Tuesday, May 7, 2019

10 Traps for Peasants

[1] Wheelbarrow trap. When a peasant tries to lift this and wheel it out of the dungeon, two pressurized spikes held down by the weight of the bed fires, usually at the height of the knees or groin of the taker. Once these are fired off the wheelbarrow is revealed to be nonfunctional.

[2] Cursed Hoe. When plucked off the wall takes 1d4 days to activate. When activates; all exposed iron of low quality rusts within the radius of about a whole farm. The farmer's new tool, along with all their old ones, become useless. More of a punishment then a trap.

[3] Grain goblin. Pops out of sacks of grain stored in the tomb as bait. The moment it appears, it begins counting the grains and doing basic multiplication. Most peasants run in terror from the perjuring devil, but the few who take it home with them finding themselves destitute grain by grain.

[4] Stepping into this room reveals a rocky crag with sheep just over the ridge. The sheep are bouncy, baa'ing softly among themselves, looking back with half lidded eyes. Clearly, they are meant to lure a farmer closer. The sheep are illusions, the center of the room contains a large pit that you will fall to your death within if you follow the sheep's seductive wiles.

[5] Magic lute. Strumming it and singing a bawdy tavern song has a 1 in 4 chance to slice off a finger or deal 1d6 damage if you make a save to your hand. If you only use it in a classy way the magic strings never activate.

[6] Flagon filled with freshly brewed ale, which is still frothing, on top of a table or shelf. Even if you sip to taste the top or touch it, it tastes as a sweet and well made ale. The flagon is filled with a powerful acid that's denser then water, so the alcohol floats to the top and gives a false sense of safety.

[7] Sticky pigs. They look like small pigs which will grow into fat hogs later in life. Grabbing one of the pigs reveals it's actually a large animate lump of gummy material like taffy, which sticks to your skin and slows you down. It gets bigger over time, eventually swallowing you up and suffocating you, unless you pay it a gold coin which shrinks it down to a tiny finger-sized piglet. Since peasants can't afford a gold coin, nobles laugh at the thought of one preferring to die so they can pass on the single coin to their offspring.

[8] There is a fake church with a fake priest made out of wooden sticks, who invites you to sit and listen to his sermon. The sermon is about the need for hardwork, dedication to the natural order of the world, and about resisting temptation. There is a magical spell on the pews that light on fire if anyone on them falls asleep, which loathsome unfaithful peasants are likely to do during the sermon. If you stay awake the whole time, nothing happens.

[9] Magic stewpot. Typical magic stew, but this stew is actually good and makes you full. Peasants are pretty good at avoiding evil or cursed stew, since it's so common. The real magic of this stew is that anyone who doesn't eat it is charged a few silvers on their next tax- magically growing a debt that is no problem from a nobleman but will make a farmer destitute.

[10] Peasants deal with fairies, brownies, pixies, and other annoying creatures all the time. They know that iron is the counter to these. This rust monster has a glamor cast upon it, making it appear as a slow moving dancing fairy so the serf will lose their only sword.

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