Pathfinder: traps

[Scottlang]

Hello all,

I am running the Dragon's Demand game for my friends, they're just about to play chapter 2, which is the exploration of the Manor for the auction.

Now there is a trap,
MAGIC PIT TRAP CR 3 XP 800
Type: magic; Perception DC 27; Disable Device DC 27
EFFECTS Trigger touch (1 round after initial contact with the trap's lid); Reset manual Effect 30-ft.-deep pit (create pit; 3d6 falling damage); Reflex DC 15 negates; multiple targets (all targets in a 10-ft.square area)

No it says triggered a round after trod on, now all the players will enter the room in 1 round, and more than likely won't be on the trap. Could someone please suggest the best way to play it, ie ignore it till someone treads on it later in the 10 rounds?? If so, would I just run the players in a out of initiative order, but highest initiative goes 1st,and see what they are doing and work it that way. Or just activate it as soon as someone steps on it, get only one player??
I've not really done the delayed traps, I generally go for instant traps.

Any advice will be welcome.

Thanks

[Darrin]

Ok, here's the secret to good traps: they need to be interactive.

Suggested reading: Bad Trap Syndrome Part 1 (http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/90/bad-trap-syndrome/), Part 2 (http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/91/bad-trap-syndrome-curing-the-bad-trap-blues/).

If the PCs have no idea the trap is there, then they can't interact with it. It doesn't matter if the pit trap is delayed or not. It's effectively a "zap" trap: the DM just arbitrarily announces, "You take X damage." So, you can add some descriptive clues when the PCs enter:


There's a faint but audible click when the PCs cross the top of the trap. The mechanism might be old and hasn't been maintained all that well, so some of the parts have a little more "give" than they should. You could either make a silent Listen check for the PCs behind the GM screen. Or you could just work it into the room description. Just be aware that tipping off the players is an art form, not a science: savvy players may immediately get suspicious and start searching. Really good players will immediately dismantle the entire room, drag the parts back to a Ye Olde Trappe Shoppe and sell them for a profit.
There are faint scratches on top of the trap door, where a previous victim raked their claws on the way down. Or there may be a mismatched seam where the pit opens, that a ranger/rogue type might notice with a behind-the-screen Spot check.
Local monsters know about the trap, and might conceivably be overheard talking about it, or offer the information to the PCs for various reasons: as a friendly warning, as a bargaining chip, as a business opportunity, etc.
Another creature has already fallen in the pit, and hears the PCs enter. The creature is injured/trapped, and calls out plaintively. The cry is faint, but easy enough to hear with a simple Listen check. Once the creature is heard, the trap becomes much more interesting: Is the creature a threat? Is it pretending to be injured just to trick the PCs into helping it? Is this a potential ally? Can the creature be safely released without exposing the PCs to additional risk? Now, instead of just doing random damage to the PCs, they have to start problem-solving and make more interesting decisions about how to proceed.