Building Traps

tetsujin28 · Aug 6, 2005

Are there any rules for PC construction of traps, other than the ones in the DMG? Those concentrate on the type you might find in a castle or dungeon. I need info on the kind of improvised traps that the VC or the guys in Predator would have come up with (snares, spike pits dug in earth, swinging logs with spikes, &c.).

moritheil · Aug 6, 2005

tetsujin28 said:
Are there any rules for PC construction of traps, other than the ones in the DMG? Those concentrate on the type you might find in a castle or dungeon. I need info on the kind of improvised traps that the VC or the guys in Predator would have come up with (snares, spike pits dug in earth, swinging logs with spikes, &c.).

Why don't you take a quick glance at the druid and ranger spell that makes traps, and base things off that spell's level and the difficulty of traps it produces?

tetsujin28 · Aug 6, 2005

Well, a magic trap would be easy if we could make one (my mage calls his trap, "Wand of Fireballs"), but the DC on Snare is awfully high (23).

danzig138 · Aug 6, 2005

Maybe in Song and Silence? It seems like there may have been rules for that, but I don't recall for sure, and I don't have the book handy. Other than that, I can't think of anything that might have what you're looking for.

Jack Simth · Aug 6, 2005

Yes, there are trapmaking rules in Song and Silence. Craft(Trapmaking) DC's are based on the Challenge Rating of the trap.

It's also in the SRD

Edit: Of course, traps are primarily a dungeon type thing, simply because traps are usually pretty much passive devices - they have to sit and wait for something to come along and spring them and they are time consuming and expensive to make. Most people will really only put them in places where they can be fairly certain someone they don't like will come along - doors, hallways, chests, drawers, and the like - although a trap in an area where something you want to hunt commonly comes might be done.

Edit 2:
Also, the trap guidelines (while not specifically addressing snares and stuff) do cover them - a spiked log swinging down when someone steps on a particular point is a manual reset attack roll with a proximity trigger (tripwire) that does some amount of damage.

PrinceZane · Aug 6, 2005

I'm not 100% sure, but you could check the Stronghold Builder's Guide. It has traps in there that PCs can use to build their stronghold, so it might have a way how to make "custom" ones.

I've only thumbed through it a time or 2 though, and don't have access to it, so I wouldn't quote me on it.

shadowbloodmoon · Aug 6, 2005

DMG 2 also has rules for it, including snares. 1/2 Cr traps that anyone can build.

moritheil · Aug 7, 2005

The Book of Challenges, Dungeon Rooms, Puzzles, and Traps might be a help.

Staffan · Aug 7, 2005

Speaking of which, the traps in the DMG are totally out of whack. A camouflaged pit trap costs 1,800 gp to "buy". That means it takes 600 gp worth of materials, and about 45 weeks of work, to make one.

Also known as "dig a hole and cover it with stuff so someone can fall in." I'm not an expert woodsman by any means, but I really don't think it takes 45 weeks of skilled labour to dig a pit.