Post by jake on Mar 29, 2014 5:18:54 GMT
Hey all!
I've been a long-time DM and I've always used a battle mat and whatever random objects we had laying around (coins, spare dice, lego men) as pawns for players and monsters alike... Now I'm a bit older and have a job, so I've invested some time and money into crafting materials, which seem a good alternative to 3d dungeon terrain both financially and for the ability to build terrain around my campaign, rather than create the campaign based on whatever bits I've already collected.
At any rate - dungeons, particularly those featuring plenty of magical traps and puzzles, are my favorite thing to design: So here's my favorite old trap (and I think in each of my campaigns since my first it has weaseled its way in somewhere in a random dungeon).
Somewhere off in an abandoned corner of the dungeon is a long corridor lined with ominous statues. Near the beginning of the hallway the statues are of nobles, magi, or knights in armor, however the further down the hallway one goes, the more old and decrepit the statues appear until by the time the players have reached the door, the would-be statues on either side of them are simply piles of rubble. They now stand in front of the double doors at the end of the hall, each side of which has been etched to look like half of an open spellbook - and which are sealed tight by large locks and ancient magics which have since worn down with time such that even a particularly strong party member with no arcane training could pry them open with effort.
When the doors are pressed open there is the sound of electricity crackling in the room they've just unveiled: a pitch-black stone chamber is revealed, and into the walls, ceiling, and floor are encrusted precious gems and gold pieces from every nation and every era. Forming a 15 x 15 square around the center of the room are four 4-foot-tall metal rods, between which sparks of electricity periodically arc. In the exact center of the room is an onyx pedestal topped with a velvet cushion, upon which sits an ancient crystal ball. Aside from the occasional electrical flash, the only light in the room is a faint glow from the crystal ball, reflected in the various lustrous materials collected here. As the door is opened, the players are filled with a sense that there is a presence in this room old and powerful, and their guts turn with dread.
THE FOLLOWING EFFECTS ARE NOW IN PLAY:
The lightning rods will try to stop players from entering the room - each of them are magical rods under the control of the Oracle, who uses them to cast spells - particularly wall of force, lightning bolt, geas, charm person, and dispel magic (for counterspelling purposes). It will certainly try to wall players out and avoid attacking them before resorting to anything drastic.
The orb contains the mind of a diviner (referring to himself as The Oracle) who gave up his free will in pursuit of ultimate knowledge. He was tricked, however, by some fey/abyssal/celestial entity, and now serves as a trap not intended for these players, but for an entire nation that has since locked him away and put him out of mind.
The Oracle will answer any question posed, as long as long as the doors to his room are open, to any in the dungeon/earshot/anywhere but only to those who opened the door. The question does not necessarily have to be posed TO the Oracle. These answers should be nebulous and/or unhelpful, though the Oracle is supposed to have the knowledge. Typical dialogue follows:
Adventurer 1: "What do you suppose that is?"
DM: "Wait a moment - before you answer, Adventurer 2, what DOES your character think that is?"
Adventurer 2: "I dunno... a really shiny magical artifact!"
DM: "A faint voice billows into your minds, chilling your spines and sending the hairs of your neck on edge - 'She believes me to be magical and lustrous, but knows nothing further.'"
Adventurer 2: "Whoa! Who's in my head?"
DM: "I am the Oracle."
Adventurer 1: "... Well who's the Oracle, then?"
DM: "I am."
Adventurer 2: Laughing, "Well WHAT are you?"
DM: "There are many answers to that question; but most literally I am a lustrous magical artifact."
This banter will continue for quite some time - but after about 3 questions, all of the gold in the room begins to shimmer out of existence. The Oracle continues as if nothing happened - but if the players ask where the gold went, the Oracle will announce "I have it."
For every question the Oracle answers, it takes a price. After a few more questions, it will 'take' all the gems encrusted into the walls as well. Once all the gold and jewels in the room are taken, the Oracle will (perhaps puzzlingly) continue to answer questions...
And now it will take the players' things.
After a few more questions, let them make spot checks to notice missing gold, items, containers, weapons, etc. Try to keep it fair - don't give them their first spot check to notice that the wizard's spellbook is gone - but do take things of value.
By this point the players will realize what's going on and be frustrated that they wasted all their 'free questions', but as the DM, ALWAYS be ready to interject to answer a question on the Oracle's behalf. Even questions like "Are you happy now that you've wasted all of our gold?" "Is this really worth it?" "Well what would you ask it?" "Guys should we really keep asking questions?" - the Oracle is VERY eager to help, and will answer all of these questions pleasantly, and for a 'modest' price of its choosing.
