The Book of Dungeon Traps PDF Free

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CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

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CASTLE OLDSKULL
FANTASY ROLE-PLAYING SUPPLEMENT
BDT1
THE BOOK OF
DUNGEON
TRAPS
By
KENT DAVID KELLY
(DARKSERAPHIM)
ILLUSTRATED BY
John d. batten, JAN CHRISTIAN BIERPFAFF,
Hieronymus bosch, harry Clarke,
HENRIQUE ALVIM CORREA, walter crane,
Gustave dore, Henry j. ford, Jacques de gheyn,

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WILLIAM HOGARTH, hans Holbein, Daniel hopfer,

JOHN MILFORD, john Hamilton Mortimer,
Christian von mechel, ADRIAEN PIETERSZ,
howard pyle, ARTHUR RACKHAM,
ALFRED RETHEL, JOSEPH SATTLER,
Edmund Sullivan,
viktor Mikhailovich vasnetsov,
MICHAEL WOLGEMUT, n. c. wyeth,
ET ALII
WONDERLAND IMPRINTS
2014 – 2017
ONLY THE FINEST

WORKS OF FANTASY
Osr

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Copyright © 2014-2017 Kent David Kelly.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without the written
permission of the copyright holder, Kent David Kelly.
(Document Version 2.2)
Please feel welcome to contact the author at [email protected] with comments,

questions, requests, recommendations and greetings. And thank you for reading!
“Only the Finest Works of Fantasy”

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HIC SVNT DRACONES

HERE THERE BE DRAGONS
CASTLE OLDSKULL (“Old School”) is a well-regarded, system neutral line of

supplements designed for use in Fantasy Role-Playing Games (FRPGs). Available
formats include PDF, paperback, and Kindle e-book.
Ideas are presented in such a way that they can be used or customized for any edition
game, from the 1970s to the present day. These volumes exemplify the iconic
“sandbox,” do-it-yourself, and free-form ideals established by the original Lake
Geneva campaigns, c. 1972-1979. Respected sources of inspiration include Arneson,
Barker, Bledsaw, Burroughs, Dunsany, Gygax, Holmes, Howard, Kask, Kuntz, Leiber,
Lovecraft, Merritt, Moldvay, Moorcock, Sutherland, Tolkien, Trampier, Vance and
Ward.
You can contact the author, Kent David Kelly, at shadowed (underscore) sky (at)
hotmail (dot) com.

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DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to the memory of the great classic dungeon and fantasy milieu designers
who are no longer with us:

David Lance Arneson,
M.A.R. Barker,
Bob Bledsaw,
E. Gary Gygax,
Dr. John Eric Holmes,
Tom Moldvay,
and David Trampier.


It is also dedicated to the great fantasists who inspired them, some of whom are fortunately still
with us today:

Poul William Anderson,
Edgar Rice Burroughs,
L. Sprague de Camp,
Robert E. Howard,

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Fritz Leiber,
Howard Phillips Lovecraft,
Michael Moorcock,
J.R.R. Tolkien,
and Jack Vance.


In the spirit of creating wonders with which to inspire others to write their own unique works of
enchantment, the author salutes you.

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EMPOWERING YOUR IMAGINATION:

WHAT THIS BOOK IS,
AND WHAT IT IS NOT
Attention e-reader, video and computer gamers!
This book is not a game in and of itself. If you bought this book thinking it was a
complete game you could read and play, you should probably return this book now.
This is a book to help you create your own adventures for Fantasy Role-Playing
Games. This is a fantasy adventure toolbox, an imagination engine.
If you enjoy creating stories with your friends, envisioning netherworlds filled with
dragons and treasure and designing fantasy worlds all your own, then you will find that
this book is an ideal Game Master (GM) tool. This book will help you to create and
improve dungeon adventures, featuring more intriguing locales, more mysterious
histories, and more surprising twists and turns than ever before.
This is not a complete game. Your dedication and creativity are required.

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DESCRIPTION
Tumbling boulders crushing over powdered bones,
Death pits filled with gibbering slime,
Strangling vines, enchanted lodestones, lightning bolts,
Hateful wraiths
Imprisoned in chests of ancient gold,
Chained by holy symbol and silver seal ...
Every mechanical horror, every thief’s demise,
Every fell contraption
Lies here, deep in this book of secrets.

Would you like to fill your dungeons with traps, but you can never find coherent rules
or guidelines to show the way? Are your players weary of arbitrary deathtraps? Have
you ever searched in vain for a system which codifies spells into magical traps? Are you
bored with the “famous four” — pits, gas, arrows and poisoned needles — but never
know what to replace them with?
Castle Oldskull Supplement BDT1, THE BOOK OF DUNGEON TRAPS, is filled with
over 800 classic traps and trap variations. Herein you will find rules for boiling mud,
Illusionary bridges, amnesia vapor, polymorph traps, unseen servant-triggered
machinations, collapsing columns, and much more. Best of all, all traps are collated into
hierarchies of Lethality Levels, so that you can always challenge your players without
killing their heroes outright.

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This elaborate tome also includes rules for trap placement in dungeon designs, advice
on trap locations, trap triggers, trap detection, trap removal, 10’ poles as trap detection
devices, and even a complete set of random monster tables to aid you in populating
monster pits, cages, summoning traps, alarm-trapped dungeon chambers, and much
more. Every trap type features detailed rules which have been culled from dozens of
books and dungeon modules, turning hidden and obscure rulings into a methodical and
internally consistent system for trap design. Everything you will ever need to fill every
dungeon you create with any trap you can dream of, it’s all here in a single source.
This book is made to interface with Castle Oldskull Supplement CDDG1, THE
CLASSIC DUNGEON DESIGN GUIDE, as well as with supplements CDDG2 and
CDDG3. But the integration is completely optional. You do not need both books to make
use of them; they simply amplify one another.
49,900 words, 274 pages. Another classic Fantasy Role-Playing Game Supplement
from Wonderland Imprints, Only the Finest Works of Fantasy.

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CONTENTS
Page 1 ~ Cover
Page 3 ~ Title Page
Page 5 ~ Introit
Page 6 ~ Hic Svnt Dracones
Page 7 ~ Dedication
Page 9 ~ Empowering Your Imagination
Page 11 ~ Description
Page 13 ~ Contents
Page 18 ~ I: Introduction: The Role of Traps
Page 23 ~ II: Designing and Placing Traps in Dungeons

Page 23 ~ II-1: Trap Lethality Levels
Page 32 ~ II-2: The Frequency of Traps
Page 40 ~ II-3: Placing Traps Within a Dungeon
Page 41 ~ II-4: Specific Trap Locations
Page 44 ~ II-5: Trap Triggers
Page 48 ~ III: Traps in Play

Page 48 ~ III-1: Detecting Traps
Page 52 ~ III-2: On the Use of 10’ Poles
Page 54 ~ III-3: Trap Removal
Page 58 ~ III-4: Performing Ability Score Checks

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Page 64 ~ IV: The Trap Compendium: A Collection of Classic Dungeon Traps, From
Acid Jet to Wind Gust
Page 65 ~ IV-1: A Is For Acid
Page 71 ~ IV-2: B Is For Bolt
Page 76 ~ IV-3: C Is For Caltrops
Page 87 ~ IV-4: D Is For Dart
Page 93 ~ IV-5: E Is For Enchanted Rune
Page 98 ~ IV-6: F Is For Fire
Page 103 ~ IV-7: G Is For Gas
Page 109 ~ IV-8: H Is For Hobbling
Page 111 ~ IV-9: J Is For Javelin
Page 113 ~ IV-10: L Is For Lodestone
Page 117 ~ IV-11: M Is For Mimic
Page 120 ~ IV-12: N Is For Net
Page 123 ~ IV-13: O Is For Oil
Page 124 ~ IV-14: P Is For Pit
Page 135 ~ IV-15: R Is For Rope
Page 138 ~ IV-16: S Is For Snare
Page 158 ~ IV-17: T Is For Trapdoor
Page 159 ~ IV-18: W Is For Wall
Page 162 ~ V: Random Trap Selection

Page 162 ~ V-1: The Random Trap Selection System
Page 163 ~ V-2: Random Trap Selection: The Upper Ruins of a Mega-Dungeon (or a
Dungeon Explored By Level 1 Adventurers)
Page 163 ~ V-3: Random Trap Selection: Mega-Dungeon Level 1 (or a Dungeon
Explored By Level 2 Adventurers)

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Page 167 ~ V-7: Random Trap Selection: Mega-Dungeon Level 5 (Basic Rooms) (or a
Page 168 ~ V-8: Random Trap Selection: Mega-Dungeon Level 5 (Inner Rooms) (or a
Page 169 ~ V-9: Random Trap Selection: Mega-Dungeon Level 6 (Basic Rooms) (or a
Page 170 ~ V-10: Random Trap Selection: Mega-Dungeon Level 6 (Inner Rooms) (or
a Dungeon Explored By Level 9 Adventurers)
Page 171 ~ V-11: Random Trap Selection: Mega-Dungeon Level 7 (Basic Rooms) (or

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Page 183 ~ V-20: Random Trap Selection: Mega-Dungeon Level 13 or 14 (or a

Page 184 ~ V-21: Random Trap Selection: Mega-Dungeon Level 15+ or a Dungeon
Explored By Level 20+ Adventurers
Page 187 ~ VI: Random Trap Determination

Page 187 ~ VI-1: Random Trap Determination Tables
Page 188 ~ VI-2: Random Trap Determination Table: Lethality 0
Page 238 ~ VII: Trap-Related Monsters

Page 238 ~ VII-1: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters
Page 239 ~ VII-2: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters: Monster Level I
Page 243 ~ VII-3: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters: Monster Level II
Page 245 ~ VII-4: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters: Monster Level III
Page 247 ~ VII-5: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters: Monster Level IV
Page 250 ~ VII-6: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters: Monster Level V
Page 253 ~ VII-7: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters: Monster Level VI
Page 256 ~ VII-8: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters: Monster Level VII

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Page 259 ~ VII-9: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters: Monster Level VIII

Page 262 ~ VII-10: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters: Monster Level IX
Page 264 ~ VII-11: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters: Monster Level X
Page 266 ~ VIII: About the Author
 

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CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION:
THE ROLE OF TRAPS
Traps lie at the very core of classic dungeon design. Secondary only to monsters, they
form the crux of peril and atmosphere in the FRPG underworld. Who can imagine
Indiana Jones without the boulder trap, the Temple of Doom without the lowering spiked
ceiling, Labyrinth without the tunnel cleaners, or the Death Star without the trash
compactor? Can you imagine watching The Goonies, Home Alone or Predator without
any traps?
The problems with traps in a Game Master’s dungeon design, however, are many:
they are hard to design, hard to balance, easy to make too lethal, and — after the first
dozen or so you wing off the top of your head — hard to conceive of, differentiate, and
create.
This book is designed to change all of that.
To understand the place, role and utility of this book, it is helpful to consider — when
all of the basic ingredients are boiled down to their simplest essence — what a dungeon
is really comprised of. All dungeons feature four major construction elements: Rooms
(enclosed locations), Corridors (distance-creating separator locations between Rooms),
Doors (short connectors between Rooms and Corridors) and Stairs (connectors between
dungeon levels). These construction elements are filled out with five basic types of
content: Dungeon Dressing (descriptive atmosphere), Monsters (strangers and
antagonists), Treasure (material rewards), Tricks (special puzzles and mostly-active
obstacles) and Traps (basic, scary, and mostly-passive obstacles).
Traps and Tricks are typically discussed in the same breath, but they are completely
different. Tricks are usually magical features which cause the players to think and to
solve puzzles, while Traps are secret hindrances intended to cause damage to life and

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limb. Tricks will intrigue you before they kill you, while traps just try to harm you
outright. Tricks encourage experimentation, while Traps punish the players (and
characters) who fail to detect them. And when things get tough, thieves can deal with
Traps! It’s at the heart of their trade. You just need to watch out for the lethal ones.
However, not every Trap is a killer. Traps also serve the following negative functions:
(1) to delay adventurers; (2) to separate party members from one another; (3) to restrict
movement; (4) to punish the characters of incautious players; and (5) to channel
adventurers away from a given locale.
The positive value of Traps, besides being cinematic and exciting, is that their inclusion
in a dungeon encourages the players to improve their game dungeoneering skills.
Players who learn to equip their characters properly, to hire NPCs and men-at-arms, to
search, plan, map, and perform divinations will thrive in the presence of traps, while
stubborn players who continue to insist “This shouldn’t be here, there’s no reason for it,
this isn’t fair” will see their characters perish endlessly in horrible and amusing ways. In
short, Traps in FRPGs are the grim and awesome mechanical cogs in Darwin’s
unstoppable engine.
(As you have probably guessed, this book is focused solely on the topic of Traps, not
Tricks! Tricks will be addressed in a later supplement, if I can ever find the time …)
Traps can be generally divided into two subtypes: Mechanical Traps and Magical
Traps, with Magical Traps predominating due to the variety. To be clear, a Trap with
mainly Mechanical elements, and a single Magical element, is considered a Magical Trap
by default. Mechanical traps in other words have no magical component whatsoever.
The practical reason for Magical Traps’ predominance is that there are slightly different
detection rules for the two sub-types of Traps. More importantly however, the meta-
game reason for Magical Traps’ prevalence is that this distinction gives the Game Master
an out: whenever the players question the logical or power-driven nature of a Trap too
closely, you can simply explain “it’s Magical.” If players can accept the existence of fire-
breathing dragons, they can accept lightning-hurling sigil as well!
Realism is not really the main question in regards to Traps, however. The primary
purpose of this book is to provide the GM with a universal Trap generation tool for use
in any and all dungeons. Many GMs do not realize that one of the more interesting
omissions in old school FRPGs involves the lack of a cohesive and integrated summary

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of the different Trap types featured in classic dungeons. You may think those rules exist,
but prior to redesigns made in the 21st century, they do not … not really. You will find a
few lists, a few tables, but no comprehensive resource.
It’s sad but true: The only things you will typically find if you look for “old school
trap generators” are a few partial descriptions, some random tables listing trap types with
few to no details, and inconsistent entries in dungeon modules which feature differing
details for the same types of traps. Crucial rules for trap searching and deactivation are
hardly found anywhere at all.
When I point this out to most FRPG players, they reply, “Well, there’s the Grimtooth
series …”
There is. But Grimtooth is a more specialized product, in my opinion, and it seems to
have been designed (some decades ago) for a different style of play which does not
always align with old school dungeoneering. Some of their designs are clever, the
graphics are nice, and some of the instant-kill machines are funny. The unstoppable
cartoon-style deaths are really the entertaining part there. But that’s not the design
mechanic we’re going for here, because — as I noted in THE CLASSIC DUNGEON
DESIGN GUIDE — we’re not too interested in making killer dungeons. We want our
players to learn from mistakes, to become more skilled, to have fun, and to keep coming
back. Grimtooth (the personage, charming rogue that he may be!) is simply too sadistic
to care about those design ideals.
The Grimtooth books may look fair and useful for general casual use at first glance,
but a more detailed perusal will indicate that the worst (“coolest”) traps there are
primarily prefabricated Rube Goldberg deathtraps, intended to amuse the GM while they
kill the adventurers outright. Those books will often not help you in creating your own
traps or in codifying game balance in a rational and cinematic way, unless you stick to
the “one or two skull” designs … a selection which represents a significant minority of
the traps described. The content there isn’t as useful as it seems.
There are lots of good trap ideas that can still be used in a tough and fair game, though.
Cook, Gygax, Hammack, Johnson, Moldvay, Schick, and other designers have made
some very good designs over the years that never got collected or codified in a
meaningful way. Rest assured, I have looked at MANY hundreds if not thousands of
FRPG trap designs over the decades. I’ve been guided by good people, and have received

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excellent advice. I’ve even ruined a campaign with the over-use of traps — and my poor
refereeing of the Tomb of Horrors — and learned from those experiences what not to do.
I’ve chosen the best “fair-minded” traps from all of that research and play experience to
be included here, and I’ve toned down many almost-classic deathtraps to make them
worthwhile in an ongoing campaign where wholesale PC slaughter is not the name of the
game. To this “core” of about 100 different trap types have been added several hundred
new trap types, variations on a theme. All traps have also been given Lethality Levels,
equivalent to Monster Levels (I to X in Roman numerals, or more clearly 1 to 10), so that
the GM can fairly assign traps at a challenge level appropriate to any group of players.
I do understand that it’s hard to strike a balance in trap use and design. Many GMs
either create deathtraps, and lose their players with frustration; or, they play too safely,
and eventually cut traps out of the mix entirely because they don’t want their players to
complain about “cheap” design. This book was written to address the narrow yet crucial
middle ground between these two extremes: a myriad of traps with non-lethal
beginnings, which ramp up slowly over time so that your players and their skills grow
with the danger level of the trapped dungeon chambers their players are discovering.
So how do you learn to maintain that balance? It requires a bit of reading, and a LOT
of random tables. Don’t worry, I’ve done the hard part already; you’ll just need to tweak
and customize the designs a bit to fit the rules of your particular game.
So what are we waiting for? Let’s learn about traps, and how to put them back in the
heart of the game where they belong!
Kindly watch your step …

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CHAPTER 2:
DESIGNING AND PLACING
TRAPS IN DUNGEONS
2-1
TRAP LETHALITY LEVELS
This is the most important concept to understand, because FRPGs are all about
progression. You start off the game with level 1 characters, level 1 spells, level 1 monsters,
and level 1 treasures. So why wouldn’t you carefully start the game with level 1 traps?
The answer is, “Because until recently, no one ever bothered to officially balance all
of the possible traps to that extent.” Well, that answer isn’t good enough. We need to try
to fix that! This system is by no means perfect, but it goes a long way toward making
things fairer and easier to design.
Here’s how the trap lethality system works:
Each trap in this book is given a numeric Lethality Level, ranging from zero (incapable
of causing damage) to 10 (fatal to all but the most experienced of high-level adventurers).
These levels are based on the maximum damage, in hit points, that the trap can inflict
upon an individual who triggers it.
Please note that these hit point values are based on Original, Basic and Advanced hit
point scaling, c. 1974-1979; you will need to design your own numeric values if your game
has a very different scale for character survivability. (Don’t worry if that’s the case; I
provide specific examples of trap effects, by Lethality Level, below to guide your
conversion efforts.)

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The Lethality Levels that I recommend, in detail, are:
NIL
Maximum  Lethality Level 0 (Zero)
Damage  Atmospheric triggered traps which scare, or cause mildly
Inflicted: threatening situations, but do not harm.
Zero  Recommended for dungeons explored by characters of
experience levels 1 and up.
 Example: A shrieking fungus.
I
Maximum  Lethality Level 1
Damage  A trap which will wound a level 1 character, and perhaps
Inflicted: knock him unconscious, but will probably not kill him outright
1 to 5 HP unless he is already weak.
 Recommended for dungeons explored by characters of
experience levels 1 and up. Should be used more sparingly for
level 1 characters.
 Example: A spring dart trap.
II
Damage  A trap which will kill most level 1 characters.
Inflicted:  Level 2 characters might be killed, but are more likely to be
6 to 10 HP wounded.
 Level 3+ characters will most likely be wounded and
inconvenienced.
experience levels 2 and up. Should be used more sparingly for
level 2 characters.
 Example: A 10’ deep pit.

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III
Damage  A trap which will kill most level 1 or 2 characters.
Inflicted:  Level 3 or 4 characters might be killed but are more likely to be
11 to 20 HP wounded.
 Level 5+ characters will most likely be wounded.
IV
Damage  A trap which will kill level 1 or 2 characters.
Inflicted:  Level 3 characters will probably be killed.
21 to 30 HP  Level 4 or 5 characters might be killed but are more likely to be
wounded.
 Example: A 20’ deep pit with spikes.

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V
Damage  A trap which will kill level 1, 2, or 3 characters.
Inflicted:  Level 4 or 5 characters will probably be killed.
31 to 40 HP  Level 6 or 7 characters might be killed but are more likely to be
wounded.

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VI
Damage  A trap which will kill characters of level 4 or lower.
Inflicted:  Level 5, 6, or 7 characters will probably be killed.
41 to 50 HP  Level 8, 9, or 10 characters might be killed but are more likely
to be wounded.
 Example: A 50’ deep pit with a locking lid.
VII
Inflicted:  Level 6, 7, or 8 characters will probably be killed.
51 to 65 HP  Level 9, 10, or 11 characters might be killed but are more likely
to be wounded.
 Level 12+ characters will most likely be badly wounded.
 Example: A 30’ deep pit with slow crushing walls.
VIII
Inflicted:  Level 8 to 10 characters will probably be killed.
66 to 80 HP  Level 11 to 14 characters might be killed but are more likely to
be wounded.

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 Example: A 100’ deep pit with spikes.
IX
81 to 100 HP  Level 15 to 18 characters might be killed but are more likely to
be wounded.
 Example: A 130’ deep pit that floods from the bottom up.
X
101+ HP  Level 19+ characters might be killed but are more likely to be
wounded.
Generally speaking, I refer to super-traps which deal hundreds of points of damage

as “deathtraps,” and I do not feature such killer traps in this book. (That’s where
Grimtooth will help you, if you really want to go there.) Deathtraps are usually bad for
the game. But I suppose that GMs seeking traps of Lethality 11+ can simply tell their
players “There’s a trap, you didn’t find it, you all die” if that is found to be entertaining
…

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Lethality Levels — when they are followed, of course, and traps are not placed
everywhere with impunity — will help you to make your dungeons scary, but not
completely unfair. That’s a good baseline to shoot for, in my opinion.
The “maximum damage inflicted” figures give you the rule of thumb. To this primary
consideration are added other mitigating factors. For example, a 30’ deep pit of Lethality
3 might become Lethality 4 if it has spikes, Lethality 5 if it is flooded, or Lethality 6 if it
has poisoned spikes. The same pit with poisoned spikes, a closing lid and a slime lair at
the bottom would be Lethality 7 or even higher, depending on the number of spikes and
the power of the slime. You might think that the PCs can handle more than that, but you
would probably be surprised by just how vulnerable PCs become whenever they are
separated from the rest of the party in a completely unexpected and highly damaging
fashion! Sometimes, even though help is coming, it will come to late. That’s why
Lethality Levels are scaled at the individual level, not at the party level. That’s one of the
major secrets to trap balancing.
For magical traps which do not cause damage, but which are still detrimental (casting
for example spells of blindness, petrification, a wall of force, etc.), I must warn you that
the following alternate guidelines are roughly applied, with significant exceptions based
on damage, duration and relative danger. You will find that specific spells, and therefore
specific magical trap types, need to have their Lethality Level slightly tweaked based on
your play style, your players’ skill levels, and the composition of the PC party. (For
example, demi-humans typically deal very well with traps, while carelessly-played
human magic-users can be killed outright because they have so few hit points to begin
with.)
The recommended Lethality Levels for spell trigger traps — magical traps which cast
the most commonly encountered spells — are listed in Chapter 4.
For spells which are not listed in Chapter 4, when you are designing your own new
spell triggers, the recommended Lethality Levels for magical traps are:
Trap Casting a Spell of Level:  Lethality Level 1

1

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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
We will look at these notations and recommendations in much more detail further on,
in the Random Trap Selection System.

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32 | P a g e
2-2
THE FREQUENCY
OF TRAPS
Every Game Master has a different opinion about how frequently traps should be
used within a dungeon. Personally, I recommend the following frequencies to be used
as an initial baseline. Higher level PCs will have access to more detection magic, more
protective magic items, and more magical healing. And also, more characters will have
find / remove traps abilities with higher percentage chances of success. To balance this,
however, higher level PCs will also more frequently be the victims of high Lethality Level
traps, which can cause a lot of damage.
Be ready to adjust away from this baseline — either fewer traps or more, depending
— after the first few play sessions. Over time you will need to gauge your players’ play
style, caution, party composition and other various factors. I have had highly unusual
and unexpected situations affect trap lethality in my campaigns. For example, I once ran
a campaign where the party leader (due to player skill and highest hit points) was a
ranger. He was a parent, and needed to leave the game sessions early. As his departure
time approached, the group’s play would get more rushed, less careful, and less
methodical. If they were in combat, this was usually fine; but more than once, traps that
would normally have been detected, and either defused or avoided, damaged the party
badly as they were rushing around trying to explore “one more room.”
Similarly, you might not think of it, but parties that have lots of henchmen and men-
at-arms tend to have much lower PC death rates as far as traps are concerned. This
happens “naturally,” even if the poor guys aren’t ever forced to open treasure chests at
sword point by evil employers. Poor Tim the level 0 spear carrier might be a worthless
liability in a deep dungeon fight, but if he saves some PC’s life by falling into a pit, he’ll
be remembered as a hero!
My recommendations on initial baseline trap placement are:

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I
 If you are designing a dungeon without consideration of
For Parties of randomness:
Highest  About 1 in 20 rooms and corridors should have a trap.
Character  About 1 in 20 treasures should be trapped.
Level:
1
 If you are designing a dungeon using partially random
methods:
 Rooms and corridors should have a 5% chance of being
trapped.
 Treasures should have a 5% chance of being trapped.
II ~ III
Level:
2 or 3
methods:
trapped.

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IV ~ V
Level:
4 or 5
methods:
trapped.
VI ~ VII
Level:
6 or 7
methods:
trapped.

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VIII ~ IX
Level:
8 or 9
methods:
trapped.
X ~ XI
Level:
10 or 11
methods:
trapped.

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XII ~ XIII
Level:
12 or 13
methods:
trapped.
XIV ~ XV
Level:
14 or 15
methods:
trapped.

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XVI ~ XVII
Level:
16 or 17
methods:
trapped.
XVIII ~ XIX
Level:
18 or 19
methods:
trapped.

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XX +
Level:
20+
methods:
trapped.

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2-3
PLACING TRAPS WITHIN A DUNGEON
When you are placing traps within your dungeon, try not to get too concerned about
how the trap got there, or the person (monster? demon? spirit?) who made it. Dungeons
are old, and their chambers and contents are contrived and reconfigured by thousands of
denizens over time. Monsters defend themselves not only from adventurers, but from
other monsters as well. Many of these denizens die with their secrets untold, while others
make new lairs in old rooms, where they might not even be aware of all of the chamber’s
hidden features left behind by earlier occupants.
Please refer to CDDG1, THE CLASSIC DUNGEON DESIGN GUIDE, for much more
information and advice concerning dungeon age, dungeon level builders, and other
related topics. But for the specific purpose of trap placement, it is enough for the GM to
know that you can either rationalize trap placement, or you can not worry about it. The
dungeon is not answerable to the players’ questions. It is the endless incarnation of
mystery and deadly danger. Players who constantly question “Why?” must content
themselves with divinations, exploration and haphazard theories if they are determined
to find the answers.
If you do need a few answers — for example, an ancient tomb that was built by lawful
good priests, and then repurposed as a lair by two factions a century later, one good and
one evil — you can usually come up with one fairly easily. Traps are usually built to
protect treasure, to protect a place, or to protect the denizens. Monsters which can use
magic, or who have hands with opposable thumbs, are much more likely to build traps.
Intelligent monsters built traps more frequently, enslaving monsters built traps more
frequently, and evil monsters build traps much more frequently.
When you combine all of these factors, you can come up with a list of monsters who
are very likely to build traps: Deep Ones, demons, devils, dragons (typically with slaves
and / or allies), evil demi-gods (and their cultists, servants, and worshippers), evil demi-
humans (dark elves etc.), evil NPCs (particularly if wealthy, paranoid, and / or capable

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of using magic), giants, humanoids (typically with slaves), lycanthropes, rakshasas,

Thralls of Cthulhu, and various types of corporeal undead (such as liches and vampires).
If you have these types of monsters in the dungeon, they probably constructed quite
a few of the traps the PCs will discover. If you don’t, then the makers of the trap(s)
probably existed there in the past. There is no problem with putting a trapped treasure
chest in a room that is guarded by an unintelligent gelatinous slime; that simply means
that the previous denizens from many years ago — pick from the list of monsters above
— trapped their treasure when they felt they were being invaded and surrounded, and
the last survivor holed himself up to protect it. And then a gelatinous slime paralyzed
and killed him in his sleep.
Personally, I usually don’t bother with that level of detail for every trap, but this gives
you an idea of the types of things that occur that you can reveal, should the players ever
get to the point where they’re demanding to know where traps come from, using strong
divination to learn their origins, and so forth.
2-4
SPECIFIC TRAP LOCATIONS
Generally speaking, most traps will be placed in the following areas: (1) in non-
hidden approaches to the lairs of cautious intelligent monsters; (2) on the doors of sealed
tombs; (3) on the doors of treasure vaults; (4) in forgotten / abandoned rooms; or (5) on
containers which have treasures hidden inside of them.
If you do not have a specific location in mind for the trap, or if a location is not
specified (wall, ceiling, etc.), consider a random roll of 1d100, as follows:

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[01-10]  Corpse / Skeleton

 Perhaps with a glittering jewel visible, clutched in a skeletal hand
etc.
[11-20]  Corridor
 In a corridor directly adjacent and leading into the room in question.
[21-30]  Door
 The trap is triggered when the door is opened.
 If the trap is magical, it may be “keyed” to only strike intruders, and
to let denizens pass unscathed.
[31-40]  Feature
 The most prominent feature in the room: an alcove, cesspool, piece
of furniture, pile of refuse, statue, etc.

