Trap Search, circumstance bonus for ...

[candidus_cogitens]

The DM makes a creative trap, designed to challenge a rogue's skills as well as the player's savy. It's a difficult trap, carefully disguised and dangerous, but the challenges are balanced so that successful use of skills will allow the rogue to succeed. The DM makes clues available to tip off the player, if he can take a hint and use his noggin.

Wonderful ... but then when the scene unfolds, what happens is this: the player simply says "I search the room for traps." He rolls and succeeeds in finding it. "I disable it," he continues. Again he rolls and succeeds. "I unlock the door." Success...
What could have been an interesting puzzle is reduced to sheer banality!!

What do you do to avoid this? How could circumstance bonuses be used to encourage the player to be more creative? How can you give the truly creative roleplayer opportunities to use his cleverness and creativity to beat a trap ... rather than just asking him to roll the die?

I considered abolishing the search skill altogether, and asking the player to specify exactly what he was looking for (cracks in stonework, squeeky floorboards, unusual smells, etc.). But before resorting to a house rule, I wonder if you folks have some ideas about how to make the rules work as they are.

 

[kreynolds]

What do you do to avoid this? How could circumstance bonuses be used to encourage the player to be more creative? How can you give the truly creative roleplayer opportunities to use his cleverness and creativity to beat a trap ... rather than just asking him to roll the die?

Apparently, his search and disable device skills are so good that he's beyond caring about being delicate and clever, which is perfectly understandable. After all, if you're really good at severing peoples heads in combat, why bother with anything else?

I considered abolishing the search skill altogether, and asking the player to specify exactly what he was looking for (cracks in stonework, squeeky floorboards, unusual smells, etc.)

I don't think this would be a good idea, as I would just take countermeasures. For instance, I've heard that some people that play spellcasters will wear a sign on their chest that reads, "Unless I state otherwise, I'm casting defensively." I don't have a problem with stuff like that because if you want to always cast defensively unless you say otherwise, I assume it is simply part of your character's personality to do so.

If I ran into a house rule involving searching for traps like that, I'd probably just slap a sign on my chest that stated, "While searching for traps, I am looking for cracks in the stonework, squeeky floorboards, unusual smells, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc." Why? Because it's a pain in the butt to remember all that stuff. Say there are 30 different common signs of the existence of a trap. If I have to tell you which of those I'm searching for, and I forget just one of them, I could very well miss the entire trap.

I don't think you should focus the search skill that tightly.

Just my 2cp.

 

[Belares]

You can also as the DM semi-roleplay it out..

Your standing on the slighty discolored flagstone on the floor, almost, but not quite like the rest of the floor. The sweat trickles down as you understand the signifigance of the warning from earlier. "one is the key to succeed in your quest for the idol". You see the almost imperceptable marks in the wall on opposite sides from you and determine that the blades that mad them must be huge. Taking out you small gauge wire you slowly but steadily insert it into the cracks of the floor to wedge the flagstone in place. Carefully and slowly you ease off the stone ...sighing in relief as you know your abilities are well honed, one less trap to fufillment of your goal.

Mind you you can also say good job and go on with the adventure..

 

[kreynolds]

The sweat trickles down

...at which point I shout out, "Hey DM! I'm not nervous enough to sweat! Would you rather just take my character sheet then? Huh? I mean, what the hell, you're already in control of my bodily functions, and since it's not hot enough in this dungeon to sweat, you have apprently decided that I'm nervous, when if fact, I couldn't possibly be nervous because this is the 500th flagstone trap I've encountered in your games!"





Ain't I a stinker?

 

[Belares]

Huh? I mean, what the hell, you're already in control of my bodily functions, and since it's not hot enough in this dungeon to sweat, you have apprently decided that I'm nervous, when if fact, I couldn't possibly be nervous because this is the 500th flagstone trap I've encountered in your games!"

Your sweating because IT is the 500th one and the odds are getting smaller of disabling all the traps..or did you miss one?

 

[kreynolds]

Your sweating because IT is the 500th one and the odds are getting smaller of disabling all the traps..or did i miss one?

...at which point I say, "Actually, I'm sweating because I'm this close to leaping across the table and making you eat those frickin' dice! If I've disabled 499 of these, or at least half of them, believe me, by now they have lost their fear factor."

I can go on and on.

 

[Belares]

LOL..you were doing so well on the first 499. Do you roleplay out the traps in your game? Do you take in account that you cannot ever state what the characters feel for they must say exactly what the they are doing?

oh yea I forgot it is funnier to make fun of people. You are such a scamp

 

[kreynolds]

Do you roleplay out the traps in your game?

It depends on the trap. If it's something really complex, I give enough detail about the trap to keep it exotic, the kind of trap the player has never seen before, but I don't require you to tell me exactly what kind of signs of a trap you're searching for, because I know what you're searching for, because you're in a dungeon, and I put traps in it, and you wanna explore the dungeon, and you're a rogue, and it's a forgone conclusion that you're gonna search for traps.

For your standard "arrow shooting out of the wall" trap, I don't bother, especially if you've seen that kind of trap before.

Do you take in account that you cannot ever state what the characters feel

First of all, it's impossible for me to tell them how they feel, because I'm not them, so I don't know how they feel. The only time that kind of thing is truly acceptable is if they are under the influence of a fear effect, if someone has successfully made an Intimidate check or Diplomacy check against them, etc. Secondly, it isn't proper for me to say that you're afraid when you see 30 ogres coming at you, for that might be something that you could care less about, as you might have totally different fears than the normal person.

for they must say exactly what the they are doing?

Huh?

oh yea I forgot it is funnier to make fun of people. You are such a scamp

I'm gonna take this as a playful joke.

 

[Belares]

All I am saying is that sometimes you as the DM can interject something about the situation to make the players feel a certian way. I in no way suggest playing the character for them (unless charmed, feared, etc.).

I was just showing what you can do to make those certain things in your campaign more enjoyable. I am sure all DMs do something similiar.

 

[candidus_cogitens]

Thanks for the input in response to my question.

The kind of input I'm still looking for is some idea about how to make traps a challenge for the PLAYER as well as for the PC.

Let me explain: In combat, a large part of the action is determined by the outcome of your die rolls. BUT, an equally large part (or larger) is determined by the strategy that the PLAYERS choose. As a player, you get to decide whether it is better to fight defensively, to charge, to attempt a disarm, to flee, to use a missle weapon or a melee weapon, etc. For me, at least, that's what makes combat so engaging.

Shouldn't it be the same for traps?

Actually, for many other challenges, you DO use a combination of players' decision-making and PC skill. If I try to intimidate a bartender into swearing that he never saw me, I roll an Intimidate check, but it's still my choice as a PLAYER to decide (a) that I want to intimidate him in the first place, (b) exactly what I hope to influence the NPC to do, and (c) what exactly I say or do in order to intimidate him (which might merit a positive circumstance bonus, if it's clever). See what I mean?