Skurilon's Delightfully Deadly Well Trap

Skurilon's Delightfully Deadly Well Trap

CR: Unknown but I'd estimate it around 4 or 5. Water breathing nearly trivializes this trap. See the last paragraph for two variants with slightly higher CRs.
Mechanical, Location Trigger, No Reset (self resetting due to the water elemental)
No save
60' deep well, 10' x 10' opening at the top, surrounded by a short 2' stone wall (think of a typical well wall)
Damage: SPECIAL, no physical damage from the well itself. See notes.
Search DC: SPECIAL. None, unless your players can somehow see a large water elemental motionless at the bottom of the well. Mine certainly didn't. I suppose detect magic or something that would magically enhance your detection of elementals would allow you to see it. If they can detect the elemental a DC 20 Search check would reveal the gist of how the trap works. Otherwise even the most thorough examination of the well would only reveal the treasure at the bottom and the adamantine manacles that are bolted to the stone floor.
Disable Device: SPECIAL. If the elemental is killed before the trap is sprung then the trap no longer functions. Once the trap has been sprung, a DC 30 Open Lock/Disable Device check will open the manacles, allowing the captured character to swim away (assuming that they are still conscious).
Market Price: Whatever the cost of the treasure/bait is plus the cost of the adamantine manacles (somewhere in the ballpark of 2000 - 4000 gold) and the construction cost of the well itself (unknown cost, estimated around 2000 gold). The enslaved water elemental will also need to be purchased or, if the creator is a wizard, "provided".

Notes:
This trap at first glance appears to be a rather innocuous well.

The horror!

If someone investigates the well or drops a light source in to it, they will easily see the treasure at the bottom. Their first clue that something is amiss is that the walls at the bottom of the well are covered in small but razor sharp protrusions (or very large fish hooks, for extra fun). Unknown to even those characters who swim to the bottom of the well there lurks a large water elemental, waiting for the opportune moment to attach the self locking adamantine manacles to the feet of the first character who manages to touch the treasure. From there the water elemental will move out of reach and observe the character. If they are a spellcaster, it will ready an action to attempt to disrupt any spell casting. If the character attempts to disable the locks it will ready an action to attack them during the attempt, disrupting it. If they appear to be attempting to pull apart the adamantine or are trying to pull it out of the floor it attempts to grapple them to prevent them from freeing themselves.

It keeps this up until they drown.

If someone attempts to help them or they appear to be immune to drowning, the water elemntal will attack the captive character until others get within range of its Vortex ability. It then uses it, teaching the characters just what those sharp protrusions are for (personally, I imagine that they would deal an extra 1d6 of slashing damage to creatures affected by the vortex ability). If there are hooks, well, that's really up to you to decide but I'd start with an extra 1d6+1 piercing damage and that the characters must make a DC 15+(the piercing damage that they just took) or be entangled (takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and a –4 penalty to Dexterity. An entangled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a Concentration check (DC 15 + the spell’s level) or lose the spell). A successful Strength check (at least a DC 15 but I'd recommend DC 15+(piercing damage dealt) allows the character to free themselves, forcing themselves free in this fashion deals another chunk of damage equal to the piercing damage they originally took. A successful Escape Artist check (DC again should be 15+piercing damage) would allow the character to get free without incurring further harm. Once entangled in this fashion a character cannot get entangled again or take any further damage from the hooks until they have freed themselves. If they free themselves into the Vortex again they should become entangled again. The sharp stone protrusions add 100 gp to the cost of the trap and 1 to the CR, the hooks add 500 gp to the cost and 2 to the CR. The hooks would also require upkeep to be performed regularly, they would only remain functional in dungeon that was being actively maintained.

I hope your players enjoy this one as much as mine did!
~ Skurilon

The Vile DMG: Fun with Slings

Hello Folks,

Today I'd like to take a bit of time to discuss one of my favorite things about being a DM.

Being tricky, and today's tricks all involve sling ammunition.

