Talisman of the Traptripper

Magical gimcrack with these effects, when dealing with 'Traps' only, whether Magical, or Mechanical:
- if there is a Save to determine full/half damage, it is bettered to 'half/none'
- if there is No Save to avoid &/or lessen damage/effects (effect is Automatic), a Standard Save is granted, resultant effects as per DM
- all 'Saves vs Traps' are at +2

Also, the bearer is affected with a specific delusion, and believes himself an expert at finding and disarming traps, and will insist on being the first to search for and attempt to deactivate any suspected traps, although in reality he is no better or worse at such endeavors than the average layman.  (I usually allow a 1 in 6 chance for your average adventurer to find/identify mechanical traps, and another 1 in 6 to deactivate/disarm, failure meaning the trap has been triggered.)

{for 'Tarkas Traptripper', damage dealer/taker extraordinaire, and all-around quality adventuring companion}

Chewy Mummy

Magicked Tiny (12") Jade Sarcophagus is Cursed to Paralyze, and also place into an indefinite Stasis, anyone touching it; the victim has a chance to avoid this if they can answer a Riddle of DM's choice.  Tell the Players that only this PC knows it,slipping the Player the Riddle on a piece of scrap,  and they cannot reveal it or ask for help from anyone.  Their answer must be written privately on the scrap and returned to the DM.  If the answer is incorrect, they will assume cross-armed Mummy posture, clutching the sarcophagus to their chest, utter the Riddle aloud, and the Curse will take effect.  Only way to end Paralysis is for another to voluntarily touch the thing, being aware of the consequences, of their own will, whereupon the Curse is transferred to the new victim, or by consuming the mini-mummy inside, which tastes like spicy chicken jerky.  Sarcophagus will only open if Riddle is answered.  Eating the mummy is probably bad for you, too...

Summertime Hiatus Random Table of Inspiring (?) Images  (d30)


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an Image search of any of these should provide wallpaper size

Do You Smell Gas?

"Well, here's your problem, ma'am; this thing here is leaking poisonous gas!"

d12   Gas Issues From...
1.  The hollow stem and pistils of a bouquet of fake flowers in a vase
2.  A fragile glass sphere balanced precariously atop a door frame
     (1 in 6 it breaks open on head of PC opening the door; no Save for you!)
3.  A motion-sensitive Puffball Shroom Fungi, either concealed or in plain sight
4.  A mechanical trap hidden within a humanoid skull
5.  Under pressure in a stoppered vial, disturbing it in any way = 50% of bursting open
6.  The handle of a walking cane can be unscrewed... affects only the opening PC
7.  An unremarkable crack in the flagstone floor
8.  A metal grille in ceiling (drop to the floor, the bottom one foot of the room is clear,  
      Save at +3)
9.  The arse of an iron pig, which also has a coin slot on its back... it jingles if shaken
10.  A series of peg holes seems to indicate that a ladder or shelving was once affixed
       to the wall... but one at face level is a trap triggered by a pressure plate
11.  A nest of debris contains several "hatched" egg shells, and one that is unbroken...
12.  A multi-jointed mechanical arm which extends from a concealed niche, spraying
       gas from a swivel-mounted oscillating nozzle

Inspiration provided by the Dungeon Dozen - check it out for awesome d12 tables!

Three On-The-Fly d20 Tables

Nothing you ain't seen before, but handy.  I keep these on an index card for those times when I want to generate something immediately and quickly. 

TRAP                                  JEWELRY                 DUNGEON CREATION

1. ACID                               EARRING                  STRAIGHT 20-50'

2. GAS                                NECKLACE               DOOR, USUAL

3. CALTROPS                    BRACELET                DOOR, UNUSUAL

4 .NEEDLE                         PENDANT                 STAIRS, UP/DOWN 
5 .CHUTE                           ARMBAND                BRANCH, RIGHT 10-60'

