The Iron Juggernaut (5e Trap)
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The Iron Juggernaut[edit]
Both Mechanical and Magical
Meant for high-level groups only
A huge construct, made in the shape of a mechanical beast, vaguely resembling the image of a giant and overly muscular ram, sits hidden behind a false wall at the end of a corridor, 100 ft long, 20 ft tall, and 20 feet wide. When the trap is triggered, all doors in the corridor close and lock, and a 20-ft wide stone block slides from the ceiling behind the party, blocking their immediate escape. The false wall flips forward and reveals the Juggernaut, which begins to barrel down the corridor. The Juggernaut's only purpose is to charge towards the party, with the intent to trample them in its wake.
As a construct, the Juggernaut has the Immutable Form trait and gets advantage on saving throws against magic. It is also not affected by difficult terrain and cannot be stopped by typical obstructions of either a mundane or magical source. The Juggernaut cannot be paralyzed, prone, charmed, exhausted, poisoned, or petrified. It is resistant to fire, bludgeoning, and lightning damage and immune to non-magical damage.
The trap is triggered when one of the three crystal trip-wires in the corridor are set off. The Passive Perception required to notice the wires is higher depending on the level of light in the corridor. The DC is 23 for bright light, 20 for dim light, and 17 for darkness (but can only be noticed by characters with darkvision). A DC 25 Sleight of Hand check is required to disarm each wire. The wires are normally situated 20 feet from the entrance of the corridor and no less than 50 feet from the Juggernaut's starting location. The Juggernaut can easily cover the 100ft distance of the corridor in one round. Giving the party enough time to perform one full round of actions each, even if those same party members had previously performed other actions before the trap was set off.
Hint: No checks are to be made for discovering these requirements and the GM is not to directly tell the party of these solutions. However, hinting at what the characters might think is a viable solution will do
All party members must make the required saves to either stop the Juggernaut, destroy it, or bypass it. Unless they can otherwise remove themselves from the current situation.
- Party members with a combined strength of 60 can work together to seize the Juggernaut and forcefully stop it. All party members attempting this must make a (DC 25) Athletics check, with the DC decreased by 2 for every character attempting the check. Three successful checks are required to halt the Juggernaut. If the Juggernaut is halted, its internal mechanisms will spasm and malfunction and it will collapse on the floor. If the group fails to halt the Juggernaut, they all suffer 15d8+15 magical bludgeoning damage and are knocked prone from the Juggernaut trampling over them.
- Party members may attempt to magically affect the Juggernaut. Either by throwing enough obstacles in front of its path to grind its advance to a halt, or to damage it enough to destroy it. Players looking to obstruct the Juggernaut will need to place a barrier of at least 15ft in thickness between them and the juggernaut. Causing it to crash through and obliterate most of its body in the process. Players who wish to outright destroy the Juggernaut, need to deal over 100hp worth in damage to the construct, with spells that directly target it.
- Party members looking to damage the Juggernaut with ranged attacks will be required to do so using ammo that is enchanted and of grade +2 or higher. Doing so and dealing 45hp in damage collectively, causing the Juggernaut to grind to a halt and slump over against the wall of the corridor. Ammunition used in this way is not reclaimable however and that should be made clear to the party upon use, or inspection of the Juggernaut.
- Party members with enough skill can attempt to dodge through the Juggernaut's legs or jump over it. This requires a DC 22 Acrobatics check. However failing the check by 5, or more causes prevents class features such as the Evasion feature from activating. Along with any other features, or abilities that are used to either avoid or halve the damage of any one source.
- Party members looking to dispel the Juggernaut will need to sheer away its magical defences with three successful castings of dispel magic at 5th level or higher each. The first casting will be against a DC 13, the second against a DC of 15, and the third against a DC of 19.
When the Juggernaut nears the end of the corridor a large arcane rune begins to glow on the stone block that fell behind the party. This rune transforms into a portal leading into a small demi-plane void, that allows the Juggernaut enough space to stop its advance. The trap then resets after the next sunrise with a mass mending spell being used to repair any damages made to the corridor and the Juggernaut being teleported back to its original starting position. After this, the false wall is reset and the trap becomes active once again.
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