Spell Traps?

[MesiDoomstalker]

Where are they, why are they broken, who's the best to make/use them besides Artificer (cause I'm severly Ebberon-defecient :smallannoyed:)?

[Randomguy]

Spell traps are from the dungeon masters guide, but beneficial traps are from dungeonscape. Wizards are probably the best class to make them, but it doesn't really matter. I'm not sure why they're considered broken, but the fact that they can replace just about any wand, scroll and wondrous item and do it better is probably a factor.

[Glimbur]

Any spell can be made in to a trap (http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/traps.htm), provided you can afford it and cast the spell. Traps can reset as quickly as you would like. This means you can cast a particular spell at a particular location(maybe, I can't find any rules on whether or not traps can be mobile) an arbitrary number of times. For an adventuring party, maybe this means Freedom of Movement in a wagon they take to every dungeon which saves the cleric some spell slots. The real money is in an army: why armor your army with armor when you can march them all through a (greater) mage armor trap for a smaller investment assuming a sufficiently large army? Why have trained healers/clerics who can run out of spells when you can have a tent which casts CLW? Why bring rations which can run out when you can have a Create Food trap? And so on. Magical traps feature prominently in the Tippyverse, which is a thought experiment wherein spell casters act to optimize personal power. The results are not pretty, depending on your perspective.

[Psyren]

They're broken because they reset themselves, leading to Tippyverse.

The fact that only the DM can practically make use of them (unless you're running some kind of stronghold/hub campaign) is what keeps them in check.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Ok, so looking at the cost for a Spell Trap, it would cost 22,500 gp to create a self-resetting trap of a 5th level spell. It can reset and cast every round. Wow, I get it now.

[Douglas]

Ok, so looking at the cost for a Spell Trap, it would cost 22,500 gp to create a self-resetting trap of a 5th level spell. It can reset and cast every round. Wow, I get it now.
Whoa there, no need to go for anything as crazy as 5th level spells here. Level 1 is quite enough.

True Strike on a trap attached to your sword.
Protection From Evil
Shield
Endure Elements
Enlarge Person
Cure Light Wounds (1/round, so ridiculously fast all day healing)
Divine Favor
Shield of Faith

Bump it up to level 2 and you get:
Invisibility
All 6 stat boosters
Resist Energy (all 5 energy types)
Auto-renewing Mirror Image
Lesser Restoration (who needs Naberius?)

At level 3, Create Food And Water is the one that really tips things over into the Tippyverse.

[tyckspoon]

The fact that only the DM can practically make use of them (unless you're running some kind of stronghold/hub campaign) is what keeps them in check.

Nooope. They're just as accessible to players as any other magic item craft; there's nothing that states a trap has to be installed in a 15x15 block of stone or anything of the kind that would make them hard to move. You can do anything from building a bufftent (stack of traps woven into the floor of your tent, they go off when you open the door in the morning) to sticking it on the latch of the backpack/chest you open every day to get your stuff.

[NNescio]

Nooope. They're just as accessible to players as any other magic item craft; there's nothing that states a trap has to be installed in a 15x15 block of stone or anything of the kind that would make them hard to move. You can do anything from building a bufftent (stack of traps woven into the floor of your tent, they go off when you open the door in the morning) to sticking it on the latch of the backpack/chest you open every day to get your stuff.

Can traps be fitted on dull grey Ioun stones?

[Big Fau]

Where are they, why are they broken, who's the best to make/use them besides Artificer (cause I'm severly Ebberon-defecient :smallannoyed:)?

Spell-to-Power Erudite, Archivist, or Wizard.


To elaborate on the whole "broken" part: Imagine infinite spells/round. Not /day, /round. As in, multiple spells each turn, at no cost to the user. This is possible by having each trap on a single object, and having them all set to the same trigger ("Whenever the creature holding this object takes a Move action").