6. DOOR (roll again)           BROOCH                   BRANCH, LEFT 10-60'

7. JAW                                STUD                         SPLIT, 45-DEGREE ANGLE

8. PIT                                  RING                          "T" INTERSECTION

9. -LOCKS                          CLASP                       "Y" INTERSECTION

10. -FLOODS                     BUCKLE                     4-WAY, 10-40' ea

11. -SPIKED                       COLLAR                     TURN, LEFT/RIGHT

12. FIRE/OIL                      DIADEM                      WIDENS or NARROWS

13. CRUSHING                  CIRCLET                    SM ROOM, 1 Exit

14. ARROW/DART             CROWN                     SM ROOM, 2 Exits

15. BLOCK, FALLS            GIRDLE                      MED ROOM, 1 Exit

16. SPEAR/SPIKE             TORC                         MED ROOM, 2 Exits

17. GUILLOTINE                ANKLET                     MED ROOM, 2-4 Exits

18. PORTCULLIS              PIERCING                  LRG ROOM, 2-5 Exits

19. COLLAPSING              LOCKET                     CHANGE to NATURAL CAVERN

20. SCYTHE BLADE         OTHER                       ODD SHAPE or FEATURE

Archway of Alteration

Passing through this portal causes an alteration in all Magic Items; each changes in Function, but possibly not form.  Any Potions carried are instantly tramsformed into different, random Potions, writing on Scrolls is replaced by different Spells, etc.  If there's a Magic Item Table for it, use it.  As for Misc Items, replace with completely different random Misc Items.  Let the dice fall where they may.

Shrewd Players with unused magic may attempt to use this for an opportunity to gamble on an "upgrade" of their current lot... sure, why not?  But, the Archway only works once/PC, and any previously transformed items will not change again.  Perhaps a Save applies, perhaps each Item  must Save, maybe a successful Save allows the Player to choose a favorite Item to be spared...

Screwing with the Players

Just some misc ideas from the past few sessions...

-a pit with a metal ladder attached to the side.  At the bottom, a Secret Door was detected, but no one could figure out how to open it, even though the entire party eventually descended and examined the circular walls and the entire floor surface.  As every character repeated the same actions as the last, I repeatedly said, "There appears to be nothing in this pit except the faint outline of a Secret Door, and of course the ladder."  ...The mechanism for opening the door was located on the underside of the lowest ladder rung!

-a series of Continual Light "nodules" spaced every 10'  along the corridor walls soon became commonplace.  One of these was apparently "burned out", and did not glow, and although I mentioned it in passing each time the party trekked up and down this corridor, no one bothered to mess with it and discover that it was the mechanism for opening yet another Secret Door!

-although a character used Psychometry (Object Reading) to reveal that a peculiar metal door could only be opened by the sound of a particular tuning fork, no one realized that the protruding tongue of a serpent idol (a "forked tongue", mind you) was detachable!  (It was also trapped to deliver an electric shock)

-two magical mirrors in a certain chamber were determined to be Teleportational doorways, each connected to an identical counterpart, one in a nondescript cavern, the other in some sort of cellar or basement.  Fearing that a fleeing enemy had used one of these to escape and might return with reinforcements, an ingenious player suggested detaching one from the wall and propping it up facing the other, so that anyone attempting to enter the chamber from either the cave or the cellar area would pass through both mirrors, and find themselves emerging in the wrong area!  This one really screwed with me!

-the floor of a dungeon corridor abruptly dropped down five feet, but then continued onward from there.  After puzzling over this odd design feature, the lead character decided to hop down to the lower part of the corridor,  triggering the concealed pit trap which lay immediately after the drop-off, and his five foot drop abruptly became a 25 foot drop!

-no one could find the key to a certain locked chest, because it wasn't on the person of any of the dungeon inhabitants, nor was it in any of their private quarters.  It was hidden inside the skull of the "prisoner" who had apparently died within the (oddly) unlocked holding cell!

-knowing that an evil Wizard was likely to repeat his use a Wall of Fire spell in order to escape from the party once again, a Resist Fire was cast on the Fighters so that they could possibly pursue him when he was again encountered.  However, the Wizard instead chose to cast the Wall of Fire to split the party, casting it on the entrance to his chamber, and had his minions engage the leading Fighters while the party's Magic User fumed outside in the corridor, unwilling to risk the life of his 15 HP PC by braving the flames!

