I need a way to kill all of my player characters, as I am doing a challenge with another DM, for who's party can survive the longest. This is a one-shot, so has no effect on our campaigns. These have to be traps, as its a trap only challenge, I've done 60 floors of this please help.
Second, the issue with this style of play is that the DM can just say "everyone suddenly has a heart attack and dies". The game is has no point if the DM's objective is to kill the players.
The most effective traps would be instant death. Again, the game is meaningless if the objective is to kill off the players.
Just make a pit trap with magic dart traps that cast power word kill at the bottom or something.
Also, how do you prevent the players from spamming perception checks? Or even just spending the entire session doing nothing, so as to avoid the traps? Traps are only effective when they aren't expected.
Is there any balancing criteria for the trap? Because otherwise, yeah, just drop a 2-ton rock on them with a DC 30 dex save with 10d12+100 bludgeoning damage. Then they're dead. Game over.
I did just buy the Game Master's Book of Traps, Puzzles, and Dungeons by Jeff Ashworth. It has a lot of fun traps in it. So maybe you could get some ideas from there? You can get it in PDF for $15 on DriveThruRPG.
As others are saying, you literally can't be the god of the world, want to kill the party, and give them any real chance of success. Your limitations are completely arbitrary, so a fair competition between DMs to kill players without practical constraints is impossible. You would have to do a "Dungeon Builder" exercise, where you are allotted a certain amount of resource points to spend on traps, monsters, and environmental hazards and work within those bounds.
For example, assign damage, DC, and AOE variables to tiers, and then use a point buy system that increases the cost like buying attribute points. You can have an obscene amount of easy traps, invest all of your points into a few powerful monsters, or mix it up for a more traditional dungeon crawl/BBEG encounter.
We are TRYING not to do instant death trips cos ot ruins the fun, and they went full on MAX-MAX lvl 20 as we gave them two magic items each, so yh
So... the traps can't kill the party? Even if you roll dice for damage, a trap is either an instant kill, or not an instant kill. If only the latter is allowed, then a trap is not allowed to kill any party members, and thus the trap is pointless. If instant death is allowed, nothing is stopping you from killing the party instantly.
Again, this style of play is practically impossible to make feasible and enjoyable.
so, a dangerous obstacle course? okay. have you tried a few sphinx? nothing says speed bump like the occasional sphinx. and then...
...later, the adventurers enter a chilly circular room of, oh, say 40-ish feet in diameter. many, many chains hang from a high, foggy ceiling to dangle just four feet from the floor. the adventurers may notice the green slime along the sides which does not cross a bevel or lip in the floor where it meets the wall. the floor itself appears to be clear of debris or hazard with regular finger-sized holes draining away any of the frequent drips of condensation that run down the chains. across the way there is a square opening which would be revealed as an open shaft going very far up and down but seemingly missing it's elevator or purpose. above the open door is a red arrow up and a blue arrow down. as they commit to entering, the chains rattle and a sphinx lowers itself from just above to hang upside down offering in it's paw a red gem. if the adventurers have encountered a sphinx or two thus far then they'll be expecting a riddle followed by safe passage. however, the sphinx will not speak, seemingly waiting for one of the characters to gather and discuss. if they pause for any length of time, perhaps to attempt to engage the monster in a dialog, a second sphinx will lower behind them, blocking the way out. This one wordlessly offers a blue gem in it's paw. when either creature or gem is touched by a character three things will occur instantly: 1.) the floor begins to fall away but slowly enough that the characters could as a reaction grab a chain and hang on, 2.) the touching character is adhered to (and soon dangling from) the touched sphinx, and 3.) the sphinx that was not touched makes a grapple attempt on the nearest adventurer. these aren't sphinx but rather level-appropriate mimics.
you can handle the rest. no doors have closed so will the party split? what happens if a character climbs up and away into the darkness? is there perhaps an actual sphinx above which has been magically stranded in the fog? does the shaft fill regularly with steam or water (perhaps related to the fog or the gems)? or is the shaft simply a drop/climb slightly longer than the rope the adventurers have brought with them? will green slime drop from far above if someone sticks their head out? will the floor drop only 10ft but then reveal sides covered in green slime? maybe smile will ooze up from beneath? or will the floor fall further with spikes extruding through the "drainage" holes? have there been stirges circling the whole time who now become a nuisance as the characters are grappled, dangling, or finding themselves squeezed between spikes? is this when some curious ooze or pudding comes squeezing through the tight spikes below as well? how do you prevent a party of lvl20s from casting fly and circumventing the whole thing??
