Deadly Trap Thursday - Dire Mantrap & Razor Noose

Dire Mantrap (CR 2)

            This heavy iron jawed trap is an even more dangerous version of the man traps and bear traps familiar to most trappers. When pressure is applied to the trap’s central plate, two massive serrated jaws snap shut, while within the arc of these larger blades, two smaller, locking jaws snap shut around the victim’s ankle. Often used by slavers and bounty hunters, even those who escape with their legs unbroken and flesh not too badly lacerated are usually held tightly by the trap until released by the trap’s setter.

Type: mechanical

Perception: DC 18
Disable Device: DC 23

Trigger: touch
Duration: instant
Reset: manual

Effects: Attack +10 melee (4d6 slashing). Secondary Effect: Targets damaged by the trap are held in place. They are considered grappled and cannot move out of the trap’s square.  It requires either a DC 20 STR check or DC 18 Escape Artist attempt to get free, and a failed attempt inflicts an additional 1d6 points of slashing damage.

Razor Noose (CR 6)

            This techno-magical trap is concealed in the high arching ceiling of a long abandoned cathedral of evil. The trap itself is a cunningly articulated clockwork tendril more than fifty feet long that is as quick and dexterous as an octopus’ tendril. The mechanical tentacle lashes out with whip-like speed, and in a flash can wrap itself around a victim’s throat. Victims are jerked kicking and gasping into the sky, where they die within seconds as the inexorable mechanical noose tightens.

Type: mechanical

Perception: DC 26
Disable Device: DC 28

Trigger: sight (true seeing)
Duration: Instant
Reset: automatic (drops the corpse, rewinds itself and resets after an hour elapses)

Effects: Attack +14 melee (2d4 slashing). Secondary Effect: The Razor Noose begins a grapple attempt on any target it damages, with its CMB equal to 20 + the damage dealt by the attack. Targets grappled by the noose are jerked up into the ceiling, roughly 20 ft off the floor and must begin making FORT Saves to resist suffocation as the noose tightens. Escaping the noose requires a successful CMB check or Escape Artist check opposing the Razor Noose’s effective CMB.