-the evil Wizard mentioned above, after barely escaping the initial encounter with the party, had become quite aware of a certain PCs "secret weapon", a cloak made from an Owlbear hide (complete with a beaked hood that made him look like Hawkman!) which allowed him to Polymorph into a death-dealing Owlbear (1/day), and so chose Charm Monster in preparation for his second encounter.  The party's table-turning Polymorph maneuver was nearly turned back upon them with what would surely have been disastrous results, but of course the lucky PC/Owlbear managed to make his Save... by one pip of the d20!

Fun with Concealed Pit Traps

1. Pit o' Confusion. Getting your friend out of a hole when he is affected by Confusion is quite difficult, and often amusing, especially when someone else climbs in to help him out

2. Aerial Servant or Invis. Stalker lurks in pit, charged with throwing any who manage to climb out back in again, unless destroyed or Dispelled

3. Floor of pit coated with incredibly sticky, viscous glue (like modern rat trap). Victim can possibly disrobe or remove armor to escape, but the stuff stays in the hole

4. Pit surfaces coated with harmless but smelly bio-luminescent fungus which proves very difficult to wipe off

5. Magicked with Illusion that Pit is Bottomless, but only those falling in are affected. "Malengar, quit fooling around down there! Stop screaming and grab this rope! What the hell is wrong with you?"

6. Floor of Pit littered with large, spore-filled, psychoactive Puffball Shrooms

7. Pit filled with Mild Acid. Causes redness and extreme itching for several turns (penalty to AC, etc), slowly dissolves organic materials like leather, wood, clothing, etc. Does not cause HP damage or corrode metals

8. Classic Spiked Walls begin to close in, then suddenly halt with a loud snapping/grinding sound. As soon as victim sighs in relief, the spikes launch from the walls like crossbow bolts

9. Pit filled with a cloud of denser-than-air, vision-obscuring Sleep Gas. Think about it...

10. Floor of Pit is a single pressure plate, which violently launches the floor (a column of stone) upward if anything falls onto it, smashing said anything against the ceiling above the Pit area. Then, it either slowly descends back into the Pit, revealing whatever it has pulped on its way back down, OR it does not reset, leaving anything it has smashed stuck between the pressure plate and the ceiling, and also blocking off further passage down the corridor

11. Tiny holes along bottom rim of the pit release a creeping mass of flesh-devouring beetles, which flow over any fallen victims, and then rapidly climb up the walls of the pit, seeking further meals

12. Pit is actually in the ceiling above the indicated spot, and pulls victim upward via Magnetism or Reverse Gravity. Once victim has "fallen" upwards and taken damage, this effect ceases, and what went up... must come back down!

13. Oddly, Pit contains a rusty but relatively sturdy escape ladder bolted to one wall. The third rung is trapped to cause a second trapdoor in the ceiling above the pit to open, filling the pit with rocks, bits of ruined armor, broken blades, and other misc. dungeon debris

14. A series of horizontal panes of glass stretch from wall to wall, each a few feet below the previous one. Anyone falling in smashes through each successive pane, eventually ending up on the stone floor covered in shards of broken glass. Its really noisy, too

15. Floor of Pit littered with snap-jaw Bear traps, each chained to the floor. Requires multiple Saves. Also very noisy

16. Contact with floor of Pit Teleports victim to a spot 10' above the Pit opening. "Aaaah!" Thud. Zap! "Aaaah!" Thud. Zap! "Aaaah!"...

