Mechanical Trap Cost


Rules Questions


Hello,

The rules state that the price of a Mechanical Trap is 1000 x CR level of the trap...

A Pit (no cover, just a 20 ft deep hole) has a CR level of 1... Meaning it has a price of 1000g... Does it really cost me 500g (if I craft it myself) just to dig a hole?

Cheers,
Sorrol


Sadly, yes

Crafting traps is extremely prohibitive for players, it's really only meant for GM use, which is very saddening

A Rogue talent lets you construct them for 75% of the cost instead, and I think also carry them around with you for later deployment.

How you're gonna carry a 20ft deep hole in the ground I'll leave up to your imagination.


Not necessarily according to the PRD and your GM.


Quote:

The rules state that the price of a Mechanical Trap is 1000 x CR level of the trap...

A Pit (no cover, just a 20 ft deep hole) has a CR level of 1... Meaning it has a price of 1000g... Does it really cost me 500g (if I craft it myself) just to dig a hole?

333.33gp, actually. It is mundane crafting with the Craft skill, not magic item crafting. You only pay 1/3rd the cost in materials.

Quote:
The cost of a mechanical trap is 1,000 gp × the trap's Challenge Rating. If the trap uses spells in its trigger or reset, add those costs separately. If the trap cannot be reset, divide the cost in half. If the trap has an automatic reset, increase the cost by half (+50%). Particularly simple traps, such as pit traps, might have a greatly reduced cost, subject to GM discretion. Such traps might cost as little as 250 gp × the trap's Challenge Rating.

So it can actually only cost 250gp, or 83.33gp to make yourself. Still a lot for a simple hole in the ground.


Just tell your GM you are digging a refuse pit. Then don't fill it in when you are done...cleanliness is next to godliness after all


Quote:
. If the trap cannot be reset, divide the cost in half.

Couldnt this be applied to a pit trap?

Then the price would be 250/2 = 125 gp
And when crafting it yourself it would cost 41,67 gp.

41 gp means you would have to work for 8 days assuming you roll a total of 20 on the craft check (against DC 20).

During 8 days, the same character could earn as much as 16 gp by the downtime rules, or up to 8 Goods Capital spending 80 gp total.

It may seem a bit overpriced for a simple "hole on the ground", but the cost is balanced with the time wasted on it, and with the possible damage output of said trap. Keep in mind it is possible to reset it, trapping multiple creatures with a single trap.

The idea we have about an animal trap, that can be done in a few hours and would most likely only work once, is better covered by the Survival skill.

We should keep in mind that the Pit Trap could be of any kind described in the book, because the maker could have made it of any material he wants, with metal trapdoors or not, and likely would have mechanical components on the trapdoor.

Even so, i would likely redesign that cost, because low CR traps are more expensive than they are worth, and high CR traps are not expensive enough. Something along the lines of 100 x CR^2 should do the trick.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Heroes of the wild changes it up a bit.

"Heroes of the Wild wrote:

SNARES AND SIMPLE TRAPS

As a normal part of using a Survival check to get along in the wild, a character can make simple snares and deadfalls to trap small game. Though not as robust or dangerous as ranger traps or traps created using the Craft (traps) skill, simple traps and snares can also be used against prey that is more dangerous than typical game.

Regardless of the nature of its construction, such a trap acts as an extraordinary ranger snare trap (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 65), with the following modifications. With a successful DC 15 Survival check, a simple trap can be constructed in 20 minutes in a typical wilderness area using proper tools. The trap affects only creatures of a single size category, determined when the trap is constructed. (Smaller creatures slip out easily, and larger creatures are too big to be effectively snared.) The trap is obvious unless it is hidden with a successful DC 20 Stealth check, in which case noticing it requires a successful DC 15 Perception check. The trap’s DC is 13, it has 10 hit points, and it can be burst with a successful DC 15 Strength check. If left unattended, a simple trap has a 25% chance of becoming ineffective each day.

Characters who wish to create more effective traps should invest skill ranks in Craft (traps) or take the Learn Ranger Trap feat (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 153).

WILDERNESS TRAPS
Skilled hunters and trappers are adept at fashioning effective, if simple, traps from humble materials. Each wilderness trap has an associated terrain wherein the raw materials for the trap are commonplace. Within these associated terrains, the base cost of each trap is calculated in sp rather than gp. When in a trap’s associated terrain, instead of paying 1/3 the item’s price in raw materials, the trap maker can attempt a Survival check against the Craft DC of the trap. If the check is successful, the trap maker finds the necessary
materials in the wild after 1d4 hours of foraging and can attempt a Craft (traps) check to build the trap, which takes another 1d4 hours. However, traps built with such crude materials don’t last long without maintenance; they have a cumulative 1% chance to break for every hour they go without being tightened and reset (which requires 10 minutes of effort).

At the GM’s discretion, other nonmagical mechanical traps may be considered to have associated terrains and use the wilderness trap construction rules.

So if you're just digging a hole, it won't last long, and you may have to deal with reduced DCs and what not. However, if you're spending gold in the traditional fashion, then you can get that amazingly real looking grass quilt to throw over it, and some fancy admixture to keep the interior walls from collapsing a year from now.

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