Looking for rules for guerilla traps

[Eladrinblade]

Has anybody ever seen a good collection of rules/examples for booby traps viet-cong style? I know about the dungeonscape trapsmith. Homebrew is fine.

[The Viscount]

Combat Trapsmith from Complete Scoundrel has some more mundane booby traps that might be what you're looking for.

[Gruftzwerg]

Has anybody ever seen a good collection of rules/examples for booby traps viet-cong style? I know about the dungeonscape trapsmith. Homebrew is fine.

Have you already looked into the SRD Traps (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/traps.htm)?

imho that covers most things up that could come into mind. There are rules for mundane and magical, deadly without any escape, almost anything I can imagine right off the bat.

[SirNibbles]

Combat Trapsmith from Complete Scoundrel has some more mundane booby traps that might be what you're looking for.


Have you already looked into the SRD Traps (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/traps.htm)?

imho that covers most things up that could come into mind. There are rules for mundane and magical, deadly without any escape, almost anything I can imagine right off the bat.

Honestly, it seems like WoTC forgot to consider much more mundane traps, especially non-lethal ones.

I don't think you'd need any special knowledge to put a rope between two stakes and hope someone trips on it as they run past.

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The natural hazards from Sandstorm and Frostburn, including the Survival checks to spot them, could easily be adapted for mundane traps.

[Gruftzwerg]

Honestly, it seems like WoTC forgot to consider much more mundane traps, especially non-lethal ones.

I don't think you'd need any special knowledge to put a rope between two stakes and hope someone trips on it as they run past.

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The natural hazards from Sandstorm and Frostburn, including the Survival checks to spot them, could easily be adapted for mundane traps.


Tripping Chain

CR 2; mechanical; location trigger; automatic reset; multiple traps (tripping and melee attack); Atk +15 melee touch (trip), Atk +15 melee (2d4+2, spiked chain); Search DC 15; Disable Device DC 18. Market Price: 3,800 gp. Note: This trap is really one CR 1 trapthat trips and a second CR 1 trap that attacks with a spiked chain. If the tripping attack succeeds, a +4 bonus applies to the spiked chain attack because the opponent is prone.

imho it is there. Read the entire (wall of..)text before complaining^^ You have several kinds of trigger mechanisms that you can combine almost freely to different trap effects. The choice is yours. There is enough info to build traps yourself imho.

[SirNibbles]

imho it is there. Read the entire (wall of..)text before complaining^^ You have several kinds of trigger mechanisms that you can combine almost freely to different trap effects. The choice is yours. There is enough info to build traps yourself imho.

A trap that activates when you're in a square and uses a mechanical device to trip you is not the same as a trap that you activate by running into. The chain trap is 3,800 gp. A pair of spikes and a bit of rope is 4 sp. That's 9500x cheaper, and it gets the job done.

Most VC traps could probably be put together in 20 minutes for almost no cost, and the game doesn't do a very good job of reflecting that.

[One Step Two]

A trap that activates when you're in a square and uses a mechanical device to trip you is not the same as a trap that you activate by running into. The chain trap is 3,800 gp. A pair of spikes and a bit of rope is 4 sp. That's 9500x cheaper, and it gets the job done.

Most VC traps could probably be put together in 20 minutes for almost no cost, and the game doesn't do a very good job of reflecting that.

I've been looking into trapmaking for a campaign I am playing in that involves Kobolds creating a defensible area, and yes, I could not agree more that the trap rules are dumb.

By far, the biggest complaint I have is that even if you finagle the CR and additional costs down to the point where you are paying only 100gp for a trap, because they rely on the crafting rules creation time, even accounting for a decently skilled trapmaker (around level 3, with a masterwork tool gives +14 to skill checks), it takes a week to build it. Even min-maxing the rules, it's heinously inefficient.

Example: Tripwire trap
Trap base Cost 1000gp
Location Trigger, No reset (-500gp), Search DC 21 (CR 0, 200gp), Disable Device DC 0 (CR -1, - 2000gp), +15 Touch attack to trip(+1 CR for To Hit Bonus, +1 CR for Touch attack).
Final CR: 1
Costs: -1300gp, however the minimum cost for a trap is CRx100gp. Final cost: 100gp

Cost to craft: 33gp, 3sp, 3 cp, and A DC 20 Craft (trapmaking) check, even if our aforementioned crafter gets a Nat 20 on his craft check, he will only finish 680/1000sp for the weeks work!

