Dummies guide to trap making

[Shadowbane13]

What are the possible traps that a person could make and what really would be required for said traps?
Mostly mechanical traps to be honest

Is there like a book or something that exists for showing you the various traps and such?

I usually just use basic stuff like trip wire
Gears
A flask or something containing what will cause the damage (unless it's like a pit fall or spring board type thing)
And some misc stuff

[Geddy2112]

Your broad trap categories are:

1. Alarms-meant to thwart sneaky invaders. Creaky floors, tripwires, motion sensor alarms, even a string around the campsite with cans.
2. Catching-meant to take things alive, but rendering the victim helpless or otherwise unable to get out. Bear traps, pits, scooby doo style net on floor, snares.
3. Killer-meant to kill anybody trying to get somewhere. Spike pits, arrows from the walls, boiling oil, acid, flooded room.
4. Protective-meant to guard something of value, usually also killer. Rolling boulder Indiana Jones idol trap.
5. Lures-false protective traps. Item is not actually of value, but it will lure in what you are trying to get. Rigged chests, fake gold/gems, items tagged with trackers so when theives take them they can be found...

A trap can be anything that is an unseen danger, placed intentionally for a reason. Pathfinder has a good list of traps here (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger/archetypes/paizo---ranger-archetypes/trapper/ranger-traps) but a lot of things can be a trap in the right situation. A chest that is a mimic, a magical rune that explodes when read, poison, statues that come to life...Even a disguise can be used to "trap" somebody, see the legal definition of entrapment.

[Zaq]

Does your GM let you get away with just jury-rigging stuff, or do you want hard rules explaining exactly what you can do? If you need hard rules, you might want to look into the Combat Trapsmith (PrC from Complete Scoundrel) and the Trapsmith (PrC from Dungeonscape), both of which give you specific rules for exactly how to make certain kinds of traps. (Combat Trapsmith traps are pretty cut and dried, while Trapsmith traps are more open-ended and are much more open to being expanded upon.) Races of the Dragon also has the Create Trap spell (which instantly creates a specific CR 1 trap from the DMG; you pick from a small list).

If your GM will let you just come up with stuff, that's another matter, and you're basically only limited by your creativity and how well you can sell your ideas to the GM. If that's the case, what's your build as a whole look like, and do you have any special abilities (or useful items) that you think might make for interesting traps?

[Kelb_Panthera]

Have you heard of Dungeonscape? I think it will likely prove to be exactly what you seek.

[Darth Ultron]

The basic traps and rules are in the DMG. Dungeonscape has more. And Races of the Dragon has "Bobbie traps"".

[Inevitability]

The basic traps and rules are in the DMG. Dungeonscape has more. And Races of the Dragon has "Bobbie traps"".

Aren't booby traps from the second DMG?