitably killed by the chess piece, (see the PC game battlechess for ideas) but was actually transported to some prison cell less his equipment/clothes/etc. Whatever equipment/clothes the DM was nice enough to return to the PC could be found elsewhere, perhaps another cell in the same room. The cells could be found by the other PC's at a later time in the dungeon.

The DM should play his chess game at the level of the PC's if possible. ;-)

After 2 tries at this, I always had more than 2 or 3 PC's on the board. Both teams lost pieces before the others crossed safely. One team were in dire trouble when they had a really good idea of getting another PC to join the game as King so the King of the DM side appeared, their move then was to immediately take the DM's King. Fortunately they had a piece positioned appropriately. I removed all the DM pieces from play at that point. I was feeling leniant and it was a good idea. And if they hadn't come up with something quick, none of them may have successfully got across.

It is a very 'open' trap, it can be modified as the trap progresses. You could also do this with draughts, rather than chess pieces.

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Ogre Fist

From: Leif Roar Moldskred <[email protected]>

The Ogre Fist trap is a pretty basic, low-tech trap for a dead room (i.e. a room that has no other function than being a trap.)

A large timber log is hung in the middle of the room. A rope goes from the back of the log, through a couple of well-greased rings and to the door - opening inwards.

Normally the log is pulled back a meter, the rope tied to the door and the door closed (using considerable force) pulling the log even further back. Then the door is locked, keeping the log in place.

When the door is unlocked it will spring open and the heavy log will come swining through it. To prevent the log from stopping half-way, the doors are made to be break at the sudden jolt at wide-open.

In addition to the considerable damage from the log itself, it contains more than enough energy to throw anybody struck by it several meters back.

Normally, an Ogre Fist is made to throw anybody opening the door into a new trap - a spiked pit, the trigger stone for a rockslide etc. Goblins are especially found of revolving walls that locks after being used. The already battered adventurer may find himself in a dark room, separated from his companions and surrounded by dark-seeing and armed goblins.

There are also variations of this trap replacing the log with all manners of heavy objects. Lead-cauldrons filled with acid, crates filled with

quicksilver, barrels of poision - sometimes even large monsters.

And since we are talking about a decoy-door here, and because of the simplicity of the trap, it is almost impossible to disarm. The only safe way to deal with it is not to stand right in front of the door when it is opened.

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From: [email protected] (Andries Thijssen)

Just When Ya Thought it Was Safe

Build to pitfalls directly after each other. The PCs will discover the first pit (sometimes the hard way, more often by being very careful). Since there is no way around the pit, they will attempt to jump over it. That is when they jump right into the second pit, which has been decorated with stakes and other nasty stuff.

The Good Get Away

For your smart villians only. Have their escape route go through a (looking for the right word here) chimney or other vertical hole. There are handholds in the wall, which one uses to climb up. One of these handholds has some poison needles in it, or a trigger for a dart trap or whatever. The villian (sp?) knows which handhold is trapped and avoids it. Give each pursuing PC a 50% chance to set of the trap.

If PCs slow down to check each handhold before putting their hands in it, have the villian drop a heavy boulder or flaming oil down the tube. However, give the villain enough of a head-start that he cannot be capturted by the PCs in the tunnel, or shot down.

Treasure Ain't Always Treasure

Mix in a some poison with the other treasure. You might even want to label it as potion of healing. (In that case, label the other potions too.)

Another idea:

Place fake traps in your dungeon. For example a floor tile which is not 100% stable. (There are a few pieces of gravel beneath it.) When a PC steps onto the tile announce 'You feel the floor moving beneath you'. Ask for saving throws and stuff. Jumping away makes a lot of noise when wearing armour and might also leave you prone. A perfect situation to have a monster attack. Works especially well in combination with the first idea: i.e. place a fake trap in front and a real one behind it.

On a roleplaying note:

Only intelleigent and crafty creatures make traps. The defenses of a dwarven stronghold are probably riddled with traps. Orcs rely on crude traps such as pits. Remeber that each trap requires an engineering effort by their builders and also maintainance (esp. for poison or dart traps.) There is a difference between traps and defenses. Traps work always, but are mostly one-shot and can be avoided. Do not underestimate the value of murder- holes in the ceiling (esp. for tiny corridors where the PCs have to crawl through). A door with murder holes in it and a pit in front makes an impressive obstacle. The same with a set of steel bars blocking a corridor. While the PCs are trying to open it, the monsters lurk just otuside the infravision range of the PCs and open fire with crossbows. Of course, the monsters are behind special defences, providing 75% or even 90% cover.

