How would you handle this? Magic trap exp question

[Eladrinblade]

In a dungeon there is a magic trap that casts summon monster 1. The PCs walk right into and fight the summoned monster. Do they deserve the exp from the monster, or the trap? If the trap, why?

[Cygnia]

Do they make any attempt to search for/disable the trap beforehand? Did they intentionally go out of their way to set it off? What's their lvl?

[Jack_Simth]

In a dungeon there is a magic trap that casts summon monster 1. The PCs walk right into and fight the summoned monster. Do they deserve the exp from the monster, or the trap? If the trap, why?

The trap. Same as if an enemy spellcaster cast Summon Monster in a fight.

[Eladrinblade]

Do they make any attempt to search for/disable the trap beforehand? Did they intentionally go out of their way to set it off? What's their lvl?

I said they walked into it, which implies they weren't looking. Why would their level matter?

[Rynjin]

I said they walked into it, which implies they weren't looking. Why would their level matter?

Because if their level is way over the CR they get no XP.

As for the trap, it depends. Did they fight the monster? Trap defeated, XP for trap. Did they wait a round for the monster to disappear? I'd say they get nothing out of it. No resources spent, no danger or chance of failure, no XP.

At no point do you get XP for monster from summoned creatures.

Of course, all of these weird corner case scenarios are moot if you embrace the path of enlightenment and eliminate XP from your games.

[Gorthawar]

IMHO you get the xp for the trap. As mentioned before you don't get XP for summoned monsters but you did overcome the trap. Just like you would get the xp for an arrow trap that shoots 1 arrow. No matter if it misses or hits you have passed the challenge.

[Asmotherion]

I think there was a rule that said Summoned Monsters don't give XP (can't remember the source though). If so, they get the xp from the trap.

[DigoDragon]

I agree with the group saying you get the exp from the trap, not the summoned monster.

[Gnaeus]

Because if their level is way over the CR they get no XP.

As for the trap, it depends. Did they fight the monster? Trap defeated, XP for trap. Did they wait a round for the monster to disappear? I'd say they get nothing out of it. No resources spent, no danger or chance of failure, no XP.

At no point do you get XP for monster from summoned creatures.

Of course, all of these weird corner case scenarios are moot if you embrace the path of enlightenment and eliminate XP from your games.

I agree re eliminating xp.

I don’t agree re waiting for the monster to disappear. That sounds like they are either just letting the monster get it’s one hit in (in which case, it’s like a damage spell trap with a to-hit roll and damage) or they are somehow cleverly preventing the summoned monster from doing its thing, in which case it’s like a monster encounter bypassed by diplomacy or stealth. Either way they should get exp for trap.

[Zanos]

As for the trap, it depends. Did they fight the monster? Trap defeated, XP for trap. Did they wait a round for the monster to disappear? I'd say they get nothing out of it. No resources spent, no danger or chance of failure, no XP.

You get XP for overcoming things preventing you from reaching your objective. If the party correctly identifies the trap as a spell effect they can just wait out, and then uses that knowledge to limit its impact, they get full XP. The idea that combat = xp is explicitly at odds with how the DMG tells you to handle it, and it creates incentives that cause characters to act irrationally. Like this one right here, where the party fights the summon monster trap despite knowing they can just wait it out because they won't get XP if they take the intelligent option.

EDIT:

Overcoming the challenge of a trap involves encountering the trap, either by disarming it, avoiding it, or simply surviving the damage it deals.