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<blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 6749461" data-attributes="member: 6801286">No, I think the ideal trap is one that creates suspense, and a fun story, while also providing the players with important choices. Resources are irrelevant in my opinion.If the players run into a trap, and there's a tense scene where they try to disable it and yet they come out completely unscathed, then that is fine. There was excitement, and their clever thinking prevailed. But what does matter, is how they can interact with the trap. If it simply requires one dice roll, then that is not very engaging. Take Iserith's trap for example: There's a hint of a trap, in the form of an arrow, but the players must figure out where the arrow came from to find the trap. Once they find the trap, what happens next? Often a player will say &quot;I disable the trap!&quot;, but most DM's then simply ask for a roll, instead of asking &quot;How do you disable the trap?&quot;. It all comes down to storytelling in my opinion. If the player just rolls to disable the trap, then all suspense is gone. The success relies on a random outcome, rather than an important informed choice.But if the DM asks the player how he will attempt to disable the trap, the outcome is now uncertain, and there for there is suspense. Depending on how the player chooses to go about disabling the trap, it may still require a dice roll, if the DM feels the outcome is uncertain. But the key to designing a good trap, is making it exciting, and providing options.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Imaculata, post: 6749461, member: 6801286"] No, I think the ideal trap is one that creates suspense, and a fun story, while also providing the players with important choices. Resources are irrelevant in my opinion. If the players run into a trap, and there's a tense scene where they try to disable it and yet they come out completely unscathed, then that is fine. There was excitement, and their clever thinking prevailed. But what does matter, is how they can interact with the trap. If it simply requires one dice roll, then that is not very engaging. Take Iserith's trap for example: There's a hint of a trap, in the form of an arrow, but the players must figure out where the arrow came from to find the trap. Once they find the trap, what happens next? Often a player will say "I disable the trap!", but most DM's then simply ask for a roll, instead of asking "How do you disable the trap?". It all comes down to storytelling in my opinion. If the player just rolls to disable the trap, then all suspense is gone. The success relies on a random outcome, rather than an important informed choice. But if the DM asks the player how he will attempt to disable the trap, the outcome is now uncertain, and there for there is suspense. Depending on how the player chooses to go about disabling the trap, it may still require a dice roll, if the DM feels the outcome is uncertain. But the key to designing a good trap, is making it exciting, and providing options. [/QUOTE]

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