For today’s weekly monster, we’re not showing off another monster but a trap. Traps are a apart of the tradition of D&D and, while different than monsters, should very much apart of D&D encounters. These help keep players on their toes and make a regular fight with monsters that much more dangerous if the floor beneath their feet opens up and you effectively lose one of your team for the combat.
Traps don’t have be as simple as a pit with spikes in the bottom. They can be as complex as some of the encounters in The Goonies. In truth, the kids in that movie encountered only traps, except for the three bad guys. Traps can be highly entertaining and downright fun when done right.
Today we are sharing with you a trap from the recently released Deadly Delves: Reign of Ruin adventure. We hope it finds a good home in your game.
Snapping Skulls Trap
Magic trap
This trap is activated when any non-dragon, non-lizardfolk, or non-kobold living being enters the northern hallway of Floor B. The skulls set in the walls of the hallway begin to chitter and snap, and their empty eye sockets glow with a sinister red light as they stretch forth from the cracked mortar to gnaw at passersby. Every round that a living being meeting the above criteria remains in the hall, they must succeed at a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw on initiative count 20 or take 11 (2d10) piercing damage and 11 (2d10) necrotic damage. (Note that because a successful save does not halve this damage, the Evasion feature does not affect the amount of damage dealt for any creatures who possess that ability).
A spell or other effect that can sense the presence of magic, such as detect magic, reveals an aura of necromancy emanating from the hallway.
The snapping skulls trap can only be disarmed by purifying the cursed fountain in the northeastern chamber of Area B2. A successful DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana or Religion) check is required to identify the ritual herbs needed to purify the fountain, which can be found in Area B3. Once the components have been identified and collected, completing the ritual takes 10 minutes, but requires no further checks to perform successfully.
Download Deadly Delves: Reign of Ruin at JonBrazer.com to get more traps for your Fifth Edition game.
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