Slings are cheap and generally underpowered, but with a little ingenuity they can pose a very real threat to even high level characters.  The slings themselves are generally of no consequence, it all boils down to what you are slinging. I'll give you a few examples.

1. The basic stone.

Using stones is the most basic option available. For a medium creature a sling thrown stone deals 1d3 points of damage and suffers a -1 penalty to hit. The rules state that this is because stones aren't as dense or as round as our next option. Not recommended.

2. Sling Bullets

Smooth? Yes. Round? No.

Bullets are the standard cheap ammunition used with slings in most D&D settings. For a medium creature a sling thrown bullet deals 1d4 points of damage. Still not recommended.

3. Alchemists Fire

Burn my enemies to a crisp? Don't mind if I do!

Using Alchemist's Fire is the first step into a whole new territory for slings. For any creature size this deals 1d6 points of fire damage to the target and 1 point of fire damage to anything within 5 feet of your target. Alchemist's Fire burns for 2 rounds too, so unless the victim spends a full round action to attempt a DC 15 Reflex save (rolling on the ground gives a +2 bonus) they take an additional 1d6 damage. The best part? the attack roll is made against the target's touch AC. Alchemist's Fire doesn't care how armored you are, your world will still burn. Recommended.

4. Holy Water

If you are fighting corporeal undead or evil outsiders then Holy Water makes for an effective ammunition. For any sized creature this deals 2d4 points of damage to the target and 1 point to anyone within 5 feet of the target that is susceptible. Like Alchemist's Fire, this is a ranged touch attack. Recommended when applicable.

5. Acid

H2SO4! You don't have skin no more!

Acid is one of my favorites, simply because it seems like less targets have resistance to acid. For any sized creature this deals 1d6 points of acid damage and 1 point of damage to all targets within 5 feet of the victim. This is a ranged touch attack.

6. Jars

So seemingly innocent...

With jars, slings becomes truly scary. One jar can hold several vials worth of acid at a time, and that's just scratching the surface. Here's what I like to put into jars for slinging. Oozes, Slimes, and Jellies. Nothing quite like a Green Slime being splashed on an opponent. There are more variations then I could list here, so get creative! Remember, the bigger the jar the bigger the specimen in can contain, so a Giant wielding a sling can be a truly devastating foe with the right ammunition.

Also, for fun I decided to include one thing I would not attempt to stuff into a jar for slinging.

Cats

Derp.

I know what you're thinking, "Why not fling cats?". Well, while it's certainly true that getting the cat into the jar is quite easy (just leave the jar on the floor in a room full of cats, snap on the lid once a cat climbs in) it's the logistics of the whole process that get in the way. Cats need oxygen, so your lid will have to have holes in it unless you are intending to sling dead cats at people, which admittedly could work. I imagine that would deal 1d6 points of damage on a hit against normal AC, everyone within 5 feet must make a Fort save against Nausea (dc varies on how long the cat has been dead) or be sickened for 1d4 rounds. That's not what we are talking about though, we are talking about flinging live cats. Cats need food, so you'll have to feed them. Cats produce waste at an alarming rate, if you had holes in your cat jars to allow for food insertion those same holes would work against you when the cat tries to drown itself in urine and cat logs. The smell alone would force everyone within 5 feet of the jar to make Fortitude saves for Nausea (DC variable based on the number of holes in the jar) or be sickened. Also, don't forget that jars full of half-starved urine soaked cats tend to make quite a fuss and will likely give away your position. Not recommended.

If you have any personal favorites please share!

