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<blockquote data-quote="Mustrum_Ridcully" data-source="post: 4048679" data-attributes="member: 710">The good stuff in the 3E trap rules where that you could actually use your character abilities. The bad thing was that it was too simple - roll a d20 + Disable Device and see if you succeed. I think the concept of encounter traps is pretty good from a &quot;gamist&quot; point of view - everyone can contribute, and there is some dynamic in it. (But this probably doesn't work for all kinds of traps.)I am a big fan of using character statistics for all tasks in D&amp;D - but there is still a hard-definable element that must be decided on by the player. Maybe it isn't even so hard-definable? I think the goal should be that the player makes decisions, but the character statistics determines whether he succeeds doing the thing he decided. Decisions are things like &quot;Which target do I flank? Should I risk telling the Baron that his daughter is involved in a very nasty affair? Do I seach for the keys to this lock, or should I simply bash it down?&quot;The hard part of puzzles is that it's difficult to make a meaningful decision when confronted with a puzzle like &quot;Find the cipher for this book to open the Gate&quot; or &quot;find the right combinations of levers&quot; and also using the characters abilities. Maybe the decision isn't &quot;how do I solve the riddle&quot; but &quot;should I try to bypass the puzzle or do I try to solve it?&quot; (But if you go for solving it, how can character abilities factor in?)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mustrum_Ridcully, post: 4048679, member: 710"] The good stuff in the 3E trap rules where that you could actually use your character abilities. The bad thing was that it was too simple - roll a d20 + Disable Device and see if you succeed. I think the concept of encounter traps is pretty good from a "gamist" point of view - everyone can contribute, and there is some dynamic in it. (But this probably doesn't work for all kinds of traps.) I am a big fan of using character statistics for all tasks in D&D - but there is still a hard-definable element that must be decided on by the player. Maybe it isn't even so hard-definable? I think the goal should be that the player makes decisions, but the character statistics determines whether he succeeds doing the thing he decided. Decisions are things like "Which target do I flank? Should I risk telling the Baron that his daughter is involved in a very nasty affair? Do I seach for the keys to this lock, or should I simply bash it down?" The hard part of puzzles is that it's difficult to make a meaningful decision when confronted with a puzzle like "Find the cipher for this book to open the Gate" or "find the right combinations of levers" and also using the characters abilities. Maybe the decision isn't "how do I solve the riddle" but "should I try to bypass the puzzle or do I try to solve it?" (But if you go for solving it, how can character abilities factor in?) [/QUOTE]

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