In the last blog, I talked a lot about trap and secret door detection. But, I didn't really say how to put it into practice, other than "be descriptive." Let's break that down a little bit. Here's a couple of descriptions of places where traps may be located.
"As you approach the door at the end of the hallway, you notice the keystone in the door's archway is carved like a skull. The door itself is a eight planks, held together by two brass bindings. The door does not have a latch, only a pull-ring. The damp of the dungeon has caused the wood to swell, making a tight seal between the door and the stone."
"The massive oak and iron door has the signs of water damage down it. The handle, a turning knob, is made of brass, and has a light patina. A keyhole, about a centimeter tall sits directly underneath the knob. As you approach, you see that the door opens toward you, and scratch marks gouge the floor where the door has been opened. What do you do?"
"The iron-bound chest squats on the pedestal before you. A brass lock holds the chest closed. From here, you can see that someone once tried to force the lock, causing damage to the keyhole. There is a 5' circle of dust surrounding the pedestal, that is not present in the rest of the room. What do you want to do?"
When training the players on when to search, and when not to, there are some methods that can help.
1. Keywords: When players look for traps and secret doors, its best to spoon feed them for a bit, to get them used to the new play style. Use words like damage, blood, gouges, skulls, and others that make them feel uneasy. As they grow more accustomed to the play style you can start using more subtle descriptions.
2. Blatancy: Murder holes, floors and walls stained with blood, nozzles, spikes, big red buttons all are immediate clues that point to a trap.
3. Notate things that are out of the ordinary: A different colored flagstone, a shelf with a metal lip, or the cladding of a chest that appears loose. These are clues that will make players immediately think trap.
That's the easy part. The harder part is to get them to stop searching everything, and everywhere. Several things can help.
1. Have a discussion before the session begins. Explain to them that you are changing how the detect/remove rules work. Tell them that you will use key words in your descriptions (but not what they are), and they need to be players and characters.
2. Make sure they understand the consequences of taking too much time. As I mentioned previously, Gary built in a clock to keep the players moving. But, in today's story driven game, there are more effective methods. The princess will be sacrificed at midnight is a great way to get people moving, and less cautious about where they step. Adding a time element to the story makes it feel less like rules and more like expediency.
3. Have a whole session, or even several, where no traps are found. At all. Eventually, they will let their guard down. At least enough to not deal with dice in every room and corridor.
4. Make them describe everything they are doing to search for traps. Everything. Not just "I search the floor." How do they search the floor? What do they use? Make them understand (and waste valuable play time) what it entails. When they get nothing accomplished other than searching a 30' corridor in a whole play session, they will rethink how they approach searching.
These are a few ways to help mitigate the dice rolling trap.
Showing posts with label trap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trap. Show all posts
Friday, March 23, 2018
Traps and Secret Doors in the OSR
WARNING: THIS POST IS LONG!
Door art by Patrick E. Pullen
Thanks to Jonathan Pickens on the OSGR Facebook page, I am writing this post. He postulated: "What purpose do traps and secret doors serve in today's games? I mean, players have so come to expect these and have devised well-known methods to counteract them (10 ft.-poles, iron spikes, etc.), much of the tension now boils down to rolls of the dice rather than player intelligence and agency."
Let's talk about TRAPS first. I decided to take a look at 1E AD&D for the discussion, as it is the most familiar system to most players in the OSR. In order to find traps with "rolls of the dice" a thief is needed in the party. They have a base 20% chance at first level (and 99% at 17th.) But, let's dig into the text and see exactly what this means.
PHB pg 27: "Finding/removing traps pertains to relatively small mechanical devices such as poisoned needles, spring blades, and the like. Finding is accomplished by inspection, and they are nullified by mechanical removal or being rendered harmless."
PHB pg 28: " Finding/Removing Traps is accomplished in exactly the same manor as opening locks. Roll for each function separately (a trap must be located before removal can be attempted). One try per thief is allowed. Success deactivates the trap.
PHB pg 45:
Find Traps (Divination)
Level: 2
Range: 3"
Duration: 3 turns
Area of Effect: 1" path
Explanation/Description: When a cleric casts a find traps spell, all traps - concealed normally or magically - of magical or mechanical nature become visible to him or her. Note that this spell is directional, and the caster must face the desired direction to determine if a trap is laid in that particular direction.
