7/26/2019 Locks and Traps

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Locks and TrapsFound at RPGamers' Station

Presented by ADnD Downloads

Locks and keys

"Bored" Lock

In order to pick a lock, a thief needs to be able to reach the lock with his or her lockpicks, correct? This lock

should be set in the wall next to the door. For it to work, the wall must be 3 or more feet thick. The lock is set in a

hole bored into the wall approximately a foot or two deep. The result is that a long-stemmed key will open the

lock (say, a mace pommel that screws off to reveal a key?), but lockpicks will not - unless the thief carries very

long, hard to conceal lockpicks!

Glyph of Warding Lock

This lock is a specially prepared magical lock. The keyhole plate has a small glyph of warding inscribed aroundthe keyhole. The glyph is enspelled against any metal objects being put through the keyhole to do an electrical

discharge at the offending item (for damage, see Glyph of Warding  spell in the Player's Handbook). Said charge

travels through the lockpicks of whoever is trying to pick the lock, and (hopefully) deters them from trying again.

The lock would have to be "reset" per the Glyph of Warding  spell.

Tapestry Lock and Key

The first component of this duo is a sapphire pear-cut necklace, about the size of a typical key without the stem.

When both sides of the necklace are pressed, an illusion of a keystem appears to sprout out the point of the

necklace. The key is attuned to a tapestry - typically a large tapestry with a door bearing a keyhole somewhere in

the picture. When the illusionary key is inserted into the keyhole on the tapestry, the tapestry shifts into an

extradimensional portal.

Lockpick eating lock

The way this trapped lock works is that there are a pair of small textured rollers that snap together from either

side to trap a lockpick. The rollers turn and "suck" the key into the lock (presumably out the other side), much like

the rollers in a pitching machine throw a ball. If the thief gets through the lock without understanding its nature, it

will be amusing to see a reaction when a pile of lockpicks is described on the floor beyond the door!

Doorknob key

A fairly simple trick, but one that players will not necessarily think of. Have a door with a rotating doorknob (like a

typical modern door) leads into a room. The only other door in the room can only be opened with a magical key.

The doorknobs and the stem connecting them are the key to the magical lock. The key is produced by pressing

in the doorknob on both sides of the door, twisting the knobs in opposite directions, and pulling, which gives you

a knob, and a knob with the stem, which is the key to the other door. There may be clues you can give the

characters, such as having a round depression in the other door that the keyhole is in. You could also clue the

PC's in by using a verse inscribed in the door - perhaps "The way in is the way out" or "Your method of entry is

the key to your departure". As an added unpleasant twist, removal of the doorknob may cause the entry door to

shut and permenantly lock, and force the characters to face what lies beyond the exit door.

Word of Recall Lock

This is a specially made padlock with a variant of the clerical spell Word of Recall  cast upon an item in the lock.

There is a small clay tile in the lock that the modified Word of Recall  is cast upon. When the lock is opened, the

tile is broken. Whoever is in contact with the lock when the tile is broken is teleported with the lock to a pre-set

location (a jail cell, the bottom of a dry well, on a pillar in a volcano, etc.).

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Fake Door/Panel Door

Simply a misdirection effort here - have the opening of a lock in a door actually unlock a sliding panel next to the

door (or across the room). The door may simply not open, or if you are in a nasty mood, opening the door leads

to a small closet where a pre-arranged fireball detonates.

Animated Stone Lock

This lock necessitates a number of powerful spells (Contingency, Animate Stone, etc.). The net result is that if

the proper key is not used, a stone hand shoots out of the door (presumably stone also)and grabs the hand ofthe offending thief, pulls it into the door, then de-animates, leaving the thief with his hand embedded in the

stonework. The thief would get a Dexterity check at 1/2 to avoid the trap. The trap may or may not reset itself at

DM option.

Traps

Pivoting Water-filling Hallway

All right, you come up with a better name for it!  This trap centers in a hallway, perhaps 30-50 feet long. There are

doors every 10 feet, with small 1 foot by 1 foot barred windows in them. The doors are locked but can be picked.

However, before the next door in the hallway can be opened, the one before it must be closed and locked. The

last door in line looks like the others, except there is darkness past the window opening. Dispelling the darknessshows blank stone beyond the window (there's nothing there - yet). When you get to the end of the hallway and

try to open the last door, a mechanism is triggered that pivots the entire hallway from horizontal to vertical, so the

party is now standing at the bottom of a shaft. Once the hallway stops at vertical (takes 2 rounds), a barrier

(magical or non, your choice) moves aside and pressurized water begins to fill the hallway. The water level rises

10 feet every 2 rounds (10'/round if you have an exceptionally tough party). The windows in the doors allow the

water level to pass the doors, but party members still have to pick the locks and relock the doors to get out the

top. What is at the top is up to the DM. Could be more of the place the PC's are exploring, could be a blank wall

(sucks to be them!).

Breakaway Ladder

This 20' ladder looks like a standard wooden ladder with one rung every two feet. The weight limit of the eighth

rung up is drastically less than the rest of the ladder. The rungs of the ladder are actually hollow, with a thindiamond-dusted wire running through the center of the rung. The wire is much stronger than the rung and will not

break. When the full weight of the person on the ladder crashes to the rungs below, they also will break,

revealing diamond dusted wires. The wires will slice through anything that is not metal or magically enchanted

(leather boots, gloves, etc.). End result: anyone on the ladder when it breaks takes 1d4 damage for every rung

up the ladder they are. A successful Dexterity check cuts the damage in half.

The heart of the matter

The setup of this trap is that there is a grossly obscene looking growth at the end of a corridor, looking like a

large veiny heart. The heart is the seal for a highly pressurized fluid filled chamber that keeps the ceiling

suspended over the hallway. The first instinct of a player is likely to be to shoot it. If the heart is pierced, the seal

is ruptured and all the liquid is let out, causing the ceiling to come down and crush the party in the hallway.