Save vs Spells: 20 Themed Traps

Part two of a five part series that I started in April and promptly forgot about for seven months, a list of 20 traps, tricks, and hazards which were inspired by thinking about what could prompt a character to Save vs. Spells. 

Mix and match, pilfer and edit - but either way, don't forget to abuse your player characters while protecting the treasure at the bottom of the dungeon!

1d20	Result
1	Mosaic of the Mesmer Along a wall is a thick curtain, secured in the center with a knotted cord. Behind the curtain is the mosaic - two figures, one standing over the other, who is falling to a knee. If the mosaic is exposed to light, such as a party with torches opening the curtain, the kneeling character will shift "inward" - seeming to fade against the background coloration, and the standing character's eyes shift, focusing on anyone in line of sight. All characters seeing the eyes of the standing figure must save - the closest character saving at a -2 penalty, the figure making direct eye contact with them - or become mesmerized (unable to act) for 2d4 turns. A significant event - such as a torch going out or an unfazed ally shaking them - allows an affected character another save to shake the transfixation; however if a wandering monster appears and there are no waking characters, a victim of the trap is at the encounter's mercy.
2	Mist of Nubility A corridor, longer than it is wide, extends before you. Along the walls near are trappings of youth - nearer one end, elements that would appeal to a teenager; nearer the other, elements that would appeal to an infant. In the ceiling are poke holes, four of them in total, alternating left and right side of the corridor. Walking too closely to the holes may trigger the trap: spraying a fine mist over an affected victim: who must then save or reduce their age by 1d10 years. The change is permanent and cumulative if a character is affected more than once.
3	Sinking Trap On the floor, a square of stone - cut as though a trapdoor, but with no hinge. Upon stepping into the square, a flash of dark light and the stepper must save or fade, halfway, from existence for 1d4 rounds. When incorporeal as such, the character cannot touch material items around them and will start "falling" through the floor: potentially re-materializing on a lower level... or inside of solid rock.
4	Flesh to Vines The trapped item - door, chest, whatever - is covered in spiked brambles, midnight blue in color. If a character is nicked by the brambles, they feel a strange rushing sensation - out of themselves and into the bramble, followed by a pinprick at the site. Upon being so pricked, the victim must save up to three times over 3 turns: Failing the first time, the character's hairs change into thin fronds, like a fern. Failing the second time, the character's internals begin to change, reducing movement by half as tendons stiffen, granting +1 Armor Class as the skin hardens, forcing the character to act last in a melee and lending 50% failure chance to delicate activities, such as picking a lock or casting a spell. Failing a third time, the transformation is complete: the character takes root as a newly acquired house plant. Magic such as a Dispel or Remove Curse will, if applied during this transformation, counteract it entirely.
5	Anti-Magic Orb The character sees a circular relief, hinged and ringed as though to rotate, the center of which is a deep black orb. If the relief is turned, it begins to whine; if the turning persists, it emits a high pitched sound that deafens all within 15 feet for 1 round. The black orb is burst - removed from existence with no trace it was ever there - and all characters within five feet of it must save or be affected by an anti-magic field. No magical effects will affect them, nor will magical items work for them, for 1d4 days.
6	Gateway Gills A grate or gateway - the bars of which are, upon examination, forged to look like twisting kelp, the hinges are sea shells, and the entry gate, is a fish with legs. Attempting to pass by the gate will activate the trap - wherein the affected party must save or have their lungs transitioned into gills: meaning they will survive handily in water, but will suffocate outside of water in 2 turns, plus any Constitution modifier they may have. The effect lasts for one hour.
7	Spiked Ceiling Trap In a rotunda, encased by portico, the domed ceiling consists of dozens of iron spikes, forged to appear jagged: stalactites from a nightmare. Under the dome - but within the square space encased by columns - are two blue concentric circles: one significantly smaller than the other. Stepping into the inner circle activates the trap: all characters within the outer circle must save or fall upward to be impaled on the spikes, before dropping back to the floor. For alternative flavor, consider whether or not the triggering character in the inner circle is subjected to the magic or just his compatriots.
8	Shocking Fangs A large statue of an eel - tall enough that a man might stand beneath it - stands with two gold fangs protruding down from its open maw. The pupils of its eyes are lightning bolts. A character which  touches both fangs at the same time must save or be electrocuted - taking 2d8 points of damage. The referee is encouraged to use this trap in conjunction with another secret - perhaps, connecting the nodes will cause a gate to open or a secret to be revealed - as then it poses an obstacle, not a silly and somewhat trite "gotcha" moment.