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[41-50]  Object / Container

 Barrel, chest, trunk, etc.
 The container might have treasure in it, or it might not. For
example, an intelligent monster owning two chests might keep its
treasure in a locked untrapped chest, and keep an unlocked trapped
chest adjacent to it to fool the unwary.
[51-60]  Room
 Typically, but not always, in a specific 10’ x 10’ trigger square which
any intelligent denizens will know to avoid.
[61-70]  Secret Room

 A completely forgotten secret room, unknown to any nearby
denizens. The trap was placed a long time ago, by extinct denizens,
for unknown purposes.
 As a meta-game concern, if you as the GM feel uncomfortable with
“punishing” PCs who discover a secret door by springing a trap on
them, you can place a decent secret treasure here as well. After all,
logically speaking the room was important enough to trap and has
been undiscovered for a very long time.
[71-80]  Staircase
 If a staircase is not present in the room, reroll.
[81-00]  Treasure
 Or, if there is no treasure present, valueless objects within a closed
container. (GMs who feel bad about that can give the implication of
treasure — e.g., ancient clay potion cylinders with dried powder
stuck to the bottoms.
If you were not planning on having a treasure in the area, there is no problem with
arbitrarily placing a new small treasure in the area to justify the existence of the trap!

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2-5
TRAP TRIGGERS
The trigger, or activating condition, for a trap is typically abstract and of little concern
to a harried GM. But you probably need to know the bare essentials so that you can
effectively run the trap in-game.

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The usual recommended conditions are as follows:
 Corpse / Skeleton: Searching or moving the body will trigger the trap.
Attempting to remove a pack from the body’s back, a weapon or item from body’s
grasp, an object beneath the body, etc. will also trigger the trap.
 Corridor: Walking into the designated 10’x10’ square will trigger the trap.
 Door, Locked: Opening the door without using the key or picking the lock will
trigger the trap. Even picking the lock, without finding and deactivating the trap,
will trigger the trap.
 Door, Unlocked: Opening the door will trigger the trap.
 Feature: Touching or otherwise attempting to manipulate the feature (pulling a

lever, tapping a statue, moving a piece of furniture, etc.) will trigger the trap.
 Object / Treasure Item: Moving, lifting or seizing the object will trigger the trap.
 Room: Walking into the designated 10’x10’ square will trigger the trap.
 Staircase: Walking down the stairs will trigger the trap. Generally, a trap will be
placed midway along the stairs, so that it is more difficult to avoid.
 Treasure Container, Locked: Opening the container without using the key or
picking the lock will trigger the trap. Even picking the lock, without finding and
deactivating the trap, will trigger the trap.
 Treasure Container, Unlocked: Opening the container will trigger the trap.
If you wish to add an optional level of detail to your trap trigger conditions, you can
consider the following options. You may need to reroll, or to reconfigure your room

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description a bit, until you come up with a trigger that makes sense for the current locale
and any occupants.
Using these details, you can come up with potential ways that PCs might delay,
defuse, avoid, or trigger a trap to their own advantage. For example, if the trigger is a
burning fuse, a quick-fingered PC might be able to clip the fuse, and then relight the trap
later to spring it on wandering monsters!

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[01-04] Burning Wick / Fuse Delayed Timer

[05-08] Clepsydra / Water Clock Timer
[09-12] Clockwork to Bypass / Deactivate
[13-16] Clockwork Timer
[17-20] Delayed Mechanical Trigger
[21-24] Enchanted Rune Trigger
[25-28] Flood Level Delayed Timer
[29-32] Hourglass Timer
[33-36] Humanoid / Monster Observation Post
[37-40] Imprisoned Faerie / Gremlin / Imp
[41-44] Imprisoned Spirit / Undead
[45-48] Key to Bypass / Deactivate
[49-52] Lever to Bypass / Deactivate
[53-56] Magical Infrared / Body Heat Detection
[57-60] Magical Life Force Detection
[61-64] Magical Light / Shadow Detection
[65-68] Magical Motion Detection
[69-72] Magical Proximity Detection
[73-76] Magical Sound / Vibration Detection
[77-80] Magical Spoken Command Trigger (to Activate)
[81-84] Magical Spoken Password Trigger (to Bypass / Deactivate)
[85-88] Manned Observation Post
[89-92] Pressure Plate
[93-96] Tripwire
[97-00] Unseen Servant

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CHAPTER 3:
TRAPS IN PLAY
3-1
DETECTING TRAPS
Traps in the dungeon will never be passively discovered, unless they are either (a)
already triggered and rendered harmless, (b) blatantly obvious and placed as a warning,
or (c) open pits without lids or concealment.
To find a trap, adventurers must either use a magic item (such as a Wand of Secret
Door and Trap Location), or cast a spell, or state that they are searching for traps. When
a search is stated, you as GM should always ask the players how many people are
searching, and who is searching. You can put the players on guard by asking where
exactly they are searching as well. (This is a great time to practice your poker face, as
well as your blinks, smiles, raised eyebrows and various facial expressions …)
Typically, trap searches involve using Find Traps, a thieving skill (known and
mastered especially by Thieves, Assassins and Monks; and known by others at a lower
level of skill, if you are using my advice from supplement DDE1, DUNGEON DELVER
ENHANCER). Unlike many old school GMs, I feel that ALL characters, even non-thieves,
should have a small chance to find traps. My reasons for this are twofold: [1] it’s common
sense, considering that any character can look for a secret door, and the process for
finding traps is much the same; and [2] I believe that without this opportunity, the
existence of the Thief class actually discourages skilled players from engaging in
intelligent dungeoneering behavior.
That being said, I recommend that the chance for non-thieves to discover a trap should
be small. You can use the simple thieving skill system I provide in DUNGEON DELVER

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ENHANCER, or you can use a slightly more complex system — designed to make traps
important to the game, and to make particular PCs stand out from others — if you want
a little more detail.
My more detailed system works like this:
I recommend that level 1 characters who do not possess thieving skills should have a
Find / Remove Traps chance that is 5% below that of a level 1 thief, but including all racial
and Dexterity (DEX) modifiers.
My Find Traps percentages in a Basic / Advanced FRPG (c. 1977-1979) are therefore
as follows:
 Dwarf Non-Thief, Non-Stone Trap: 5% if DEX 3 or 4, 10% if DEX 5 or 6, 15% if

DEX 7 or 8, 20% if DEX 9 or 10, 25% if DEX 11, 30% if DEX 12 to 17, 35% if DEX 18
or higher.
 Dwarf Non-Thief, Stone Trap*: 35% if DEX 3 or 4, 40% if DEX 5 or 6, 45% if DEX
7 or 8, 50% if DEX 9 or 10, 55% if DEX 11, 60% if DEX 12 to 17, 65% if DEX 18 or
higher.
 Elf Non-Thief: 0% if DEX 3 to 8, 5% if DEX 9 or 10, 10% if DEX 11, 15% if DEX 12
to 17, 20% if DEX 18 or higher.
 Gnome Non-Thief, Non-Stone Trap: 0% if DEX 3 or 4, 5% if DEX 5 or 6, 10% if

DEX 7 or 8, 15% if DEX 9 or 10, 20% if DEX 11, 25% if DEX 12 to 17, 30% if DEX 18
or higher.
 Gnome Non-Thief, Stone Trap*: 25% if DEX 3 or 4, 30% if DEX 5 or 6, 35% if DEX
7 or 8, 40% if DEX 9 or 10, 45% if DEX 11, 50% if DEX 12 to 17, 55% if DEX 18 or
higher.
 Half-Elf Non-Thief: 0% if DEX 3 to 8, 5% if DEX 9 or 10, 10% if DEX 11, 15% if

DEX 12 to 17, 20% if DEX 18 or higher.

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 Half-Orc Non-Thief: 0% if DEX 3 to 6, 5% if DEX 7 or 8, 10% if DEX 9 or 10, 15%

if DEX 11, 20% if DEX 12 to 17, 25% if DEX 18 or higher.
 Halfling Non-Thief: 0% if DEX 3 to 6, 5% if DEX 7 or 8, 10% if DEX 9 or 10, 15%

if DEX 11, 20% if DEX 12 to 17, 25% if DEX 18 or higher.
 Human Non-Thief: 0% if DEX 3 to 8, 5% if DEX 9 or 10, 10% if DEX 11, 15% if

DEX 12 to 17, 20% if DEX 18 or higher.
 For the advancement of thieving skills for non-thieves over time (beyond
experience level 1), refer for example to DUNGEON DELVER ENHANCER for
my advice.
(* Keep in mind that a “stone trap” is any trap which includes a significant stonework
component: pits, sliding blocks, sliding walls, falling bricks, collapsing rubble, hobble
traps in stone floors and so forth.)
It only takes 1 round to search normally for an object, chest or door for traps. If a
character elects to search carefully, this takes 10 rounds per object for a character without
thieving skills, 1D8+1 rounds for a monk, 1D6+1 rounds for an assassin, or 1D4+1 rounds
for a thief. Searching carefully gives a +10% chance of trap detection.
Searching a room, it takes the above figures to search a room of up to 20’x20’ (400
square feet). Beyond that, calculate the square footage of the room, divide by the number
of searchers, and then divide by 400, rounding up. For example, a 100’x100’ room is
10,000 square feet. If it is being searched by 6 people, then the number of rounds required
to fully search it is equal to 10,000 divided by 6 = 1,666,67, divided by 400 equals 4.17,
rounded up equals five rounds. When multiple people are searching for traps, everyone
gets a separate roll.
Carefully searching a room: For sanity’s sake, assume that all careful searches require
quadruple the amount of calculated time; in this case, 20 rounds (2 turns).

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The careful search gives each person a +10% chance to their own individual Find
Traps roll. There’s nothing quite like searching a huge room as a level 10 thief, and
hearing Moe the level 2 magic-user scream from 30’ behind you …
Kindly GMs will equate a search for traps as a search for concealed and secret doors;
i.e., if there are any concealed or secret doors to be found, roll for detection while they are
searching for traps ... they may find no traps, but accidentally find the door.
Cautious players will tend to have their PCs search every door, chest, feature and
sometimes even every 10’x10’ square of dungeon surface in search of traps. Players
particularly tend to do this after one of their companions has been gravely wounded or
slain.
As a GM, you should not dissuade them from such overly chary tactics; the game is
built to discourage slow progress through dungeons via the wandering monster system.
In most dungeons, a wandering monster check should be made every 20 minutes under
normal conditions; but a heavily-populated or frequently-raided dungeon might justify
checks every 10 minutes, or even every 5 minutes. Wandering monsters (being outside
of their lairs, and hence away from their treasure hoards) tend to carry very little treasure,
as savvy players will soon realize.
Each intelligent play group will arrive at its own “comfort level” as far as trap searches
are concerned, where the risk of traps is balanced against the risk of wandering monsters.
Very generally, you should encourage players new to the old school dungeoneering
mentality to always check treasure chests, occasionally check doors, and rarely check
rooms for traps. Treasure vaults in particular are trap central, and taking a long time to
search there is completely justified.
A fast and clever group seeking treasure and rapid advancement would be better off
hiring a dozen men-at-arms, hirelings and other “spear carriers” (red shirts) to help
explore the dungeon. Such intrepid mercenaries are ideal for “accidental” trap detection!

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3-2
ON THE USE OF 10’ POLES
The effects of a trap being triggered can sometimes be mitigated by the proper use of
a 10’ pole. “Proper use” typically involves searching or moving with the pole being used
in both hands, or an object being moved with the pole tip, or a feature being touched with

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the pole tip. Doors cannot be opened with a pole. Fastening or hinged treasure containers
such as chests, trunks, boxes and coffers cannot be opened with a pole. However, loose
containers such as sacks and bags can be, and open-mouthed containers such as urns,
lidless crates and amphorae can usually be toppled over with the tip of the pole. Light
containers can be pushed over with a pole, which may or may not trigger the trap.
The exact effects of using a pole are up to the GM, but I recommend the following
rules of thumb:
[1] If the trap usually does not give a saving throw, a saving throw can be offered.
[2] If the trap does give a saving throw, the pole-user and his companions in range all
save at +4. (They were ready for it, and are a bit of a ways away.)
[3] If the trap requires immediate proximity, such as a covered pit, the trap will be
detected before it can receive enough weight upon it to trigger.
[4] If the trap is a monster, or a monster hidden in something (a chest, a pit, etc.), the
monster receives only the normal chance to surprise.
[5] If the trap requires touch (such as contact poison), the trap is ineffective, but it is
not detected either.
[6] For traps which have a large area of effect, such as a gas cloud, the use of a pole
will not save you.
A party using a 10’ pole cannot move faster than 60’ (vs. the normal unhindered rate
of 120’). Please note that using a pole does not automatically qualify as a search for traps!
The GM must adjudicate which types of triggers will be activated by a prodding pole,
and which will not. The chief intended use of a pole is not trap detection, but rather the
ability to set off an already-detected trap.

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3-3
TRAP REMOVAL

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Although “Remove Traps” is the classic gaming parlance, this activity should more
correctly be termed “trap deactivation.” This process involves negating the trap’s
effectiveness, so that it can be safely bypassed. Traps are rarely removed entirely, due to
their size and complexity; the easiest way to remove a trap is to remove or negate its
trigger (a lever, a switch, a fuse, a pressure plate, etc.), rendering it useless.
Mechanical traps can only be deactivated by characters with thieving skills, although
clever non-thieves can trigger a discovered trap remotely (for example, by stepping back
a healthy distance and throwing a sack filled with stones on top of a pressure plate).
Magical traps can be deactivated via thieving skills, or by casting a Dispel Magic spell.
The time required for a character to attempt a trap deactivation depends on the
character’s overall skill, as follows:
 Non-Thief, Elf, Half-Elf or Human: 2D12+4 Rounds

 Non-Thief, Half-Orc or Halfling: 2D12+2 Rounds
 Non-Thief, Gnome: 2D12 Rounds
 Non-Thief, Dwarf: 2D10 Rounds
 Assassin, Level 1 or 2: 2D10 Rounds

 Assassin, Level 3: 2D8 Rounds
 Assassin, Level 4: 2D6 Rounds
 Assassin, Level 5 to 7: 1D10 Rounds
 Assassin, Level 14+: 1D4 Rounds
 Monk or Thief, Level 1: 2D8 Rounds

 Monk or Thief, Level 2: 2D6 Rounds
 Monk or Thief, Level 3 to 5: 1D10 Rounds

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 Thief, Level 18 to 20: 1D2 Rounds

 Thief, Level 21+: 1 Round
 For characters with Dexterity scores of 16 or higher, halve the above figures
and round up.
As GM, you should be keeping the game moving and the focus on action and
atmospheric description. You do not need to describe the meticulous details involved in
trap disarmament. Most mechanical traps are deactivated by cutting a rope, blocking a
pulley, removing a bolt, wedging a pressure plate, or dismantling a gear. Most magical
traps, when deactivated by a thief, are nullified by similarly mechanical means.
Sometimes, this delicate process involves scraping away or disfiguring runes, glyphs, or
sigils of power as well.
Magical traps which are deactivated by magic (or dispelling) are usually dispelled, or
a malicious spirit is banished, or a contingent spell trigger is corrupted via chaos
formulae, or the unseen servant(s) powering the trap are set free.
You can always simply say “You deactivate the trap” instead of going through the
how’s and why’s.
A successful trap deactivation will nullify the trap for now, although monsters may
well reset the trap between adventurer raids. A failed trap deactivation will simply result
in the trap remaining in place. The character who attempted to deactivate the trap will
know that the deactivation has failed, and will be able to warn any companions that the
trap cannot be bypassed. (For example, if the trap was on a treasure chest, anyone
opening the chest after the failed deactivation attempt will trigger the trap.) Other
characters can attempt to disarm the trap, but the character whose attempt failed cannot
try again until he or she gains a new level of experience.

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As an optional rule, there can be a chance that a failed deactivation attempt will trigger
the trap. I recommend a chance equal to 50%, minus the character’s Find / Remove Traps
score, to a minimum of 5%. Therefore, if the character’s F / RT score was 30%, a failed
deactivation attempt would result in the trap being triggered 20% of the time. If this
optional rule is used, there is always at least a 5% chance that the trap will be triggered,
regardless of the character’s F / RT skill.
(Some GMs rule that a failed deactivation always triggers a trap, but I have found that
this simply makes players reluctant to engage with traps in the game at all … to the point
that they either blow up or bypass treasure containers once a trap is detected.)
Whatever method you decide to employ, disarming a trap should be rewarding above
and beyond any treasures made accessible. I recommend the following experience point
(XP) rewards for trap deactivation / removal, as well as for the remote and intentional
triggering of detected traps:
 Lethality Level 0: No XP for a non-thief, +100 XP for a thief (or assassin, or

monk)
 Lethality Level 1: +100 XP for a non-thief, +200 XP for a thief
 Lethality Level 4: +500 XP for a non-thief, +1,000 XP for a thief
 Lethality Level 5: +750 XP for a non-thief, +1,500 XP for a thief
 Lethality Level 6: +1,000 XP for a non-thief, +2,000 XP for a thief
For trap deactivation, the XP award is given to the (sole) deactivator. For remote trap
triggering, the XP award can be split by the trap detector and the trap activator, or shared
by the entire party, as the GM sees fit.

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As you can see, these awards are fairly generous; but considering that they are given
solely to the risk-taking character, and that the price for failure is often grim or even fatal,
I believe these figures to represent reasonable incentives for daring and calculated play.
Further, I also recommend that there be ZERO reward for finding a trap and not
deactivating or remotely triggering it; fortune favors the bold.
3-4
PERFORMING ABILITY SCORE CHECKS
Several places in these rules note that potential trap victims will need to make
Dexterity (DEX) check, or a roll vs. Dexterity, to avoid a trap effect. For those who do not
know, or for those who are using other game systems, I will here describe how an ability
score check can be handled. Feel free to replace these rules with something more
appropriate to your game, if you are using a different system than my own.
Very generally, in my Castle Oldskull campaigns I use an old school mechanic called
“ability checks,” combined with a new school mechanic called “advantage.”
Basically, you have a general list of skills that your character knows. You may have
noticed in the class themes section that I listed things like tracking, blind-fighting,
running, leaping, fur trapping, and so forth.
When your character wants to do something, the GM decides if the situation should
be role-played. If it should, you talk your way through it, by either (for example)
describing what you are trying to do in detail (“I’m lifting the chest lid with the tip of my
sword while ducking down”), or solving a riddle using your own brain, or saying the
words you are speaking to an NPC.
If the GM thinks it should be handled by a random roll instead, the GM then decides
which of the six ability scores best applies to the situation. For example, Strength
(physical power) is used to open doors, Intelligence (mental power) is used to see hidden
items under dust, Wisdom (intuition) is used to guess at someone’s emotions, Dexterity
(agility) is used to climb ropes, Constitution (endurance) is used to hold your breath in a

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poison cloud, and Charisma (influence) is used to win over a potentially hostile guard
with a wink and a smile. And so on, and so forth.
After deciding which ability score to use, the GM then decides if the task is easy,
average, or hard. As one example, climbing a straight rope with gloves and both hands
is easy, climbing a swinging rope while wearing a shield on your arm is average, and
climbing a rope in the rain with an unconscious halfling on your back is hard. Some tasks
are in fact so hard — climbing a rope with one hand, in the rain, with a fat dwarf on your
shoulders — that they are basically impossible.
Once the GM knows the ability score to use and the task difficulty level, he informs
the PC’s player of both of these facts. The player then looks at the PC’s ability score, and
decides if he still wants to make the attempt.
If the player changes his mind after considering the odds, another action can be
attempted instead.
If he decides to go through with it, he calculates the target score for the ability check.
The target score is the number that the player wants to compare his die roll against. It is
equal to 20 minus the PC’s ability score. For example, if the needed ability is Strength,
and the PC’s Strength is 15, then the target score is (20 minus 15 equals) 5, or higher.
Then, he rolls 1d20 one or more times, as directed below. You want to roll high,
especially a 20. You never want to roll a 1.
One of six things can happen:
Easy Ability Score Checks
 If the task is easy, and the PC does not have the appropriate skill (for example,
trying to trap an animal but with knowledge of how exactly to do it), then the
player has no advantage. This means he rolls 1d20 once.
 If the task is easy, and the PC does have the appropriate skill, then the player has
advantage. This means he rolls 1d20 twice, and keeps the highest score.
Average Ability Score Checks

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 If the task is of average difficulty, and the PC does not have the appropriate skill,
then the player has disadvantage. This means he rolls 1d20 twice, and keeps the
lowest score.
 If the task is of average difficulty, and the PC does have the appropriate skill, then
the player has no advantage. This means he rolls 1d20 once.
Hard Ability Score Checks
 If the task is hard, and the PC does not have the appropriate skill, then the player
has severe disadvantage. This means he rolls 1d20 three times, and keeps the
lowest score.
 If the task is hard, and the PC does have the appropriate skill, then the player has
disadvantage. This means he rolls 1d20 twice, and keeps the lowest score.
Once the d20 (or 2d20, or 3d20, as noted above) is rolled, the player and the GM
compare the roll to the target score.
 If the roll is a 1, the result is automatic failure. If the PC’s relevant ability score is
6 or lower, the failure is catastrophic.
 If the roll is lower than the target score (but not a 1), the PC fails, but the failure
is never catastrophic.
 If the roll is equal to the target score, the PC barely succeeds.
 If the roll is higher than the target score (but not a 20), the PC succeeds, but the
success is never phenomenal.
 If the roll is a 20, the result is automatic success. If the PC’s relevant ability score
is 15 or higher, the success is phenomenal.

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The system is confusing at first, but becomes very quick, flexible and intuitive with a
little practice.
The first step to making the system easy is to have all players record the target scores
beside their ability scores on their character sheets. Remember, the target score is 20
minus the ability score. So if a PC has STR 16, INT 10, WIS 13, DEX 17, CON 12 and CHA
9, then his target scores are STR 16 (target 4+), INT 10 (target 10+), WIS 13 (target 7+), DEX
17 (target 3+), CON 12 (target 8+) and CHA (target 11+). Low targets mean success if
likely, and high targets mean success is unlikely. So, this example PC will have an easy
time with DEX and STR checks, and a fairly hard time with CHA and INT checks. But
due to his decent ability scores, he won’t be really terrible at anything unless it is hard.
The second step to making the system easy is to just keep using it!
Here is an example of the system in use:
Let us say our STR 16 (target 4+) example PC above wants to move a boulder. The
GM considers the size of the boulder, and decides that the task is possible, but that it will
be hard. He informs the player that the task is Strength-based and hard. The PC
considers his STR of 16, and asks for clarification.
The GM explains that the PC has no “Move Boulder” skill, because no such skill exists
in the game yet (most likely). But hey, maybe he could learn a skill called “Move
Boulder” if he practiced every day, pushing stones around for a month or something.
The GM explains further that because (a) the task is hard and (b) the PC does not have
the necessary skill, that the PC would have severe disadvantage when trying to move the
boulder. This means that the player would need to roll 3d20, and to keep the lowest
result. And any rolls of 1 would be very bad.
The player considers this, but notes that the target score of 4 means that success is still
fairly likely … as long as he doesn’t roll any 1s!
So he rolls 3d20, hopes for the best, and …
(Let’s go through each possible scenario.)

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Scenario 1: He rolls a 1, a 13, and a 10. He is forced to keep the lowest roll, which is
a 1. This is a catastrophic failure. Not only does he fail to move the boulder, he also hurts
his back and inflicts 1D6 damage on himself. And yes, if his hit points are low he could
die from this damage; this would mean that the boulder rolled on top of him.
Scenario 2: He rolls a 5, a 19 and a 3. He is forced to keep the lowest roll, which is a

3. The target score was only 4, but the 3 is less than the needed 4 or higher, so he fails.
The PC cannot move the boulder. The GM will probably let him rest for a round and try
again if he wants to, so this is probably not a big deal … unless, of course, he is being
chased by 30 bloodthirsty orcs and he only has 2 rounds remaining before they charge
around the corner!
Scenario 3: He rolls a 4, a 12 and a 14. He is forced to keep the lowest roll, which is a
4. The target score was 4, and that’s what he rolled, so he barely succeeds! He might (for
example) damage something in his backpack, cracking open an oil flask, while he holds
his breath and squeezes through the gap.
Scenario 4: He rolls a 13, a 5, and a 20. The 20 would be great, but he doesn’t get to
keep it, because he is forced to keep the lowest roll, which is a 5. The target score was 4,
and his roll is still higher. He succeeds! He moves the boulder and moves through the
gap fairly easily.
Scenario 5: Miraculously, he rolls a 20, a 20, and another 20. This is an automatic
success without a doubt! Not only that, but his STR is in the “15 or higher” category, so
it’s a phenomenal success. He pushes harder than he ever has in his life, and his god
gives him a surge of spirit. The boulder lurches aside, and then keeps rolling. As soon
as the orcs come around the corner, they are crushed by the rolling boulder for 3D6
damage each! 17 of them are killed instantly, and the other 13 scatter in a screaming
panic. Some things, however unlikely, are simply meant to be …
These rules can be used not only for actions that characters attempt, but also for
actions that impact characters before they have a choice in the matter. Traps requiring
Dexterity checks decisively fall in the latter category.

