Is it a good idea to pull a lever in a dungeon?

[Raven Crowking]

You are in a dungeon. You find a lever. You do not know what the lever does. Is it a good idea to pull the lever?

 

[Odhanan]

I'll assume that I don't have anything else to do, nothing else happens, and there's no clue whatsoever as to what it does.

I pull the lever. Just to get the game moving.

 

[Ry]

In the holiest temple of a good-aligned deity, I pulled an unmarked lever. Pre-programmed golems proceeded to kill everyone in the building.

 

[Haffrung Helleyes]

It completely depends on whether your character has a high WIS score! ;-)

Ken

 

[Fieari]

There are two questions here.

#1) Is it a good idea to pull the lever?

No, no it is not. Pulling levers of unknown function is not a good idea.

#2) Would you/should you pull the lever anyway?

Possibly. Might be fun.

Edit: Addendum - If, say, for example, I was in the middle of an important task, had already collected the McGuffin, and just needed to leave the dungeon the way I'd come in, then NO. I would NOT EVER EVER pull the lever.

 

[Odhanan]

There are two questions here.

#1) Is it a good idea to pull the lever?
No, no it is not. Pulling levers of unknown function is not a good idea.

#2) Would you/should you pull the lever anyway?
Possibly. Might be fun.

Absolutely. Two questions here. On one hand, it's probably not a good idea to pull the lever as far as the PCs health is concerned. On the other hand, it might be fun, or perhaps even required, to pull it on a player's standpoint.

 

[DonTadow]

This depends on if I"ve encountered something that won't open, won't close, or won't stop doing whatever its doing.

 

[AuraSeer]

It depends on where you are, where the lever is, what it's attached to, what your circumstances are, and what you mean by "dungeon."

If the dungeon is an ancient tomb filled with traps and undead to foil grave robbers, where the designer intended that no living creature ever leave the place, then levers are probably bad. Everything that attracts attention at all is probably trapped.

If the dungeon is some complex currently in use by live people, a lever will probably be useful to the inhabitants. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea for adventurers to pull it. The lever might unlock the front gate, or sound the alarm, or trigger a trap on a nearby hallway. In rare cases it might be a trap that does something bad to the operator, but that should be uncommon, because of the potential for accidents.

If you're standing in the playroom of the BBEG's beloved five-year-old son, and you find a shiny and fun-looking lever that would be easily manipulated by a toddler, it is not trapped. (When you do pull the lever and your DM tells you it is trapped, hit him with a bat until he admits his mistake.)

 

[fafhrd]

In my mind, the lever is just a placeholder. The question could just as easily have been, "Is it a good idea to open the door?" or even "Is it a good idea to venture into the dungeon?" The more fundamental question which informs all the others is,"Is it a good idea to lead a life of adventure?" The answer to that will be the same for the rest.

 

[sniffles]

I don't think you can make a blanket judgement about this type of situation, or any game situation for that matter.

Assuming that the lever should never pulled, or should always be pulled, goes against good roleplaying, IMHO. The players should do what their characters would do, based on the character's class, race, history and personality; or they should do what's fun for the players if they're not that concerned about roleplaying.