9	Arcane Diffuser The guarded element - a trapdoor, a chest, what have you - is under a wire cage, closely woven as a sieve. Surrounding it - at the cardinal directions - are erect staves, embedded in the floor, with spearheads on them that rotate to face the nearest living being. By crossing the threshold of two or more of these staves where the faces both follow the same target, the trap is activated: the stave-heads flash and the target must save or be turned into a gaseous form, as the potion, for 2d4 turns.
10	Inanimate Magnetism The player is confronted by a steel ball floating between iron needles extending from the floor and the ceiling - the ball is flawless in its shape and smoothness. If they approach it, they feel drawn to it; more so, if they wear ferromagnetic materials - such as is commonly found in weapons or armor. If the character touches the orb, they activate the trap. Affected characters must save or become, themselves, highly magnetic. Affected characters wearing armor suffers immediate damage equal to 2d4 minus the descending Armor Class provided by the armor as it crushes against them. Affected characters and their allies within 10 feet of an affected character suffer a -2 on attack rolls with primarily metal weapons, including ranged weapons, for the duration as their magnetic field retards the attempt. Other metal equipment - such as iron spikes or hand mirrors - can be affected, but would be at the discretion of the referee: a mirror, for example, in the hand of a magnetic character would function as normal, as it would stick to the hand; whereas a spike might be harder to use, as it would be drawn to the spiker. Miscellaneous metal items within 10 feet will be drawn to the character; with larger objects potentially causing damage or increasing character encumbrance. This effect lasts for one hour.
11	Inanimate Anti-Magnetism As Inanimate Magenetism, excepting that the character repulses ferromagnetic materials! Primarily metal armor balloons out - like a loose shirt being blown upwards with a fan: the player should roll 1d10 - if the result is less than the AC provided by the armor, something snaps and the armor is repulsed off of the body of the magnetized wearer. Primarily metal weapons become difficult to hold as they are pushed away: the player should roll under Strength initially and whenever a significant event occurs or drop the weapon - which will be forced distant from the character if they attempt to pick it up. Other metal equipment - such as iron spikes or hand mirrors - will likewise try to repulse; the exact effect to be arbitrated by the referee. Miscellaneous metal items within 10 feet will be likewise repulsed to a minimum distance of 10 feet from the affected character. Magic armor, or magic equipment, should have a bonus to resist this effect, at the discretion of the Referee.
12	Headstone of Vampiric Redistribution Embedded in a wall is a holy symbol - as might mark a grave - but on it is a face, twisted, eyes black. Touching the eyes activates a trap - wherein the victim must save or lose one experience level. An ethereal spray then emanates from the mouth of the statue in a fifteen foot cone - any characters other than the drained victim who are caught in the cone must save or gain experience points on the spot equal to 1/5 of the total necessary for the victim to advance back to where they had been before.
13	Decrepitude Curse At the entrance to a treasure horde, barred or locked by a portcullis, a lever on the floor takes on the appearance of a walking cane, under an inscription, "Wealth cannot buy fortitude." The walking cane can be pulled, and in so doing it will come loose and unlock the horde, however the puller must save or suffer decrepitude - reducing their Strength and Constitution scores to 3 until such time as Remove Curse or similar magic can be used to lift the burden.
14	The Love Tunnel A narrow passage, the walls grimy with an organic material which absorbs light - all light sources inside it have their illuminated radius halved. The passage seems straight, but if a character walks into it, they appear to go around a curve from the exterior - but as soon as they reach the extent of their normal light, such that they can no longer see the entrance, they see an exit in front of them - which will turn out to be the entrance that they came in from. A character that exits the tunnel via the mystic loop activates the trap; a character turning around and exiting the way from which they came does not. A character subjected to the trap must save or become enamored of a randomly determined party member. The effect lasts 1d6 hours - during that time, obnoxious role play aside - the character will be distracted, being twice as likely to be surprised, suffering an automatic 25% failure chance on any skill checks or spellcasting attempted, and if the affected character is the party's mapper, the referee is encouraged to be scant on the details, perhaps talking about the target of affection instead, if asked specifics regarding the dimensions of a room.
