Welcome to Trapton

Following on from Tuesday I will say that there’s one time in Dungeons & Dragons you should always include a trap; in an intro adventure.

Intro adventures are cool beasts designed for new players to teach them the game mechanics, but also give them a feel for what the game is about. A good generic intro adventure will combine all the elements of Iconic Dungeons & Dragons; a meeting in a tavern, goblins, skeletons, an actual dungeon, at least one Rust Monster or Gelatinous Cube and, of course, a trap.

Traps are, despite my distaste for them, a part of the fabric of D&D, and if you want to give your intro party a taster of the D&D the might recognise from TV then you better be prepared to throw one in there.

So which one?

On Tuesday I talked about traps having a negative impact on my own party’s play experience and the last thing you want to do is have someone’s first experience of D&D be them falling in a pit and struggling to get out. So, what trap do you use?

A pit trap.

Yes, I know what I just said, but go with me on this because this is not just a hole in the ground. Well, no, actually that’s exactly what it is, but what matters is what’s down there.

The set up is a reasonably sized chamber that adjoins a guard room. So far so standard. In the centre of this room is a pit trap that is covered by a tarp which has been covered with sand or similar. Anyone who steps on the tarp will fall down the pit.

OK, yes, that’s just a standard pit trap, but here’s an old school trick that softens the blow: The pit falls into another chamber.

Not just any chamber, though. A chamber on a level below from which the fallen character can get back up to the level their friends are on without climbing. A chamber with either another stairway up or a ladder or similar.

1: Entrance, 2: Pit Trap, : Lower Chamber, 4: Stairs up, 5 Guard Room

Now this might not sound incredible, but around this we can build some interesting narrative encounters and give your players some fascinating tactical choices.

If the players fail to find the trap a character falling in could alert nearby monsters, drawing them to the party, who now have to fight out of formation or missing one of the members they’ve been able to rely on until now. Worse the character who fell in the trap might have their own enemy to fight creating a risky moment for a character already hurt by the fall.

If the character’s spot the trap the players have a brand new option to play with, being able to circumnavigate rooms or approach them from unexpected angles thanks to this ‘short cut’ they’ve discovered.

As an intro encounter this need not be difficult to survive, but it should be one that provides a learning experience. In this case it teaches players about traps, shows how enemies might take advantage of them, but also that falling into a trap can lead to even more adventure.

Hopefully that’s a trailblazing spirit they’ll keep for the whole adventuring career.

Until next time may you always find the right entrance first.

Good luck and good hunting Dungeon Master!