Thoughts on Traps

[sithlordnergal]

So, I'm curious how many of you use traps? It doesn't seem like a lot of DMs make heavy use of traps, and I can go through entire dungeons without running into a single trap. Now, I should note that when I say "trap", I do not mean "puzzle". I am not talking about a puzzle the players have to solve in order to get through a room. When I say "trap", I mean something that you have to find in order to avoid.

Personally, I adore traps. I won't lie, I was heavily inspired by Tomb of Horrors, the Tomb of the Nine Gods, and, honestly, the trapped door on page 36 of Order of the Stick. Though honestly Xykon should have coated the spikes in something to add some disease to the mix. Pretty much every room, and a lot of encounters, will have a debilitating trap in them. And usually multiple ones. From poison, to curses, to diseases, to damage, to destroying magical items. My players have encountered them all. And I will admit, my traps have taught my players to be very cautious. They treat every door, every chest, every detail that I describe that stands out as a potential trap. And I've been able to create tension by just not having a trap there because they expect it.

So how about the rest of you? Do you guys enjoy using traps? If not, why?

[GooeyChewie]

Historically I have not used a lot of traps. But I recently got a book with a bunch of trap ideas in it, and hope to use them in an upcoming campaign.

[sithlordnergal]

So, a small suggestion. If you're using roll20, use a red bar hidden on the DM layer to denote where a trap is. I snagged the idea from Baldur's Gate 1, and it really helps you remember exactly where the trigger for the trap is.

[Easy e]

Depends on the type of game I am running.

If it is a hyper-focused crawl, then they make sense. If I want the players to be super-cautious and checking everything twice, for sure.

However, I typically want story-focused games where being hyper-vigilant and risk-averse is a detriment to the game play. Then, very few traps, or telegraphed traps.

[Sorinth]

Obviously will depend on the adventure, but generally speaking if going into a dungeon or a heist style game then yes there will be traps. But something like a murder mystery then probably none unless it's highly telegraphed and relevant to the plot.

[Darth Credence]

I have a problem with traps, mostly because they do not make much sense to me as to why they would be there. A few specific ones, no problem - you booby trap the treasure room, because you don't go in often, it's what invaders will likely be looking for, and so on.

But when you start off by entering a dungeon and the hallway has a pit trap - why? Who decided to put that trap there, what did they hope to get out of it, and how annoying is it for them to remember it's there and disarm it then rearm it every time they want to pass by? I've played in a dungeon where every chest had a trap on it (OK for the treasure, but they seriously put a poison spike trap on a "chest" full of kitchenware?), most doors were trapped (I made a snarky comment about whether the owner ever set off the trap on his bedroom door after a late night), hallways were trapped, just traps everywhere. All I could think the whole time was, "Can you imagine trying to live here? It would be a nightmare avoiding all of the traps on a daily basis." And yes, it was supposed to be the lair of a wizard trying to become a lich. But when it is an ancient ruin, it becomes a bit worse for me - as soon as you walk in, you start setting off traps, which makes me think, "wow, are we the first people to ever make it this far in?", and then we run across a group of orcs that have set up shop there, and I wonder, "wait, did they detect all the traps we passed and bypassed them? I never knew orcs were better at finding traps than rogues".

FTR, puzzles are even worse for me. Long, long ago, back in the 2e days or earlier (haven't been a player since then), we were in a dungeon. I was playing a wizard. We got to a puzzle room, and the puzzle was presented to us. I knew the answer immediately, as it was a copy of an existing riddle (probably getting goose, fox, and grain over the river, but I don't remember for sure). But I was young then, and so rather than just doing what I would do now and working with the others to help the group as a whole "figure it out", I went full on into roleplaying my character. Yes, it was a "what my character would do" moment - I stopped everyone from doing anything and asked (not exact words, but close in intent), "Why is there a puzzle here? We think that if we solve the puzzle, we'll make it farther into the lair, but why would the enemy have something that would allow people to figure out a puzzle and make it farther in? What if we're just playing into their hands, and solving puzzles will just lead us deeper and deeper into a place where he can kill us while we are congratulating ourselves on how smart we are?" The other players thought I had some good reasoning, and we started looking for a different way through. As soon as we did, the DM said, "Just solve the puzzle, it isn't a trap."

[Osuniev]

I agree with you in general... And yet I love traps (if they are not just a roll to find/roll to disarm but something where player skill and brains can come into play).

