Trap Help

Discussion on game mastering Earthdawn. May contain spoilers; caution is recommended!
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Tattered Rags
Posts:374
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:04 am
Trap Help

Post by Tattered Rags » Fri Apr 30, 2021 1:12 am

So I've got this Horror-made dungeon, and I'd like some help with trap ideas. Specifically one trap, anyway.

The players will descend into a circular room with trapdoors evenly spaced along the walls. They're all trapped, every single one of them, but only one of them actually allows progression to the next level (but it's still trapped). The correct trapdoor will have a simple dart trap with some minor poison, I think. The other trapdoors have one of four traps on them: lava pours out from a panel in the wall, acid gushes out, some illusionary/psychic effect, or bees (yes, this dungeon gets progressively weirder the deeper the players will go).

What I'm needing is ideas for the illusionary effect. I wanted a handful of effects that I could randomly roll (though, honestly, I could just randomly roll for each door, and may just do that). Some ideas I have are: your allies are replaced by enemies! Your skin has begun to painfully slough off! You've gone blind!


I also wouldn't mind ideas on how to make this place twisted and weird. The floor above the trap room requires you to snuff out torches in each room before the doors will unlock and open. Magical gas keeps the torches lit against pretty much any other means used to put them out, but each time you kill an enemy, a torch goes out. Also, there are 7 enemies and 8 torches.
And a friendly cat wandering around name Meowsers.
Adventure I'm running:
Under the Stars

Adventure GM post-mortem:
Under the Stars Postmortem

Slimcreeper
Posts:1061
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 11:44 pm

Re: Trap Help

Post by Slimcreeper » Thu May 06, 2021 10:25 am

This sound bad-trippy! Have you already run it?

Tattered Rags
Posts:374
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:04 am

Re: Trap Help

Post by Tattered Rags » Mon May 17, 2021 6:14 pm

No, actually. Players still haven't reached this point yet.

However, I decided to make all trapdoors on this floor trigger a random trap. And it's always random each time, even if you open the same trapdoor; roll d6 and see what you get. While all of the trapdoors are trapped, there is a visual indicator on the map as to which one is the correct one. A cautious group who doesn't just go willy-nilly crazy opening every door should have a chance (I mean, with a view of the entire map, my 11-year-old figured it out.) I still need to add a clue at the end of the path.

One thing that this level is supposed to teach is that ALL trapdoors in this dungeon are trapped. Heck, it's in the name: TRAPdoor. The sole earlier trapdoor was also trapped.

Trap 1 came from my daughter saying "Lava!" as an idea.
Trap 2 is because a friend trying to "help" just replied with the Oprah bees gif. I loved the idea.
Trap 6 is loosely based on the similar Nethermancy spell.

Here are the rules I came up with for the traps:

Trap doors are evenly spaced around this room. Each one is trapped, even the correct one. The trapdoors all lead to a shallow tunnel, about 6 feet deep, except for the correct one, which leads down deep into darkness.
- PER/AWARENESS (10) to notice if the tunnel down is shallow or not before the trap forces you back
- Sticking your head into the trap and just taking the damage, where appropriate, is a PER/AWARENESS (8)
- Anyone getting close to look at all except bees will suffer an attack from the trap, or even steps in the hexes next to the acid spray
- If it's bees, taking a look is automatic success, but still requires an action

- Traps share stats, where appropriate
- Detection: 20
- Disarm: 25 (due to the random nature of this, there will actually only disarm the NEXT usage of the trap, as it will then reset)
- Init: 15
- SpellCasting (for traps 3,4,6): 15
- Damage for trap 1: 15
- Damage for trap 3: 8 + 1 per extra success
- Damage for trap 5: 12

- Random trap: 1d6
1: lava - A panel opens in the wall and begins to pour lava into the tunnel mouth.
- The lava only hits the person opening the door.
- lava stops when the door closes
2: bees - A swarm of (2d4) blood bees fly out of the trap door!
- Roll for surprise round, but subsequent triggerings give players +5
- 2 bees will attack the opener, the rest will randomly attack anyone
3: psychic assault - A hollow scream assaults your mind, and you feel your flesh melting from your skin.
- Spellcasting against MD of person who opens the door each round for 4 rounds
- Can take an Action to make a Willpower test against 15 each round to shake the effects
- Continues even after door closes
4: illusory attack - You turn to see your allies have all been knocked unconscious, and the ghoulish undead are approaching you.
- Illusion with a sensing difficulty of 15
- Succeeding against even one person breaks the illusion against all
- Anything others say sounds like gibberish undead moaning and groaning, but through actions the others can help the affected person see through the illusion; this could be difficult as the illusion may alter the actions to look menacing
- Victim only needs to see through the illusion once to no longer see any of their friends as enemies
- Note that EACH attack would count as a sensing test
- Continues indefinitely even after door closes
5: acid spray - As you open the door, a gout of greenish fluid sprays upward into a geyser, splashing everything around with corrosive liquid.
- stops as soon as door closes, but hits everyone in the hexes around the trapdoor
6: blindness - You peer into the tunnel as a bright flash of light overtakes your vision, blinding you.
- Spellcasting against MD of person who opens the door
- Affected person makes Willpower test against 10 each round, regaining sight on a success
- To everyone else, the affected person looks as though their eyes have been removed and replaced by dark, shadowy holes, with black lines spreading out from them across the edges of their sockets.

- Trapdoors will spring shut after a few seconds (one round)
- closes on Step 5 initiative
- The trap will also turn off after a 4 rounds if players manage to keep the door open.
Adventure I'm running:
Under the Stars

Adventure GM post-mortem:
Under the Stars Postmortem

Slimcreeper
Posts:1061
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 11:44 pm

Re: Trap Help

Post by Slimcreeper » Wed May 19, 2021 10:12 pm

Cool!

Tattered Rags
Posts:374
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:04 am

Re: Trap Help

Post by Tattered Rags » Fri May 21, 2021 11:36 pm

Slimcreeper wrote:
Wed May 19, 2021 10:12 pm
Cool!
FYI, Slim, here's the intro to the next room.

You climb down into the dark, the ladder seemingly going forever. The opening above you dwindles to a tiny square, then a pinprick, then disappears. After climbing for several minutes, your arms begin to ache. Eventually, however, a light appears below. Its welcoming presence grows, and renewed vigor strengthens your limbs. Below, the ladder extends until it touches...ground, grass-covered dirt. You descend through the small portal to find yourself in bright light, forcing you to blink a few moments as your vision adjusts. The ladder extends into a small clearing surrounded by dense jungle. Above is bright blue sky, with puffy white clouds drifting along. The sun is shining.
And directly above you, the ladder disappears into a small square, hanging in the sky, twenty feet above the ground.


Something you should know is that when the players enter this dungeon, they crossed into some pocket Astral plane that a horror has taken over and uses to lure adventurers in. It specifically feeds on the suffering, pain, and death of adventurers, preferring to draw out their demise with traps and difficult choices.
Adventure I'm running:
Under the Stars

Adventure GM post-mortem:
Under the Stars Postmortem

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