A huge tapestry of an ancient battlefield hangs on the wall. It appears to depict an army that is facing the viewer. Archers, spear men, battlefield wizards, and even siege weapons are in evidence.
Passing in front of the tapestry activates the trap, and the characters become targets of the sol...
As the characters proceed, the other end of the corridor or room never seems to get any closer. Try as they might, it always extends further away to the exact same degree that the characters proceed. This has a surreal, almost hallucinatory appearance, sometimes leading characters to believe it's a...
This appears as a well-crafted metal torch with magical runes on it. If deciphered, the runes reveal a keyword. Upon testing, it will be learned that if the torch is held by someone, and that person speaks the keyword, it will ignite and burn like a normal one, but never burn out. Only if the holde...
A weighted hallway which, when players have crossed the center line, releases two iron bars from the walls, in a scissor-like motion in an attempt to break the players's legs. Players take 1d8 damage and move at half speed for 10 minutes.
Reflex save DC 15 halves damage and negates speed reduc...
Characters enter a room or corridor, and see what appears to be themselves way down at the other end, just then exiting. If they call to other group, the party will hear it, and, looking back, will see themselves way back where they just were. These are not copies, nor is this an illusion; space ha...
When read by a player, magical runes trigger a catapulting floorboard that propels any creature within a 15 ft radius through the air. Thrown players are propelled 1d20 ft into the air for 1d6 +5 damage. If they hit the ceiling, then they also take 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
Public domain catap...
Less a cursed item than a difficult and dangerous one to use, this will appear to be a carefully carved piece of flint, complete with runic characters, and a thin piece of steel, also bearing runes. They will come in a small wooden box with matching symbols.
Upon inspection, these two items, wh...
Upon triggering, the GM has everyone roll dice, and writes down the result. Low number loses, but this is not shared immediately. The victim has been inflicted with creeping paranoia.
It takes time to manifest, but slowly, as the game session goes along, the GM passes the player notes (either...
A precious artifact causes 1d4 items from a player's inventory to be sent to 1 random plane of existence, once per day. The artifact must be in a player's possession (on their person or in a bag or similar container owned by them) to have effect. Abandoning the artifact removes the curse, but does...
These will appear to be a set of magic leather boots which form-fit to any wearer. During testing, they will allow the character to climb walls and ceilings like a spider, moving along vertical and horizontal surfaces at up to 1/2 normal speed. When first used when really needed, however, the boots...
A cabinet or wardrobe, if opened, releases a swarm of mosquitoes. Players have a 50% chance of being bitten as long as they remain in the room.
If bitten, they are itchy and uncomfortable, resulting in these players being automatically surprised or flat-footed when attacked (attackers get a su...
Upon triggering, all characters within the affected area are levitated a few feet off the floor. They have no control over this effect, nor does anyone else in the party. Levitating characters will simply hover in the air, unable to propel themselves.
Unless the characters can grapple a solid...
When triggered, the characters suddenly find themselves moving in the opposite direction, back the way they came. This will occur even if the characters are not touching the floor (Levitation spell, magical flight, etc.). The characters can turn back and try again, but the same thing will keep happ...
This appears as an expensive necklace of gold and jewels, with an embossed image on a central pendant of a smiling face. It will radiate magic if tested, and appear to be magicked to allow the wearer to speak and understand any spoken language.
Upon first being used when it really matters, the...
This will appear as an animal or creature figure, like for a charm bracelet, made of stone or ivory. When tested, it will radiate magic, but not a curse, as this item is more broken than cursed. Upon careful inspection and research, it will appear to give the wearer the ability to transform into...
I presented at an international tech conference this week, speaking about game design and, specifically, the Lua programming language (which you might know if you ever tried your hand at modding World of Warcraft or Garry's Mod, and a dozen other games and software titles).
To mix things up...