Explosive Coconuts | Free Trap for D&D 5e and Pathfinder 2e

Designed by Claire Martin and David N. Ross

Beware of Explosive Coconuts! Looking for a new way to catch your players off guard? This unique jungle trap adds a surprising twist to any coastal dungeon crawl. Seemingly harmless coconut trees hide a dangerous secret—volatile coconut milk ready to explode at the slightest provocation.

Explosive Coconuts - D&D 5e

Dungeon hazard (Simple trap, level 11-16, dangerous)

Description. A grove of coconut trees grows in the jungle near the shoreline, their leaves rustled by the gentle sea breeze. Large groups of coconuts cluster at the top of the trunks, causing some trees to bend dangerously beneath their weight. The trees circle around a small oasis, their fibrous roots reaching out of the sand and into the clear water.

Trigger. The trap triggers when a character steps beneath the coconut clusters or tries to hack open a coconut.

Effect. The coconut milk sloshing around inside these coconuts is highly volatile and will explode when coming into contact with air. A character stepping beneath the clusters must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw as one of the coconuts detaches from the trees and plummets to the ground, splitting open on impact. On a failure, the detonation deals 44 (8d10) fire damage, or half as much on a success. On a roll of 5 or below, the coconut clunks the creature directly on the head, dealing an extra 11 (2d10) bludgeoning damage. If a creature hacks the coconut open, it immediately suffers the explosion’s effects without making a Dexterity saving throw.

Countermeasures. With a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check, characters will notice that some trunks seem to have faint traces of blast marks near their base. With a DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) check to take a closer look at the water, they will determine that it contains an unusual chemical component that is harmless on its own but can become dangerous when mixed with other components.

Explosive Coconuts | Hazard 12 - PF2e

Environmental

Stealth DC 36 (expert) to smell the nearly odorless chemical in the water and spot sand-obscured blast marks on the tree’s trunk.

Description A grove of coconut trees grows in the jungle near the shoreline, their leaves rustled by the gentle sea breeze. Large groups of coconuts cluster at the top of the trunks, causing some trees to bend dangerously beneath their weight. The trees circle around a small oasis, their fibrous roots reaching out of the sand and into the clear water. The coconut milk sloshing around inside these coconuts is highly volatile and will explode when coming into contact with air.

—

Disable DC 26 Nature to recognize it as potentially explosive if mixed with an uncommon mineral, DC 30 Thievery (expert) to knock the coconuts down from a safe distance, or DC 36 Survival (expert) to pass by without disturbing the tree

AC 30; Fort +10, Ref +12

Coconut Hardness 2; Coconut HP 2 (BT 1); Immunities critical hits, object immunities, precision damage

Trunk Hardness 20; Trunk HP 86 (BT 43); Immunities critical hits, object immunities, precision damage

Detonate [free-action] Trigger A coconut breaks. Effect The detonation deals 6d10 fire damage in a 15-foot burst with a DC 34 basic Reflex save. If a character within 5 feet breaks it, they can’t get a result better than failure on their save. If the coconut was in the tree or the tree trunk broke, it sets off a chain reaction, increasing the damage to 10d10 and the radius to 50 feet.

Explosive Drop [reaction] Trigger A character steps beneath any coconut cluster, or the trunk is damaged. Effect One of the coconuts detaches from the trees and plummets to the ground, breaking on impact and detonating. On a critical failure on the save against the Detonate free action, the coconut clunks the creature directly on the head, dealing an extra 4d4 bludgeoning damage (which is doubled).

—

Reset The tree has three loose coconuts, which can drop up to once per round. Once they have dropped, another loosens after about a day.

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