Trap Etiquette

[JoeNapalm]

So...usually behind the screen, for...a long, long time...so haven't given this much thought in...well, quite awhile.

What's the general consensus on trap etiquette?

Is they who checks for traps/disarms traps the one to test to see if they were successful?

I ask because, as a player once again, I'm playing a rather hardy Barbarian/etc and our resident Rogue is fairly...well...soft and squishy. I'll occasionally volunteer to open portals and such for him, but...well...he's set off several on his own, and I'm not terribly confident in his success rate.

Obviously, this is going to be a by-the-table thing...just curious what other folks tend to do with this not uncommon scenario.


-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist

[noob]

Rogues either have to be really good at spotting and disarming traps or they have to be tough.
If the rogue is neither then as much as it is tempting to disarm traps for them they should merely search those from a distance (at least 90 feet away) and have the actual tough members of the party walk in first: it saves a lot of resurrection budget that way relatively to sending the rogue to disarm.
Please note that most non spell traps can be jammed/ avoided without a check through addition of steel plates on their path or just by not touching the trapped stuff.(ex: do not touch the trapped door handle or lock and instead break the middle of the door)
Spell traps are just incredibly scary and that is why it is desirable for the rogue searching for those to be far from those.

[Xervous]

Whoever gets bopped by testing the safety of a supposedly disarmed trap is going to get healed by party resources. Might as well give the job to the most efficient recipient.

[Telonius]

Yeah, "Barbarian Trapfinding" (as in, BAM! "Found one!") is usually how it goes, after the Rogue does their thing.

My groups usually have a "party fund" for healing, resurrection, transport, and survival items (think, Helm of Underwater Action, stuff to make sure you can exist in extraplanar environments, things like that). Out-of-combat healing is usually taken care of by those items. In-combat tactical healing is the Cleric's thing, and usually only in emergencies.

[King of Nowhere]

i had a good success disarming traps with a monk. high saving throws and poison immunity are very useful there
runs through corridor
makes a bunch of saving throws
yep, there were traps. now it's safe

[Segev]

As you said, it's party dependent. It does seem like your party's best strategy is to have the rogue do the searching and MAYBE the disarm attempt if he thinks he can manage, but to let your character actually open the doors/chests/whatever in case he didn't disarm it successfully.

If his attempts to disarm are triggering them, then it may be best just to let you tank them. Or use that ten foot pole to trip them deliberately. Or a mage hand.

[JoeNapalm]

We've been splitting the honors...

...of course, now he's diseased and poisoned, so our little game of Rochambeau continues! :belkar:

(Is there a D&D version of rock-paper-scissiors-Spock-lizard?)


-Jn-
Everyone's Favorite Vile Fiend

[Drelua]

i had a good success disarming traps with a monk. high saving throws and poison immunity are very useful there
runs through corridor
makes a bunch of saving throws
yep, there were traps. now it's safe

I used to do this with my monk. One time there was a case we thought was trapped, so I went in while everyone else hid around a corner. I opened it, and got hit with prismatic spray. Rolled for which hits me, and got a 5, flesh to stone. Fort was my worst save but I thought I should be fine. Then I rolled a 4, and just failed. So I opened the case, there was a rainbow flash, and then silence, as I stood perfectly still. They had to carry me back to town. I think that's the only thing that ever took that character down.

So yeah, sending the person that's least likely to die is a good idea. Just keep in mind that a bad roll or two can still kill you, so if you think there's an especially deadly trap, a level 1 summon might be worthwhile.

[Beni-Kujaku]

We've been splitting the honors...

...of course, now he's diseased and poisoned, so our little game of Rochambeau continues! :belkar:

(Is there a D&D version of rock-paper-scissiors-Spock-lizard?)


-Jn-
Everyone's Favorite Vile Fiend

I'd go with Troll-Cleric-Allip. The troll beats the cleric to death, who turns the allip, who drains the troll.

Then, we have the Efreet as Spock. The efreet burns the troll and has enough SLA to destroy the allip, but gets Planar Ally by the Cleric.

And finally, Lizard would be a Formian, specifically a warrior or an armadon. High Spell Resistance beats a cleric, and Fire Resistance to destroy the efreet, but no way to hit either the allip or the troll, and loses to them pretty easily.

So, who wants to play Troll-Cleric-Allip-Formian-Efreet? ^^


(I was about to say that this was spelled Ro-sham-bo, but after looking it up, the term comes from the french count de Rochambeau, so... well done)

[Maat Mons]

Mage hand? Controlled undead? Enemies you've taken prisoner? Whichever player isn't enjoying his current build? An NPC with plot armor?

[Zanos]

Sometimes people mention that using disposable minions to set off traps isn't how the game is intended to be played, but it is how Robilar cleared the original Tomb of Horrors. :smallcool:

Gary called me and said he had a new level to playtest. We used to playtest these between us upon one of us finishing a level. Both of us always suspected the worst, as we had always thrown big curves at each other and our players over a year's worth of solid day-to-day playtests and play.

Five of the five orcs died at the entrance, one whom Robilar dispatched because it refused my order to advance into the entry corridor, the other four from the pits within said corridor.

On the rare occasion where a party I'm in has a trapmonkey, he searches and attempts to disarm it. If he doesn't find anything, or can't disarm it, we have something disposable walk in front. Good use for a summon wand or animated undead. I recommend staying 30 feet behind it to avoid pits, explosives, or falling ceilings from getting the entire party. In the case that the party doesn't have access to anything disposable, I recommend leaving. If you must proceed usually the party just has the most durable dude activate the traps.

[Malphegor]

Throw small rocks at everything within 5ft radius of me. Find out the trap triggered on medium weighted objects not tiny pebbles

oh well

[rel]

Once you've checked for traps (rolling twice then taking 10 obviously), deployed your esoteric detection methods (tremorsense, detect magic and so forth), and deployed your mundane detection methods (flour, rocks and 10-foot poles) the time comes to test whether there was something you missed.

The order of testers should be determined by replacement cost in the event that a trap was missed and it strikes true.

At the top of the list are free resources like no-cost spells, non-depletable magic items, mundane contraptions, animal companions and so on.

Then mostly free resources like trained animals, hirelings, expendable magic, costly spells and so forth.

At the very bottom of the list are the PC's themselves who cost thousands of gold to rez and have tens of thousands in costly equipment that a particularly devious trap might render irrecoverable.

If a PC must test a trap, it should be the PC with the greatest ability to escape unscathed, in order of usefulness: the broadest resistances and immunities, the most potent defensive abilities, the best saves, the most hit points.

[Beni-Kujaku]

At the top of the list are free resources like no-cost spells, non-depletable magic items, mundane contraptions, animal companions and so on.

Free resources: Animal companion. You monster! What about the emotional cost! Also it is hilarious that the wizard loses more when his familiar, which is little more than a feat and generally forgettable, dies, than the druid when his animal companion does, who is quite integral to his class, and makes a good part of his combat capabilities.

[Telok]

An NPC with plot armor?

Plot armored npcs are the best. But I once had a dwarf who trained pigs. Specifically he trained them to fetch thrown gold coins. It was AD&D but the pigs were weirdly durable, I only ever lost one. Maybe it was their names, Bacon the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

[nedz]

It depends on the table.
Usually the Rogues searches for traps. If he finds one he thinks about disarming it.
If not, or if no trap is found, then the Monk or Barbarian or Fighter (depending upon availability) goes ahead.

[Mordante]

{Scrubbed}