Should traps have tells?

[pemerton]

if the hostile neighbors/invaders are kobolds, my traps need to be low, and "lethal" enough to inflict about 7 damage... which isn't a threat to most adventurers after 1st level, but in this case, I wasn't trying to kill adventurers!

I'm not sure what this looks like in the fiction, that is, what is the nature of a trap that is lethal enough to deal 7 hp damage but not more.

 

[Lanefan]

Realistic in the sense that traps are built to harm, maim, and kill rather than be easily-spotted gameplay elements.

Or delay, divert, distract, and disperse. Not all traps need to be damaging but IMO they all need a good in-fiction reason to be there. That they then become gameplay elements is merely a side effect.

 

[overgeeked]

Or delay, divert, distract, and disperse. Not all traps need to be damaging but IMO they all need a good in-fiction reason to be there. That they then become gameplay elements is merely a side effect.

For me it’ll always come back to Vietnam. That’s how traps work.

Whenever someone says, “That’s not how traps work.” I point to Vietnam. If that’s how they worked in Vietnam, that’s how they work in my games. If a trap has a tell, the tell itself is a trap. It’s asymmetrical warfare. That’s the point.

If I’m going to the trouble of including traps, they’re going to work like they did in Vietnam. I know a lot of people who find that style of play fun. I also know a lot of people who hate that style of play. It’s a big hobby. It takes all kinds.

The other touchstone is Indiana Jones. It’s great for the more gamey style of traps. I’ve done that style myself. It can be a lot of fun. But it always feels like a ride at an amusement park. Nothing wrong with that. I just prefer something that feels more grounded and substantial. This style always feels hollow to me.