Upon triggering, one character at random must successfully Save vs. Magic or be turned to glass, along with all their weapons and equipment. They will radiate magic, but will otherwise be as fragile as regular glass. The character will require Dispel Magic, Cure Petrification, or similar spell to be...
Any exits close up, and holes open in the walls. The trapped area begins to rapidly fill with water. The enclosed space will fill in five minutes exactly, drowning any characters within (magic or certain innate abilities may help here). Characters have only that much time to disarm the trap, or som...
A magical layer of slick, black ice covers the floor. This ice blends in to the floor if the floor is dark or takes on the appearance of a shadow. A simple perception check reveals that this "shadow" appears to be missing an opaque source (in other words, there's nothing in immediate view casting t...
When triggered, a highly flammable oil sprays down in a 4-square radius, followed immediately by a glowing ember. Anyone in the affected area takes 3d8 fire damage immediately, and 1d6 burning damage each minute thereafter, until extinguished.
Optional: All food any player is carrying is bur...
A pair of valuable earrings seem to tremble where they lie.
If touched, they let out an ear-piercing burst, requiring a Fortitude or Constitution saving throw, for each creature in the room, to negate. Upon failure, you are deafened for 1d4 rounds.
The earrings are capable of only one burst...
Upon triggering, half the flagstones at the characters' feet in whatever corridor or room the trap is in fall away, revealing a dark pit with no apparent bottom. Standing upon a stone seems to prevent it from falling until the character steps off, whereupon it tumbles away after a second or so. Cha...
I've never considered myself a "serious gamer" even though gaming has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I guess to me a "serious gamer" is someone who spends lots of money on the very latest gaming console or gaming PC, and buys every game as soon as it's released. That's decided...
Upon triggering, a huge cylinder that is covered in spikes, comes rolling toward the group from a large hidden hatch. There is room above the cylinder to jump over, but not to either side. Characters get to make Dex roll or Saving Throw to avoid, otherwise anyone in the way takes 3d6 of damage. The...
A precious item (goblet, crown, large gemstone, or similar), when lifted from its resting place, triggers a hyper-local shift in cardinal directions.
There are no immediate signs that the trap has been triggered. But if there are two exits in the current room, then exiting through door #1 depos...
Upon triggering, one character at random is teleported to a cage in a hidden room nearby, while a beast of the GM's choice (consult your favorite monster tome) is teleported from this cage, to the exact spot where the character had been standing. From the players' points-of-view, it will appear a...
A floor trigger opens holes in the walls, and millions of angry bees fly in from all sides. All characters in the area take 1d4 HP damage per minute from stings. Attacking with conventional weapons is fruitless. The bees are too fast to outrun, and will follow the characters where ever they go even...
A pretty common side effect of gaming is that you don't want to ever stop. Most games, for better or for worse, have a beginning and an end. You start a board game by setting up all the pieces, you play the game, and the game ends when someone wins. A good RPG game, however, doesn't have to stop whe...
A floor trigger opens holes in the walls, and millions of army ants pour in from all sides! All characters in the area take 1d4 HP damage per minute from ant bites and stings. Attacking with conventional weapons is fruitless. Optional: Characters may have a chance to react before being covered in...
A cloud of spears fly out from previously hidden holes in the walls. Each character in the area rolls 1d6 for the number of spears that have a chance to hit (AC, Dex roll, Saving Throw, etc. to avoid). Optional: 50% chance of poison for each strike, with character losing 1 HP per minute until cure...
Upon triggering, one or more characters (GM's choice) is immediately sent to another part of the dungeon at random, separating them from the party and possibly each other. Optional: GM may pre-determine the destination(s) for story purposes, or just for humor's sake. (A trip to the sewers, anyone?...
I've read my fair share of player handbooks and rulebooks, and lots of game mastery guides, and yet I still have a nagging feeling that nobody has yet provided a straight-forward, no-nonsense "recipe" for the mechanics of running an RPG session. Most books assume that if you're ready to take on the...