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CHAPTER 4:
THE TRAP COMPENDIUM:
A COLLECTION
OF DUNGEON TRAPS
FROM ACID JET TO WIND GUST

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4-1
IS FOR ACID
ACID TRAPS
[001]
Acid Jet (Lethality 3): Sprays a jet of acid 3’ wide by 10’ long. Anyone in the
stream’s area of effect must save vs. spells or be hit by the stream. The saving throw
is at no modifier for a wall-, feature-, object- or door-positioned acid jet. Those who
save take 1D6+1 damage. Those who fail suffer 1D10+2 damage, and their armor must
save vs. acid or be destroyed.
[002]
Acid Jet in Ceiling (Lethality 4): The acid will fall to the floor in a 10’x10’ area.
The saving throw is at -2 for a ceiling-positioned acid jet.
[003]

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Acid Jet in Floor (Lethality 5): The saving throw is at -4 for a floor-positioned acid
jet.
[004]
Acid Jet, Volatile (Lethality 4): As above, but damage inflicted is either 1D8+2 or
3D6+2, and the saving throw is at -1.
[005]
Acid Jet, Volatile, in Ceiling (Lethality 5): The acid will fall to the floor in a 10’x10’
area. The saving throw is at -3 for a ceiling-positioned acid jet. Damage is 1D8+2 or
3D6+2.
[006]
Acid Jet, Volatile, in Floor (Lethality 6): The saving throw is at -5 for a floor-
positioned acid jet. Damage is 1D8+2 or 3D6+2.
[007]
Acid Pool (Lethality 4 if shallow, 8 if deep): Damage 4D6 per round of contact.
Any immersed items must save vs. acid or be destroyed. Items in containers do not
need to save until after the container (backpack, sack, scroll case, etc.) is destroyed.
Note that a deep acid pool will almost certainly be fatal; small and shallow pools are
recommended.
ALARMS
[008]
Alarm, Alerts Monster(s) (Lethality 1 to 3, depending on nearby monsters): An
alarm is usually a gong or bell, or something that causes objects to crash, clang
together, and so forth. A magical alarm will feature a yelling Magic Mouth.
An “alerting” alarm is one where the monsters will be on guard once the alarm
goes off, but they will not come to investigate the place where the alarm went off.
(Example: Orcs with an alerting alarm in the corridor leading to their lair will remain
in their lair. Similarly, a nearby tentacled centipede might be cunning enough to know
that an alarm trigger means that prey is incoming, but it would rather stay in its
burrow and see what happens.) Alert monsters will never be asleep, and cannot be
surprised.
[009]

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Alarm, Beckons Monster(s) (Lethality 1 to 10): This alarm causes a nearby

monster type to come and investigate. The monster that investigates will not
necessarily be the monster that set the alarm trap; continuing the example above, if the
orcs are working for a clever evil mage, the alarm might be magically linked to a cage
which releases a badgerbear into the hallway where the alarm is triggered.
Special Note:
The Lethality Level of this type of alarm is based on the power of the monster type
that responds.
[010]
Alarm, Beckons Nothing (Lethality 0): This alarm alerts … nothing. There are no
monsters within hearing range of it. However, the players will not know that nothing
is coming, and will probably be on edge for a good long time!
ARROW TRAPS
[011]
Arrow Trap (Lethality 2): This trap fires a single spring-loaded arrow from close
range, which attacks with “to hit” accuracy equivalent to a level 3 fighter. Note that
facing considerations will need to be considered; an arrow from the flank will probably
ignore a shield, an arrow from below (ouch) will ignore any Dexterity bonus, and so
forth. The arrow will inflict 1D6 points of damage.
Every GM handles missile misses differently, but I recommend the “one more try”
rule: if the arrow misses the first target, and an adjacent target could reasonably be
hit, then a normal to hit roll is rolled against the second target as well. If the arrow
misses both targets, it is a clean miss and no one else is endangered.
GMs who use battle mats and miniatures could logically plot a line of fire and
determine that the arrow would have a chance to hit any target along that line, rolled
in range order (if you like that level of detail).
[012]
Arrow Trap, Double (Lethality 3): This trap fires two arrows, each with accuracy
equivalent to a level 4 fighter. The reason for the accuracy increase is that due to the
projectile spread, it is difficult to dodge or deflect one arrow without being hit by the
other. Each arrow that hits will inflict 1D6 points of damage.

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[013]
Arrow Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 6): The arrows fired by this
trap are coated in Type A contact poison. In addition to the arrow damage, each victim
must save vs. poison at +4 or suffer an additional 15 poison damage. Each arrow
requires a separate saving throw.
[014]
Arrow Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 7): The arrows fired by this
trap are coated in Type B contact poison. In addition to the arrow damage, each victim
[015]
Arrow Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type C) (Lethality 9): The arrows fired by this
trap are coated in Type C contact poison. In addition to the arrow damage, each victim
[016]
Arrow Trap, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 4): The arrow fired by this trap is
coated in Type A contact poison. In addition to the arrow damage, the victim must
save vs. poison at +4 or suffer an additional 15 poison damage.
[017]
Arrow Trap, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 5): The arrow fired by this trap is coated
in Type B contact poison. In addition to the arrow damage, the victim must save vs.
poison at +3 or suffer an additional 25 poison damage.
[018]
Arrow Trap, Poisoned (Type C) (Lethality 6): The arrow fired by this trap is
coated in Type C contact poison. In addition to the arrow damage, the victim must
save vs. poison at +2 or suffer an additional 35 poison damage.
[019]
Arrow Trap, Poisoned (Type D) (Lethality 8): The arrow fired by this trap is
coated in Type D contact poison. In addition to the arrow damage, the victim must
save vs. poison at +1 or die.
[020]
Arrow Trap, Triple (Lethality 4): This trap fires three arrows, each with accuracy
equivalent to a level 5 fighter.
[021]
Arrow Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 7): The arrows fired by this trap
are coated in Type A contact poison. In addition to the arrow damage, each victim

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[022]
Arrow Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 9): The arrows fired by this trap
are coated in Type B contact poison. In addition to the arrow damage, each victim
[023]
Arrow Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type C) (Lethality 10): The arrows fired by this
trap are coated in Type C contact poison. In addition to the arrow damage, each victim
[024]
Arrow Trap, Volley (Lethality 5): This trap fires five arrows, each with accuracy
equivalent to a level 6 fighter.
[025]
Arrow Trap, Volley, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 10): This trap fires five
poisoned arrows. The arrows fired by this trap are coated in Type A contact poison.
In addition to the arrow damage, each victim must save vs. poison at +4 or suffer an
additional 15 poison damage. Each arrow requires a separate saving throw.

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4-2
IS FOR BOLT
BOILING MUD
[026]
Boiling Mud Pool, Deep (Lethality 8): Anyone fully immersed in boiling mud
will suffer 5D10 damage (save vs. spells for half damage) during the immersion, per
round, and an additional 2D10 damage (no saving throw if in metal armor, otherwise
save vs. spells for half damage) after escaping as the mud is scraped off.
[027]
Boiling Mud Pool, Shallow (Lethality 6): A shallow mud pool will inflict 3D10
damage during immersion rounds, and 1D10 damage after escape.
[028]

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Boiling Mud Spray (Lethality 5): A boiling mud spray is typically the result of a
geothermal mud pot. When a mud pot (occupying a 10’x10’ square) boils over, it will
send boiling mud into its own square and all 8 adjacent squares. Anyone in the area
must save vs. spells, suffering 4D6 damage (if failed) or 2D6 damage (if successful).
The mud will cause an additional 2D6 damage on the round after the mud pot boils
over (no saving throw if in metal armor, otherwise save vs. spells for half damage).
BOILING WATER
[029]
Boiling Water Pool, Deep (Lethality 6): Anyone fully immersed in boiling water
will suffer 5D10 damage (no saving throw if in metal armor, otherwise save vs. spells
for half damage) during the immersion, per round.
[030]
Boiling Water Pool, Shallow (Lethality 5): A shallow boiling water pool will
inflict 3D10 damage during immersion rounds.
[031]
Boiling Water Spray (Lethality 4): A boiling water spray is typically the result of
a geothermal geyser or hot spring. When a geyser (typically occupying a large area)
erupts, it will send boiling water into its own squares and all adjacent squares within
20’. Anyone in the area must save vs. spells, suffering 4D6 damage (if failed) or 2D6
damage (if successful). No saving throw is allowed for characters in metal armor.
[032]
Steam Vent (Lethality 5): A magically-heated steam vent will send forth a jet of
steam 10’ wide and 40’ long. Anyone in the area must save vs. spells, suffering 6D6
damage (if failed) or 3D6 damage (if successful). No saving throw is allowed for
characters in metal armor.

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BOLT TRAPS
[033+]
Bolt Traps in General: Bolt traps are nearly identical to arrow traps. The only
differences are that each bolt inflicts 2D4 damage. The Lethality Levels are slightly
different as a result:
[033]
Bolt Trap (Lethality 2)
[034]
Bolt Trap, Double (Lethality 3)
[035]
Bolt Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 6)
[036]
Bolt Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 8)
[037]
Bolt Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type C) (Lethality 9)
[038]
Bolt Trap, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 4)
[039]
Bolt Trap, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 5)
[040]
Bolt Trap, Poisoned (Type C) (Lethality 6)
[041]
Bolt Trap, Poisoned (Type D) (Lethality 8)
[042]
Bolt Trap, Triple (Lethality 4)
[043]
Bolt Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 8)
[044]
Bolt Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 9)
[045]
Bolt Trap, Volley (Lethality 5)

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[046]
Bolt Trap, Volley, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 10)
BRIDGE TRAPS
[047+]
Bridge Traps in General: Please note that these are difficult traps to create, and
are impossible to reset. The trap setters will have already presumed that a bridge less
than 30’ in length would give potential victims an opportunity to leap out of harm’s
way, so the bridge will be at least 30’ long.
If the dungeon does not allow for such a feature (and the chasm or underground
river to go along with it), a bridge trap should not be placed by random roll.
[047]
Bridge, Collapsing (Lethality 2 to 10): This type of bridge appears to be solid, but
one of the pieces of wood or stone in the center of it is actually a pressure plate. This
pressure plate activates swinging mechanical weights which cause a rapid chain
reaction leading to near-immediate collapse (in less than 1 round).
Damage caused will be 1D6 per 10’ fallen, divided by 2 if there is water below. (Of
course, water also introduces the very real possibility of drowning for armored
victims, so the Lethality Level is still the same). Those who fall must also save vs.
spells or they will also suffer 1D6 (for a wooden bridge) or 2D6 (for a stone bridge)
additional damage as they are pelted by debris from above.
[048]
Bridge, Illusionary (Lethality 2 to 10): An illusionary bridge is not really there. It
casts Dispel Magic on itself (via Contingency) when someone is at halfway across,
causing anyone that was on it to plummet into the depths. Basically, an illusionary
bridge is a pit trap which appears in a completely unexpected place. It is
recommended that the fall should be into a chasm or an underground river, but never
into a “super-pit” (with spikes, greased walls, etc.). The Lethality Level is dependent
upon the distance fallen.

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4-3
IS FOR CALTROPS
CAGES
[049]
Cage, Falling: A pressure plate, tripwire, or similar trigger causes a cage to be
released from the ceiling. This is a dangerous trap, because it will center upon the
10’x10’ square of the trigger area, and anyone in the square can choose to either
willingly be trapped, or to try to leap free. (Of course, if the cage falls in a corridor
that is only 10’ wide, players will need to decide on an attempted leap forward or
backward, and the party will almost certainly be split for until the cage can be climbed
over.)

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Anyone attempting to leap free must roll vs. DEX (average difficulty). Those who
succeed jump into the desired adjacent square. Those who fail must save vs. spells. If
the save is successful, the victim is caught inside the cage. If the save is failed, the
character is pinned by the cage.
Cage traps will typically reset within 72 hours.
[050]
Cage, Falling, Iron (Lethality 5): Anyone pinned by an iron cage suffers 6D6
damage. Any character, trapped or freed, can attempt a bend bars / lift gates roll to
lift the cage, allowing everyone (including the cage lifter) to escape. An iron cage can
also be cut through by weapons, requiring 60 total points of damage for one bar to be
removed. Any non-magical slashing or impaling weapons used to inflict such damage
will be destroyed in the process.
[051]
Cage, Falling, Rusted Iron (Lethality 4): Anyone pinned by a rusted iron cage
suffers 5D6 damage. A rusted iron cage requires 40 total points of damage for one bar
to be removed.
[052]
Cage, Falling, Steel (Lethality 6): Anyone pinned by a steel cage suffers 6D6
damage. A steel cage requires 80 total points of damage for one bar to be removed.
Any weapons, even bludgeons, used to inflict such damage will be destroyed in the
process.
[053]
Cage, Falling, Wooden (Lethality 3): Anyone pinned by a wooden cage suffers
2D6 damage. Bend bars / lift gates rolls attempted against a wooden cage are at 20%.
A wooden cage requires only 20 total points of damage for a slat to be removed, and
weapons performing such work will not be destroyed in the process.
CALTROPS
[054]
Caltrops (Lethality 3): Caltrops are pronged pieces of metal, where at least one
spike is always pointed upward. They are scattered in dark corridors where they are
difficult to spot, and can cause damage to the feet of passersby (even if boots are worn).

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Unlike most traps, caltrops can be casually detected without a declared search for
traps. Each character has a chance equal to his Find / Remove Traps skill to detect
caltrops in the path ahead, and anyone spotting the trap can shout a warning so that
damage is avoided.
If undetected, each person will step on 1D4 caltrops. (Caltrops can cover a large
area, but after the damage is suffered, anyone walking through the area tends to be
much more watchful and careful!) Each caltrop inflicts damage as follows:
 Character in cloth armor, or no armor: 4 points of damage.

 Character in non-magical leather armor: 3 points of damage.
 Character in magical leather armor: 2 points of damage.
 Character in non-magical chain mail: 2 points of damage.
 Character in magical chain mail: 1 point of damage.
 Character in non-magical plate armor: 1 point of damage.
 Character in magical plate armor: No damage.
Hard boots will reduce damage per caltrop by 1 point; magical boots will reduce
damage per caltrop by 2 points. Note that it is possible for caltrops to kill; this typically
occurs when someone steps on one caltrop, falls, and is impaled in the head (or the
eye) by several other caltrops.
[055]
Caltrops, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 8): Anyone wounded by one or more
poisoned caltrops must save vs. poison for each caltrop which inflicts damage. The
saving throw is at +4. Each successful save means no poison damage is inflicted; a
failed save inflicts an additional 15 points of damage.
[056]
Caltrops, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 10): Anyone wounded by one or more
poisoned caltrops must save vs. poison for each caltrop which inflicts damage. The
saving throw is at +3. Each successful save means no poison damage is inflicted; a
failed save inflicts an additional 25 points of damage.

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CASCADE OF SPHERES
[057]
Cascade of Metal Spheres (Lethality 2 to 10, depending on monsters summoned):
This trap originated with the Svartalfar, and is common near their lairs. A tripwire
will cause the release of a torrent of marble-sized iron spheres. These spheres will
loudly clatter to the floor in a bouncing heap, in a 10’x20’ patch. The spheres will alert
monsters nearby, assuring that those monsters cannot be surprised.
Further, anyone standing in the affected squares must roll vs. DEX (hard) or fall
down for 1 round. This check must be made once per round over the next 6 rounds
for anyone in the affected squares. Fallen characters cannot attack, cast spells, or use
magical items during that round, and if attacked they lose any shield and DEX bonuses
to armor class.
CEILING TRAPS
[058]
Ceiling, Collapsing (Lethality 7): A collapsing ceiling, or cave-in, will typically
affect a 30’x30’ area (in a cave or room), or a 10’x30’ area (in a passage or corridor),
centered on the trigger area. Characters can roll vs. DEX (normal difficulty) to leap
forward and avoid the cave-in, or roll vs. DEX (hard) to run backward.
If the DEX roll is successful, the collapse is fully avoided. Anyone who fails the
DEX roll must save vs. spells. A failed save indicates full entrapment and 10D6
damage, while a successful save indicates partial entrapment and 5D6 damage.
Anyone fully trapped by a cave-in can escape the rubble in 30 man-hours. In other
words, a victim would take 30 hours to extract himself, or in 15 hours with the
assistance of one other person, or in 10 hours with the assistance of two other people,
and so forth. Escaping a partial entrapment requires 15 man-hours of work. Only one
victim can be safely extracted at a time.
A cave-in which harms no one can be cleared with 30 man-hours of work.
[059]

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Ceiling, Crushing, (Lethality 5 if avoidable, 10 if not): A crushing ceiling is a

mechanically-lowered surface which crushes anyone beneath it. The ceiling trap will
take 1 full round to “gear up” (with lots of warning clunks and clatters), and will then
descend 10’ per round. Anyone still in the room when the ceiling touches the floor
will be killed with no saving throw.
These traps can be used in conjunction with locking doors or other traps, but this
will usually create a deathtrap. I recommend placing crushing ceilings which can be
escaped, but which will force a party to either move forward or to retreat. A crushing
ceiling will typically reset within 1d10 rounds.
[060]
Ceiling, Lowering, with Spikes (Lethality 5 if avoidable, 9 if not): Similar to a
crushing ceiling, but slightly more survivable, a spiked ceiling will lower at the same
rate as described above. It leaves a 1’ clearance between ceiling and floor when fully
deployed, but the open space is filled with spikes. Anyone impaled within will suffer
10D10 damage.
COLUMN TRAPS
[061]
Column or Pillar, Collapsing (Lethality variable, but typically 7 to 10): This trap
only works effectively in rooms with ceiling heights of 15’ or higher. A collapsing
column will fall apart along the seams in its stonework, typically in 5’ long chunks.
Therefore, a collapsing column in a 30’-high chamber would split into 6 pieces.
The pieces will tend to tumble down in a 30’x30’ area, centered on the column.
Anyone in the area has a 10% chance of being hit by each piece. Victims can be hit by
multiple pieces, and pieces can hit more than one victim before coming to rest. Each
piece will cause 4D6 damage if a save vs. spells is failed, or 2D6 damage if the save
succeeds.
[062]
Column or Pillar, Falling (Lethality 8): Unlike a collapsing column, a falling
column will exhibit a planned and controlled fall in a single predetermined direction.
The column will shatter along the full length, with its base positioned in the square the
column resided in.

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For example, a falling column in a room with 40’ high ceilings which is set to fall
east will impact in the column square, and the 3 10’x10’ squares to the east of that
square. Anyone in the affected squares must roll vs. DEX (average difficulty) to leap
out of the way, suffering no damage, but being stunned for 1 round. Those who fail
the DEX roll must save vs. spells, and suffer 4D10 damage (if successful) or 8D10
damage (if failed).
CONTACT POISON
[063]
Contact Poison (Type A) (Lethality 3): Contact poison is an acidic substance which
eats through skin to enter the bloodstream. It must make contact with skin to be
effective; gauntlets, boots, or even good canvas gloves will prevent the poison from
working. Even thin gloves will provide an additional +4 bonus to the saving throw.
The affected area will be minimal, such as a doorknob, lever or the handles of a
treasure chest. Anyone affected by the poison must save vs. poison or suffer 15 points
of damage. The saving throw is at +4.
[064]
Contact Poison (Type B) (Lethality 4): This contact poison is saved against at +3;
a failed saving throw results in 25 points of damage.
[065]
Contact Poison (Type C) (Lethality 5): This contact poison is saved against at +2;
a failed saving throw results in 35 points of damage.
[066]
Contact Poison (Type D) (Lethality 9): This contact poison is saved against at +1;
a failed saving throw results in death.

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CORPSES
[067]
Corpses, Animating (Lethality 1 to 10): Animating corpses will appear lifeless
when seen, but as soon as they are touched (or within immediate vicinity of victims)
they will rise as zombies.
These magical corpses require 1 full round to animate, in addition to the inherent
slowness of zombies, giving victims two full rounds of action before the zombies can
attack. The Lethality of the trap is based upon the number of zombies encountered, as
follows:
 Lethality 1: 1 zombie.

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 Lethality 2: 1D3+1 zombies.

 Lethality 3: 1D6 zombies.
 Lethality 4: 2D4 zombies.
Keep in mind that zombies do not require food, water or air, and can be piled into
cramped locations for added fun.
[068+]
Corpses, Diseased: Diseased or infested corpses will be festering and corrupted,
and the sight and smell of such will give a very good reason for avoidance. Characters
will usually only suffer the effects of parasite-infested corpses by falling into them (such
as in a pit), or by being forced into them (such as by torturous monsters).
Characters who come near to “fresh” diseased corpses stand a good chance of
contracting the disease, even if they are holding their breath. The chance is 5% at
ranges up to 60’, 10% at 50’, 15% at 40’, 20% at 30’, 25% at 20’, 30% at 5’, and 50% with
direct contact.
Refer to the Game Master’s Guide for the effects of diseases and parasitic
infestations. The Lethality Level of this “trap” will be as follows:
[068]
Corpses, Diseased, Acute and Mild Affliction (Lethality 2)
[069]
Corpses, Diseased, Acute and Severe Affliction (Lethality 4)
[070]
Corpses, Diseased, Chronic and Mild Affliction (Lethality 5)
[071]
Corpses, Diseased, Chronic and Severe Affliction (Lethality 7)
[072]
Corpses, Diseased, Terminal Affliction (Lethality 9)
[073]
Corpses, Parasitically Infested, Acute and Mild Affliction (Lethality 1)
[074]
Corpses, Parasitically Infested, Acute and Severe Affliction (Lethality 3)

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[075]
Corpses, Parasitically Infested, Chronic and Mild Affliction (Lethality 4)
[076]
Corpses, Parasitically Infested, Chronic and Severe Affliction (Lethality 6)
[077]
Corpses, Parasitically Infested, Terminal Affliction (Lethality 8)

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CORRIDOR BLOCKS
[078+]
Corridor Blocks in General: When the trap is triggered, a previously-explored
corridor cut off by a huge falling block (10’x10’) which cannot be moved. The block is
loud and slow-moving, and anyone in the vicinity will be able to avoid it.
Corridor blocks can be destroyed or bypassed with powerful magic, such as
Disintegrate or Phase Door. A Transmute Mud to Rock spell will sloppily remove a
block, while creating a substantial pool of mud. A Stone to Flesh spell cast on a block
will create a nasty quivering mess, which can be climbed over with great discomfort
and difficulty.
[078]
Corridor Block, Short Reset (Lethality 1): The corridor will be cut off for 6D10
minutes.
[079]
Corridor Block, Medium-Term Reset (Lethality 2): When the trap is triggered, a
previously-explored corridor cut off by a huge falling block (10’x10’) which cannot be
moved. The corridor will be cut off for 1D6 hours.
[080]
Corridor Block, Long Reset (Lethality 3): When the trap is triggered, a previously-
explored corridor cut off by a huge falling block (10’x10’) which cannot be moved. The
corridor will be cut off for 24 hours.

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4-4
IS FOR DART
DART TRAPS
[081+]
Dart Traps in General: Dart traps are nearly identical to arrow traps. The only
differences are that each Dart inflicts 1D3 damage. The Lethality Levels are slightly
different as a result:
[081]
Dart Trap (Lethality 1)
[082]
Dart Trap, Double (Lethality 2)
[083]
Dart Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 5)

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[084]
Dart Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 7)
[085]
Dart Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type C) (Lethality 8)
[086]
Dart Trap, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 3)
[087]
Dart Trap, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 4)
[088]
Dart Trap, Poisoned (Type C) (Lethality 5)
[089]
Dart Trap, Poisoned (Type D) (Lethality 8)
[090]
Dart Trap, Triple (Lethality 2)
[091]
Dart Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 7)
[092]
Dart Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 9)
[093]
Dart Trap, Volley (Lethality 3)
[094]
Dart Trap, Volley, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 10)
DEADFALLS
[095+]
Deadfalls in General: A deadfall, strictly speaking, is a suspended heavy weight
which falls on top of the victim. The weight is usually in the form of a bundle, so that
the material will not scatter upon impact. Brick bundles, logs, and chests filled with
scrap metal are typical deadfalls. Compare with STONE BLOCK, FALLING, which is
a separate type of trap that is harder to detect.

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Due to the improvisatory nature of deadfalls, characters have a +10% chance to

detect them when searching for traps. However, an active search must still be made;
a deadfall will not be passively detected.
[095]
Deadfall (Lethality 4): A deadfall will impact in a 10’x10’ square. Victims in the
targeted square must roll vs. DEX (normal difficulty) to leap free unharmed. Those
who fail the DEX roll will be struck. The deadfall inflicts 4D6 points of damage (save
vs. spells for half damage).
[096]
Deadfall, Heavy (Lethality 6): A heavy deadfall will inflict 8D6 points of damage
(save vs. spells for half).
[097]
Stone Block, Falling (Lethality 3): This type of deadfall will only strike a single
victim. Damage to the victim, if the DEX roll is failed, will be 2D10 (save vs. spells for
half).
DOOR TRAPS
[098+]
Falling Doors: A falling door is not a door at all; it is a cleverly-crafted slab of
material which, when the doorknob or handle is pulled, will activate counterweights
which cause the slab to topple over onto the victim. The victim must roll vs. DEX
(normal difficulty) to leap out of the way; those who fail will suffer damage. Anyone
else in the same 10’x10’ square, who was not attempting to open the door, must also
roll vs. DEX (easy).
[098]
Door, Falling, Iron (Lethality 6): Inflicts 5D10 damage, save vs. spells for half.
[099]
Door, Falling, Stone (Lethality 4): Inflicts 3D10 damage, save vs. spells for half.
[100]
Door, Falling, Wooden (Lethality 3): Inflicts 1D10+2 damage, save vs. spells for
half.

90 | P a g e
[101]
Door, False (Lethality 1 to 3, depending on circumstances): A false door is not a
door at all; it is a cleverly-crafted slab of material which, when the doorknob or handle
is pulled, will activate a distant trap. The exact effect is up to the GM, but possibilities
include: causing a portcullis to fall in a distant corridor; ringing an alarm bell in a
distant monster lair; or summoning a monster 120’ behind the party.
[102+]
One-Way Doors: These doors have complex spring-loaded gears and
counterweights, so that they open quite easily but then close rapidly with increasing
momentum as soon as they are released. Anyone searching for traps who detects the
door will realize that it is not a trap per se, but that it will restrict the party’s direction
and that it could inflict quite serious damage if not carefully released. A one-way door
detected as a trap will still close, but will not cause damage.
A one-way door which is not detected as a trap will slam shut as soon as it is
released. Anyone caught in the door will either (a) end up on the inside with one arm
or leg trapped (1D6+2 damage, save for half, 45% chance); (b) end up on the outside
with one arm or leg trapped (1D6+2 damage, save for half, 45% chance); or (c) get
slammed into the door and bodily trapped (1D8+4 damage, save for half, 10% chance).
In circumstances (a) or (b), a character can free himself and the door will then slam
shut. In circumstance (c), the character must either make a successful bend bars / lift
gates roll (allowing the door to be opened for 1 round, and the character can choose
which side to end up on), or be helped out by companions. These figures are for
wooden doors.
One-way doors can be spiked open with iron spikes, wedged with an iron crowbar,
held open with a sturdy chest, and so forth. A one-way door can be destroyed, but
this is a loud and time-consuming process (requiring a total of 50 points of damage to
create a hole large enough to pass through, or 100 points of damage to destroy it
permanently).
[102]
Door, One-Way, Stone (Lethality 4): Double damage. Required damage 100 / 200.
Non-magical slashing and impaling weapons used to destroy a stone door will be
destroyed in the process.
[103]
Door, One-Way, Iron (Lethality 5): Triple damage. Required damage 150 / 300.
Non-magical weapons of any kind which are used to destroy an iron door will be
destroyed in the process. A variation on the one-way iron door is a turnstile, which is
a portcullis-type contraption which only allows movement in one direction.

P a g e | 91
[104]
Door, One-Way, Wooden (Lethality 3): A “normal” one-way door, with the basic
values listed above.
DUST TRAPS
[105]
Dust of Sneezing and Choking (Lethality 8): As described in the Game Master’s
Guide, this magical dust will form a 20’ cloud which will either kill victims (failed
saving throw vs. poison) or cause them to choke uncontrollably for 5-20 rounds
(successful saving throw).

