Why should they not get xp?Just because it might endend up with uncarlessness or plain stupidity being awarded for. I mean players sayin "bhaaa.. let's cross that acid pit instead of finding a way around, we wont die plus we will get xp!"
Thats what i'm tryin to figure out.
In a manner of speaking that is defeating the trap. I have often seen that the plan when lacking a trapfinder (in 3.5 games) is to have the person with the best saves/ most hp set off the trap.
If they get past it alive, they won the enemy(the trap) lost the encounter. If your players act foolishly in a combat encounter but still succeed for whatever reason, do you not award them xp?
If you dont like your players ignoring traps, the answer is simple, make them deadlier. If your players dont fear your traps, you are doing something wrong. "Lets cross that acid pi....eeeehh". Suddenly, not as good an idea :P
I generally consider traps part of the whole encounter. They don't exist in a vacuum and they're obviously made by someone, the same as spells and magic items--in fact, some of them are spells and stationary magic items. Defeating traps is like dispelling a mage's spells.
In this way, a poncy albeit high level aristocrat can be a real threat outside of a social setting: They can pay for traps and hire mooks so that when you finally get to them, while the final battle may be an anticlimax, the XP award should be pretty darn good.
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Why should they not get xp?Just because it might endend up with uncarlessness or plain stupidity being awarded for. I mean players sayin "bhaaa.. let's cross that acid pit instead of finding a way around, we wont die plus we will get xp!"
Thats what i'm tryin to figure out.
Thats when you add a acidborn gaint octopus to the mix :)
ok ok i surrender!
You guys got some good arguments. I'll give out xp for fallin into trap and i'll keep an eye open for potentially ridiculous cituations where i should not... fair enough!
Keep in mind if you have 3 ice creatures CR 5 but they all get wiped out in the first round by a fireball, you can lower the XP because the encounter was too easy, but they should still get XP for the encounter regardless. If a monk falls in a pit trap and takes no damage, He defeated the trap, but it wasn't as much of a challenge because he can run down the wall. If there was a mummy at the bottom that might be a different story.
Or if an encounter was harder than it should have been you can award extra XP
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Resurrecting this thread, I had similar question with one of the traps in The Emerald Spire, spoilers within.
C4. Synesthesia Trap (CR 1)
A statue of a woman with a water urn stands in the hallway.
The Splinters trapped some areas with a hallucinogenic
gas. The agent creates synesthesia, crossing a victim’s sensory
input so she might “see” sounds or “taste” sights.
Trap: The statue conceals a gas dispenser activated when
someone steps on one of several trigger plates hidden in the
flagstones. The gas is invisible and odorless; characters in
the area may not even realize that they set off a trap. The
cloud lingers for 1 minute before dissipating.
SYNESTHESIA GAS TRAP CR 1
XP 400
Type mechanical; Perception DC 25; Disable Device DC 25
EFFECTS
Trigger location; Reset manual
Effect cloud of poison gas (synesthesia gas—inhaled; save Fort
DC 18; onset 10 minutes; frequency 1/rd. for 4 rounds; effect
1 Wis and target is fascinated and sickened for 1d4 rounds;
cure 1 save); multiple targets (all targets in a 10-ft. spread)
In this case I could see awarding XP if 1) they detect and disable the trap, 2) They fail their saving throws and endure at least one round of the gas effects. However, if everyone made their saving throw and they just continued blithely along, unaware that anything had happened, no way will I award XP. Does that sound about right?
No. If they survive they get XP. That is how encounters work. As a GM you dont have to follow the book but by the book XP is awarded for the Emerald Spire trap.
Also that is a really high DC dor spot and disable device at first level. The save is also really high. I would probably give extra XP.
Sometimes a trap isn't made to kill you, it's designed to soften you up. Intelligent creatures might wait for the trap to be sprung in order to take advantage of the situation. Easy kill, easy money.
For example, a party of five runs into a poisoned spiked pit and one falls in. As soon as that happens a group of hobgoblins may attack since the party has lost at least two members: one that's in the pit and another that's trying to get him out. And once out, the party's action economy is used up healing the damage and dealing with the poison, or they can all fight the hobgoblins and risk losing their injured party member quickly.
Just an example, but you can see how useful traps can be. They aren't there just to inconvenience PCs, they're placed there for a specific purpose and creatures will include them in their tactics to use them to maximum effect. Traps should definitely give XP since just because you're hurt doesn't mean you have time to heal yourself. Ramble over.
You gain XP by disarming, activating (on purpose or not, knowingly or not) or by evading it (on purpose or not, knowingly or not).