Traps

This article complies with version 0.96 of Runarcana RPG

Ancient emperors and kings believed that their wealth in the material world would accompany them to the spiritual world. Hidden organizations and societies guard their secrets from the rest of the world. Artisans and guilds conceal formulas and techniques from competitors. All these examples, and many more, resorted to the use of traps to secure and protect what they considered precious.

Traps are not a privilege reserved for the powerful. A hunting system for food is, in essence, a trap, and anyone living in the wilderness can learn this with some practice. For this reason, traps can be found almost anywhere.

Take one wrong step in an ancient tomb and razor-sharp blades may be fired, cutting people in half. Trip on a nearly invisible wire and poisoned darts will fell even the greatest warrior. Walk carelessly on a path and fall into a pit with stakes, dug by someone too young to fight, but determined enough to protect their family.

In Runeterra, traps range from traditional mechanisms, such as wires that activate gears and trapdoors with hidden stakes, to solutions involving techmaturgy or spells, linked to runes, symbols, and wondrous devices.

A trap can be mechanical or magical in nature. Mechanical traps rely on a mechanism. Magical traps trigger arcane effects, spells, when activated, either by an enchanted or techmaturgical device, or by a spell prepared as a trap.

Traps in the game

When adventurers encounter a trap, you need to know how it's triggered, what it does, and what the chances are of the group noticing, understanding, and neutralizing or circumventing it. Often, it's also important that there's a reason for that trap to be there. If the players are walking along a well-used trail, an old trapdoor will hardly be active in the middle of the path without having been triggered, repaired, or revealed by the environment.

Similarly, when raiding a buried temple, one expects traps to be lurking, from the seemingly completely safe corridor to the point where the ceiling is about to collapse. In such places, traps serve a function, and that function often appears in the scenery as markings, architectural adaptations, "safe" routes, and signs of maintenance.

Typically, traps work best as quick distractions that skilled characters overcome in a short time, or as dangerous challenges that require quick thinking and cooperation. Truly undetectable and inescapable traps are rarely fun.

Nevertheless, the traps generally fall into two main groups.

• Installed Traps. They generally have a specific form and function, and can be detected, bypassed, and disarmed.

• Natural Traps. These traps typically do not have a standardized shape or function, and disarming them is not always possible.

Form and Function

Installed traps should follow the principle of form and function, with a shape appropriate to the location where they were set and a clear function. What does this trap contain? Who installed it? How long has it been in that location? What is its purpose?

The answer to these questions is usually enough to decide the form of the trap: an almost invisible wire in the path that fires a poisoned dart, a pressure plate on the floor that activates a blade on the wall, a lock whose key, turned one way, opens the door and, to the other, triggers an explosion.

The purpose can be to protect a treasure, prevent access to a room, signal the arrival of invaders, capture someone alive, delay pursuers, or push intruders onto the "correct" route. The rule here is simple: traps are not placed randomly.

Even if, in their fantasy world, there exists someone truly evil who derives pleasure from the suffering of others, that person doesn't set a trap in the middle of nowhere and abandon it hoping that one day someone might get hurt by it. If that person set the trap for sadistic pleasure, they will be nearby, pass by frequently, collect results, test the mechanism, or use the trap as part of another function.

Natural Traps

In some cases, the traps were not created by someone with a specific goal. They are the result of chance and environmental factors, such as a rotten plank in an abandoned house or an old boat, a section of cave that could collapse at any moment, fragile terrain hiding lava flowing underneath, pockets of gas, toxic fungi, and flooded passages.

In practice, such traps are environmental hazards that can manifest for various reasons. This type tends to be more dangerous for two reasons. The first is that it doesn't have a fixed shape, so you can't "memorize" the format and look for it in the same way every time. The second is that there isn't always a mechanism to disarm it. In many cases, the solution is to stabilize, circumvent, reduce risk, or accept a cost to cross.

