You enter a vast, almost empty chamber, fifty feet wide and fifty feet long, its floor laid in immaculate black-and-ivory squares. Dust hangs in the still air, disturbed only by a low, regular hum beneath the stone. Tiny brass discs sit at the center of each tile. Across the room, a brass-rimmed arch waits in the far wall. When the iron probe beside the entrance brushes a tile, the disc gives a clear note; somewhere under the floor, a mechanism answers with a muted click.
You step into a chamber at least fifty feet across. Black and ivory tiles stretch to an arch on the far wall, and a low hum trembles through the soles of your feet. Brass discs sit in the center of every square. Beside you, an iron probe and a stone weight rest on a rack.
The checkerboard offers no reliable safe-color pattern. The brass discs chime when touched, and the rack's probe and weight are clearly intended for testing. Explain that a trap tile flashes amber when triggered and remains spent afterward.
Let players test ideas with the probe before applying danger. If they stall for a few minutes, offer the first hint; give stronger hints after repeated indecision. A triggered trap is a useful clue, not a punishment that blocks progress.
You enter a vast, almost empty chamber, fifty feet wide and fifty feet long, its floor laid in immaculate black-and-ivory squares. Dust hangs in the still air, disturbed only by a low, regular hum beneath the stone. Tiny brass discs sit at the center of each tile. Across the room, a brass-rimmed arch waits in the far wall. When the iron probe beside the entrance brushes a tile, the disc gives a clear note; somewhere under the floor, a mechanism answers with a muted click.
The checker pattern is not a safe path. The brass discs and the listening quality of their chimes suggest that the floor reports information. A character who tests a tile from the threshold sees an amber flash and hears a trap fire if that tile is trapped.
The floor is a checkerboard, but its colors tell you nothing. The brass discs listen to the stones around them.
Stand upon a square and listen: its chime counts the trapped squares that touch it, including corners. It does not tell you which ones they are.
A trapped square flashes amber when its weight is tested. Once it has fired, it is spent.
The far arch opens to any who reach the final row.
A note scratched beside the entrance: The pattern is not the path. Count, compare, and cross.
Treat the floor as a 10-by-10 grid of five-foot tiles, with rows numbered 1 through 10 from the entrance to the exit and columns A through J from left to right. The goal is to reach any tile in row 10. A character can spend an action to examine the tile they currently occupy with a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception), Intelligence (Investigation), or Intelligence (Arcana) check; on a success, tell them the exact number of trapped tiles among the eight surrounding squares, including diagonals, and on a failure give no count. The black-and-ivory pattern gives no safety information. When a creature steps onto a trapped tile, it flashes amber, triggers its listed effect, and becomes safe for the rest of the encounter. Describe the tile's tell before resolving its effect, and keep damage modest for a 1st-level party. The probe and weight can safely test tiles from a distance; a successful test reveals whether that tile is trapped, and a trap triggered this way is spent. Characters may map readings, mark tested tiles, or use any plausible means of crossing that avoids contact with the floor.
The mechanism activates when a creature or object of meaningful weight touches a floor tile. A trapped tile immediately flashes amber and triggers its one-time effect. Checking a tile does not itself trigger it if the character is already standing on it.
| DC | Check | What it gives |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Wisdom (Perception) | While standing on a tile, read the vibration and faint chime that indicate how many trapped tiles touch it, including diagonals. On a success, give the exact number. On a failure, give no number, but describe the instrument's response. |
| 12 | Intelligence (Investigation) | Study the tile seams or compare prior readings. On a success, provide the adjacent-trap count for the tile the character occupies; this does not pinpoint which neighboring tiles are trapped. |
| 12 | Intelligence (Arcana) | Interpret the ward's magical pulse. On a success, provide the adjacent-trap count for the tile the character occupies and identify whether a nearby trap is magical or mechanical, but not its exact location. |
No hint given yet.
When a character reaches row 10, the arch unlocks with a resonant clang and opens. The party can cross in either direction afterward; all triggered tiles remain spent.
The tile flashes amber and its trap fires once, then remains visibly spent and safe. The affected creature takes the listed modest damage or effect. After three traps trigger, the hum rises and the exit begins opening slowly, making the crossing more urgent but still possible.
The engineer-priests of the Quiet Measure built this hall to test messengers carrying sealed military orders. Its floor was meant to reward observation and careful cooperation rather than speed: one scout read the stone's warnings while the others planned a route. After the order-keepers vanished, the mechanism continued its duty, treating every unrecognized visitor as a potential intruder.
For a very cautious or fragile party, reduce damaging bursts to 1 point, or have the probe rack include a small hand mirror that can test one tile per round. For a larger or tougher party, add two trapped tiles away from the suggested route and let each damaging trap deal 1d6 damage. Avoid raising save DCs for this 1st-level encounter.
Keep the board coordinates and trap locations secret. Track safe, trapped, and spent tiles on a private grid. Let players mark their own discoveries. Do not make a failed check invent a false count. If they are stuck, make the chime's number of notes audible even if they cannot yet interpret it.
No images yet.
A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.