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The (In)Complete Teleporting Pit --

(NOTE: This was sent to me in many variations, but this was the first one I got, so that is why this one is here, and the others aren't.)

From: [email protected] (Andrew Boulton)

Okay, here's a good one. Have a deep pit, concealed somehow. The victim falls down, then, just before he hits the bottom, a teleport device/spell sends him back up to the top, with the same velocity. You could keep him in this loop forever, but an alternative is, after a while, (say, when he reaches *terminal* velocity :-), to change the destination of the teleport...say, the same place, but the opposite direction (ie up into the air - see if you can reach escape velocity!)

Another one is to put the teleporter at the end of a corridor, with the destination point at the other end, facing it. You then project the image of a monster in front of the 'porter, and wait for the party to shoot it (and so shoot themselves in the back).

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The Gassy Pyramid

From: [email protected] (SL Nyveen)

It takes place inside an Aztec temple, but it could be anywhere underground, so long as the surrounding soil, rock, and walls are porous to some degree (mine had seams between the fitted stones).

The location is a 10'-wide passageway. It slopes up for a total rise of about 20', runs along for any distance (I used 120'), then slopes back down to the original level. The ceiling and upper walls of the elevated portion are plastered over so as to make them airproof.

The trap is that the elevated, airtight passageway collects natural methane percolating up through the bedrock and sediments. The methane passes harmlessly through the seams of the hallway, but where the plaster prevents it, it collects in deadly and flammable concentrations.

I had others pass this way hundreds of years before the PCs, and had this temple undisturbed since.

My DM's notes follow. I had "buffer rooms" at each end of the hallway, hung with many thick, loose curtains, to contain explosions and protect the rest of the rest of the complex.

Light will reveal a thin, uniform layer of soot along all surfaces. Close examination of the gassy area will reveal that ceiling and walls are lined with smooth plaster made to look like the rest of the masonry blocks.

In the gas-filled region, any flame will set off an explosion causing 6d6 damage. Everyone in the hallway will suffer this damage; those in the buffer rooms save vs. paralyzation for half-damage.

Anyone walking in the gas must save vs. Con every 10 feet after the first 20, regardless of speed, to avoid passing out. If a PC flies through, or is carried, they must save only every 30 feet. If a PC is encumbered, they must save every five feet. If a PC specifies he is holding his breath, the first (5 x Con) feet do not require Con checks.

Three rounds after passing out, PCs must save each round vs. death or die of suffocation.

Note that methane is colorless and odorless. My PCs found a good way around this trap, the second time they tried it. They took large bags of water and water-breathed their way through. They never use torches either. Oh well.

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The Altar Riddle Trap

From: QUAH SONG CHIEK <[email protected]>

Send the players to a point in the game where they have to face a GUARDIAN.... a big creature with whom they should not have too much trouble defeating. After its destruction, the players will encounter an altar with three bowls on it. To proceed further into the adventure, they would need to place one item in each bowl. The wrong items will cause damage to the players in the form of a lightning bolt or some other nasty spell. The correct items are:

* One particular item, determined before-hand, collected in the

adventure up to the taste of the individual GMs... so things like a

ring, mushroom, and dirt are all possible.

* The Silver Dagger of the Guardian. Nasty GM's could have the Guardian

carry more than one dagger...

* One Gold Piece or any type of currency used in the particular world.

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From: MadHatter <[email protected]>

Whirlpool Entrance

A bowl shaped pond about 50' across and 50' deep is the entrance to an underground crypt. At the bottom of the pond is a circle of 13 stone pillars each 13' tall and their circle is 13' across. Written on each pillar are 2 letters : A - M on the top row, and N - Z on the bottom row of letters. A stone 'dome' covers the pillars and enough air is trapped there that the characters could breathe it as they investigate the pillars. Each letter is depressable like a button. On the bottom of the pond in the center of the pillars is a large iron 'cork', however, with so much water pressure no amount of strength could actually pull this plug. The characters are in possession of a scroll with a riddle on it. By depressing the letters to spell this word suddenly the 'cork' becomes ethereal for 5 rounds, during which time the characters and all the water are washed into the crypt/lair below.

