srt@ucla-cs.UUCP (10/17/84)
Most of my traps involve a defender, since I don't think most trap mechanisms
available at a low technological level have much lasting power.
(1) Build a door with a deeply recessed (fake) handle. When the character
puts his hand in to pull the handle, the defender on the far side lops it
off with a sword (automatic hit, 50% completely severed).
(2) A variant on the oil hallway.
party defenders
-----+ +-+ oil 6" +----------
| | |_________________________|
|pit |
+----+
The party comes along the hallway and the defenders jump out from around a
corner and loose arrows. The party jumps into the pit for cover. The
defenders light the oil and their mage casts a Wind spell the blows the flames
over the pit and starts slopping the burning oil into the pit. No one gets
out of the pit without major damage.
It should be pointed out that the average Middle Age oil didn't really burn
too well, and that most FRPers treat oil more like gasoline.
(3) A ladder trap. The party comes to a ladder leading up a shaft at the
end of a corridor. The fourth rung up is triggered to collapse the first
five rungs, and to open a trap door at the bottom of the ladder. The result
is that the climber gets a fall of 10-12'. If the party persists in climbing
(and most will), the seventh rung or so is triggered to release a load of
rocks from the top of the shaft. The climber (and anyone else in the shaft)
gets a 15-20' fall AND a ton of rocks on top of them. Pretty deadly to most
characters.
Scott R. Turner
UCLA Computer Science Department
3531 Boelter Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90024
ARPA: srt@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA
UUCP: ...!{cepu,ihnp4,trwspp,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!srtjohnfr@dartvax.UUCP (John Freeman) (10/20/84)
(take that, you 40hd line-eater!!!...:-)
Personally, I think that the traps you listed pretty much sounded
like no win trap-especially the one with the arm severing...
I am of the old school that party characters should be given at
least the chance to figure out that a trap MIGHT exist...if we just
wanted to kill them,it would be a simple matter to have incredible
quantities of acid come barreling down a corridor and *sizzle*
the party, all when then step on a certain stone that looks exactly
like every other stone in the corridor....What do you mean, where are
you going to get that much acid? The same place that you are going
to find a character to stand in a recessed doorway, with his sword
raised to strike, and who is willing/able to stay completely alert
for 24 hours per day...(I'll do it, I'll do it!!!:-)
John Freeman
(Dartmouth College)
(So, who's going to try and reason with the Dragon first?
Oh, Paladin!! Yoo-hoo...have a favor to ask...:-)ix269@sdcc6.UUCP (Jim) (10/21/84)
fig() A note on ad&d oil, most of it is not common oil but something more akin to greek fire. Not everyone treats the various grades of oil differently, but the chosen amount of realism can be taken to far (e.g. 3 hour debate on falling damage). Then again not everyone would expect the DM to crawl out from under the pile of rocks and garbage he would get if he put in to many death traps either. But if it is good clean fighting with a bit of a challenge as to how to get around it, then I have nothing but praise for a nice obstacle. Here is one I ran into (No it isn't the Kamikaze (?sp) Kobalds): door -----|====:|---------------------------------------------------- | . ~ ~ . Dirty isle, | | floor .o ~ ~ ~ . Quantity of | |......... \ <--bridge (Wood! No rail) . Kobalds with | | \ \ ~ . missile weapons | | ~ o\ \o <--post ~ ~ ~ . | | ~ \ \ ~ . (door in range | | water o\ \o ~ ~ . is your disc- | | ......... ~ ~ . ression) | | ~ . . .......... | | ~ . . <--Floating Platform <><><>. | | ~ . . (no rail) ~ ~<>. | | ~ ......... (?sp)carrocks-^ <>.....| | o/ /o ~ ~ (small boats) ~ | | ~ / / ~ ~ (extremely primitive) | | ~ o o (*) | | \ \ ~ ~ ^--- optional float/bouy ~ | | \ \ w/ a treasure on it. ~ | | ~ .o..o. ~ ~ ~ | | ~ . . ~ ~ ~ ~ | | . . ~ ~ ~ ~ | -------------|:===|--------------------------------------------- With the many oppturnities to get wiped by these wery low level beastys, there are many good chances to be taken. Note that even a group of 4+ level ad&d players considered this one a fun room (had 20 kobalds with short bows and such) As they took to the seas in the platform so to speak. Which resulted in a small number of the kobalds having to put to sea to guard their holy floating object (platinum bauble '(*)'). Try adding a current or maybe even a watery outlet (new modes of transport can be fun! All in good fun-- Jim ix269@sdcc6.ucsd.uucp