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DWEOMER BUBBLES
[106]
Dweomer Bubbles (Lethality 2 to 10): These strange magical spheres are a
creation of the Mad God. They appear as floating crystalline spheres, illumined in
rainbow hues. Dweomer bubbles are a special trap; they are automatically detected
(although when first discovered, adventurers will not know they are dangerous), but
cannot be deactivated unless a Dispel Magic spell is cast.
The bubbles move 30’ per round; they are easily avoided unless a wind is blowing.
The slightest touch of a bubble (either the bubble touching a victim, or someone or an
object touching a bubble) will cause it to shatter, sending crystalline shards
everywhere. They are enchanted to rebound off of walls gently if they encounter no
victim along their course. Of course, bubbles encountered will always gravitate
toward the adventurers, whether there is a wind or not!
Everyone within a 10’ range of the detonation will suffer 1D10 damage, save for
half. Spheres tend to be spaced 11’ apart, 3’ from the floor, and can cause catastrophic
chain reactions when one goes off. A chain reaction will not occur if the bubbles are
still spaced 11’ apart, but if they are clustered by a wind, an alcove or something
similar, the results can be disastrous. Clever players will soon learn to avoid dweomer
bubbles, or to detonate them with arrows … perhaps even in the midst of enemies.
The number of bubbles discovered varies with the Lethality Level, as follows:
 Lethality 2: 1 dweomer bubble

 Lethality 3: 2 dweomer bubbles
 Lethality 8: 7 or 8 dweomer bubbles
1 in 6 dweomer bubbles will contain a gem core (roll 1D6, a 1 indicating a gem).
These cores are random gems of 100 gold piece value, and give off a permanent and
magical Continual Light.

P a g e | 93
4-5
IS FOR ENCHANTED RUNE
ENCHANTED RUNES
[107+]
Enchanted Runes in General: An enchanted rune is a magical sigil which is set as
a “bomb”; its arcane energies will be unleashed as soon as a sentient creature reads
and interprets the rune holding back the power. This interpretation of the sigil serves
as a form of “verbal component,” completing the waiting spell, with the reader /
interpreter as the target of the negative effect.
Like all other spell trigger traps, an enchanted rune can be destroyed with Dispel
Magic. Runes can also be either painted over (although they will burn their way back
into visibility within a few hours), or even stricken away. Striking a rune requires that
a blinded or blindfolded person chisel away the surface, rendering the rune destroyed.

94 | P a g e
This does not require a Find / Remove Traps roll, but consider that some materials
which runes are engraved upon — for example, magical stone or thick steel — will
make “striking the rune away” a task easier said than done.
Enchanted runes which protect objects, features, doors, rooms, corridors and the
like can be avoided once detected. (Glyphs of Warding are a special case, however,
because they are invisible.) Runes on closed containers, however, cannot be bypassed;
they must be activated, stricken or destroyed. A Knock spell can trigger some, but not
all, enchanted runes from a safe distance … refer to spell descriptions for the
particulars.
More detailed specifics on individual rune types can be found within the spell
descriptions for each rune type, as listed in a Player’s Guidebook.
[107]
Enchanted Rune, Explosive Runes (Lethality 4): Mage spell, level 3; caster level
is irrelevant. Unlike most runes, the Explosive Runes must be hidden in other written
information (such as a map, book, scroll, and so forth). Clever GMs can include wall
mosaics, tapestries, and other room furnishings in this definition. The player must
state that their character is reading the material for the trap to be triggered. Damage
inflicted to the reader, if the runes are not detected, is 6D4+6 with no saving throw.
[108]
Enchanted Rune, Fire Trap, Lesser (Lethality 3): Druid spell, level 2; or mage
spell, level 4; spell caster level 7. Damage inflicted is 1D4+7, save vs. spells for half.
[109]
Enchanted Rune, Fire Trap, Greater (Lethality 3): As above, but spell caster level
is 14, resulting in 1D4+14 points of damage.
[110]
Enchanted Rune, Fire Trap, Eldritch (Lethality 4): As above, but spell caster level
is 21, resulting in 1D4+21 points of damage.
[111]
Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding (Lethality 2 to 9, depending on type): Cleric
spell, level 3. Glyphs of Warding are invisible, and cannot be accidentally read; but
they have proximity spell triggers, and are activated when a victim approaches into
the wrong 5’x5’ square. Glyphs of Warding can also be centered on objects, features,
doors and so forth, with a 5’ diameter field of activation.
[112]
Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Blinding (Lethality 2): Caster level 5. This
glyph renders the victim blind for 1D4 hours, unless a saving throw vs. spells is made.
[113]

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Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Energy Drain (Lethality 9): Caster level 16.
This glyph permanently drains an experience level from the victim, unless a saving
throw vs. spells is made.
[114]
Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Fire (Lethality 3): Caster level 9. This glyph
inflicts 18 points of fire damage (save vs. spells for half damage).
[115]
Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Frost (Lethality 2): Caster level 5. This
glyph inflicts 10 points of frost damage (save vs. spells for half damage).
[116]
Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Lightning (Lethality 4): Caster level 13.
This glyph inflicts 26 points of lightning damage (save vs. spells for half damage).
[117]
Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Paralysis (Lethality 4): Caster level 7. This
glyph paralyzes the victim for 1D6+1 hours, unless a saving throw vs. spells is made.
[118+]
Rules for Symbols: Whenever anyone closely examines or attempts to decipher a
runic Symbol, give the character a chance to save vs. spells (monks save at +1; assassins
and thieves save at +2; clerics, druids, illusionists and mages save at +3). If the save
succeeds, the character realizes the rune is cursed a moment before it triggers, and can
avert his gaze before the rune is activated. If the save fails, however, the Symbol’s
spell is triggered.
[118]
Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Death (Lethality 10): Mage spell, level 8; spell caster
level 16. The reader of this rune must save vs. spells or die. Characters with 81 or
more hit points are immune to this symbol.
[119]
Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Discord (Lethality 9): Mage spell, level 8; spell caster
level 16. The reader of this rune must save vs. spells, and all companions within 30’
must save as well. Any character who fails the saving throw falls victim to the
symbol’s curse. Collectively, the victims will argue for 3D6+2 rounds, and may even
come to blows. Unless all of the victims are of the exact same alignment, there is a 50%
chance that the victims will fight for 2D4 rounds. If there are unaffected companions
present to somewhat control the confrontation, all blows stricken will be for subdual
damage only; but if everyone present has been cursed, blows will be stricken for full
damage.
[120]

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Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Fear (Lethality 4): Mage spell, level 8; spell caster
level 16. The reader of this rune must save vs. spells at -4, or flee in terror as if affected
by a Fear spell.
[121]
Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Hopelessness (Lethality 6): Cleric or mage spell,
level 7 or 8; spell caster level 16. The reader of this rune must save vs. spells, or flee
for 3D4 turns. The victim can be restrained by allies, but cannot act in any useful way
until the effect is dissipated by time. If a victim is alone and encounters monsters, the
victim may be compelled to either surrender or flee (25%), as appropriate. If forced to
fight or act, the victim will either do nothing (25%), withdraw from battle or the party
(25%) or act for 1 round (50%); check for each round of forced action separately.
[122]
Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Pain (Lethality 4): Cleric spell, level 7; spell caster
level 14. The reader of this rune must save vs. spells, or suffer wracking pains for 2D10
turns. These pains cause a -4 to attack rolls and -2 DEX.
[123]
Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Persuasion (Lethality 7): Cleric spell, level 7; spell
caster level 14. This symbol will be of the same alignment as its creator; for random
determination, roll 1D8: [1] Chaotic Evil, [2] Chaotic Good, [3] Chaotic Neutral, [4]
Lawful Evil, [5] Lawful Good, [6] Lawful Neutral, [7] Neutral Evil, [8] Neutral Good.
The victim must save vs. magic, or succumb to the trap creator’s alignment for 1D20
turns. The GM may need to intervene to control some player actions; for example, a
Chaotic Evil symbol sufferer who was formerly Neutral Good would be very unlikely
to help his good companions in battle. For fairness, players cannot be held divinely
responsible for the effects of the temporary alignment change; Paladins will not lose
their class, Clerics will not be abandoned by their gods, and so forth. The rest of the
party, however, may well suffer from the victim’s behavior.
ENTANGLING VINES
[124+]
Entangling Vines in General: These magically enchanted vines are equivalent to
a Strangle Kelp monster; refer to a Tome of Monsters for details. Up to 3 vines can

P a g e | 97
attack a single victim, and multiple victims can be attacked. Fire will inflict double
damage on these horrors.
[124]
Entangling Vines, Slithering Creeper (Lethality 3): Hit Dice 2. 3 vines, each 7’
long, STR 4 per vine.
[125]
Entangling Vines, Choking Creeper (Lethality 4): Hit Dice 3. 6 vines, each 8’
[126]
Entangling Vines, Strangle Creeper (Lethality 5): Hit Dice 4. 9 vines, each 10’
[127]
Entangling Vines, Death Creeper (Lethality 6): Hit Dice 5. 12 vines, each 12’ long,
STR 10 per vine.

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4-6
IS FOR FIRE
FIRE TRAPS
[128]
Fire Pit, Shallow (Lethality 3): Shallow fire pits are either filled with burning coals,
or magical fire. A character in a fire pit must save vs. spells or suffer 3D4 damage per
round. If 8 or more points of damage are taken, all of the victim’s carried items which
are not in containers must save individually, or be destroyed. Even after exiting, the
victim will suffer an additional 2D4 damage for 1 round while the flames are
extinguished.
[129]
Fire Vent (Lethality 4): A fire vent causes a 20’ long arc of fire to emerge, burning
the first target within range for 4D4 damage, with no saving throw. All other persons

P a g e | 99
within range will suffer 3D4 damage, but can save vs. spells for half damage. If 8 or
more points of damage are taken, all of the victim’s carried items which are not in
containers must save individually, or be destroyed. On the round following the trap
activation, each damaged victim will suffer an additional 2D4 damage while the
flames are extinguished.
FLESH GRUBS
[130]
Flesh Grubs: These monsters are as described in a Tome of Monsters. As a trap,
they have been specifically cultivated by a nasty and sentient creature for the purpose
of ambushing any interlopers. Flesh grub traps can be found on features, in containers,
and under objects, with a smelly piece of festering meat serving as the bait (and the
lair). Once the rotten meat is disturbed by a living victim, the hungry grubs will
eagerly burrow into the fresh prey.
The deadliness of a flesh grub trap depends on the number of grubs encountered,
as follows:
Lethality 1: 1 Flesh Grub

Lethality 2: 1D2 Flesh Grubs

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FLOOD TRAPS
[131]
Room, Flooding (Lethality 4): This is a trap similar to a flooding pit; refer to the
PITS section for details.
FLOOR TRAPS
[132]
Floor, Collapsing (Lethality 4 to 7): A collapsing floor of either wood or stone will
cause the current room and all of its contents to fall into a room directly below on the
next lower dungeon level. The damage caused will be based on the material of the
floor (either wood or stone) and the distance fallen (typically between 20’ and 60’). As

P a g e | 101
the entire floor will collapse, there is no real way that anyone in the room can avoid
the trap. (A merciful GM might allow those close to doors to make a hard DEX roll,
and if successful the would-be victim leaps free and watches from the doorway.)
Damage caused to each victim will be 1D6 per 10’ fallen. Those who fall must also
save vs. spells or they will also suffer 2D6 (for a wooden floor) or 3D6 (for a stone
floor) additional damage as they are pelted by debris from above.
For added fun and chaos, any monsters in the room above will suffer damage along
with the adventurers, and any monsters in the room below will suffer 2D6 damage per
10’ the victims fall from above.
[133]
Floor, Rising, Crushing (Lethality 7 if avoidable, 10 if not): A rising floor has the
same effect as a crushing ceiling. The difference is that a rising floor can be even more
dangerous, requiring fast action, because the doors will be covered in only two rounds.
FUNGI
[134]
Fungus, Shrieking (Lethality 0 to 10, depending on monsters beckoned):
Shrieking fungi are often cultivated as sentries. They shriek when any living creature
which is not friendly (i.e., which does not feed them organic compost) comes too near.
Considered as a trap, shrieking fungi are a type of alarm.
[135]
Fungus, Violet (Lethality 3 to 10, depending on number encountered): Violet
fungi are cultivated in the same manner as shrieking fungi, but their purpose is not to
alert monsters to the presence of intruders. Their sole purpose is to kill intruders
outright. The lethality of “trap” violet fungi is dependent upon the number of fungi
encountered, as follows:
Lethality 3: 1 Violet Fungus

Lethality 4: 1D2 Violet Fungi

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4-7
IS FOR GAS
GAS TRAPS
[136+]
Gas Traps in General: Gas traps create noxious vapors in low-lying areas (and
especially in dungeons). Most gases will be odorous and visible (for the sake of
fairness), unless otherwise noted. However, there are two types of gas traps to
consider: a gas cloud consists of a gas that is already present and highly visible; while
a gas vent will create a new gas cloud as soon as its trigger is activated. Gas cloud
traps, therefore, are easily detected but cannot be deactivated; while gas vent traps are
difficult to detect, but can be distantly activated, nullified or avoided by a clever party.
Most gas clouds can be avoided by holding one’s breath. While holding his breath,
a victim can ignore calls for a saving throw. A character can hold his breath for a 1

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round if Constitution 3-5, 2 rounds if CON 6-8, 3 rounds if CON 9-12, 4 rounds if CON
13-15, and 5 rounds if CON 16 or higher. If breath is successfully held, the gas is not
breathed at all; but note that some gases as described below have an effect on people
even if their breath is held.
A gas cloud can be dispersed and effectively nullified by a Gust of Wind spell, or
a strong natural wind. Generally speaking, gas clouds will not be destroyed by weaker
breezes or air currents, but will move along at the air’s prevailing speed.
[136+]
Gas Cloud: A gas cloud will usually fill an entire room or corridor to a height of
10’.
[136]
Gas Cloud, Amnesia Inducing (Lethality 5): An amnesia-inducing gas cloud
requires victims to save vs. poison. Those who succeed will feel dizzy, but will suffer
no ill effects. Those who fail will suffer amnesia for 10D6 rounds. Victims with
amnesia cannot act on knowledge learned in the last 24 hours (including remembering
monsters slain, rooms explored without a map, passwords, and so forth). Even worse,
spell casters will not be able to cast any spells above 1st level while suffering from
amnesia. Memorized spells are not lost, just not recollected; once the amnesia fades,
spell casters will have full access to their spell repertoires once again. The GM should
be careful to enforce memory restrictions on players through role-play and refusal of
certain types of knowledge; even skilled players will have difficulty properly role-
playing the effect.
[137]
Gas Cloud, Blinding (Lethality 3): This nasty gas will even effect characters who
are holding their breath, unless players specify that they are also closing their eyes.
Anyone in a blinding gas cloud must save vs. poison. Success indicates blindness until
the cloud is exited; failure indicates blindness for 6D10 rounds.
[138]
Gas Cloud, Confusing (Lethality 6): Anyone within this cloud must save vs.
poison. Success means the victim feels dizzy, but suffers no ill effects. Failure means
that the character will suffer the effects of a Confusion spell for 4D6 rounds, minus the
character’s Wisdom (minimum duration of effect, 3 rounds).
[139]
Gas Cloud, Corroding (Lethality 5): Holding one’s breath will not protect from
this gas, because it attacks metal items. All exposed ferrous-metal non-magical items
(especially weapons, shields and armor) must save vs. acid or be destroyed. Items in
containers (such as backpacks, and including scabbards if the GM is merciful) must
save as well, but do so at +4.

P a g e | 105
[140]
Gas Cloud, Decaying (Lethality 4): Characters who breathe in this gas must save
vs. poison. If the save is successful, there will be no effect; but if the save is failed, the
victim will contract a magical disease which causes a loss of 1 hit point per hour.
Magical healing will not heal such damage; only holy water or a Cure Disease spell
will remove the affliction.
[141]
Gas Cloud, Explosive (Lethality 4): This gas is invisible, but its presence will be
noted as a stench. Further, any open flames (torches or lanterns, but not magical
weapons) will flare and glow a dangerous blue when the explosive gas cloud is near.
Holding one’s breath will not protect from explosive gases! If the warning is not
heeded and light sources are not extinguished, 1D4+1 rounds later the entire gas cloud
will explode. Damage will be 3D6 per character (no saving throw).
[142]
Gas Cloud, Fear (Lethality 3): Characters who breathe in this gas must save vs.
poison. If the save is successful, there will be no effect; but if the save is failed, they
will drop all held items and flee in fear (returning the way they came) for 1D6 rounds.
[143]
Gas Cloud, Laughing (Lethality 3): Characters who breathe in this gas must save
vs. poison. If the save is successful, there will be no effect; but if the save is failed, the
victim will fall under the effects of an Uncontrollable and Hideous Laughter spell.
[144]
Gas Cloud, Nauseating (Lethality 3): A nauseating gas cloud will cause all within
it to save vs. poison. Anyone who fails will be helpless due to nausea for 1D8+1
rounds. Helpless characters cannot attack, move or cast spells, and their armor class
will not benefit from shield or Dexterity bonuses.
[145]
Gas Cloud, Obscuring (Lethality 0): This highly visible gas has no effect, other
than limiting visibility to 10’ and scaring the crap out of the players.
[146]
Gas Cloud, Paralyzing (Lethality 7): This gas can be avoided by holding one’s
breath. Characters who breathe the gas must save vs. poison. Those who succeed will
feel dizzy, but will suffer no ill effects. Those who fail will be paralyzed for 1D4 hours.
If the entire group is paralyzed, they will be paralyzed for 20+1D4 hours (until their
bodies build resistance to the effect and the gas begins to dissipate); they are likely to
be slain by wandering monsters before the effects wear off.
[147]

106 | P a g e
Gas Cloud, Poisonous (Lethality 5): A poisonous gas cloud will cause all within
it to save vs. poison. Anyone who fails will suffer 4D6 poison damage per round they
are in the cloud. A successful saving throw will cut the damage in half.
[148]
Gas Cloud, Sleep (Lethality 2): This gas can be avoided by holding one’s breath.
Characters who breathe the gas must save vs. poison. Those who succeed will feel
dizzy, but will suffer no ill effects. Those who fail will fall asleep for 2D6 rounds.
Sleeping characters can be forcibly wakened by those who do not succumb to the gas
(slapping, shaking, etc.).
[149]
Gas Cloud, Slowing (Lethality 3): This gas can be avoided by holding one’s
breath. Characters who breathe the gas must save vs. poison. Those who succeed will
feel dizzy, but will suffer no ill effects. Those who fail will suffer the effects of a Slow
spell for 2D10 rounds.
[150]
Gas Cloud, Weakness (Lethality 4): Characters who breathe in this gas must save
vs. poison. Success means the victim feels dizzy, but suffers no ill effects. Failure
indicates that the character will lose 2D4 points of Strength and Dexterity for 6D10
rounds.
[151+]
Gas Vent: Gas vents will project a gas cloud that is 10’ wide and 30’ long. The
vent will activate too quickly for anyone to hold their breath, unless the trap has been
detected. Besides the additional notes listed below, gas vents are otherwise similar to
gas clouds.
[151]
Gas Vent, Amnesia Inducing (Lethality 6)
[152]
Gas Vent, Blinding (Lethality 4)
[153]
Gas Vent, Confusing (Lethality 7)
[154]
Gas Vent, Corroding (Lethality 6)
[155]
Gas Vent, Decaying (Lethality 5)
[156]

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Gas Vent, Explosive (Lethality 5): Keep in mind that the gas is invisible, but
torches will flare and any character will have a chance equal to their Hear Noise skill
to hear the hissing gas. If there is a fair warning (torches and/or hissing detected), all
characters will have only 1 round to clear the gas vent’s general area before the gas
explodes. Due to the smaller cloud, explosive gas from a vent will only inflict 2D6
damage (no saving throw).
[157]
Gas Vent, Fear (Lethality 4)
[158]
Gas Vent, Laughing (Lethality 4)
[159]
Gas Vent, Nauseating (Lethality 4)
[160]
Gas Vent, Obscuring (Lethality 0)
[161]
Gas Vent, Paralyzing (Lethality 8)
[162]
Gas Vent, Poisonous (Lethality 6)
[163]
Gas Vent, Sleep (Lethality 3)
[164]
Gas Vent, Slowing (Lethality 4)
[165]
Gas Vent, Weakness (Lethality 5)

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P a g e | 109
4-8
IS FOR HOBBLING
HOBBLING TRAPS
[166]
Hobbling Hole (Lethality 2): A hobbling hole is a collapsing plate or similar niche
which causes someone’s foot to become trapped. A variant can tempt a character to
put a hand in a small area (a niche with a gem, for example) and trap a hand instead.
Once trapped, the character must either receive outside assistance or pull free
violently. If helped by others, the victim will be stuck for 10 rounds if one person
helps, 5 rounds if two people help, or 3 rounds if three people help. (More people
cannot offer more effective assistance). Being freed by others may require some
creative use of spikes, crowbars, blocking items and so forth. If forced to pull free on

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his own, the character can attempt a bend bars / lift gates roll once every round.
Succeed or fail, each attempt will inflict 1D4 points of damage (no saving throw).
[167]
Hobbling Trap (Lethality 3): A hobbling trap is similar to a hobbling hole, but due
to the violence of the closure, the trap will also cause 1D4 points of damage when first
triggered.

P a g e | 111
4-9
IS FOR JAVELIN
JAVELIN TRAPS
[168+]
Javelin Traps in General: Javelin traps are nearly identical to arrow traps. The
only differences are that each Javelin inflicts 1D6+2 damage. The Lethality Levels are
slightly different as a result:
[168]
Javelin Trap (Lethality 2)
[169]
Javelin Trap, Double (Lethality 3)
[170]
Javelin Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 6)

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[171]
Javelin Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 8)
[172]
Javelin Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type C) (Lethality 9)
[173]
Javelin Trap, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 4)
[174]
Javelin Trap, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 5)
[175]
Javelin Trap, Poisoned (Type C) (Lethality 6)
[176]
Javelin Trap, Poisoned (Type D) (Lethality 8)
[177]
Javelin Trap, Triple (Lethality 4)
[178]
Javelin Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 8)
[179]
Javelin Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 9)
[180]
Javelin Trap, Volley (Lethality 5)
[181]
Javelin Trap, Volley, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 10)
JAW TRAPS
[182+]
Jaw Traps in General: A jaw trap, also known as a bear trap, is a large hinged trap
which causes terrible damage to a lower limb. These traps are easily avoided in most
circumstances, because they are obvious. Effective jaw traps will be hidden beneath
refuse, mist, cloudy water, or something similar.
[182]

P a g e | 113
Jaw Trap, Crushing (Lethality 5): When triggered, the trap will inflict 3D10
damage, minus (10 minus the character’s armor class). In other words, a character of
armor class 3 would suffer 3D10-7 damage, while a character of armor class 8 would
suffer 3D10-2 damage, and a character of armor class 10 would suffer the full 3D10
damage. A crushing jaw trap will always cause at least 3 points of damage, regardless
of the victim’s armor class.
To be freed, the character (or a helper) must make a successful bend bars / lift gates
roll. Only one person can make an effective attempt per round. The victim will suffer
an additional 1D4 damage every round after the trap is triggered, until dead.
[183]
Jaw Trap, Fanged (Lethality 7): A fanged jaw trap is similar, except that the base
damage is 4D10, the minimum damage is 6 points, and the damage per round is 1D6.
4 - 10
IS FOR LODESTONE

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LEDGES
[184]
Ledge, Tipping (Lethality 2 to 4, depending on fall distance): A ledge is typically
a raised perimeter to a room, which provides access to an otherwise unreachable door,
chest, or overlook. A tipping ledge is designed to lure a victim above a room, and then
to tip him back down with a nasty tumble. Characters can make a DEX check (hard)
to stay on the ledge while it tips and then reverts to its original position; those who
succeed will know to balance accordingly and will not trigger the trap again. Anyone
who fails will fall to the floor, typically 10’ to 50’, suffering 1D6 damage per 10’ fallen.

P a g e | 115
LODESTONES
[185]
Lodestone, Magical (Lethality 7 to 10, depending on position and circumstances):
A magical lodestone will strongly attract anything that is made of iron or steel,
whether it is non-magical or magical. In typical adventuring terms, this means that
swords, iron spikes, metal shields, and especially metal armor will be drawn to the
lodestone against the characters’ will. The pull of the lodestone is 40’. Beyond that
distance, characters will certainly feel the pull, but will be warned and able to hold
onto their gear.
At 40’ or less distance, small objects such as daggers, spikes and lanterns will be
pulled away from the characters’ grasp, unless they make a successful bend bars / lift
gates roll every round. A character with a metal shield will be drawn to the lodestone
bodily, unless a bend bars / lift gates roll is made every round. A character in metal
armor will be irrevocably drawn against the lodestone, suffering 1D4 impact damage
per 10’ traveled.
Trapped characters can attack at -6, but not with any weapons that are stuck to the
lodestone. They gain no shield or Dexterity bonuses to armor class, and can only cast
spells and use items with difficulty (as determined by the GM).
Any character can escape the lodestone by making two bend bars / lift gates rolls
in a row, and then running at least 50’ away (or behind a closing door) to shed armor.
Objects can be pried off the stone with a single successful bend bars / lift gates roll, but
characters in metal armor cannot make such attempts.
In some cases, a magical lodestone will be an interesting and minor nuisance only.
In other circumstances, however, it will be a serious barrier; characters may need to
choose between leaving all of their armor behind and moving past the stone deeper
into the dungeon, or not passing the stone at all. The deadliest stone settings will be
in monster lairs; keep in mind that this is an extremely deadly trap when mixed with
powerful monsters.
A Dispel Magic spell will nullify a magical lodestone for 1D6 turns, while a Limited
Wish will nullify it for a month, and a Wish will destroy it outright.

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LOG TRAPS
[186+]
Log Traps in General: Log traps are easily detected in dungeons; all characters
near one are allowed a passive Find / Remove Traps skill check to see one, even if they
are not searching for traps. They are more common in the wild, along trails leading to
monster lairs. In dungeons, they will typically be positioned near doors where victims
will have little time to react. Indeed, some interior log traps are set to trigger when a
door is opened.
The log trap involves a single huge piece of timber, suspended by ropes or chains.
Victims must make a DEX roll (normal difficulty) to duck under the swinging log.
Those who succeed take no damage. Those who fail must save vs. spells, to suffer half
damage (with a successful save) or full damage (with a failed save).
[186]
Log Trap, Battering Ram, Crushing (Lethality 4): This trap swings the short end
of a log into a single victim. Damage will be 5D6, and those hit will be stunned and
incapacitated for 2 rounds (with a failed save) or 1 round (with a successful save).
[187]
Log Trap, Battering Ram, Impaling (Lethality 6): A spiked log battering ram
inflicts 7D6 damage.
[188]
Log Trap, Sweeping (Lethality 4): This trap affects a 10’ wide area. In a doorway,
only a single person will be struck; but in a room or corridor, everyone in the 10’x10’
square will be in the trap’s path. Impact caused 4D6 damage.
[189]
Log Trap, Sweeping, Spiked (Lethality 5): As above, but damage is 6D6 to each
victim.

P a g e | 117
4 - 11
IS FOR MIMIC
MIMICS (BROLLACHANS)
[190+]
Mimics in General: A mimic is an intelligent shape-shifting monster which looks
like something else; typically either a treasure chest, ceiling or floor. A character who
triggers the mimic will find themselves bitten, crushed, and/or enveloped and in very
bad shape indeed.
As a trap, mimics are cultivated, fed, rewarded and cared for by an intelligent
monster or villain lairing nearby. The lethality of a trapping mimic depends on its
subspecies, size and power, as follows:
Please refer to Castle Oldskull Supplement PM1 The Pegana Mythos, or a Tome of
Monsters, for more notes on mimics.

