Whispering Dart Snare
A concealed spring snare that launches a short volley of sharpened wooden darts when a creature steps into the wrong patch of forest. It is crude, quiet, and designed to injure rather than kill, leaving its victim easy to track through the undergrowth.
Whispering Dart Snare
Defenses
Detection
“A waist-high sapling has been bent into a spring and lashed beneath a mat of leaves. Thin cords run from the bent wood to sharpened stakes hidden in the brush. The whole construction sways gently whenever the forest breeze passes, making it difficult to distinguish from ordinary movement.”
Standard Engagement
A creature enters the trapped square or disturbs the trigger cord.
The snare fires its dart volley once when triggered, then becomes inactive until it resets.
The snare resets after 10 minutes if the bent sapling and trigger cord remain intact. It does not reset if its darts are removed or its spring is broken.
The hazard makes a ranged attack against the triggering creature: +8 to hit, range 20 feet. On a hit, the target takes 1d8 piercing damage and 1 persistent bleed damage. On a critical hit, the target takes double damage and is clumsy 1 until the persistent bleed ends.
The snare occupies one 5-foot square. A creature that moves into the square triggers it. A creature can Step into the square without triggering it if it succeeds at a DC 17 Acrobatics check, representing careful movement over the concealed cord.
If the triggering creature is adjacent to a tree or large bush, the darts ricochet through the foliage. On a failed attack roll, the creature still takes 1 point of piercing damage from a glancing dart.
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