Trap Crafting

There are several sections to this thread, so I'll try to separate them as I can.

Portable Trap Crafting
Adventurers are always encountering traps when exploring ruins and other places where indiscriminate protection is required. However when sleeping, adventurers are just as vulnerable as anyone else to an attack. To prevent this, adventurers should have the means to protect themselves from wandering critters. Thus, the portable trap.

According to the SRD, traps are built into features in walls and floors giving amble room for the workings of a trap. However, a portable trap needs some kind of case to prevent the workings from being damaged during rough handling and transit. Also, there are no modifiers to cost and CR for a trap being portable in the SRD. Obviously, a trap that can be moved is of much greater value than another which is stationary.

Rules additions
Add to the CR table "Portable Trap: + 1 CR" (This will modify the price of the trap in the formula "(base price X CR) + extras" effectively doubling price.)

The final Market Price is used to determine Craft points used.

All Portable Traps require a set up time before they can be used. This time is 1 minute per CR, and requires a Craft (trapmaking) DC (10 + CR). If the Craft check fails by 5 or more, the trap triggers on the user. If the Craft check fail by 4 or less, the user fails to set it up and must retry.

To rearm a trap with the manual reset description takes only 1 minute, and requires no roll (per the SRD).

Portable Traps may not have the following descriptors:
Never Miss
Pit Trap

Portable traps have a base weight of 5 lbs
Modifiers to weight:
Per 2 points Attack bonus over 10: + 1 lb
Per 1 point Strength bonus: + 1 lb
Each weapon in Trap: + weapon's weight (minimum 1/2 lb)

Examples of portable existing traps:
Portable Fullisade of Darts; CR 2, mechanical, location trigger, manual reset, Attack +10 ranged (1d4+1, dart), multiple targets (fires 1d4 darts at each target in 2 adjacent 5-foot squares), Search DC 14, Disable Device 20, Weight 10 lbs, Market Price 1000 gp (100 Craft)

CR 2 = 0 (Base) - 1 (Search (DC 14)) + 1 (Multiple Targets) + 1 (Average Damage 8.75)+ 1 (Portable)
Weight 10 lbs = 5 (Base) + 1 (+1 Strength) + 4 (8 darts (1/2 lb each) maximum fired)
Market Price 1000 gp = [1000 (Base) - 600 (Search (DC 14)) + 100 (+1 Strength)] * 2 (CR)

Portable Wall Blade Trap: CR 2; mechanical; touch trigger; automatic reset; hidden switch bypass (Search DC 25); Atk +10 melee (2d4/x4, scythe); Search DC 22; Disable Device DC 22. Market Price: 5000 gp (500 Craft)

CR 2 = 0 (Base) + 1 (Average Damage 5) + 1 (Portable)
Weight 15 lbs = 5 (Base) + 10 (Scythe weight)
Market Price 5000 gp = [1000 (Base) + 500 (Automatic Reset) + 200 (Hidden switch) + 400 (Search (DC 22)) + 400 (Disable(DC 22))] * 2 (CR)


Feat: Extra Dimensional Trap Crafting
You have learned to master extra dimensional spaces enough to place them into traps. Your traps are less bulky as a result.

Prerequisites: Ability to cast Secret chest
Benefit: Mechanical Traps you create only weigh 1 lb. This adds 500 gp to the base price of the trap.
Note: These traps will react with a bag of holding or handy haversack.


Spell: Lily's Instant Pit
Conjuration (Summoning)
Level: Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 10 minutes or 1 standard action; see below
Range: Touch or Close (25 ft + 5 ft / 2 levels); see below
Effect: 10' by 10' area
Duration: 2 hours / level or 1 round / level; see below
Saving Throw: Reflex negates
Spell Resistance: No
This spell has two different modes depending on the casting time.

Non Combat: This version creates a pit adjacent to the caster. The casting time is 10 minutes, and has a duration of 2 hours per caster level. The pit is 10' by 10' and is 10' deep per 2 caster levels. Due to the rough walls and corner bracing, a DC 10 Climb check is required to leave the pit. If the caster wishes to conceal the pit, he may make a Craft (Trapmaking) check, with the result the Spot DC to notice the pit. The pit is extra dimensional in nature, so cannot be used to move between two floors.

