Traps

[order99]

Oh it was a JOKE alright! i can only hope those little Halfling psychopaths mistimed the currents, got washed out to sea and starved to death surrounded by gold coins and cheerfully singing excerpts from 'Threepenny Opera' all the way to the River Styx... heh.

Let's face it-my old group ruined me for 'normal' roleplaying in the same way Hunter S Thompson ruined me for 'normal' journalism...but to be honest, I enjoyed every minute of both! You do understand however, why i'm holding back on my more 'creative' bits with the new guys...by the time they get tired of Gangbusters and Lakefront City I might have by Barebones Fantasy RPG Interdimensional Pulp variant ready and we can give the Gonzo a try...

[grrraall]

Ah, and while I'm at it: I'm writing the T&T stats for a French version of Grimtooth's Traps.
The book is a compilation of the best American traps and will be financed by crowdfunding.
The producer is looking for anecdotes and funny stories about and around Grimtooth's Traps.
If you can come up with something nice, your name shall be written in the book and remembered by future generations of French players ;D

[grrraall]

Ah, and here is the link to the announcement.
www.narrativiste.eu/2013/grimtooth-3-preview/
The page it will send you to includes another link to the preview file :-)
And if some of you are also members of other RPG forums, feel free to pass on my request (see my previous post above) and post the replies that you get. Thanks!

[grrraall]

Jun 7, 2013 11:59:25 GMT -5 grrraall said:

Ah, and here is the link to the announcement.
www.narrativiste.eu/2013/grimtooth-3-preview/
The page it will send you to includes another link to the preview file :-)
And if some of you are also members of other RPG forums, feel free to pass on my request (see my previous post above) and post the replies that you get. Thanks!

Needless to say, I will translate everything into French

[grrraall]

You can now make a pledge to get Grimtooth's Traps 3.0 on fr.ulule.com/grimtooth/

The preview is here: www.narrativiste.eu/2013/grimtooth-3-preview/

NB: Don't forget it's all in French.

[mahrundl]

I have no spare money at the moment, I can't read French anyway, and I still want to get this!

[unclecranky]

The delvers open a door, and see:
62 goblins {(or whatever, I'm a fan of Grimtooth, too) or whatever number suits your fancy. Just enough to provide a tantalizing threat of whatever creature} about to sacrifice a maiden. On an alter. Oh, horrors. Will the delvers be in time? Is this the END of Phoebe?
Apparently. The leader of the goblins steps down on a raised stone, and the walls open up, just above the delvers heads, and out spill...
Kittens. Lots and LOTS of kittens, just as the party takes up the rush toward the nasty ol' goblins. Try acting heroic with a half-ton of frisky, just-weaned kittens tangling around your feet.
... Did I mention there were a MIGHTY LOT of goblins?

[cram]

Traps are tricky and can really change the pace of the game in a single instance. I try to reserve springing a trap on a party if there are players who are not being respectful of the environment that their characters are in.

GM:"Okay so you have penetrated deep into the 'Secret Temple of the ancient god Trickster, patron deity of the thieves of Darkhaven', in the middle of the room there stands a table, on the table is a massive and ornate chest which you surmise to be the treasury of the fire hand clan of thieves, current occupants of the temple-what do you do?"

Bozo Player #1" "I open the Chest with the key we got from the dead body of the priest, I can't believe these guys would just leave this here unguar-"

GM:"Okay whats your Luck? You need to make a 1st level savings roll on luck to notice the odd 'click' as you slip the key into the keyhole in the chest for what is probably the sound of a trigger to a trap.

Bozo Player #1: (rolls dice) "Bonus! Doubles add and roll over" (rolls again)

GM:"Okay so you recognize the sound at the last minute but you still must make a 4th level Savings Roll on DEX to avoid being shot by the rigged crossbow you just tripped that was hidden under the table."

Bozo Player #1: (rolls dice)

GM:"TWANG! THUNK! The rest of you see 'Slick' pitch back wards with a crossbow bolt sticking out of his groin area. What do you do?

Bozo Player #2:

Bozo Player #3: "So if we can't open it with the key then I'll smash it with my double bladed broad axe! (excitedly scoops up dice to roll, shakes them vigorously)

GM:"Sooooo your hacking at the chest?"

Bozo Player #3: "Yeah! (Still shaking dice) What do I need to roll?

GM:"Well since you are right next to the chest when you strike it with your axe, I'd say a 7th level roll on luck to not be killed outright by the explosion that you set off as you land your first blow"

Bozo Player #2:

Bozo Player #3: "I'll never make that!"

