Previously, we talked about traditional, real world mechanical traps, as well as simple pit traps and their variants. But what about those ridiculously lethal and overly complicated death traps that dungeon-makers so love?
Ultimately, what you are willing to let players get away with, and by extension what players are willing to let YOU get away with, is dependent on the agreement you as the storyteller made with your players at the start of the game. The players have designed their characters based on the initial information YOU gave them in terms of setting, theme, and style. A PC builds a very different character for a high-fantasy, high-magic adventure than for a modern survival horror game. So the most important thing to consider is, does the trap fit into the agreement I made with the players?
For example, players adventuring as modern soldiers searching for terrorists are going to accept explosive traps. They are going to accept pit traps. What they aren't going to accept is a weird Temple of Doom-esque perfectly spherical boulder turning up in an underground terrorist hideout, rolling towards them at incredible speed to crush them. By the same token, if your players are adventuring as 1920's explorers searching forgotten underground tombs, they are going to be disappointed if they aren't accosted by bizarre and elaborate traps left behind to keep out intruders.
General Considerations:
Why does the trap exist?
Is the trap meant to kill a specific target? Control enemy movement? Serve as a deterrent? The purpose of the trap should dictate its design.
Who put it there?
How much time did the person have to make it? What materials would have been available? Does the person plan to return? A fleeing group of bandits are going to create much different traps that a group of established cultists trying to protect their secret lair.
When was the trap built?
Is it even still functional? Might it go off arbitrarily? Is there a chance it was already set off by something else. The idea of the ancient trap waiting to destroy the party is all well and good, but if there is an ecosystem in those lairs (such as all those monsters you have been throwing at the party since they arrived) chances are high those traps were already set off by a wandering critter.
The simpler the trap, the more likely it will last a long time. The more complex the design, the more likely it will deteriorate over time. Metal parts rust. Wooden parts rot. Of course, a deteriorating trap can still be deadly, particularly when it collapses while a PC is trying to disable it!
Common Sense Considerations (that aren't always so common sense):
People, generally, do not lethally trap items they themselves handle on a regular basis. Frequently used walkways in lairs may employ man doors to trap unwanted guests in a section of the corridor, but they aren't going to have pit traps filled with acid. That chest that the villain routinely opens and closes to put treasure in? Probably safe to say it doesn't have a lethal contact or inhalant poison on it that automatically activates when opened. Unless you really want your party wasting half the game session checking every single square of a map for traps, only put them where they would logically make sense.
Remember the key point about traps. They are most effective when they are UNEXPECTED. That means used sparingly. If you are a trap-happy storyteller that traps every other room with some outrageous trap, the players eventually become numb to them. Also remember that traps require resources, in either time or parts.
A quick note about poisons:
No dungeon crawl would be complete without the poison trap. The thief is busy picking the lock, and pricks his finger on a small needle. Next thing you know, he collapses over in a coma. Keep in mind that poisons, like everything else, have a shelf life. Contact poisons only remain potent for so long before they evaporate, break down or lose their toxicity. Poisons will most likely be found in newer traps that are routinely maintained by their creator, usually an active hideout or lair.
Magical traps:
Of course, if you are crafting magical traps, many of the limitations of traditional traps go out the window. But most magical traps are in reality items of power, which means they are limited by the ability of the magic user to create magic items. Creating a magical trap follows the same rules as creating any other item of power. A Magic user will need the appropriate materials in terms of precious metals and gemstones, as well as the time and item creation points needed.
The item being trapped usually serves as the "base component" of the trap. Magical traps do not require actual trap parts. They do, however, require an appropriate gem or metal focus to store the power. This, however, can be made to look like part of the item or area protected.
Example trap: Paralyzing Ward
Miranda wants to create a trap to secure her treasure chest. She suspects one of her associates has been sneaking into it behind her back, so she wants to catch them, not kill them. She decides that a simple Paralysis spell would do nicely.
Paralysis is a 19 pt Earth element spell. This brings the total item creation cost of the trap to 39 pts. It will take her 78 hours to craft the trap. Though it has a maximum range of 15 feet, as the caster she can reduce that range to touch (this changes the opposed check from Reflexes to Resilience). Since the spell is built on 20 pts or less, she can use a simple quartz gem to house the trap.
When creating the trap, the caster sets the basic parameters that will trigger it. Miranda can chose to have the trigger be someone other than her touching the chest, or be more specific such as someone actually touching the lock. When someone triggers the trap, the spell would go off just as if Miranda had cast it. It can only be triggered once per day, however.
If Miranda wanted to allow a specific person or narrowly focused group to use the chest, she could spend an additional 20 item creation points to identify such safe targets. She could also spend an additional 20 item creation points if she wanted the trap to be activated more than once a day.
An existing mechanical trap, such as a leghold trap, can be enchanted as if it was a weapon. A spellcasting trapper, for example, might enchant a padded leghold trap with Bane (bears) if he wanted to collect bear pelts but not accidentally kill other types of creatures (or people) that accidentally stepped in the trap. A steel jaw trap, on the other hand, can be enchanted with the Keen enchant to deal additional damage.
At the end of the day, the three key points to remember about any trap are:
What is the trap's purpose?
What are the resources available to the builder?
How much time does the builder have?
Keep these key issues in mind, and traps can serve as an effective and entertaining tool in your game.
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