The Debris Portal Trap - Dungeons and Dragons Traps

[@WallyDM]

It's not too late to join us on Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/mrtarrasque/the-quintessential-guide-to-monster-encounters?ref=5rccy1

[@Eddo_sensei]

Thank you. I'm going to use this for a Mind flayer dungeon. Pretty awesome.

[@WallyDM]

Awesome! And... how did it go? Were you able to use it?

[@Eddo_sensei]

@@WallyDM I did. they did not go that route. :D cause it is a big dungeon. but they want to explore the rest this week. hopefully we can get to this puzzle.

[@WallyDM]

@@Eddo_sensei Good luck running it! Be sure to report back. :-) Cheers!

[@Eddo_sensei]

@@WallyDM Our session was 2 days ago. They went in the portal room and it was awesome. they used a rope and some pitons to go past the portal. our rogue got dragged in (cause he has no strength :D). spellcasters spent a lot of time around the pillars making arcana checks to see what are those soldiers. I added 5ft push back to arrows so they would fall back in the portal and it added a lot more tension. overall it was a lot of fun. thanks again.

[@WallyDM]

@@Eddo_sensei Oh, I love the push back arrow ideas! Glad that everything went well and seems like your players enjoyed the challenge. Well done on running the encounter!

[@MarvelX42]

I would have the arrows remain invisible after being fired. That way if they are recovered by any of the PCs without breaking, they then have an invisible arrow or three. Also I would give anyone falling though the debris field partial cover ,from the debris they are falling with and getting clobbered by.

[@WallyDM]

Oooh, cool. I like the invisible arrow loot too. Good idea!

[@greatmoustache8731]

Kickstarter looking great! Fun trap, like the invisible archers. to be more insidious, make it magic missile the "archer's" shoot. Always hits, aiming at 3 target's each, but less damage. Only 1 archer can hit the far sides from the middle point to closer to them or something.

[@WallyDM]

Thank you, my friend. I'm really excited about the Kickstarter as well! I like the idea of the magic missles from the archer. It was something I had considered, so I'm glad that you brought it up. Cheers!

[@PGIFilms]

Man I'm getting old, probably one of the few viewers ancient enough to remember. The original version of this trap (with the exception of the invisible archers) was created long before Portal and D&D Honor Among Thieves' Hither-Thither staff came out. I can't remember the title of the book (it was a book of D&D traps) that came out around the early 1980s before AD&D 2E published. I just remember seeing the ads for it in Dragon Magazine and it had two things I will never forget: The tag line "Having a bad day? It'll get worse" and the cartoon of a guy falling from the ceiling directly over a pit trap and holding a sign the said "Help!" 😛 Granted traps back in the day were far more simple, no gravity fields to pull in characters, no debris to dodge or grab on to, just a simple pit trap made "bottomless" with connected teleportation gates placed at the bottom and another on the ceiling above it that made the character fall without end.

[@WallyDM]

Oh wow, that sounds a lot like the old Grimtooth's Traps! I'm a huge, huge fan of those old school classics and have featured a few videos with them on my channel. There are so many of them and they still work today with a bit of shine and polish. Hmmm, you know, if you are a fan of Grimtooth's... I just might have a few of those traps in videos next month. Stay tuned!

[@NegatveSpace]

I like the idea that the archers are waiting until they get to the other side. That way they don't feel pressured into getting past the trap until they get to the otherwise. Maybe the other side needs a puzzle to get the door open? And / or maybe the archers are some kind of magic apparitions which the pedestal has a magic device inside powering them. Also I think this is a great candidate for using tiered damage based on difficulty and level of the party. Objects could be described as small or large depending on the difficulty and have damage correspond to that. And the archers could easily deal more or less damage also.

[@WallyDM]

Some great ideas here. And agreed, this trap can easily be scaled up or down with adjustments to damage and objects in the portal. I like the idea of needing to find a way to open the door with a puzzle. Perhaps, there is something in the debris field they would need to go in and get?

[@NegatveSpace]

@@WallyDM Oh yah that would be a great idea. Throw a variety of items or objects in there and some of them could be pieces to a puzzle.

[@jac0b88]

Interesting that there isnt anything organic in the portal pit. Surely it needs a gelatinous cube to keep it clean. Also shouldn't they still take falling damage once they exit the portal loop?

[@WallyDM]

lol, a Gelatinous Cube would definitely make things a lot more interesting... or, can we do a Gelatinous Cylinder? Haha. And, good call on that falling damage. That makes sense. Cheers!

[@mason5115]

The only change I would make would be to have the entrance and exit sides of the trap at different heights. This will allow this room to better incorporate the gravity effects into the solution of the puzzle.

[@WallyDM]

I dig this idea Mason. Absolutely. That would be cool!

[@jbirmingham2380]

Really cool visuals, and interesting complex traps. I think personally I would have flying speed halved while in the circle instead of a flat failure, with a disadvantage save maybe if they ended their turn there. I want to reiterate the visuals were amazing!

[@WallyDM]

I'm glad that you enjoyed the video! I've been putting a lot more time into the puzzle and trap videos to make them a bit more entertaining, so, I'm glad that you noticed. Thank you and, welcome to the channel. I hope you stick around with us for a while. :-) Cheers!

[@minnion2871]

Could just rule it difficult terrain for flying (on account of falling stuff to dodge while trying to fly through it...) and then throw in that you still have to make the reflex while flying through to not take damage... (Falling prone if you take damage)

[@VladdViever]

Pretty cool trap/ puzzle. Love when it incorporates combat into it. I think I may use it in my dungeon this Saturday. Some ammendment I will make though: Rather than the archers being invisible I'll make them statues that fire magical bolts of energy. Shooting through the gravity well causes the arc of projectiles to curve, bestowing disadvantage on those attack rolls or advantage for saving throws depending on the spell/ attack. Likewise the archers can curve their shots with it, letting them hit around a wall that I'll add to the left side parallel to the door.