118 | P a g e
[190]
Mimic, Dungeon, Small (Lethality 5): Hit Dice 7, Challenge Level 11.
[191]
Mimic, Dungeon (Lethality 6): Hit Dice 8, Challenge Level 13.
[192]
Mimic, Dungeon, Large (Lethality 6): Hit Dice 9, Challenge Level 13.
[193]
Mimic, Dungeon, Huge (Lethality 7): Hit Dice 10, Challenge Level 14.
[194]
Mimic, Lurking Ceiling (Lethality 7): Hit Dice 10, Challenge Level 14.
[195]
Mimic, Trapping Floor (Lethality 8): Hit Dice 12, Challenge Level 16.
MOLD
[196+]
Mold in General: Molds, like dungeon fungi, are living traps that are sometimes
intentionally cultivated by intelligent monsters. However, molds can also thrive
“naturally” in containers, rotting grain, corpses, dung heaps, and so forth. “Trap”
molds are unintelligent, but they are either intentionally placed or hiding an item of
value.
Please refer to Castle Oldskull Supplement CDDG2 The Classic Dungeon Design
Guide (Book II), or a Tome of Monsters, for more notes on molds.
[196]
Mold, Golden, Large (Lethality 4): Challenge Level 5. Typically 1D4+1 10’x10’
patches.
[197]
Mold, Golden, Small (Lethality 3): Challenge Level 5. Typically one 10’x10’
patch.
[198]
Mold, Umber, Large (Lethality 7): Challenge Level 12. Typically 1D4+1 10’x10’
patches.

P a g e | 119
[199]
Mold, Umber, Small (Lethality 5): Challenge Level 12. Typically one 10’x10’
patch.
MONSTER CAGES
[200+]
Monster Cages in General: A monster cage is, yes, a cage with a monster in it.
However, such monsters are typically captured, held and tortured by other intelligent
monsters which control the caged thing as a guardian beast. Such beasties are usually
hungry, enraged, and perhaps insane, and will fight to the death.
The cage will usually be opened as a result of a trap trigger; adventurers will
always notice the cage with the monster inside of it, but might not see the pulleys and
ropes which will release the monster (or what those ropes might be attached to; for
example, a door, or a treasure chest’s pressure plate).
Monster cages are usually adjacent to the lair of the keeper; a keeper foolish enough
to unleash a caged monster they have been torturing is likely (75%) to become the
hated target of the caged monster’s attacks, even if the adventurers are attacking it.
The Lethality Level of a monster cage is dependent on the monster’s power.

120 | P a g e
4 - 12
IS FOR NET
NET TRAPS
[201+]
Net Traps in General: Nets are typically set by intelligent monsters to capture live
prey, as opposed to killing victims outright. Nets are recommended for areas in a
dungeon where a GM is considering the creation of a potential hostage, interrogation
or escape situation for experienced players.
There are two types of effective nets, floor-set (which scoop up victims and raise
them toward the ceiling), and ceiling-set (which drop down and force victims to the
floor). In the wilderness, floor-set nets can be effective when they are covered with
dead leaves, a thin layer of dirt, or something similar. In dungeons, ceiling-set nets
predominate because although they are easier to escape, they are also harder to detect.

P a g e | 121
An effective net will be either 10’x10’, 10’x20’, or 10’x30’. When a net is falling,
every character in its area must roll a DEX check (hard). Those who succeed jump out
of the way (in the most appropriate direction of shortest distance, as there is very little
time to react); and those who fail will be entrapped for 1D4 rounds. Entrapped
characters can make a saving throw vs. spells. Those who succeed are partially
entrapped; while those who fail are fully entrapped. Fully entrapped characters
cannot move, attack, use items or cast spells until they struggle free (the 1D4 round
entrapment duration).
Partially entrapped characters cannot move, but can attack at -2 or cast spells with
a 20% chance of failure. Alternately, any partially entrapped character can spend 1
round working his or her way free of the net. The GM will roll the 1D4 duration of
entrapment for each character secretly, and each player of a partially entrapped
character must choose separately whether to struggle free or “wait it out” while
attacking or casting spells at a sub-optimal rate.
Enemies can hit partially entrapped characters at +2, or fully entrapped characters
at +4. Also, partially entrapped characters get shield bonuses but no DEX bonuses to
armor class; while fully entrapped characters get neither shield bonuses nor DEX
bonuses until they work themselves free.
In peaceful circumstances, anyone free of the net’s effect can quite easily free all
entrapped characters in 1 round. However, nets are set by intelligent antagonists in
such places that the circumstances will almost never be peaceful; and there will be too
much struggling, jostling and chaos for an outside person to free the group under
combat circumstances in any effective manner.
[201]
Net (Lethality 1 to 10, dependent on monsters present): As detailed above.
[202]
Net, Hooked (Base Lethality 3): A hooked net inflicts 1D4 damage per round of
entrapment to unprotected characters (of armor class 5 or worse), or 1D2 damage per
round of entrapment to protected characters (of armor class 4 or better). Due to the
pain inflicted, partially entrapped spell casters cannot cast spells.
[202]
Net of Entrapment (Base Lethality 5): This is a potent magical item; refer to a
Game Master’s Guide for details.
[203]
Net, Sap-Covered (Base Lethality 4): A sap- or glue-covered net increases
entrapment durations by 2 full rounds.
[204]

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Net, Weighted (Base Lethality 2): A weighted net, typically covered in chains and
lead weights (or blocks) increases entrapment durations by 1 full round.

P a g e | 123
4 - 13
IS FOR OIL
OIL TRAPS
[205]
Oil and Magic Cinder (Lethality 3): This trap causes a flask of oil to fall to the
floor and shatter, spreading a pool of oil in a 10’x10’ slick. A few seconds later, a
magically burning cinder falls into the oil and ignites it. 1D4 characters can try to catch
the cinder, if they choose to do so. A to hit roll against armor class 0 is required to
catch the cinder, and the catcher will suffer 1D4 damage before the cinder can be
extinguished. If no one catches it, the oil ignites.
If the oil ignites, everyone suffers 2D6 damage on the round the oil ignites, and
1D6 damage on the second round as the flames are extinguished (save vs. spells once
to halve both amounts).

124 | P a g e
[206]
Oil, Spilled (Lethality 3): This simple trap features oil on the ground. Anyone
moving through must roll vs. DEX (easy) or fall down, to be prone and helpless for 1
round. The +4 bonus is not given if the party is running or moving in the dark. The
more serious effect, of course, is that anyone who falls while carrying a candle torch
or lantern has a chance to ignite the oil. The chance is 10% for an enclosed lantern,
15% for a candle, 30% for an open lantern, and 50% for a torch. Check for every light-
bearer who falls.
If the oil ignites, everyone suffers 2D6 damage on the round the oil ignites, and
1D6 damage on the second round as the flames are extinguished (save vs. spells once
to halve both amounts).
4 - 14
IS FOR PIT

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PENDULUM TRAPS
[207+]
Pendulum Traps in General: These traps are always ceiling-mounted. They
feature a long weighted bar which swings down, propelling a nasty end piece into the
person activating the trap. Usually, only one victim will be affected; but if a group is
in close order (marching three abreast, for example), multiple people can be hit
simultaneously.
[207]
Pendulum, Blade (Lethality 3): When triggered, the victim must roll vs. DEX
(average difficulty). If successful, the pendulum is dodged by the person adjacent /
behind that person must then also make a DEX check (average difficulty). Anyone
who fails the DEX check must save vs. spells. Damage inflicted will be 4D4 (if the save
is failed) or 2D4 (if the save is successful).
[208]
Pendulum, Guillotine (Lethality 8): This extremely sharp and heavy blade inflicts
6D6 or 3D6 damage. Anyone suffering more than 30 points of damage will be partially
(if alive) or fully (if dead) decapitated.
[209]
Pendulum, Hammer (Lethality 4): This trap is similar, but damage will be 4D6 or
2D6.
PITS
[210+]
Pits in General: Pits are some of the most common and customizable of traps.
They are also some of the most deadly. The following rules are provided for all pits;
detailed pit types will be discussed a bit further on.
The first question is whether someone falls into a pit. A party moving slowly and
bearing adequate light, even if not looking for traps, will be alerted to the presence of

126 | P a g e
an open pit before it is approached. Non-obvious pits — including lidded pits, mist-
covered pits, narrow pits immediately beyond a closed door, tarp-covered pits and
underwater pits — will not be discovered before it is too late, unless a Find / Remove
Traps roll is made.
Pits almost always give victims a chance to totter on the edge or leap away, unless
the pit is (a) covered, (b) at least 30’ long and (c) only trigged by weight midway.
Victims in the front rank must roll vs. Dexterity (normal difficulty) to avoid falling in.
The check is made at +3 if the victims are moving slowly, and at -3 if they are running.
If a 10’ pole is carried, the victim gets a +1 bonus if the pole is carried in one hand, and
a +2 bonus if the pole is carried in two hands. If a person in the front rank does fall in,
the person behind that victim in the second rank must also make a Dexterity (easy
difficulty) check to avoid falling in.
All of these bonuses and penalties are cumulative; for example, a character moving
slowly, carrying a 10’ pole in one hand and being in the second rank would probably
have an automatic success instead of needing a DEX check at all.
Damage from falling into a pit is 1D6 per 10’ fallen, up to a maximum of 20D6.
Damage is halved if impact is in water instead of against stone. For falls into material
softer than stone (straw, refuse, a wooden floor, etc.), reduce damage by -1 per die.
For very soft materials (deep straw or deep trash, for example) reduce damage by -2
per die.
Anyone falling into a pit that is 50’ deep or deeper must roll vs. Constitution or fall
unconscious for 1D10 rounds. This duration of unconsciousness is reduced to 1D6
rounds if the fall was onto soft material, or 1D4 rounds for very soft material. An
unconsciousness check is not made for plummets into water, unless the fall is 150’ or
longer. Note that any amount of unconsciousness after a fall into water will probably
lead to drowning.
Anyone who does not fall unconscious will still be stunned by the fall. The
duration of the stun will be 1 round for pits up to 30’ depth, 2 rounds for pits of 40’-
60’ depth, 3 rounds for 70’-100’ depth, 4 rounds for 110’-150’ depth, and 5 rounds for
160’+ depth. Characters who fall into water will not be stunned, and can begin
swimming or shedding armor after impact.
Once victims fall into a pit, they will want to get out. Some pits will have an exit
at the bottom, either an archway, door, portcullis, secret door or trap door. These
variables depend on the dungeon design, and are not provided as options in the
random trap determination tables.
If there is no exit, the victims can also use magic (such as fight or levitation) to
escape, or they can climb the walls. Characters with thieving skills use their Climb
Wall skills to determine success or failure. For adventurers without thieving skills, the
chance for anyone to climb up “normal” pit walls is as follows:

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 Dwarf Non-Thief: 40% in no armor, 30% in leather armor, 20% in chain

armor, 0% in plate armor.
 Elf Non-Thief: 50% in no armor, 40% in leather armor, 25% in chain armor,
0% in plate armor.
 Gnome Non-Thief: 35% in no armor, 25% in leather armor, 15% in chain
 Half-Elf Non-Thief: 50% in no armor, 40% in leather armor, 25% in chain
 Half-Orc Non-Thief: 55% in no armor, 45% in leather armor, 30% in chain
 Halfling Non-Thief: 35% in no armor, 25% in leather armor, 15% in chain
 Human Non-Thief: 50% in no armor, 40% in leather armor, 25% in chain
 Refer to DUNGEON DELVER ENHANCER for my suggestions on
improving thieving skills for non-thieves over time (high experience levels).
If the pit is very deep, multiple Climb Walls checks might be necessary. Checks
are made halfway up the pit (if the pit is 40’ deep or shallower), and also at 50’, 150’
and 200’. Game Masters can refer to the Game Master’s Guide for notes on slippery
walls, rough walls, walls with handholds, and other variables. A simpler system is as
follows: if the walls are slippery, Climb Walls checks are at -20%; if the walls are
rough, Climb Walls checks are at +20%.
For some characters, the only option for escape will be a rescue. Rescue involves
any non-victims above using ropes, cords or cables to lift victims out of the pit. Such
attempts will always be successful, although laborious, unless the GM decides
otherwise.
Note Bene: “Combination” death pits (for example, a 100’ deep pit with a monster
lair, poisoned spikes, a locking lid and flaming coals at the bottom) could
hypothetically exist, but I strongly recommend against them as they are simply too
deadly for an entertaining game.
Additional rules for specific types of pits are as follows:

[210+]
Pit with Crushing Walls: This nasty type of pit has walls which close in,
potentially crushing the victims inside.
[210]

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Pit with Crushing Walls, Slow (Lethality +4): The walls begin moving in
immediately. In 5 rounds, the walls finish moving in. Characters still in the pit at that
time suffer 6D6 damage and will then fall again (if they were climbing) when the walls
release on the following round.
[211]
Pit with Crushing Walls, Fast (Lethality +5): The walls begin moving in
[212]
Pit with Crushing Walls, Very Fast (Lethality +6): The walls begin moving in
[213]
Pit, Fire (Lethality +4): Fire pits have bottoms which are covered in (perhaps
magical) burning coals. Characters suffer impact damage when falling, and then
suffer fire damage as well. In addition to the impact damage, character in a fire pit
must save vs. spells or suffer 3D4 damage per round. If 8 or more points of damage
are taken, all of the victim’s carried items which are not in containers must save
individually, or be destroyed. Even after exiting the flames (hopefully by climbing),
the victim will suffer an additional 2D4 damage for 1 round while the flames are
extinguished.
[214]
Pit, Flooded (Lethality +3): Flooded pits are filled with between 10’ and 100’ of
water. I recommend recording the “depth” of the pit as the distance from the pit brim
to the water surface, and then recording the water depth. For example, a 140’ deep pit
with 40’ of water would be recorded as a 100’ deep pit, with 40’ of water at the bottom.
This format lets the GM know to roll 10D6 to calculate the impact damage (which is
halved; keep in mind that falling into water reduces damage by half). The depth of
the water is fairly irrelevant, however, because 10’ is plenty of depth for a victim to
drown in. Characters will need to drop items and to remove armor to stay afloat.
Very generally, a character can tread water for a number of hours equal to their
Constitution, but with the following penalties: -2 for an item held in one hand; -4 for
item(s) held in both hands; -5 / -10 / -15 / -20 for light / medium / heavy / very heavy
encumbrance; and an additional -3 / -6 / -9 / -12 (if non-magical) or -2 / -3 / -4 / -6 (if
magical) for characters in leather armor / chain mail / plate mail / plate armor. If the
“tread hours” figure is 0 or negative, that means that the character must immediately

P a g e | 129
shed weight in 1 round or begin sinking to the bottom. Characters who are quickly
aided from above with a rope will be able to avoid this unpleasant situation for the
most part.
Characters can hold their breath (refer to Gas Traps for details), but if they run out
of breath and are still underwater, they will begin to drown. If 1 round = 1 minute, I
would insist on a very swift death: -40% hit points in round 1, -40% hit points in round
2, and death in round 3.
[215]
Pit, Flooding (Lethality +3): A flooding pit is empty at first, so that a victim suffers
full damage upon impact (1D6 per 10’ fallen). After impact, however, the victim will
find that he has triggered a pressure-sensitive floor which releases a flood atop his
head. Flooding pits can be filled by mud, sand, or water, depending on the
environment and the GM’s preference.
Characters in a flooding pit will have a number of rounds equal to their height,
rounded down to the nearest foot, to get off the floor. For example, a 4’ tall dwarf
would have 4 rounds to begin climbing, and a 6’ tall human would have 6 rounds.
Rescue from above is possible, but things can get tricky if the victim is unconscious,
because they will be buried by the flood in a single round!
Once buried, victims will need to hold their death or begin drowning / suffocating
(as above). Attempts to climb while the flood is coming down are at half normal
effectiveness (a 50% Climb Walls skill becomes 25%, etc.). The pit will fill to half of its
depth, at the rate of 1’ per round. For example, a 30’ deep pit would flood to the 15’
level over the space of 15 rounds.
[216]
Pit, Hidden (Lethality +1): A hidden pit is simply which is not lidded, and
technically open; but the pit cannot be easily seen without a Find / Remove Traps roll.
Examples of hidden pits include: covered by a tarp; veiled in mist; covered in trash;
and so forth.
[217]
Pit, Illusionary Lid (Lethality +2): This nasty pit will have an illusionary “top”
which looks like the floor, but is actually open air. This type of illusion will vanish
once a character steps into the middle of its range (i.e., a 30’ wide pit will dispel its
own illusion when the first victim reaches the 15’ mark). When the “floor” vanishes,
everyone who was walking on it will fall.
As a rule of thumb, I would give the chance of anyone falling into the pit as 100%,
-20% per foot they are away from the midway point. In other words, for a 10’ wide pit
(which would trigger at the 5’ midway point), the first victim would have a 100%
chance to fall in. Someone 2’ behind them, and therefore only 3’ away from the edge,

130 | P a g e
would have a 60% chance to leap away at the last moment and to safety; while
someone 4’ behind the trigger person would have an 80% chance to leap away. This
ruling would mean that anyone more than 5’ away from the edge will automatically
fall into the pit.
[218]
Pit, Lidded (Lethality +1): A lidded pit is disguised to look like the floor, but will
trigger once a victim steps onto the “floor” (actually a hinged panel which gives away,
depositing the victim into the pit). Those who fall in will suffer full damage; but
during the same round as they plunge in, the lid will raise again into place. Outside
help may be needed to escape the pit. Those inside can free themselves if they are
careful; this would involve climbing to the top of the pit, triggering the release pulley
(no roll required, but 1 round to trigger), and then a final Climb Walls check as the
first person out must both escape the pit and slightly raise the closed lid without falling
down again.
[219]
Pit, Lidded, Locking (Lethality +2): These pits are as described above, but the lid
will lock. Outside helpers will need to damage their way through the lid (30 hit points)
before they can break the interior locking mechanism and perform a rescue. From the
inside, the climber would need to succeed in an Open Locks roll at the top, and then
perform the additional Climb Walls check to escape.
[220]
Pit, Monster Lair (Lethality +2 per Monster Level): Many pits are home to
monsters. Common monsters in pits include rats, slimes, skeletons, snakes and
zombies. The GM can decide if there is a chance for the victim to fall directly onto a
luckless monster, reducing the victim’s fall damage while also perhaps killing the
impacted monster.
The Lethality Level of the monster pit is adjusted based on the monster’s level.
Keep well in mind that these traps can be even deadlier than they might seem at first
glance, because victims might fall unconscious and thus be vulnerable to a coup de
grace / one-hit kill as they fall helplessly to the floor and are surrounded. For this
reason, I recommend that monster pits be used sparingly. It is very easy to kill even a
high-level adventurer with a few zombies lairing at the bottom of a 50’ deep pit!
[221]
Pit, Open (Lethality 1-10, based on depth): An open pit is a “plain vanilla pit”;
that is, one with no lid, concealment or illusionary covering.
[222]
Pit with Spikes (Lethality +3): Spiked (or staked) pits cause impaling damage in
addition to fall damage. Roll 1D6 for any victim falling into a pit with spikes. A roll

P a g e | 131
of 1-3 indicates that many spikes impale the victim; and a roll of 4-6 indicates that all
spikes have been avoided. Each spike inflicts an additional 1D6 damage.
[223]
Pit with Poisoned Spikes (Type A) (Lethality +5): As above, but the spiked are
poisoned. Roll to determine how many spikes impale the victim, if any; a separate
saving throw vs. poison for each impaling spike. Each failed saving throw inflicts an
additional 15 points of poison damage.
[224]
Pit with Poisoned Spikes (Type B) (Lethality +7): As above, but each failed saving
throw inflicts an additional 25 points of poison damage.
(Note that pits could exist with even more toxic poisons, but in my opinion these
options fall into the “There’s a trap, you die” realm of arbitrary deathtraps, and so I
do not encourage their placement in a well-designed dungeon.)
[225]
Pit, Teleporter (Lethality +4): This confusing pit has a delayed-trigger teleporter
at the bottom. The victim will fall in, suffer full impact damage, and then 1 round later
will be teleported into another room (or perhaps even into the bottom of another pit!).
The end result is that any surviving victim will have been completely isolated from
outside rescue. Savvy players may see the victim disappear, and guess what has
happened; there is nothing stopping the victim’s companions from climbing into the
pit and using the teleporter for themselves.
[226]
Pit, Underwater (Lethality +2): This is a dangerous variant of the hidden pit. In a
dungeon filled with water (for example, every room and corridor is covered with 1’ of
algae-obscured water, and no floors can be seen), an underwater pit could exist
anywhere and never be detected until it’s too late. Only a Find / Remove Traps roll,
or the careful use of a 10’ pole, would detect the pit before someone falls in. The fall
would cause no damage, but the victim(s) would be in immediate danger of sinking
as per the flooded pit rules, above.

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POISONED NEEDLE TRAPS
[227+]
Poisoned Needles in General: A poisoned needle is a spring-loaded contraption
which pricks a person’s skin, drawing blood and injecting a contact poison. This is
usually a treasure or door trap, but theoretically a poisoned needle trap could also be
pressure-triggered in the floor to activate and puncture a boot.
[227]
Poisoned Needle (Type A) (Lethality 3): The victim must save vs. poison at +4 or
suffer 15 points of damage.
[228]
Poisoned Needle (Type B) (Lethality 4): The victim must save vs. poison at +3 or
[229]
Poisoned Needle (Type C) (Lethality 5): The victim must save vs. poison at +2 or
[230]
Poisoned Needle (Type D) (Lethality 8): The victim must save vs. poison at +1 or
die.
PORTCULLIS TRAPS
[231+]
Portcullis Traps in General: This trap causes a huge iron grate to come crashing
down out of the ceiling. Typically, the grate will block a corridor behind the
adventurers, either trapping them in a dead end or channeling them down a specific
route (where more traps might await).
If for some reason a character is directly under the falling grate, they must roll vs.
DEX (hard) or suffer 3D6 damage.

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The portcullis can be raised by a successful bend bars / lift gates roll, and each
trapped person can attempt to lift the portcullis once per day. A portcullis can also be
destroyed by weapon damage, although non-magical weapons used to perform this
work will be destroyed in the process.

P a g e | 135
[231]
Portcullis, Iron (Lethality 3): Requires 100 points of damage to break a hole
through the bars, or 200 points to destroy the portcullis entirely.
[232]
Portcullis, Iron, Rusted (Lethality 2): Requires 75 points of damage to break a hole
through the bars, or 150 points to destroy the portcullis entirely.
[233]
Portcullis, Steel (Lethality 4): Requires 150 points to break a hole through the bars,
or 300 points to destroy the portcullis entirely.
4 - 15
IS FOR ROPE

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ROLLING STONE TRAPS
[234+]
Rolling Stone Traps in General: A rolling stone trap, a la Indiana Jones, causes a
heavy weight to roll toward the characters. Such a trap is almost always a corridor
trap, and a steep incline will give a grim hint that such a trap may be near. The
problem is that while such a trap is indeed cinematic, the narrow escape is much less
fun when (a) it all comes down to a die roll and (b) it’s very likely that someone is
going to get squished flat. These traps are included here for the sake of classic
completeness, but I recommend against using them for the most part.
[234]
Rolling Boulder (Lethality 7): This heavy stone will move at 60’ per round, until
it strikes the wall at the end. Characters will probably have enough of a head start to
choose to flee down a corridor, open a door, use magic, etc. If anyone is still in the
boulder’s path, the boulder will crush the first victim for 6D10 damage and then
continue rolling, with its speed slowed to 50’ per round. The next victim will suffer
5D10 damage and then the boulder will slow to 40’ per round, and so forth, until the
boulder comes to a halt. A successful DEX check (hard) upon impact will cut damage
in half.
[235]
Rolling Millstone (Lethality 4): This is similar to a rolling boulder, although it is
faster (beginning at a speed of 90’ per round) and less deadly (inflicting 3D10 damage
to the first victim).
ROPE
[236]
Rope of Constriction (Lethality 5): This is a magical item which can be set as a
trap and remotely triggered (or by an Unseen Servant); refer to the Game Master’s
Guide for details.

P a g e | 137
[237]
Rope of Entanglement (Lethality 3): This is a magical item which can be set as a
trap and remotely triggered (or by an Unseen Servant); refer to the Game Master’s
Guide for details.
RUSTING BEASTS
[238]
Rusting Beast (Lethality 6): A rusting beast is a very common guardian and
“trap,” set by a monster or villain to protect a lair from adventurers. The creature is
by no means fatal, but its proclivity for metals will ensure that the adventurers (and
the players!) will take it very seriously.
Rusting beasts are typically kept in pits, or tied by ropes, or by non-ferrous chains.
Refer to supplement PM1, The Pegana Mythos, for more information on rusting
beasts.

138 | P a g e
4 - 16
IS FOR SNARE
SCORPIONS
[239+]
Scorpions in General: These poisonous arachnids are sometimes kept in chests or
other dark containers as “pets” and treasure-protecting traps. Notes are provided here
only for the types which are small enough to be secreted into a box.
[239]
Scorpion, Poisonous (Lethality 2): Non-fatal poison; save vs. poison or suffer 2D6
damage.
[240]
Scorpion, Large (Lethality 3): Potentially fatal poison.

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SCYTHING BLADES
[241+]
Scything Blades in General: These are “chopper” traps, where a hidden blade
slices out and damages flesh from very close range. They are deadly because they can
cause loss of life and limb … literally! Scything blades are only recommended for rare
use and the protection of valuable things and places in the deeper dungeons.
[241]
Scything Blade in Container (Lethality 7): The victim will suffer 2D6 damage, no
saving throw. If 10 or 11 points of damage are inflicted, the one or more fingers will
be chopped off, causing a permanent -2 DEX penalty (as far as hand-eye coordination
effects are concerned) and a permanent -2 to hit penalty (for two-handed weapons,
and one-handed weapons used in the wounded hand). If 12 points of damage are
inflicted, the entire hand is lost, giving a -4 penalty to DEX for hand-eye coordination
and making the use of two-handed weapons impossible. An Alter Reality,
Regeneration, Limited Wish or Wish spell will repair the damage; lower-level groups
can purchase such spells in cities for a grave price.
[242]
Scything Blade in Aperture, Emerges from Wall (Lethality 4): These larger blades
slice across a corridor, alcove or doorway. The good news is that although they inflict
more damage, they also strike from farther away and saving throws are appropriate.
A DEX roll (average difficulty) can be made to dodge the blade entirely. Otherwise, a
save vs. spells will be required (save for half damage). If the DEX and saving throw
rolls both fail, the blade inflicts 3D8 damage.
[243]
Scything Blade in Aperture, Emerges from Ceiling (Lethality 5): As above, but
the DEX roll is hard.
[244]
Scything Blade in Aperture, Emerges from Floor (Lethality 6): As above, but the
DEX roll is hard and the damage is 4D8.