Parts of a trap

The description of a trap should include, at a minimum, the following points:

Gravity: Every trap is either Annoying or Deadly for characters within a certain level range. An Annoying trap tends to cause limited damage or impose a tactical cost. A Deadly trap can cause severe damage and create dangerous conditions. Use caution when applying a trap to characters below the indicated range.

Trigger: What makes the trap fire. Examples include a pressure plate, tripwire, doorknob, wrong key, touching a seal, or entering an area.

Duration and reset: If the effect is instantaneous, lasts rounds, minutes, or hours, or remains until destroyed or dissipated. If it resets after activation, this must be explicitly stated.

Signs: What reveals the presence of the trap before it is triggered. Marks, soot, cracks, asymmetries, noises, smell of poison, hidden runes, traces of magic, unusual moisture.

How to deal with it: Three steps resolve most cases at the table and reduce excessive rolls.

1. Recognizing signs
2. Understanding the mechanism, pattern, or trigger
3. Neutralizing or circumventing

Dealing with Traps

Traps can be dealt with in more than one way. Sometimes, someone notices a sign in the path and the group decides to stop momentarily to search carefully. Other times, no one notices anything, but someone still decides to search as a precaution. When the trap is found, the next step is to understand how it works and then choose between circumventing, neutralizing, or disarming it.

Perceive

Perception is noticing clues without declaring an active search, while the group explores. When the group progresses normally, the game master can compare the trap's DC with each character's Passive Perception. If someone matches or exceeds the DC, they notice a sign that something is wrong and where it is, such as a thin wire, holes in the wall, soot, overly clean dust, an out-of-pattern sign, a chemical smell, or a partially covered rune. Perception generally points to the possibility of a problem, without explaining that it is a trap or pointing out the mechanism.

Search

Searching is the deliberate pursuit of traps. The character declares that they will search and describes how they do so, examining the floor, testing with a stick, analyzing locks, observing maintenance marks, or looking for runes and seals.

Searching can happen after noticing signs, to confirm and pinpoint the exact location, but it can also happen even without signs, out of caution, habit, or suspicion.

When searching makes sense, call for a Perception check against the trap's DC. In large areas, repetitive situations, or under pressure, instead of multiple rolls, the GM can treat the search as time consumed and decide what consequences this delay brings to the scene.

Understanding

After the trap has been noticed or found during the search, understanding it means discovering what activates it, what happens when it is triggered, what the risk area is, and which part is critical.

Technology is the most common test for mechanisms, patterns, triggers, and weaknesses. Arcana is more appropriate when the trap is magical. If the trap uses both technology and magic, a Techmaturgy craft roll is extremely suitable.

Understanding usually answers practical questions, such as what the trigger is, how to prevent it from firing, how to make the crossing safe, and how to disable the mechanism.

Solve

With the operational aspects in mind, the group chooses how to proceed.

• Bypass: to pass through the trap without interfering, using another route, crossing through a safe point, advancing one by one, using rope, or avoiding the activation radius.
• Neutralize: to make the crossing safe without rendering the trap inactive. Examples include wedging a pressure plate, blocking a nozzle, locking the course of a blade, covering a sensor, safely discharging a mechanism, or triggering a remote trigger. The trap may remain functional and become a risk again later.
• Disarm: to render the trap inactive by directly interfering with the trigger or mechanism. This may be reversible or permanent, depending on the type. Disarming usually involves dexterity with locksmithing tools, sleight of hand when it makes sense in the fiction, or a specific procedure described by the trap. If the mechanism allows, it can be rearmed later.

Common sense above data

If the action described by the players clearly reveals or resolves the trap, there is no reason to roll. A roll is necessary when there is real risk, urgency, poor visibility, or delicate manipulation under threat of triggering.

Request a roll when there is real risk and a clear consequence for failure. If the group has the time, tools, careful description, and nothing is pressuring the scene, the cost can be time, not a roll.

Degrees of success and failure

When disarming traps, different failures can lead to different consequences.

