30 Days of D&D Day 13: Favorite Trap/Puzzle

Let's see, my favorite trap or puzzle. Though my favorite play location is in fact ruins, and that seems like the most likely place to find traps and puzzles, I had to rack my brain a bit for this one.

And really, it's an odd question, because I find traps to more of a "I hope this doesn't kill me/us" far more than "ooh, a puzzle!"



I mentioned that we played in a Dungeon Magazine adventure called Gorgoldand's Gauntlet in order to level up for the temple. That was a carnival-esque atmosphere where adventurer's signed up to go run the gauntlet for the prize at the end. There were monsters to fight (this will come back up on Day 23) and there were puzzles to complete. I don't remember the words to one of the puzzles, but I remember that it was on a set of stairs, and when I looked at it written out, I knew almost without thinking about it that it meant we should go up every other step. So there's that, certainly.

(and actually, here is Gorgoldand's Gauntlet available online in its glory. It's fun, and if you're looking for a first level [granted, 3rd edition, so some translation will be involved I daresay] adventure, I remember it fondly and it has a great payoff)

But the "trap" culture of D&D is somehow one I've avoided. Not on purpose, certainly, but the times I've played longer running rogues (Kate, Dolly), traps and opening doors and things weren't really a big part of the game.

Our many-armed rogue in the Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil lost his first hand/arm due to a trap. He also caught a number of acid sprays right in the face, not because he was bad at trapfinding (despite what my stories might bely) but because that just seemed to be what happened every time acid was involved. It was like story fate.