General Hazards | Adventure-Specific Hazards | Weather Hazards


Shuffling Scythe BladesHazard 8

Legacy Content

Complex Magical Mechanical Trap 
Source Pathfinder #164: Hands of the Devil pg. 21
Complexity Complex
Stealth DC +18 (expert)
Description Six long blades, hidden in grooves in the walls and floor, zigzag through different parts of this hallway when any pressure plate in the hallway intersection is depressed; there are so many plates it’s impossible to avoid them when moving through the room. The blades retreat into the floor and move through the hidden grooves before swinging out from the wall again in a different location.
Disable DC 26 Thievery (expert) to disable each blade, or utter the magical passphrase (which only Chafkhem knows) to deactivate the trap for 10 minutes
AC 27, Fort +19, Ref +13
Scythe Blade Hardness 16, Scythe Blade HP 30 (BT 15); Immunities critical hits, object immunities, precision damage
Dicing Scythes [reaction] Trigger A creature steps in the 15-footby- 25-foot area where the branching hallways connect; Effect The trap uses Scythe Shuffle; each blade makes a scythe Strike against each creature in its region, then it uses Scythe Shuffle again. The trap then rolls for initiative.
Scythe Shuffle [one-action] The blades travel erratically throughout the hallway’s branches, out of sight under the floors or behind the walls. For each blade, roll 1d4 to determine the region in which it next makes scythe Strikes. A creature can Seek (DC 22) to learn clues about blades in the region they’re currently occupying. On a success, the creature knows how many blades are currently in its region.
1. Main intersection (the 15-foot-by-25-foot area where the hallways connect, as marked on area B20)
2. North branch (from the main intersection to the secret door to area B14)
3. Central hall (from the main intersection to the secret door to area B24)
4. South branch (from the main intersection to the wall shared with area B25)
Routine (7 actions) The trap spends 1 action for each of its blades; a blade makes a scythe Strike against each creature in its region. With its final action, the trap uses Scythe Shuffle. Reduce the number of actions the trap can take by 1 for each destroyed blade.
Melee scythe +20 (deadly 1d12), Damage 1d12+8 slashing; no multiple attack penalty
Reset The trap resets when no creatures remain in area B20. Damaged or destroyed blades aren’t repaired when the trap resets.