I´m planning a campaign where most dungeons are kobold run. So I´ve prepared a few traps. What do you think of them? Reccomendations? (Hit die will vary on partys level)
shady/dark corner,as you approach you see a kobold hand reaching out of a wall and a bomb lying next to it -> hand lights the bomb, quickly disappears -> DC 16 DEX save -> (3d6 + 4) [explosion] damage or damage halved
bomb, potion or similar thrown at you from cracks -> saving throw -> damage or damage halved + no lasting effects
bear traps: DC 13 DEX save -> (2d4 + 2) or no damage
axe slice: from a slit in the side, an axe comes slashing out, there it swings back and forth, DC 15 DEX -> (2d12 +3) or (1d12 + 2)
stone ravine: a wall starts cracking until it breaks, from the hole come multiple boulders and stones rolling in your direction, DC 16 CON save -> (4d8 + 2) + movement speed halved + disadvantage on attack rolls until short rest or (2d8 + 4) + movement speed halved
Kobolds are small which means they can fit through tiny tunnels when squeezing but players likely can't
Spear and dart attacks work as well as explosions in traps so you can throw some attack roles in, instead of saves if you want
caltrops and ball bearings are options as well
not all traps need to do damage some can do things like alert guards
kobolds might collapse tunnels that they can dig up later
you can mix up traps by occasionally applying poisons are diseases to them
Something worth keeping in mind is even with kobolds it should not be as if their entire home is an obstacle course. try to concentrate it around the entrance and points of interest
youre right! i need some variation. Ill definetly work on my kobold"ing"(?) this was very good feedback and of course youre right. its their home after all
Kobold get pact tactics, i.e. advantage when they coordinate an attack. I would have them take advantage of this. Perhaps a 5ft corridor with thin, concealing vines concealing two kobolds waiting with to attack on each side. Plan is for a surprise round attack by both, with advantage, and then jump down an escape tunnel. If you try to follow them you are led to another, different trap.
I imagine that kobold traps are probably built around combined experience and cunning. They know that if they give you a chasm to cross with a log over it, you might not walk over the obviously trapped log, so they might also trap a subtle ledge in the wall which you might think you found. They might trap the landing zone at the edge for people who try to jump, or the beam above for people who try to swing.
I like the idea of Kobold traps being traps that lead to traps that are actually the bait for traps. I also suspect no kobold in their right mind will aim to stand where they can be hit - they will shoot through gaps in the walls.
Another good option for a trap is a huge wheel that makes the floor of the dungeon, with a weak trap behind it. Soon as one charactr starts walking up, it starts rolling backwards, and they have to run faster and faster to try and get up it! fall over or fall back, and the weak trap is waiting for you! get to the top? There's a trap waiting for you!
My favorite kobold trap involves a lair in some caves that are bisected by a river. On the entrance side, the ledges that overlook the river are greased, and the one bridge to cross the river can be dropped from the opposite side. The river sweeps anyone who falls in all the way to a pool downstream where crocodiles swim and winged kobolds snipe from ledges or the air above.
When I ran this, the players found a secret door that led to the winged kobold’s vantage point over the pool. They did not realize he had wings and pushed him over the edge. That was fun.
My family started playing when 4e came out and I ran them through "Kobold Hall" an adventure in the back of the Dungeon Master's Guide. There was a neat rolling stone trap in there. D&D was new to us and they had such a fun time that they still remember that little adventure today.
I think it would be cool to use the Kobold Hall maps, update it to 5e and stock it with the traps you came up in addition to what's already there.
I googled "dungeon masters guide 4e pdf" just to see if I was remembering this correctly and it was literally the first thing that popped up. I won't link it because I assume it's frowned upon to have access to the book that way.
I´m planning a campaign where most dungeons are kobold run. So I´ve prepared a few traps. What do you think of them? Reccomendations? (Hit die will vary on partys level)
Those are decent simple traps just some notes
Something worth keeping in mind is even with kobolds it should not be as if their entire home is an obstacle course. try to concentrate it around the entrance and points of interest
youre right! i need some variation. Ill definetly work on my kobold"ing"(?) this was very good feedback and of course youre right. its their home after all
Kobold get pact tactics, i.e. advantage when they coordinate an attack. I would have them take advantage of this. Perhaps a 5ft corridor with thin, concealing vines concealing two kobolds waiting with to attack on each side. Plan is for a surprise round attack by both, with advantage, and then jump down an escape tunnel. If you try to follow them you are led to another, different trap.
I imagine that kobold traps are probably built around combined experience and cunning. They know that if they give you a chasm to cross with a log over it, you might not walk over the obviously trapped log, so they might also trap a subtle ledge in the wall which you might think you found. They might trap the landing zone at the edge for people who try to jump, or the beam above for people who try to swing.
I like the idea of Kobold traps being traps that lead to traps that are actually the bait for traps. I also suspect no kobold in their right mind will aim to stand where they can be hit - they will shoot through gaps in the walls.
Another good option for a trap is a huge wheel that makes the floor of the dungeon, with a weak trap behind it. Soon as one charactr starts walking up, it starts rolling backwards, and they have to run faster and faster to try and get up it! fall over or fall back, and the weak trap is waiting for you! get to the top? There's a trap waiting for you!
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My favorite kobold trap involves a lair in some caves that are bisected by a river. On the entrance side, the ledges that overlook the river are greased, and the one bridge to cross the river can be dropped from the opposite side. The river sweeps anyone who falls in all the way to a pool downstream where crocodiles swim and winged kobolds snipe from ledges or the air above.
When I ran this, the players found a secret door that led to the winged kobold’s vantage point over the pool. They did not realize he had wings and pushed him over the edge. That was fun.
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep
My family started playing when 4e came out and I ran them through "Kobold Hall" an adventure in the back of the Dungeon Master's Guide. There was a neat rolling stone trap in there. D&D was new to us and they had such a fun time that they still remember that little adventure today.
I think it would be cool to use the Kobold Hall maps, update it to 5e and stock it with the traps you came up in addition to what's already there.
I googled "dungeon masters guide 4e pdf" just to see if I was remembering this correctly and it was literally the first thing that popped up. I won't link it because I assume it's frowned upon to have access to the book that way.
Pit trap with another pit trap placed about a foot behind the first one. They never check for the second trap, and will often jump right into it!