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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 5618444" data-attributes="member: 1210">Interesting (and challenging) thread idea...For me it depends. Obviously the mechanics are system-dependent, but a lot of how a trap runs depends on the trap itself. For instance, some traps are obvious: &quot;You open the door and see a long narrow path above a gorge. Jets of flame shoot from the sides across the pathway. What do you do?&quot; In other instances, there's no visible sign until the trap is either detected or triggered.So I guess the first part of adjudicating a trap for me is determining whether the pcs are aware of it; depending on the system, this works in different ways- over the years, my rpgs have run the gamut from &quot;You better ask what you see, hear, smell, feel and taste every minute or two or GOTCHA!!&quot; to &quot;You automatically notice a lot of stuff because you're naturally perceptive&quot; and everywhere in between.If the party is aware of the trap, they may try to disable, bypass or spring it, although it is sometimes impossible to do one or more of these. Some traps, if the party can't figure them out/doesn't want to (or dare) spring it, they will turn around and leave, maybe coming back later.If the party triggers the trap, we play out the consequences; again, there is a long spectrum running from &quot;You die and your soul is devoured&quot; to &quot;You stub your toe&quot; and everywhere in between.The details are too system-dependent, and I do or have played too many different systems, to really be more specific. I try to run traps to the strengths of the system they are in, if that makes sense.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 5618444, member: 1210"] Interesting (and challenging) thread idea... For me it depends. Obviously the mechanics are system-dependent, but a lot of [i]how a trap runs[/i] depends on the trap itself. For instance, some traps are obvious: "You open the door and see a long narrow path above a gorge. Jets of flame shoot from the sides across the pathway. What do you do?" In other instances, there's no visible sign until the trap is either detected or triggered. So I guess the first part of adjudicating a trap for me is determining whether the pcs are aware of it; depending on the system, this works in different ways- over the years, my rpgs have run the gamut from "You better ask what you see, hear, smell, feel and taste every minute or two or GOTCHA!!" to "You automatically notice a lot of stuff because you're naturally perceptive" and everywhere in between. If the party is aware of the trap, they may try to disable, bypass or spring it, although it is sometimes impossible to do one or more of these. Some traps, if the party can't figure them out/doesn't want to (or dare) spring it, they will turn around and leave, maybe coming back later. If the party triggers the trap, we play out the consequences; again, there is a long spectrum running from "You die and your soul is devoured" to "You stub your toe" and everywhere in between. The details are too system-dependent, and I do or have played too many different systems, to really be more specific. I try to run traps to the strengths of the system they are in, if that makes sense. [/QUOTE]

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