machineelf
Explorer
-SPOILERS ahead-
I just got my copy of TFtYP the other day, and so far it's great. I even like the Tomb of Horrors, even if it is less dangerous than the original.
Now, Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan holds a special place in my heart. My favorite trap from the dungeon is the sandbox trap. But there was a problem with the trap in the original: they give way too much time for characters to figure out how to escape. It makes it hardly a deadly trap, and I think it should be. The conversion of the dungeon in TFtYP doesn't fix the problem, and it actually makes it worse, in my opinion.
The sandbox trap is a fantastically dynamic trap. And what I think makes it so cool is the panic that should set in for characters who are trapped inside, and for any of their co-adventurers who are outside trying to help them before the room fills up with sand. In order to get this trap right, the timing has to be just right. There needs to be enough time that it's possible to escape, but just barely. And there needs to be a real danger of not escaping.
In order to make it work, I found that when I converted it that there needs to be about 10 rounds before the box is completely filled with sand.
But how much time do they give you in TFtYP? ... 100 rounds! That's right, 100. In fact, the sand doesn't even start filling up the box until after they have been stuck in it for 5 rounds. Did the designers forget how long 5 rounds is in terms of table time? I mean, there's a chance that the characters will escape the box and move on before they even realize it would start filling up with sand. With 100 rounds, I think the characters would die of boredom before they die of sand.
(I think the designers did an amazing job with the rest of the book, but they missed the mark with this particular trap.)
One hundred rounds is just ridiculous to me. I haven't playtested this in awhile, but I think it would work much better if the sand starts filling in the box one round after they get stuck in it, and it completely fills up the box about 10 rounds after that. That should give the characters enough time to assess the situation, and start beating down the wall with just enough time to escape. And if they tarry too long and don't start working on the wall, then it can be a deadly trap, which I imagine is the point of putting a sandbox trap in an ancient dungeon.
I just got my copy of TFtYP the other day, and so far it's great. I even like the Tomb of Horrors, even if it is less dangerous than the original.
Now, Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan holds a special place in my heart. My favorite trap from the dungeon is the sandbox trap. But there was a problem with the trap in the original: they give way too much time for characters to figure out how to escape. It makes it hardly a deadly trap, and I think it should be. The conversion of the dungeon in TFtYP doesn't fix the problem, and it actually makes it worse, in my opinion.
The sandbox trap is a fantastically dynamic trap. And what I think makes it so cool is the panic that should set in for characters who are trapped inside, and for any of their co-adventurers who are outside trying to help them before the room fills up with sand. In order to get this trap right, the timing has to be just right. There needs to be enough time that it's possible to escape, but just barely. And there needs to be a real danger of not escaping.
In order to make it work, I found that when I converted it that there needs to be about 10 rounds before the box is completely filled with sand.
But how much time do they give you in TFtYP? ... 100 rounds! That's right, 100. In fact, the sand doesn't even start filling up the box until after they have been stuck in it for 5 rounds. Did the designers forget how long 5 rounds is in terms of table time? I mean, there's a chance that the characters will escape the box and move on before they even realize it would start filling up with sand. With 100 rounds, I think the characters would die of boredom before they die of sand.
(I think the designers did an amazing job with the rest of the book, but they missed the mark with this particular trap.)
One hundred rounds is just ridiculous to me. I haven't playtested this in awhile, but I think it would work much better if the sand starts filling in the box one round after they get stuck in it, and it completely fills up the box about 10 rounds after that. That should give the characters enough time to assess the situation, and start beating down the wall with just enough time to escape. And if they tarry too long and don't start working on the wall, then it can be a deadly trap, which I imagine is the point of putting a sandbox trap in an ancient dungeon.
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