Trap Check

[ciaran00]

So say the players DO find a trap. How much of its function can they decipher? Do you guys have any thoughts on this?

ciaran

 

[dcollins]

Take 20 has a pretty big downside - the amount of time wasted. Checking a 5 ft square takes 2 minutes. So if they're moving down a corridor 10 ft wide and 10 ft high and checking floor, walls and ceiling, it would take 16 minutes to move 5 ft down the corridor. That's a lot of time to spend.

Right, that's precisely what I said above.

Again, you and I can agree that that's really, really slow. However, there needs to be a very specific game mechanic in place to enforce some kind of penalty or else it's all entirely rhetorical. DM: "Take 20? That's a lot of time to spend!". Player: "So what? I do it anyway." That's my whole point previously -- but fortunately that kind of problem is the whole reason wandering-monster-checks have existed since the inception of D&D.

 

[Steverooo]

What the Rogue (and to a lesser extent the Ranger) has always needed is a "Trapsense" mechanism that auto-checks for them...

Hey, look! Rogues get Trapsense at level one!

Here's a houserule that D&D could adopt: Level 1+ Rgoues can Trapsense. Rangers can if the DC of the trap is 20 or less (covered pits, snares, deadfalls, and other such traps as are useful outdoors fall into this category, most others don't). Rogues auto-roll when within 10' of a trap. Rangers auto-roll when within 10' of traps DC:20 or less.

Rogues will still be the best, and Rangers will be better than most, especially in the wilderness. Dwarves will still be better underground... and players won't have to roll... at all!

 

[Vaxalon]

Right, that's precisely what I said above.

Again, you and I can agree that that's really, really slow. However, there needs to be a very specific game mechanic in place to enforce some kind of penalty or else it's all entirely rhetorical. DM: "Take 20? That's a lot of time to spend!". Player: "So what? I do it anyway." That's my whole point previously -- but fortunately that kind of problem is the whole reason wandering-monster-checks have existed since the inception of D&D.

Wandering monster checks are the first part.

Another thing you can do is give the party some competition. Have another adventuring group come up behind them and say, "Mind if we play through?" The rivals walk out with the lion's share of the treasure.

I personally like the idea of a dungeon that, for some reason, is only available for a short period of time. A tower that only appears for 24 hours out of the year. A magical door that only opens on nights of the full moon.

Time limits can also come from plot. "The princess will be sacrificed at midnight if we don't save her!"

 

[dcollins]

What the Rogue (and to a lesser extent the Ranger) has always needed is a "Trapsense" mechanism that auto-checks for them... Hey, look! Rogues get Trapsense at level one!

I guess you're joking, right? The 3.5 rogue Trapfinding ability doesn't help out with this at all.

Time limits can also come from plot. "The princess will be sacrificed at midnight if we don't save her!"

Yeah, I mentioned that point-of-view in (A) above. But my opinion is still that that's not a general solution. How many adventures really have that kind of time limit in practice -- 5%? 10%?

 

[MerakSpielman]

I remember my first dungeon DMing my current group. Not too many traps, all of which they just set off and survived, but afterward they went back and took 20 to search every single square in the dungeon for hidden treasure. Found some, too. I figured it took 'em two weeks, but they were willing to do it.

 

[tolliver]

Yeah, I mentioned that point-of-view in (A) above. But my opinion is still that that's not a general solution. How many adventures really have that kind of time limit in practice -- 5%? 10%?

Right now, for me, it's 100%. In the game I play we've just fought our way out of a temple that opens for 24 hours once every 13 years and in the game I run the PCs are trying to find a bunch of kidnapped children Before It's Too Late.

Before It's Too Late is a gimmick used in a lot more than 10% of adventures I'd say, but I digress kind of.

Someone said something about wandering monsters, and that's totally dead on as far as I'm concerned. If the PCs want to take20 on the Great Hall, spending 3 hrs and 22 minutes then fine... that's three wandering monster rolls. And oh, btw: wandering monsters don't cough up xp in my game (mainly to prevent players from thinking that they can just camp out for a week, beat the crap out of fire beetles and level up).

Sometimes players have to go into Archeologist Mode while dungeoneering, which is fine, but they better post gaurds...