My crafty PC's are using bear traps, a great tactic in my opinion.
I'm just wondering if bear traps can be re-used and also if someone has to make that DC20 strength check to re-open them between uses, if that is the case.
They're just so cheap that it seems like they should only be used once. But in reality, I'm wondering if bear traps get damaged after each use.
2gp for a trap that can be placed nearly anywhere and slow or immobilize a foe, doing 2d6+3 damage if it hits -- seems a bit nasty.
I would expect them to be reusable. Real world traps are reusable.
The trap is in a fixed place, which means that an enemy who notices it can simply walk around it. Even if it is in a choke point (so walking around it is not viable), it is still only a DC 5 acrobatics check to jump over the entire square. And the trap is probably more on the 1-2 foot scale, so it is easy to argue that it should only take a DC 1 or 2 check.
I would say that it does require a DC 20 strength check to reopen the trap. However, since there is no penalty for failure (the trap just stays closed), you could also take 20 on this check. So if the party has about 2 minutes and somebody with a strength of at least 10, they can reset it.
They are an effective defense, but only if you have a position you know you will be defending and then they work best if there are choke points. At 10 lbs each, even the fighter will get weighted down if you try to carry too many of them.
You can put a bunch of leaves on one and give it a DC 15+ spot check. Beats the crap out of goblin crossbow traps.
Arrow traps, you step on the trigger and the thing still has to roll to hit. Bear traps auto hit, do more damage, don't require skill to set up, ad are cheaper than arrow traps. Awesome!
Bear traps don't auto-hit, although their +10 Attack makes them pretty close. They are worthwhile items, but have some limits:
1.) They weigh 10 pounds each and are fairly bulky. Carrying several could be quite awkward. "No, they don't fit in your backpack."
2.) A DC 20 Strength check is needed to arm them, so it will take a minute or two for most characters to set one up. "I'll have it set in just a minute, guys!"
3.) Real-world bear traps are often secured by driving a metal stake into the ground, a noisy procedure requiring a few rounds' effort. Removing the stake afterward would also require substantial effort. (Depending on the surface it as driven into, perhaps a DC 20 Strength check?)
Re-arming a trap is a DC20 Disable Device check (otherwise same as the DC to disarm it). Check the chart under disable device. The Strength check is just to get free of it.
RL bear traps, you don't force them open (most trappers aren't stronger than a bear), you step on the springs with your feet and the jaws fall open, letting you set the trigger pad.
The trigger for a RL bear trap is similar to a mousetrap, or rat trap. Jiggling sets it off. No practical way you can use it as a weapon. In-game bear traps may work differntly, but the cost doesn't at all match the trapmaking rules, so really I think they're taking about the kind you can buy in RL at a rural hardware store, which you can trigger with a stick, and which can easly clip your finger off if you play around with it.
Re-arming a trap is a DC20 Disable Device check (otherwise same as the DC to disarm it). Check the chart under disable device. The Strength check is just to get free of it.
RL bear traps, you don't force them open (most trappers aren't stronger than a bear), you step on the springs with your feet and the jaws fall open, letting you set the trigger pad.
Actually the strength check to get free of it is DC 26, the DC 20 strength check is just to open it (I do not believe you actually need to use disable device to set a bear trap). In my games I would allow a player to use the strength check or disable device to set a bear trap (which ever is more advantageous).
Aney one else have flashbacks of camp cristol lake....
a fiew bells, sum string and a gang of bear traps and your in busniess.
My players hid these things up in trees, tying them to ropes and trip wires in such a way that they would swing downwards in an arc when the wire was tripped. Got a couple of baddies in the face and chest that way.
I think maybe they were inspired by the X-Box Live Arcade game, Purgatory.
Also, 10 lb. is LIGHT for a bear trap. They are more like 40 in real life, are they not?
why does he say it measures over 42" long in the video when it is obviously less than half of that (based upon the size of the 8" C clamp)... based on the evidence I don't know if I buy a 40 pound weight.
In any case you can order a #15 bear trap (that's grizzly sized) from Amazon.com, and it has a shipping weight of 26 pounds.
Part of this is personal experience setting beartrap-style traps (though smaller ones for weasles and racoons), you don't force the jaws open to set them, and it is VERY tricky to set the trigger, very easy to mess up and lose a finger if you don't know what you're doing. It is about skill not strenght, so disable device rings true, as the chart says. Having said that, a RL bear trap wouldn't be a DC20 to set or disable. More like a DC 10 which you can do untrained taking 10 if someone shows you how.
One of my current characters is a Rogue, he uses bear traps to defend camp at night, informing the party which direction is safe should they need to leave the immediate vacinity.
I believe the DM was having me use Disable Device to successfully set them and a Stealth check to conceal them as well.
I would also like to point out, no one's character is carrying them, we have a pack horse for misc. gear and loot.