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I have a problem with the way this works on a logistics level.
Many published adventures tend to have hallways filled with traps, and traps in rather random or non-obvious locations.
As such, a good party will have a rogue who will search every 5 feet for traps.
Realistically, this is kinda ridiculous, and will make traversing a dungeon take 10 to 20 times as long as normal. Secondly, it gives the Rogue the ability to take the spotlight for almost the entire night of every night. But it is a spotlight that is kinda boring...
DM: The door is open and you see a 10 foot wide, 30 foot long corridor.
Rogue: I search the first 5 foot square and the one next to it, for traps.
DM: Ok, roll perception twice.
and so on, and so on.
For awhile, my DM allowed me to make a generic search roll, that would apply throughout the dungeon. If I rolled badly, I just dealt with it, and we'd likely run into every trap. If I rolled good, he dealt with it, and I found almost every trap.
But he's changed his mind now, and wants me to tell him when and where I'm searching. The other players have decided that's boring, and now just wander about busting down doors and such. Who cares about traps.
So I just stopped searching except in locations that made sense for potential traps. I told him I'd be very upset if traps just randomly showed up in non-obvious places.
Low and behold, they showed up in random, non-obvious places. No traps in this entire dungeon, and suddenly a room has several traps scattered about it with no rhyme or reason for location.
So, is the problem the way the dungeon was created, or is the problem the way searching is being handled?
By the way, as the player of the rogue, I hate rolling a d20 every 5 feet. It is boring and stupid. But with traps randomly located everywhere (even though we are a level 14 party), they are tiered with CR's to be challenging for a level 14 party, and as such, really do hurt when they hit.
So what's the solution?
...So, is the problem the way the dungeon was created, or is the problem the way searching is being handled?
Some DMs use a passive perception houserule that basically allows you to passively take 10 on Perception checks. You might be able to convince your DM to allow a variant of that for finding traps. Personally as a DM I've had to somewhat clamp down on taking 20, since there's no reason not to when the party isn't in danger.
Zo
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DM: Ok, roll perception twice.
Okay, from the explanation you've given this is the first absolutely wrong thing. The player is not supposed to be rolling these perception checks, your not supposed to know how well you've done searching only if you find something or not.
A lot of skill checks aren't supposed to be rolled by the players to keep things like disguises or trap-finding more interesting and suspenseful.
Second, random trap placement are a real problem for some DM's. You'll see layers of nonsensical traps on a single door or traps in long corridors that if the complex was in use everyone using it would need to disarm before heading in to work for the day.
Now of course there are places where the nonsensical makes sense. Tom the Mad Wizard's Tower, Joel the Trap King's base, etc, but a bunch of traps scattered about the room is more a sign of your DM not knowing or choosing not to care where the traps go.
You should be able to do some research before you head into a dungeon to know if traps should be heavily placed or almost nonexistent. Knowledge Local or Diplomacy checks in town to gather information about rumors of the dungeon, Knowledge History or Bardic Knowledge to know about who built it, asking questions like, "Should we expect lots of traps in this place" when you talk to whoever gave you the quest and the like should prepare you for things.
Even with all that of course, paranoid adventurers tend to live longer so I'd still say tell the DM your searching on doors, and unusual little hallways that only have one exit or entrance, plus any chests, display cases or rooms you find. Rooms should be covered by the whole part searching around though.
(Taking 20 takes about 2 minutes per 5' square for perception. Keep better tabs on the time and give monsters an advantage of having 10-15 minutes of warning before a party shows up and that should stop.)
Really the main thing is to think of the whole area and not just the hall or room your in as a DM, which can be challenging.
(Taking 20 takes about 2 minutes per 5' square for perception. Keep better tabs on the time and give monsters an advantage of having 10-15 minutes of warning before a party shows up and that should stop.)
Personally I've started to interpret the "danger and distraction" clause quite liberally to stop the PCs taking 20 on everything. If it ends up biting the rogue in the ass to the exclusion of the rest of the party I'll relent. I'm hoping the party will cut the rogue a bit of slack and protect him a bit more.
Zo
If you're dealing with traps like that, then just take 20 for every section. It'll save game time and most trap DC's especially magic ones require an obnoxiously high roll anyway.
As a DM, I roll perception checks for traps. To keep things suspenseful I sometimes roll a d20 behind the screen, pretend to compare it to a DC and then say "Okay, nothing happens. Who's opening the door?"
As DM, I prefer the "encounter traps" that were introduced in Dungeonscape. I hardly Use traps IMC, but when I do, they are big nasty obvious looking things, and the encounter traps means everyone in the party has something to do, not just the rogue.
As an aside, even though the trap is usually obvious looking, a perception check is still called for to find the area or spot on the trap to disable.
Why not just make a house rule where a single roll is enough to cover say a room, a corridor or a hallway?, that's what I tend to do.
'I search the room carefully for traps' should really be a enough imo. The game is full of micromanagement as it is. Doors not included, of course.
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Hiya.
Like Zimith says, the GM only needs to roll once per 'area' the thief's player says his character is searching. "I'm checking the corridor for traps as we move down it", for example, yeilds a secret GM check. If the corridor had two traps, a pit trap in 10', and then a deadfall trap in another 20', the GM rolls once for the first trap encountered (re: the pit). If the roll is a success, the GM relays that he found a pit trap. If the roll is a failure, the thief falls in. The GM then rolls again for the next trap (or not...I'd assume that the thief continues to try and look for traps all down the corridor, as that is what the player intended). Rinse, repeat. Simple.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
As a DM, I would handle it this way
Some things likely have a trap. That artifact on a stand, in the middle of a bare room....
If the player doesnt speak up, I would roll a wisdom check adjusted by the players skill, and applied to the traps DC
If the player rolls high enough, then I will drop a hint to the party.
Door Opener: Okay, I will open the door
DM: You go to open the door, and you sense something is out of place.
If the party continues without checking the trap, even though I raised an issue, sucks to be them
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Other traps are just random, and make no sense. One could increase the DC to reflect that, or just wait to see if they checks