This represents a well camouflaged trap (only those with the Trapfinding ability can locate), but since it is only meant to be a string setup to trip someone, it's not hard to bypass. Even if you voluntarily drop the Search DC, and up the Disable device, and massage the numbers down, it will never stop it from taking a whole week!

The only way to lay down traps as a full-round action requires you to be 6th level and in the Combat Trapsmith class (Complete Scoundrel), or the Trapsmith class (Dungeonscape), then it gets even sillier.

A Combat Trapsmith can only use a Tripwire trap(Equalizer trap) at 2nd Level (ECL 7), Which traps a single square, has a Reflex Save DC of 10+ Trapsmith level + Int, with a 10gp cost.

A Trapsmith can use the Trip Rope Trap immediately, but the trip attempt at least scales to 1/2 ranks Craft Trapmaking check result, and when you reach 3rd level (ECL 8), the DC is your total check result, either version covers a 20ft line, and costs 10gp.

Why is this silly? because you need to be almost pushing well past the power tier of E6 for a mundane tripping trap. Whose total cost is 1gp worth of rope, 2sp worth of Pitons, and a 5sp Hammer.

[unseenmage]

DMG2 has simple low DC traps like tripwire and such.

I like making them with Shapesand myself.

[Eladrinblade]

I took a look; these DMG2 booby traps are about what I had in mind, just executed poorly.

[SirNibbles]

Some cherry-picked rules that I think would be very nice for traps in general, especially simple traps:

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"Because a combat trap is built quickly and crudely, it is also possible to discern with a successful Spot check (using the same DC as given above), whether or not the observer has the trapfinding class feature." - Combat Trapsmith: Complete Scoundrel, page 34

I've never liked the idea of needing a Search check to notice a trap. It's mitigated somewhat by feats such as Trap Sensitivity (Dungeonscape, page 46) and Trap Sense (Epic Level Handbook, page 68), both of which allow you to automatically perform a Search check when you pass within 5 feet of a trap. Of course, the shortcoming of these feats is the fact that the former does not allow you to find magical or spell traps, and the latter requires you to be level 22 or higher.

Do you really need a Search check to notice some holes in the wall or perhaps a bit of floor that looks a bit different or that the kobolds scurrying through the hallway seem to be avoiding a certain spot?

"Every time a creature has a chance to see something, that creature can make a Spot check without using an action. Trying to spot something one failed to see previously is a move action. A Spot check is either made against a DC that reflects how hard something is to see, or it is opposed by another creature’s Hide check. A creature must have line of sight to make a Spot check.

Condition | Check Penalty
Per 10 feet of distance | –1
Spotter distracted | –5

" - Rules Compendium, page 114

Especially when you consider darkness, distance, and distraction, it's not like being able to spot traps will render them pointless. Additionally, constantly having to stop to search for traps just slows the game down for the entire party.

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"The booby trap is commonly encountered in kobold lairs, goblin warrens, orc-infested hills, and regions inhabited by savage humanoids. Booby traps, unlike most other traps, are fairly easy to set up. A DC 20 Craft (trapmaking) check and 1 minute of work is all that’s required to set up a booby trap. - Dungeon Master's Guide II, page 41

This is a great idea, and then they go and ruin it two paragraphs later:

"The components required to build a booby trap vary wildly. Parts can be purchased for 50 gp, or a character can scrounge the parts from the surrounding environment with a successful DC 20 Survival check and 10 minutes of work. - Dungeon Master's Guide II, page 41

50 gp for a Tripline, which is just two stakes and some rope is nonsensical. Also, the idea of finding parts in the surrounding environment is poorly executed. If you're in the Vietnamese jungle and you need some bamboo and wood, you're going to have an easy time finding it. If you're trying to find a 'fragile container of fine powder', I don't think any amount of searching is going to help you. Additionally, if you're a kobold in an empty cave, you're not going to be able to find things like rope or wood to make a lot of traps.

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Most of the described traps could be created using items listed here: https://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm

That list contains things like rope, jugs, vials, pitons, chains, caltrops, buckets, and so on.

That pricing makes a lot more sense than the 10 gp per trap, regardless of type, that Combat Trapsmith calls for.


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For Kobolds especially, check out the Extraordinary Trapsmith feat from Races of the Dragon, page 100. It reduces trap prices by 25%, or 50% for kobolds. That would be useful if trap prices made any sense.