Using Traps in the Karma System. Part 1

Are you a storyteller that needs some help determining what sort of traps to use in your game, or unsure how to apply the game mechanics to trap creation? This article details some of the most basic trap designs, and explains how they would apply to the Karma system.

The key point about traps is to use them when they would be appropriate. What is the purpose of the trap in terms of the game? Why would the trap have been placed where it was? Most gamers have suffered "the dungeon from hell." A dungeon full of nothing but deadly traps; so full in fact that you have to wonder how the people who built the traps actually managed to get around!

While the traditional dungeon crawl is what most people think of when they think of traps, keep in mind that traps are traditionally tools of hunters, not bandits. In all likihood, your party is more likely to accidentally set off a trappers' snare trap than to encounter twenty traps set by bandits.

What purpose does the trap serve?

Killing: Most traps set by hunters are designed to kill prey, or keep the prey in place long enough for it to be killed. Contrary to Indiana Jones, temples and important cultural sites would rarely have major, lethal traps. After all, these places are (supposedly) used by people with legitimate reasons to be there. It doesn't make much sense for them to make their own travel so lethal. Such massive killing traps are also not often cost effective in terms of resources and labor, and many are "one-shot" traps that would need to be reset once sprung.

Crowd Control: The more common use of traps is capture or crowd control. An enemy army may trap a battlefield to control the opposing factions movements. While such traps may actually kill a few soldiers, the real benefit is that the traps limit the movement options of entire battalions. When people are aware that traps are in an area, they move slower and more methodically, giving the other side more time to plan and react. Traps can be set to capture targets alive. The target can then be interrogated or used as a hostage.

What are some of the most common traps?

The steel jaw trap originated as a means to capture furbearing creatures. It is a simple mechanical device activated when a creature steps on the trap, causing it to snap shut on the animal's limb. Though originally designed to capture animals, the steel jaw trap can do significant damage to a human that steps in one. There simple design makes them relatively inexpensive in a modern campaign (under $20). In a fantasy setting that supports metalworking, such a trap would cost between 5 Sarder (silver pieces) to a Standard (electrum piece).

A steel jaw trap deals 5 DT lethal damage, which is specific to the limb snared. Like damage dealt from a called shot, this can cause the limb to become unusable until it is healed (Resilience check DC or lose use of the limb until treated.) Creatures with an Intellect above zero (and free hands) can release the trap manually with a full round action and a Mechanical Aptitude check BC. A creature unable to free itself suffers an additional 1 DT lethal damage each round it is trapped, mostly from blood loss.

Setting a steel jaw trap requires minimal skill (Mechanical Aptitude BC). Though a critical failure means the user accidentally set off the trap on his arm. In such cases, the damage is as above. A steel jaw trap can be set in a couple of minutes, making it very time efficient.

In general, the traps can be avoided with an Alertness check BC, even if the person is not actively looking for the trap. However, if the person that set the trap takes the time to camouflage it, the difficulty increases to CC.

A Variant of the steel jaw trap is the padded leghold trap. This trap works under the same mechanics as a normal steel jaw trap, but is padded and rounded to avoid dealing significant damage. Padded leghold traps are generally used when the hunter wants to capture the prey alive. Such traps deal 3 DT lethal damage, but do not do continuous damage each additional round. However because the damage is concentrated, the potential loss of limb function still applies.

Steel jaw traps are common in outdoor environments, where they can be easily hidden by brush and undergrowth.

A far more deadly mechanical trap is the conibear, or body gripping, trap. Similar in design to the common mousetrap, the conibear trap is designed to snap down over the neck or back of a creature, killing it outright. The standard conibear trap is designed to capture and kill four legged creatures, which put their heads in the trap to retrieve bait. Pressing against or stepping on the trap activates the spring mechanism that snaps the trap shut.

