Death Traps Anyone?

[CaptD]

Well the team has been captured by Viper and instead of outright killing them I was thinking it's a goodtime for a death trap. I was looking for suggestions. The piranah pool just isn't me. lol.

[ghost-angel]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

Taylor them to the groups powers/capabilites...

 

So - what are those?

[prestidigitator]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

The Mental Maze of Madness. Like one of those video game type sub-adventures that always come up in superhero cartoons. You can make anything out of it really, but it's a sub-adventure the PCs have to beat to get free (or live if you want this to just be like a "second chance" type thing). I know: that helps narrow it down a lot, doesn't it?

[Vulcan]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

Sand Blaster of the Gods always gets my vote.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

Here's one I like. Team wake up in the bodies of a villain team in the rubble of a building. Another Hero team flies in and attacks them.

 

Meanwhile the villains have had their minds swapped into the Hero's bodies and are off somewhere robbing a bank.

 

You make the (actual) heroes aware that if the mind swap is not reversed within a period of time it is permanent. They have to defeat the heroes who think they are villains (or at least get away in bodies with unfamilair powers) then find their original bodies and defeat them and figure how to swap minds back, all on the clock.

 

Then they have to deal with the fallout of the villainous acts their bodies committed whilst they were not in them.

 

OK, not a death trap, but a really cool* thing to do to the PCs whilst you have their characters helpless

 

Better yet they awake in the bodies of Viper agents - so they have to defeat a hero team and themselves without powers. Hmmm...

 

 

*or possibly cruel

[Guest steamteck]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

be sure to tie the brick and the normal strength character to a column opposite each other with their arms linked so they have to figure a way out other than the brick ripping the other guys arms off:eek:

[Doc Samson]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

Here's one I like. Team wake up in the bodies of a villain team in the rubble of a building. Another Hero team flies in and attacks them.

 

Meanwhile the villains have had their minds swapped into the Hero's bodies and are off somewhere robbing a bank.

 

You make the (actual) heroes aware that if the mind swap is not reversed within a period of time it is permanent. They have to defeat the heroes who think they are villains (or at least get away in bodies with unfamilair powers) then find their original bodies and defeat them and figure how to swap minds back, all on the clock.

 

Then they have to deal with the fallout of the villainous acts their bodies committed whilst they were not in them.

 

OK, not a death trap, but a really cool* thing to do to the PCs whilst you have their characters helpless

 

Better yet they awake in the bodies of Viper agents - so they have to defeat a hero team and themselves without powers. Hmmm...

 

 

*or possibly cruel

Sweeet, remind me to rep you when I reload.

[Karmakaze]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

Let's see...

 

You could lock someone (who does not have Life Support: Breathe Water) in a sealed box and drop it to the bottom of a deep lake or ocean trench. The PC has the choice of waiting for the air to run out or breaking the sides of the box and drowning as the water rushes in... (Bonus points for not telling the PC they're underwater).

[Marcus Impudite]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

be sure to tie the brick and the normal strength character to a column opposite each other with their arms linked so they have to figure a way out other than the brick ripping the other guys arms off:eek:

 

In my experience, with the kind of players who usually chose to play bricks, is right.

[Doc Samson]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

In my experience' date=' with the kind of players who usually chose to play bricks, is right.[/quote']

Bah, he was a Mentalist, he didn't need those arms anyway!

Wait...what?

[pinecone]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

Yeah I usually try to tailor the trap to the heros....either power sets, or psych lims, or other lims Captain Rave , you are locked in a room with your DNPC Spindarella. Loud disco music is blasting from all around you...Look! A miiror ball is desending!" "Roll for Beserk?"

[Vulcan]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

That one seems a bit pointless to me. Sure, he's going to regret what he does while Berserk later, but you've reduced a major plot point (the death of a DNPC) to 'roll for Berserk... Ok, you went berserk, now roll to hit DNPC... She's dead.' Talk about a lack of drama. There's no way, short of not going berserk in the first place, for the PC to save the NPC.

 

You chain the brick and the DNPC to each other around the pillar. That makes things more interesting.

[CaptD]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

Characters

 

A mystic with desolid/invis/healing/and stun blast

A brick (Growth powers)

A jedi (Extremly fast, Light saber stuff, ie...missle deflection, reflection)

A low level telekinetic with nanites. Boosts his abilities and a NND attack called nanite invasion. In General hes a brawler. His punch links with a kinetic explosion.

[Doc Samson]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

Characters

 

A mystic with desolid/invis/healing/and stun blast

A brick (Growth powers)

A jedi (Extremly fast, Light saber stuff, ie...missle deflection, reflection)

A low level telekinetic with nanites. Boosts his abilities and a NND attack called nanite invasion. In General hes a brawler. His punch links with a kinetic explosion.

I see 4 cages hanging from a ceiling (perhaps an empty acid factory, they're everywhere!) by chains. The characters wake up inside these cages. The cages are slowly being lowered into vats of acid. Each cage is completely immune to the trapped characters powers (Affects Desolid, Huge DEF, FFs, ect.) but not to the powers of the others. The characters have 12 segments to figure out the villain's oversight or they are gonna need some new shoes.

 

Example cages:

Mystic: High PD but low ED (metal bars), Affects Desolidified on BODY. Can be easily destoyed by a TK wielded Lightsaber.

