The Crossbow door trap, it's activated by opening a door. The trap is undetectable unless you have some sort of foresight or can see the future. When the door is opened, a Crossbow fires a bolt, the area it fires at can be determined while it's being set up. Multiple Crossbows can be set up so the victim is hailed by a barrage of Crossbow Bolts. The Bolts can also be poisoned so watch out! Some versions of the trap are made to be obvious and dodged so it can hit and activate a pressure plate trap. Best used in small corridors with multiple poisoned tipped Crossbows, making the barrage nearly impossible to dodge. Almost guaranteed to bring down the best adventurers, particularly rogues and mages for they don't wear much armor.
Crossbow Door Trap
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The classical Crossbow Door trap
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August 26, 2010, 19:15
September 27, 2010, 8:13
November 18, 2010, 15:39
I agree with Pieh -- this sub is short enough to include as part of a 30s list, but almost too short to stand on its own. The one thing that stood out for me was the idea that the crossbow bolts could be aimed at pressure plates which will activate secondary traps. Subtleness like that appeals to me. Welcome to the Citadel!
November 18, 2010, 16:23
This shall be expanded soon, I'm adding more submissions for linking, and I'lll described this better...
plus I'm getting more experienced and what - not
November 18, 2010, 20:51
I thought I commented on this a while ago. This just seems like a cookie cutter trap door trap that was taken out of a DnD DM supplement manual. Not saying it isn't a decent trap but it just doesn't seem I don't know... right. It must be in its description or something. It seems more like a person talking to another about an idea nothing more.
Undetectable unless by foresight seems a bit much for it to be a mundane trap. Perhaps describe it in detail on how it is concealed in such a way that if it is detected the trap appears to fire from a different area putting ones back to the actual crossbow bolt in the process of trying to disarm it.
"Almost guaranteed to bring down the best adventurers" This rankles me a bit as if a single bolt or even two or three were to strike an adventurer and actually kill them with just a normal bolt. It either means the group is still low level which is understandable, or the GM is simply goofy. Give it a reason why its so deadly. Poison is so cliche'. Use an exploding bolt or a warded bolt that triggers a spell. Imagine the look on your fighter types face when he attempt to either take the bolt thinking it minor or stopping it with his shield when a large fireball is trigger when the bolt makes contact, or a mist of acid.
All ideas to try and make this a better sub. Not bashing it in anyway just trying to help you flesh it out more to make it 3/5 or higher worthy.
November 18, 2010, 21:19
Exploding seemed cliched to me, I see explosions in everything, but warped I didn't think about, I've never seen poison used before unless it's a one time thing in a spy movies, I know you aren't bashing, I hate it when you criticize something, and be accused of bashing...
November 18, 2010, 22:48
I just used exploding as an example of different. I see poison all the time in our sessions as its an ongoing joke that only one person can treat poison and they have a very pathetic skill to succeed.
April 29, 2011, 6:29
What sort of firing mechanism does this involve if it's totally unavoidable without some kind of magical precognition?
April 29, 2011, 6:57
Agree this should have been part of a compilation sub .