Trap Tuesday (Macabre Manses): Hangman Trap

Hangman Trap – CR 10 

A raised wooden platform has been constructed at one end of the room. In front of it, an ancient tome lays open on a stand.

Type: magical; Perception DC 34; Disable Device DC 34
Trigger location; Reset none

Effect  As soon as the book is examined several nooses appear around each of the PCs’ necks. Each PC may make a DC 27 Fortitude save; if successful, the noose falls off their neck. Those that fail may not remove the noose. After this happens, an hourglass, inkwell and a quill appear next to the book, and printing appears on the page. The print reads “_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _”. The hourglass flips over and trickles sand for one minute. The nooses tighten slightly with every passing second and a vertical wooden beam appears on the dais. Inside of this minute, a letter needs to be written down onto each blank line on the page. The word to be spelled is “Halloween”. An incorrect letter guess causes the letter written to vanish and appear on the side of the page. The hourglass resets, and the nooses tighten. When a correct letter is picked, it appears in the correct locations (the nooses do not tighten, and the hourglass resets). The 7th time the nooses tighten, they kill anyone with a noose.

grimstarks journalAnyone killed by a noose is immediately killed when resurrected if the noose is still attached—the only way to remove the noose is to solve the hangman puzzle.

Leading up to the trap, have shadows depicting hangmen and victims swinging from the gallows. Add a little bit of eerie music or sound effects and some chill breezes, and you have yourself a haunted house.

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