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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WalterKovacs" data-source="post: 4162403" data-attributes="member: 63763">Well, seeing as the person is able to perform a careful autopsy while the body is still hung up is quite odd. It would require someone getting the body down from the tree, or AT LEAST, the person getting up to the body to perform a very difficult autopsy on a corpse hanging from a tree. There should probably be some skill checks involved. Also, after the autopsy, you still have no idea WHAT the device is inside. Some sort of skill check would be required to let the Thievery skill know how to remove the trap succesfully.Basically, in this example, the players have metagamed/handwaved a number of skill checks out of the sequence. They've made assumptions about the trap, instead of using skill checks to verify those assumptions.In this case, it isn't that the trap spontaneously goes off. It is that their accumulated failure has lead to them being completely WRONG in their assumptions, and any skill checks they make to "succesfully" disable the trap will instead cause them to set off the trap.At this point, they have apparently figured out the absolutely best way to disable the device. They can now perform a series of very simple skill checks to disable the device safely. In the previous example, they THOUGHT they had reached this point, and in their carelessness, set off the trap.If the party chooses to intentionally set off the trap, then it is possible to do that as well. And of course, chopping down the body with my battle axe would require a certain number of skill checks to get AT the body in the first place. Also, there could be skill checks made by the REST of the party to prevent their insane barbarian from "disabling the trap".In general, the 6/4 concept is they must succeed at skill checks that are "working towards" success in the encounter, and the 4 would failing in those particular skills. It is possible, outside of the x/y for complete failure, or time wasting, if the actions are not "working towards" success in the encounter.Thus, the DM as arbiter, requires that their player explain how the skill they are going to use will work towards the success of the encounter. Otherwise, it will either have no net effect [time waster], or it will possibly be counted as one or more failures [as the actions risk setting off the trap, or making them appear stupid/rude/etc in a social situation].</blockquote>

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