This sounds ace. Slap some generic traps in there to start off with. Low DC's and all that jazz to drop their guard. Instead of outright killing them with big ones have them permanently scratch off a failed death saving throw. It's a one-shot, make it a laugh.
This is excellent thanks. I do see the points of the other posters, and I really should have just said deadliest traps please
There's literally nothing deadlier than instant death.
As far as your character's health, this it true. However, you can also traumatize your players with extremely detailed descriptions on how your flying bear trap rips off the party rogue's leg. The sickening crunch of bone followed by the wet tearing of flesh. Bonus points if you break celery over your knee for the sound effect.
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Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
This is excellent thanks. I do see the points of the other posters, and I really should have just said deadliest traps please
There's literally nothing deadlier than instant death.
As far as your character's health, this it true. However, you can also traumatize your players with extremely detailed descriptions on how your flying bear trap rips off the party rogue's leg. The sickening crunch of bone followed by the wet tearing of flesh. Bonus points if you break celery over your knee for the sound effect.
Please do not do this unless your players have explicitly told you that they're okay with this level of depicted violence
This is excellent thanks. I do see the points of the other posters, and I really should have just said deadliest traps please
There's literally nothing deadlier than instant death.
As far as your character's health, this it true. However, you can also traumatize your players with extremely detailed descriptions on how your flying bear trap rips off the party rogue's leg. The sickening crunch of bone followed by the wet tearing of flesh. Bonus points if you break celery over your knee for the sound effect.
Please do not do this unless your players have explicitly told you that they're okay with this level of depicted violence
That is, of course, a given with this kind of depiction. However, if your party is okay with this level of description, then feel free to use it to make the party paranoid.
Traps in a dungeon, in my mind, shouldn't be as simple as "oh well, guess I lost some HP because I failed a check". They can be tools to punish bad habits in the party, and gates to make sure the party knows what they're getting into. If the party wants to go into a dungeon that they really shouldn't for whatever reason (whether because of difficulty or story reasons), something as simple as a hidden pit of electrified spikes should be enough to keep them at bay for the time being. If the party barbarian can just tank the damage from all your traps by Raging, then those traps aren't really going to be effective.
My suggestion above was simply for the purpose of immersive fun. If your party doesn't like that kind of gory description, that's fine. D&D is supposed to be fun: It's not meant to be uncomfortable or disturbing unless everyone has signed up for that beforehand.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
This is excellent thanks. I do see the points of the other posters, and I really should have just said deadliest traps please
There's literally nothing deadlier than instant death.
As far as your character's health, this it true. However, you can also traumatize your players with extremely detailed descriptions on how your flying bear trap rips off the party rogue's leg. The sickening crunch of bone followed by the wet tearing of flesh. Bonus points if you break celery over your knee for the sound effect.
Please do not do this unless your players have explicitly told you that they're okay with this level of depicted violence
That is, of course, a given with this kind of depiction. However, if your party is okay with this level of description, then feel free to use it to make the party paranoid.
Traps in a dungeon, in my mind, shouldn't be as simple as "oh well, guess I lost some HP because I failed a check". They can be tools to punish bad habits in the party, and gates to make sure the party knows what they're getting into. If the party wants to go into a dungeon that they really shouldn't for whatever reason (whether because of difficulty or story reasons), something as simple as a hidden pit of electrified spikes should be enough to keep them at bay for the time being. If the party barbarian can just tank the damage from all your traps by Raging, then those traps aren't really going to be effective.
My suggestion above was simply for the purpose of immersive fun. If your party doesn't like that kind of gory description, that's fine. D&D is supposed to be fun: It's not meant to be uncomfortable or disturbing unless everyone has signed up for that beforehand.
This is excellent thanks. I do see the points of the other posters, and I really should have just said deadliest traps please
There's literally nothing deadlier than instant death.
As far as your character's health, this it true. However, you can also traumatize your players with extremely detailed descriptions on how your flying bear trap rips off the party rogue's leg. The sickening crunch of bone followed by the wet tearing of flesh. Bonus points if you break celery over your knee for the sound effect.
Please do not do this unless your players have explicitly told you that they're okay with this level of depicted violence
That is, of course, a given with this kind of depiction. However, if your party is okay with this level of description, then feel free to use it to make the party paranoid.