• 'Minor Failure': The character advances, but at a cost, with noise, wear and tear, delay, loss of a tool, reduced damage, or a complication.
• 'Significant Failure': The trap triggers, the mechanism becomes unstable, or the opportunity to disarm is lost.
• 'Success': The character disarms the trap without any additional effects.
• 'High Success': The character disarms and also learns something useful, discovers a shortcut, reuses parts, identifies a pattern, or prepares the way for the rest of the group.

If you want a quick criterion, treat a very small margin failure like 1 to 2 as a minor failure, and a wide margin failure like 5 or more as a significant failure.

Tools and Crafts

When the trap involves a specific craft, use the craft's attribute and the appropriate skill set. Proficiency in a craft allows you to add half your proficiency bonus to any ability that interacts with that craft. Checks made with a craft skill set without proficiency are made with disadvantage.

Gravity and levels

There are two gravity levels for traps, Annoying and Deadly, with each level providing a suggested damage estimate per character level range. The table below also suggests appropriate DC ranges for saving throws and tests.

Match the tone of your adventure. If your adventure is a huge open world where players may eventually enter locations that are extremely dangerous for their levels, the traps should reflect that.

However, if your adventure has a more balanced pace, you can adjust the traps to the characters' levels, thus avoiding major risks. For a level 15 character, a deadly trap for levels 1 to 4 would be much less dangerous than an annoying trap for levels 11 to 16, while for a level 5 character, an annoying trap for level 16 would certainly be deadly.

Reference Table

Use the table below when creating new traps and updating old traps.

Traps

Level	Annoying		Deadly
	!DC	Damage	DC	Damage
1 - 4	10 - 12	1d10	13 - 14	2d10
5 - 8	12 - 14	2d10	14 - 16	5d10
9 - 12	14 - 16	4d10	16 - 18	9d10
13- 16	15 - 18	6d10	17 - 20	12d10
17 - 20	17 - 20	8d10	19 - 22	16d10

Distributing damage and conditions

The damage value in the table is an estimate per activation, which takes into account a proposed hazard for the range of levels covered; it should not be taken as a guarantee per target.

If the trap can affect multiple creatures, divide the estimated damage among the likely targets or reduce the damage per target; otherwise, it becomes much more deadly. Now, if the trap imposes a significant condition, reduce the damage precisely because of the adverse effects and increase the clarity of the signs to find it.

When a trap causes damage over time, the estimate should assume few rounds of exposure, unless the intention is to turn the trap into a full-blown encounter in order to exhaust the characters' resources.

Locksmith tools and boobytrap padlock

In Runarcana, locksmithing tools appear as a recurring reference for opening locks and handling mechanisms. By default, without the key, a lock can be opened with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check by someone proficient in the locksmithing craft.

For traps attached to locks and safes, treat the assembly as a boobytrap padlock.

• CD required to understand the boobytrap padlock. Investigation DC 14 + craft level used in creation.

This test involves identifying tolerances, internal space, false pins, extra channels, and common "signatures" of the mechanism manufacturer.

Poisons in traps

Poisons can be incorporated into traps, whether in darts, needles, blades, or vapors. Injury-type poisons can be applied to weapons, ammunition, and trap components that cause cutting or piercing damage.

The DC of a poison depends on the poison's level and the crafter's skill level. When a poison is part of a trap, it uses the poison's own DC.

Optionally, the GM may allow poisons placed in traps to be collected. In this case, collecting from a trap uses Technology with a DC equal to the trap's DC.

Techmaturgy in traps

Techmaturgical traps are fixed devices or installable modules that require a power source. They may include sensors, electromechanical locks, discharges, valves, and high-precision triggering mechanisms.

When a trap requires power, it typically lists a power cell as a component. The master can enable the installation, shutdown, and repair of these modules using Techmaturge and Technology Set.