DMG pg 19: "Use the time requirements for opening locks. Time counts for each function. Small or large traps can be found, but not magical or magically hidden traps."
Here's where things get interesting. Gary is verbose here, so read it thoroughly, and carefully.
DMG pg 97: "Detection of Unusual Circumstances, Traps, And Hearing Noise: Regardless of the means, it takes effort and concentration to perform any of these activities . . . [examples] . . .To sum it all up, DON'T GIVE PLAYERS A FREE LUNCH! Tell them what they "see", allow them to draw their own conclusions and initiate whatever actions they desire. You are the source of their input, a time keeper, and the motivator of all not connected with them. . .
Assume that your players are continually wasting time (thus making the so-called adventure drag out into a boring session of dice rolling and delay) if they are checking endlessly for traps and listening at every door. If this persists despite the obvious displeasure you express, the requirements that helmets be doffed and mail coifs removed to listen at a door, and then be carefully replaced, the warnings about ear seekers, and frequent checking for wandering monsters (q.v.), then you will have to take more direct part in things. Mocking their over-cautious behavior as near cowardice, rolling huge handfuls of dice and then telling them the results are negative, and statements to the effect that: "You detect nothing, and nothing has detected YOU so far --", might suffice. If the problem should continue, then rooms full with silent monsters will turn the tide, but that is the stuff of later adventures."
Wow. That's actually a lot of information to disseminate. Let's go through, page by page.
Pg 27-28 PHB is the basic rundown of the thief's ability. But, it also severely limits the thief's abilities. The ability is to find relatively small traps. A thief walking down a corridor, by strict interpretation of the rules, cannot find a pit trap or collapsing ceiling. Also note, there are other limitations that don't show up in the PHB. Gary liked to never give the players all of the information.
On page 45 of the PHB, Gary actually gives clerics a much stronger ability than the thief. But, it is severely more limited in time, and therefore scope. To understand how limited it is, we have to look at the times that everything takes in D&D. A turn is 10 rounds, or 10 minutes. And he expects that adventurers rest 1 turn out of every 6 (10 minutes per hour). Moving and mapping a 90' section of corridor takes 1 full turn. So, 270' of corridor can be checked for traps with this spell. Less if a room is being searched. But, it does notice every trap.
The DMG is where all of this starts to matter, though. In the DMG on pg 19, it is revealed that magical traps cannot be found by thieves (no matter their percentages.) On the same page, we find that most locks take 1-4 rounds, with some taking up to 10 rounds to pick. So, finding a trap takes the same amount of time. So does disarming a trap. On DMG pg 38 "(melees or other actions which result in fractional turns should be rounded up to make complete turns.)" So, finding a trap takes one turn, so does disarming a trap. That's 2/3 of a wandering monster check. Even if you allow players to check for traps in a 10' corridor, that's a wandering monster check every 30' without finding a trap.
But, pg 97 of the DMG is what drives everything home. Most doors and corridors are not going to be trapped. It is the DM's job to give descriptive clues of when to check for traps. The description is what makes the game. Without it, there is just endless rolling to see if a trap can be found. It is necessary to push the players away from rolling dice to find traps, and move them to a descriptive cue to search.
Now, Secret Doors are a similar, but different monster.
PHB 16: "Secret or concealed doors are difficult to hide from elves. Merely passing within 10' of the latter makes an elven character 16 2/3% (1 in 6) likely to notice it. If actively searching for such doors, elven characters are 33 1/3% (2 in 6) likely to find a secret door and 50% likely (3 in 6) to discover a concealed portal.
DMG 97 (see the paragraphs on traps above): Secret Doors: These are portals which are made to appear to be a normal part of the surface they are in. They con possibly be sensed or detected by characters who are actively concentrating on such activity, or their possible location may be discovered by tapping (though the hollow place could be another passage or room beyond which has no portal in the hollow-sounding surface). Discovery does not mean that access to the door mechanism has been discovered, however. Checking requires a very thorough examination of the possible secret door area. You may use either of two methods to allow discovery of the mechanism which operates the portal:
1. You may designate probability by a linear curve, typically with a d6. Thus, a secret door is discovered 1 in 6 by any non-elf, 2 in 6 by elven or half-elven characters, each character being allowed to roll each turn in checking a 10' X 10' area. This also allows you to have some secret
doors more difficult to discover, the linear curve being a d8 or d10.