15	The Dazzler Ball Hanging from the ceiling to around face height, a silver ball - not round, but made of dozens of polygons together - awaits the party. As the party enters, music begins to faintly play and the ball slowly rises towards the ceiling. If allowed to reach the ceiling, it will flatten itself into a hemisphere and issue a pulse of entropy: any characters that can see the wave must save, and any characters close enough to have heard the music must likewise save, but may re-roll if they fail on the first try. Characters that fail the save by seeing are blinded for 1d6 turns, they - themselves - perceiving their head to be caught inside a ball of mirrors, capable of seeing only themselves; characters that fail the save by hearing are effectively deafened for 1d6 turns, hearing only the repeating music.
16	Truth Horn A horn with a bellow affixed to the mouthpiece hangs across a narrow entry point. Crossing the threshold activates the item - at which point the bellow depresses and the horn sounds. The referee should immediately check for a wandering monster - and all characters must save or be illuminated based on their alignment: lawful characters radiate a warm yellow; chaotic ones a cool blue; neutral characters have an odd anti-glow, wherein light seems to suck into them rather than reflect off. For the next 1d6 hours, reaction rolls made should be modified based on alignment: up to -2 for differing alignment, up to +2 for lawful to lawful, and a plus or minus in secret for chaotic to chaotic, based on opportunity perceived by the reacting party.
17	Mother of Locusts A burlap sack in the shape of a person hangs from the ceiling. Tied by the hands, feet, and top of the head, it slowly drips caterpillars, locusts, and cockroaches. If the party opens the sack-person, setting them "free," or otherwise significantly disturbs the sack person, the burlap falls apart in their hands, dousing the handler or handlers with a black smoke-like semi-liquid and forcing them to save. On failure, an affected character belches insect vermin for 1d4 rounds; taking 1d4 points of damage and summoning a single Insect Swarm (B37) on each of affected round.
18	Beast Allure A crystal flask with rubber stopper, filled with a swirling mauve cloud: it might be placed obviously or perched atop a door or other hidden place to drop on an unwary victim. When significantly disturbed, un-stoppered, or broken, a series of sparks emits from the flask - seeking the trachea. Any character within 20 feet must save or, after 1d4 turns, begin to sweat a strange, powdery mauve substance - the sweating lasting 1d8 turns. For the duration of the effect, the rate of wandering monsters should be tripled.
19	Flesh to Brass Three masks trailing black curtains bound to appear as robes look down onto a dais containing a pedestal with guarded item. On the dais are 1d3-1 metal adventurers: absolute realistic in their depiction. A character that comes too close to the dais may note the masks begin to follow them - and a character who dallies too long on it, or who attempts to directly acquire the guarded item, will activate the trap. The masks begin to oscillate warm colors and any character - up to three at a time, as there are three masks - at whom the masks are staring must save once per round for as long as visual contact can be made: Failing once causes the skin to become irritated and scaly, cool to the touch. The target suffers -1 to reaction rolls going forward. Exterior worn metal items begin to shift to a more organic material - reducing their effectiveness, per referee discretion. Failing a second save causes the skin to harden, reducing movement speed by 10 feet and imposing a -1 penalty on attacks or a -10% success chance on fine motor actions, but granting a +1 to Armor Class. Worn metal items become wholly disconnected flesh: becoming largely useless for their intended function. Magic items should receive a separate save against the effect. Failing a third save freezes the character in place. They are unable to move, trapped within a metal shell once their skin. The effect is permanent, unless Remove Curse or similar magic can reverse the effect.
20	Curse of the Puppeteer Strings hang from a ceiling too far in the darkness to be seen, as though holding invisible marionettes. If a character touches one, it gives them a buzzing sensation. If a character touches two or more at a time, they must save or become entangled in them - the ropes taking hold in their wrists and ankles.  The ropes then begin to move, dancing the character about the room and potentially threatening others with being struck. The character will feel at peace - as though this is the natural order - and after 2d3 rounds, they will no longer struggle against it and - if freed by their allies, will walk listlessly and react only to stimuli or particularly confident commands. The duration of the effect is at the discretion of the referee.

Happy Trapping!

Public domain artwork retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com between September and November, 2020, and adapted for thematic use. Attribution in alt text.