Trap: This is a noncombat encounter that employs a magical or mechanical device (or both) designed inflict damage or impede the party in some fashion.

When designing any trap, consider how the device is triggered, how potential victims might detect the trap before triggering it, and what parties can do to deactivate it. You should also consider what happens when an attempt to deactivate the trap fails.

When designing traps for high-level player characters, it is best to avoid devices that inflict large amounts of damage. Damage often can be ignored—an 18th-level fighter with 120 hit points often doesn’t have to worry about suffering 20 or 30 points of damage from a trap. In any case, damage is usually easily healed if there is a priest or paladin in the party. Also, keep in mind that hit point totals can vary widely within an adventuring party. A trap that can inflict enough damage to make a high-level fighter or cleric take notice can be deadly if the party thief or mage stumbles into it.

Instead of dealing out damage in large doses, concentrate on special effects that hinder victims in some fashion. For example, a collapsing staircase that dumps the PCs into individual, sealed chambers might cause great consternation and should force at least some characters to think hard before they can get free. A magical trap that turns the victim into a small elephant might resist the party’s attempts to dispel the effect for quite some time. Meanwhile, the character suffers from a fear of rodents and must eat and drink prodigiously. Clever players might discover that the elephant’s trunk is useful for wielding tools or weapons, but not for spellcasting.

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