Post/Author/DateTime	Post
6457890 08-08-05, 09:03 AM	My player complain about the traps I use in the dungeons. They are level 20, but i dont want to use combat after combat, but traps are getting me nowhere. You see they give too little xp in comparison to the damage the make. A cr 10 mob is able to kill up to 17 creatures if they have a bad roll(wail of the banshee trap)? I think its to threatening to give so little xp. "Ok folks, you almost died, some of you did, but not all. The good thing is that you get like a 100xp... But not for each, for the whole group" I think traps should be like "if they bypass it with no harm cr 10, but if they get smacked by it at least once, cr 20(in this case, Dms discretion i think)" Wut do you think?
DragonWatcher 08-08-05, 09:33 AM	Honestly, I think that that is a ridiculous concept. It's like saying, "if the group slays the creature with no casualties, the creature was CR 10, but if one of the characters died, then the creature was CR 15". Long story short... no way. The fact of the matter is that by the time the characters are level 20 they should be so used to traps that they can avoid them as second nature, and should get next to no experience for traps to begin with. That's not to say that there can't be a really devious high-cr trap out there, but if level 20 characters are wandering through some of the most dangerous places in the setting, and not moving at a crawl to search for traps, then they deserve what they get. In general, if you find that traps don't give enough XP for the trouble, I would just stop using them. Simply narrate that the PCs overcome traps through their familiarity with dungeons in general. At 20th level you're at a point where very little can threaten the characters anymore, and the things that can threaten them are still likely not worth much XP anymore.
Feefait 08-08-05, 10:00 AM	Dont let them bully you into giving more XP. These systems are pretty well tested, its your job to get them over it. I dont use alot of trapas consistently and so when my players do face them they end up being challenged and thats wahy we sue them. the fact is a group that regular;y faces traps has little trouble overcoming most of them, especially with competent rogues or bards or even casters around. a dragon will always challenge the right party but a trap will not. if they want xp make them roleplay for it.
Griff_Goodbeard 08-08-05, 03:29 PM	Does the trap consume 20-25% of a players daily resourses? Probably not anywhere near it. IMO that's why traps are a lower CR than an encounter with a monster.
6457890 08-08-05, 05:32 PM	Yeah i think i was a bit to tired to think straight when i wrote the post... Anyway i just read a part bout epic traps and i like it. It says that traps are not a treat to chaaracters, but traps used by monsters to their advantage makes the mobs stronger. Example is a trap that sends themsliding down a corridor and closes the pathway. The place is covered with dimensional seals and stuff that prevents dimensionaltravel. Behind them there is a pit. They can easily fly over it, but if they do, the huge beholder that lives under it flies and activates the antimagic field, sending the characters into a 200 foot deep pit with spikes... MUAHAHAHA