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Traps in 13th Age
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<blockquote data-quote="DMZ2112" data-source="post: 6292484" data-attributes="member: 78752"><p>My experience with 13th Age specifically is unfortunately limited, but I have some experience with players in D&D4, which had a similar "traps designed for inconvenience" vibe. What I found was that, in general, non-lethal traps were tough on immersion in a system with no injury rules. They worked well in combat encounters as a sort of "difficult terrain plus" -- designing truly awful "mind of its own"-style battlefields was one of my favorite parts of D&D4 -- but out of combat they were pretty irrelevant and left players wondering why the trapsmith would have bothered.</p><p></p><p>What I finally settled on was making out-of-combat traps lethal -- or at least possessed of far-reaching consequences -- but easy to spot. Sometimes I wouldn't even require a roll. Because the real value of a trap is not in it going off and removing someone's kidneys, but in the <em>dread that it will</em>, and in the effort the party must take to circumvent or disarm it.</p><p></p><p>If the party fails, they are generally forced to go around. If they do something stupid, then maybe the trap squishes somebody. I've had good luck with this approach.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DMZ2112, post: 6292484, member: 78752"] My experience with 13th Age specifically is unfortunately limited, but I have some experience with players in D&D4, which had a similar "traps designed for inconvenience" vibe. What I found was that, in general, non-lethal traps were tough on immersion in a system with no injury rules. They worked well in combat encounters as a sort of "difficult terrain plus" -- designing truly awful "mind of its own"-style battlefields was one of my favorite parts of D&D4 -- but out of combat they were pretty irrelevant and left players wondering why the trapsmith would have bothered. What I finally settled on was making out-of-combat traps lethal -- or at least possessed of far-reaching consequences -- but easy to spot. Sometimes I wouldn't even require a roll. Because the real value of a trap is not in it going off and removing someone's kidneys, but in the [I]dread that it will[/I], and in the effort the party must take to circumvent or disarm it. If the party fails, they are generally forced to go around. If they do something stupid, then maybe the trap squishes somebody. I've had good luck with this approach. [/QUOTE]
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