Friday, September 13, 2013

D&D 30 Day Challenge - Day 13: Favorite Trap/Puzzle

I almost bagged out of this one, because I really just don't have much experience with traps and puzzles. Not as a player, and certainly not as a DM. I mean, I've taken part in some over the years, but nothing stands out as exceptional, and I can't really think of something I would call my "favorite" as that implies that I like it a lot.

But, I'm gonna do this.

One of the most memorable was when we were playing AEG's The World's Largest Dungeon. At the very beginning, we are shuffled down into the basement of the "temple" and hustled into a room, only to have the door shut, locked, and magically blocked behind us. The only exits from the room are two doors. Opening each, we are confronted by a flat blackness. Not the blackness from the lack of light, but a tangible and featureless black.

As we stood pondering, my dwarf barbarian, Brak, touches the black. It's cool to the touch, and he doesn't feel any resistance. But when he tries to pull his finger back, it won't budge. After several moments of struggling, even with the aid of his party-mates (which threatens to dislocate his joints), he is bound fast, and has even sunk in a bit further.

Brak is getting angry now, when suddenly he hears the sound of a sword clearing a scabbard. He turns to see the fighter leveling his sword for a stroke that will sever Brak's hand. With a shocked oath, he dives through the doorway.

After about a minute, it dawns on the rest of the party that their only choice is to follow. So, one by one, they all step through and into the Dungeon.

Now, I'm not sure if it was written like that, or if the DM made some or all of it up. But I thought it was brilliant, and I even wrote the scene into my aborted attempt to chronicle the adventure as a fictional work.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, we all lived. I believe this was built in as a way to prevent the party from saying "Eff this!" and just backing out. :)

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