Dealing with traps

Some traps might be unavoidable no matter how carefully you search. You decide how to deal with the traps you trigger.

Some traps will simply occur—the room begins to fill with water as soon as the door is opened. Other traps allow you to make a test of fate to avoid the worst outcome—you test Pentacles to grasp the edge of the collapsing bridge as it falls apart.

The way you describe your actions when a trap is triggered will determine how the GM adjudicates what happens next.

Here are some examples.

Example the first

As the guild steps into a room, the door slams shut and locks. With a grinding sound, the east and west walls slowly begin moving towards each other, threatening to crush all within like a giant trash compactor.

What do you do?

Some suggestions:

• Was a guild member trapped outside when the door slammed shut? Are there controls anywhere they can use to deactivate the trap?

• Do you have pitons in your pack? Can you drive them into the wall to slow or stop the walls’ advance?

• Is the door flush with the wall? Is there any space in the door frame in which to hide yourself?

• Can you search for a secret door? Is there a service panel on the walls? In the ceiling? On the floor?

• Do you have a crowbar? Can you pry open the door?

• Is there a troll in your party? Do they have the Colossal talent? Can they smash down the door or break the mechanism behind the walls through sheer strength?

• Do you have a slime bomb? Can you throw it to Destroy part of the wall or the door?

• Do you have the Portable Hole spell? Can you cast it on the wall to see the mechanism beyond? Can you jam or disrupt the mechanism if you reach your hand through the hole?

Example the second

You find a door set into a frame resembling the face of a green devil. Inside the green devil’s mouth is a black hole. It’s not just dark, a literal void exists within the green devil’s mouth.

What do you do?

Some suggestions:

• Discretion is the better part of valor. If you don’t need to deal with the green devil face, can you simply leave?

• If you need to deal with the face, are there any switches or buttons hidden? Can you press the eyes? Can you twist the horns?

• Don’t interact with the void in the mouth with your bare hands. Throw a sling stone into it. Touch it with a staff at a distance.

• Does someone in your guild have the Counter-spell talent? Does it have any effect on the face?

Example the third

As you walk down the hall, you step on a pressure plate. You hear a “CLICK!” as it sinks into the floor. You hear mechanisms whirring in the walls, like a machine spinning up.

With a split-second decision to make, you don’t have a lot of information to act on—but doing something is better than nothing.

What do you do?

Some suggestions:

• Can you keep pressure on the pressure plate in case releasing it is the trap’s trigger?

• Can you drop prone to try and avoid whatever is coming? Can you do so while depressing the plate?

• Do you have a shield? Can you bring it to bear to protect yourself from potential threats?

• Does somebody in your guild have the Aegis talent? Can they use it for your benefit if the trap is sprung?