My last campaign was Tomb of Annihilation, which is huge on traps. I made up my own reason for why there's a huge dungeon full of traps, which was canon compliant :

Spoiler: Minor spoiler for TOA that will reveal nothing of importance about the official campaign

Show

Acererak killed the Nine Trickster Gods, so I decided that by killing the gods and absorbing their divine essence and divinity, he was changed, and that their portfolio and personality changed his. So, he made traps because he is now (partially) a trickster god, bound by his personality and molded by myth and faith and divine rules to challenge mortals to be clever, give them clues that help them but can also lead them to their doom, etc...

I made a big deal out of the writings of previous adventurer and scholars about the dungeon, all wondering why someone would leave clues etc, and when the players connected the dots, they felt very smart about it.

[Inquisitor]

One thing I've noticed is that if you have at least some traps, or the like, players have to weigh whether it's worth the risk to go charging on and try to get a 2nd (or 3rd) encounter done while they still have spells active. Spirit Guardians, for example, is one of those common 10 minute spells that might make players consider if it's worth the risk to charge ahead or take the time to search carefully. I like that tension and decision making from my players, so yes to traps.
Of course if you put traps absolutely everywhere, that decision is more or less made for you, so I would tend not to do that either, unless there's a part of a dungeon where it makes sense.

[JonBeowulf]

I only like traps when they fit the environment; both in design and purpose. A few where it makes sense... perfect. A whole bunch of them all over the map when it's a well-known deadly place... perfect. A pitfall trap in a cavern... perfect. A crushing wall trap in a cavern... WTF?

I almost universally despise riddles. The whole game comes to a halt while people with average intelligence try to roleplay as people with above average intelligence and solve something that has nothing to do with anything.

[Sigreid]

I think you need to use traps logically. Trap the entrance. Trap the area you intend to repel invaders in. Trap the hoard. Don't trap the random location in the living space. You don't want to be losing your kobold brothers and sisters just because they were mostly asleep on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

[Blatant Beast]

Tucker’s Kobolds once shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
Kobolds, whelp in large litters, precisely so they can kill off their competitors, (their siblings), in trap making.

[Imbalance]

Both as a player and as a DM, I like traps where they make sense, in general, in all kinds of games. My biggest contention as a player are obstacles with fixed solutions, especially in video games. Nothing breaks my immersion like playing a character than can destroy all kinds powerful enemies in all kinds of ways all day every day but the singular method to open a small, locked wooden box is to fiddle with these little tools. Because of this, traps that I deploy in games that I run can be discovered/ sprung/ disabled in multiple ways if it makes sense.

[Goobahfish]

So, there are only three kinds of traps I like.

#1: The ridiculous case where my DM built an entire Lego Diorama and a pit trap was built in and yes, someone put their figure on it and fell. It was hilarious.

#2: Where the trap is in of itself a puzzle. What do I mean? When you spring the trap, it complicates things and creates a problem for the players to solve. For example: A pit trap which closes after springing. Now the party need to figure out a way to trigger the trap again and get the player out without it causing problems.

#3: The monsters can gloat about the trap.

Otherwise... you may as well just say... "lose 10 HP" for no obvious reason randomly.

[stoutstien]

Realistically there's only two types of traps that make sense to me. The first is a deterrent which means there has to be plenty of warnings before somebody stumbles into them. Since most traps can't reset themselves and have a limited ability to actually surprise anybody the threat of the trap carries a lot more weight than the traffic itself.

The second is more akin to how we use traps in real life. What's the purpose of a mousetrap or a claw trap? Either you're using it for some kind of method of eliminating a pest or you are or you're using it to gather some kind of resource. The hero honey pot could technically fall under this but that more of a complete adventure arch then an trap

[Goobahfish]

I've been inspired.

I think 'traps everywhere' could work, as long as you justify a central 'trap disable system'. For example in modern times we have 'home alarm systems' where you can disable everything remotely. In D&D you could just hand-wave it thusly and make the central system opaque and hidden. Then, when activated, instead of security sensors everywhere you have traps everywhere (to avoid the need for a paid security company).

That said, that sounds like 'evil wizards pointless tower of death' rather than 'place person actively lives in'. Though, that does sound like D&D to me.

[Witty Username]

When I was last DMing I got a bit fixated, and still enjoy non damage traps and hazzards.

Generally they need to be paired with other things to be dangerous, but can communicate about the area and create tactical play problems.

[InvisibleBison]

I agree with the idea that traps only work if it makes sense for someone to have set them up where they are.

I also think traps work better if you tell the players that they're there. The PCs losing some HP because their passive Perception isn't high enough is boring, for both players and DM. The players having to figure out how to traverse a hallway without touching the floor, or having to fight some monsters while taking care not to step on any of the red tiles, or figuring out how to get the idol off the alter without setting off the temple's self-destruct mechanism, can be quite fun.

