Dreadful Deeds: Chapter 3 “Dungeon Edition”
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Dreadful Deeds: Chapter 3 “Dungeon Edition”

So it’s been a busy week for the community so far, we have our newfound character builder, a virtual tabletop announced and lots of talk about the Monster Vault. Another cool prop by SlyFlourish and Living Traps over at the Save vs Death blog were some personal highlights for me.

I managed to eek out two more Left 4 Dead zombies for my Pixels & Polyhedrals series (now all complete with video examples), and I’ve got just one left then it’s on to final revisions and release into the community via .monster files! I also got to take part in the DM Roundtable podcast which was awesome and I hope to do again sometime!d

This week’s #D5C is dedicated to dungeons, because I love them and because I know you do too! I love the responses I’m getting from people and I hope the series is helping us feed off of each others ideas as well as maybe earn a few people some new followers for their genius ideas! Enjoy!

DM’s – what game / story (or meta) elements make your players the most nervous at the game table?

@TheWeem – The unknown. Ex: Showing them something seemingly more powerful than them that uses mechanics outside the “rules” box

@BlindGeekUK – the NPC’s knowing all about them.

@TheShaggyDM – Pulling out a big, mean-looking mini, plonking it on the table, and saying “all you have to do…is get through this.”

@ExaltedDarkness – as far as game elements, I think math is the hardest for my PCs, lol. Combat modifiers get pretty tricky…

@Neldar – Dragons, 3D terrain, zombie dragons, sand, overwhelming helplessness

@DigitalDraco – I find sound effects and frenetic (or otherwise appropriate) battle music are particularly useful!

@TheAngryDM – I have a d20 that I have for 15 years that has become famous at my table for crits. My players fear it like nothing else

Dreadful Deeds: Kaizo Traps in D&D Part 1
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Dreadful Deeds: Kaizo Traps in D&D Part 1

In my continued efforts to provide you with only the finest fodder for utterly crushing your players, I bring you another guest post from one of the best trap aficionados in the D&D community –  Sersa V.

In case you haven’t heard of him he runs a blog that specializes in hardcore encounters for 4e, put best in his own words: “D&D hardcore – exceedingly lethal dungeon challenges for the D&D 4th Edition game” also known as ‘4thcore’. The sheer amount of content and the quality within is a rarity, so if you haven’t checked his out yet I highly suggest you do so.

The trap outlined below is not for the faint of heart and is definitely a good way to start (or end) an encounter with a bang. It may even force some of those more passive players to think twice before hanging around inside dungeon foyers like a bump on a log while their fellow party members advance boldly. Not that there’s anything wrong with hanging back but it’ll definitely keep em’ on their toes after encountering one of these. I’ll definitely be using it when kicking off my new campaign tonight.

In the coming weeks I should be outlining my campaigns progress via Obsidian Portal. I’ll also be doing a follow up post or two here to let you know how my newfound anti “care bear” DM’ing style is going. Will I be able to fight my hand holding tendencies and maybe actually kill someone this time around should the situation arise? Will I stop fudging so many die rolls? I certainly hope so.

Without further adieu, the trap:

Dreadful Deeds: The DMS Trap
Posted inDreadful Deeds

Dreadful Deeds: The DMS Trap

Today I bring to you the first of a few guest posts as I prepare to kick off my D5C initiative on twitter, it is written by the very talented (and devious) @Macrogeek so do yourself a favor and start following him on twitter if you’re not already doing so. The DMS trap is a wonderful play on a classic trap that could be found in any dungeon, a bit of a one-two punch but the twist is you’re PC’s minds will end up suffering some quite unique effects.

The role playing possibilities and hilarity that may ensue from the DMS trap are priceless so read on, and prepare to give me your best shot when I call out for D5C tweets starting next week. Also check back later today for another new Pixels & Polyhedrals baddie that will really choke your players for options.

The DMS Trap

Not all RPG traps should exist to try to cause a player death or TPK. Some of the best traps are the ones that give you, the DM, a plot hook to work from in future sessions. Thus I give you a trap designed only to cause fun role playing scenarios for your players – The DMS Trap.

It goes a little something like this:

Near the end of the dungeon the party triggers a trap. It’s not important how it’s triggered, just that it goes off.

Some ideas:

  • Have the “boss” character of the dungeon wear an amulet that triggers the trap if he dies or separates himself from the amulet. (a dead-man switch, he can intentionally trigger/drop the amulet if the PC’s don’t kill him, or it can go off when they take it from him as loot)
  • The trap can be triggered when the PC’s remove a certain goal item from the dungeon. They have to remove the item to complete a quest, but doing so trips the trap. Alternatively, when they fail a check trying to open a chest, or disarm what appears to be a simpler trap, the DMS trap can be sprung.
  • The fumbling NPC. Make the trigger for the trap obvious, supply a clumsy NPC who has much poorer skills than the rest of the party…have them fail a check. Works well with rescued prisoners, the village drunk, liberated henchmen, local politicians.

DM, you’ve made the players set off your evil trap…what happens next?