2. You may have the discovery of the existence of the secret door enable player characters to attempt to operate it by actual manipulation, i.e. the players concerned give instructions as to how they will have their characters attempt to make it function: "Turn the wall sconce.", "Slide it left.", "Press the small protrusion, and see if it pivots.", "Pull the chain." It is quite acceptable to have a mixture of methods of discovering the operation of secret door.
DMG 136: Wand of Secret Door and Trap location: This wand has an effective radius of 1" for secret door location, 3" for trap location. When the wand is energized it will pulse and point to whichever thing it is to locate if a secret door/trap is within location range. Note that it locates either one or the other, not both during one operation. It requires 1 round to function and draws 1 charge. The wand may be recharged.
There's a lot less information about secret (and concealed) doors. But, let's go step-by-step. PHB 16 states that passive detection of a secret door by an elf DOES NOT HAPPEN. It only happens with concealed doors (i.e. the latter from the previous sentence). Even actively searching, elves only have a 2 in 6 of finding secret doors.
DMG 97 goes even further away from the auto-successes from dice rolls. The rule moves the doors down the "dice ladder" if the DM feels it is warranted. It also blatantly states that false positives should be given for secret doors (. . . has no portal in the hollow-sounding surface.)
The other important part of this passage is time (again). Each turn (10 minutes) allows for one character to search one 10' x 10' section. To search a 30' square room would take a party of four 3 turns (the time it takes to check for wandering monsters). To have each member check each wall would take 14 turns (remember, every 6th turn is a rest). That's four wandering monster checks, and a 5th one not very far away.
Finally, there is the Wand. It detects secret doors within 10' of the user, and traps within 30' of the user. It only works in one direction, and takes a full round to use. Although it can be helpful, it is only a stopgap, or possibly a "I'm sure. Let's use the wand to be 100%."
Summary, for those of you who don't want to read all of that ^^^
The long and the short of this all goes back to time and wandering monsters. AD&D had slow movement, a difficult rest period, and two wandering monster checks per hour. If PCs intend to search every nook and cranny meticulously, they are going to pay with blood from the wandering monsters.
Instead, it is vital that the DM give vibrant descriptions of the surroundings, so that players can make informed decisions when to search, and when to move. They will always be prodding with their 10' poles, but I assume that's in the time frames given by Gary above. Thieves don't get to roll for large traps anyway, so it makes sense for the PCs to use other methods to mitigate the dangers in a hum-drum hallway.
Use adjectives. Teach the players to think, not just roll dice. And your game and their play will be well rewarded for it.
Swords & Wizardry follows all of the rules above, except elves can passively find secret doors. However, the rules don't state anything for concealed doors. So, just change those sideways S to hidden doors with curtains, rugs, furniture, stucco or paintings. They will catch on that their dice rolling isn't working. Or they won't. Either way, the game will be more fun.
Door art by Patrick E. Pullen
Thanks to Jonathan Pickens on the OSGR Facebook page, I am writing this post. He postulated: "What purpose do traps and secret doors serve in today's games? I mean, players have so come to expect these and have devised well-known methods to counteract them (10 ft.-poles, iron spikes, etc.), much of the tension now boils down to rolls of the dice rather than player intelligence and agency."
Let's talk about TRAPS first. I decided to take a look at 1E AD&D for the discussion, as it is the most familiar system to most players in the OSR. In order to find traps with "rolls of the dice" a thief is needed in the party. They have a base 20% chance at first level (and 99% at 17th.) But, let's dig into the text and see exactly what this means.
PHB pg 27: "Finding/removing traps pertains to relatively small mechanical devices such as poisoned needles, spring blades, and the like. Finding is accomplished by inspection, and they are nullified by mechanical removal or being rendered harmless."PHB pg 28: " Finding/Removing Traps is accomplished in exactly the same manor as opening locks. Roll for each function separately (a trap must be located before removal can be attempted). One try per thief is allowed. Success deactivates the trap.
