Maybe cheating these guys wasn’t the best idea he’d ever had—they were pretty determined to get him, but after touching the gold and silver coins in his pocket, Gavin felt better. The coins would get him—

Rounding the corner Gavin’s thoughts fell silent for a moment, because he’d reached a dead end!

Bad. Very bad.

Scanning his surroundings Gavin remembered old Sid’s words: “Fear is your ally, as is bewilderment and revulsion. Use them.”

Gavin spotted a mangy cat, resting atop a barrel. An idea blossomed. Fear was his ally. The cat would hate him though.

So you’re stuck in a dead-end alley. Some goons want their money back. Oh, and they really want to hurt you, too. All you have is a bag of marbles, a tanglefoot bag, a coil of wire, a knife, a live cat, and a thunderstone. What do you do? You build a fearful furball trap.

Nothing can fill a human with dread as much as an altar to the dark gods does. Though not many have seen an actual altar to the dark gods, they have heard the tales and know the danger.

A fearful fur ball trap exploits that knowledge: A false altar with an appropriate sacrifice requires the marbles and the cat. The marbles will form an arcane circle. The cat needs to be shaved—hairless cats are scary. With some wire and sticks, the cat is propped up within the circle. Seeing the scene for the first time is very unnerving.

All targets must succeed on a DC 13 Will save; failure results in the shaken condition. While the target’s eyes are still on the false altar, the furball part of the trap activates. The tanglefoot bag and cat’s hair is wrapped around the thunderstone. The combination blinds and deafens everyone within a 10-ft. radius unless they succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude check. If successful, they are dazzled for 1 round. On a failure they are blinded for 3d4 rounds and deafened for 1 hour.

Fearful Fur Ball Trap    CR 3
Type mechanical; Perception DC 17; Disable Device DC 20
Trigger location; Reset none
Effect false altar; succeed on a DC 13 Will save or gain the shaken condition; multiple targets (all who gaze upon the altar)
Effect sticky hair boom; succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be blinded for 3d4 rounds and deafened for 1 hour; multiple targets (all targets within a 10-ft. radius)
Effect dazzled for 1 round; multiple targets (all targets within a 10-ft. radius)

Next Installment

What can Gavin do with a steel mirror, an acid flask, a block of soap, and a handful of pitons?

The Challenge

Name four adventuring items and receive a murderous trap in return.

(This post is Product Identity.)