Trap Tuesday -The Trap Module - PT 1

Today on Trap Tuesday I want to talk about the most infamous trap of all. This trap is so insidious that every D&D player has heard of it. Nearly every D&D player from the 80's has a story about how it killed them. Some love it, and some hate it. Know what it is yet?

Original cover of ToH

Yup, it's Tomb of Horrors. This module is the trap module. And today, we are going to start talking about the trap tropes within. Love this module or hate it, ToH has had a profound effect on how traps are viewed and used in D&D. I am putting SPOILER ALERT up now. If you have not played this module and intend to, stop reading. I plan on a few posts on this subject, as ToH is a dense module with a lot of subject matter. Today we will only be covering the entrance hallway superficially. I hope that the reads ask questions and tell me what to elaborate on.
Ignoring the entrance "puzzle" (random choice, unless you are overly cautious or have disposable minions), the first traps an adventuring party comes to are pit traps. Gygax put several pits in the entrance hallway, none of which are in a straight line. (And he uses them to affect 3 out of the 4 uses we outlined previously.)
The next trap is probably the most famous in D&D. The "Face of the Great Green Devil" has confounded players for over 40 years. Without boxed text the details given about the encounter vary wildly. Three clues are emboldened in the text: "Dead, Evil, Magic." These clues should be enough to deter people from jumping in. People grouse about this trap, but if run properly it stands as a good example of an unique trap.
Moving to the immediate left of the Devil Face, we find the weakest of the traps within ToH, the Arch of Mist. It can separate parties (permanently) and does not facilitate fun. If it were modified so that all characters ended near each other (maybe bars separate them or they were 40 feet apart on different ledges) that would lead to interesting encounters. As it stands, this trap has a chance of limiting fun because the party has their time split.
We are still in the entrance hallway, and three different kinds traps already confound. Over the next few weeks, I plan to delve further into the module and discuss if the traps work and why.

See you in the dungeon halls.

Trap Tuesday - Icy Weather!

Travelling to Wisconsin for Garycon in early March brought up an interesting trap idea. Weather acts much like a trap in overland adventuring. With this in mind, let's talk about weather and traps.

Inclement weather of most kinds can be used as a trap of sorts. Icy conditions on the ground can cause someone to fall. Torrential rain or snow can obscure vision. Even high winds can force a travelling group off their compass heading. All of these mimic traps in one form or another.

Today, I will start with ice. Ice on the ground can be nearly invisible. Ice storms hurt. If you have ever been in an ice storm, you know the stinging pinch of hard water welting your skin. And as it hits the ground, it becomes more and more treacherous to just walk.
An icy patch may just be a singular hazard along a forested trail, or there may be a sequence of them. Patches of ice can be almost anywhere. A patch can have wildly different consequences based on that location. Wherever one is, it should to be adjudicated as a trap. As I have talked about previously, this event is a lot more fun if the characters can interact with it.  Detecting it (even if it is "black ice") should be easy enough. Rangers, druids and thieves (rogues if you prefer) should be able to find the icy patch with their miscellaneous abilities. Getting through or around the ice may be a different story.
Are they on a high mountain pass, with granite on one side, and air on the other? How do they navigate the ice then? They will come up with a creative solution.
Are they in the middle of a crowded city? They may not be able to avoid the ice. In this case falling down may only hurt their social status. (And it can be used as a comic relief moment.)

How would I actually put rules to these ideas? For OSR games, I would probably force a saving throw for attempting to cross. Depending on the system used, it could be Dexterity based or Paralysis.
I may give barbarians, rangers or other characters bonuses depending on their background and experiences. For a more modern game, I would probably use a straight dexterity check. Whatever system I use, I would add bonuses for creative ideas. Using a walking stick might garner a +1, but making a walker with 4 legs might gain a +8.

Ice storms are a much different obstacle. In addition to the effects above, an ice storm will probably halt overland travel. A storm could force a caravan (or group of adventurers) off their compass heading. And pelting ice should cause damage.
Whatever system I use, I would cause 1d6 damage per 10 minutes of travelling in an ice storm. Tents are not much protection in these circumstances. After the tents are up, I would have everyone take 1d6 every half hour. Spurring a mount forward in an ice storm is dangerous. In addition to the damage, a mount may slip, breaking a leg or causing another injury.