17. Bottom of Pit filled with 10' deep mess of metal-flake "glitter". Falling in does no damage, but does cause a sparkly cloud to coat everything within 5' of the opening, and anyone struggling to get out begins to sink in the stuff, which is apparently an inappropriately festive form of quicksand

18. Floor is single metal plate. Each of the walls is normal stone for the first one foot above the floor. Thereafter, up to the opening of the Pit, the walls are covered with metal plates. The floor is negatively charged... and yeah, the walls are positively charged

19. There is a Secret Door in one of the Pit walls. Behind it is (d4) 1. A stairway leading up to a second concealed trapdoor not far from the pit opening, 2. a closet filled with malevolent Skeletons, 3. a small room containing a long-dead adventurer, still clutching whatever treasure he managed to pilfer before dying alone in this hole, 4. an unmapped shaft &/or slide which eventually opens into a concealed trapdoor in the ceiling of a room on the next dungeon level down

20. Your own idea, or a second Random Pit Table you yoinked from some other RPG blog; I'm all out of fun holes

My turn to Play, your turn to DM!

Haven't been posting; distracted by the real world, and not DMing lately.  Our group takes turns at the helm, allowing those who want to DM to do so, and ea DM has their own campaign world, so I've been kinda lax with developing Gnarth and have just been enjoying playing my favorite character in my buddy's game.*

Thinking I'm still going to post "This Week's Game" anyhow, and blog about the events from a Player's point of view.  The last session involved climbing the "Endless Stair" from the module of the same name, heavily modified from the original version, no doubt, as our current DM is notorious for altering published adventures to the point that the original is barely recognizable, yet is immediately recognizable as "Brett's Game"!  You have taught me well, my master!

Spent the entire session climbing a spiral staircase into the sky, trying to avoid/overcome traps, posted guardians, and Summoned beasties, in an attempt to reach a "planar nexus" which would allow us access to the Abyss.  I could spend a few pages detailing our efforts... but I think that the best part of This Week's Game was the Staircase itself!  Knowing that we could slip or be tossed off of the stairs to fall hundreds of feet to our deaths at any time was a real Rush!  Made us really Think, and Discuss, and Argue a bit, too!  None of this "Screw it, let's just charge 'em!" mentality.  It was a genuine Thinking Player's session, and a lot of fun, and all because of a simple change of  venue from the norm.

*Aesson the Thief is now 14th (holy crap!) level... I like to incl a "starting date" for my PCs on the Char Sheet.  At the top of Aesson's sheet it says "Summer '86."  That's Nineteen Eighty Six, kids.  ...Wow.  Happy 25th anniversary Aesson!  'Bout time you settled down with a Guild of your very own, old friend!

Step Inside the Chamber, Please

Tossing around ideas for a Lovecraftian-creepy weird science laboratory dungeon, possibly the lair of Great Race or Primordials, was going to compile a list of (mostly) classic SciFi machines/technology, realized many involve "something you must enter"; Chambers, Tubes, Capsules, Booths, Vats, etc.  Padded it a bit to accommodate a d30, added some rough detailing

WEIRD SCIENCE CHAMBERS/EFFECTS (d30)
 

1. Clone-O-Matic - takes "samples" of DNA and begins growing a Simulacrum which shows up later.  Maybe it only makes a copy if the original donor dies, and the "new guy" comes walking around the corner in a state of Confusion, and can't understand why everyone seems upset to see him

2. Bacterial Spew Chamber - moist sphincter coughs up toxic cloud; Save and age is reduced 10+1d10 yrs, Fail and become terribly ill for 1d4 days

3. Probulator - restraints activate, manipulative arms extend, remove clothing/armor (possibly transfers them to locked "storage" compartment/area), body orifices are um, probed.  Unpleasant at best.

4. Orgasmatron - a strange but mostly pleasant experience, unless the machine malfunctions (%?) and becomes stuck in continuous cycle, lose 1 pt of CON/rnd for 5d4 rnds, 0 = coma, regain 1pt/hr

5. Suicide Booth - disposal of unwanted test subjects, possible selection of "Quick and Painless" or "Slow and Horrible"  (Save vs Disintegration, or take damage from variety of piercing/drilling/chopping thingys)

6. Career Chip Implantation Device - put your hand in there; the Morlocks will report you to the Primordials if you don't perform your assigned task.  "Ya gotta do what ya gotta do"

7. Astral Projectocarphagus - sends your Astral Body to some bizarre locale for predetermined stay, or until specific task is done, or item brought back

