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Message: <blockquote data-quote="wedgeski" data-source="post: 3153493" data-attributes="member: 16212">You might want to review your *own* knowledge of the rules regarding searching for traps, and re-think this comment. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Secondly I'm in agreement with their assessment of random dungeon traps. They're uninteresting, mechanical, and *do* cause the game to bog down. Nothing irritates me more than when an interesting dungeon degenerates into a string of 'take 20's and Reflex saves. Big, complex obstacles which the PC's can observe, prepare for, and use their skills to circumvent make for much more satisfying gaming IMO. Random out-of-nowhere traps haven't been seen in my campaign for a long time.In other respects, I enjoy articles like these because they give you an insight into a way of thinking that is necessarily detached from amateur designers like most of us (whether we ultimately agree, or disagree). For example, I actually might not be averse to powerful monsters whose abilities outside of combat are detailed loosely, outside the rules, allowing the DM to exercise them as he sees fit.Take the marilith: "Powerful mariliths have been known to raise hordes of undead minions if given the opportunity and means to do so, and their inherent evil is often at the root of many apparent desecrations and blasphemies in lands where they roam." Tells me everything I need to know. If I want a marilith to invade the PC's home town with two-dozen zombies after drowning the paladin in scandal, I can do it. Who cares what spell I used?As a DM I can make a monster do pretty much whatever I want *outside* of combat, because I have total freedom. In combat, I'm bound by fairness to apply only those abilities that reflect its CR. Out of combat, I can have it rule the world if I want.Your mileage obviously varied. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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