Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Poison needle traps
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Satyrn" data-source="post: 7432730" data-attributes="member: 6801204"><p>Aye.</p><p></p><p>Or the proper key might have a protrusion on it, so when it's inserted in the lock it presses against a button that prevents the trap from springing. So, when someone uses a skeleton key or lockpicks to open it, they're not bypassing the trap.</p><p></p><p>Now, this also goes back to what you said earlier in the thread about how the character going about disarming the trap or opening up the chest should affect the result. If the trap works like I just said, it should be readily disabled by jamming the bypass-button down, perhaps with a drop of Sovereign Glue. This would not result in removing the needle like the trap's original description says, though.</p><p></p><p></p><p>And all this leads me to offer up this advice to @<em><strong><u><a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=2374" target="_blank">Wyvern</a></u></strong></em>: When I'm putting in a trap of any sort, I decide on how it works, using the rules only as inspiration or a baseline, changing the details as needed to fit how I picture it working. Then I adjudicate the results of the player's actions. And they don't get to just say "I attempt to disarm the trap;" they have to tell me something like "I'll press the button and apply a drop of Sovereign Glue to hold it in place," or "I'll yank the needle out with my tiny pliers."</p><p></p><p>But before that happens, I have a successful Investigation check - if the players actually bother trying to figure out how the trap works - tell them all the info I have invented about the trap so they can make an informed attempt at disarming it.</p><p></p><p>A trap, to me, should be handled rather like a puzzle. I make them rather easy to notice, to the point where I'm often telling the players it's there without any sort of Perception check, because I'd rather focus the game on how they get around it, aiming for scenes like the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, or the bits in the Last Crusade just before Indy reaches the Grail.</p><p></p><p>Also, the trap in question would have to be far more painful for me to bother using, because I also aim for "we're just gonna leave the chest alone for now" to be a choice the players seriously consider alongside "Just have the barbarian open it and soak up the damage."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Satyrn, post: 7432730, member: 6801204"] Aye. Or the proper key might have a protrusion on it, so when it's inserted in the lock it presses against a button that prevents the trap from springing. So, when someone uses a skeleton key or lockpicks to open it, they're not bypassing the trap. Now, this also goes back to what you said earlier in the thread about how the character going about disarming the trap or opening up the chest should affect the result. If the trap works like I just said, it should be readily disabled by jamming the bypass-button down, perhaps with a drop of Sovereign Glue. This would not result in removing the needle like the trap's original description says, though. And all this leads me to offer up this advice to @[I][B][U][URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=2374"]Wyvern[/URL][/U][/B][/I]: When I'm putting in a trap of any sort, I decide on how it works, using the rules only as inspiration or a baseline, changing the details as needed to fit how I picture it working. Then I adjudicate the results of the player's actions. And they don't get to just say "I attempt to disarm the trap;" they have to tell me something like "I'll press the button and apply a drop of Sovereign Glue to hold it in place," or "I'll yank the needle out with my tiny pliers." But before that happens, I have a successful Investigation check - if the players actually bother trying to figure out how the trap works - tell them all the info I have invented about the trap so they can make an informed attempt at disarming it. A trap, to me, should be handled rather like a puzzle. I make them rather easy to notice, to the point where I'm often telling the players it's there without any sort of Perception check, because I'd rather focus the game on how they get around it, aiming for scenes like the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, or the bits in the Last Crusade just before Indy reaches the Grail. Also, the trap in question would have to be far more painful for me to bother using, because I also aim for "we're just gonna leave the chest alone for now" to be a choice the players seriously consider alongside "Just have the barbarian open it and soak up the damage." [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Poison needle traps
Top