“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
From time to time being the DM can be extra special rewarding by killing players in inventive and often unstoppable ways. Here are a few ideas.
5. Secret Passage into Dungeon
It’s common in any RPG to find a secret door or passageway. Nobody says it has to end in a treasure room. Recently I had players find a secret passageway deep into a dungeon. It was actually the entrance to a famous high level assassin. It was a near TPK (Total Party Kill)
4. Black Pudding
Nothing as entertaining as a puddle in the middle of a passageway that melts flesh and metal. Save vs Dex or lose your fancy new armor!
3. Gelatinous Cube
Being a cube that is a perfect ten feet on each side, this nearly invisible dungeon inhabitant cleans the dungeon, even of wandering players.
2. Yellow Mold
The treasure room was filled with wonderful yellow gold, or was it? One touch fills the room with deadly spores that kill on a failed Save vs Con (DC20).
1. Green Slime
The most sinister of ambush predators, green slime often clings to walls and ceilings and drops down by surprise. Once in contact with flesh, it sticks and turns the flesh into green slime. It cannot be scraped off, but may be burnt off (or treated with a Cure Disease spell).
What are some of the best hazards that have terrorized your players? Post a comment below.
