Rogues and traps and their reason for existing...

[Wanderlust]

Ok, so one thing has been bugging me a lot recently. Maybe it's just because I like my fantasy to have a healthy dose of realism, but I just don't see how traps that are generally used make sense from a Medieval point of view. Where oh where can I find such things in history? I like the concept of the sneaky character picking locks and pockets, but I just cringe when it comes to traps. Please restore my faith and convince me of their goodness.

-Wanderlust

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Traps don't have to eat and once they're built you don't have to keep paying them.

Besides, Evil Overlords like to impress their legions by killing the cunning artificier after all the traps are completed. You aren't really an overlord until you start killing your own people just to show how evil you are.

 

[Aaron L]

Eqypt. Pyramids. Traps. Tomb robbers. Adventurers.

 

[Nifft]

IMC, there are no "mechanical" traps. Nothing works without life-energy (including the direct observation of a living being), including "mechanisms". So, all traps are magical to some degree, and all have an XP component.

(This is also why there is no mass production IMC.) -- N

 

[Trickstergod]

Personally, I find the concept of traps to be a bit silly at times, and, for that matter, dungeons (which may tie in slightly to this post).

In any area where people frequent, the idea of traps being there has always struck me as a bit dumb. If people go there more than once a month, a trap is just too inconvenient, and dangerous, to have lying around. Anything that sees daily use, whether it's a chest which is constantly opened and closed, or the hallway to the guards barracks, or whatever, should not have traps around it, at least those of a more normal nature. If it's magical, and can, for example, ignore certain types of people, or use, sure, great. But putting a shooting needle trap in the entryway to the temple which sees constant use is just dumb. Eventually, it is going to kill somebody, or turning it off for the service will be forgotten, or in some way screwed up. In every which way, it's inappropriate to have there.

Unless it's a place people are not meant to go, traps are just silly, and I don't particularly like them. If, say, it's the tomb of a pharoah, or a temple which only sees use for its yearly sacrifice, sure. Traps out the yin-yang. But any place that sees regular foot traffic shouldn't be booby-trapped. You can find traps in the real world, but most of the time, they're in places people aren't supposed to go, in any fashion. A place populated with, say, monsters, or people however? That's just goofy. Even in movies, like, say, Indiana Jones, all those traps are in places left abandoned, or bereft of life, nearly about. You don't put a moving spike wall trap in front of some evil warlords doorway; he might need to go to the bathroom in a hurry and forget about, or come in one day, tired and beat, and do the same, and, oh. He just got gored on a spiked wall. Would you rig your doorhandle with enough electricity to kill somebody? No, you might forget about it, or have a friend or relative do the same.

Now, non-lethal traps...sure. Fine. Or traps in places that aren't regularly gone to by any means.

But, otherwise, I agree: an abundance of traps isn't particularly appropriate most of the time.

 

[Voadam]

Ok, so one thing has been bugging me a lot recently. Maybe it's just because I like my fantasy to have a healthy dose of realism, but I just don't see how traps that are generally used make sense from a Medieval point of view. Where oh where can I find such things in history? I like the concept of the sneaky character picking locks and pockets, but I just cringe when it comes to traps. Please restore my faith and convince me of their goodness.

-Wanderlust

Swiss Family Robinson, Disney version lots of pit traps to foil pirate invasion.

The movie Ladyhawk, the bridge trap.

Viet Nam war etc., lots of traps in the war, now a danger long after the war.

In D&D games, I've had my PC wizards and party clerics put up fire traps and glyphs to protect treasure we couldn't haul back immediately.

 

[FireLance]

Yeah, traps in frequently used areas are kind of silly, so it's really up to the DM to place them correctly:

(1) In corridors leading nowhere, which invaders unfamiliar with the layout of your complex might wander into.

(2) Traps with a bypass element, to guard areas which you don't go into often.

(3) Temporary traps may be found in areas that are normally frequently used, if you are defending a place, and want to slow down or kill your invaders. Presumably, they would be removed afterwards.

 

[jgbrowning]

Traps don't have to eat and once they're built you don't have to keep paying them.

Besides, Evil Overlords like to impress their legions by killing the cunning artificier after all the traps are completed. You aren't really an overlord until you start killing your own people just to show how evil you are.

This, IMHO, is the real reason for traps.



joe b.

 

[Numion]

Personally, I find the concept of traps to be a bit silly at times, and, for that matter, dungeons (which may tie in slightly to this post).

In any area where people frequent, the idea of traps being there has always struck me as a bit dumb. If people go there more than once a month, a trap is just too inconvenient, and dangerous, to have lying around. Anything that sees daily use, whether it's a chest which is constantly opened and closed, or the hallway to the guards barracks, or whatever, should not have traps around it, at least those of a more normal nature. If it's magical, and can, for example, ignore certain types of people, or use, sure, great. But putting a shooting needle trap in the entryway to the temple which sees constant use is just dumb. Eventually, it is going to kill somebody, or turning it off for the service will be forgotten, or in some way screwed up. In every which way, it's inappropriate to have there.

Reality check. Most of what you said makes sense. But consider real world. Landmines are in essence traps. Like you reasoned, they're nonsensical to use in areas frequently used. But still they're used.

Anyone planning to use traps would have to consider whether the gains of trapping are larger than the negative side-effects you said. A henchman killed accidentally by a trap might well be acceptable loss. Thats how it goes in real world too. Mines kill people they weren't intended to kill, but they're so effective people use them anyway. Why would a fantasy world be any different?

 

[Trainz]

First off, I read somewhere that some medieval buildings did have traps.

Second, traps are very important to releive the drudgery of dungeon combat. If the only thing you do in a dungeon is fight, everything becomes slowly but Sherley stale .

Plus, a D&D adventure as a certain dynamic that took many designers/players years to tune and adjust to arrive to a certain optimisation of entertainment. Traps are a big part of that optimisation.

And lastly, in a universe where Beholders exist, do not rely too much on realism.

However, when all is said and done, it is YOUR GAME, and if you don't like traps, don't use them. Be sure you don't alienate you players though.