PHB pg 45:
Find Traps (Divination)
Level: 2
Range: 3"
Duration: 3 turns
Area of Effect: 1" path
Explanation/Description: When a cleric casts a find traps spell, all traps - concealed normally or magically - of magical or mechanical nature become visible to him or her. Note that this spell is directional, and the caster must face the desired direction to determine if a trap is laid in that particular direction.
DMG pg 19: "Use the time requirements for opening locks. Time counts for each function. Small or large traps can be found, but not magical or magically hidden traps."
Here's where things get interesting. Gary is verbose here, so read it thoroughly, and carefully.
DMG pg 97: "Detection of Unusual Circumstances, Traps, And Hearing Noise: Regardless of the means, it takes effort and concentration to perform any of these activities . . . [examples] . . .To sum it all up, DON'T GIVE PLAYERS A FREE LUNCH! Tell them what they "see", allow them to draw their own conclusions and initiate whatever actions they desire. You are the source of their input, a time keeper, and the motivator of all not connected with them. . .
Assume that your players are continually wasting time (thus making the so-called adventure drag out into a boring session of dice rolling and delay) if they are checking endlessly for traps and listening at every door. If this persists despite the obvious displeasure you express, the requirements that helmets be doffed and mail coifs removed to listen at a door, and then be carefully replaced, the warnings about ear seekers, and frequent checking for wandering monsters (q.v.), then you will have to take more direct part in things. Mocking their over-cautious behavior as near cowardice, rolling huge handfuls of dice and then telling them the results are negative, and statements to the effect that: "You detect nothing, and nothing has detected YOU so far --", might suffice. If the problem should continue, then rooms full with silent monsters will turn the tide, but that is the stuff of later adventures."
Wow. That's actually a lot of information to disseminate. Let's go through, page by page.
Pg 27-28 PHB is the basic rundown of the thief's ability. But, it also severely limits the thief's abilities. The ability is to find relatively small traps. A thief walking down a corridor, by strict interpretation of the rules, cannot find a pit trap or collapsing ceiling. Also note, there are other limitations that don't show up in the PHB. Gary liked to never give the players all of the information.
On page 45 of the PHB, Gary actually gives clerics a much stronger ability than the thief. But, it is severely more limited in time, and therefore scope. To understand how limited it is, we have to look at the times that everything takes in D&D. A turn is 10 rounds, or 10 minutes. And he expects that adventurers rest 1 turn out of every 6 (10 minutes per hour). Moving and mapping a 90' section of corridor takes 1 full turn. So, 270' of corridor can be checked for traps with this spell. Less if a room is being searched. But, it does notice every trap.
The DMG is where all of this starts to matter, though. In the DMG on pg 19, it is revealed that magical traps cannot be found by thieves (no matter their percentages.) On the same page, we find that most locks take 1-4 rounds, with some taking up to 10 rounds to pick. So, finding a trap takes the same amount of time. So does disarming a trap. On DMG pg 38 "(melees or other actions which result in fractional turns should be rounded up to make complete turns.)" So, finding a trap takes one turn, so does disarming a trap. That's 2/3 of a wandering monster check. Even if you allow players to check for traps in a 10' corridor, that's a wandering monster check every 30' without finding a trap.
But, pg 97 of the DMG is what drives everything home. Most doors and corridors are not going to be trapped. It is the DM's job to give descriptive clues of when to check for traps. The description is what makes the game. Without it, there is just endless rolling to see if a trap can be found. It is necessary to push the players away from rolling dice to find traps, and move them to a descriptive cue to search.
Now, Secret Doors are a similar, but different monster.
PHB 16: "Secret or concealed doors are difficult to hide from elves. Merely passing within 10' of the latter makes an elven character 16 2/3% (1 in 6) likely to notice it. If actively searching for such doors, elven characters are 33 1/3% (2 in 6) likely to find a secret door and 50% likely (3 in 6) to discover a concealed portal.