Traps as a tactical element

Traps work well when they offer choices. A trap that captures can separate the front line from the support. An alarm trap can call for reinforcements. A smoke trap can impose obscuration and shift the advantage of whoever has the best vision. In these situations, the damage may be less, but the impact on the scene is high.

Complex traps

Complex traps function like standard traps, but once activated, they execute a routine each round. They transform the problem into a dynamic encounter.

• When activated, the trap rolls initiative and acts on the same turn.
• It remains possible to detect, circumvent, and disarm it using usual methods.
• If the trap alters the environment over time, detail what changes each round.
• To avoid burnout, keep most of them focused for between 2 and 5 rounds.

Guidelines for the GM

Traps work best when they add choice and tension without turning exploration into a series of empty tests. Use the guidelines below to prepare traps, conduct the scene, and create new examples consistently.

Setting traps

• Define the function before the mechanics. Decide what the trap protects, who installed it, how an authorized person can get past it, and what the location gains from its presence.
• Ensure clues. Every installed trap should leave marks, noises, maintenance patterns, residue, or asymmetries. The more dangerous it is, the more important it is that the scenario offers clues.
• Choose the severity based on the scene. Annoying traps create cost and rhythm. Deadly traps change the group's posture and demand attention. If the exploration is already tense, an annoying trap may be enough.
• Plan solution routes. Include at least one clear way to get around it besides rolling dice, such as locking the trigger, blocking the path of the effect, crossing through another point, triggering the trigger from a distance, or dismantling the mechanism in time.
• Align numbers with the group's level. Use the reference table to keep DCs, attack bonuses, and damage within a standard. Adjust upwards only when the fiction justifies it, such as an exceptional craft, rare technaturity, or constant maintenance.

Driving the scene

• Describe before asking for rolls. Start with what the characters see, hear, and feel. Allow questions and actions. The roll comes into play when there is real risk and a defined consequence.
• Use Passive Perception sparingly. If there are obvious signs and the group advances recklessly, Passive Perception may reveal something. If the group stops to search, ask for the appropriate roll.
• Treat perceiving and understanding as different steps. Perception finds clues. Investigation and Arcana explain what it means and how the mechanism works.
• Failures also advance the story. A failure can generate noise, lost time, equipment wear, reduced damage, a complication, or a partial shot. Avoid stalling the scene due to a lack of a specific outcome.
• Allow room for creativity. Good ideas can eliminate the need for a roll. Plausible plans can reduce the DC, grant advantage, lessen damage, or transform risk into a time cost.

Creating new traps

• Write the complete trap sheet. Type, gravity and levels, trigger, duration, reset, signs, tests to perceive and understand, ways to neutralize or circumvent, and the effect.
• Control the estimate per activation. If the trap hits multiple targets, divide the impact. If it imposes strong conditions, reduce damage and increase signs.
• Prefer choices to punishments. Better traps force decisions, such as spending resources, changing route, separating the group, dealing with alarms, crossing in order, or buying time against a recurring danger.
• Use complex traps as short encounters. Structure them in 2 to 5 rounds of pressure, with clear objectives to escape, disable, lock, or destroy the mechanism.
• Maintain consistency with the location. An ancient tomb may have heavy engineering and redundancy. A recent hideout may have alarms and capture. A techmaturgic laboratory may combine sensors, runes, and devices in layers.

Examples of traps

The traps below preserve the concept and identity of the previous material and follow the structure presented on this page, with terms and hooks from Runarcana.

Poisoned Needle

A poisoned needle is hidden inside the lock of a treasure chest or similar object. Opening it without the proper key causes the needle to pop out and inject poison.