So typically it arises that the players will elect one person to strip all worldly posessions from themselves and boldly ask the oracle a question, to see if they can get a freebie. The Oracle WILL answer.... Then that player will begin to feel very faint... and will need to make a will save. If successful, they take 1d4 wisdom damage as the voice begins to collect their memories. They may also forget things, if flavorfully appropriate. If UNsuccessful, they take 1d6 wisdom damage AND are compelled to repeat their question... which the oracle will answer the same way, and again take its price.
Any player reduced to 1 wisdom in this fashion becomes a Thrall of the oracle. The lightning rods will stop targeting that person, and the Oracle controls its mind - it will attempt to get the thrall to take it out of the dungeon, and loose itself on the world at large. The Oracle gained ultimate knowledge - and all he wants is to share it with the world and be payed for his services. If the room's doors are closed and the thrall separated from the oracle, they will slowly (day by day) regain wisdom as normal.
The best part is when the players decide that this thing is too dangerous and they leave... but don't close the door. So they're wandering through the dungeon later and one says "Wow, that was wild, wasn't it?" And the DM, in his Oracle-voice, announces "Why yes, it was." And that player's pants vanish (who says the oracle has no sense of humor?).
This will require some quick-thinking on the DM's part to keep the answers unhelpful, but can be a great way of giving players instructions on defeating a big baddie, locations to ancient artifacts, etc, while also having some fun. The Oracle never lies, and never avoids the question entirely: He does not speak conversationally, only factually... but his facts, while accurate, are not helpful.
Well this has been a long-winded explanation, but hopefully someone has a blast with this trap-puzzle. I'll leave you with my favorite quote from a player whose party happened across this trap ever:
After a couple of group members are completely out of inventory, and the wizard has had several pages taken from his spellbook, the rogue begins to ask - "So which way is-" And he flinches, looking at me to see if I'm going to respond to his half-question... I just grin and let them keep going, when the Wizard, angered by the rogue's slip of the tongue, hollers:
"What part of 'don't ask any questions' don't you understand!?"
"He understood, of course. He merely spoke before thinking." - and that's how our wizard wound up with no more 4th level spells until he went back to town and shelled out the party's now meager gold pool to recover them.
I've been a long-time DM and I've always used a battle mat and whatever random objects we had laying around (coins, spare dice, lego men) as pawns for players and monsters alike... Now I'm a bit older and have a job, so I've invested some time and money into crafting materials, which seem a good alternative to 3d dungeon terrain both financially and for the ability to build terrain around my campaign, rather than create the campaign based on whatever bits I've already collected.
At any rate - dungeons, particularly those featuring plenty of magical traps and puzzles, are my favorite thing to design: So here's my favorite old trap (and I think in each of my campaigns since my first it has weaseled its way in somewhere in a random dungeon).
Somewhere off in an abandoned corner of the dungeon is a long corridor lined with ominous statues. Near the beginning of the hallway the statues are of nobles, magi, or knights in armor, however the further down the hallway one goes, the more old and decrepit the statues appear until by the time the players have reached the door, the would-be statues on either side of them are simply piles of rubble. They now stand in front of the double doors at the end of the hall, each side of which has been etched to look like half of an open spellbook - and which are sealed tight by large locks and ancient magics which have since worn down with time such that even a particularly strong party member with no arcane training could pry them open with effort.
When the doors are pressed open there is the sound of electricity crackling in the room they've just unveiled: a pitch-black stone chamber is revealed, and into the walls, ceiling, and floor are encrusted precious gems and gold pieces from every nation and every era. Forming a 15 x 15 square around the center of the room are four 4-foot-tall metal rods, between which sparks of electricity periodically arc. In the exact center of the room is an onyx pedestal topped with a velvet cushion, upon which sits an ancient crystal ball. Aside from the occasional electrical flash, the only light in the room is a faint glow from the crystal ball, reflected in the various lustrous materials collected here. As the door is opened, the players are filled with a sense that there is a presence in this room old and powerful, and their guts turn with dread.
THE FOLLOWING EFFECTS ARE NOW IN PLAY:
The lightning rods will try to stop players from entering the room - each of them are magical rods under the control of the Oracle, who uses them to cast spells - particularly wall of force, lightning bolt, geas, charm person, and dispel magic (for counterspelling purposes). It will certainly try to wall players out and avoid attacking them before resorting to anything drastic.
