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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Saeviomagy" data-source="post: 1629685" data-attributes="member: 5890">There is one under the search skillIf the emanation of the alarm spell doesn't hit you, the alarm doesn't go off. So by surrounding the point of origin with a solid object (or by screening yourself from the spell with a solid object), you exclude yourself from it's detection area.Your original dictionary.com entry contains three possibly applicable entries:"1 : a device for taking game or other animals; especially : one that holds by springing shut suddenly2 a : something by which one is caught or stopped unawares6 : any of various devices for preventing passage of something often while allowing other matter to proceed; especially : a device for drains or sewers consisting of a bend or partitioned chamber in which the liquid forms a seal to prevent the passage of sewer gas"Number 1 only applies to traps which grab you and hold you, meaning sepia snake sigil (which has no trap entry) is a valid trap, and any of the damage-causing or hypnotising or otherwise non-immobilising traps do not fit the definition.Number 2 covers alarm quite nicely, and also covers most of the other traps and trap spells due to the variable nature of the word caught (which includes meanings such as 'suddenly made aware of" - ie "I caught bob picking his nose"').Number 6 could potentially be used to cover the traditional D&D traps, as well as alarm - they're devices intended to prevent adventurers from progressing further into a dungeon.IOW - I can't see a definition which DOES fit all of the 'traps' in the book, but excludes those not specifically noted as traps, unless that definition is "only things specifically noted as traps are traps".Unfortunately in the cases of explosive runes and the symbol spell, the act of percieving the physical component triggers the trap. So the thief must be detecting something else, or the trap is triggered by his search...But this isn't part of the 'trap' definition - demonstrated by the existence of the bell trap. It's a trap, but it doesn't do what you suggest a trap must do.Of course one of the reasons that it's different is because alarm covers all of the possibilities of the "sound an alert if someone enters this area" trap. Just like a teleportation circle is different to all the other trap spells because it covers all the bases of the "anyone stepping into the circle is teleported" trap category.If it's got exceptions, then it's not really consistent, is it? The major one to my mind is magic mouth, which you argued against counting as a trap previously, despite the fact that it complies with your above ruling.My personal take would be that if it looks like a trap and smells like a trap and feels like a trap, it's a trap, and search can detect it. Whether it then qualifies as a 'device' is another matter - if neither I nor my player can imagine a non-magical counter to the trap, then it's probably not disableable without magic. To my mind, only spike stones and spike growth fit this category, and even then I could see using disable device to defeat their effects, even if only in a limited way.</blockquote>

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