DMG 97 (see the paragraphs on traps above): Secret Doors: These are portals which are made to appear to be a normal part of the surface they are in. They con possibly be sensed or detected by characters who are actively concentrating on such activity, or their possible location may be discovered by tapping (though the hollow place could be another passage or room beyond which has no portal in the hollow-sounding surface). Discovery does not mean that access to the door mechanism has been discovered, however. Checking requires a very thorough examination of the possible secret door area. You may use either of two methods to allow discovery of the mechanism which operates the portal:
1. You may designate probability by a linear curve, typically with a d6. Thus, a secret door is discovered 1 in 6 by any non-elf, 2 in 6 by elven or half-elven characters, each character being allowed to roll each turn in checking a 10' X 10' area. This also allows you to have some secret
doors more difficult to discover, the linear curve being a d8 or d10.
2. You may have the discovery of the existence of the secret door enable player characters to attempt to operate it by actual manipulation, i.e. the players concerned give instructions as to how they will have their characters attempt to make it function: "Turn the wall sconce.", "Slide it left.", "Press the small protrusion, and see if it pivots.", "Pull the chain." It is quite acceptable to have a mixture of methods of discovering the operation of secret door.
DMG 136: Wand of Secret Door and Trap location: This wand has an effective radius of 1" for secret door location, 3" for trap location. When the wand is energized it will pulse and point to whichever thing it is to locate if a secret door/trap is within location range. Note that it locates either one or the other, not both during one operation. It requires 1 round to function and draws 1 charge. The wand may be recharged.
There's a lot less information about secret (and concealed) doors. But, let's go step-by-step. PHB 16 states that passive detection of a secret door by an elf DOES NOT HAPPEN. It only happens with concealed doors (i.e. the latter from the previous sentence). Even actively searching, elves only have a 2 in 6 of finding secret doors.
DMG 97 goes even further away from the auto-successes from dice rolls. The rule moves the doors down the "dice ladder" if the DM feels it is warranted. It also blatantly states that false positives should be given for secret doors (. . . has no portal in the hollow-sounding surface.)
The other important part of this passage is time (again). Each turn (10 minutes) allows for one character to search one 10' x 10' section. To search a 30' square room would take a party of four 3 turns (the time it takes to check for wandering monsters). To have each member check each wall would take 14 turns (remember, every 6th turn is a rest). That's four wandering monster checks, and a 5th one not very far away.
Finally, there is the Wand. It detects secret doors within 10' of the user, and traps within 30' of the user. It only works in one direction, and takes a full round to use. Although it can be helpful, it is only a stopgap, or possibly a "I'm sure. Let's use the wand to be 100%."
Summary, for those of you who don't want to read all of that ^^^
The long and the short of this all goes back to time and wandering monsters. AD&D had slow movement, a difficult rest period, and two wandering monster checks per hour. If PCs intend to search every nook and cranny meticulously, they are going to pay with blood from the wandering monsters.
Instead, it is vital that the DM give vibrant descriptions of the surroundings, so that players can make informed decisions when to search, and when to move. They will always be prodding with their 10' poles, but I assume that's in the time frames given by Gary above. Thieves don't get to roll for large traps anyway, so it makes sense for the PCs to use other methods to mitigate the dangers in a hum-drum hallway.
Use adjectives. Teach the players to think, not just roll dice. And your game and their play will be well rewarded for it.
Swords & Wizardry follows all of the rules above, except elves can passively find secret doors. However, the rules don't state anything for concealed doors. So, just change those sideways S to hidden doors with curtains, rugs, furniture, stucco or paintings. They will catch on that their dice rolling isn't working. Or they won't. Either way, the game will be more fun.
Monday, February 12, 2018
Monster Monday - Gelatinous Cube
As I type this up, I am waiting for my interview with OSGR. The guys over there have been kind to me, highlighting my blog a few weeks ago, and now doing that interview. But, that's not why we are here today. Today, it's monsters. Specifically the Jello Mold Gelatinous Cube.