[JLandan]

I use traps whenever the occupants of the area might be the sort to make traps. I like devious and deadly traps. If the PCs don't have decent passives, too bad. They made Wisdom their dump stats, that's the way the cookie crumbles.

My favorites are things that obviously push the party into the trap, so if they're keeping their wits, they can avoid it. A hallway covered in webs, but a clear path can be discerned by the keen eye. Trap.

[rel]

Traps, at least the largely non-interactive variety where you roll to notice and then to disable only really work within a larger resource management minigame.

Within that space they deplete valuable resources like HP, mundane supplies and spellslots, both by actively consuming them and by forcing the party to move more slowly.

Under that model the actual challenge is determining when to turn back and what risks to take, rather than how to solve each specific encounter with a wandering monster or trap.

Without that overarching structure, such traps (and similar encounters such as wandering monsters) are a bit to simple to be truly engaging.
At least for me.

[Chaos Jackal]

I have a problem with traps, mostly because they do not make much sense to me as to why they would be there. A few specific ones, no problem - you booby trap the treasure room, because you don't go in often, it's what invaders will likely be looking for, and so on.

But when you start off by entering a dungeon and the hallway has a pit trap - why? Who decided to put that trap there, what did they hope to get out of it, and how annoying is it for them to remember it's there and disarm it then rearm it every time they want to pass by? I've played in a dungeon where every chest had a trap on it (OK for the treasure, but they seriously put a poison spike trap on a "chest" full of kitchenware?), most doors were trapped (I made a snarky comment about whether the owner ever set off the trap on his bedroom door after a late night), hallways were trapped, just traps everywhere. All I could think the whole time was, "Can you imagine trying to live here? It would be a nightmare avoiding all of the traps on a daily basis." And yes, it was supposed to be the lair of a wizard trying to become a lich. But when it is an ancient ruin, it becomes a bit worse for me - as soon as you walk in, you start setting off traps, which makes me think, "wow, are we the first people to ever make it this far in?", and then we run across a group of orcs that have set up shop there, and I wonder, "wait, did they detect all the traps we passed and bypassed them? I never knew orcs were better at finding traps than rogues".

Traps, at least the largely non-interactive variety where you roll to notice and then to disable only really work within a larger resource management minigame.

Within that space they deplete valuable resources like HP, mundane supplies and spellslots, both by actively consuming them and by forcing the party to move more slowly.

Under that model the actual challenge is determining when to turn back and what risks to take, rather than how to solve each specific encounter with a wandering monster or trap.

Without that overarching structure, such traps (and similar encounters such as wandering monsters) are a bit to simple to be truly engaging.
At least for me.

A combination of these two issues.

The whole trapping of every corner of the wizard's tower seems outrageously unbelievable and stupid to me. How on earth do you live and walk around inside your own house if you need to disable and then reactivate a trap every time you go through a door? How do you have any sort of servants, hirelings, mercenaries, guards, even constructs settled in if every step they take is potentially deadly? Even if you have something immune to the trap, like a construct patrolling a corridor with poison dart slits, that thing will most likely trigger the trap five times per day, just keeping it armed and constantly reactivating it would be a major nuisance.

On top of that, while the paranoia of the players and attention to detail is nice, traps often take it too far and enter solidly into boring territory. I've been inside the aforementioned wizard tower. It was a sleep-inducing experience. I basically trimmed down my participation to "I poke constantly in front of me with my 10ft glaive/I mage hand every surface", with the rest of the party either doing the same or silently filing behind whoever was the one doing the poking and the only break from this being the occasional sarcastic comment about the owner of the tower or the lookout squad somehow having not killed themselves going to the bathroom at night.

Now, I don't inherently hate traps and I don't mind them included in more reasonable ways - trapping the treasure chest or the safe room is fine and I've used "traps" in the vein of guards hidden in side corridors and firing through slits in the wall, remote controlled turrets or switches to fill a room with water or lava, potentially with something that can fight without issue in there. But I see traps as spice. Never use them and things can certainly get bland, feel very safe and lead to the players going inside a dangerous place like they're going to the corner store, but make them the focus and usually all they end up doing is ruin suspension of disbelief, bore players and make the whole thing a slog, in and out of game ("I check for traps" every minute followed by a roll adds up).

[Hal]

I agree with you in general... And yet I love traps (if they are not just a roll to find/roll to disarm but something where player skill and brains can come into play).

