XP for Traps?

[awayfarer]

My players have recently entered the first decent-sized dungeon crawl of the campaign and something occurred to me: do you, or do you not dole out XP for encountering traps?

My gut reaction is no because...

1: Traps are generally only going to be encountered and dealt with by the party trapfinder. This assumes that you're sending the poor sod off alone to take a peak at things.

2: A heavily trapped area would send their XP skyrocketing, assuming CR appropriate traps. You're generally not going to lose anywhere near as much in the way of HP, spells and resources when dealing with a trap as you would be with a combat.

The reason I'm curious is simply that the traps are assigned a CR. I'm guessing that this is not for XP purposes but only so that you understand not to put level 2 PC's in the crushing room with the poisonous spikes that is slowly filling with acid and half green dragon piranhas. (Presumably, at that level you want to do something really nasty but not life-threatening, like putting miracle whip on their sandwhiches. *shudder*)

 

[irdeggman]

Trap are part of the challenge beign overcome - hence they award Xp.

DMG pg 39
“Overcoming the challenge of a trap involves encountering the trap, either by disarming it, avoiding it, or simply surviving the damage it deals. A trap never discovered or never bypassed was not encountered (and hence provides no XP award).”

 

[Doug Sundseth]

From the Dungeons section of the Hypertext d20 SRD:

"Like traps, dangerous slimes and molds have CRs, and characters earn XP for encountering them."

Note that this experience would be split evenly by the group if you are using the standard experience rules.

 

[Nifft]

Traps have a CR. They should eat some resource (like HP or time), and they should give XP.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Note, also, that you get the trap experience if you accidentally set it off (though if you don't survive it, there's less to do with that XP).

 

[Jack Simth]

If the trap is only ever encountered by the rogue, you're using it the boring way.

A trap in the middle of an otherwise abandoned hallway is just going to be swept up by the careful Rogue, if it's level-appropriate, at an expenditure of no recourses other than time (by taking 10). It's dull, and doesn't really serve it's purpose (unless it's a self-resetting trap who's purpose is to have an explanation as to why the riff-raff don't make it that far).

Now, if you've got an active opponent who knows about (and/or is immune to) the trap, who can harry the party while they are trying to get by, it gets more interesting.

The BBEG Drow Cleric-10 who can't be effectively charged because there's a pattern of CR 1 10-foot covered pit traps between you and him is going to be interesting. The traps prevent the Fighter and Rogue from immediately closing in melee (they have to stop and climb out of the traps, or figure out what squares they are in to jump over). The Drow's SR prevents a lot of spells from functioning on him. The Drow casts Wind Wall to keep those pesky arrows away. The BBEG is unlikely to go down in one round, even losing initiative (Core, anyway). The Fighter and Rogue can get there... but they first have to navigate the traps. The Wizard and Cleric can fix this... by spending actions to make sure everyone can fly (or to cover the pit traps with a more solid something - such as a Wall of Stone). The point is to make the players think a bit about their tactics.

Likewise, the caster is automatically attuned to a Symbol of X. The caster who has placed a lot of them in a defensive lair can put them, quite safely, in the places where the caster spends time. Yes, the Rogue could find and disable them before setting them off.... if the Rogue wasn't distracted by the BBEG spell caster casting spells.

Traps are like spices (the common types you use a lot of - salt, pepper, and such) - they go better in combination with other things. A trap in isolation is only really useful to make sure the party is looking.

 

[NightCrawler]

I believe too that if the party finds traps in their way they have to get xp if they disarm the trap... Normaly they deserve xp even when they triger the trap and manage to survive but if you want to add some chalenge to the roque you can give xp only if he succesfully disarms the trap, not if the party trigers or finds the trap and cant disarm it...

 

[Scribbler]

Yes, fairly often only one or two people will deal with a trap, not the whole party. However, by sending the right person to the job (or not), the party in general learns something about how they should work together.

Or not. But you should still split up the XP. And I don't just mean because it unfairly favors the rogue and the people who walk through doors first. If you're going to award XP based on who was most useful in an encounter with a trap, then you have to do the same with creatures.
It's better just to give everyone a share for all encounters, regardless of who contributed how much to which one.

 

[irdeggman]

I believe too that if the party finds traps in their way they have to get xp if they disarm the trap... Normaly they deserve xp even when they triger the trap and manage to survive but if you want to add some chalenge to the roque you can give xp only if he succesfully disarms the trap, not if the party trigers or finds the trap and cant disarm it...

If the party loses hit points have they used up resources?

Same type of concept there.

If they survive the trap then they have used up assets, same as taking damage in a fight or using expendable items.

If they find a trap and can't disarm it - it most liekly goes off and they take damage. IF they find a trap and can't get around it (either by disarming or surviving it) then they haven't overcome the challenge and get no XP.

 

[DiamondB]

Even if the party rogue discovers the trap and renders it harmless, the party did learn something and there was always the possibility of something going horribly wrong. Additionally, as stated above, using that trap to complicate an encounter should warrant a boost in the XP award.

I award my party for traps, they don't have a rogue, so the find traps the old fashioned way, thus learning (and earning).