It Isn't Always Nice When Demons Leave

A corridor goes east and then south to a dead end. On the north end where the corridor branches there is a large 6' tall red face of a demon who looks like it is yawning. Its mouth is wet. Half-way down the corridor to the south on the eastern side there is a 1' lever angling 'up'. Pulling this lever down causes three areas to go ethereal : the demon face's mouth, the 5' square section of the wall next to the lever and the 10' square section of the floor at the southern end of the dead end. A powerful stream of water will spew from the demon's mouth down the center of the corridor, hitting the southern wall and falling into the pit that has been uncovered by the ethereal floor. Any characters standing in the middle of the corridor will be washed into the wall and then down the pit. The person pulling the lever has a chance to jump through the ethereal hole in the wall. Any characters standing next to the walls will be fine as long as they keep flat against the wall or floor. There is an opposing lever on the other side of the wall that can be lowered (which raises the lever on the corridor side) and turning the trap 'off' thus returning the three sections back to material state.

Are Magic Items Always Nice?

The party finds a magical diadem. If this diadem comes within 20' of any statue in the crypt, the statue immediately animates and attacks the possessor unless the deactivation word is spoken...

A Trick of the Light

A corridor runs west and then turns south 20' before entering a 30' wide, 60' long and 10' tall chamber. The entire northern wall of this chamber, and the northern section of the corridor where it turns south to enter this chamber, are covered with rusted spikes. In the middle of the chamber, running from east to west is a row of 1" thick iron poles which run from ceiling to floor. Touching a pole sets off a wall of lightning along the entire wall (anyone touching the pole saves vs magic at -4). The wall of lightning does 12d6 damage. In the southern half of the chamber there is a ruby red light shining in a narrow beam from the ceiling to the floor. This beam is 10' in front of the large face which is in the middle of the southern wall. There is no apparent source for the light, and any metal surface can reflect it. The face in the southern wall is 6' diameter and made completely of obsidian and it appears to be a distorted human face in the act of laughing. Both eyes are bulging and can be depressed. If both eyes are depressed and the ruby light is not being shined onto the face a complicated illusion will occur. The room appears to tilt very quickly to the north, with that end dropping quickly to a 60 degree angle. Unless characters state that they disbelieve they will stagger and slide to the north as anyone would if a room tilted so suddenly on them! Anyone staggering into the poles will set off the lightning. Anyone falling into the rusted spikes (which of course still seem to line the entire northern

wall) will impale themselves on 3-6 spikes doing 1-6 damage each with a 25% chance for each spike (not cumulative) of contracting a disease. If the two eyes of the face are depressed when the ruby light is being shined upon it the face can be easily moved south and then it slides east revealing the passageway continuing to the south.

Out For A Swim

A 30' square room has a door on the western wall, southern most section, and a door on the southern wall, eastern most section, and a door in the middle of the northern wall. A 1' wide passage leads from the northern door to the southern door. From the 1' wide passage the floor drops to a depth of 30' below the level of the doors. This is all filled with water, including up to 1' above the level of the passage, making the water even with the bottom of the doors. The trip is easy between the northern and southern doors, though the trip to the western door might be more difficult. You can place water elementals, water weirds, crystal oozes or any other kind of nasty creature in there. The water below the 5' deep mark might be very murky just to add to the drama. Maybe the characters would want to investiate it to see if there was another passage or anything hidden down there... or perhaps the floor has a slime coating?

Don't Touch Me!

A sarcophagus will Wither anyone touching it without speaking the proper phrase...

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From: Dan Hopping <dahoppin@eos>

The Lowering Ceiling (and if that weren't enough, Water, too!) PCs enter a circular room, 30' diameter, with a 10' diameter pit (30' deep)

in the center. Directly over the pit is a hole in the ceiling covered with a rusty grate (it can support 25 lbs. of weight before falling.) Opposite the door from the pit is a 6' tall rod, fixed into the floor (hole in the ceiling above.) Once the PCs enter, the door locks behind them, and the 15' high ceiling begins to descend. PCs must tie a rope to the rod, and climb down the pit to escape the ceiling. Once the ceiling touches the floor, a stream of water starts to pour down from abovve, filling the hole at 5' pe turn. There is a watertight trapdoor in the bottom of the pit if the PCs are fast enough. If the grate is still there, PCs may drown. If it was removed (as is likely), they may float up unless armored heavily. Where either exit goes is up to the GM.

