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challenge takes a –2 penalty until the PCs achieve asuccess.Other Skills: Bluff, Endurance, Intimidate.Bluff (DC 28): The PCs exaggerate the benefits ofthe alliance. For each successful check, they achieve1 success. They can achieve up to 2 successes withthis skill. On a failure, the dragon recognizes the lie;the PCs can make no further Bluff checks in thischallenge, and they lose 1 success (if they have any).Endurance (DC 20): The PCs take several hours toprove that travelers can pass through the dragon’sterritory relatively quickly if the travelers don’t stopto rest; thus, travelers should not long disturb thedragon. If at least four PCs succeed on this check,they achieve 2 successes. They can achieve only 2successes with this skill.Intimidate (DC 26): The PCs show off their epicabilities and imply that if the dragon does not agreeto their request, they might have to clear the roadthe old-fashioned way. On a successful check, theyachieve 1 success. They can achieve only 1 successwith this skill. If the check fails or if the PCs attempta second check, the dragon attacks.Success: The dragon agrees to let guild caravanspass through its territory.Failure: The characters do not obtain an agreement.The guild must find another route or hiresomeone to kill the dragon.If the PCs have fewer than 4 successes when theyfail the challenge, the dragon later sends minions toattack them. If they have no successes when they failthe challenge, the dragon attacks.Draconic TrapsTraps might not be a dragon’s best friend, but they’recertainly good companions. A lair without traps islike a dragon without teeth; it might still be dangerous,but it lacks—so to speak—bite.Not all dragons lace their lairs with traps. Bestialvarieties such as grays and whites might not bother,instead relying on their own abilities, slaves, andminions to protect their lairs. Others lack the knowledgenecessary to build such devices and have notcaptured someone to do it for them. Still, at least halfof all draconic lairs have such safeguards. The olderthe dragon, the more likely it is to have at least a fewlethal devices lying in wait.Dragons use the classic standbys—rock falls,spikes, pits, and the like—as well as an array of theirown inventions. Dragon traps include mysticalelements, echoing the dragons’ elemental energy.Regardless of a trap’s origin, however, dragons lookfor a few specific traits and features in their homedefenses.Low and Slow: Dragons favor trapped floors andother traps that impede movement. A wyrm’s abilityto fly allows it to leave such devices constantly active,without risk of triggering them by accident.Compatible Damage Types: Whether with magicalenergy or with more mundane energy such asacid or alchemical fire, dragons like to employ trapsthat use the same sort of energy as their own breath.This situation ensures that a dragon’s own devices donot harm it, even if intruders trigger those deviceswhile engaged in battle with the dragon.Allies: Rather than leaving traps to do theirjobs untended, many dragons fight alongside theirdevices. Such dragons choose traps that complementtheir own combat abilities, such as traps that renderfoes more vulnerable to the dragon’s abilities or thatherd or guide intruders into precarious positions.Sample TrapsThe selection below describes a tiny fraction of thesorts of devices a dragon might employ (in additionto all those in the Dungeon Master’s Guide): two heroicand two paragon traps. For sample epic draconictraps, see “The Tomb of Urum-Shar” (page 142).Golden SpinesLevel 5 WarderTrap XP 200The gold that glitters before your eyes seems suddenly to warp andtwist. A brutal array of spines surges upward, gleaming like thetreasure itself.Trap: An array of spikes lies hidden among the coins of thedragon’s hoard, targeting a line of approximately 4 squares. Thedragon has had the spikes smelted from its own gold and otherprecious metals to better conceal the trap and to make thetreasure harder to steal.Special: The 400 gold spikes are worth 1 gp each and count aspart of the hoard’s value.Perception✦ DC 26: The character spots the tiny trigger wires hiddenthroughout the hoard.TriggerA character physically disturbs the hoard in any way orattempts to remove any items from it.AttackImmediate Reaction MeleeTarget: All creatures in 4 contiguous squaresAttack: +9 vs. ACHit: 2d8 + 5 damage.Effect: The treasure scatters. Any creature in a neighboringchamber hears this with a DC 15 Perception check.Countermeasures✦ An adjacent character can disconnect wires with a DC 17Thievery check, rendering one of the squares safe.✦ An adjacent character can disconnect the entire web of wireswith a DC 22 Thievery check, disarming the entire trap.✦ A character can remove a single visible item from the hoardwithout triggering the trap, with a DC 14 Thievery check.Failing in an attempt to use any of these countermeasures triggersthe trap.Upgrade to Elite (900 XP)✦ Increase each skill DC by 2.✦ Roll two attacks against each square.✦ Increase spiked squares to 8 (for 800 spikes).DRACONIC ENCOUNTERSCHAPTER 2 | DM’s Guide to Dragons49