Clerics Wear Ringmail: Save vs Paralysis or Petrification: 20 Themed Traps

Mr. Huddlestone Fell Backward; Gordon Browne

Paralysis and Petrification - as I've heard - is the default for many referees, in terms of evading traps. While originally, it would seem, intended for Paralysis and Turn-To-Stone effects (from the like of Ghouls or Basilisks), the save evolved from there to reflect an element of evasion: as you would avert your eyes when confronted with the Medusa, the same save could be used for traps or reactions where similar reflexive elusion would serve to protect the character. The below traps take both into consideration: some traps assuming it's a literal petrification process and others being more general. It's a bit disjointed in that respect, re-reading the list, but as always, take what you like - and change what you don't until you do!

I've also added a label - "traps" - to this series of posts: hopefully making it easier to access. Although this concludes my run into the five classic saves - producing a total of 100 traps between them - I may re-use the label for more of the same: more elaborate, set-piece traps; or maybe more lists.

Delve on, readers!

1d%	Result
1	Gravity Trap Along a hall, a section of floor is suspiciously clean - no dirt, no stones to speak of. Folderol as such has fallen into the trap. A character stepping into the space must save or fall upwards, gravity having been reversed in that 10 foot radius - falling through a trapdoor concealed in the ceiling and into the "pit." Otherwise equivalent to a pit trap.
2	Lot's Puddle An alchemical substance, violently reactant to organic life, has been pooled at the entrance to a door. A character mistakenly stepping into the sulfurous mess must save or be affected by it: an affected character is, over the course of 1d4 turns, transformed into a statue of salt: first, their feet, then legs, then their core, before reaching the extremities - reaching the head last. Tells for this trap might include other adventurers having befallen this fate - their legs and chests in standard pose, their arms and faces in awkward, odd despair - as though suffocating.
3	The Hypnotist's Door Knocker The knocker on a trapped door is shaped like a face with deep green eyes and wearing a turban. The eyes are enchanted - a character which attempts to open the door without knocking will note the eyes flash and must save or be mesmerized for 1d4 turns. A mesmerized character drops whatever they are holding in their hands and stares into the knocker - vigorous shaking, water, or other mechanisms to wake the affected character are largely ineffective.
4	The Cockatrice Chest This trap is comprised of an ornate lockbox - locked, potentially with another, easily spotted and easily removed trap on it. It is a deep ebony in construction, with stone bindings shaped like features and a chicken's head for a clasp. Inside the box there is no treasure - instead, there is the pickled head of a cockatrice. Any character which gazes into the box must save or be turned to stone, as with the wild monster. A generous referee may allow a bonus to the save, as the creature is deceased and its power may be slightly diminished.
5	Rolling Roof Along the walls are three vertical grooves, each, equidistantly spaced. The floor is a checkerboard pattern of tiles approximately 16 inches across - many of which have cracks running down the center. Several of the cracked tiles are triggers to the trap. A character which steps onto one of the trapped tiles will find it gives way, opening downwards along the crack and then snapping back up. The character must save or have their foot caught: immobilizing them. After at least one character is caught as such, their weight in the clasp will trigger the ceiling to start rolling down - suspended by rollers and lintels that run along the vertical grooves. Any character which cannot get out of the room in 2d3 turns is crushed.
6	Portrait of the Adventurer A glass mirror hangs on the wall. A generous referee will have the reflective surface covered by a hanging cloth. The frame of the mirror is wood and carved with dozens of small faces. A character who looks into the mirror will notice the eyes of the faces along the frame open and the surroundings of the mirror go out of focus: at which point they must save or turn to a polished hard wood statue. At this point, the reflective qualities of the mirror fade and are replaced by a gloss - almost as a piece of stained glass - depicting a portrait of the character or characters affected. Breaking this stained glass piece will allow the character a system shock roll to return to normal.
7	Spike Flat A trapped section of floor is covered by a metal grate, laced with holes. When a character steps onto the grate, their weight may activate the trap mechanism. When the trap activates, a clunk can be heard as a spring-load is triggered - forcing a series of spikes out of the floor and up through the holes in the grate. Any characters on the floor at must save or be impaled by these spikes: suffering 2d8 damage.
8	Basilisk Door Handle The trapped article has an oversized handle or clasp - shaped like a basilisk's head. If a character opens the trapped article, they may trigger the trap. When triggered, the basilisk's head's eyes open, glowing gray - the opening character must save or be turned to stone. The item is single-use: the clasp crumbles to dust once a character has been turned to stone, though it can continue to affect other characters interacting with after a character successfully saves: thus, it is deadly until a character is hit.
9	Shudder-Sand Ahead, the floor is unnaturally smooth. It is liable to have been covered - if in a traversed area - by whomever is using the floor to guard against entry. If touched, it appears that the floor is liquid: a tub of unknown depth containing a thick, viscous material. The material is not caustic and its surface tension is extraordinarily high. A character attempting to move across the surface by normal means must save or sink: Small characters, such as Halflings, may roll twice and take the better save. Characters in heavy armor or who are heavily encumbered by equipment or treasure must save twice successfully to avoid sinking. Characters encumbered by treasure or inventory may opt to drop said treasure and inventory in order to avoid the penalty of encumbrance. The pit is ten feet deep. Sinking characters will, unless fished out, drown.
10	Creeping Ether Along the trapped item is a hidden needle - pricking the hand of a user interacting with it. Immediately upon pricking, the character begins to feel tingling in the target appendage. After one turn, the character must save or lose the use of the hand. After two turns, the character must save or lose the use of the arm. After three turns, the character must save or lose control of their core: suffocating. If any of the above saves is passed, the character need not check again on the following turn: however any effect suffered to that point is permanent. A character killed by this trap will, after one further turn, evaporate - leaving clothing and equipment in a shell shaped like the owner. Subjected to gravity, the clothing and equipment will jumble into a mass if touched.

