Phase Flip-Flop (5e Trap)
Phase Flip-Flop[edit]
Simple trap (level 1–20, moderate threat)
Attached to a wall, floor, or ceiling, this small stone plate in the shape of a phase spider has a pair of arrows on it, a white one pointing up, and a blue one pointing down. When activated, its arrows swap colors and glow for a moment before turning dull grey until it recharges. The Phase Flip-Flop exists on both the Material and Ethereal Planes, and requires at least a 10-foot radius of open air around it in both planes to activate, preventing creatures it swaps the planes of from suffocating in a wall. Some clever wizards will create elaborate dungeons that require the use of Phase Flip-Flops to swap between similarly lain-out complexes in the Ethereal and Material planes in order to continue past walls or obstacles present in only one Plane's complex.
Trigger. When a creature comes within 5 feet of it on the Material or Ethereal planes.
Effect. When the trap is triggered, all creatures in the Material and Ethereal Planes within a 10 foot radius of the Phase Flip-Flop are swapped between the Material and Ethereal Planes. The trap then becomes inert for 1d4 rounds as it recharges, regaining its magic on the initiative count of the creature that triggered it. Creatures swapped between planes by this trap remain visible to, and can see, creatures from the plane they were swapped out of as immaterial, transparent phantasms. A dispel magic or similar effect cast on the phantasm of a swapped creature can return the swapped creature to the plane it was swapped from, even if cast by a creature that was not swapped.
Countermeasures. The trap is somewhat obvious in form, only requiring a passive Perception of 13 to notice. A DC 13 int (Arcana) check will determine its effect, and that it can be forced to trigger early by hitting it with a ranged attack that inflicts bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage from outside it's active radius (AC 5), triggering it early in this manner causes it to go off as normal, but it will take a full minute to recharge instead of 1d4 rounds.
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