October 9, 2009

Favorite Trap

Inspired by a recent Penny Arcade strip here, I thought I'd post my favorite D&D trap.

It's from "A3: Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords."

Cunning Gelatinous Cubes
"As soon as the first rank of the party walks onto the 10 foot x 20 foot area (marked by the dotted lines) a 1-foot-thick slab of stone tilts, spilling them into a pit on top of a gelatinous cube. Characters in the second rank must save vs. Paralyzation to avoid falling into the pit. [Frost - Note: only the *second* rank gets to make a save.] Every round, a character who is in contact with the cube will take 2-8 points of damage and must save vs. Paralyzation or become paralyzed for 5-20 rounds. In addition, once per round the cube will extend a pseudopod and strike an opponent up to 15 feet away. The pit is 10 feet wide, 20 feet long, and 5 feet deep. The cube has altered its shape to fits this area."

To make matters worse, there is a second cube in the room that sneaks up on the party while they deal with the first. Glorious.

When I DMed that module back in high school, I do recall it messed up the party's monk pretty badly, but I don't think anyone died. I think it's the evil simplicity of it that appeals to me. Well, that and it involves gelatinous cubes (and cunning ones at that).

2 comments:

  1. So run the numbers. If you happened to get paralyzed, which is highly likely, your damage is going to range from 10 points, to 160 points. 80 on average. Clearly the module writer had just gotten dumped by his girlfriend.

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  2. Wonderful trap. I think I'll have to use that one soon. And yes Steve, Getting dumped will definitely screw the results of a traps deadliness in favor of the DM. lol

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