Nasty Traps, Dire Consequences

[Bloodstone Mage]

What are some really nasty traps you've thrown at your players, or that you, as a player, have gone through?

The reason I ask is this weekend (or next, depending on things go), I'm to run a survival game using the Spycraft system (I got the idea for the scenario from an article on the upcoming Resident Evil 4). However, I need some more ideas for traps that have some consequences that affect the victim's game play, such as a bear trap hidden in the woods that can amputate a foot (hindering movement and related skill checks [Balance, Climb, Jump, Move Silently, Swim, Tumble, etc.]). That's a bland example, though. I expect more out of you EN Worlders.

Cheers!

 

[Breakstone]

When fighting goblins in a narrow hallways, the characters were surprised when one goblins switched a lever on a wall and huge blades swung out of the walls three feet off the ground... just above the goblins' heads, and just into the chests of the characters!

Ah, Traps and Treachery, how I love thee...


Oh, and another one I've used on various groups.

Ingredients:

1 (one) Troll (or otherwise big, nasty creature).
1 (one) big, metal, spikey (and hingeless) door.
1 (one) thin hallway.

Hide troll behind door. Have troll listening for characters. When characters approach, troll kicks huge, metal, spikey door on characters (it's hingeless, and not even connected to the wall!). Troll then fights characters while squashing other characters beneath door. Laugh maniacally.

 

[hong]

Paladin falls into a 20' pit, takes 2d6 points of damage, lands on a spring-loaded plate that throws him back into the ceiling, takes another 3d6 points of damage, falls back into the pit for another 3d6 points of damage, and then the ceiling caves in on him for 4d6 points of damage.

For that old-skool Looney Tunes feel.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

Ingredients:

A permanent grease spell.
A hallway at a relatively sharp incline.
Lots of razors, dagger points, etc. built into the walls, floor and ceiling.
Pit of acid at the end of the hallway

This trap whacked a couple of characters in a high level game once. I think you can assemble it yourself.

The other trap I had in that same adventure was a scything blade trap built into this door...in order to open the door, you had to turn the handle by sticking your hand inside of a block on the door, activating the trap and severing the hand of whoever did it. This one was foiled quite easily with a mage hand, which was such a clever way around it that I gave the wizard character some extra XP.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

For permenant/long term damage:

Itching fungal spores that dig into your skin. Perhaps giving you a distraction penalty to everything. If it's 'no magic' Spycraft then no Remove Disease - so it's the antibiotics for that player!

Sprayed with 'skunk juice'. Something that smells absolutely dreadful. Going to be extremely hard to sneak up on anyone. Perhaps it even attracts certain kinds of predators...

Acid sprayed in the eyes = Blindness. Which is probably a little bit too harsh! Could make you partially blind - penalty to spot/listen.

 

[Wippit Guud]

Super glue and a rainbow clown wig... wait, that's been done...


Could put in a decent magical weapon, but give it a mundane defense mechanism like the sword Blade has... that'll take off a hand fairly easily.


I suppose the "Head of Vecna" is a bit too much?

 

[Zhure]

Three cockatrice under a rock making noise.

 

[redknight]

Heroes are heading down a corridor when they find a hidden spiked pit blocking their path. The spikes are spaced far enough apart so that is someone is lowered into the pit, they can walk across the bottom.

However, it is a false bottom and the unlucky heroes break through and fall into the real spiked pit. (Poisoned spikes if you are feeling nasty - or there is a creature amidst the spikes - carrior crawler, ooze etc.)

 

[Amal Shukup]

Currently occurring in my game...

Big Elevator. Think a freight elevator made out of 'really beat up' flat metal bars. Looks like it's been repaired recently...

Operates from inside the cage using a big lever. Turns out that to use it SAFELY, one must twist the lever before pulling it (Search DC 30 to discover this trap)

Oops...

Elevator disconnects from chain. Entire Party plummets 160 Feet straight down in a metal cage. 16D6 Damage (scale to suit party) and everyone is higgledy piggledy inside the bent and twisted metal wreckage (door is bent such that it is not readily opened).

Oh yeah. Roll for initiative, suckahs, something wicked this way comes. And they got sharp, pointy things...

We'll find out what happens when we resume play next Tuesday. Truthfully, I expect my party to represent. In the one round we played before calling it for the night, the Paladin laid hands on the 'Death's Door' Wizard, and the Cleric made with the Mass Cure Light Wounds (which not only put the party in better shape but actually hurt a number of nearby undead as well).

I THINK I'm about to see a Strength Domain 'Feat of Strength' coupled with a Quickened Enlarge Person... (Gonna bust that cage HULK-STYLE!).

A'Mal