Angry Shadows (Haunt) (5e Trap)
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Angry Shadows[edit]
A dark force capable of temporarily disabling light sources and swallowing dungeon divers without trace. Terrifying to say the least.
Targets: Any and all who are inside the dungeon.
Religion or Arcana DC 12 Skill Check: The malevolent force in question seems to be a magical entity created to guard whatever treasures are within. No matter what happens, we must stay within the light, or risk being swallowed forever by the darkness itself.
Resets: Every 2 to 9 hours (1d8+1).
The dungeon in question is pitch-black on the inside, maybe save for some faint light coming off of certain patterns in the walls, in certain areas. At the entrance, the PCs are compelled to bring a bright source of light into the dungeon (with a minimum "safe" radius of 7.5 feet). While in the affected dungeon, the PCs feel like they are being watched, often hearing the faint woosh of an ominous breeze, even though there may be no actual air movement. 1d4+5 minutes before the shadows attack, dark formless shapes just outside the field of lighting seem to be moving all around the PCs, steadily getting faster every minute leading to the attack, and the ominous breeze gets louder as well. When the shadows finally attack, the source of light is suddenly extinguished, any faint light in the dungeon itself also fades out, and the sound of rushing wind becomes a deafening howl. When the PCs get their source of light turned back on again, the angry shadows are pushed back and the howl silences just as quickly, and they will stay back until the time comes for the next attack.
Effect: While the source of the light is extinguished, the person in charge of it fumbles with it and must succeed a DC 10 Dexterity check. For every failure, a PC of the DM's choice vanishes without trace by the time the light is restarted, and will remain out of the session until the remaining PCs reach the dungeon's main room. Also, if any PCs place any part of themselves outside of the "safe" zone radius, an unseen force grabs that particular PC and drags them into the darkness, vanishing just like that. They automatically fail their saving throw. If all the PCs in play are swallowed by the darkness, it is essentially "game over" for the entire adventure.
If the Madness rule is in play, after each attack the remaining PCs must make their roll for Short Term Madness.
Destruction: When the remaining PCs reach the main room of the dungeon, there is a large lever sitting in an obvious location for them to easily see it. Upon pulling it, whether by mechanical or magical means, the entire dungeon lights up with a comfortable amount of light for 48 hours, chasing away the angry shadows. Any PCs who were swallowed by the darkness wake up in a random location inside the dungeon exactly as they were before they were caught. The last thing they remembered was being whisked away by a powerful unseen force into an unknown direction. After this, the PCs are free to loot the entire dungeon. However, when the time limit of the dungeon lighting is reached, the dungeon darkens and the shadows return once more. Best to get out of there before that happens!
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