Trap Crafting 3.5

[Skullruss]

My DM said he wouldn't recommend trap creation because of the time investment, but i say F that, help me prove him wrong. Level 7 btw.

I- I understand that i can optimize my craft check to speed things up, guidance of the avatar, masterwork item, etc. but can someone explain how exactly i go about that, the craft rules are SOOO vague, they convert gold into copper and then add dc's and it gets jumbled.

II-Trap ideas, level 7 with wealth by level, the move creative the better, so long as they function realistically, i.e. not a single bar of steel which blows up dungeons.

III- Also, unseen crafter or dedicated wright could easily do the crafting for me right? If so, is there any real reason to do it myself, other than fluff?

IV- Should i ever go into the trap-crafting prestige classes? they seem so cookie cutter, and only 2 or so of the traps seem good, especially when there's so much availability for creativity with Craft: Trapmaking

V-How do create a bear-trap equivolent? Any clever trap-based tactics? Is there a way to trap-ize caltrops, beyond the standard annoyance.

VI-Any spells available at level 7 which could help create traps? Any kind, runes, pits, mechanical...

[BowStreetRunner]

Trapsmith (Dungeonscape) - come for the traps, stay for the spells.

[Darrin]

Trapsmith (Dungeonscape) - come for the traps, stay for the spells.

You forgot to mention Combat Trapsmith (Complete Scoundrel).

We did have a Junkyard Wars competition with both classes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?540521-Junkyard-Wars-XVI-Trapsmith-Combat-Trapsmith-Rogue/page2), but there were only two entries. Still, there should be a few good ideas in there on how to use traps during combat.

[Piggy Knowles]

One of my favorite utility builds is Factotum 3/Artificer 2/Trapsmith 3/Unseen Seer 3/Swiftblade 9. It’s extra nice here because level 7 is about where the build comes into its own. It has a heavy trap focus, with advanced booby traps from Trapsmith that can be set as a standard action, as well as the ability to craft more complex traps quickly with minor creation and fabricate. Unseen Seer lets you add the fantastic divine insight to your Trapsmith spell list, which for my money is the single best skill booster in the game. (Yes, other spells can give a larger boost, but the low level and the fact that you can pre-cast it and activate when needed push it above anything else).

A two-level artificer dip may sound a bit weird but it’s actually a perfect fit here. In addition to magic item crafting, infusions are really big for you. The absolute biggest is Spell Storing Item, which essentially lets you turn any item into a low level scroll that only you can use. This is incredibly versatile and also just a lot of fun. In an actual game I like to think of this as juryrigging an item to get it to do something it wouldn’t ordinarily… picture MacGyver or the Doctor rolling up their sleeves and fiddling with a machine for a minute, then getting it to do something extraordinary.

Your item familiar is going to be some kind of tool that boosts craft checks and UMD. A wrench, a screwdriver, something like that. Feed it skill points and take good care of it. It'll be worth it.

For your Trapsmith class features, the booby traps are actually surprisingly good. Ignore the bolt drap, that one is mostly useless. The big ones are the trip wire and the drop trap. Trip wire will get a lot better when you hit ECL 8 and get advanced booby traps, because the advanced trip wire trap gets your Craft (trapmaking) check result as a bonus to the trip attempt. You're going to have a super buffed out craft check, so that's HUGE. The drop trap seems boring, but don't forget that you have minor creation and fabricate and crazy craft checks. You're going to be creating big batches of poisons and alchemical items to use in these traps. Once you get high enough level to fabricate traps, of course, all bets are off. Remember to use your spell list to its fullest. Resetting collapsing wall of stone traps, anyone? I'm into it.

Swiftblade seems like an odd choice but it gives you a lot of cool defensive and mobility boosts, and the 9th-level ability lets you take extra actions. That's kind of hard to beat. It also makes your best combat spell even better, and lets you end at +16 BAB, so that's a plus. Don't bother with the capstone ability; you don't have 6th-level spells, so you can't benefit from it. Just take a last level of Unseen Seer for the CL boost to divination spells (or anything else, really... as long as it has decent skills and boosts BAB, you will still end up where you need to be).

1 Factotum1- Able Learner, Darkstalker
2 Artificer1- Scribe Scroll
3 Artificer2- Brew Potion, Item Familiar
4 Factotum2-
5 Factotum3-
6 Trapsmith1- Expeditious Dodge
7 Trapsmith2-
8 Trapsmith3-
9 Unseen Seer1- Mobility
10 Unseen Seer2- Silent Spell
11 Swiftblade1- Spring Attack
12 Swiftblade2- Shape Soulmeld (Phase Cloak)
13 Swiftblade3-
14 Swiftblade4-
15 Swiftblade5- Open Lesser Chakra (Shoulders)
16 Swiftblade6-
17 Swiftblade7-
18 Swiftblade8- Craft Wondrous Item
19 Swiftblade9-
20 Unseen Seer3-