The adventurers are exploring an ancient dungeon, filled to the brim with secret rooms, magical treasures, dangerous enemies, and, of course, fiendish traps.
But what traps will you throw at them? What can you use that they haven’t seen a hundred times already? Here are ten new types of traps, with examples of each type. They’re system-neutral, so you can sneak them into any game you play.
1. Something that splits the party.
- A portcullis falls, but the controls are deeper in the dungeon.
- A pit trap that sends any victims sliding down a long chute to a lower level of the dungeon.
- A monster kidnaps an adventurer during a rest period.
2. Something that makes an adventurer choose between paying a high price now or forgoing a great reward later.
- A prized gem or an ancient scroll that’s precariously close to the failsafe mechanism of a fire-breathing statue. If disarmed, the statue will explode, destroying the artefact, but the adventurers know from experience (or hearsay) that the statues’ flames are incredibly powerful (and possibly deadly).
3. Something that deals a lot of damage. The longer an adventurer can withstand it, the better the reward.
- Gemstones suspended in an acidic slime. The adventurer can collect as many as they want – but they have to make some kind of saving throw against taking damage or getting poisoned.
4. Something that is easily spotted and disarmed. When disarmed, it releases something dangerous further along in the dungeon.
- This one is pretty self explanatory… an obvious trap like a fire-breathing statue or a trapped lock on a door. It has to be clear that something happens when the trap is disarmed so that the adventurers can recognise the consequence later.
5. Something that is easily spotted and disarmed…but will clearly hurt someone else when disarmed.
- A trap that triggers in two places at once, trapping two adventurers under suspended spears. Disarming one will trigger the other.
- A fire-breathing statue that, if disarmed, will set off a chain reaction leading to an explosive rune in the room where all the people you’re here to rescue are trapped.
6. Something that only one adventurer can see or experience.
- A poison fog that only affects one adventurer, affecting their senses.
- A monster that’s invisible to all except one adventurer.
7. Something that causes emotional or mental – rather than physical – distress.
- An explosive rune that when triggered, releases a wave of psychic energy.
- A poison dart that saps an adventurer’s will, alertness, or wakefulness.
8. Something that has a very subtle and long-term effect.
- A statue that releases a poison gas. Conventional methods can’t detect or reverse the very slow weakening poison – the adventurer’s max health is reduced by one point every full moon.
- A lake that the adventurers have to get past that emits a poisonous gas or has poisoned water. The poison slowly but surely puts the adventurer in an eternal sleep.
9. Something that looks like a trap but when approached the right way, can bestow a great reward or blessing to an adventurer.
- A broken and dirty medusa statue or suit of armour. If snuck past, it comes to life and attacks. If treated with respect and cleaned, it comes to life and bestows a gift or secret on the adventurer.
- A poisoned lake. With magic and care, or a blessing from a higher power, the waters can be cleansed and be imbued with healing powers.
10. Something that sends the party to a beautiful dreamworld where nothing is real but everything is perfect.
- A fairy ring, a strange portal, a drugged sleep, an enchanted meal – something that can send the party to another realm. Are their bodies in the dreamworld paradise too, or are they still in the real world, asleep and vulnerable?
Further Reading…
Sersa Victory’s Testament of Malice is a brilliant book on traps with a really great dark fantasy vibe. Check it out here!
For other thoughts on unusual traps, think about curses and blessings from folktales, fairy tales, and mythology. What about a King Midas curse? Or Cassandra, cursed to see the future and have nobody believe her?
Megan Writes 