The orb contains the mind of a diviner (referring to himself as The Oracle) who gave up his free will in pursuit of ultimate knowledge. He was tricked, however, by some fey/abyssal/celestial entity, and now serves as a trap not intended for these players, but for an entire nation that has since locked him away and put him out of mind.
The Oracle will answer any question posed, as long as long as the doors to his room are open, to any in the dungeon/earshot/anywhere but only to those who opened the door. The question does not necessarily have to be posed TO the Oracle. These answers should be nebulous and/or unhelpful, though the Oracle is supposed to have the knowledge. Typical dialogue follows:
Adventurer 1: "What do you suppose that is?"
DM: "Wait a moment - before you answer, Adventurer 2, what DOES your character think that is?"
Adventurer 2: "I dunno... a really shiny magical artifact!"
DM: "A faint voice billows into your minds, chilling your spines and sending the hairs of your neck on edge - 'She believes me to be magical and lustrous, but knows nothing further.'"
Adventurer 2: "Whoa! Who's in my head?"
DM: "I am the Oracle."
Adventurer 1: "... Well who's the Oracle, then?"
DM: "I am."
Adventurer 2: Laughing, "Well WHAT are you?"
DM: "There are many answers to that question; but most literally I am a lustrous magical artifact."
This banter will continue for quite some time - but after about 3 questions, all of the gold in the room begins to shimmer out of existence. The Oracle continues as if nothing happened - but if the players ask where the gold went, the Oracle will announce "I have it."
For every question the Oracle answers, it takes a price. After a few more questions, it will 'take' all the gems encrusted into the walls as well. Once all the gold and jewels in the room are taken, the Oracle will (perhaps puzzlingly) continue to answer questions...
And now it will take the players' things.
After a few more questions, let them make spot checks to notice missing gold, items, containers, weapons, etc. Try to keep it fair - don't give them their first spot check to notice that the wizard's spellbook is gone - but do take things of value.
By this point the players will realize what's going on and be frustrated that they wasted all their 'free questions', but as the DM, ALWAYS be ready to interject to answer a question on the Oracle's behalf. Even questions like "Are you happy now that you've wasted all of our gold?" "Is this really worth it?" "Well what would you ask it?" "Guys should we really keep asking questions?" - the Oracle is VERY eager to help, and will answer all of these questions pleasantly, and for a 'modest' price of its choosing.
So typically it arises that the players will elect one person to strip all worldly posessions from themselves and boldly ask the oracle a question, to see if they can get a freebie. The Oracle WILL answer.... Then that player will begin to feel very faint... and will need to make a will save. If successful, they take 1d4 wisdom damage as the voice begins to collect their memories. They may also forget things, if flavorfully appropriate. If UNsuccessful, they take 1d6 wisdom damage AND are compelled to repeat their question... which the oracle will answer the same way, and again take its price.
Any player reduced to 1 wisdom in this fashion becomes a Thrall of the oracle. The lightning rods will stop targeting that person, and the Oracle controls its mind - it will attempt to get the thrall to take it out of the dungeon, and loose itself on the world at large. The Oracle gained ultimate knowledge - and all he wants is to share it with the world and be payed for his services. If the room's doors are closed and the thrall separated from the oracle, they will slowly (day by day) regain wisdom as normal.
The best part is when the players decide that this thing is too dangerous and they leave... but don't close the door. So they're wandering through the dungeon later and one says "Wow, that was wild, wasn't it?" And the DM, in his Oracle-voice, announces "Why yes, it was." And that player's pants vanish (who says the oracle has no sense of humor?).
This will require some quick-thinking on the DM's part to keep the answers unhelpful, but can be a great way of giving players instructions on defeating a big baddie, locations to ancient artifacts, etc, while also having some fun. The Oracle never lies, and never avoids the question entirely: He does not speak conversationally, only factually... but his facts, while accurate, are not helpful.
Well this has been a long-winded explanation, but hopefully someone has a blast with this trap-puzzle. I'll leave you with my favorite quote from a player whose party happened across this trap ever:
After a couple of group members are completely out of inventory, and the wizard has had several pages taken from his spellbook, the rogue begins to ask - "So which way is-" And he flinches, looking at me to see if I'm going to respond to his half-question... I just grin and let them keep going, when the Wizard, angered by the rogue's slip of the tongue, hollers:
"What part of 'don't ask any questions' don't you understand!?"
"He understood, of course. He merely spoke before thinking." - and that's how our wizard wound up with no more 4th level spells until he went back to town and shelled out the party's now meager gold pool to recover them.