The Cleaners

On either side of the stairs there is a groove at waist height, with gear-like notches. at the top of the stairs, a rod fits the grooves, and

will roll when the PCs see it. The rod spins because of the gear notches, and yes, it has protruding blades:). watch those pcs run for their lives! How many think to put something in the groove to stop it?

The One Way Easy, Round Trip Painful

The corridor leads to a 45-degree downward slope to a pit of water (5' wide), and there is another slope on the opposite side. The slopes are covered with downward pointing blades, so you can go down, but not up. A venus fly trap, possibly with something in the water.

The Obvious Trap

A chest of gold in the middle of a long corridor. The floor is actualy a nasty pit trap. The swinging floor drops the pc, & keeps him in- possibly with something nasty.

_____$_____

| | |

| | |

\ | /

\ | /

-------

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The Spiked Pit

From: J. Hazen <[email protected]>

I don't know if you have this trap yet, but reportedly it was used in Vietnam...

* Dig a hole in the ground, about 2-3 feet deep, and about as wide

* Place, over the hole, wooden planks, with a scored line running down

the middle. The wooden planks should have nasty spikes running the

width of them. (the # of rows is up to you, depending on your views of

stealth vs. nastiness.)

* cover with dirt, brush, straw, ferns, etc...

When stepped on, the planks will come together and form a human (or demihuman, or whatever) sandwitch. I'll try to "draw" it for you.

-------+ +--------

|- -|

|- -|

|- -|

+----+

(side view)

Alternately the pit can be deeper, perhaps 5' (leaving only the character's head out of the trap), or deeper (if you want to get really nasty). Also, here is an improvement in design: %%%% = foilage on ground (placed, of course, so that the character doesn't

fall through until (s)he is in the middle) ____ = ground

________________%%%%%%%%%%%%_________________

| |

| |

| |

+++++++++++++ <-- here's the spiked boards with the score

| | in the middle)

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

+___________+

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The Volcano (Convection) Trap

From: Alan Greenberg <[email protected]>

Best trap I ever saw was built into the side of an active volcano. The room had a natural corridor leading into it (no door!). There was a door at the far end. Depending on how good a mood you're in the room can have nothing in it, fixed furnishings, or mobile furnishings.

The trick is that the door leads into the volcano shaft ABOVE the lava pool. Since heat rises, the air in the volcano is constantly moving upward. Opening the door, creates a very high vacuum towards the door sweeping a character into the lava pool unless they can react quickly with an appropriate spell or potion or grab onto a handhold.

The best part of this trap is it is based on natural phenomena and therefore really isn't a trap - so it doesn't show up with detect trap

magic.

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Between a Troll and a Sharp Place

From: [email protected] (JOEL F YODER)

As the delvers (good old Tunnels and Trolls term) walk down a long corridor, they step on a flagstone that sinks a bit. Behind them a large panel in one wall opens up and caltrops fall out. Suddenly, a large troll (or something too tough for the characters to fight, anyway) rushes from around the corner ahead. Run! p.s. this one was my revenge on players who liked to scatter caltrops around liberally.

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Vines and Boulders

From: [email protected] (JOEL F YODER)

The delvers are walking along a hallway whose walls and ceilings are covered with vines. A few vines trail down from the ceiling 20' above, including a few stout ones in the middle of the hallway. Suddenly, hidden panels open up on each end of the hall and 10' diameter boulders begin rolling at the party. Actually, these are illusions, and those who remain below will not be harmed. Those who try to climb the vines, however, will find their hands stuck, and will be drawn up though the hidden, vine-covered holes in the ceiling where a carniverous plant waits to make their aquaintance.

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Water Filled Hot Spot

From: [email protected] (Dan Gilboa)

This is a variation of the water-filled room. Any small room with one door will do. Add a nice fountain (a marble kid pissing into a pool maybe) and some burnt-down and wet bones. After the party enters the room will be locked and water level will rise as usual. Nothing will open the door! Let the water reach about throat-high. Then the water stops and a fine quantity of oil will be spilled from above followed by a jet of flame (ever seen burning oil at sea?). Any sensible player will take a deep breath and dive. Very clever! On the third step

many small holes will be opened on floor level and water level will begin to go down slowly (and make it real slow, there's plenty of oil up

there...) -- they have a choice between drowning, burning by oil, or being boiled alive, not a very easy choice to make.

