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Cute_Riolu
2010-01-21, 05:08 PM
Okay, so I'm playing a kobold and I'd like to make portable traps, without the Trapsmith PrC. Is there any support for this in books?

Level 1, but we should progress fairly quickly.

Melamoto
2010-01-21, 05:13 PM
Why not the Trapsmith PrC? It's pretty good. But there's always the Combat Trapsmith PrC from Complete Scoundrel. Make traps as a full round action!

SilveryCord
2010-01-21, 05:26 PM
There really aren't any good mechanics for PCs making traps. Using Craft (Trapmaking) is too expensive and doesn't have real reward, and Trapsmith and Combat Trapsmith are both woefully underpowered at making traps. (although the spell list can be nice for a rogue)

And as an adventurer, are you really going to have access to the battlefield before combat? The best traps require spellcasting, anyway. Play a Kobold Sorcerer who uses Summon Trap.

Cute_Riolu
2010-01-21, 06:18 PM
I'd love to, but my concept is a warlock, and it's hard to fluff a warlock to start at second level, since it's important to get that 8 x 4 skill points...

Anyway, I'll check that out.

Combat Trapsmith is no good too, I need that first level to be warlock.

Also, my google-fu seems to have failed me; I can't find the kobold web supplement. Any help?

Darrin
2010-01-22, 12:51 AM
Hate to say it, but wizards make the best traps. At least, I've got my current group going up against a doppelganger wizard NPC that is trap-happy, and I've been having a lot of success with a handful of key spells:

Create Trap (Races of the Dragon)
Explosive Runes (of course)
Fire Trap
Shalantha's Delicate Disk (Lost Empires of Faerun)

This last spell has been particularly useful... 6th level, so it's not available until at least Wizard 11, and requires 200 GP material component, but essentially, you store a spell in a ceramic disk. Break the disk, and the spell is cast. So you can break it yourself, throw it across a room, have an unseen servant drop it, put explosive runes on it, or put it in a location where it's likely to get broken.

For the first trap, I dropped the disk in a square with blasting pellets (Races of Stone), which didn't go off, but the PCs read the Explosive Runes anyway. Second trap was a tent in a cavern with multiple Create Trap spells that fired darts at the tent. The tent had Fire Trap cast on it, so the darts pierced the cloth and "opened" it, which caused the Fire Trap to burn everything else in that square, where a couple of disks just happened to be sitting.

Next set of traps will involve a Glyph Seal and Greater Glyph Seal (from Magic Item Compendium). Similar to Glyph of Warding, but with 100% more awesomesauce. Fairly cheap, too.

Oh... word of advice. Never stack Daltim's Fiery Tentacles (Shining South) on top of Acid Fog. Almost killed the entire party with that one...

Kosjsjach
2010-01-22, 12:56 AM
Factotum!!!

Grab the Craft Wondrous Item feat and run. :smallsmile:

I have statted a desert kobold factotum 5/ trapsmith 1 that I've been itching to play for over a year. Crazy skill checks for mechanical traps (and the Extraordinary Trapsmith feat in Races of the Dragon), and your very-limited "spells" aren't such a pain when you can store them in traps (or Glyph Seals (MIC p161)).

Harperfan7
2010-01-22, 03:30 AM
If you can homebrew up some system where you can use things like alchemists fire and thunderstones and blackpowder bombs to be set off with trip wires, or get wands to fire when so and so happens, that would be fantastic, but I don't know how to pull it off.

There ought to be something like that though.

Kelb_Panthera
2010-01-22, 04:39 AM
There's nothing in the rules that says you can't enter a PrC late you know. You can still take trapsmith or combat trapsmith, you'll just have to be a few levels higher to enter. Barring that, the only thing I can think of is marvelous pigments, but that still takes ten minutes to setup.

alisbin
2010-01-22, 10:10 AM
i've been working on a trap making feat tree that sorta emulates traps from neverwinter nights, its not complete or playtested yet but below are what i've come up with so far, ideas would be welcome.

Craft Trap
Requirements: Craft: Trap Making 5, int 15, dex 15
This feat allows the creation of portable trap kits that deal damage to a single target. All single target traps require a reflex save, the damage dealt is ½ character level X d6 (round down, min 1d6), the save DC is 5 + Character Level + Intelligence Modifier and the search/disarm DC is 5 + Character Level + Dexterity Modifier. The trap maker may deal any non spell effect damage types they have access to (via magic and mundane weapons, alchemical items, etc), one use items are consumed in the trap but others may be recovered for reuse. Any trap may also be enhanced with poison if a poison appropriate to the damage type is available (IE if the damage done can successfully deliver the poison). Poison traps that do not deal damage are also possible when using contact poisons. Any non magical trigger type may be used. Traps may not be set in combat.
Creating a trap kit requires 1 hour of uninterrupted work time, 10gp/level and 5xp/level. The trap maker can freely set any trap he is capable of making, an action requiring 1 minute. If the trap maker wish’s he may create traps of a lesser power then his maximum either for his own use or others. Setting a trap beyond your ability to create risks a 50% chance of misfiring on setting and 50% chance of failing to trigger.
Normal traps can only affect creatures of up to medium size, traps to affect larger creatures can be made but each increased size modifier decreases all dcs by 5 (traps for smaller creatures only increase the DC).
Standard traps require one weapon, one piece of ammunition (for traps that take effect at range) or one dose of a damaging substance (IE an acid flask, a vial of poison or charged quartz crystals)

Craft Trap; Area Effect
Requirements: Craft: Trap Making 10, Craft Trap, int 15, dex 15
This feat allows the creation of portable trap kits that deal damage to multiple targets. The maximum area affected is 5’ for every 4 character levels. All AoE traps require a reflex save. Aside from requiring 2 times the raw materials per 5’ of area (magic and mundane weapons, alchemical items, etc) this functions the same as a normal portable trap kit. Also, inhalation poisons may be used with this type of trap (separate of damage if desired)

Craft Trap; Magical Trap
Requirements: Craft: Trap Making 10, Craft Trap, able to cast 4th level arcane or divine spells, int 18 or wis 18
This feat allows the trap maker to imbue his traps with magical energies. Arcane spellcasters may now create traps that deal negative, force damage or magical elemental damage and divine casters may create traps that deal holy/unholy, positive/negative (based on turning/rebuking undead) or elemental damage. In addition magical triggers are now accessible, but may only be set by a character with this feat.

Craft Trap; Unavoidable Trap
Requirements: Craft: Trap Making 15, Craft Trap, int 17, dex 15
This feat allows the creation of portable trap kits that deal damage to a single target and, due to the trap makers experience with traps, can no longer be avoided. The trap maker may now choose to create single target traps that require a fortitude save instead of a reflex save and thus cannot be avoided by evasion or improved evasion (save for half damage still applies), otherwise this functions the same as Craft Trap.

Craft Trap; Swift Trapper
Requirements: Craft: Trap Making 15, Craft Trap, int 15, dex 17
This feat allows the Trapper to set traps quickly and in combat. In any situation where the Trapper would be allowed to take 20 on a skill check he may set a trap in 2 rounds, in other situations it takes only 5 rounds to set a trap.

Cute_Riolu
2010-01-22, 09:23 PM
Grah, you're right. Does anyone know of a fix for trap prices?