11	The Frog Catcher's Light Several light beams line the area, shining from above and illuminating a space the size of a salad bowl on the floor. A character moving through the area may activate the trap: breaching one of the beams of light. When the trap is triggered, the nearest several lights combine, broadening the focal point of illumination, targeting the breaching character. The character must save or look up, bedazzled and perplexed by a strange compulsion. The character is allowed a new save if substantially agitated - or once every other turn - but if the character remains paralyzed in the room after 1d6 turns, a great hand will reach down and grasp them: removing them into the black abyss above.
12	Stasis Cones Hanging in the room like air fresheners are cones - as though from a large conifer. A character may try to evade them, but it is a challenge due to their abundance. If a cone is disturbed, it will shed pollen - the disturbing character then must save: on a failure, they are paralyzed, dropping what they are holding and seizing up where they stand for 1d6 turns; on a success, they are slowed for 1d6 turns instead: always going last in initiative and reducing their movement speed by 30' (10').
13	Quickfloor The floor of the trapped area is smooth - grainy, as thick dust. A character's feet will sink slightly into it - and they will track the stuff behind them for roughly a turn or so. One section of the floor, however, is deeper than the others - represented by tripping the trap. A character which trips the trap must save or their foot becomes stuck in the stuff; they then begin to sink - if they are not pulled out or otherwise rescued (requiring ingenuity on the part of the party) within 1d3 rounds, they will be submerged. In a multi-level dungeon, the referee is encouraged to dump the character onto a lower level of the dungeon; alternatively, the character may simply suffocate.
14	Medusa's Mirror A mirror, circular - its rim lined with snakes, hangs at the end of a corridor. It's smudged and the reflective surface has an odd dullness to it. A character which polishes the mirror will activate the magic; a character simply passing has a chance to. Any character affected by the mirror, upon seeing their own face, must save or turn to stone: after which point a glow circulates along the mirror's snake-rim.
15	Ghoul Spit Sprayer In the corners of a wandering hall-like space, small fans are rotating, circulating air. Along the hall are several stones inset in the walls - blue initially, but slowly transition to green, yellow, and finally red, based on proximity to a living thing - faster, if there are multiple. When the sensor reaches red, the mechanism triggers, releasing a sticky mist into the fans which will then splatter awkwardly into the hall. Characters in the affected area must save or be paralyzed for 2d4 turns.
16	Frost Orb In the center of a space stands a golden sconce with a crystalline blue orb. As a living thing gets closer to it, it begins to glow - as though a bright white light lies beneath a blue liquid, sloshing around. The article bursts when a character gets too close - releasing a wash of foamy material too light to feel as it brushes past, but dreadfully cold. When the trap is triggered, all characters within 60 feet must save or be frozen solid. Characters outside 30 feet may re-roll a single failed saving throw as the effect weakens and they have more time to react. The orb is single use: it will not reset and instead must be replaced by the trap-setter. An enterprising dungeon architect might place this behind a door or into a confined space, that an unsuspecting party might not notice it before waltzing into its range.
17	The Whisper of Memories As the characters enter the trapped area, they begin to hear unintelligible whispers: continuing through the area may trigger the trap. A character hears a phrase in their mother tongue that highlights a personal secret, a fictional potential outcome, or some other verbal element that would be highly disturbing: the character must save or freeze - contemplating the whispered secrets - until they are jogged out of it by an ally or an attack. An affected character is allowed a new save against the whispers every 2d3 turns.
18	Pegboard of Flagella Pinholes perforate the sides of a trapped chest or furniture piece. Characters who attempt to open or otherwise manipulate the opening mechanism may trigger the trap. An affected character is engulfed by a legion of small sticky tendrils - spouting out of the side, rotating violently, and adhering to anything they touch that is not metal nor stone. They must save or become webbed to the trapped item - immobile.
19	Gossamer Webbing Spinnerets are concealed in several hanging chandeliers, angled to cover the room like a fire extinguishing system. Along the walls, there may be some grime: residual from a previous expenditure of the trap. The spinnerets are heat-activated: characters moving through the area have a chance of triggering them - doubly so if the party has multiple lit torches. When triggered, the spinnerets fling a gossamer material - almost akin to the web of a spider - that has a numbing property if it touches the skin. Characters in the affected area must save or be coated in the stuff: slowing them at first and then paralyzing them thereafter. An affected character has 1d4 rounds to remove the stuff - perhaps by flame, perhaps by two successful Dexterity checks - or be paralyzed entirely until it dissolves or is removed by someone else.
20	The Lightning Frame Hidden in the jam of a door is a large, low voltage Jacob's Ladder. A faint humming should be audible at the door for a character listening, as the mechanism is kept warm, waiting for intruders - and a thief may notice their hair standing on end if picking a lock, if the door under guard be so secured. In the years since its installation, however, it has grown weaker - a character affected by the trap must save or have their muscles seize up: paralyzing them for 1d4 turns rather than killing them.