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Fountain

From: Chris Roberts ([email protected])

A pool of water is located at the intersection of two hallways:

| |

___| |___

0 <------------ pool

___ ____

| |

| |

Laying on the bottom of the pool are various pieces of treasure.

If anyone takes any item from the pool four walls of force seal off the exits instaneously. The fountain starts to overflow the pool immediately, filling the space in three rounds. Putting the item back will cause plates in the floor to slide back and the water to drain through the holes. It takes 1 turn for all the water to drain. After all the water is gone the walls of force disappear. Placing a new item in the pool will cause some beneficial effect (bless, regain 1d4 hit pts, etc.)

To make this nastier you could disallow teleporting, etc. out of the area or make any items actually removed become cursed.

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The All-Is-Not-What-It-Seems Trap

From: Caleb Buchert ([email protected])

The PCs are walking down a hallway and see an open pit (10' wide, 20' across) in the floor. It is filled with any liquid the DM wants (ie. Green slime, sulphuric acid, or just plain H2O). Dangling above the pit is a chain that a PC must jump to in order to grab. The chain is made of a non-corrosive metal. It is connected to a rope that goes around a pulley and is connected to a weight that is 20 pounds heavier than the chain. When the PC grabs the chain, he sinks into the trap. The only way out besides swimming (if he/she doesn't die) is pulling hand over hand out of the liquid. Then he/she can swing back and forth to land on either side of the trap. If the PC lets go of the chain, the weight pulls it up.

The trap is then reset. Smart PC's will find a way to get the chain and pull it until it's at it's end. They will then be able to swing across to

the other side.

#-----#

----!---- !

/ ! / !

/ ! / !

/ ! / !

/ ! / !

/ ! / !

/ ! / !

/ ! / *

---------

\ \

\ \

\ \

\_______\

# = pulleys

! = rope or chain

/ = walls above pit

\ = walls below pit

--- = floor, ceiling, and part of the rope.

* = the weight to counter-balance the chain.

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They're in for Quite a Shock!

Nate Flory ([email protected])

The party is wandering a corridor that slopes upwards and comes across a room containing a round pool of water.

Observant characters will note a 'funny' smell in the air and a small object of value lying in the pool. (The object should most likely be made of metal.. sword, rod, amulet, etc)

If they investigate closer, they notice the object is covered in very small bubbles as if it were immersed in soda water. The trick to this trap is that the object has been charged with a _Shocking Grasp_ spell or otherwise permanently electrified. We all know that when you put an electrical charge in water, it splits the H2O into oxygen and Hydrogen. (this explains the fizzing and funny smell!)

Assuming the party is carrying torches, they will most likely never make it to the point where they investigate this room! The hydrogen will ignite at the slightest flame source.

Really nasty GMs are encouraged to consider sending a bunch of torch-wielding kobolds up the tunnel if the party has figured out this trap and are using magical light sources. This forces the party to stop them from entering the room and preventing the big *BOOM*.

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The Stupid Door Trap

Darren George ([email protected])

The party comes to a door, above which is written, "The Word Is Cthulhu". Trying to open the door will reveal that the door is sentient, and it will solemnly inform the party that it will not open until the word has been said. Saying "Cthulhu" will have no effect. The thing is, to open the door, the party must trick the door into saying "Cthulhu". (Asking the door what the password is will not work- the door will reply that if they don't know the word, they don't deserve to be let in.)

I have come up with three ways to trick the door (assuming, of course, the door isn't very bright).

1) Tell it a knock-knock joke: "Knock-knock" "Who's there?" "Cthul" "Cthul who? Damn!"

2) Start cheering: "Who's the eater of the world that's made of you and me? C-T-H! U-L-U! Cthulhu! Cthulhu! Yeahhhhh, Cthulhu!!" The door will join in on the third "Cthulhu."

3) Blatantly mispronounce the word until the door, in exasperation, corrects their pronounciation.

If, however, Cthulhu hears his name, and sends someone to investigate, the door will (successfully) pretend to be non-sentient, and allow the delvers to take the blame for the blasphemy and loose tongues.

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Well, that is it for now. These traps should demonstrate what I am looking for. If you are interested in submitting a trap, send it to

[email protected] with the word TRAP in the subject line.