(Re-)Stocking the Megadungeon: Traps

Obligatory Admiral Ackbar meme:

That out of the way, let's talk traps.  As pointed out here, my 100-area dungeon level would have about 14 traps scattered about; 6 with treasures and 8 without.

It is easy to view traps as arbitrary damage, and there was a time when that is how most of mine were, dealing damage to the tune of 1d6 times the dungeon level, so when the first level PCs ventured to the 3rd level, the door trap (rolling well) of 3d6 killed one PC outright (sorry, Jake).  Everyone else ran.

Traps aren't just for killing and maiming, however.  Capturing, detouring, and party-splitting traps work well regardless of dungeon - or PC - level.  Sometimes traps can both kill and force a detour; a multi-ton ceiling stone may crush an unlucky soul and will block the easy way back to the sunlight.  

I like these types of traps because they don't and often can't directly kill or even hurt PCs.  What traps like these do is force a change of session objective.  Regardless of what the initial plan was, PCs now must find a way out.  Cages, chutes to lower levels, floors dropping to pools, portculli falling, and the like all contribute to a change in environment and a change of mission.  So there will be one or two of these among 14.

Yes.  This is from the boardgame Dungeon.

If the dungeon is an active one, and I am thinking it will be, then some traps may already be sprung or triggered when the PCs find them.  Open pits, spears already jutting from walls or floors, perhaps with an unlucky soul upon/within them, things of this nature.  They still pose a problem, but a nonfatal one.

As this is intended to be a starter level, the truly nasty traps must be few and primarily protecting treasure.  Poison needles in the locks, contact poison on the items, or crushing blocks, for example.  Of course, this means these particular treasures are the ones PCs and players actually want.  Good stuff.  High GP value and magic items.

But not all of the traps with treasure will be like this.  A few - 2 of the 6 - will be incidental treasures from past victims of the traps (small coins, small jewelry, adventuring gear, perhaps a potion or small ring).  

All told, the real trick in placing traps isn't so much what the trap is, but what the tells are for an observant PC/player to take advantage of.  If your ruleset has perception, these tells are the things a PC's good perception score or roll reveals (because a good DM should never baldly state, 'you see a trap'): evidence that a trap is there so that players can make a meaningful decision.

To quote Bastionland's definition of traps, a good trap features at least one part that is immediately visible, allows interaction and investigation, and has impactful consequences for the victim.  Doing this makes dice rolling, well, not irrelevant, but a final step, not a first, or only one.  

Visible tripwires, past victims, strange smells or sounds, rubble or grease in odd places, off-color stones, small holes, scrapes or even runners, whatever else seems fitting, depending on the trap: these are all examples of what PCs might encounter as tells.

I don't know that this post would garner Grimtooth's stamp of approval, but, like Admiral Ackbar, discussions of dungeon traps are incomplete without at least mentioning the venerable Grimtooth.  His books (or pdfs) contain a plethora of fiendish traps.

Note that there is a fine line between specials and some traps, so if the final key plusses up one at the expense of another, so be it.  

All I know is that I'll be a happy trapper.