Tuesday Trap #3

Tuesday Traps are back! I'm quite pleased with this trap. It's weird and unsettling (I hope) in a silly sort of way, and it has many, many ways to get around it, but all require some thinking. It's also much shorter than the previous traps in this series. Here's hoping it's the start of a trend.

Rolls:
15: Magical Devices
17: Trigger: Sound (magical)
10: Inflict Wounds

Trigger: Sound
Save: None
Reset: Automatic
Effects: Never Miss
Duration: Instant
Bypass: Move silently, Silence spell, Fly spell, Levitation spell, Spiderwalk spell, Long carpet, Dispel Magic spell, Destroy trap, etc., etc., etc.

Description: This trap is a hallway (as long or short as you want it- if it takes more than 10 seconds to go though, the first character in- and those following- will get zapped; if it takes less than 10 seconds to go through, the first character, at least, will be spared- that will be confusing to the party). The stone walls are carved so that they appear to be covered with the life-size ears of humans, demi-humans and humanoids (at your option, they are painted with lifelike color). The floor of the hallway is made of 1 cm square ceramic tiles arranged in a checkered black-and-red pattern. Whenever the ears carved into the wall hear any noise, the red tiles discharge an Inflict Wounds spell upon any living creature in contact with them. It takes them 10 seconds to recharge. The Inflict Wounds spell allows no save; victims lose 10% of their hit points.

Detection/Disarming: The decor of the hallway makes it obvious that something is up, and even points to the nature of the trigger. Discerning characters can attempt to move silently through the hallway through either skill or magic, move through the hallway without touching the floor (if the characters put something on the floor to walk on, they are saved from the Inflict Wounds spell, but mere footwear- definable as something they are actually wearing- will not shield them), disable the magical trap with magic or merely set about destroying the ears or tiles by hand. Only perfect magic ears and tiles work, so breaking them with a mace, club, etc. will do the trick handily, but characters will run into trouble when they discover that destroying the ears makes quite a lot of sound and a good number of the ears are out of reach of the areas outside the hallway… destroying the tiles is much more effective and safe, but less obvious- players should be informed of the damage without being told that the attack is coming from the floor. Moving through the hallway in this way should be very slow.