From the Vaults: My Favorite Trap

In which I describe a subtle but effective trap and ways to tweak it.

This post originally appeared on Prismatic Wasteland on Feb. 23, 2021. A fun fact: in searching for art for this post (something I spend less time on these days than I did when I began blogging), I met Norn, who later became an illustrator for Barkeep on the Borderlands and then a friend.

By Norn Noszka, who does lots of cool sword art.

I have a simple trap I’ve used many times to great aplomb, and I want anyone to be able to steal or remix it. There is no shortage of bad traps in D&D-inspired RPGs, nor of articles bemoaning them or giving advice on how to make traps that don’t suck. This is no such article. For good guidelines on traps and 33 more good traps than you’ll find here, I direct you to a classic blog post from Chris McDowall: 34 Good Traps.

The players enter a room with a pool of water, at least eight feet deep and preferably a lake. It is important that the water is crystal clear, and I like to pepper it with some idyllic lily pads. The glint of a sword, embedded in the lake bed, immediately catches the player’s eyes. It doesn’t have to be a sword, but should be something the players want. For most games in which I’ve played, players want swords. But a plain ol’ sword may not be enough. The following table presents some idea of how to make this bait a bit more tantalizing.

WHAT’S SO COOL ABOUT THIS SWORD (D12)

1. The sword’s blade is on fire, even under water.

2. It’s actually one of the player’s swords. They just now realized it’s missing from their inventory!

3. The sword’s blade is as dark as the night sky and flickers with distant starlight.

4. It’s made of bones, which is fucking metal (but not literally).

5. It’s a sentient sword but is possessed by a demon, which is itself in thrall to a vampire, who is a devoted supplicant to Cthulhu.

6. It’s edible.

7. Retrieving it proves the wielder’s divine right to rule in the eyes of some nearby yokels.

8. If you show it to a pretentious elf, they’ll tell you about how it is the legendary such-and-such, forged in the First Age for King So-and-So and lost in the battle of yada yada yada.

9. A skeleton’s fist is wrapped around its hilt. The skeleton wears important-looking clothing.

10. It’s one of the player’s grandpop’s trusty sword. Ask the player what famous foe the grandpop slew with it. Ask them what foolish bet did they make that caused them to lose it.

11. It’s pommel is a fist-sized eye, blinking occasionally.

12. Two words: laser. sword.

In my near-decade running games, I’ve never had an entire group just shrug their shoulders at unguarded loot. They may be suspicious and think it’s a trap, but that’s good. They’ll scheme and try to predict what is going to happen and how they can safely get the sword. Anything that makes players scheme together is good. The “trap” itself is fairly simple, so an appropriately paranoid party may overthink it entirely.

The sword is covered in a strong adhesive that isn’t soluble in water. Elegant. Why? The danger is immediately obvious—water can drown you. But ordinarily, it isn’t a danger for players unless, for instance, it’s quickly filling a small room in which they are locked. But when your hand is stuck to a chunk of metal embedded in the bottom of a pool of water, the realization comes quick. Your hit points won’t save you from drowning.

I don’t like traps with solutions determined in advance. When you are a player facing such a trap, it feels like the GM is just waiting for us to read their mind and isn’t open to creative problem solving. As a GM, I want to be surprised by the players’ solutions. I want to sit and listen to their ideas and determine if it works based on that amalgamation of dice rolls and common sense. But to assist in determining what solutions might work, the GM should consider the extent of the problem. How adhesive is the sword? The adhesive isn’t water-soluble, but can something else dissolve it? How deeply embedded is the sword in the lake bed? Can a strong enough player pull it out with sufficient effort? Can it only be pulled out by the rightful monarch? The GM should answer these questions ahead of time, so they can properly evaluate the players’ attempts to free their drowning friend.

A simple trap can be remixed easily. An easily remixed trap can be reused and reused. If you have a trap that can be re-flavored to fit various genres, it is especially useful. Diving headfirst into a body of water to get something shiny, as a core concept, is applicable to plenty of situations. The following table is just a few of the ways to remix this simple trap.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THIS TRAP (D12)

1. It’s a deep wishing fountain in a derelict and abandoned mall. The sword is wedged in a large pile of tarnished coins.

2. A rival adventuring party arrives at the same time. Their barbarian member, oiled muscles rippling, goes wide-eyed upon spotting the sword.

3. The top three inches of the lake are frozen solid.

4. A couple of ne’er-do-wells skulk nearby. When they hear the splash of a diver, they give it a few seconds before ambushing the diver’s friends.

5. Bones sit motionless in the lake. The lake is a gelatinous cube.

6. A lifeguard sits on a big chair outside the pool. They admonishe any horseplay, roughhousing or tomfoolery. No running!

7. It’s a koi pond in a corporate waiting room. The receptionist tsk-tsks if they see someone jump in. The koi aren’t too happy either.

8. The sword is a mimic. The pommel has teeth.

9. The lake is on the ceiling and filled with anti-gravity water.

10. Freeing the sword triggers a structural collapse of the dungeon containing the lake. The players best boogie on outta here.

11. The lake contains electric eels. Or sharks. Or electric sharks.

12. The pool contains highly flammable liquid, not water. A red dragon slumbers in the next room.

Do you have a simple, elegant trap that you remix and reuse often? Please share it! I’m always looking to expand my repertoire; good traps are hard to come by.