The typical conibear trap is impractical again a biped. However modified versions of the trap are common in dungeons and underground areas, often hidden among piles of treasure or inside crevices and holes where unwary adventurers might reach or peek. When a target reaches an arm into a crevice, perhaps to reach an item or to open a lever, the trap snaps down on the limb, breaking it. A conibear trap deals 8 DT lethal damage. Like the steel jaw trap, this damage is concentrated to the specific limb and makes the limb unusable until healed (Resilience DC to resist breaking the limb).

Setting a standard conibear trap is relatively simple (Mechanical Aptitude BC). Modifying a conibear trap for use against bipeds requires a mechanical Aptitude check DC. Conibear traps are about the same cost as a steel jaw trap, though making modifications can increase the cost. A simple conibear trap can be set in a couple of minutes. Modified traps can take much longer, with a minimum time of about an hour.

Identifying a modified trap requires an Alertness check CC. Disabling or safely setting off the modified trap requires a Mechanical Aptitude check CC.

  Of course, carrying around various mechanical traps can be cumbersome and impractical. In a pinch, the primitive snare trap can be crafted using materials available in the environment. A Natural Sciences check CC can generally discern the most suitable materials to craft a functional snare trap. Actually putting the trap together requires a Mechanical Aptitude check BC.

Snare traps are little more than an anchored wire, rope, or cable noose that, when released, tightens around a body part to hold the prey in place. In modern settings, pre-made snare kits can be purchased for under $10. While they can be painful, they are rarely lethal. Even if an animal is caught around the neck, the typical snare is rarely strong enough to break the neck or completely cut off breathing (though it is possible to design one specifically for this).

Setting a snare trap for an animal is a relatively simple matter of just baiting the trap or otherwise controlling the animal's ability to maneuver through an area (for example, stacking logs or rocks along an animal trail so that the animal has to move through a narrower area). A simple snare can be set it under ten minutes.

The same process works on humanoids, but requires a bit more savvy. Properly disguising a snare trap so that an intelligent creature (anything with an Intellect score above zero) will set it off requires a Natural Sciences check to make sure the trap sufficiently blends in with the surroundings. The result of this check is opposed by a potential target's Alertness or Discern, depending on the circumstances. These more complicated traps can take about an hour to put together.

Snare traps can be weighted to apply quicker and harsher pressure in order to choke a target (Mechanical Aptitude check CC).

Unlike steel jaw or conibear traps, which close with shocking speed, snare traps are slightly slower to trigger. Because of this, a character with three or more ranks in Reflexes can make a Reflexes check CC to avoid an accidentally sprung snare.

Targets caught by a snare trap suffer 1 DT subdual damage and are held in place. If the target's arms are free, he can spend two rounds to free himself (assuming he can reach the rope or wire snare, and has access to a tool such as a knife that can cut the wire or rope). Creative trap makers can rig snare traps to pull the target upside down, drag the target a set number of feet, etc. Storytellers should apply appropriate penalties to the Mechanical Aptitude check for trapmakers looking to spice up their snares.

Snare traps are sometimes used in conjunction with Deadfall traps. A deadfall trap features a large and heavy weight that, when triggered, falls on a target to deal crushing damage. Deadfall traps are generally created using stone or logs that are positioned to collapse it a pin or anchor it moved. Deadfall traps require a bit of engineering ingenuity to craft in such a way that they don't accidentally collapse beforehand, or fail to collapse when needed (Mechanical Aptitude CC). Like a normal snare trap, they also need to be concealed or disguised in order to be effective. Deadfall traps are often found in underground lairs and dungeons, serving both as a means to eliminate pursuers outright and to block the path of survivors.

Deadfall traps can take a couple of hours to construct effectively. Depending on the type of weight used and the overall size of the trap, deadfall traps will deal anywhere from 5 DT lethal (dropping a few logs on a target) to 10 DT (dropping a heavy boulder on the target).

When setting up any trap, the character can add his or her ranks in the trapmaking specialty (Mechanical Aptitude ability) to the Natural Sciences check to disguise or hide the trap.  Those specialized in crafting traps also take the time to make sure they are most effective, after all, and that includes making sure potential victims can't easily spot their traps.

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 Tomorrow:  Part 2.  Pit traps, mud pits, and more deadly mechanical traps

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