New Math and Traps

[Trit One-Ear]

I'm so disorganized I've spent the past week slowly updating encounters and monsters I've made with old math into the new math (with much help from you lot on here, thank you). I just realized I haven't upgraded my traps to current damage standards. Compared to my brutes and elites, my rolling bolders are going to feel like a tickle.

I'm assuming the same rule (level + 7) applies to traps, but does anyone have any experience with upgrading traps, and has found a different/better method?

Trit

 

[Quickleaf]

Huh really?

Let's say you have a 7th level rolling boulder trap, it's one-shot and multi-target, so it does Limited Low damage (yeah I know I'm using an older table, but I like it ).

Limited Low damage at 7th level is 3d8+5 damage (average 18.5 damage).

A 7th level monster attacking with a multi-target (-25%) encounter (+50%) power might deal an average of 18.75 damage.

That looks good to me. So where's the problem?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I'm so disorganized I've spent the past week slowly updating encounters and monsters I've made with old math into the new math (with much help from you lot on here, thank you). I just realized I haven't upgraded my traps to current damage standards. Compared to my brutes and elites, my rolling bolders are going to feel like a tickle.

I'm assuming the same rule (level + 7) applies to traps, but does anyone have any experience with upgrading traps, and has found a different/better method?

Trit

I believe that's actually level + 8.

For multi-use traps, use the same damage expressions as an at-will attack. (A single-target trap would do level + 8 damage per hit, provided it can do so over multiple rounds.) A pit trap would be an example of a trap that can attack more than once. You can fall down the pit, and if you climb out, you can be pushed right back down into the pit. In practice, this makes traps a bit weaker (they're easier to avoid, usually have no recharge attacks, and you can use them against the enemy).

With single-shot ("minion") traps, make the attack do +50% damage, as if it were using an encounter power.

For skill DCs, use the new DC rules. I use a moderate DC for Perception to notice the trap and the control panel that controls it, but a hard DC to notice the trigger. This means, in my campaign, you might walk into a room, immediately see the control panel, but maybe not see the turrets, and if you do, you might not know how to avoid making them go off. (Naturally, getting to the control panel requires going through the trigger area.) IMO, it's perfectly okay if the PCs are not surprised by the trap; indeed, I find it works better that way, since traps should be used with monsters, and not by themselves.

 

[Trit One-Ear]

[MENTION=1165](Psi)SeveredHead[/MENTION], just what I needed to go off. Would love to XP ya, but seems you (and [MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION] for that matter) have been too helpful to me in the past

[MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION], the rolling bolder was mostly an example, as I'm actually using poison dart traps and scythes, but the idea remains the same. I was mostly looking for some way of judging where their specific form of attacking (and others for later traps I use) should fall in relation to monsters' at wills, encounters, etc.

Thanks guys.
Trit

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=6678017]Trit One-Ear[/MENTION]

Glad we could help

I mostly agree with DMG2 and Matt Sernett's article in Dragon #366. The damage from those tables seems to track well to the MM3 monster damage expressions, despite being older.

 

[Trit One-Ear]

See, this article is clearly something I need to read. Thanks for the heads up!

Trit