8. Potential Realizator - Gain (d4) 1d4 HP, 1 point to lowest Ability, 1 point to Primary Abil, enough XP to reach next level

9. Teleporter Pad/Pod - oldie, but still goodie

10. Cryogenic Freeze Tube - slams shut, flash freeze, readout counter says you can return to adventuring in 1d% yrs

11. Reanimator - Primordial Flesh Golem/Vat Guy factory!

12. Transmogrifier - (d4) gain additional limb/organ, gain new weird limb/organ, bizarre body proportion alteration, "ZAP, you're a Morlock"

13. Joy Can - mind-reading holographic projector fulfills your greatest desires, but its all evil.  You'll have to be dragged out by friends with metal headgear.  Fun way to explore PC motivations, and design future storylines

14. Interphasic Defragulator - caught between dimensions, you gain the benefits of Displacement (-2 AC, first strike always misses), but also suffer the effects of being Displaced (-2TH, first strike?  miss!)

15. Memory Upload Interface - gain knowledge, skill, ability, perhaps some familiarity with the odd devices here

16. Cosmetic Surgery Autodoc - performs necessary medical procedures to allow +1d4 CHAR pts, but does 1HP permanent dam in the process

17. Nanite Injector - I dunno, immunization, mental conditioning, "tracking" nanos... hmmm, "Midi-chlorians"?

18. Zero Grav Interspecies Toilet - extensive wall post of instructions in several alien languages.  If translated/comprehended somehow, contains numerous unfamiliar nouns and verbs.  Looks kinda like a shower stall; maybe you should stand in it.  Not that switch; it'll back-up and expel contents!

19. Cranial Unit Harvest, Preservation & Reattachment Bank, with Body Internment/Incineration feature - takes off yer head and attaches it to something else from the Stasis Chambers in the back, either saving your old body in stasis... or not

20. Cybernetic Limb/Organ Replacement Tank - we can make him better, stronger, faster, maybe by chopping off something and replacing it

21. Tattoo/Branding - experimental test subject indexing/identification.  Maybe something stupid will ignore you, or at least assume you shouldn't be attacked

22. The Nozzle - cybernetic "eye" on flexible tube extends and stares at PC.  Just do that.  Stare at them.  When they start to say something, interrupt and say, "Do not speak while the nozzle calibrates".  If they attempt to move, say, "Movement is not wise while the nozzle calibrates".  Just keep staring at them, and saying, "Nozzle is still calibrating" until they start to freak out.  Then the nozzle retracts without explanation.

23. Autodoc Vat - knocks you out and fixes you up.  Full HP!

24. Environmental Adaptation Capsule - modifies subject's structure in order to allow operation in dangerous/inhospitable environ; gills for underwater breathing, hairy pelt -1/die Cold damage, etc

25. Soylent Processor - basically a human-sized garbage disposal unit

26. Soylent Dispenser - organic materials from #25 are cooted forth as tiny green rosettes of edible meat by-subtances, served in corrugated paper cups

27. Time Machine - I know it wouldn't be a classic if it hadn't been done before, but this one is about tapped-out... maybe it sends you one hour into the future, and some Random Encounter is "suddenly" there waiting when you come out

28. Memory Wipe Amnesiotron - *FLASH!*  "Who are you guys?  Who am I?  Is this blood on me?!""

29. Synthetic Replicant Synthesizer - high-speed malevolent Android twin manufacture, possibly a "Terminator" model, if you're inclined

30. ROLL TWICE Combine results in bizarre fashion (no, please, not #18 + #26!)

Applicable nods, thanks, apologies, as appropriate, to Mr. Wells, Roddenberry, Kubrick, Publick, and Groenig, et al
.

Temple o' the Toad pt 4

The Party had some odd events befall...

