Trap Designer's Portfolio Review Goes Poorly After Every Sample Activates During the Presentation

An aspiring dungeon architect's portfolio review at the Thornkeep School of Subterranean Design ended in chaos on Wednesday when all twelve of the candidate's trap prototypes activated during the presentation, injuring two faculty panelists, destroying a conference table, and filling the room with a green gas that the candidate described as 'cosmetic only' but which caused three hours of uncontrollable sneezing. The candidate, a second-year student named Wren Sprocket, had been asked to present working models of twelve trap designs as part of her capstone evaluation. The prototypes, each approximately one-sixth scale, were arranged on a table in the faculty conference room. 'She was presenting Trap 1, a pressure-plate-activated pendulum blade, when Trap 4, a spring-loaded dart mechanism, fired,' said panelist Professor Aldric Flagstone. 'The darts were small, given the scale, but they were real darts. One struck my hand. Another struck Professor Cogsworth in the ear. A third struck the potted fern, which, to its credit, took it stoically.' The dart activation appears to have triggered a chain reaction. Trap 6, a collapsing floor tile, collapsed, dropping a miniature boulder (Trap 9) onto the table, which vibrated enough to activate Trap 2, a tripwire-triggered net launcher, which enveloped Professor Cogsworth, who stumbled backward into Trap 11, a pressure plate that released the aforementioned green gas. 'In hindsight, arranging twelve active trap prototypes on a single table was a design choice I would revisit,' Sprocket admitted from behind a hastily constructed barricade of overturned chairs. 'But I want the panel to note that every trap worked exactly as intended. The chain reaction was emergent. Emergent behavior is a sign of good systems design.' Professor Flagstone, speaking through a handkerchief pressed to his dart wound, acknowledged that the traps were 'technically functional' and that the chain reaction demonstrated 'an intuitive understanding of cascading trigger mechanics that is, frankly, impressive, if one ignores the fact that it just happened to us.' Sprocket received a B+. The grade was reduced from the A she would have received 'if the traps had remained inert during the presentation, which is a reasonable expectation in a conference room,' according to the evaluation form. The potted fern did not survive. A moment of silence was observed.