Type: Mechanical
Gravity: Deadly (1–4)
Trigger: Opening the lock without the correct key or forcing the mechanism
Duration: Instantaneous, the poison may persist
Reset: Depends on the mechanism, generally needs to be reset
Signs: Changes in the lock, lateral micro-slit, selective wear at one point, chemical odor when bringing the face close

Perceive

• Perception DC 13–14 to notice subtle irregularities in the lock

Understand

• Investigation DC 13–14 to conclude there is extra space in the cylinder for a needle
• Trap padlock If the trap was created via craft, use Investigation DC 14 + craft level

"Neutralize or circumvent"

• Dexterity + locksmith tools DC 13–14 to remove the needle, lock the spring, or block the channel
• Bypassing may also be possible by opening the chest from another point or disassembling the lock with time and tools

Effect

• The creature within range takes 1 piercing damage and 2d10 poison damage.
• Constitution saving throw DC 13–14. Failure leaves the creature Poisoned for 1 hour. Success halves the poison damage and avoids the condition.

Level adjustment

• For other ranges, keep the concept and replace damage and CD with the estimate from the table.

Lotus Trap

Jhin learned to use the same principle as the Dancing Grenade on a landmine. Upon detecting proximity, it bounces and explodes, leaving a Bloom mark and releasing a vibrational wave.

Type: Magic (device)
Gravity and Levels: Deadly (13–16)
Trigger: A creature enters within 10 feet of the trap
Duration: Up to 1 minute, or until deactivated, destroyed, or the effect dissipates
Reset: Does not reset
Signs: Camouflaged device, small metallic “petals,” energy residue on the ground, “swept” dust pattern around

Perceive

• Perception DC 17–20 to notice imperfect camouflage

Understanding

• Investigation CD 17–20 to identify the activation ray and the leap
• Arcane CD 17–20 to recognize the vibrational signature and the link with Flourish

Neutralize or Bypass

• Dexterity + locksmithing tools DC 17–20 to block the mechanical firing
• Dispel magic DC 17–20 to suppress the device
• Bypassing may be possible by forcing another path or provoking the firing from a distance, if resources and space allow

Effect

• The trap leaps toward the creature, and it makes a DC 17–20 Dexterity saving throw.
• A failure leaves the creature with the Flourish mark until the end of its next turn and Contained until the end of its next turn.
• At the start of the trap's next turn, it explodes. Creatures within 15 feet make a DC 17–20 Constitution saving throw, taking 6d8 vibrational damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.

Level Adjustment

• If the mark and condition are the focus of the scene, keep the damage moderate. If the focus is on the explosive impact, reduce the conditions and increase the damage within the estimate.

Poisonous Trap

Yordle mushrooms release toxins upon the slightest contact. The explosion is followed by a persistent cloud that contaminates the air.

Type: Mechanical (chemical)
Gravity and levels: Deadly (5–8)
Trigger: A creature enters within 5 feet of or touches the mushroom
Duration: 1 minute, cloud
Reset: Does not reset
Signs: Spores on the ground, sweet smell, scrape marks, footprints around the area

Perceive

• Perception CD 14-16 to notice the mushroom before contact

Understanding

• Investigation CD 14-16 to identify the firing pattern and range

Neutralize or Circumvent

• Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) DC 13–15 to remove the mushroom without bursting
• Circumventing may be possible by burning the area, isolating it with tarps, throwing sand, or traversing it with adequate respiratory protection
• Dispel magic does not apply unless the variant is techmaturgic

Effect

• Explosion. Constitution saving throw DC 14-16. Failure deals 5d10 poison damage and the creature becomes Poisoned until the end of its next turn. Success halves the damage and avoids the condition.
• Cloud. The area within a 20-foot radius becomes slightly obscured for 1 minute. A creature that ends its turn in the cloud makes a Constitution saving throw DC 12–14, taking 1d10 poison damage on a failure and becoming Poisoned until the end of its next turn. Success halves the damage and avoids the condition.
• A moderate wind disperses the cloud in 4 rounds. A strong wind disperses it in 1 round.

Level Adjustment

• Chemical enhancements may increase the DC or consistency of the effect. If this happens, reduce the duration or damage per round to maintain control of the estimate.

Yordle Trap

A simple trap designed to capture, not to kill. Serrated jaws grip the leg and lock tightly.

