Posts by Maurice de Mare

Every trapsmith loves poison, and poison loves trespassers. Standard poison delivery systems—part of every trapsmith’s portfolio—are the poison dart and poison needle traps. How can something this simple be improved? With careful attention to detail and with massive overkill. Poison Dart Trap (CR 1) Type mechanical; Search DC 20; Disable Device DC 18 Trigger location;

Water is essential to life. It nourishes plants, it slakes thirst… But it also smothers with its icy embrace and boils flesh from bones. Never underestimate water. One of the first water themed traps you’ll come across is the classic water-filled room. Water-Filled Room Trap (CR 4) Type mechanical; Search DC 17; Disable Device DC

Art by Marc Radle Mass is a wonderful thing. Sometimes, even a glancing blow from something massive like a boulder, tree trunk, or swinging block of stone is enough to send a victim flying through the air. Armor offers little resistance against these massive impacts. Swinging Block Trap (CR 1) Type mechanical; Search DC 20;

(Illustration by Marc Radle) Bone-crushing boulders chasing frightened adventurers: a classic scene, usable in any campaign. The rolling rock trap is designed to enable that classic scene. Rolling Rock Trap (CR 1) Type mechanical; Search DC 20; Disable Device DC 22 Trigger location; Reset manual Effect Atk +10 melee (2d6) Market Price 1,400 gp

Goblins favor the ambush, because then, for a brief moment in time, goblins have the upper hand. A successful ambush is the stuff of legend among goblins, and with each recounting the tale becomes taller and pride fills the scrawny chests of the surviving goblins. Pride in one’s work is a rare and precious thing

Every good trapsmith knows about the three C’s: Cheap, Crude and Cruel. Every wise trapsmith knows that goblins excel at designing traps based on the three C’s and as a result, many retain the services of a goblin as a servant or assistant. Neighbors may complain, but consulting a goblin’s expertise is usually worthwhile, as

Nothing is quite so important to a trapsmith as novelty and invention in design. For in their war against trespassers, new tricks tip the balance of power in the trapsmith’s favor. This is why some trapsmiths favor the art of alchemy: in the alchemical world, innovation takes place at an extraordinary speed, providing new tools

First and foremost, trapsmiths are engineers, and not every project concerns itself with the destruction of intruders. Waste disposal is a daily concern for most dungeons and once collecting and carting it away becomes cost inefficient. Trapsmiths are contracted to deal with the problem — and sometimes they make the solution a bit of a

When the sun’s rays shone through the airshaft and struck the corridor’s murals, the Maruvian caste-nobles ended their long vigil and touched the door of their father’s tomb, whispering their final farewells. The caste-nobles gathered where the corridor led out, patiently waiting for the Lifesinger priest to appear. When he finally arrived, he struck his