Trap Is Triggered And DM Is Confused

[HealingAura]

I have a problem using a Trap from the DMG on my adventure.

Spear Gauntlet (Level 2 Obstacle Trap on Page 87)

Trap: Five squares in the room contain hidden spears that thrust up to attack when triggered.

Trigger: The trap, five squares placed randomly in the room attacks when a creature enters one of the trigger squares or starts its turn on a trigger square. When the trap is triggered, all five spears thrust up at the same time, attacking anyone standing on a trigger square.

I assume that the five squares which contain hidden spears are also the trigger squares. Since every character moves separately, the first character who enters a trigger square is also the only character that will be attacked by that trap.

How can this useless trap be worth 125 exp when all it does is maybe hit a single character with 1d8+3 damage?

Defeating a trap, just like defeating a monster, earns the party the exp of the trap. Why should a character that couldn't avoid being stabbed by the spear get any exp for being covered with blood? Why should all the other characters get any exp for watching their ally being stabbed by the spear?

Am I missing something? Are the trigger squares supposed to be other squares than the ones containing hidden spears?

 

[Rechan]

You're missing that the trap isn't supposed to be there alone.

Monsters that push and slide are going to do their darndest to put PCs in the trapped squares.

Monsters that can create difficult terrain are best to create that terrain around the trapped squares, so the best path of movement is through one of those trapped squares. (The same can be said for just laying down difficult static terrain).

The entire battlefield might not be visible from the first square. For instance, two of the trapped squares might be behind barriers, or something obscures the spears from those at the beginning of the room. So you round a corner or step into an alcove and Stk! in goes the spear.

Pair this trap with another trap (or two), like the rolling boulder trap and the flamejet trap. Both of these traps force the players to move. Limit their options, and of course they're going to move somewhere that hurts.

 

[strumbleduck]

Two observations:

1. The trap activates whenever a character moves into the trigger square or starts their turn in a trigger square. Assuming the trap surprises the first PC, the trap will get to attack twice (once as a surprise and once on during the first round of combat at the start of the PC's turn).

2. This is single level 2 trap -- it shouldn't be any more of a threat than a single level 2 monster. If the PC's met a single kobold dragonshield, it wouldn't get to do much more than 1d6 + 3 damage before it was killed.

If you want to use this trap, it should either be in the same room as some monsters (picture a goblin archer standing next to a wall surrounded by trapped squares) or used in combination with other traps. A 2 x 10 corridor with four of these traps would be a reasonable challenge for a first-level party.

 

[Runestar]

I think the real question is "What is the point of the trap activating all 5 spears at the same time, when under the current turn-based combat rules of dnd, you can really only trigger one at any one time?" It is not like your party is going to move on the same initiative or something. Likewise, why should activating a spear in one corner of the room trip the spear in another corner? Seems to run contrary to intelligent trap design.

Are the 5 squares simply supposed to increase the likelihood of a PC triggering it, and less so to hit more PCs? Or was the trap actually intended to work up to 5 times and the designers goofed when it came down to wording how it ought to work?

The moment you activate one square, all the other 4 squares' locations will be made know to the party, and would thus pose a minimal threat, unless the other enemies are somehow built to complement the trap, and even then, it can work both ways, because they too stand a chance of being affected by it.

 

[Samurai]

Well, what if the trigger squares and the trap squares are not necessarily the same? The person triggering the trap may be safe, but the people on up to 5 other squares won't be.

Imagine if the trap squares are all near the corridor leading into a room, and the trigger squares are at the other end, where some goblins wait. There is a goblin spotter hiding near where the PCs enter, and when several of them are standing on trapped squares, he gives a signal. The goblins at the far end of the room leap on top of the trigger squares, cackling gleefully as they caught the PCs by surprise! Each goblin hops on a trigger, sending all 5 spears up and hitting characters on those squares. 5 goblins pouncing on 5 triggers x 5 spears... they could do a lot of damage!

 

[Runestar]

I thought that the trigger squares have to be the trap squares...?

 

[Dalzig]

I thought that the trigger squares have to be the trap squares...?

As presented, that's how it works. But it's in the DMG... you can change it.

If I run this, I might actually change it so the spears don't trigger unless there is pressure on the specific plate. I'd probably increase the level by 1 or 2.

 

[BooleanFlag]

another thing to note here is that if a character ends their turn on a trigger square and another character that failed a perception check for the other four spears moves, not only does that player get stabbed, but so does the first player, making them get stabbed 3 times before they can move again. 1d8 + 3 isn't too bad but 3d8+9 is. Nasty, really.

 

[Master Witch]

The wording says, “The trap… attacks when a creature enters one of the trigger squares or starts its turn on a trigger square.” It does not say the trigger is the location with the spears. I could just see a hallway with 5 of these little devils placed in different spots or in a row. Have a monster set it off or let the square just before the door be the trigger. The scout of the group is safe but the other PC gets poked if they are on a square. You can even have it be part of a puzzle. Found note, “Those that wish to see the light must always walk on the right.” The trap is along the left.
Now in battle is where this trap gets to be fun. Let’s set this up. You have a 5 PC party walk into a room with a group of monsters. These monsters know about the traps and have powers that let them shift, push, pull, ext. The PC are spread around the room, 3 out of the 5 are standing on the spear squares. Now PC Bob is shoved into the trigger just before his turn (Bob is not on a spear square). “The trap… attacks when a creature enters one of the trigger squares…” so at this point 3 of Bob’s friends get the shaft for 1d8+3. Then its Bob’s turn, “or starts its turn on a trigger square.” As no one had a chance to move those 3 friends of Bob are once more shafted for 1d8+3. Now this all adds up in different ways in relation to how Bob got on the square and initiative so people can move out of the way but I am sure you see my point this Trap works just fine to me.

 

[Blue]

I was a player against a similar trap, which also had limited fields fo movement and enemy artillery. I rushed up first, got hit and immobilized. Someone else rushed up via a different path and hit a trigger, so them and me got stuck. Rinse, wash, repeat.

That had two differences - knowing where one trigger was didn't give away the other triggers, and it immobilized you when it hit. Very nasty, since the melee folk were all stuck or being ultra-cautious, allowing the low level enemy artillery to hurt us.

Cheers,
=Blue(23)