Artwork by Scott Hershberger, used under license
As I was doing my research for this, I noticed that wikipedia mentions them in the OD&D boxed set. I didn't see them in there. They are mentioned in Greyhawk, however. Here's Gary's description (pg 39-40):
"As the name implies, these monsters are shaped very
much like cubes, typically being about 10’ per side so as to be able to sweep
clean of all living materials (as well as dead cells) the floor and walls of the
labyrinthine dungeon passages. Any flesh which comes in contact with a Gelatinous
Cube becomes anesthetized unless a saving throw vs. paralyzation is
made. The touch also causes 2–8 points of damage as the creature seeks to
dissolve and devour flesh. These creatures are subject to normal weapons and
fire, but lightning, cold, paralyzation, fear, and polymorph attacks do not harm
them. Many ’Cubes have rich treasures within their semi-transparent bodies, for they pick up metallic and otherwise non-digestible objects in their rounds, and
these items often remain within the body for long periods of time before being
redeposited."
That last sentence is the most interesting to me. It gives a legitimate reason why a ring or other item may be on the floor randomly.
As we move forward in time, we find the gelatinous cube holds its position as chief dungeon clean-up through editions. It appears in the 1E Monster Manual, 2E's Monstrous Compendium, the Monstrous Manual (under the heading Oozes, Slimes and Jellies, where it remains through 5E,) and in Monster Manuals for 3rd, 4th and 5th edition. It appears in Holmes and BECMI. The gelatinous cube has established itself firmly in all editions.
The appeal of the gelatinous cube is easy to see. A nearly invisible block of jello moves through corridors cleaning up everything in its path. They are difficult to see, dangerous and potentially hold treasure well above their pay grade. Coupled with their dangerous paralyzation attack, gelatinous cubes are fun to fight.
But, I barely ever remember fighting one. I have fought a few in Undermountain. I am betting the DMs placed them there, though. I'm sure there are some published, and would love it if the readers would tell me where.
Mord Mar's history of gelatinous cubes is a bit different. They were actually made by the dwarves to keep the city and sewers clean. They were discovered through an alchemical process, and the machine that makes them is still operational. Or maybe, its operational again. Either way, threats continue to spew forth in the old city.
As the party continues down a corridor, they find a trail of coins, haphazardly strewn about. Soon they stumble across a belt buckle, buttons, a dagger, an axe and finally a suit of plate armor. A cliff shears the end of the corridor shortly after the armor. At the bottom is a gelatinous cube that has been unable to leave the pit. The cube encompasses the whole ground level of the pit, and is difficult to detect, with penalties for the PCs being distracted (by climbing.) {I told you I found that sentence interesting.}
An ooze druid created his own lair deep within a dungeon. Entering through a normal cave, it looks like a huge cavern, with a sickly green tint. In actuality, the druid has anchored several gelatinous cubes in place, creating "walls" for his labyrinth.
Gnolls, with some help from an ogre mage, managed to trap a gelatinous cube in the ceiling of their complex. They fashioned a trap (tripwire, pressure plate or lever) that drops the cube onto the occupants of the room or corridor.
Gelatinous cubes are mindless creatures that live and move only to eat. This fact makes them different than most other encounters. When designing with a gelatinous cube in mind, always remember they often act like living traps. This makes them more of a memorable encounter than one just slurping down a hallway.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Eleventh Hour Monster Monday - Shrieker
As usual, the holidays are screwing up my routine. It's going continue to happen until after the new year. That said, let us talk about shriekers.
Image found on Wikicommons.
Shriekers are a fascinating creature. They are not dangerous at all. Instead they attract other monsters when they are disturbed. They are a staple of megadungeons. Almost organic traps. Sometimes creatures use them as warning systems. Other use them as a dinner bell.
The shriekers near the Fallow Well are the only living creatures that the wraiths do not touch. The wraiths love the feeling of panic from adventurers and orcs as the shriekers scream.
Some myconids have bred shriekers in several colors. They do this trying to find a harmonic that will summon their demon queen, Zuggtomy. They have succeeded. Red, Red, Green, Blue, Blue and she will appear.
The orcs who now control the Finnius Brewery in Mord Mar have struck a deal with Acidander, the green dragon. Shriekers have been planted in the north alley of the brewery. When the shriekers sound, Acidander comes to their aid. For the grissly price of three warriors. He doesn't eat them, but is instead building his own army.
There is only one passage across the underground river in the Devil's Decision. A sea monster inhabits the waters. It is attracted by the patch of shriekers on the far side. Chances are not everyone will be across when Dark Nessie shows up.
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