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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 6747088" data-attributes="member: 40177">All well and good, but really, you're going super generic here.  How do you give a trap a story, for instance?  And, just as importantly - why?  If you give a trap a story, is there a way for the PCs to discover that story?  Should there be?I have a few rules for traps in my own game:1.  They must be in a place where a PC would look.  Do not put traps in a place you don't want the PCs slowing the game down to search.  So, no traps in empty hallways.  Searching for traps is always a player's responsibility, UNLESS a passive perception check could conceivably find it.  This, however, should only really happen in combats... and personally, I rarely use traps in combats.  2.  Relay information based on perception checks.  I allow PCs to make all their checks, so they know if they flubbed the check.  They do not remake the check.  They DO tend to treat any flubbed check as if the item were trapped - which is fine.  They roleplay out how they're going to defend themselves.3.  Traps are not just damage causers.  They are also time sinks.  If PCs spend a long time "solving" the trap, they are consuming a non-renewable resource in the dungeon.... time.  Wandering monsters happen, you see.  If you have Wandering Monsters in your dungeons, traps make a lot more sense.  4.  Failed disarm rolls do NOT trigger the trap!  Or, at least, they do not trigger the trap unless the PC missed the DC by a margin of 5 or 10, or rolled a 1.  This goes back to how the trap rules were originally supposed to work in, say, BECMI.  This means that PCs that know a trap is there might not even try to disarm it, but will figure out the best approach to "solve" the trap without rolling dice.This is an "old school" approach, but it goes sort of like this:  every time you roll a die, you risk death.  So, don't roll dice if at all possible.  In a trap, PCs find the trap and the vector of how it's going to kill them ("It's a poison needle that shoots out of the chest").  They could risk a roll, but it might make more sense to prop up a shield, have people clear the room, and then go about opening the silly thing.5.  They involve player choice.  Players should have the choice of whether they want to interact with the trap or not.  In other words, it doesn't block the railroad, but is an option for further exploration (one of the three tiers of play, and really, the tier that traps should almost always belong in).  In addition, if possible, give players an option in HOW they interact with the trap.  If, for example, they encounter the poison needle trap above, they could either try to roll dice (the quick approach, but the one with a chance for failure), or solve it as a puzzle (the smart approach, but one that takes time in game).  6.    Make them quick unless the whole party is involved.  Most traps are simple "gotchas", and so should be resolved quickly.  If they are complex and require some puzzle solving, they should involve the whole group... not just the rogue with a huge disarm score.</blockquote>

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