Combat:This version creates a pit close to the caster. The casting time is 1 standard action, and has a duration of 1 round per caster level. The pit is 10' by 10' and is 10' deep per 4 caster levels. If cast under a creature, it receives a Reflex save to avoid the pit, moving to the closest available space. Due to the rough walls and corner bracing, a DC 10 Climb check is required to leave the pit. The pit is extra dimensional in nature, so cannot be used to move between two floors.

Any creature in the pit when the duration ends is placed prone in the square it occupied as the pit ejects them while closing.

Focus: A small silver shovel costing at least 50 gp.


Spell: Lily's Instant Spiked Pit
Conjuration (Summoning)
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M, F
Casting Time: 10 minutes or 1 standard action; see below
Range: Touch or Close (25 ft + 5 ft / 2 levels); see below
Effect: 10' by 10' area
Duration: 2 hours / level or 1 round / level; see below
Saving Throw: Reflex negates
Spell Resistance: No
This spell has two different modes depending on the casting time.

Non Combat: This version creates a spiked pit adjacent to the caster. The casting time is 10 minutes, and has a duration of 2 hours per caster level. The pit is 10' by 10' and is 10' deep per 2 caster levels. In addition to the falling damage, any creature is attacked by 1d4 spikes with an attack bonus equal to the caster level and damage of 1d4 + 1 / 2 caster levels (max 5 at CL 10). Due to the rough walls and corner bracing, a DC 10 Climb check is required to leave the pit. If the caster wishes to conceal the pit, he may make a Craft (Trapmaking) check, with the result the Spot DC to notice the pit. The pit is extra dimensional in nature, so cannot be used to move between two floors.

Combat:This version creates a pit close to the caster. The casting time is 1 standard action, and has a duration of 1 round per caster level. The pit is 10' by 10' and is 10' deep per 4 caster levels. In addition to the falling damage, any creature is attacked by 1d4 spikes with an attack bonus equal to the caster level and damage of 1d4 + 1 / 2 caster levels (max 5 at CL 10). If cast under a creature, it receives a Reflex save to avoid the pit, moving to the closest available space. Due to the rough walls and corner bracing, a DC 10 Climb check is required to leave the pit. The pit is extra dimensional in nature, so cannot be used to move between two floors.

Any creature in the pit when the duration ends is placed prone in the square it occupied as the pit ejects them while closing.

Material Component: A nail.
Focus: A small gold shovel costing at least 100 gp.

I like your proposed idea. I think the spells are just fine as given. (Of course I don't get to vote.)

I also like the idea of non-magical traps accessible to adventurers. It makes sense that various mechanical traps could be set to protect a campsite. But I think the proposed implementation is flawed.

The dart trap I can believe. Who hasn't seen the image of a crossbow set with a wire attached to the trigger to set it off. The scythe trap I have little more trouble envisioning. I am not sure how a five pound mechanism will be set to swing the 10 pound scythe.

I will have to go through the trap creation guide lines, it seems that there may need to be more restrictions on the types of traps that can be made in portable form, or perhaps just a change in the weight of the trap. Or perhaps a change in the fluff, were the trap is not necessarily a unitary device, but can also consist of a kit.

All that being said, I like the extradimensional trap feat, when applied it solves many of my objections.

This is an interesting idea, I think it would make sense to have rules for how long it takes to set up these traps as well, also would you need to be a rogue or have ranks in a certain skill to set them up?

I had thought about setting them up, but I forgot to add it in, I'll do that in a bit. Effectively, it would take 1 minute per CR to set up the trap and require a check of Craft (trapmaking) (DC 10 + CR). If the set up check is blown by 5 or more, the trap triggers. Everyone can take it untrained however, so it would come down to a straight Int roll with easier traps being able to be set up easily by a higher Int person on a Take 10. Rearming the traps takes no skill roll, just time.