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SILVER SEALS
[245+]
Silver Seals in General: These are nasty traps in which a non-corporeal creature
is trapped within a stone or metal container. The seams of the container are filled with
silver, which prevents the creature from escaping. Such undead will emerge in a rage
and will attack the opener of the container and then fight until destruction. The
Lethality Level of the trap is dependent on the monster caged inside, as follows:
 Silver Seal and Imprisoned Shadow (Lethality 4)

 Silver Seal and Imprisoned Wraith (Lethality 6)
 Silver Seal and Imprisoned Specter (Lethality 7)
 Silver Seal and Imprisoned Banshee (Lethality 7)
 Silver Seal and Imprisoned Ghost (Lethality 8)
SKELETONS
[246+]
Skeletons in General: These are magically animated skeletons. “Trap” skeletons
are inert until the trap trigger activates them.
You can place a terrifying number of skeletons in a small space, because they
require no air, food, or water, and their forms are compressed until animation begins.
For example, a high-level victim might fall into a 10’ square pit that is 50’ deep, and
land on bones, only to soon discover that the pit is actually 70’ deep and he is sitting
atop 72 animating skeletons. Not all of them will be able to attack, but the resulting
chaos will be unforgettable.
For mercy’s sake, assume that skeletons require 1 full round to animate (always
giving the victim the initiative, even if surprised) under normal circumstances, or a
full 1D4+1 rounds to animate in a “bone pile” situation. Skeletons in the process of
animating can be attacked with weapons or spells and destroyed before they can act.

P a g e | 141
The lethality of the trap is based on the number of skeletons encountered, as

follows:
 Lethality 1: 1D3 skeletons.

 Lethality 2: 1D6+1 skeletons.
 Lethality 3: 2D6 skeletons
 Lethality 4: 4D4 skeletons.
 Lethality 10: 1D20+80 skeletons. Party time!
SLIDES
[247+]
Slides in General: A Slide is a chute which causes a swift and uncontrolled descent
to a deeper dungeon level. When the trap is triggered, the victim (typically standing
on a pressure plate) must roll vs. DEX (normal difficulty) to leap away and avoid the
slide. If the DEX roll falls, the victim will plunge down the slide in one round’s time,
taking no damage but possibly dropping any items carried (50% chance per item;
shields are not checked for because they are strapped to the arm). The victim’s
companions may choose to willingly take the slide as well, so that the group will
remain together.
It is not possible to climb back up a slide (the sides are greased, or slimed with
trash), unless a rope is thrown down which runs the entire length.
Slides do not inflict damage by themselves, although they can dump victims into
monster lairs. Their primary purpose is to split the adventuring party, and their
secondary purpose is to force the party to go deeper into the dungeon than they are
comfortable with. The deadliness of a slide depends on how deep it goes, and the type
of place it deposits the victim into. Keep in mind that slides into monster lairs can be
deadly, especially considering that the victim will be unexpectedly facing the monsters
alone, and possibly unarmed.

142 | P a g e
Slide Lethality Levels vary as follows:
 Slide to Empty Room, Descending One Level (Lethality 1)

 Slide to Empty Room, Descending Two Levels (Lethality 3)
 Slide to Empty Room, Descending Three Levels (Lethality 5)
 Slide to Monster Lair, Descending One Level (Lethality dependent on
monster type)
 Slide to Monster Lair, Descending Two Levels (Lethality dependent on
monster type)
 Slide to Monster Lair, Descending Three Levels (Lethality dependent on
monster type)
 Slide to Pool, Descending One Level (Lethality 2)
 Slide to Pool, Descending Two Levels (Lethality 4)
 Slide to Pool, Descending Three Levels (Lethality 6)
SLIMES
[248+]
Slimes in General: Slime “traps” are specifically fed and cultivated so that they
will attack victims when they attempt to steal a treasure or enter a secure area. In
containers, a small slime may be hidden in the container itself; keep in mind that any
non-metal or –mineral treasures (coins, gems, etc.) which were in the container were
probably destroyed by the slime long ago. Slimes are also commonly found as room
or corridor traps; a pressure plate or tripwire causes a ceiling panel to slide, and the
slime comes pouring down on the unfortunate victim.
The Lethality Level of a “trap” slime varies according to the deadliness of the
creature, as follows:
 Gelatinous Slime (Lethality 4)

 Green Slime (Lethality 4)
 Gray Slime (Lethality 5)
 Gibbering Slime (Lethality 5)
 Ochre Slime (Lethality 5)

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 Huge Green Slime (Lethality 5)

 Black Slime (Lethality 8)
 Brown Slime (Lethality 8)
 White Slime (Lethality 8)
 Enormous Green Slime (Lethality 8)
SNAKE TRAPS
[249+]
Snakes in General: Snake “traps,” similarly to scorpion traps, involve one or more
snakes kept and fed in a container by an intelligent monster. The Lethality Level of
the trap is dependent on the dangerousness of the snake:

144 | P a g e
[249]
Snake, Asp (Lethality 2): Non-lethal poison.
[250]
Snake, Viper (Lethality 3): Potentially lethal poison.

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SNARES
[251+]
Snares in General (Lethality 1 to 4, depending on height): A snare is a hidden
loop of rope or cord which, when placed on a pressure plate, will catch a victim’s ankle
and then yank him bodily up to the ceiling (thanks to a clever system of
counterweights and pulleys). The rope is easily severed, although the victim will
suffer the usual fall damage (-1 point per die, due to the fall being anticipated). A
greater danger exists if the victim is ensnared at the same time that monsters are
alerted to investigate the trap being sprung.
A snare can be avoided by a DEX roll (hard). The victim of a snare may drop items
being carried (50% chance per item); shields are not checked for because they are
strapped to the arm.
SPEAR TRAPS
[252+]
Spear Traps in General: Spear traps are nearly identical to arrow traps. The only
differences are that each Spear inflicts 2D8 damage. (Note that this may seem high,
but is reflective of Gygaxian source material; the damage is likely because the thrust
is at very short range and implies almost immediate impalement.)
The Lethality Levels are slightly different as a result:
 Spear Trap (Lethality 3)

 Spear Trap, Double (Lethality 4)
 Spear Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 7)
 Spear Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 9)
 Spear Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type C) (Lethality 10)
 Spear Trap, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 5)
 Spear Trap, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 6)
 Spear Trap, Poisoned (Type C) (Lethality 7)

146 | P a g e
 Spear Trap, Poisoned (Type D) (Lethality 9)

 Spear Trap, Triple (Lethality 5)
 Spear Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 9)
 Spear Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type B) (Lethality 10)
 Spear Trap, Volley (Lethality 6)
SPELL TRIGGERS
[253+]
Spell Triggers in General: A spell trigger is a magical trap activator. The in-game
history is something like this: A dungeon is built. A powerful spell caster holds sway
over humanoids and other minor monsters. The spell caster demands that the minions
create a trap to protect the dungeon stronghold. A mechanical trap is created, with a
pressure plate or similar trigger. The spell caster creates an appropriately violent spell,
and then holds it in stasis somehow (typically with a Contingency, Wish, etc.) Later,
adventurers enter the dungeon. The trigger detects a potential victim’s proximity, and
an Unseen Servant left to operate the trap causes the trap to go off.
I recommend that spell triggers be vulnerable to both mechanical deactivation (by
a thief) and Dispel Magic; otherwise, they are too arbitrary and powerful. Even
considering these measures, the fact that they are hidden and deadly means that spell
triggers are one of the nastiest trap types in the game.
Each trap functions accordingly to the spell’s description, as given in a Player’s
Guide Book. Some variables (such as damage and area of effect) are affected by the
spell caster’s level, so I have taken care to list all of the spell caster levels for each type
of spell trigger here. In the interests of mercy, I have assumed that each spell trigger
has been created by a spell caster of the lowest possible level; GMs challenging highly
experienced players may well choose to “up” these figures to increase the chaos.
Just about any spell can be snared in a spell trigger and later activated, but I
consider the following examples to be classic and most worthy of inclusion in the
depths of an old school dungeon.
A
[253]
Spell Trigger, Antipathy (Lethality 5): Mage spell, level 8. Caster level 16.

P a g e | 147
B
[254]
Spell Trigger, Bestow Curse (Lethality 5): Cleric spell, level 3. Caster level 5.
[255]
Spell Trigger, Blade Barrier (Lethality 7): Cleric spell, level 6. Caster level 11.
[256]
Spell Trigger, Blight (Lethality 1): Cleric spell, level 1. Caster level 1.
[257]
Spell Trigger, Burning Hands (Lethality 1): Mage spell, level 1. Caster level 1.
C
[258]
Spell Trigger, Cause Blindness (Lethality 5): Cleric spell, level 3. Caster level 5.
[259]
Spell Trigger, Cause Critical Wounds (Lethality 5): Cleric spell, level 5. Caster
level 9.
[260]
Spell Trigger, Cause Disease (Lethality 4): Cleric spell, level 3. Caster level 5.
[261]
Spell Trigger, Cause Fear (Lethality 1): Cleric spell, level 1. Caster level 1.
[262]
Spell Trigger, Cause Light Wounds (Lethality 2): Cleric spell, level 1. Caster level
1.
[263]
Spell Trigger, Cause Serious Wounds (Lethality 4): Cleric spell, level 4. Caster
level 7.
[264]
Spell Trigger, Chill Metal (Lethality 4): Druid spell, level 2. Caster level 2.
[265]
Spell Trigger, Cloudkill (Lethality 9): Mage spell, level 5. Caster level 9.
[266]
Spell Trigger, Color Spray (Lethality 3): Illusionist spell, level 1. Caster level 1.
[267]
Spell Trigger, Cone of Cold (Lethality 3): Mage spell, level 5. Caster level 9.
[268]

148 | P a g e
Spell Trigger, Confusion (Lethality 9): Druid spell, level 7. Caster level 12.
[269]
Spell Trigger, Conjure Earth Elemental (Lethality 9): Druid spell, level 7. Caster
level 12.
[270]
Spell Trigger, Conjure Fire Elemental (Lethality 9): Druid spell, level 6. Caster
level 11.
[271]
Spell Trigger, Creeping Doom (Lethality 9): Druid spell, level 7. Caster level 12.
D
[272]
Spell Trigger, Disintegrate (Lethality 9): Mage spell, level 6. Caster level 12.
[273]
Spell Trigger, Dispel Magic (Lethality 4): Cleric spell, level 3. Caster level 5.
E
[274]
Spell Trigger, Earthquake (Lethality 9): Cleric spell, level 7. Caster level 16.
[275]
Spell Trigger, Energy Drain (Lethality 10): Cleric spell, level 7. Caster level 16.
F
[276]
Spell Trigger, Faerie Fire (Lethality 1): Druid spell, level 1. Caster level 1.
[277]
Spell Trigger, Feeblemind (Lethality 8): Druid spell, level 6. Caster level 11.
[278]
Spell Trigger, Finger of Death (Lethality 8): Druid spell, level 7. Caster level 12.
[279]
Spell Trigger, Fire Storm (Lethality 6): Druid spell, level 7. Caster level 12.
[280]
Spell Trigger, Fireball (Lethality 5): Mage spell, level 3. Caster level 5.
[281]
Spell Trigger, Flame Strike (Lethality 6): Cleric spell, level 5. Caster level 9.
[282]

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Spell Trigger, Flesh to Stone (Lethality 9): Mage spell, level 6. Caster level 12.
[283]
Spell Trigger, Fog Cloud (Lethality 0): Illusionist spell, level 2. Caster level 3.
G
[284]
Spell Trigger, Geas (Lethality 7): Mage spell, level 6. Caster level 12.
[285]
Spell Trigger, Gust of Wind (Lethality 1): Mage spell, level 3. Caster level 5.
H
[286]
Spell Trigger, Harm (Lethality 9): Cleric spell, level 6. Caster level 11.
[287]
Spell Trigger, Heat Metal (Lethality 5): Druid spell, level 2. Caster level 2.
[288]
Spell Trigger, Hold Person (Lethality 2): Cleric spell, level 2. Caster level 3.
I
[289]
Spell Trigger, Ice Storm (Lethality 5): Mage spell, level 4. Caster level 7.
[290]
Spell Trigger, Insect Plague (Lethality 5): Cleric spell, level 5. Caster level 9.
L
[291]
Spell Trigger, Light (Lethality 0): Cleric spell, level 1. Caster level 1. Cast on the
victim’s eyes, possibly causing temporary blindness.
[292]
Spell Trigger, Lightning Bolt (Lethality 4): Mage spell, level 3. Caster level 5.
M
[293]
Spell Trigger, Maze (Lethality 6): Mage spell, level 8. Caster level 16.
[294]
Spell Trigger, Meteor Swarm (Lethality 10): Mage spell, level 9. Caster level 18.
[295]

150 | P a g e
Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning I (Lethality 2): Mage spell, level 3. Caster
level 5. Summoned monsters are magical and will fight to the death.
[296]
Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning II (Lethality 3): Mage spell, level 4. Caster
[297]
Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning III (Lethality 4): Mage spell, level 5. Caster
[298]
Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning IV (Lethality 5): Mage spell, level 6. Caster
[299]
Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning V (Lethality 6): Mage spell, level 7. Caster
[300]
Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning VI (Lethality 7): Mage spell, level 8. Caster
[301]
Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning VII (Lethality 8): Mage spell, level 9. Caster

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152 | P a g e
P
[302]
Spell Trigger, Poison (Lethality 8): Cleric spell, level 4. Caster level 7.
[303]
Spell Trigger, Polymorph Other (Lethality 7): Mage spell, level 4. Caster level 7.
The spell will target the victim and attempt to polymorph them into something small
and harmless, such as an insect or a worm.
[304]
Spell Trigger, Power Word, Stun (Lethality 5): Mage spell, level 7. Caster level
14.
[305]
Spell Trigger, Prismatic Spray (Lethality 10): Illusionist spell, level 7. Caster level
14.
Q
[306]
Spell Trigger, Quest (Lethality 6): Cleric spell, level 5. Caster level 9.
R
[307]
Spell Trigger, Reverse Gravity (Lethality 7): Mage spell, level 7. Caster level 14.
These traps typically feature a spell trigger that casts Reverse Gravity on the entire
adventuring party. The party then “falls” up to the ceiling, where a second Reverse
Gravity field causes the party to fall back to the floor. As an example, a Reverse
Gravity trap in a room with a 30’ high ceiling would result in a 30’ fall for 3D6 damage,
followed by a second fall for another 3D6 damage. These areas may feature bait, such
as glittering gems, a glowing ring or a scattering of coins.
S
[308]
Spell Trigger, Scare (Lethality 3): Mage spell, level 2. Caster level 3.
[309]
Spell Trigger, Slay Living (Lethality 8): Cleric spell, level 5. Caster level 9.
[310]
Spell Trigger, Sleep (Lethality 2): Mage spell, level 1. Caster level 1.

P a g e | 153
[311]
Spell Trigger, Slow (Lethality 4): Mage spell, level 3. Caster level 5.
[312]
Spell Trigger, Snare (Lethality 3): Druid spell, level 3. Caster level 3.
[313]
Spell Trigger, Spiritual Hammer (Lethality 3): Cleric spell, level 2. Caster level
3. Will attack the victim every round, unless someone else intervenes.
[314]
Spell Trigger, Stinking Cloud (Lethality 2): Mage spell, level 2. Caster level 3.
T
[315]
Spell Trigger, Teleport (Lethality 8): Mage spell, level 5. Caster level 9. The spell
will attempt to teleport the victim deeper into the dungeon, or entirely out of the
dungeon, at the GM’s whim. Note that this should be considered a teleport without
error effect, so that the trap is not a deathtrap.
[316]
Spell Trigger, Transmute Metal to Wood (Lethality 7): Druid spell, level 7. Caster
level 12. Targets the victim’s armor (50%) or favored weapon (50%) if possible;
otherwise it misfires and is negated.
[317]
Spell Trigger, Transmute Rock to Mud (Lethality 4): Druid spell, level 5. Caster
level 9.
U
[318]
Spell Trigger, Unholy Word (Lethality 8): Cleric spell, level 7. Caster level 16.
W
[319]
Spell Trigger, Wall of Fire (Lethality 5): Druid spell, level 5. Caster level 9.
[320]
Spell Trigger, Web (Lethality 4): Mage spell, level 2. Caster level 3.
[321]
Spell Trigger, Wither (Lethality 9): Cleric spell, level 7. Caster level 16. This is
the reversed form of the spell Regenerate.

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SPIDERS
[322+]
Spiders in General: Similar to scorpions, relatively small spiders can be kept and
fed as guardians by intelligent monsters. “Trap” spiders will be kept in closed
containers.
[322]
Spider, Poisonous (Lethality 2): Non-fatal poison; save vs. poison or suffer 2D6
damage.
[323]
Spider, Large (Lethality 3): Potentially fatal poison.
SPIKE TRAPS
[324+]
Spike Traps in General: Spike traps are grids of spikes which rush forth to impale
the victim. There are several different types, with their lethality based on their
potential damage:
[324]
Spiked Panel in Ceiling (Lethality 6): To avoid this falling trap, all victims in the
10’x10’ target square must roll vs. DEX (hard due to the falling grid’s speed). Those
who succeed will leap aside; those who fail must save vs. spells or take 4D10 damage
(halved by a successful save).
[325]
Spiked Panel in Ceiling, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 10): As above, but for
every full 10 points of damage the victim takes, one saving throw vs. poison will be
required (no saving throw required for damage 2-9, 1 saving throw for damage 10-19,
2 saving throws for damage 20-29, 3 saving throws for 30-39, and 4 saving throws for
damage 40). Each failed saving throw will inflict an additional 15 points of poison
damage.
[326]

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Spiked Panel in Wall (Lethality 5): As above, but the DEX check is of normal
difficulty.
[327]
Spiked Panel in Wall, Poisoned (Type A) (Lethality 9): As above, but the DEX
check is of normal difficulty.
SPRING BARS
[328+]
Spring Bars in General: A spring bar is a bent-back piece of levered wood which,
when released, crushes into the victim. They are typically ceiling- or doorway-
mounted, due to the difficulty in disguising the bar and its mechanism.
[329]
Spring Bar, Crushing (Lethality 3): The person in the spring bar’s path must roll
a DEX check (hard). If successful, the spring bar is ducked or dodged. Otherwise, the
victim must make a saving throw vs. spells. If failed, the victim suffers 3D6 damage
(a successful save reduces the damage in half). Short characters, such as gnomes,
dwarves and halflings, get a bonus to their DEX rolls (normal difficulty) and +2 to
saving throws.
[330]
Spring Bar, Spiked (Lethality 4): As above, but damage inflicted is 4D6.
STAIR TRAPS
[331+]
Stair Traps in General: A stair trap is a normal-looking staircase, running either
up or down from the adventurers’ location, which changes its nature at the midway
point. For example, a 50’ long stairway would have its trap trigger point at the 25’
mark.

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[331]
Stairs, Collapsing (Lethality 2 to 5, depending on length): These stairs were either
intentionally rigged to collapse under too much weight, or have simply aged to the
point where the stone can no longer support more than one person at a time. Everyone
on the stairs will suffer 1D6 damage per 10’ of linear distance, or fraction thereof. In
the above example, a 25’-long fall would cause 3D6 damage to everyone on the stairs.
The damage is caused not only by the fall distance, but by the cascade of debris as
well. A save vs. spells will reduce damage by half. The stairs will not be usable after
the trap is triggered.

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[332]
Stairs, Slide (Lethality 1 to 10, depending on exit room): This is a staircase that
turns into a slide. Refer to the Slide Trap entry for details; however, due to the wider
nature of this trap and the midway trigger point, everyone present on the stairs will
be forced downward with no saving throw. Everyone will suffer 1 point of damage
per victim in the party; for example, if seven people tumble down a stair-slide and
land on top of each other, they will each suffer 7 points of damage. A save vs. spells
will reduce the damage by half. The trap will reset after 1D6 hours, but could only be
climbed by one person at a time or it would re-trigger itself at the midway point once
again.
SWARM TRAPS
[332+]
Swarm Traps in General: Swarms are collective monsters, composed of thousands
of individual creatures. A “trap” swarm is an intentionally placed and cultivated
gathering, frequently kept in a pit, or behind a shifting panel. When the trap is
triggered, the swarm will crawl out and attack everyone in sight (whether “friend” or
foe). The Lethality of the swarm trap is dependent upon the swarm type:
[332]
Swarm, Arachnid (Lethality 5): Causes additional damage due to venom.
[333]
Swarm, Insect, Crawling (Lethality 4): Causes damage only.
[334]
Swarm, Insect, Flying (Lethality 5): Faster and difficult to avoid.
[335]
Swarm, Vermin (Lethality 5): Can cause disease or parasitic infection.

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4 - 17
IS FOR TRAPDOOR
TRAPDOOR VARIATIONS
[336+]
Trapdoors in General: Trapdoors are very similar to pits, but they are easier to
avoid (due to their narrowness). In addition to the DEX modifiers listed for pit
avoidance, an additional +2 bonus to DEX is provided to the victim who is attempting
to avoid falling through a trapdoor. Only a single victim will be affected the trapdoor.
[336]
Trapdoor, One-Way: This is a one-way door set into a floor or ceiling. Refer to the
rules for one-way doors.
[337]

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Trapdoor to Pit: This is a pit variation, with similar rules and subtypes. However,
damage will be reduced by 1 point per die, because the victim will be able to make
contact with the walls while plunging downward to painfully slow the descent.
[338]
Trapdoor to Slide: This is a variation on a slide trap, which (other than the DEX
roll modifier) follows the rules for slides.
4 - 18
IS FOR WALL

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WALL TRAPS
[339+]
Walls in General: These are technically “room” traps, although they can also occur
in corridors and doorways.
[339]
Wall, Collapsing, 10’ High Section (Lethality 3): This trap causes a 10’x10’ section
of wall to collapse into rubble. The 10’x10’ square immediately adjacent to the wall
collapse will be filled by falling rocks, and anyone in that square must roll vs. DEX
(normal difficulty) to leap away and avoid damage.
If the DEX roll fails, the victims must save vs. spells or suffer 2D6 damage (save for
half). Most wall collapses will simply reveal compressed earth behind them, but some
could possibly open to reveal adjacent rooms or even secret chambers.
[340]
Wall, Collapsing, 20’ High Section (Lethality 3): As above, but the area affected
is 20’x20’ (a 2x2 grid of squares), and damage is 3D6.
[341]
Wall, Collapsing, 30’ High Section (Lethality 4): As above, but the area affected
is 30’x30’ (a 3x3 grid of squares), and damage is 4D6.
[342]
Wall, Collapsing, 40’ High Section (Lethality 4): As above, but the area affect is
40x40 (a 4x4 grid of squares) and damage is 5D6.
[343]
Walls, Crushing (Lethality 4 if avoidable, 9 if not): Crushing walls (which grind
toward the room’s center and meet in the middle) are very similar to a crushing ceiling
for purposes of game mechanics.
The GM will need to carefully consider the room before using this trap: It only
makes sense in square, rectangular or octagonal rooms. Circular or irregularly-shaped
rooms could not have crushing walls unless only a portion of the room was affected,
and then the trap would be easily avoidable. For such locations, consider placing a
crushing ceiling instead.
Further, consider that the walls which move inward should not have doors or other
exits in them, or else the trap would be comedic and pointless!

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WIND GUSTS
[344]
Gust of Wind (Lethality 0 if the room is not a monster lair; 1 if it is): A
“mundane” gust of wind (not to be confused with a Gust of Wind spell trigger) is
simply a rush of cold or hot air that blows out any torches and lanterns the party is
carrying.
It makes for a nice dramatic trap, particularly in the entrance to a monster lair, as
all humans will be temporarily blinded, while demi-humans and monsters can see in
the dark. The “trap” cannot be deactivated, because it is an atmospheric effect, and it
is “triggered” by the opening of a door. All characters should be allowed a passive
Hear Noise roll (meaning that players do not need to declare they are listening for
noise); anyone making a successful check will be informed that they hear an eerie
whistling or groaning noise behind the door.
To place this trap in a reasonable fashion, the room beyond should probably have
one or more areas which draw in or expel air of a strongly different temperature. I
recommend a fireplace, chimney, empty well, vent gratings or something similar.

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CHAPTER 5:
RANDOM TRAP SELECTION
5-1
THE RANDOM
TRAP SELECTION SYSTEM
For a typical “small” dungeon, I recommend placing traps based on the party’s
current average experience level.
For a mega-dungeon, I recommend placing the harmless traps toward the surface and
the deadly traps in the deeper levels, as specified hereafter. Characters can then choose
how deeply to delve, and if they find themselves over their heads, well … there will
probably be an interesting death scene, and an opportunity to create a new character.
The following tables provide a fair random spread of dangerous yet reasonable traps
(by Lethality Level), so that unavoidable deathtraps are rarely if ever encountered.
Careful parties can expect individual casualties, but using these guidelines a Total Party
Kill (TPK) should only be suffered by either neophytes (who learn quickly, with proper
GM mentorship), the stubborn, or morons (who, in my experience, do not learn at all).

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5-2
RANDOM TRAP SELECTION: THE UPPER

RUINS OF A MEGA-DUNGEON OR A
DUNGEON EXPLORED BY LEVEL 1
ADVENTURERS
Roll 1d100 and consult the following table:
[01-50]  Lethality Level 0

 Roll on Table 6-2.

[00]  Lethality Level 2

 Potential deathtrap; warnings should exist.
5-3
RANDOM TRAP SELECTION: MEGA-

DUNGEON LEVEL 1 OR A DUNGEON
EXPLORED BY LEVEL 2 ADVENTURERS

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5-4




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5-5







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5-6







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5-7

DUNGEON LEVEL 5 (BASIC ROOMS) OR
A DUNGEON EXPLORED BY LEVEL 6
ADVENTURERS







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5-8

DUNGEON LEVEL 5 (INNER ROOMS)
OR A DUNGEON EXPLORED BY LEVEL 7
ADVENTURERS







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5-9

ADVENTURERS








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5 - 10

ADVENTURERS

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5 - 11

ADVENTURERS

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5 - 12

DUNGEON LEVEL 7 (INNER ROOMS) OR
ADVENTURERS









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5 - 13

ADVENTURERS









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5 - 14

ADVENTURERS







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5 - 15

ADVENTURERS





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5 - 16

ADVENTURERS









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5 - 17








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 Deathtrap; warnings should exist.
5 - 18





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5 - 19


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5 - 20

DUNGEON LEVEL 13 OR 14 OR A
DUNGEON EXPLORED BY LEVEL 19
ADVENTURERS









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5 - 21

DUNGEON LEVEL 15+ OR A DUNGEON
EXPLORED BY LEVEL 20+
ADVENTURERS





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CHAPTER 6:
RANDOM TRAP DETERMINATION
6-1
RANDOM TRAP
DETERMINATION TABLES
Once you have determined the Lethality Level of the trap appropriate for your
dungeon and PC adventuring party (as in the prior chapter), you can roll on the tables
below to determine exactly which type of trap is randomly determined to exist within the
designated area. All entries refer to specific rules and suggestions you will find in the
alphabetical compendium of traps, as featured earlier in Chapter 4.
Some tables require you to roll 1d100, while others are more extensive (due to the
larger number of traps at that Lethality Level) and require 1d1000.
Of course, you should always reject results that do not make sense; for example, if a
bridge is indicated and you have no room on your map to improvise a chasm (or if lower
level maps would be disrupted by the chasm’s depth), simply reroll.
But whenever possible, I encourage you to first envision the potential of the random
result before you discard it outright. In my decades of Game Mastering I have found that
some of my best ideas emerge from my unexpected interpretations of random results.
Whatever you do, enjoy the tables! Nearly 800 different trap types of featured
hereafter.
Here we go …

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6-2

TABLE: LETHALITY LEVEL ZERO (0)
Roll 1d100 and consult the following table.
[01-08]  Alarm, Beckons Nothing

[09-16]  Already Triggered Trap
 Examples: Corpse riddled with arrows, skeleton crushed by
boulder, etc.
[17-24]  Corpse
 Appears as if it will animate due to pose / position, but it is non-
magical and harmless
[25-31]  Deactivated Trap
 Example: Opened pressure plate with smashed cogs and pulleys
visible, etc.
[32-39]  Fungus, Shrieking, Beckons Nothing
 Number of fungi appearing: 1.
[40-46]  Gas Cloud, Obscuring
[47-50]  Gas Vent, Obscuring
 Alarming hissing sound, burst of mist or powder, but no effect
other than temporarily reduced visibility.
[51-55]  Gust of Wind (Mundane), Entrance to Room without Monsters
[56-63]  Poisoned Needle, Decayed Poison
 50% chance: Harmless.
 50% chance: Inflicts 1 point of damage, but poison is no longer
harmful; this is mostly a fear-inducing trap.
[64-70]  Scorch Mark, Acid Stain, etc.
 The trap which caused the mark long ago is no longer present.