If the group is not on a road, getting lost travelling through an ice storm becomes likely. An OSR group wants a ranger in these circumstances. Adjudicating much like surprise, a ranger would be lost only 1 in 6. Druids and Barbarians only 2 in 6. Everybody else 4 in 6. These numbers can be adjusted for familiar terrain or other factors.
In a modern game, Survival skill check would determine if the group is lost.

Weather as a trap is a strong concept in D&D. It adds some realism to an overland journey and can make fun encounters without being deadly. Over the next couple of weeks, I expect to revisit the idea with other inclement weather types.

See you in the dungeon halls,

Rocky.

Trap Tuesday - Outside the Dungeon

So far we have been talking about dungeon traps. But, traps are a wide and varied subject. Today, we're going to talk about a different kind: the political trap. They don't play at all like a dungeon trap, but they are some of the most important when weaving a story.

Political traps take time, and subtlety. They start small, usually with someone taking an oath: to protect a kingdom, ruler, lover or object.

From there, things slowly push on that oath. A trusted adviser to the ruler tells the oath-taker that something is needed. A magic ring or a flag can protect what was sworn to be protected.

The oath-taker leaves to retrieve the item. Meanwhile, the "trusted" adviser whispers that the oath-taker forsook their oath. And with that, the trap is sprung.

It works much the same way with a lover. A scream in the night pulls the hero to protect an innocent. This leads a seed of doubt in the lover. They begin to wonder why the oath-taker must protect others? They promised to protect me! And again, the trap is sprung.

When the hero(es) return, they are confronted by whoever they swore the oath to. The ruler (or lover) demands to know why they were left unprotected? They may play this part in different way. A lover may show weakness: crying, trembling, yelling or cursing. All of this leads to an ultimatum: do not leave the protected's side.
Meanwhile, the ruler may show strength: calmness, brashness, or accusations. These lead to several options; banishment, imprisonment, or giving a task to prove the oath.

Now, the oath-taker feels the barbs of the trap. They must do what they swore to do. But, how to do that while imprisoned, or banished? The hero should know the adviser is the problem. How to solve it without a head on the chopping block? That is a great trap.

What of being forced to staying near their charge, unable to recover the item needed to stop the inevitable? This trap lends even more storytelling to the game. The group still must adventure, but now they have an albatross around their necks. Do they take an irregular step and Charm an ally? Wrap the protected one in armor and spells and carry them across the wilderness and dungeons?

Where they go from that point is up to the players. And that's why these are great traps.

Top 5 DM Tips - Rocky

Uncle Matt's D&D Studio has been doing a series of guests with their Top 5 GM picks. It seemed like an excellent topic for a post. But, I run a mega-dungeon as my normal game, so my list will have a different emphasis than a standard one.

1. Keep a list of NPCs handy. Both who they regularly interact with, and new names that may never show up again. I know that my players talk to Bear Jarl, Acidopholis, King Johan and others regularly. I don't necessarily remember shopkeep names or mannerisms. Keep that list available in a moment's notice. They may also negotiate with orcs, goblins, or other denizens in the dark. Be prepared!

2. Don't use bosses by the book. If something is a "boss" for a level, it should be special. It may be extra HPs, or a special attack (fire-breathing goblins always make a nice surprise), extra attacks or anything else that may set it apart from the common version.

3. Let the players get in over their heads. Let them go deeper than you expect. Keep throwing traps, puzzles and monsters at them. Even two at a time. They will surprise you with how they deal with their backs against the wall.
3a. Don't let them win. But make sure that they usually do win. This may mean that a monster has fewer HPs than anticipated. It may mean that the trap hits the monsters too. However it happens, the players should feel like they accomplished something (or died trying.)

4. Know your megadungeon. Make sure the PCs' actions have consequences for the creatures within. Maybe the orcs take over the decimated goblin territory (even taking in goblins as shock troops.) Maybe something bigger seals the power vacuum. Removing one group may cause dominoes to fall throughout the dungeon (the goblins are removed, so the hobgoblins begin to withdraw from the dungeon, for example.)
Know that a trap has been set off, and doesn't re-trigger. Know when your PCs break doors. Mark these things on your map or key. Keep the changes consistent.

5. Let the players choose the path of the game. You're running a mega-dungeon. Nobody will ever see the whole thing. The players will seek out what they find interesting.

6. (BONUS!) Remember the Holy Trinity of Megadungeons. Exploration, Puzzle-solving, Role-playing. These are what drive the megadungeon forward. Use them. Every session.