~ Skurilon

Skurilon's Handy and Dandy Yucky Pit Illusion Trap

Skurilon's Handy and Dandy Yucky Pit Illusion Trap
Two Variants as Noted in Notes
CR: 5
Mechanical, Location Trigger, No Reset (self resetting since there isn't a top to the pit).
DC 20 Reflex save avoids if a save is allowed. See notes.
40' deep, 10' wide by 10' long.
Damage: SPECIAL, no falling damage, see notes.
Search DC: SPECIAL, Nearly impossible to fail this check, "a" pit trap of the same dimensions is plainly visible to anyone who is paying attention and isn't immune to illusions.
Disable Device: SPECIAL, Variant One DC 20, Variant Two cannot be disabled short of a cave-in.
Market Price: Pit Trap 2000 gp, Gelatinous Cube ???? gp (maybe free depending on the dungeon), Grease spells made permanent (4x 500gp) 2000 gp, Permanent Image spells (2x 100 gp if you are the caster) 200 gp, TOTAL: 4200 gp + the cost of the Gelatinous Cube.

Notes:
This is a standard CR 2 pit trap with several modifications. The 10'x10'x10' bottom fourth of the pit contains a Gelatinous Cube.

Damn Straight.

The 10' section of the walls above that are permanently enchanted with the Grease spell, making climbing out extremely difficult. From that point up the trap is normal except for the very top. The pit trap is disguised to look like the floor of the dungeon using Permanent Image (DC 20-22 for the will save, generally, depending on the caster). That illusion is in turn disguised to look like a normal CR 2 Pit Trap, using Permanent Image with a Will DC of 20-22 again.

Here is the breakdown of what happens when an adventurer encounters the trap.
Step 1: Unless blind or charging in they see the illusion of a standard CR 2 Pit Trap with no cover. 10'10'40' with no defining features or spikes. If they interact with it they get a DC 20ish Will save to disbelieve the illusion. If they fail, they think "Woah, pit trap." and the pit trap appears as I described. If they succeed they see the second illusion, the one that looks like the floor. MOST of the time the adventurer who saved thinks "Oh, sweet, no pit trap." and walks on through. Upon taking that first step onto illusionary floor they technically get a Will save DC 20ish to disbelieve the second illusion, but since they are falling into the pit at that point it's useless to attempt it.

If they fall in they are pretty much screwed unless the party is very quick on their feet or they have some method of neutralizing the acid damage.

Falling in means automatically getting engulfed by the gelatinous cube at the bottom of the pit, prompting them to make a DC 20 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 3d6 rounds as the Cube digests them, dealing 1d6 Acid damage per round. Being engulfed also means being grappled, limiting severely their options when attempting to escape from the Cube. Climbing the walls above the Cube is rendered nearly impossible without a rope thanks to the Grease spells. Here's a link to the Gelatinous Cube's stats. Remember that the Cube doesn't have to make any sound to engulf the victim in this manner and that unless they passed all of the saves the party members who didn't fall in can't see the Cube or their comrade. To them it just looks like the party member vanished into thin air. The party member can't call out for help either, seeing as they are engulfed.

If they think to check the ground for some reason before stepping onto it they get their DC 20ish Will save to disbelieve the illusion of the floor. If they fail, they fall in when attempting to walk on it. If they pass then they see the danger below and any of their group that fell in.

The only real difference in the second variant of this trap is that the trap itself is made in a dead-end of the tunnels and that there is an additional illusion on the wall opposite the way that the party approaches from, making it look like the tunnel keeps going. This is used when you know the party has strong jumpers in it, they attempt to jump the pit and WHAM, right into a greased wall, causing them to plummet straight into the pit. This variant adds 600 gp to the market price of the trap.

Enjoy!
~ Skurilon

The Vile DMG: Paranoia

Hello Folks,

Today I'd like to take a bit of time to discuss one of my favorite things about being a DM.

Making my players both suspicious and paranoid.

To me anyways, it makes sense for the players in just about any game to be at least a bit paranoid. Players deal with history altering events and major political personalities with some frequency. They delve into dangerous dungeons that are sure to be just lousy with traps, monsters lurking around every corner.

Death may literally be waiting for them at the inn.

"If they don't get here soon I'm going to die of b... oh. Right."

It is odd to me that my players are consistently trusting of my NPCs. The last time I was a player and not the DM my character was indeed paranoid about the motives of others, but he was an Evil Necromancer so that made sense. The DM of that game didn't have to do anything to prompt me to be wary of others. With that being said I still think that a certain amount of suspicion is warranted and should be encouraged though since the players are influencing possibly world changing events.