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[71-78]  Skeleton
 Appears as if it will animate due to pose / position, but it is non-
magical and harmless.
[79-85]  Spell Trigger, Fog Cloud
[86-92]  Spell Trigger, Light
[93-00]  Trap with Failing Trigger
 Example: Spring-loaded bow and arrow pops out, but bowstring
breaks, etc.
6-3

TABLE: LETHALITY LEVEL 1
[01-05]  Alarm, Alerts Monster(s)

[06-10]  Alarm, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level I
 Roll the monster type and number appearing on the Monster Level
I encounter table.
[11-15]  Corpse, Animating
 Number appearing: 1 Zombie.
[16-20]  Corpses, Parasitically Infested, Acute and Mild Affliction
[21-25]  Corridor Block, Short Reset
[26-30]  Dart Trap
[31-35]  Door, False
[36-40]  Flesh Grub
 Number appearing: 1.
[41-45]  Fungus, Shrieking, Alerts Monster(s)

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 Number appearing: 1D2.

[46-50]  Fungus, Shrieking, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level I
 Number of fungi appearing: 1D2.
I encounter table.
[51-55]  Net, Beckons Nothing
[56-60]  Skeletons
[61-65]  Slide to Empty Room, Descending One Level
[66-70]  Spell Trigger, Blight
[71-75]  Spell Trigger, Burning Hands
[76-80]  Spell Trigger, Cause Fear
[81-85]  Spell Trigger, Faerie Fire
[86-90]  Spell Trigger, Gust of Wind
[91-95]  Stair-Slide to Empty Room, Descending One Level
[96-00]  Gust of Wind (Mundane), Entrance to Monster Lair
6-4
RANDOM TRAP
DETERMINATION TABLE:
LETHALITY LEVEL 2

[03-05]  Alarm, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level II

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II encounter table.
[06-07]  Arrow Trap
[08-10]  Bolt Trap
[11-12]  Bridge, Illusionary, 10’ Fall
[13-15]  Cascade of Metal Spheres, Alerts Monster(s)
[16-17]  Cascade of Metal Spheres, Beckons Monster(s) of Level I
I encounter table.
[18-20]  Corpses, Animating
 Number appearing: 1D3+1 Zombies.
[21-22]  Corpses, Diseased, Acute and Mild Affliction
[23-25]  Corridor Block, Medium-Term Reset
[26-27]  Dart Trap, Double
[28-30]  Dart Trap, Triple
[33-35]  Dweomer Bubble
[36-37]  Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Blinding
[38-40]  Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Frost
[41-42]  Flesh Grubs
[43-45]  Fungus, Shrieking, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level II
II encounter table.
[46-47]  Gas Cloud, Sleep
[48-50]  Hobbling Hole
[51-52]  Javelin Trap
[53-55]  Ledge, Tipping, 10’ Fall
[56-57]  Monster Cage, Level I Monster
I encounter table.

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[58-60]  Net, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level I

I encounter table.
[61-62]  Net, Weighted, Beckons Nothing
[63-65]  Pit, 10’ Deep, Open
[66-67]  Portcullis, Iron, Rusted
[68-70]  Scorpion, Poisonous
 Number appearing: 1D6+1.
[73-75]  Slide to Pool, Descending One Level
[76-77]  Snake, Asp
[78-80]  Snare, 10’ Drop
[81-82]  Spell Trigger, Cause Light Wounds
[83-85]  Spell Trigger, Hold Person
[86-87]  Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning I
I encounter table.

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[88-90]  Spell Trigger, Sleep

[91-92]  Spell Trigger, Stinking Cloud
[93-95]  Spider, Poisonous
[96-97]  Stair-Slide to Pool, Descending One Level
[98-00]  Stairs, Collapsing, 5’ to 10’ Collapse Distance
6-5
RANDOM TRAP
LETHALITY LEVEL 3
[01-02]  Acid Jet

[05-06]  Alarm, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level III
III encounter table.
[07-08]  Arrow Trap, Double
[09]  Bolt Trap, Double
[10]  Bridge, Collapsing, Stone, 10’ Fall
[11]  Bridge, Collapsing, Wood, 10’ Fall

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[13]  Bridge, Illusionary, 20’ Fall

[15]  Cage, Falling, Wooden
[16-17]  Caltrops
[18]  Cascade of Metal Spheres, Beckons Monster(s) of Level II
II encounter table.
[19-20]  Contact Poison (Type A)
 Number appearing: 1D6 Zombies.
[23]  Corpses, Parasitically Infested, Acute and Severe Affliction
[24]  Corridor Block, Long Reset
[25]  Dart Trap, Poisoned (Type A)
[26]  Dart Trap, Volley
[27]  Door, Falling, Wooden
[30-31]  Door, One-Way, Wooden
[32]  Dweomer Bubbles
[33]  Enchanted Rune, Fire Trap, Greater
[34-35]  Enchanted Rune, Fire Trap, Lesser
[36]  Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Fire
[37]  Entangling Vines, Slithering Creeper
[38]  Fire Pit, Shallow
[41-42]  Fungus, Shrieking, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level III
[43]  Fungus, Violet
[44]  Gas Cloud, Blinding

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[45]  Gas Cloud, Fear

[46]  Gas Cloud, Laughing
[47]  Gas Cloud, Nauseating
[48]  Gas Cloud, Slowing
[49]  Gas Vent, Sleep
[50]  Hobbling Trap
[51]  Javelin Trap, Double
[52]  Ledge, Tipping, 20’ Fall
[53]  Ledge, Tipping, 30’ Fall
[54-55]  Mold, Golden, Small
[56]  Monster Cage, Level II Monster
II encounter table.
[57]  Net, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level II
II encounter table.
[58]  Net, Hooked, Beckons Nothing
[59]  Net, Weighted, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level I
I encounter table.
[60]  Oil and Magical Cinder
[61]  Oil, Spilled
[62]  Pendulum, Blade
[63-64]  Pit with Spikes, 10’ Deep, Open
[65-66]  Pit, 10’ Deep, Hidden
[67-68]  Pit, 10’ Deep, Lidded
[69]  Pit, 20’ Deep, Open
[71]  Pit, Flooded, 10’ Deep, Open
[72]  Pit, Flooding, 10’ Deep, Open
[74]  Poisoned Needle (Type A)

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[75-76]  Portcullis, Iron

[77]  Rope of Entanglement
[78]  Scorpion, Large
[81]  Slide to Empty Room, Descending Two Levels
[82]  Snake, Asp
[83]  Snake, Viper
[84]  Snare, 20’ Drop
[85]  Snare, 30’ Drop
[86]  Spear Trap
[87]  Spell Trigger, Color Spray
[88]  Spell Trigger, Cone of Cold
[89]  Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning II
II encounter table.
[90]  Spell Trigger, Scare
[91]  Spell Trigger, Snare
[92]  Spell Trigger, Spiritual Hammer
[93]  Spider, Large
[94]  Spring Bar, Crushing
[95]  Stair-Slide to Empty Room, Descending Two Levels
[96]  Stairs, Collapsing, 11’ to 20’ Collapse Distance
[97]  Stairs, Collapsing, 21’ to 30’ Collapse Distance
[98]  Stone Block, Falling
[99]  Wall, Collapsing, 10’ High Section
[00]  Wall, Collapsing, 20’ High Section

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6-6
RANDOM TRAP
LETHALITY LEVEL 4
[001-009]  Acid Jet in Ceiling

[010-017]  Acid Jet, Volatile
[018-026]  Acid Pool, Shallow
[027-034]  Alarm, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level IV
 Roll the monster type and number appearing on the Monster
Level IV encounter table.
[035-044]  Arrow Trap, Poisoned (Type A)
[045-053]  Arrow Trap, Triple
[054-062]  Boiling Water Spray
[063-071]  Bolt Trap, Poisoned (Type A)
[072-080]  Bolt Trap, Triple
[081-089]  Bridge, Collapsing, Stone, 20’ Fall
[099-106]  Bridge, Collapsing, Wood, 30’ Fall
[124-132]  Cage, Falling, Rusted Iron
[133-140]  Cascade of Metal Spheres, Beckons Monster(s) of Level III

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Level III encounter table.
[141-149]  Contact Poison (Type B)
 Number appearing: 2D4 Zombies.
[158-166]  Corpses, Diseased, Acute and Severe Affliction
[167-174]  Corpses, Parasitically Infested, Chronic and Mild Affliction
[175-183]  Dart Trap, Poisoned (Type B)
[184-191]  Deadfall
[192-200]  Door, Falling, Stone
[201-208]  Door, One-Way, Stone
[209-217]  Dweomer Bubbles
[218-225]  Enchanted Rune, Fire Trap, Eldritch
[226-234]  Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Lightning
[235-244]  Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Paralysis
[245-253]  Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Fear
[254-261]  Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Pain
[262-270]  Entangling Vines, Choking Creeper
[271-279]  Fire Vent
[289-296]  Floor, Collapsing, Wooden, 20’ Distance
[306-313]  Floor, Collapsing, Stone, 20’ Distance
[314-322]  Fungus, Shrieking, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level IV
[323-330]  Fungus, Violet
[331-339]  Gas Cloud, Decaying

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[340-347]  Gas Cloud, Explosive

[348-356]  Gas Cloud, Weakness
[357-364]  Gas Vent, Blinding
[365-373]  Gas Vent, Fear
[374-381]  Gas Vent, Laughing
[382-390]  Gas Vent, Nauseating
[391-398]  Gas Vent, Slowing
[399-407]  Javelin Trap, Poisoned (Type A)
[408-415]  Javelin Trap, Triple
[433-441]  Log Trap, Battering Ram, Crushing
[442-449]  Log Trap, Sweeping
[450-460]  Mold, Golden, Large
[461-468]  Monster Cage, Level III Monster
[469-478]  Net, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level III
[479-488]  Net, Hooked, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level I
Level I encounter table.
[489-497]  Net, Sap-Covered, Beckons Nothing
[498-505]  Net, Weighted, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level II
Level II encounter table.
[506-514]  Pendulum, Hammer
[539-550]  Pit, 10’ Deep, Illusionary Lid
[551-562]  Pit, 10’ Deep, Lidded, Locking

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[563-574]  Pit, 10’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level I

[575-586]  Pit, 10’ Deep, Underwater
[587-598]  Pit, 20’ Deep, Hidden

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[599-610]  Pit, 20’ Deep, Lidded

[611-622]  Pit, 30’ Deep, Hidden
[623-634]  Pit, 30’ Deep, Lidded
[635-646]  Pit, 40’ Deep, Open
[647-658]  Pit, 50’ Deep, Open
[659-670]  Pit, Flooded, 20’ Deep, Open
[677-682]  Pit, Flooding, 20’ Deep, Open
[689-694]  Poisoned Needle (Type B)
[695-700]  Portcullis, Steel
[701-709]  Rolling Millstone
[710-718]  Room, Flooding
[719-727]  Scything Blade in Aperture, Emerges from Wall
[728-736]  Silver Seal and Imprisoned Shadow
[746-754]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level I), Descending One Level
[755-764]  Slide to Pool, Descending Two Levels
[765-774]  Slime, Gelatinous
[775-783]  Slime, Green
[784-793]  Snake, Asp
[794-802]  Snake, Viper
[803-811]  Snare, 40’ Drop
[812-821]  Snare, 50’ Drop

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[822-830]  Spear Trap, Double

[831-840]  Spell Trigger, Cause Disease
[841-850]  Spell Trigger, Cause Serious Wounds
[851-859]  Spell Trigger, Chill Metal
[860-868]  Spell Trigger, Dispel Magic
[869-878]  Spell Trigger, Lightning Bolt
[879-887]  Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning III
[888-897]  Spell Trigger, Slow
[898-906]  Spell Trigger, Transmute Rock to Mud
[907-915]  Spell Trigger, Web
[916-925]  Spring Bar, Spiked
[926-934]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level I), Descending One
Level
[935-944]  Stair-Slide to Pool, Descending Two Levels
[964-973]  Swarm, Insect, Crawling
[974-982]  Wall, Collapsing, 30’ High Section
[983-991]  Wall, Collapsing, 40’ High Section
[992-000]  Walls, Crushing, Avoidable

P a g e | 203
6-7
RANDOM TRAP
LETHALITY LEVEL 5
[001-009]  Acid Jet in Floor

[010-018]  Acid Jet, Volatile, in Ceiling
[019-027]  Alarm, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level V
Level V encounter table.
[028-036]  Arrow Trap, Poisoned (Type B)
[037-045]  Arrow Trap, Volley
[046-054]  Boiling Mud Spray
[055-063]  Boiling Water Pool, Shallow
[064-072]  Bolt Trap, Poisoned (Type B)
[073-081]  Bolt Trap, Volley
[118-126]  Cage, Falling, Iron
[127-135]  Cascade of Metal Spheres, Beckons Monster(s) of Level IV

204 | P a g e
[136-144]  Ceiling, Crushing, Avoidable

[145-153]  Ceiling, Lowering, with Spikes, Avoidable
[154-162]  Contact Poison (Type C)
[172-180]  Corpses, Diseased, Chronic and Mild Affliction
[181-190]  Dart Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type A)
[191-200]  Dart Trap, Poisoned (Type C)
[201-210]  Door, One-Way, Iron
[221-230]  Entangling Vines, Strangle Creeper
[241-250]  Floor, Collapsing, Stone, 30’ Distance
[261-270]  Fungus, Shrieking, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level V
[281-290]  Gas Cloud, Amnesia Inducing
[291-300]  Gas Cloud, Corroding
[301-310]  Gas Cloud, Poisonous
[311-320]  Gas Vent, Decaying
[321-330]  Gas Vent, Explosive
[331-340]  Gas Vent, Weakness
[341-350]  Javelin Trap, Poisoned (Type B)
[351-360]  Javelin Trap, Volley
[361-370]  Jaw Trap, Crushing
[371-380]  Log Trap, Sweeping, Spiked

P a g e | 205
[381-390]  Mimic, Dungeon, Small

[391-400]  Mold, Umber, Small
[401-410]  Monster Cage, Level IV Monster
[411-420]  Net, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level IV
[421-430]  Net of Entrapment, Beckons Nothing
[431-440]  Net, Hooked, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level II
[441-450]  Net, Sap-Covered, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level I
[451-460]  Net, Weighted, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level III
[481-490]  Pit, 10’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level II

206 | P a g e

[571-580]  Pit, 40’ Deep, Hidden
[581-590]  Pit, 40’ Deep, Lidded
[591-600]  Pit, 50’ Deep, Hidden
[601-610]  Pit, 50’ Deep, Lidded
[611-620]  Pit, 60’ Deep, Open
[661-670]  Poisoned Needle (Type C)
[671-680]  Rope of Constriction
[681-690]  Scything Blade in Aperture, Emerges from Ceiling
[701-710]  Slide to Empty Room, Descending Three Levels
[711-720]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level I), Descending Two
Levels
[721-730]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level II), Descending One
Level
[731-740]  Slime, Gibbering
[741-750]  Slime, Gray
[751-760]  Slime, Green, Huge
[761-770]  Slime, Ochre
[771-780]  Snake, Viper

P a g e | 207

[781-790]  Spear Trap, Poisoned (Type A)
[791-800]  Spear Trap, Triple
[801-810]  Spell Trigger, Antipathy
[811-820]  Spell Trigger, Bestow Curse
[821-830]  Spell Trigger, Cause Blindness
[831-840]  Spell Trigger, Cause Critical Wounds
[841-850]  Spell Trigger, Fireball
[851-860]  Spell Trigger, Heat Metal
[861-870]  Spell Trigger, Ice Storm
[871-880]  Spell Trigger, Insect Plague
[881-890]  Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning IV
[891-900]  Spell Trigger, Power Word, Stun
[901-910]  Spell Trigger, Wall of Fire
[911-920]  Spiked Panel in Wall
[921-930]  Stair-Slide to Empty Room, Descending Three Levels
[931-940]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level I), Descending Two
Levels
[941-950]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level II), Descending
One Level
[961-970]  Steam Vent
[971-980]  Swarm, Arachnid
[981-990]  Swarm, Insect, Flying
[991-000]  Swarm, Vermin

208 | P a g e

P a g e | 209
6-8
RANDOM TRAP
LETHALITY LEVEL 6
[01]  Acid Jet, Volatile, in Floor

[02]  Alarm, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VI
VI encounter table.
[03]  Arrow Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type A)
[04]  Arrow Trap, Poisoned (Type C)
[05]  Boiling Mud Pool, Shallow
[06]  Boiling Water Pool, Deep
[07]  Bolt Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type A)
[08]  Bolt Trap, Poisoned (Type C)
[15]  Cage, Falling, Steel
[16]  Cascade of Metal Spheres, Beckons Monster(s) of Level V

210 | P a g e
V encounter table.
[19]  Corpses, Parasitically Infested, Chronic and Severe Affliction
[20]  Deadfall, Heavy
[21-22]  Door, Falling, Iron
[25]  Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Hopelessness
[26]  Entangling Vines, Death Creeper
[29]  Floor, Collapsing, Stone, 40’ Distance
[31]  Floor, Collapsing, Wooden, 50’ Distance
[32]  Floor, Collapsing, Wooden, 60’ Distance
[33-34]  Fungus, Shrieking, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VI
VI encounter table.
[36]  Gas Cloud, Confusing
[37]  Gas Vent, Amnesia Inducing
[38]  Gas Vent, Corroding
[39-40]  Gas Vent, Poisonous
[41]  Javelin Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type A)
[42]  Javelin Trap, Poisoned (Type C)
[43]  Log Trap, Battering Ram, Impaling
[44-45]  Mimic, Dungeon
[46]  Mimic, Dungeon, Large

P a g e | 211
[47-48]  Monster Cage, Level V Monster
V encounter table.
[49]  Net, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level V
V encounter table.
[50]  Net of Entrapment, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level I
I encounter table.
[51]  Net, Hooked, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level III
[52]  Net, Sap-Covered, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level II
II encounter table.
[53]  Net, Weighted, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level IV
IV encounter table.
[54]  Pit with Slow Crushing Walls, 10’ Deep, Open
[55]  Pit with Spikes, 60’ Deep, Open
[56-57]  Pit with Teleporter Trap, 10’ Deep, Open
[58-59]  Pit, 10’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level III
[60]  Pit, 20’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level II
II encounter table.
II encounter table.
[62]  Pit, 40’ Deep, Illusionary Lid
[63]  Pit, 40’ Deep, Lidded, Locking
[64]  Pit, 40’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level I

212 | P a g e
I encounter table.
[65]  Pit, 40’ Deep, Underwater
I encounter table.
[70]  Pit, 60’ Deep, Hidden
[71]  Pit, 60’ Deep, Lidded
[74]  Pit, Fire, 10’ Deep, Open
[77-78]  Rusting Beast
[79]  Scything Blade in Aperture, Emerges from Floor
[80]  Silver Seal and Imprisoned Wraith
[83]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level I), Descending Three Levels
I encounter table.
[84]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level II), Descending Two Levels
II encounter table.
[85-86]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level III), Descending One Level
[87]  Slide to Pool, Descending Three Levels

P a g e | 213
[88]  Spear Trap, Poisoned (Type B)

[89]  Spear Trap, Volley
[90]  Spell Trigger, Fire Storm
[91]  Spell Trigger, Flame Strike
[92]  Spell Trigger, Maze
[93]  Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning V
V encounter table.
[94]  Spell Trigger, Quest
[95]  Spiked Panel in Ceiling
[96]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level I), Descending Three
Levels
I encounter table.
[97]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level II), Descending Two
Levels
II encounter table.
[98-99]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level III), Descending One
Level
[00]  Stair-Slide to Pool, Descending Three Levels

214 | P a g e
6-9
RANDOM TRAP
LETHALITY LEVEL 7
[01-02]  Alarm, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VII

VII encounter table.
[03]  Arrow Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type B)
[04]  Arrow Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type A)
[11-12]  Cascade of Metal Spheres, Beckons Monster(s) of Level VI
VI encounter table.
[13]  Ceiling, Collapsing
[14]  Column or Pillar, Collapsing, Low Ceiling
[17]  Corpses, Diseased, Chronic and Severe Affliction
[18]  Dart Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type B)

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[19]  Dart Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type A)

[22]  Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Persuasion
[26]  Floor, Rising, Crushing, Avoidable

216 | P a g e
[27-28]  Fungus, Shrieking, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VII

[30]  Gas Cloud, Paralyzing
[31]  Gas Vent, Confusing
[32-33]  Jaw Trap, Fanged
[34]  Lodestone, Magical, Large Room
[35]  Mimic, Dungeon, Huge
[36-37]  Mimic, Lurking Ceiling
[38]  Mold, Umber, Large
[39-40]  Monster Cage, Level VI Monster
VI encounter table.
[41]  Net, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VI
VI encounter table.
[42]  Net of Entrapment, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level II
II encounter table.
[43]  Net, Hooked, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level IV
IV encounter table.
[44]  Net, Sap-Covered, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level III
[45]  Net, Weighted, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level V

P a g e | 217
V encounter table.
[46]  Pit with Fast Crushing Walls, 10’ Deep, Open
[47]  Pit with Poisoned Spikes (Type A), 10’ Deep, Open
[52]  Pit with Teleporter Trap, 20’ Deep, Open
[54]  Pit, 10’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level IV
IV encounter table.
[56]  Pit, 20’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level III
II encounter table.
II encounter table.
I encounter table.

218 | P a g e

[75-76]  Rolling Boulder
[77-78]  Scything Blade in Container
[79]  Silver Seal and Imprisoned Banshee
[80]  Silver Seal and Imprisoned Specter
[83]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level II), Descending Three Levels
II encounter table.
[84]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level III), Descending Two Levels
[85-86]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level IV), Descending One Level
IV encounter table.
[87]  Spear Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type A)
[88]  Spear Trap, Poisoned (Type C)
[89-90]  Spell Trigger, Blade Barrier
[91]  Spell Trigger, Geas
[92]  Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning VI

P a g e | 219
VI encounter table.
[93]  Spell Trigger, Polymorph Other
[94-95]  Spell Trigger, Reverse Gravity
[96]  Spell Trigger, Transmute Metal to Wood
[97]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level II), Descending Three
Levels
II encounter table.
[98]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level III), Descending Two
Levels
[99-00]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level IV), Descending One
Level
IV encounter table.
6 - 10
RANDOM TRAP
LETHALITY LEVEL 8
[01]  Acid Pool, Deep

[02]  Alarm, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VIII

220 | P a g e
VIII encounter table.
[03]  Arrow Trap, Poisoned (Type D)
[04]  Boiling Mud Pool, Deep
[05]  Bolt Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type B)
[06]  Bolt Trap, Poisoned (Type D)
[07]  Bolt Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type A)
[17]  Caltrops, Poisoned (Type A)
[18]  Cascade of Metal Spheres, Beckons Monster(s) of Level VII
[19]  Column or Pillar, Collapsing, Mid-Height Ceiling
[20]  Column or Pillar, Falling
[21]  Corpses, Animating
[22]  Corpses, Parasitically Infested, Terminal Affliction
[23]  Dart Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type C)
[24]  Dart Trap, Poisoned (Type D)
[25]  Dust of Sneezing and Choking

P a g e | 221
[28]  Flesh Grubs

[29]  Fungus, Shrieking, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VIII
[31]  Gas Vent, Paralyzing
[32]  Javelin Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type B)
[33]  Javelin Trap, Poisoned (Type D)
[34]  Javelin Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type A)
[35]  Lodestone, Magical, Small Room
[36]  Mimic, Trapping Floor
[37]  Monster Cage, Level VII Monster
[38]  Net, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VII
[39]  Net of Entrapment, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level III
[40]  Net, Hooked, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level V
V encounter table.
[41]  Net, Sap-Covered, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level IV
IV encounter table.
[42]  Net, Weighted, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VI
VI encounter table.
[43]  Pendulum, Guillotine

222 | P a g e


[54]  Pit with Very Fast Crushing Walls, 10’ Deep, Open
[55]  Pit, 10’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level V
V encounter table.

P a g e | 223

IV encounter table.
IV encounter table.
II encounter table.
I encounter table.
I encounter table.

224 | P a g e

[82]  Poisoned Needle (Type D)
[83]  Silver Seal and Imprisoned Ghost
[84]  Skeletons
[85]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level III), Descending Three
Levels
[86]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level IV), Descending Two Levels
IV encounter table.
[87]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level V), Descending One Level
V encounter table.
[88]  Slime, Black
[89]  Slime, Brown (50%) or White (50%)
[90]  Slime, Green, Enormous
[91]  Spell Trigger, Feeblemind
[92]  Spell Trigger, Finger of Death
[93]  Spell Trigger, Monster Summoning VII
[94]  Spell Trigger, Poison
[95]  Spell Trigger, Slay Living
[96]  Spell Trigger, Teleport
[97]  Spell Trigger, Unholy Word

P a g e | 225
[98]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level III), Descending Three

Levels
[99]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level IV), Descending Two
Levels
IV encounter table.
[00]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level V), Descending One
Level
V encounter table.
6 - 11
RANDOM TRAP
LETHALITY LEVEL 9
[001-009]  Alarm, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level IX

Level IX encounter table.
[010-018]  Arrow Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type C)
[019-027]  Arrow Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type B)
[028-036]  Bolt Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type C)
[037-045]  Bolt Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type B)

226 | P a g e

[127-135]  Cascade of Metal Spheres, Beckons Monster(s) of Level VIII
Level VIII encounter table.
[136-144]  Ceiling, Lowering, with Spikes, Unavoidable
[145-153]  Column or Pillar, Collapsing, High Ceiling
[154-162]  Contact Poison (Type D)
[172-180]  Corpses, Diseased, Terminal Affliction
[181-189]  Dart Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type B)
[208-216]  Enchanted Rune, Glyph of Warding, Energy Drain
[217-225]  Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Discord
[235-243]  Fungus, Shrieking, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level IX
Level IX encounter table.