A pit in a natural cavern appeared to be a well of some sort. Four equidistant metal rings were secured to the floor along the rim of the 10' diam shaft. From these, a set of four slimy metal chains dangled into dark water 50' below, and a quick Levitating Recon by Borune revealed nothing else. The party debated hauling up one or all of these, separately or simultaneously, and decided to drag on one of the chains, bringing up a metal bucket of blackish water. I was surprised when they left it at that, and went to explore the stairs to lvl III! They didn't even examine or dump out the bucket! It was unremarkable, but that only meant that one of the remaining three buckets was the one which held "a (very) Minor Random Magic, Tech, or useful Mundane Item", which I decided I'd determine on the fly, sunken to the bottom of the bucket... and so they passed on the only piece of unguarded treasure in the place!

A stone table in the center of a large, seemingly empty domed chamber was lit by a feeble "spotlight" from above. This pedestal was inscribed with a Glyph of the Unseen Object, which caused all to Save upon viewing, so that only Borune was able to perceive that their were items of possible interest arranged upon it. As I like surprises, these were also determined when they entered; a Crystal Flask w/stopper (Endless Water), a "faceted metallic egg" (Tech Grenade, "irritant" - like mace), and a shiny aluminum canister (of Scoobies). This proved enough to entice the party to send the unwounded fighters in to examine the table, while the others remained tightly packed in the hallway outside. A few Chupacabra scuttled forth from narrow side tunnels, and were soon dispatched, and then the Duodon* extended its snaky necks through two of the rat-holes, and attacked with two of its most powerful Spells, a Fireball for the majority of the party huddled "safely" in the hall outside, and a Lightning Bolt for Tarkas, who had shown himself to be a powerhouse against the Chupes. Total confusion ensued... were more giant snakes coming out of all the side tunnels, where were spells coming from, should we retreat down the hall and up the ladder, what about the loot on the table (maybe its not even real!), ...and on the following rnd... the Duodon heads, now exposed, revealed that they were the source of the spells by casting Web to block off all retreat, then Magic Missiles to disrupt spell casting. As the fighters took cover behind the table and fired ranged weapons, Rose managed a Silence Spell, which effectively robbed the Duodon of its spells, and so it withdrew its heads into the secret vault which was its lair, but the secret entrance was discovered, and the party either wisely pressed what little advantage they had, or foolishly charged onward despite injuries... anyway, they pursued and slaughtered the beast, which couldn't seem to score any decent damage or catch a break with any of its remaining spells. Such are the dice. The Party discovered a pile of bones and debris which also held assorted coins and jewelry, and also a personal Energy Field Generator harness, the power pack readout revealing 14 charges remaining (determined to be a Displacer emitter, acting as the Cloak)

Also in the Duodon's secret vault was a statue of Hastur, squatting and contemplating his palms. After a few rnds, a sphere of faint grayish radiance appeared in its lap, the party became inexplicably FREAKED OUT by this, snatched up everything, and made their way back upstairs. OK, I'll admit there was a nasty Glyph on the statue which would have affected any approaching it, and the party was depleted, but the radiance was obscuring a Gnartian Artifact, a very powerful legacy of the Elder Races. Once again, I hadn't determined exactly what is was, but it was an Artifact! All they had to do was grab it and pull it out of the radiance! (If they had, I had a scary earth-tremor planned, which would crack the ceiling and dislodge some debris, but not collapse the place) There were NO MORE Wandering Monsters left in the place! This was THE PRIZE from the entire dungeon! I dunno. The "radiance" may appear again, if they go back, or maybe not! Oh, and just so ya know, although powerful, a Gnartian Artifact is not of the caliber of an AD&D Artifact, and often has a limited # of uses, and this particular one was Cursed to summon an angry Byakhee to carry the bearer off when used. I'm not running a "give away"!

KILLBOTS

The Killbots from Futurama have two attributes I'd love to utilize:

Kill limit

For unknown reasons, a kill limit of 999,999 is hardcoded into killbots. I'm thinking of a large, old-style LED counter, red -of course -displayed prominently on the chest or torso, which increases as it kills, accompanied by a pleasant "BING!"  Perhaps lesser models have a limit of 999, or 99.  When the kill-limit is reached, they become peaceful and in fact rather friendly. Perhaps the players encounter one that is within one or two kills of its limit... however, their kill counter has the option of being reset, possibly unintentionally...

