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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7709730" data-attributes="member: 20323">Yes, totally.Actually, I think I've evolved that idea one step further... I'm saying that the nature of the DM's subtle warning should be determined by and consistent with the trap's trigger. And further I'm recommending a focus on trigger types in this UA article (or whatever it evolves into).My main concern is avoiding haphazard application of how traps are run, because the designer poorly understand traps /or DMs poorly understand traps (because the designers haven't communicated effectively).For example, saying "There is something odd about the ground in front of you" is functionally the same as the DM saying "there's some kind of trap." It has no narrative meaning. 'Something odd' tells the players nothing. It's what I call the red flag approach to running traps. I see DMs do this because they don't have a reliable method for adjudicating traps so they want to take extra precaution not to be a jerk DM by springing traps without warning. Once players are made aware of the red flag, they know something is up with that section of floor – mostly likely it's trapped – and they're going to try to avoid it. You'll notice books like Grimtooth's Traps developed all kinds of shenanigans to exploit exactly this style of play, such as illusory pits where the side ledges are trapped. There's an art to giving a description that doesn't become a red flag screaming "Trap! Trap!"For example, the UA article's pit trap where a PC might notice "there's a tarp under the top layer of dirt." That's another example of a red flag. Almost all players are going to wonder what is under the tarp? And by making them wonder that, any threat of the trap in isolation is removed. Sure, it could become dangerous when paired with something else or if the ENTIRE dungeon floor is covered in old dirty burlap sacks, but most of the time a DM wants a trap to be dangerous on its own merits.That's why I put some thought into creating the False Floor and the Pressure Plate triggers and especially what PCs can notice about them. PCs might notice weathering of the stone around the False Floor, where monsters skirt it or periodically replace the stone; a little less obvious than the tarp example. And in most cases PCs don't notice the Pressure Plate at all until that "click" and the trap becomes active but not yet triggered.I think the best trap clues are things that DMs can say that flow with the rest of the dungeon's narrative without being glaringly obviously a trap reference. It's OK if they put some players on "yellow alert", but in most cases they shouldn't put players on "red alert" (unless that part of a special trap's premise, such as a room trap).My personal litmus test is the False Appearance ability of a gargoyle, shrieker, or mimic (which I think should apply to most traps). I try to think of ways I can describe such a monster/trap with subtle clues that don't give it entirely away.</blockquote>

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