My last campaign was Tomb of Annihilation, which is huge on traps. I made up my own reason for why there's a huge dungeon full of traps, which was canon compliant :

Spoiler: Minor spoiler for TOA that will reveal nothing of importance about the official campaign

Show

Acererak killed the Nine Trickster Gods, so I decided that by killing the gods and absorbing their divine essence and divinity, he was changed, and that their portfolio and personality changed his. So, he made traps because he is now (partially) a trickster god, bound by his personality and molded by myth and faith and divine rules to challenge mortals to be clever, give them clues that help them but can also lead them to their doom, etc...

I made a big deal out of the writings of previous adventurer and scholars about the dungeon, all wondering why someone would leave clues etc, and when the players connected the dots, they felt very smart about it.

Oh, that's a really clever twist on ToA. And I like the part about finding the writings of previous adventurers as well. I should include more of that in my game.

One note I'll add about "just roll to find/disarm" style traps is that this is a *huge* issue in higher level play. At 11th level, Rogues get Reliable Talent, which lets them treat any ability check as a 10 if they roll lower than that (as long as they have proficiency). A Rogue player can absolutely trivialize a lot of dungeon content if it is designed as a straight up "Roll to find the trap, Roll to deactivate the trap" kind of setup.

(Which is not to say "don't do that," but you should be aware it can happen and plan accordingly. Let the player feel like his abilities are worthwhile, but also include content that can't just be handwaved away.)

[da newt]

I enjoy traps that are interesting and actually contribute to game play - simple you stepped in the wrong spot, so a damage effect happens sort of 'traps' annoy me.

I also try to ensure the trap actually makes sense - it serves a purpose for the folks who created it, it is something the folks who live there could actually make or pay someone to create, and they could still use the area where it is (assuming it's in an area that ought to be used).

I like a bit of logic / realism in my fantasy. The idea that someone would spend the time and effort to build a dungeon full of mazes and traps and then deposit a small hoard of very valuable things in it and leave makes me angry - who would do this? what's the point?

[GooeyChewie]

The whole trapping of every corner of the wizard's tower seems outrageously unbelievable and stupid to me. How on earth do you live and walk around inside your own house if you need to disable and then reactivate a trap every time you go through a door? How do you have any sort of servants, hirelings, mercenaries, guards, even constructs settled in if every step they take is potentially deadly? Even if you have something immune to the trap, like a construct patrolling a corridor with poison dart slits, that thing will most likely trigger the trap five times per day, just keeping it armed and constantly reactivating it would be a major nuisance.

Heh. That gives me an idea for an adventure. A local wizard brings their tower online only to run into this exact problem, trapping them inside. Now they need you to come in and rescue them and as many of their servants as possible, while avoiding whatever traps they haven’t accidentally set off themselves.

[Sorinth]

I enjoy traps that are interesting and actually contribute to game play - simple you stepped in the wrong spot, so a damage effect happens sort of 'traps' annoy me.

I also try to ensure the trap actually makes sense - it serves a purpose for the folks who created it, it is something the folks who live there could actually make or pay someone to create, and they could still use the area where it is (assuming it's in an area that ought to be used).

I like a bit of logic / realism in my fantasy. The idea that someone would spend the time and effort to build a dungeon full of mazes and traps and then deposit a small hoard of very valuable things in it and leave makes me angry - who would do this? what's the point?

Burying people with the things they owned in life is fairly normal, and then trapping the dungeon that holds the tomb to prevent grave robbers makes sense. A wizard might put puzzles in their tower to keep the riff raff from bothering them with every small problem. Thieves' Guild might have a trap filled dungeon that's used as a sort of entrance exam for joining the guild. The non-public parts of a temple could have traps that are magically disabled for the faithful.

Plenty of reasons to have trap/puzzle filled dungeons, but yes there needs to be a logical reason for it all.

Heh. That gives me an idea for an adventure. A local wizard brings their tower online only to run into this exact problem, trapping them inside. Now they need you to come in and rescue them and as many of their servants as possible, while avoiding whatever traps they haven’t accidentally set off themselves.

Sounds great, perhaps they intended to simply dimension door past them during everyday use but they accidently tripped the lockdown which prevents teleporting and now they're stuck with only some sending spells to "encourage" the players along.

[Witty Username]

Thieves' Guild might have a trap filled dungeon that's used as a sort of entrance exam for joining the guild. The non-public parts of a temple could have traps that are magically disabled for the faithful.

Or sport, the D&D movie from the early 2000s was mostly bad, but its best scene was probably the guantlet. A trap filled halway the guild would use for essentially people horse racing, betting how far the subject would get or how long they lived.

"I will give you my dragon eye gem if you complete my challenge, or whatnot"

This also takes some practicallity issues out of the picture. A shotgun booby trap is alot more reasonable if it is not in a home some one is living in, for example.