Pendulum Scythes
Trap
Level 4 Lurker
XP 175
Scything blades sweep across the room in a seemingly random pattern, cutting swaths at 5-foot intervals.
Trap: Each row of squares in the chamber features a scything blade. On its turn, a blade sweeps through one row of squares at random, attacking all creatures in the row.Perception✦ DC 17: The character notices thin, shallow cuts running across the dungeon floor at 5-foot intervals.✦ DC 22: The character notices thin slots across the ceiling of the room, corresponding with the cuts across the floor. A character who makes a DC 15 Dungeoneering check recognizes these as signs of a scything blades trap.✦ DC 22: The character spots the pressure plates at the room's entrance.✦ DC 27: The character notices the hidden control panel if it is within line of sight.Initiative +6TriggerThe trap rolls initiative when a creature enters one of the six squares of pressure plates at the room's entrance. As a standard action, a creature can trigger the trap using the control panel at the far end of the room, if it has the key.AttackStandard Action MeleeTargets All creatures in a row of squares. Roll randomly each round to determine the row the trap attacks.Attack: +9 vs. ACHit: 2d8 + 4 damage and secondary attack. Secondary Attack +7 vs. Fortitude Hit: Push 1 (in the direction of the blade's movement), knock target prone, and ongoing 5 damage (save ends).Countermeasures✦ Dungeoneering DC 22: A character who makes a successful check as a minor action can determine the row of squares the trap will attack on its next turn.
✦ A character can ready an action to attack a pendulum blade (AC 15, other defenses 12; hp 48). Destroying a blade renders that row of squares safe from attack.
✦ Thievery DC 22: A character can engage in a skill challenge to deactivate the control panel. Complexity 1 (4 successes before 3 failures). Success disables the trap. Failure causes 1d4 + 1 blades to attack each round.
Published in Dungeon Master's Guide, page(s) 88.