Activation

Killbots start shooting immediately when hearing a word that has to do with weapons. Supposedly, this has been installed to easily activate the Killbots on immediate demand, but it also causes troubles, including accidentally shooting each other or themselves when talking to each other.
Imagine a sealed vault containing a massive Warbot of the Ancients, possibly the very first chamber of an underground complex, or central nexus to lvl one, which the party will surely have to pass through numerous times.  It remains completely unresponsive until one of the PCs happens to mention "that wound I took in the arm", or "wish I still had that Fireball", or "I only have 3 charges left in my Wand of Magic Missiles"... whereupon it immediately "lights up" and a powerful vibration/hum is felt/heard as the automaton intones "Arm/Fire/Missiles!" and launches the appropriate attack!  Maybe its sealed behind a partitioning wall of Glassteel or some such, and just maybe that accounts for the obviously dead and contorted - but not obviously wounded (?) -corpses in there as well, victims of the colorless, deadly poisonous gas which has kept the Killbot insulated from the effects of time for so long... maybe the party should be given a rnd to prepare, as the machinery supporting the Killbot evacuates the poison gas before lowering the barrier... this might actually give them a chance against the thing... and of course, if the Kbot is defeated, the machinery will raise the barrier again in 10 rnds, and refill the chamber with gas... better loot those corpses quickly!

Temple o' the Toad pt 3

While investigating a Toad statue, the party is surprised by a relatively small yellow & green toad that had been lurking beneath the thing. I had said nothing more, but two of my Players, knowing my love of Futurama, said, "Do its eyes light up?/Does it start buzzing?", referring to the Hypnotoad from the cartoon. Thing was, it was a Hypnotoad, and so I said, "Yeah, everyone in the room make a Save!" I think they thought I was just going along with their inadvertent suggestion, but I swear, I had "Hypnotoad" written in the room description. Only one PC succumbed to Hypnosis, Xy the Mutant Mastermind. At this cue, the three Froglodyte Mummies hidden in plastered-up niches burst forth, also gaining surprise. These were top-of-the-line Spellcasting Froglodyte Mummies, former Wizards in life, and so in the first two rnd of action, one PC had been Hypnotized, Tarkas was Charmed and made to attack the party, one Mummy managed to cast Mirror Images (2), and the third Mummy cast Darkness, which enclosed both the hypnotized Xy and Quinn (thief) in inky black. Quinn took a cue from his opponents, and downed his Potion of Mirror Images in the dark, stumbling out afterward as three Quinns, two of which promptly disappeared in puffs of smoke as the Mummy in Darkness cast a spread of Magic Missiles at all three of them.* The unfortunate Rose (cleric) took the brunt of fellow PC Tarkas' Charm-fueled attack, and was soon mowed down by the death-dealing Fighter, but not before using a precious charge from her Horn of Valkyrie Summoning. Tarkas then went after the Wizard, Sot Palad, who had used his Potion of Human Control to attempt to take over control of the Charmed fighter, to no effect ("Sure, now I make my Save!"). Borune (cleric) took a Missile from another Mummy, ruining his Spell, as did Sot, but his Shield Spell negated it, allowing his desperation-driven Web to affect... two of the Mummies, as well as Quinn, but not the Charmed Tarkas, Dark Mummy or Xy (also took out the hypnotoad). It was then pointed out that the Hypnotoad could not function w/in the Darkness, so (with some cajoling) it was ruled out, and Xy, still w/in Darkness, engaged his Sonar Mutation, and attacked the Darkened Mummy. (oddly, this one had managed to cast Invisibility on itself, intending to exit the Dark at an advantageous point and attack, but since Xy's Sonar detects only a rough outline, the Mastermind, still in Darkness, didn't even realize his opponent was Invisible!) At this point, a shimmering Amazonian /Nordic Valkyrie appeared, attempting to take out the Mummy who held Tarkas in Charm and somehow managed to fail Save (and Magic resistance!), and was caught in the Web! While various pointless acts of desperation were performed, Quinn used a special property of his magic sword to cut himself free of Webs**, and those others who were Webbed eventually broke loose, the Mirror Image Mummy withered a few limbs with his Undead touch, Sot was reduced to near death by Tarkas in the hallway, and Borune attempted valiantly but unsuccessfully to overbear Tarkas. Quinn, low on HP, but plucky, joined the Valkyrie in beating on the Charm Mummy, as did Xy, who turned his back on his opponent to fire his Gnartian quill pistol at the Charm Mummy as well! (Tarkas on your side is great... but when he switches sides, all that damage the Party so loves becomes a serious threat!) Sot had fled, as did Borune, immediately after reviving the fallen Rose, who took advantage of her foe's Darkness, and hid in it from the other Mummies! Then, the tide turned; Charm Mummy fell, freeing Tarkas, who, along with the now unengaged Valkyrie, and doughty Quinn, finally eliminated the Mirror Images, and soon dispatched the second Mummy. Darkness Mummy, just about to attack the nearby, unsuspecting Rose, also soon fell - Borune had returned and cast Light, and the exposed final Mummy was borne down by everyone with any HP, plus the Valkyrie! Everyone took a deep breath, applied First Aid, and looked around at the carnage... everyone reduced to single-digit HP (Except Tarkas!) and totally depleted of Spells. It was near-perfect. It was at this point I realized I had forgotten the Mummies' Fear aura, and had not made the Party Save vs Fear at the outset!

