Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How to run traps in Old School Essentials without spamming every hallway: Moldvay's 1981 Basic dungeon design and B2 Keep on the Borderlands prove B/X never did — and most dungeon master tips get the pattern backwards.
I put a pit trap in every third hallway of every dungeon I ran in the early 1980s, and B/X never did. Keep on the Borderlands has four traps in the whole module. Across the six classic Basic and Expert modules, there are forty keyed traps, and more than half of them can’t kill a level-appropriate character.
🔥 JOIN THE MINIONS: youtube.com/@TenkarsTavern/join
It took about five years to work out that I was copying the wrong products. The AD&D modules famous for traps were convention tournament scenarios first — I covered that history in full in the Tomb of Horrors video, linked below. What that video didn’t cover is how a tournament design reaches a Tuesday night. B1 came inside the Basic Set from 1978, B2 replaced it and stayed in the box until 1982, and those two modules have five traps and four traps between their covers.
Open Moldvay’s dungeon design section and there are twelve suggested traps — six room, six treasure. Two of them do no damage at all. One is a fake, a fog that looks like poison gas and is completely harmless.
Then there’s the pattern nobody talks about. Sort every trap in those six modules by what it’s bolted to, and every single save-or-die effect turns out to be on a chest, a lock or a compartment. Not one is in a floor. Room traps deal dice of damage. Object traps just kill you. Gold is experience, so the game charges the highest price at the exact moment you reach for the thing that levels your character.
Traps work like spice. Nobody eats a bowl of pepper.
DM Angelo: youtube.com/watch?v=2bckzHfiXa4
Greyhawk Grognard: youtube.com/watch?v=gzyYTm03UDE
The Tavern Rules: We’re here for B/X and OSR gaming. I use AI as a tool to help organize and format my notes, but every ruling and opinion is 100% Tenkar.
Basic Rules (Moldvay) PDF & Print - drivethrurpg.com/en/product/110274/d-d-basic-set-rulebook-b-x-ed-basic?src=newest_print&affiliate_id=1446
Expert Rules (Marsh/Cook) PDF & Print - drivethrurpg.com/en/product/110792/d-d-expert-set-rulebook-b-x-ed-basic?affiliate_id=1446
Join The Tavern’s Discord Server (It's Free): discord.gg/fReGmuD
Buy me a Beer! ko-fi.com/tenkar
youtube.com/channel/UCIdpAASpAI7vu-bZx6pP_mQ
[00:00] The Mistake of Over-Trapping Dungeons
[01:53] Why Too Many Traps Ruins D&D Pacing
[03:30] How Tournament Modules Changed Design
[04:27] Trap Counts in Classic Modules
[06:08] What Moldvay Actually Said About Traps
[08:37] Counting Traps in Published B/X Modules
[09:44] The Best Traps Don't Deal Damage
[10:54] Room Traps vs Treasure Traps
[13:07] How to Use Traps Like Spice
[14:48] Final Advice on OSR Dungeon Crawls
#OSR #DnD #BXDnD #TTRPG #TenkarsTavern #PitTrap
How to run traps in Old School Essentials without spamming every hallway: Moldvay's 1981 Basic dungeon design and B2 Keep on the Borderlands prove B/X never did — and most dungeon master tips get the pattern backwards.
I put a pit trap in every third hallway of every dungeon I ran in the early 1980s, and B/X never did. Keep on the Borderlands has four traps in the whole module. Across the six classic Basic and Expert modules, there are forty keyed traps, and more than half of them can’t kill a level-appropriate character.
🔥 JOIN THE MINIONS: youtube.com/@TenkarsTavern/join
It took about five years to work out that I was copying the wrong products. The AD&D modules famous for traps were convention tournament scenarios first — I covered that history in full in the Tomb of Horrors video, linked below. What that video didn’t cover is how a tournament design reaches a Tuesday night. B1 came inside the Basic Set from 1978, B2 replaced it and stayed in the box until 1982, and those two modules have five traps and four traps between their covers.
Open Moldvay’s dungeon design section and there are twelve suggested traps — six room, six treasure. Two of them do no damage at all. One is a fake, a fog that looks like poison gas and is completely harmless.
Then there’s the pattern nobody talks about. Sort every trap in those six modules by what it’s bolted to, and every single save-or-die effect turns out to be on a chest, a lock or a compartment. Not one is in a floor. Room traps deal dice of damage. Object traps just kill you. Gold is experience, so the game charges the highest price at the exact moment you reach for the thing that levels your character.
Traps work like spice. Nobody eats a bowl of pepper.
DM Angelo: youtube.com/watch?v=2bckzHfiXa4
Greyhawk Grognard: youtube.com/watch?v=gzyYTm03UDE
The Tavern Rules: We’re here for B/X and OSR gaming. I use AI as a tool to help organize and format my notes, but every ruling and opinion is 100% Tenkar.
Basic Rules (Moldvay) PDF & Print - drivethrurpg.com/en/product/110274/d-d-basic-set-rulebook-b-x-ed-basic?src=newest_print&affiliate_id=1446
Expert Rules (Marsh/Cook) PDF & Print - drivethrurpg.com/en/product/110792/d-d-expert-set-rulebook-b-x-ed-basic?affiliate_id=1446
Join The Tavern’s Discord Server (It's Free): discord.gg/fReGmuD
Buy me a Beer! ko-fi.com/tenkar
youtube.com/channel/UCIdpAASpAI7vu-bZx6pP_mQ
[00:00] The Mistake of Over-Trapping Dungeons
[01:53] Why Too Many Traps Ruins D&D Pacing
[03:30] How Tournament Modules Changed Design
[04:27] Trap Counts in Classic Modules
[06:08] What Moldvay Actually Said About Traps
[08:37] Counting Traps in Published B/X Modules
[09:44] The Best Traps Don't Deal Damage
[10:54] Room Traps vs Treasure Traps
[13:07] How to Use Traps Like Spice
[14:48] Final Advice on OSR Dungeon Crawls
#OSR #DnD #BXDnD #TTRPG #TenkarsTavern #PitTrap