GM:"Doubles add and roll."

Bozo Player #1: Hey, am I dead or what? You didn't roll damage.

GM:"Well I tell you what, since you have armor and the bolt might have missed a vital area make a 1st level Savings Roll and I give you 6 points off your CON, but fail and I roll damage for the crossbow."

Bozo Player #1: "Cool, I can make that standing on my head..."

GM: "True, but it probably won't matter much because your actually in the blast radius of the chest as it explodes so you will take more damage from that."

Bozo Player #1:

Bozo Player #2:

GM: (to Bozo Player #2) "Hey aren't you in the room too?"
  
Bozo Player #2:

Bozo Player #3: "So am I dead then?"

GM:"Did you make your Savings Roll?"

Bozo Player #3: No, I didn't think you were serious.

GM:"You said 'No'?"

Bozo Player #3: "Yes. meaning No I did not make the roll."

GM:"Then yes, you are dead."

Bozo Player #3: "

Not such a Bozo Player #4 and Kind of Smart Player #5: (who were both still outside the room because they know Bozo Players #s 1-3 pretty well)

[unclecranky]

Chest trap #1: Delvers toddle up to a massive chest, which is at the center of a room full of water, supplied by fountains all over, and draining through holes in the floor (small ones). After "checking" it for magic and traps, open it to find that it's about half-full of gems, all of which are radiating strong cosmic magic. The rest of the chest seems to be brim full of water.
Reaching in to get the gems is easy, and four people (2 in front, 1 on each side) can reach in at once. When they do, they find themselves... stuck fast, in the bent over position. Send in the cleanup crew, with can openers. The chest is chock full of adhesive. Tipping the chest over will get the liquid to sink rapidly to the bottom of the room, plugging all the drains, and allowing the water to force the doors shut.
In the event that they CAN think their ways out of either of the above-written, they might think to try to finally liberate the gems. Pulling just one of these magic goodies out, causes the water to finally overwhelm the floor (it's not a FINISHED drain, after all), plunging the delvers 600 ft (or more - I LIKE "more")into the sewage system for your tunnelworks.
The cosmic magic on the gems? A spell of attraction. No delver can resist trying...

[Aramis of Erak]

D&D made traps TOO common and too deadly.

I much prefer the Blue, Green, or Rasta Puppet Dragons. (You can find the blue in one of Grimtooth's. The rasta adds an intoxication effect... and the rasta multi-color tie-die.)

The nastiest trap I ever used was derived from a knowledge of toilet plumbing and the effects of misted kerosene. turned back a party for 5 whole sessions...

[unclecranky]

The deadliest one I knew of involved a wooden silo full of grain and a cousin smoking where she really oughtn't have...

[cram]

#1) Here's a question: How do folks handle the tendancy for the select group of "lunk headed" players who declare, at every instant after the GM has given a fresh description of the environment, "I am checking for traps!"?

and
#2)

Posted by unclecranky-The deadliest one I knew of involved a wooden silo full of grain and a cousin smoking where she really oughtn't have...

That sounds like a real incident, if it is don't tell...just respond with a smiley face.

[unclecranky]

[mahrundl]

Feb 18, 2014 13:47:53 GMT -5 cram said:

#1) Here's a question: How do folks handle the tendancy for the select group of "lunk headed" players who declare, at every instant after the GM has given a fresh description of the environment, "I am checking for traps!"?

There's always the option of having occasional traps that are only triggered by someone explicitly searching for them, and not otherwise. Schrödinger's Trap: whether or not it's there depends on whether or not someone tries to open the box...

[unclecranky]

A Nest of Giant Hummingbirds has made it's home in one of your dungeon rooms, and built right over a sarcophogas. Inside the sarcophogas is, of course, the obligatory mummy, decked out in ALL the jewelry you want to generate for your delvers.
Some bright soul starts to steal the goodies (which CAN be magical... I really don't care), and the mummy grabs his/her hand, springing (well, for a mummy, anyway) to life!
(At this point, I'd like to credit the memory of my mother, Mildred (Granny Cranky) B...., who loved hummingbirds)
Somebody WILL come up with the bright idea of burning the mummy. They ALWAYS do. There are two small amounts of gunpowder inside the poor fellow, right where his brain and heart used to be, and right beside those two small amounts, is a very LARGE amount of strawberry jam- just enough gunpowder and jam, in fact, to ensure everyone within, say, 15' gets glooped.
I won't belabor the obvious.