This large carpet has a relatively plain design- a stylized tree with bare branches. But moments after a person has stepped on it, geometric blossoms will appear in vivid colors wherever a foot fell. These blossoms will last a day and are the way the great scholar Adrina of Nar always knew someone had visited her private library.
I foresee word of this getting around and those familiar with it adopting countermeasures. If it only "blooms" for feet I'd expect acrobatic pilferers to walk about on their hands, which evokes an amusing mental image of inverted thieves trying to read titles upside down. Less adroit unwanted book-borrowers might consider building a chain of small furniture (ottomans, footstools, sturdier breeds of end tables, etc) to cross on, and the most pragmatic ones will just roll the carpet out of their way, moving furnishings only as needed.
ReplyDeleteI'm also reminded of a puzzle-obstacle (a floor that devoured organic material placed in contact with it, including most footwear) in one of my old dungeons that my players bypassed by using two very large iron frying pans from an ogre's kitchen.
That's a great idea, I was thinking of the carpet as a tool the players might use in a scheme, but I like the idea it is a known obstacle in a player heist even better. Thanks!
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