Type: Mechanical
Gravity and Levels: Annoying (1–4)
Trigger: A creature steps on the trap
Duration: Until the creature escapes
Reset: Requires manual resetting
Signs: Drag trail, leaves arranged in a “too good” way, small metal marks on the ground

"Perceive"

• Perception DC 10–12 to notice camouflage

Understanding

• Investigation CD 10–12 to understand where to step safely and where the spring arc is located.

Neutralize or circumvent

• Dexterity + DC 10–12 locksmith tools to lock the spring and open the jaws
• Circumventing may be possible by advancing over the top, using a plank, or provoking the trigger with a stick.

Effect

• Dexterity saving throw DC 10–12. A failed save deals 1d8 piercing damage and leaves the creature restrained.
• While restrained, the creature can use an action to make a Strength (Athletics) save DC 10–12 and escape. Each failed save deals 1 piercing damage.

Enhanced Variant

• For a "professional" hunting version at levels 5–10, use DCs 15–17, reinforce signs, and consider adding light poison or multiple traps in series.

Poisoned Darts

A hidden pressure plate fires darts from the walls. The mechanism can hit more than one intruder if the group advances together.

Type: Mechanical
Gravity and Levels: Deadly (1–4)
Trigger: Stepping on the pressure plate
Duration: Instantaneous
Reset: Can be rearmed
Signs: Small holes in the walls, clean dust around the plate, slightly higher floor

"Perceive"

• Perception CD 13–15 to notice the plate and the holes

Understanding

• Investigation CD 13–15 to deduce the range, angle, and area of ​​risk

Neutralize or bypass

• Dexterity + DC 13–15 locksmith tools to lock the pressure plate
• Bypassing may be possible by jumping over, distributing weight, or traversing a safe ledge, if one exists.

Effect

• The trap fires 4 darts. Each dart makes an attack with a +8 bonus against a random creature within 10 feet of the plate.
• A dart that hits deals 1 piercing damage.
• A creature hit by one or more darts makes a DC 13–15 Constitution saving throw. A failure deals 2d10 poison damage; a success halves the poison damage.

Level Adjustment

• For Annoying (1–4), change the attack bonus to +4 and reduce the poison to 1d10.

Ceiling Collapse

A tripping thread knocks blocks off the ceiling. The collapse hits the area and requires an immediate response.

Type: Mechanical
Gravity and Levels: Deadly (5–10)
Trigger: A tripwire is broken
Duration: Instantaneous
Reset: Does not reset
Signs: Cracks in the ceiling, accumulated dust, overly "ready" stones, reinforcement marks on columns

Perceive

• Perception CD 12–14 to notice the wire and signs of the compromised ceiling.

Understanding

• Investigation CD 12–14 to understand the collapse point and impact area

Neutralize or bypass

• Dexterity + DC 15–17 locksmith tools to safely cut and lock the trigger
• Bypassing may be possible by taking an alternate route or traversing them one by one with rope and anchors

Effect

• Dexterity saving throw DC 15–17. Failure deals 4d10 bludgeoning damage and causes the creature to become prone. Success halves the damage and avoids the condition.

Rolling Sphere

An ancient mechanism releases a stone sphere that rolls down a corridor, crushing everything in its path. The trick is to buy time to escape or slow it down.

Type: Mechanical, complex trap
Gravity and levels: Deadly (11–16)
Trigger: Pressure plate on the floor
Duration: Until the sphere stops or is neutralized
Initiative: +8
Reset: Needs to be rearmed
Signs: Scratches on the ground, broken stones, side gutters, sections of wall "polished" by friction

Perceive

• Perception CD 17–19 to notice the plate and signs of the mechanism

Understanding

• Investigation CD 17–19 to identify the sphere's track, refuge points, and corridor pattern

Neutralize or Bypass

• Dexterity + locksmithing tools DC 17–19 to lock the mechanism before release
• After activation, neutralizing is usually an encounter objective, not a one-time check

Effect per round

• The sphere moves 60 feet in a straight line. Creatures in its path make a DC 17–19 Dexterity saving throw.
• A failed save deals 10d10 bludgeoning damage and causes the creature to become prone. A successful save halves the damage and avoids the condition.
• On a turn, a creature can use an action to make a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) save and reduce the sphere's movement by 15 feet until the end of its next turn.

