Magic Traps

[dondoepke]

I've always had an issue with magic traps having a detect DC for Rogues to challenge. To me, their inspection would never reveal that a fireball is triggered to hit them in the face when they open a chest. I'm curious how others rule on this?

[LordEntrails]

What rule system? I play it differently in depending upon the rule system and campaign expectations.

[Bonkon]

In any version of D&D I play it that a rogue can detect a physical trap. So if there us a trigger such as a pressure plate to set off the fireball they could attempt to find and disarm it even though they might not know what it did.

[dondoepke]

I'm specifically referring to D&D 5E in this instance.

[Bidmaron]

Ok characters have powers that are at least supernatural so why would it bother you that they can detect traps. I don’t know 5e but every other edition of d&d has rogues/thieves that can detect magical traps. Heck in early editions they even had a chance to read magic! (Scrolls)

[damned]

Thieves/Rogues are trained to detect traps and many traps are magical so it would not be unreasonable for a Rogue to detect one.

[Zacchaeus]

You don't have to be a magic user to detect magic. If it does bother you then increase the difficulty of the DC; but for me that's unfair. Is it the case that you don't want these traps to be detected and blow up anyway? If so just do that

[Callum]

Ok characters have powers that are at least supernatural so why would it bother you that they can detect traps. I don’t know 5e but every other edition of d&d has rogues/thieves that can detect magical traps. Heck in early editions they even had a chance to read magic! (Scrolls)

Actually, in AD&D (1st edition), thieves explicitly could not find magical traps. The ability to find magical traps was introduced in 2nd edition AD&D, at half the normal chance.

Having said that, it makes sense to me that there are signs that suggest the presence of a magical trap, which rogues would be trained to look for.

In D&D 5E, any character (not just a rogue) can detect a trap by making the appropriate check - usually Wisdom (Perception). However, this varies greatly from trap to trap, and it's certainly possible for a given trap to be described as undetectable other than by magic.

[dondoepke]

You don't have to be a magic user to detect magic. If it does bother you then increase the difficulty of the DC; but for me that's unfair. Is it the case that you don't want these traps to be detected and blow up anyway? If so just do that

It's not that I don't want them found, just having a problem wrapping my head around it. But, good comments here of a different perspective. It's not that I want to nerf Rogues, I like the idea that they are trained specifically for this. I need to work on my narrative concerning this.

[jojogladco]

Magical traps with glyphs, runes, and the like can be spotted by anyone actively searching for anything unusual at my table via a Wisdom (Perception) check.

Knowing how to disarm the trap requires a Intelligence (Investigation) check.

Actually disarming the trap of a magical nature requires a Intelligence (Arcana) check.

[LordEntrails]

5E takes a bit of a different approach/flavor/mix to traps than previous editions of D&D did/does. (As Callum mentions).

And, if you look at 5E they've actually changed a little bit of the approach as the game has matured. You can see this when you read the DMG section on Traps and then read the UA article "Traps Revisited" and how traps are presented in Xanathars (or was it Volos?).

If you checkout the GM Advice (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?36014-GM-Advice) post, you will find several of the referenced links talk about traps and traps in 5E.

I personally like traps. But also feel that you have to be careful, here are some thoughts to keep in mind;
- traps should not be there to kill the party (or characters)
- detecting a trap does not mean you know what the trap is, but rather that something is wrong or amiss
- be careful not to slow the party down with paranoia
- traps should make things (exploration and fights) fun, interesting, and challenging

Now, should the fireball trap be detectable? Well, it's not much fun if it isn't. Maybe it's detectable because your perception check reveals that their are burn marks around the edges of the door. Or that the mouth of the statue has burn marks, or holds a magical wand. Or maybe that the lid of the chest has faint arcane runes on it, or whatever.

Or maybe their is no perception check that reveals the trap. I did this on a chest in the stronghold of the thieves guild. In this case, the players knew the chest was trapped. And the fun was in them trying to figure out how it was trapped (no pressure plates, no holes for darts or spears, no triggers on the outside of the trap) and then figuring out how they were going to take precautions.

But I would never make an undetectable trap in some random place. What fun would that be? "You defeat the goblins and their is a chest in the corner. You search and their are no signs of traps. You open it and a fireball goes off, take 45 fire damage." That's no fun, it's just a resource drain.

[Steffen_de_Wolff]

you just have to remember you are dealing with a fantasy world where the rule that govern our live here in the real world are being twisted or changed completely.