photo courtesy Christian Haugen

I have been going through some of my writing folders and finding some of the gems that have yet to see print.

Today it is a series of traps I wrote up to go along with the Critical Hit Trap Table I wrote back in early August. I actually have cleaned that table up a bit since its original publishing, I will post that update in the near future.

The traps below all use Attack rolls, making them perfect candidates for use with the critical hit trap table!

The Traps

Spiked Step: A pressure plate is engineered on a step (find / disable trap DC 15) on a flight of stairs, when depressed multiple spikes punch horizontally outwards (Atk +4, dmg 1d6) from the step behind the person’s leg.

Pit Trap, Spiked: A 10′ pit is concealed with a faux stone cover (find / disable trap DC 12). PCs that do not find the trap must make a DC 12 Reflex save or fall into the trap for 1d6 damage. The pit has numerous spikes at the bottom. 1d4 spikes could impale the falling character (Atk +3, dmg 1d4 per spike).

Poison Needle Lock: An intricate lock (pick lock, DC 16) that is also protected by a poisoned needle (find / disable trap DC 13). A failed pick lock or disable trap check will trigger the needle (Atk +6, dmg 1d4 plus poison: DC 14 Fort save or -1d4 Stamina).

Scythe Hall: Four slender scythe blades are recessed in the ceiling of this hall in 5′ intervals (find DC 20). A portion of the floor under the fourth scythe is weighted in a manner to cause all four scythes to swing downwards at the same time (find / disable trap DC 18). Failure to find the trap or disable it triggers the trap, each scythe targeting the character in that square (Atk +8, dmg 1d12)

Falling Block: A large stone block is rigged above the doorway of a closed door. Opening the door without finding the hidden lever (find / disable DC 15) triggers the trap. The large block falls from the ceiling potentially crushing the character opening the door (Atk +15, dmg 4d6).

Poison Arrow Trap, Repeating: Failure to find or disable (find / disable DC 16) this trap results in one arrow being fired every round for 6 rounds. (Atk +6, additional +4 if standing in doorway, dmg 1d6 plus poison: DC 13 Fort Save or -1d3 Stamina)

During a recent Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG game session we had a trap with an attack roll spring. A natural 20 was rolled for the trap’s attack and we checked for a Critical Table for Traps. We did not find one and I improvised and used a roll off the Monster table.

That moment got us talking and we thought maybe a Critical Table for Traps was in order. Several traps require attack rolls and it only seems reasonable that they get their own table!

There are several types of traps that typically get attack rolls – swinging scythes, rolling boulders, poison needle traps, etc. In designing this table I built it so it could be applicable to poison based traps or slashing, bludgeoning, or other types of traps.

To accomplish this I made the even numbered results applicable to slashing, bludgeoning or other types of traps that cause outright damage. Odd numbered entries are more poison oriented – whether that be poisoned needles, spear tips, or whatever devious traps DCC RPG judges can come up with. When rolling on the table if you get an odd number, but the trap is not a poison based trap, just drop down one result to get an applicable item.

For example, you roll a 20 an a poisoned needle and get a 16 on the critical roll. Just drop down and read the result from the 15 entry and you have a relevant and similarly damaging result.

Determining which dice to roll on a critical roll is the more subjective part on the Judge’s part. I am tempted to base it off of attack modifier to some degree, though those will rarely scale to the upper ends of the table. This would likely need to blend with the level of the adventure the judge is running. I think the dice progression used for ‘All Other’ from the Monster table is appropriate. I just need something other than HD to figure out which dice to roll.

I am still debating how to figure that portion out. Feel free to pop in with what you think in the comments. Until then, here is the Trap Critical Table I came up with.

Traps – Critical Table

Evens are slashing, bludgeoning, piercing, etc.
Odds are poison based traps

1 or Less: Trap sprung nearly perfectly! Add 1d3 damage.
2: The trap leaves the PC with blurry vision from the blow. +1d3 damage, -1 Reflex Saves for 6 hours.
3: The poison acts quickly, dulls reflexes. +1d3 damage, -1 Reflex Saves for 6 hours.
4: The trap scores a solid hit, penetrating deep into the PC’s body. +1d6 damage.
5: The poison burns as it enters the PC’s body! +1d6 damage.
6: The blow from the trap knocks the wind out of the PC. +1d6 damage, 1d2 temporary Stamina damage until healed.
7: The poison causes convulsions. +1d6 damage, 1d2 temporary Stamina damage until healed.
8: The trap causes bleeding that is difficult to stop. +1d8 damage.
9: Poison lingers unusually long in the PC’s body. +1d8 damage.
10: The trap strikes a central nerve. +2d4 damage, DC 14 Fort Save or fall unconscious.
11: The poison overwhelms central nervous system. +2d4 damage, DC14 Fort Save or fall unconscious.
12: The trap lands an overpowering blow. +1d12 damage.
13:  The poison has a brief, but very powerful chilling effect on the PC’s muscles. +1d12 damage
14: Trap cracks multiple ribs. +2d6 damage.
15: The poison causes the PC’s spleen to rupture. +2d6 damage.
16: The trap crushes the PC’s knee. PC’s movement rate is reduced by 5′.
17: The poison causes paralyzation in the PC’s arm.  PC loses use of one arm until healed by cleric 3^rd level or higher.
18: The trap causes a sudden and extreme amount of blood loss. +1d16 damage. DC 16 Fort Save or fall unconscious.
19: The poison speeds its way to the PCs heart causing +1d16 damage. DC 16 Fort Save or fall unconscious.
20: The blow from the trap damages the optical nerve. PC is permanently blind.
21: The poison fogs the vision causing permanent blindness.
22: The trap delivers a stunning blow to the head causing irreversible vestibular system damage. 1d6 Agility damage.
23: The poison affects the PC’s core brain function. 1d6 Intelligence damage.
24: The trap’s blow causes severe damage to the PC’s spinal column causing complete and permanent paralysis.
25: The poison targets the PC’s central nervous system and causes complete and permanent paralysis.
26: The trap flays the flesh and exposes a wide swath of muscle to open air. +3d12 damage.
27: The poison has an acidic reaction with the PC’s blood stream causing extreme pain and anguish. +3d12 damage.
28: The trap damages multiple organs with a single strike causing immediate PC death.
29: The poison sends the PC’s heart rate into impossible to maintain numbers causing it to explode in the PCs chest, killing him.
30 or More: The gods frown upon the PC as the trap springs with uncanny execution and kills the PC outright in an extreme fashion.