(best Yakov Smirnov voice) "What a combat!"

Also, Sot Palad became aware of a rattling in his backpack; the Living Dagger of Venom was hungry. In one of those moves that make me love my Group, he took it upon himself to roll a d20 "vs Stupidity" (INT check), and said, "Yeah, I'm stupid enough... I open the box and take out the (unidentified, though certainly poisonous) dagger!" Using it to dispatch an unfortunate Sleeping Froglodyte, he realized that it was a potent weapon indeed, and wisely stowed it again for further examination later. Sometimes... he not so stupid!

MVP candidate: Xy, for exposing himself to near-certain limb Withering in order to do the most profitable action for the Party.

*if ya didn't know, MM is the ideal response to Mirror Images
** the Sword of Free Passage is a short sword +2, allows bearer to cut through Webs in 1rnd, Knock 1/day, and renders him immune to Hold/Paralysis when held

well... they can't all be gems

Been yoinking ideas from everyone else for a while, figure I should post what few ideas I have! Would love to start with a mind-blower, but like the title says... they're just minor treasures, for the most part.

MAGNETIC IRON GOLEMS

As originally conceived, immune to damn near everything but +3 or better weapons, but what if the one fighter with the requisite tool steps up, whacks it for damage, then finds his prized weapon... stuck! I imagine a reaction similar to Fleck in Christmas Story, "Stuck? Stuck! STUCK!!!" Maybe there's a lever on the wall that negates this effect. Possibly healed by electric rather than fire. (I once had an Iron Golem breathe crimson gas which Heated Metal... that was cool.)

Other "Attractive" ideas:
MAGNETIC MONSTER-SUMMONING OBELISK Hematite structure effectively immobilizes PCs in metal armor, then acts as beacon to attract local Wandering beasties
HALL OF MAGNETIC SHIELDS Partway through traversing a long hallway adorned with metal shields, the party is attacked by humanoid (or other) monsters rushing in. Just as they prepare to respond, the magnetized shields "turn on", possibly tearing weapons, etc, from their hands and leaving them unarmed! (Save to avoid being disarmed, and also to pry item off of wall-mounted shield) Possibly blink on/off every few rnds; items attached drop to floor, maybe monsters wait for this opportunity to snatch them up, maybe metal-armored PCs w/in 5' must save or get stuck...
MAGNETIC ANTI-PIT Pit opens in ceiling, floor of which is magnetized, and when party passes, everyone in armor gets snatched up. Hopefully the other PCs will be standing directly beneath this pit when the effect suddenly stops a round or two later.