Kingreaper
Adventurer
60% a
25% b
15% c
25% b
15% c
Great replies. Let me run something past you. Pick the answer you prefer most. Ideally, a trap is a challenge that the party...
A) ...finds and disarms using standard skills.
B) ...finds but can't disarm, and have to figure out how to mitigate its harmful effects.
C) ...doesn't find, catches the party off-guard, and inflicts its harmful effect in full.
But, traps should be used judiciously and they should have a reason for their existence.
Yes, a "good" trap gives the players something to interact with. First, they should be able to note clues that they're walking into a trap -- it shouldn't just be random -- and, second, the trap should leave them with a challenge -- getting out of a deep pit, escaping the automaton that's been activated, etc.One-Hit Cheap-Shot Nature: While there is the occasional complex trap, like the gas-filled room or wall-closing-in traps, most are just single-shot attacks. Their threat is over as soon as they've begun. This is in contrast to D&D combat, which offers a lot of give-and-take. A player may fall in battle, but at least there's an exchange of blows. A one-hit trap, OTOH, offers nothing a player can push back against.
This problem is exacerbated by D&D's buffer of hit points combined with easy healing. Also, modern D&D lacks "red shirts" to absorb random threats. Someone should die; it just shouldn't be our heroes.There's a big question as to how deadly a one-shot trap should be. If a scythe blade or poison dart is proportionately nasty to a monster's attack--say, a hit from a giant's sword or a snake bite--then it isn't likely that the trap will do anything meaningful. The characters just burn up a CLW wand charge or spend a healing surge. They're tedious inconveniences.