Traps in a dungeon, in my mind, shouldn't be as simple as "oh well, guess I lost some HP because I failed a check". They can be tools to punish bad habits in the party, and gates to make sure the party knows what they're getting into. If the party wants to go into a dungeon that they really shouldn't for whatever reason (whether because of difficulty or story reasons), something as simple as a hidden pit of electrified spikes should be enough to keep them at bay for the time being. If the party barbarian can just tank the damage from all your traps by Raging, then those traps aren't really going to be effective.
My suggestion above was simply for the purpose of immersive fun. If your party doesn't like that kind of gory description, that's fine. D&D is supposed to be fun: It's not meant to be uncomfortable or disturbing unless everyone has signed up for that beforehand.
If you are looking for trap ideas, here's a quick one:
It's simple in concept: Your traditional dart trap with a twist. These darts are tipped in sovereign glue, which makes them nearly impossible to remove when they land. Fill them with a poison that prevents blood clotting, and watch as your party members bleed to death. Magical healing likely won't work, because the dart is lodged inside of the wound, and the glue makes it so that's where it will stay for a long time. If you're feeling merciful, maybe include some universal solvent at the end of the dungeon.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
My favorite trap, assuming we don't have any specific limitations, would be a series of Glyph of Warding with Dominate Person/Monster. Let them fight amongst themselves.
Oohhh.... actually, set up a series of minor beneficial Glyphs of Warding, so that the party starts to actively seek them out, then let them blindly trigger the Dominate Monster Glyph and fight amongst themselves in a buffed state.
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I need a way to kill all of my player characters, as I am doing a challenge with another DM, for who's party can survive the longest. This is a one-shot, so has no effect on our campaigns. These have to be traps, as its a trap only challenge, I've done 60 floors of this please help.
I have a PHD in traps
First, are your players in on this?
Second, the issue with this style of play is that the DM can just say "everyone suddenly has a heart attack and dies". The game is has no point if the DM's objective is to kill the players.
[REDACTED]
1. Yes they are
2. It's not instant death it's traps
I have a PHD in traps
The most effective traps would be instant death. Again, the game is meaningless if the objective is to kill off the players.
Just make a pit trap with magic dart traps that cast power word kill at the bottom or something.
Also, how do you prevent the players from spamming perception checks? Or even just spending the entire session doing nothing, so as to avoid the traps? Traps are only effective when they aren't expected.
[REDACTED]
Is there any balancing criteria for the trap? Because otherwise, yeah, just drop a 2-ton rock on them with a DC 30 dex save with 10d12+100 bludgeoning damage. Then they're dead. Game over.
I did just buy the Game Master's Book of Traps, Puzzles, and Dungeons by Jeff Ashworth. It has a lot of fun traps in it. So maybe you could get some ideas from there? You can get it in PDF for $15 on DriveThruRPG.
We are TRYING not to do instant death trips cos ot ruins the fun, and they went full on MAX-MAX lvl 20 as we gave them two magic items each, so yh
I have a PHD in traps
As others are saying, you literally can't be the god of the world, want to kill the party, and give them any real chance of success. Your limitations are completely arbitrary, so a fair competition between DMs to kill players without practical constraints is impossible. You would have to do a "Dungeon Builder" exercise, where you are allotted a certain amount of resource points to spend on traps, monsters, and environmental hazards and work within those bounds.
For example, assign damage, DC, and AOE variables to tiers, and then use a point buy system that increases the cost like buying attribute points. You can have an obscene amount of easy traps, invest all of your points into a few powerful monsters, or mix it up for a more traditional dungeon crawl/BBEG encounter.
So basically you won't us to create a deadly trap for you, but it can't be too deadly? Not sure how we can accomplish that.
So... the traps can't kill the party? Even if you roll dice for damage, a trap is either an instant kill, or not an instant kill. If only the latter is allowed, then a trap is not allowed to kill any party members, and thus the trap is pointless. If instant death is allowed, nothing is stopping you from killing the party instantly.
Again, this style of play is practically impossible to make feasible and enjoyable.
[REDACTED]
so, a dangerous obstacle course? okay. have you tried a few sphinx? nothing says speed bump like the occasional sphinx. and then...