Brick: High PD and ED (huge bars). High Tech Force Wall around cage. Limitated Power: Force Wall shorted out by angry Nanites.

Jedi: High ED but low PD (energy bars). Can be easily torn apart by a Growing Brick.

TKer: High PD and ED (force bars). Magic Force Wall around cage. Limitated Power: Force Wall shorted out by Magic Stun Blasts.

 

Give them hints in how you descibe each cage or what the Force Field protecting two of the cages looks like. If the characters don't look like they are gonna get out, either kill them or let them make a PER roll to notice switches on a nearby wall (within reach of TK or a ranged attack). One switch will stop the chains while the others will turn off the Force Fields.

 

I know I descibed this poorly but its early and I can't find my coffee...

[Tech]

My last death trap was...

 

I'll have to tell you the scenario along with it (in brief) but here it goes:

 

The heroes find out a small luxury ship disappeared. Heroes take a boat to last known coordinates. Whirlpool starts sucking ship under but heroes abandonship. See island nearby and fly/swim/forgot to it. They find their powers aren't working. See clues of people on jungle island and search. Two heroes bitten by 'mosquitos'. Those two heroes start transforming slowly into animals. Find buildings and start to sneak in. Heroes fall unconscious due to unsmellable & unseen gas.

 

First, their powers aren't working because of an experimental machine concocted that stops the brain from being able to activate powers.

 

Okay, now for the deathtrap: Heroes awaken being held by their wrists by chains over a steaming purple pool. A laser nearby keeps the pool bubbling. The villainess - an evil fur designer - is using the liquid to change people into animals and using their fur for custom-made furs. The heroes will be slowly lowered into the pool and sit there until they change into animals and then their furs will be harvested (and the heroes will effectively be no more). The villainess leaves the heroes to their doom, of course.

 

A simple deathtrap but a deathtrap nonetheless. The heroes got out of it by swinging back & forth and letting the chain get cut by the nearby laser. Someone else tried lockpicking the chain but then almost fell into the pool.

 

Sometimes simple is the best.

[pinecone]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

That one seems a bit pointless to me. Sure, he's going to regret what he does while Berserk later, but you've reduced a major plot point (the death of a DNPC) to 'roll for Berserk... Ok, you went berserk, now roll to hit DNPC... She's dead.' Talk about a lack of drama. There's no way, short of not going berserk in the first place, for the PC to save the NPC.

 

You chain the brick and the DNPC to each other around the pillar. That makes things more interesting.

 

Well differant folks differant falvas....I can see "Can I push my ego?" "How can I drown out this Disco?" etc...all role playing stuff...besides it's a dumb example of how you make an increadably lame disadd like Beserk: Disco music, an actual painful disadd...

[pinecone]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

I see 4 cages hanging from a ceiling (perhaps an empty acid factory, they're everywhere!) by chains. The characters wake up inside these cages. The cages are slowly being lowered into vats of acid. Each cage is completely immune to the trapped characters powers (Affects Desolid, Huge DEF, FFs, ect.) but not to the powers of the others. The characters have 12 segments to figure out the villain's oversight or they are gonna need some new shoes.

 

Example cages:

Mystic: High PD but low ED (metal bars), Affects Desolidified on BODY. Can be easily destoyed by a TK wielded Lightsaber.

Brick: High PD and ED (huge bars). High Tech Force Wall around cage. Limitated Power: Force Wall shorted out by angry Nanites.

Jedi: High ED but low PD (energy bars). Can be easily torn apart by a Growing Brick.

TKer: High PD and ED (force bars). Magic Force Wall around cage. Limitated Power: Force Wall shorted out by Magic Stun Blasts.

 

Give them hints in how you descibe each cage or what the Force Field protecting two of the cages looks like. If the characters don't look like they are gonna get out, either kill them or let them make a PER roll to notice switches on a nearby wall (within reach of TK or a ranged attack). One switch will stop the chains while the others will turn off the Force Fields.

 

I know I descibed this poorly but its early and I can't find my coffee...

 

Yeah, or seperate them....but throw in extras based on diasadds....Growth brick can easily burst out but he shares his cage with a breakable character, or DNPC (or a robot duplicate of a DNPC.

 

Mystic is held in varius "anti magical" confines, and faces a witch trial by android mob/ actors. So he can use his brains, and play for time to figure an escape)

 

Nano-guy is simply depowered by say a EMP and has to get out using other skills and tricks.(trap depends on what his secondary skills are...)

 

The Jedi if he uses a OAF/OIF then he is disarmed as a matter of course (disadds, take a focus, pay the fee) and can face a deadly maze that challenges his other jedi skills...maybe some cyborg rotweilers (with freakin lasers in their heads?)

 

I'd run them seperate, that way I can use hero's that escape as a safety for hero's that fail. I don't keep track of time so if I need too one hero can rescue annother....

[Sean Waters]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

Something I've done in the past is to give players actual logic puzzles (or work them into the game) - take it out of the realm of rolls and such. OK THEORETICALLY the brain box of the team might be able to crack them, but if you set it up right then it should work out. Here's a handy link to some logic puzzles.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Death Traps Anyone?

 

I've seen and even run that approach. It works somewhat if you allow the players to step back from their characters. The smart player with the dumb character should be allowed to contribute to the group problem solving exercise without stepping out of his "if brains were dynamite, he couldn't blow his nose" character.