P a g e | 227
[253-261]  Javelin Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type C)

[262-270]  Javelin Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type B)
[271-280]  Lodestone, Magical, Adjacent to Monster Lair
Level VII, VIII or IX encounter table.
[281-290]  Monster Cage, Level VIII Monster
[291-300]  Net, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VIII
[301-310]  Net of Entrapment, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level IV
[311-320]  Net, Hooked, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VI
Level VI encounter table.
[321-330]  Net, Sap-Covered, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level V
[331-340]  Net, Weighted, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VII
Level VII encounter table.
[341-350]  Pit with Fast Crushing Walls, 40’ Deep, Open
[351-360]  Pit with Fast Crushing Walls, 50’ Deep, Open
[361-370]  Pit with Poisoned Spikes (Type A), 40’ Deep, Open
[391-400]  Pit with Poisoned Spikes (Type B), 10’ Deep, Open
[401-410]  Pit with Slow Crushing Walls, 60’ Deep, Open
[441-450]  Pit with Teleporter Trap, 60’ Deep, Open

228 | P a g e
[451-460]  Pit with Very Fast Crushing Walls, 20’ Deep, Open
[461-470]  Pit with Very Fast Crushing Walls, 30’ Deep, Open
[511-520]  Pit, 110’ Deep, Hidden
[521-530]  Pit, 110’ Deep, Lidded
[531-540]  Pit, 120’ Deep, Hidden
[541-550]  Pit, 120’ Deep, Lidded
[551-560]  Pit, 130’ Deep, Hidden
[561-570]  Pit, 130’ Deep, Lidded
[571-580]  Pit, 140’ Deep, Open
[581-590]  Pit, 150’ Deep, Open
[591-600]  Pit, 160’ Deep, Open
[601-610]  Pit, 20’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level V
[611-620]  Pit, 30’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level V
[621-630]  Pit, 40’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level IV
[631-640]  Pit, 50’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level IV
[641-650]  Pit, 60’ Deep, Monster Lair, Monster(s) of Monster Level III

P a g e | 229


230 | P a g e

[711-720]  Pit, Fire, 60’ Deep, Open
[791-800]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level IV), Descending Three
Levels
[801-810]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level V), Descending Two
Levels
[811-820]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level VI), Descending One
Level
[821-830]  Spear Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type B)
[831-840]  Spear Trap, Poisoned (Type D)
[841-850]  Spear Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type A)
[851-860]  Spell Trigger, Cloudkill
[861-870]  Spell Trigger, Confusion
[871-880]  Spell Trigger, Conjure Earth Elemental
[881-900]  Spell Trigger, Conjure Fire Elemental
[901-909]  Spell Trigger, Creeping Doom

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[910-918]  Spell Trigger, Disintegrate

[919-927]  Spell Trigger, Earthquake
[928-936]  Spell Trigger, Flesh to Stone
[937-945]  Spell Trigger, Harm
[946-954]  Spell Trigger, Wither
[955-963]  Spiked Panel in Wall, Poisoned (Type A)
[964-972]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level IV), Descending
Three Levels
[973-981]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level V), Descending
Two Levels
[982-990]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level VI), Descending
One Level
[991-000]  Walls, Crushing, Unavoidable
6 - 12
RANDOM TRAP
LETHALITY LEVEL 10

232 | P a g e
[01-02]  Alarm, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level X

X encounter table.
[03]  Arrow Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type C)
[04]  Arrow Trap, Volley, Poisoned (Type A)
[05]  Bolt Trap, Volley, Poisoned (Type A)
[14]  Bridge, Illusionary, 200’+ Fall
[15]  Caltrops, Poisoned (Type B)
[16]  Cascade of Metal Spheres, Beckons Monster(s) of Level IX
IX encounter table.
[17]  Cascade of Metal Spheres, Beckons Monster(s) of Level X
X encounter table.
[18]  Ceiling, Crushing, Unavoidable
[19]  Column or Pillar, Collapsing, Very High Ceiling
[20]  Corpses, Animating
[21]  Dart Trap, Volley, Poisoned (Type A)

P a g e | 233
[24]  Enchanted Rune, Symbol of Death

[25]  Flesh Grubs
[26]  Floor, Rising, Crushing, Unavoidable
[27]  Fungus, Shrieking, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level X
X encounter table.
[29]  Javelin Trap, Volley, Poisoned (Type A)
[30]  Lodestone, Magical, Inside Monster Lair
VII, VIII or IX encounter table.
[31]  Monster Cage, Level IX Monster
IX encounter table.
[32]  Net, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level IX
IX encounter table.
[33]  Net of Entrapment, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level V
V encounter table.
[34]  Net, Hooked, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VII
[35]  Net, Sap-Covered, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VI
VI encounter table.
[36]  Net, Weighted, Beckons Monster(s) of Monster Level VIII

234 | P a g e
[40]  Pit with Poisoned Spikes (Type B), 20’ Deep, Open
[41]  Pit with Poisoned Spikes (Type B), 30’ Deep, Open
II encounter table.
I encounter table.
I encounter table.
I encounter table.

P a g e | 235

[73]  Pit, 200’+ Deep, Open
V encounter table.
V encounter table.
IV encounter table.
II encounter table.

236 | P a g e

[88]  Skeletons
[89]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level V), Descending Three Levels
V encounter table.
[90]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level VI), Descending Two Levels
VI encounter table.
[91]  Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level VII), Descending One Level
[92]  Spear Trap, Double, Poisoned (Type C)
[93]  Spear Trap, Triple, Poisoned (Type B)
[94]  Spell Trigger, Energy Drain
[95]  Spell Trigger, Meteor Swarm
[96]  Spell Trigger, Prismatic Spray
[97]  Spiked Panel in Ceiling, Poisoned (Type A)
[98]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level V), Descending Three
Levels
V encounter table.
[99]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level VI), Descending Two
Levels
VI encounter table.
[00]  Stair-Slide to Monster Lair (Monster Level VII), Descending One
Level

P a g e | 237

238 | P a g e
CHAPTER 7:
TRAP-RELATED
MONSTERS
7-1
RECOMMENDED
TRAP-RELATED MONSTERS
Many times in the tables above, you will see entries in which Level II, V, VII etc.
monsters are recommended for your traps. These monsters may lair in (or adjacent to)
pits, or in rooms where slides deposit victims, or they may come to investigate alarms,
shrieking fungi, or other types of triggered traps throughout the dungeon. If you have
not designed a nearby monster encounter associated with the trap — or, if you are out of
ideas — the following monsters are recommended for typically cramped conditions in
subterranean dungeons. You will note hereafter a decided lack of gargantuan monsters,
such as dragons, giants and titans, as such creatures would likely have considerable
difficulty either living in the dungeon, or in making their way through low-ceilinged
labyrinths to investigate a trap.
Despite this narrowed classification, you will occasionally find that random rolls
indicate ridiculous results (for example, a non-corporeal wraith stuck in a cage, a flying
gargoyle stuck in a pit, or a fire elemental in the depths of your ice dungeon). Reroll
where necessary, but try some creative thinking first to see if a the randomly determined
monster can work for you.

P a g e | 239
As examples: (1) the wraith might be trapped in a silver urn inside the cage, a
tempting treasure, which melts under a flare of magical heat when any adventurer
touches the cage bars; (2) the gargoyle might be in stasis and sculpted into the form of
Cthulhu, and only animated when a victim impacts on the pit floor at its taloned feet; (3)
the fire elemental might have been summoned into a magical binding circle by a cruel
wizard, and in its suffering will attack in a berserk rage as soon as it is released.
Remember that is often the most unexpected monsters, rationally justified, which are
the seeds for those truly unforgettable encounters that your shocked (and delighted?)
players will talk about for years to come.
So never be a slave to the dice, think creatively to justify unusual results, and have
fun!
7-2
RECOMMENDED
TRAP-RELATED MONSTERS:
MONSTER LEVEL I
These monsters are typically appropriate for parties of level 1 or 2 adventurers.

Adjust or select the indicated number appearing for relatively weak or strong parties. If
the party has no level 2 or higher characters, I recommend halving all numbers appearing.
For stronger parties of higher experience levels (and for lairs discovered on deeper
dungeon levels), increase the number appearing accordingly so that the adventurers are
sufficiently challenged. (See CDDG2, THE GREAT DUNGEON BESTIARY, for further
recommended details in this regard.)

240 | P a g e

[01-05]  Beast Skeletons

 Number appearing for a level 1 party: 1D4
 Number appearing for a level 2+ party: 2D4
[06-10]  Cave Baboons
[11-15]  Evil Dwarves
 Number appearing for a level 1 party: 1D6+1
 Number appearing for a level 2+ party: 2D6+2
[16-20]  Evil Gnomes
[21-25]  Frogmen
[26-30]  Giant Cockroaches
[31-35]  Giant Fire Beetles
[36-40]  Giant Rats
[41-45]  Giant Worker Ants
[46-50]  Gnoles
[51-55]  Goblins

P a g e | 241

[56-60]  Gremlins
[61-65]  Hobgoblins
[66-70]  Kobolds
[71-75]  Lares Demons

[76-80]  Large Centipedes
[81-85]  Large Frogs

242 | P a g e

P a g e | 243
[86-90]  Orcs
[96-00]  Soul Worms
7-3
RECOMMENDED
MONSTER LEVEL II

Adjust or select the indicated number appearing for relatively weak or strong parties.
For much stronger parties of higher experience levels (and for lairs discovered on
deeper dungeon levels), increase the number appearing accordingly so that the
adventurers are sufficiently challenged. (See CDDG2, THE GREAT DUNGEON
BESTIARY, for further recommended details in this regard.)


244 | P a g e
[01-04]  Cave Baboons

 Base number appearing for a level 2 or 3 party: 1D4+1
[05-08]  Changelings
 Base number appearing for a level 2 or 3 party: 1D3
[09-13]  Evil Elves
[14-18]  Frogmen
[19-23]  Giant Cockroaches
[24-28]  Giant Fire Beetles
[29-33]  Giant Worker Ants
[34-38]  Gnoles
[39-43]  Gremlins
[44-48]  Hobgoblins
[49-52]  Huge Centipedes
[53-57]  Huge Frogs
[58-61]  Iron Skeletons
[62-66]  Lares Demons
[67-71]  Large Centipedes
[72-76]  Large Frogs
[77-81]  Large Poisonous Frogs

P a g e | 245

[82-85]  Living Silver Statuettes
[86-90]  Savage Lizard Men
[91-95]  Stryxes
[96-00]  Zombies
7-4
RECOMMENDED
MONSTER LEVEL III

[01-04]  Armored Zombies

[05-08]  Beastmen

246 | P a g e

[09-12]  Bugbears
[13-16]  Constrictor Snakes
[17-20]  Degenerate Serpent Folk
[21-24]  Ghuls
[25-28]  Giant Bombardier Beetles
[29-32]  Giant Centipedes
[33-36]  Giant Locusts
[37-40]  Giant Toads
[41-44]  Giant Warrior Ants
[45-48]  Huge Killer Frogs
[49-52]  Huge Poisonous Toads
[53-56]  Huge Ticks
[57-60]  Large Spiders
[61-64]  Large Ticks
[65-68]  Larval Acid Mantises
[69-72]  Lemur Devils
[73-76]  Lesser Netherworld Faeries

P a g e | 247

[77-80]  Living Gold Statuettes
[81-84]  Monstrous Hounds
[85-88]  Poisonous Snakes, Lethal Poison
[89-92]  Poisonous Snakes, Non-Lethal Poison
[93-96]  Tribal Lizard Men
[97-00]  Troglodytes
7-5
RECOMMENDED
MONSTER LEVEL IV


248 | P a g e

[01-05]  Cave Apes

[06-10]  Dracunculus
 Base number appearing for a level 4 or 5 party: 1
[11-15]  Enormous Centipedes
[16-20]  Giant Bee Drones
[21-25]  Giant Frogs
[26-30]  Giant Lizards
[31-35]  Giant Ticks
[36-40]  Giant Woodboring Beetles
[41-45]  Greater Beastmen
[46-50]  Greater Netherworld Faeries
[51-55]  Harpies
[56-60]  Headless Ones
[61-65]  Huge Spiders
[66-70]  Insect Swarms
[71-75]  Jackalweres

P a g e | 249
[76-80]  Large Scorpions

[81-85]  Living Clay Statues
[86-90]  Ogres

250 | P a g e
[91-95]  Spider Swarms

[96-00]  Vermin Swarms
7-6
RECOMMENDED
MONSTER LEVEL V

[01-02]  Amphisbaenas
[03-04]  Arcane Zombies
[05-07]  Badgerbears

P a g e | 251

[08-09]  Carnivorous Apes
[10-11]  Cockatrices
[12-14]  Gargoyles
[15-16]  Gegenes
[17-19]  Gelatinous Slimes
[20-22]  Ghasts
[23-24]  Giant Bee Soldiers
[25-26]  Giant Constrictor Snakes
[27-28]  Giant Poisonous Snakes
[29-31]  Giant Scorpions
[32-33]  Giant Spiders
[34-35]  Giant Spitting Snakes
[36-37]  Giant Subterranean Lizards
[38-39]  Giant Wasps
[40-41]  Gibbering Slimes
[42-43]  Gray Slimes
[44-45]  Green Slimes

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[46-47]  Grotesques
[48-49]  Hell Hounds
[50-51]  Huge Green Slimes
[52-53]  Huge Scorpions
[54-55]  Ice Toads
[56-57]  Large Acid Mantises
[58-59]  Lesser Cyclopes
[60-61]  Lesser Dimensional Spiders
[62-63]  Living Ivory Statues
[64-65]  Living Stone Statues
[66-68]  Monster Skeletons
[69-71]  Monster Zombies
[72-73]  Monstrous Wolves
[74-75]  Ochre Slimes
[76-77]  Rusting Beasts
[78-79]  Shadows
[80-81]  Shadow Hounds

P a g e | 253

[82-83]  Small Hell Hounds
[84-85]  Tentacled Centipedes
[86-87]  Two-Headed Hounds
[88-89]  Undead Wolves
[90-91]  Wereboars
[92-93]  Wererats
[94-95]  Werewolves
[96-98]  Wights
[99-00]  Winter Wolves
7-7
RECOMMENDED
MONSTER LEVEL VI


254 | P a g e


[01-05]  Cave Bears

[06-10]  Crocutas
[11-15]  Giant Acid Mantises
[16-20]  Giant Black Widow Spiders

P a g e | 255

[21-25]  Giant Stag Beetles
[26-30]  Greater Dimensional Spiders
[31-35]  Huge Acid Mantises
[36-40]  Huge Hell Hounds
[41-45]  Large Hell Hounds
[46-50]  Lesser Basilisk
[51-55]  Manticores
[56-60]  Medusae
[61-65]  Minotaurs
[66-70]  Ogre Magi
[71-75]  Small Dungeon Mimic
[76-80]  Small Tentacle Beasts
[81-85]  Tentacle Beasts
[86-90]  Trolls
[91-95]  Venomous Salamandrae
[96-00]  Wraiths

256 | P a g e
7-8
RECOMMENDED
MONSTER LEVEL VII
These monsters are typically appropriate for parties of level 7, 8, and / or 9

adventurers. Adjust or select the indicated number appearing for relatively weak or
strong parties.
[01-02]  Air Elemental (1)

 Base number appearing for a level 7, 8, or 9 party: 1
[03-04]  Amber Behemoths (1D3)
 Base number appearing for a level 7, 8, or 9 party: 1D3
[05-06]  Ancient Tentacle Beast (1)
[07-08]  Banshee (1)
[09-10]  Black Slimes (1D2)
[11-12]  Brown Slimes (1D2)

P a g e | 257

[13-14]  Chimaeras (1D2)
[15-16]  Dream Eaters (1D2)
[17-18]  Dungeon Mimics (1D2)
[19-20]  Earth Elemental (1)
[21-22]  Earth Golems (1D3)
[23-24]  Enormous Green Slimes (1D4)
[25-26]  Enormous Tentacle Beasts (1D2)
[27-28]  Entanglers (1D2)
[29-30]  Fire Elemental (1)
[31-32]  Fire Salamandrae (1D4)
[33-34]  Flesh Golems (1D2)
[35-36]  Frost Salamandrae (1D4)
[37-38]  Ghost (1)
[39-40]  Giant Fire Lizards (1D4)
[41-42]  Giant Minotaur Lizards (1D4+1)
 Base number appearing for a level 7, 8, or 9 party: 1D4+1
[43-44]  Giant Rhinoceros Beetles (1D3)
[45-46]  Giant Tentacle Beasts (1D2)

258 | P a g e

[47-48]  Greater Basilisks (1D2)
[49-50]  Greater Manticores (1D3)
[51-52]  Greater Spirit Nagas (1D2)
[53-54]  Huge Dungeon Mimic (1)
[55-56]  Huge Tentacle Beasts (1D2)
[57-58]  Invisible Monsters (1D2)
[59-60]  Large Dungeon Mimic (1)
[61-62]  Large Swamp Shamblers (1D2)
[63-64]  Lesser Air Elementals (1D2)
[65-66]  Lesser Earth Elementals (1D2)
[67-68]  Lesser Fire Elementals (1D2)
[69-71]  Lesser Water Elementals (1D2)
[72-73]  Monstrous Centipedes (1D4)
[74-75]  Mountain Trolls (1D4+1)
[76-77]  Mummies (1D3)
[78-79]  Ophiotauri (1D4+1)
[80-81]  Serpent Folk Abominations (1D3)

P a g e | 259

[82-83]  Small Swamp Shamblers (1D3)
[84-85]  Specter (1)
[86-88]  Spider Maidens (1D3)
[89-91]  Spirit Nagas (1D2)
[92-94]  Swamp Shamblers (1D2)
[95-96]  Water Elemental (1)
[97-98]  White Slimes (1D2)
[99-00]  Will-o’-the-Wisps (1D2)
7-9
RECOMMENDED
MONSTER LEVEL VIII
These monsters are typically appropriate for parties of level 9, 10, and / or 11
strong parties.

260 | P a g e


[01-06]  Bronze Golems

[07-13]  Clay Golems
[14-19]  Eye of Azathoth
[20-25]  Greater Air Elemental
[26-31]  Greater Earth Elemental
[32-37]  Greater Fire Elemental
[38-43]  Greater Water Elemental
[44-50]  Huge Entanglers
[51-56]  Invisible Vampire
[57-63]  Large Entanglers
[64-69]  Larval Eye of Azathoth
[70-75]  Lesser Eye of Azathoth
[76-81]  Scorpion Men
[82-88]  Stone Golems

P a g e | 261
[89-94]  Vampires
[95-00]  Vampire Lord

262 | P a g e
7 - 10
RECOMMENDED
MONSTER LEVEL IX
These monsters are typically appropriate for parties of level 11, 12, 13 and / or 14
strong parties.

[01-04]  Arcane Eye of Azathoth

 Base number appearing for a level 11, 12, 13 or 14 party: 1
[05-08]  Bronze Golems
 Base number appearing for a level 11, 12, 13 or 14 party: 1D4
[09-13]  Clay Golems
[14-17]  Eyes of Azathoth
[18-21]  Greater Air Elementals
[22-25]  Greater Earth Elementals

P a g e | 263

[26-29]  Greater Eye of Azathoth
[30-33]  Greater Fire Elementals
[34-37]  Greater Water Elementals
[38-42  Huge Entanglers
[43-46]  Invisible Vampires
[47-51]  Iron Golem
[52-56]  Large Entanglers
[57-60]  Larval Eyes of Azathoth
[61-64]  Lesser Eyes of Azathoth
[65-58]  Noble Air Elemental
[69-72]  Noble Earth Elemental
[73-76]  Noble Fire Elemental
[77-80]  Noble Water Elemental
[81-84]  Scorpion Men
[85-88]  Stone Golems
[89-92]  Vampire Lords
[93-96]  Vampire Spell Caster

264 | P a g e

[97-00]  Vampires
7 - 11
RECOMMENDED
MONSTER LEVEL X
These monsters are typically appropriate for parties of level 14 or higher. Adjust or
select the indicated number appearing for relatively weak or strong parties.

[01-10]  Ancient Eye of Azathoth

 Base number appearing for a level 14+ party: 1
[11-20]  Centipede Demons
 Base number appearing for a level 14+ party: 1D2
[21-30]  Elder Eye of Azathoth
[31-40]  Huge Entanglers
 Base number appearing for a level 14+ party: 1D4+4
[31-50]  Iron Golems
[51-60]  Lich

P a g e | 265

[61-70]  Mirror Image
 A magical clone of one character. Will fight relentless until
destroyed; cannot be dispelled.
[71-80]  Shoggoths
[81-90]  Vampire Lords
[91-00]  Vampire Spell Casters

266 | P a g e
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Beginning play as a chaotic neutral normal human with one measly hit point to his
name, KENT DAVID KELLY eventually became apprenticed to a magic-user of ill repute
... a foul man who dwelt in the steamy deeps of the Ivory Cloud Mountain. After this
mentor carelessly misplaced an intelligent soul-sucking sword and then died under
suspicious circumstances, his former henchman Mr. Kelly escaped to the deeper
underground and there began playing Satanic role-playing games. This, the legends tell
us, occurred in the year 1981.
Hoary wizard-priests who inspired Mr. Kelly in his netherworldly machinations

included the peerless Gygax, Carr, Arneson, Cook, Hammack, Jaquays, Bledsaw,
Moldvay, Kuntz, Schick and Ward. Sadly, a misguided made-for-the-basements movie
entitled Mazes and Monsters gave Mr. Kelly’s parents conniptions in 1982. As a result of
that blasphemous Tom Hanks debacle (and other more personal lapses in judgment), Mr.
Kelly was eventually forbidden from playing his favorite game for a considerable length
of time.
Nonplussed but not defeated, he used this enforced exile to escape to a friend’s
alehouse, and there indulged himself in now-classic computer RPGs such as Zork,
Telengard, Temple of Apshai, Ultima, Tunnels of Doom, The Bard’s Tale, Phantasie, Pool
of Radiance, Wizard’s Crown and Wasteland. He then went on to write computer
versions of his own FRPGs, which led to his obsession with coupling creative design
elements with random dungeons and unpredictable adventure generation.
Mr. Kelly wrote and submitted his first adventure for Dungeon Magazine #1 in 1986.
Unfortunately, one Mr. Moore decided that his submission was far too “Lovecraftian,
horrific and unfair” to ever serve that worthy periodical as a publishable adventure. Mr.
Kelly, it must be said, took this rejection as a very good sign of things to come.
In the late 80s and 90s, Mr. Kelly wrote short stories, poems and essays ... some of
which have been published under the Wonderland Imprints banner. He wrote several
dark fantasy and horror novels as well. Concurrently, he ran Dark Angel Collectibles,

P a g e | 267
selling classic FRPG materials as Darkseraphim, and assisted the Acaeum with the
creation of the Valuation Board and other minor research projects.
At this time, Mr. Kelly and his entourage of evil gnomes are rumored to dwell in the
dread and deathly under-halls of the Acaeum, Dragonsfoot, ENWorld, Grognardia,
Knights & Knaves, ODD, and even more nefarious levels deep down in the mega-
dungeon of the Web.
There he remains in vigil, his vampiric sword yet shivering in his hand. When not
being sought outright for answers to halfling riddles or other more sundry sage advice,
he is to be avoided by sane individuals at all costs.

268 | P a g e
OTHER BOOKS
BY KENT DAVID KELLY
This book was a labor of love, and like all of my works it has been self-published.
Notoriously, online vendors do not always play nicely with one another, and sadly you
must know that I cannot provide you with exhaustive links to the various sites where
all of my various books are sold. (And I kindly ask that you please not pirate my
works, as that takes money and security away from my family.) But I can provide you
with the titles, and you can go exploring on your own to discover my other works!
Google is a beautiful thing.
My available books, as of spring 2017, include:
[1] Arachne: A Pyre of Angels
CASTLE OLDSKULL FRPG GAMING SUPPLEMENTS
[2] City-State Encounters (CSE1), [3] The Classic Dungeon Design Guide, Book I
(CDDG1), [4] The Classic Dungeon Design Guide, Book II (CDDG2), [5] The Classic
Dungeon Design Guide, Book III (CDDG3), [6] Dungeon Delver Enhancer (DDE1),
[7] Game World Generator (GWG1), [8] Oldskull Adventure Generator (GWG2), [9]
The Great Dungeon Bestiary (CDDG2, prior series), [10] Mega-Dungeon Monsters &
Treasure (MDMT1), [11] The Pegana Mythos (PM1), [12] Treasure Trove: The Book
of Potions (TT1)
[13+] The Complete Alice in Wonderland
(and many other public domain author editions, published under the Wonderland Imprints
blazon)

P a g e | 269
[14] Cthulhu in Wonderland
DUNGEON MASTER’S GUILD GAMING SUPPLEMENTS
[15] City State Creator I (ELD2), [16] City State Creator II (ELD3), [17] Dungeon
Crucible: Random Dungeon Name Generator (DC1), [18] Guy de Gaxian’s Dungeon
Monsters: Level 1 (GG1), [19] Old School Dragons: Molting Wyrmlings (DR1), [20]
Oldskull Rogues Gallery I (ORG1), [21] Oldskull Rogues Gallery II (ORG2), [22]
1,000 Rooms of Madness (DC2-S), [23] Random Treasure Trove Generator (RTT1),
[24] Spawning Pool of the Elder Things (SP1), [25] Treasure Trove 1: Challenge 1
Treasures (TT1), [26] Treasure Trove 2: Challenge 2 Treasures (TT2), [27] Treasure
Trove 3: Challenge 3 Treasures (TT3)
[28] From the Fire: An Epic Novel of the Nuclear Holocaust
HAWK & MOOR: THE UNOFFICIAL HISTORY OF DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
[29] Book 1: The Dragon Rises, [30] Book 1: The Dragon Rises, Deluxe Edition, [31]
Book 2: The Dungeons Deep, [32] Book 2: The Dungeons Deep, Deluxe Edition, [33]
Book 3: Lands and Worlds Afar, [34] Book 4: Of Demons & Fallen Idols, [35] Book 5:
Age of Glory, [36] The Steam Tunnel Incident
THE LYRIC BOOKS OF SHADOW
[37] I: For the Dark Is the Light, [38] II: The Summoning of Dark Angels
[39] The Necronomicon: The Cthulhu Revelations
(Various other books are out of print, being reworked, stuck in a closet half-completed, or stuck
inside my head …)

270 | P a g e
Please consider telling at least one friend about my books, and please leave me a review
if you particularly enjoyed a title! Authors live and die by their reviews, and I
appreciate your readership! Until next time …

P a g e | 271
Castle Oldskull
Old School FRPG Supplements
(at DriveThruRPG.com)
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/7178/Kent-David-Kelly

272 | P a g e
DM’S GUILD
5E OSR FRPG Supplements
(at DMsGuild.com)
http://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Kent%20David%20Kelly

P a g e | 273

274 | P a g e

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CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

WILLIAM HOGARTH, hans Holbein, Daniel hopfer,

ONLY THE FINEST

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

Copyright © 2014-2017 Kent David Kelly.

(Document Version 2.2)

Please feel welcome to contact the author at [email protected] with comments,

“Only the Finest Works of Fantasy”

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

HIC SVNT DRACONES

CASTLE OLDSKULL (“Old School”) is a well-regarded, system neutral line of

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

David Lance Arneson,

Dr. John Eric Holmes,

and David Trampier.

Poul William Anderson,

Edgar Rice Burroughs,

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

Howard Phillips Lovecraft,

and Jack Vance.

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

EMPOWERING YOUR IMAGINATION:

Attention e-reader, video and computer gamers!

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

Tumbling boulders crushing over powdered bones,

Death pits filled with gibbering slime,

Strangling vines, enchanted lodestones, lightning bolts,

Imprisoned in chests of ancient gold,

Chained by holy symbol and silver seal ...

Every mechanical horror, every thief’s demise,

Every fell contraption

Lies here, deep in this book of secrets.

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

Page 23 ~ II: Designing and Placing Traps in Dungeons

Page 48 ~ III: Traps in Play

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

Page 162 ~ V: Random Trap Selection

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

Page 183 ~ V-20: Random Trap Selection: Mega-Dungeon Level 13 or 14 (or a

Page 187 ~ VI: Random Trap Determination

Page 238 ~ VII: Trap-Related Monsters

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

Page 259 ~ VII-9: Recommended Trap-Related Monsters: Monster Level VIII

Page 266 ~ VIII: About the Author

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

This book is designed to change all of that.

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

CASTLE OLDSKULL ~ BDT1 KENT DAVID KELLY

Kindly watch your step …