...later, the adventurers enter a chilly circular room of, oh, say 40-ish feet in diameter. many, many chains hang from a high, foggy ceiling to dangle just four feet from the floor. the adventurers may notice the green slime along the sides which does not cross a bevel or lip in the floor where it meets the wall. the floor itself appears to be clear of debris or hazard with regular finger-sized holes draining away any of the frequent drips of condensation that run down the chains. across the way there is a square opening which would be revealed as an open shaft going very far up and down but seemingly missing it's elevator or purpose. above the open door is a red arrow up and a blue arrow down. as they commit to entering, the chains rattle and a sphinx lowers itself from just above to hang upside down offering in it's paw a red gem. if the adventurers have encountered a sphinx or two thus far then they'll be expecting a riddle followed by safe passage. however, the sphinx will not speak, seemingly waiting for one of the characters to gather and discuss. if they pause for any length of time, perhaps to attempt to engage the monster in a dialog, a second sphinx will lower behind them, blocking the way out. This one wordlessly offers a blue gem in it's paw. when either creature or gem is touched by a character three things will occur instantly: 1.) the floor begins to fall away but slowly enough that the characters could as a reaction grab a chain and hang on, 2.) the touching character is adhered to (and soon dangling from) the touched sphinx, and 3.) the sphinx that was not touched makes a grapple attempt on the nearest adventurer. these aren't sphinx but rather level-appropriate mimics.
you can handle the rest. no doors have closed so will the party split? what happens if a character climbs up and away into the darkness? is there perhaps an actual sphinx above which has been magically stranded in the fog? does the shaft fill regularly with steam or water (perhaps related to the fog or the gems)? or is the shaft simply a drop/climb slightly longer than the rope the adventurers have brought with them? will green slime drop from far above if someone sticks their head out? will the floor drop only 10ft but then reveal sides covered in green slime? maybe smile will ooze up from beneath? or will the floor fall further with spikes extruding through the "drainage" holes? have there been stirges circling the whole time who now become a nuisance as the characters are grappled, dangling, or finding themselves squeezed between spikes? is this when some curious ooze or pudding comes squeezing through the tight spikes below as well? how do you prevent a party of lvl20s from casting fly and circumventing the whole thing??
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
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This is excellent thanks. I do see the points of the other posters, and I really should have just said deadliest traps please
I have a PHD in traps
This sounds ace. Slap some generic traps in there to start off with. Low DC's and all that jazz to drop their guard. Instead of outright killing them with big ones have them permanently scratch off a failed death saving throw. It's a one-shot, make it a laugh.
There's literally nothing deadlier than instant death.
[REDACTED]
As far as your character's health, this it true. However, you can also traumatize your players with extremely detailed descriptions on how your flying bear trap rips off the party rogue's leg. The sickening crunch of bone followed by the wet tearing of flesh. Bonus points if you break celery over your knee for the sound effect.
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
Please do not do this unless your players have explicitly told you that they're okay with this level of depicted violence
[REDACTED]
That is, of course, a given with this kind of depiction. However, if your party is okay with this level of description, then feel free to use it to make the party paranoid.
Traps in a dungeon, in my mind, shouldn't be as simple as "oh well, guess I lost some HP because I failed a check". They can be tools to punish bad habits in the party, and gates to make sure the party knows what they're getting into. If the party wants to go into a dungeon that they really shouldn't for whatever reason (whether because of difficulty or story reasons), something as simple as a hidden pit of electrified spikes should be enough to keep them at bay for the time being. If the party barbarian can just tank the damage from all your traps by Raging, then those traps aren't really going to be effective.
My suggestion above was simply for the purpose of immersive fun. If your party doesn't like that kind of gory description, that's fine. D&D is supposed to be fun: It's not meant to be uncomfortable or disturbing unless everyone has signed up for that beforehand.
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
+1
I have a PHD in traps
+2
[REDACTED]
If you are looking for trap ideas, here's a quick one:
It's simple in concept: Your traditional dart trap with a twist. These darts are tipped in sovereign glue, which makes them nearly impossible to remove when they land. Fill them with a poison that prevents blood clotting, and watch as your party members bleed to death. Magical healing likely won't work, because the dart is lodged inside of the wound, and the glue makes it so that's where it will stay for a long time. If you're feeling merciful, maybe include some universal solvent at the end of the dungeon.
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
My favorite trap, assuming we don't have any specific limitations, would be a series of Glyph of Warding with Dominate Person/Monster. Let them fight amongst themselves.
Oohhh.... actually, set up a series of minor beneficial Glyphs of Warding, so that the party starts to actively seek them out, then let them blindly trigger the Dominate Monster Glyph and fight amongst themselves in a buffed state.