So what can one do to get under their skins? I have found a number of things to be effective, and several things that weren't.

Things that I found to be effective:
* Trap chains: A series of traps that have different effects depending on how much of them is bypassed. My favorite example of this is less of a series of traps and more like an augmented trap but you'll get the idea. A standard pit trap in a 10' wide corridor, 10'x10'x40', with a gelatinous cube filling the bottom and greased walls. Over the trap is an illusion of a normal floor. Over the illusion of a normal floor is an illusion of a pit trap. If they fail the first save, they see the illusion of a pit trap and think it's real. If they save against the first illusion, they see a normal floor and think there isn't a trap there. At this point unless they can magically sense illusions they generally stop attempting to disbelieve, thinking they saw through the trap. They walk on to the illusionary floor and plummet to their acidic and jiggly deaths unless the party acts fast. If you REALLY want to be nasty about this, make the walkway past the pit trap an illusion as well, that way even if they manage to see through all of the other stuff they jump the trap only to smack into the greased wall and plummet into the pit. See this trap here! After even a single trap of this complexity your players will be far more cautious of traps in the future. Don't overdo this though or your players will hate you.

* Making one of your NPC factions clearly of questionable morality and getting the party to need to interact with them. This doesn't serve to make your players paranoid in general but they will at least be more cautious in what they reveal to that faction. Add a few of these factions and no real way to tell if an NPC is a member of one of them, then you are fostering reasonable suspicion.

* Getting the PCs to work for a clearly evil entity. This is loads of fun, as the players don't have to be doing anything evil for that entity at all. The trick is to make sure that the entities alignment is unambiguous. Lawful Evil merchants or politicians are great for this.

* Diseases and Poisons: It's easy to dismiss something as easy to save against as most diseases or poisons in D&D. Keep in mind though, the saves have to be repeated with every successful hit that deals damage. It doesn't take much to lay waste to a party's resources when half the members are ill. Besides, how many of your players actually bother to check their ale for poison each time they order some at the local tavern? PCs make enemies, it's part of the game, and many of those enemies are cowards who wouldn't dare confront the PCs in person. A little cheap poison though...

* Random Dice Rolling: Every so often, eyeball a player, ask them what one of their bonuses are, then roll a die. Smile at your dice and nod approvingly regardless of the die roll. This method works extremely well and extremely quickly. The problem there is that they are becoming more paranoid about you as the DM and not always the setting that you are running. Doing this sparingly has fantastic results.

* Pull Aside a PC: Pull your PC away from the group when it is time to reveal what she saw while scouting or off doing their own thing. Really I'm of the opinion that this should be standard practice anyways to help prevent meta-gaming and it plays well with several of the other methods I listed.

* Ethereal Monsters: Don't use this on a 1st level group or it will result in a complete wipe. Used on mid level groups who can't easily access the ethereal plane and you've got yourself a winner.

* Invisible Monsters: Same as above. Invisible monsters can harass even a high level group if they do it from a range. Just imagine a giant sporting improved invisibility shooting giant sized arrows at a group from 800 feet away, well out of any spell area of effect that would reveal them. Give them gaseous form a few times per day and you have yourself a baddie that will drive your players insane while they wait for the next barrage. Animated siege weapons that can fire themselves should be able to have improved invisibility (of some sort) too, nothing like giant flaming (because why not?) ballista bolts crashing into the parties campground every night.

Things that I haven't found to be effective:
* Doppelgangers: Too cliche.

* Demonic or Undead Possession: I'm sure there is a way to make this work but I haven't mastered it.

Well, hopefully you've enjoyed my bit of fun here. If you did everything on this list in one session (or every session) your players would quit and you'd have fewer friends. Moderation is key here. Pace yourself and you can use this info for many games to come with your players none the wiser, just far more nerve wracked.

~ Skurilon