Fire-Breathing Statue

A statue equipped with a mechanical sensor shoots jets of fire when someone steps on the wrong plaque.

Type: Magic (device)
Gravity and levels: Deadly (5–10)
Trigger: Pressure plate
Duration: Instantaneous
Reset: Yes, after 1 minute
Signs: Soot in the statue's mouth, heat marks on the floor, "stone exchange" signs around it

Perceive

• Perception CD 12–14 to notice the plaque and soot

Understanding

• Investigation DC 12–14 to identify the safe floor pattern
• Arcane DC 12–14 to recognize the magical jet reinforcement

Neutralize or Bypass

• Dexterity + Keyring Tools DC 15–17 to lock the plate
• Dispel Magic DC 15–17 to suppress the device
• Bypassing may be possible by traversing at a specific pace, using a shield as cover, or blocking the nozzle

Effect

• Dexterity saving throw DC 15–17. Failure deals 4d10 fire damage, success halves the damage.

Moat

Moats combine the environmental hazard of falling and sometimes a trap component, such as stakes, locks, or triggers.

Rules of impact, quick reference

• Upon falling, the creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for 10 feet, up to a maximum of 20d6, and becomes prone unless it avoids taking damage.
• Falling into water may reduce the damage, depending on the scene and the conditions of the location.

Hidden Pit

A section of the floor collapses, creating a hole.

Type: Mechanical
Gravity and Levels: Uncomfortable (1–4)
Trigger: False floor
Duration: Instantaneous
Reset: Needs to be replaced
Signs: Hollow wood, "recent" stone, dust that disappears when stepped on, misalignment in the grout

Perceive

• Perception DC 10–12 to notice the false floor

Understanding

• Investigation CD 10–12 to understand the support mechanism

Effect

• The creature falls and suffers fall damage based on the depth of the fall.

Moat with lock

A lid falls into place after the fall, turning the pit into an improvised cell.

Type: Mechanical
Gravity and Levels: Uncomfortable (1–4)
Trigger: False floor with a closing cover
Duration: Until opened

Neutralize or bypass

• Opening the lid from the top may require Dexterity + DC 15 locksmith tools, as a standard reference for a keyless lock.
• Climbing the walls may require a check, depending on the material, space, and urgency of the scene.

Spike Moat

Stakes at the bottom transform the fall into a penetrating injury.

Type: Mechanical
Gravity and Levels: Deadly (1–4), if stakes are relevant
Trigger: False floor

Effect

• Normal fall damage
• Increased piercing damage based on the trap estimate for the desired level, dividing the estimate between fall and stake damage when necessary.

Net fall

A net falls and pulls the target to the ground, trapping it. The trap was designed to capture, not to harm.

Type: Mechanical
Gravity and Levels: Annoying (1–4)
Trigger: Tripwire
Duration: Until removed
Reset: Needs to be reset
Signs: Tensioned wire, hook high up, poorly camouflaged net bag, "clear" trail under the drop point

Perceive

• Perception CD 10–12 to notice the thread and the net bag

Understanding

• Investigation CD 10–12 to identify the drop point and the counterweight

Neutralize or bypass

• Dexterity + locksmith tools DC 10–12 to release the counterweight without triggering it
• Bypassing may be possible by carefully going underneath, crossing with a plank, or cutting the wire from a distance

Effect

• Dexterity saving throw DC 10–12. Failure leaves the creature Restrained and Prone.
• A restrained creature can use an action to make a Strength (Athletics) DC 10–12 save to break free, ending the condition on a success.