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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bill Zebub" data-source="post: 9810819" data-attributes="member: 7031982">This makes me think that there are really two kinds of tells:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Something that makes players think that this is a likely place for a trap, but without any hint of what to look for.  (E.g., a treasure chest.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Something that hints at the presence of the trap itself. (E.g., a skeleton with a punctured hole in its skull.)</li> </ul>The first kind helps alleviate the problem of players thinking they have to search every 5' square, which is good, but if the players search for traps, how is that resolved?  Let's say it's a skill check, and the check is successful, and the GM describes a pattern of small holes in the wall.Does the successful check only reveal the holes, or does it also reveal what the holes do?  E.g., do bolts/darts shoot out?  Do the whole emit some kind of gas?  Is it still functional?  Or maybe it's one end of a listening tube/device?  Or purely decorative?Let's say those questions are resolved, how do the characters handle it?  Let's say they (somehow) know for certain it's a trap.  Do they make a skill check to disable/bypass it.  Do they have to describe how they disable/bypass it?  If the latter, do they also have to make a skill check, or does the GM adjudicate that, possibly granting automatic success or failure? FWIW, here's how I would approach this:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Finding: I would just tell them about the holes, for free.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Interpreting: Inspecting the wall across from the holes, or somehow investigating into the holes, would suggest that darts shoot out.  (A Dwarf in particular would be able to interpret the scratches/indentations on the opposite wall.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Resolving: <ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Jamming objects into the holes would disable the trap.  </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Finding the release device (pressure plate? opening a door?) and triggering remotely would also work.  </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">It's possible they might come up with something complicated enough that it would require a skill/ability check, but only if there is a consequence for failure.  For example they might have an idea of how to get past it without triggering it, and that might require an attribute/skill roll.  But not if it's "we all step over the pressure plate that we have found" which I think competent adventures should be able to do.</li> </ol></li> </ol>Note that I avoid games where there are specific skills for "finding" and "disarming" traps.  So the argument that by making this mostly roll-less I am penalizing players who have invested in those skills doesn't hold any water for me.</blockquote>

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