Devious Devices
Hello everyone; welcome to From the Workshop, where we bring you articles filled with neat little things designed to improve your day-to-day gaming experience. This week I would like to bring you a slew of brand new traps. You may notice that some of them have multiple degrees of failure, or otherwise possess “tiered” effects (Cursed Idol, Deep Frost, and Gorgon Gas, to be specific). Don’t be alarmed! It’s a mechanic we’ve been playing around with. Most likely you’ll see a long-winded Dark Designs about it sooner or later. So without further ado, here are the traps.
Baited Ceiling Trap
CR 7
Type: mechanical; Perception: DC 20; Disable Device: DC 25
Trigger: touch, pressure plate; Reset: manual
Effect: 8d6 piercing damage and targets are pinned under spiked ceiling (DC 15 Strength check removes the pinned effect). Pinned characters gain 2 points of bleeding damage (this bleed damage can only be treated as normal when the pinned condition is removed); DC 17 Reflex avoids damage, pin, and bleed; multiple targets (all targets in a 15-ft square area)
The baited ceiling trap is a favorite of both clever and savage trapsmiths. It consists of a spiked ceiling, rigged to fall when the pressure is relieved from a pressure-sensitive plate. The baited element is what sets this trap apart, making it truly insidious. A caged animal, typically of the small, cute, and furry variety is placed upon a pressure plate sensitive to its own weight. When the animal or cage is removed from the plate, a section of the ceiling drops with great speed upon unsuspecting animal-rescuers. The trap’s efficacy revolves around the targets’ desire to rescue the prisoner, and some crueler critics claim that this is the trap’s main weakness.
Price: 1600 gp+ cost of animal (usually 1 cp)
Closing Walls Trap
CR 1*
Type: quasi-magical; Perception: DC 25; Disable Device: DC 10
Trigger: proximity (alarm); Reset: none
Effect: The walls begin to shrink down and the room is decreased by 10 ft in all dimensions. This trap cannot allow the dimensions of the room to be less than 10-ft square.
This trap is a favorite of creative mages and other trapsmiths, who often use it to set up a much nastier plan, or to restrict access to certain areas of their lairs. The rooms revert to their normal dimensions 24 hours after triggering.
Price: 4,000 gp
*This trap only represents a minor threat on its own, so it typically increases an existing encounter’s CR by +1. Certain situations may cause for a higher rise in CR; DMs should use their own discretion for whether or not the situation in question warrants a higher CR value.
Cursed Idol Trap
CR 15
Type: magical; Perception: DC 34; Disable Device: DC 20
Trigger: touch; Reset: automatic
Effect: A cursed idol trap may be applied to any item of Medium size or smaller, and is enchanted with powerful teleportation magic causing all who touch it to make a DC 28 Will save or be affected as though by a dimension door spell; characters who fail their save by 5 or more are instead affected as though by a teleport spell; characters who fail by 10 or more are instead affected by plane shift. In each case, both the distance to be traveled and the destination must be selected by the trap’s crafter in advance; all ordinary restrictions on those spells apply.
Price: 33,000 gp
Deadly Winds Trap
CR 10*
Type: quasi-magical; Perception: DC 5; Disable Device: DC 50
Trigger: location (special); Reset: automatic
Effect: gust of wind spell; Reflex DC 12 negates; special (see below)
This was a trap crafted by a legendary trapsmith as a way to prove that even the most skilled rogues had something to fear from his traps, and while the actual trap may be fairly mild the trap is specifically designed to be more dangerous to those who attempt to disarm it. Rather than the ordinary penalties for disarming a trap, use the following table.
Check Failed By |
Effect |
Less than 5 |
Generates strong winds fortitude DC 15 |
5-10 |
Generates severe winds fortitude DC 17 |
11-15 |
Generates windstorm fortitude DC 20 |
16-20 |
Generates hurricane winds fortitude DC 24 |
21+ |
Generates a tornado effect fortitude DC 29 |
See the control winds spell and the Environments section of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook for more on winds. The trap itself typically resembles a fan hidden behind a steel grate, though some more decorative models can be found in upper class areas. Including spiked walls and ceilings can increase the trap’s CR by 2.
*This trap's CR largely depends on how the PCs approach it. If they attempt to disarm it it could easily prove lethal to a level 10 party, but if they decide to weather its effects it poses virtually no threat to PCs of any level.
Cost: 22,500 gp
Deep Frost Trap
CR 8
Type: magical; Perception: DC 20; Disable Device: DC 25
Trigger: proximity (alarm); Reset: none
Effect: A burst of freezing cold mist inflicts 10d6 cold damage (Reflex DC 18 for half damage). Characters who fail by 5 or more are also slowed as per the slow spell. Multiple targets (all targets in a 20-ft radius).
Price: 1,500 gp
Gorgon Gas Trap
CR 11
Type: quasi-magical; Perception: DC 30; Disable Device: DC 30
Trigger: location; Reset: none
Effect: A gaseous cloud erupts from the trap. If affected characters fail DC 25 Fortitude save they are stunned for 1 minute, and characters who fail their save by 5 or more are instead petrified permanently. Multiple targets (all targets in a 20-ft radius).
Price: 6,000 gp