[@WallyDM]

Well done, I really dig this alteration with the statues and magical bolts. Splendid alteration!

[@dr.feargood2669]

I do like this. Now deciding how to incorporate it into foundry.

[@WallyDM]

Easy. Go to Patreon and download the map, lol. But seriously, you had a similar effect, I think, with the one shot I played with you? You might be able to use elements from it.

[@reaganduggins5279]

Definitely throwing this into my game. Neat trap! My players are pretty high level, so I'll be upping the DCs, and I'll probably have a monster or two stuck in the debris instead of the archers (it just makes more sense in their current situation).

[@WallyDM]

Oh nice! Glad I could help. Hope this works well for you. Cheers!

[@minnion2871]

A fun idea to throw in there.... Could switch up the damage by having weapons and such in the portal pit too.... (And dead bodies of previous victaims) Where the DM can then roll on a random chart to see what kind of damage the player takes.... (With them rerolling should the source of that damage be removed from the portal pit.... Like if for instance all the swords being removed so they are no longer hurtling through the pit.... ) Could also be fun to tempt the players by throwing treasure into the portal pit too.... (With it not necessarily requiring something to knock them in, but the players chosing to try to grab one of the falling objects and then getting pulled in that way.... Then just when they get out of the pit have them take fall damage multiplied by how many times they fell through the portal before exiting the pit... Actually that would be a sort of fun trick to pull.... Have some chests and some other valubles falling through there.... Not sure if an activated immovable rod would increase or decrease the DC for avoiding damage though should the player loose their grip on it and just have it floating in the middle as stuff bounces off of it.... Could just have an imovable rod in the middle of the pit that someone tried to use to bypass it only for them to fall and then smack their skull on it as they cycled through....

[@cadenceclearwater4340]

Archers. The PCs may think they have cover from the debris field BUT... Given the gravitational pull from the hole, they could curve their arrows in a slingshot maneuver around the debris. 😁

[@WallyDM]

I'm really digging the curved arrow idea. Well done!

[@cadenceclearwater4340]

@@WallyDM Ta 😊

[@minimoose7890]

Hmm... Wondering about the possible themes of dungeons/ruins/complexes where this portal would fit/make sense

[@WallyDM]

My initial inclination was to include it in a portal themed dungeon. Perhaps some type of tear in the multiverse, or somewhere else is a small black hole that tore through a building. But, perhaps my favorite, this is a well devised area for trash. Elsewhere in the dungeon, there are garbage chutes that feed into this, lol.

[@raff3486]

great video!

[@WallyDM]

Thank you! Glad you liked it. Cheers!

[@cadenceclearwater4340]

Back for another view. I'm considering an Earth Dragon with gravity effects 😊 (Slow & and inverted Thunderwave)

[@WallyDM]

Interesting thought. That would be cool! I'm still waiting for my first chance to run this trap. :-/

[@cadenceclearwater4340]

@WallyDM This too, may take time ⌛️

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Interesting trap I would make the party fight the archers though

[@WallyDM]

Haha, Yep, good call... I mean, why not? I like the idea. :-)

[@nonya9120]

Geezer here .... Oh ya. The old bottomless pit. Seen from a side view, cool. Your giving me ideas again. Thanks. On a side note. I notice almost everyone seems to use the same dc in such situations for athletics or acrobatics. I would rule a lower DC for acrobatics and higher for athletics. Biff may be great at sports (athletics). But Wanda will have an easier time skipping and tumbling about the falling rubble (acrobatics). Just a thought. Gaming on.

[@WallyDM]

Glad I could help with the ideas. And, great call on offering different Athletics/Acrobatics DCs. That makes a lot of sense and I'll contemplate this idea for future traps/puzzles, for sure. Thank you!

[@FrostSpike]

How fast is the debris falling in that infinite pit? It would only take a couple of rounds for a humanoid to reach terminal velocity. At a terminal velocity of 120 mph (around 180' per second) a character in the maelstrom is going to be falling past the 25' high room about 42 times each round - taking only 0.14 seconds per pass. Timing an exit is going to be **really** difficult especially with larger, denser objects hurtling past you in a fairly unpredictably manner.

[@WallyDM]

Ya know, I really didn't put this much thought into it. But, I'm glad you stopped by to watch the video because it is really interesting to see your calculations and applying physics to the situation (both things I know little-to-nothing about, lol). To be honest, I was simply going for a "video-game" type feel to the infinite pit trap and focusing on an interesting skill challenge to get across. THank you for the fantastic breakdown on this, cheers Frost Spike!

[@FrostSpike]

@@WallyDM It's fine to hand-wave these things in game!! Without some "magic" going on... like maybe gravity works horizontally so vertical gravity is much reduced resulting in a much lower terminal velocity, anyone exiting from the maelstrom and hitting the ground is going to be taking maximum falling damage.

[@WallyDM]

@@FrostSpike I like that perspective. That max falling damage from exiting is brutal. I dig it!

[@FrostSpike]

Is the "pit column" also sucking in air from its surroundings due to its "extra gravity"?

[@WallyDM]

Ya know, I never considered that. I guess I assumed that it simply pulled in creatures and items, but it makes sense that it would also be pulling in air, I think? Seeing your other response, I would really be interested in your take on this with real-world physics. Thanks FrostSpike!

[@TheAceman1100]

I really like this. I think it has potential to be annoying for the players in a good way. Now where oh where can I use it

[@WallyDM]

Thank you Aceman!

[@mmardh799]

iiiiinteresting!

[@WallyDM]

A bit interesting, for sure, lol. Thank you for watching. Cheers!