How would you run an encounter with a trapped chest so that the non-rogue party members remain interested (assuming the party has a rogue, or someone else with disable device)?
Specifically, the idea of a time limit (such as holding off the monsters) doesn't seem to work, since they'll likely just kill all the monsters then deal with the chest. (Making it so the chest is gone when they get back just seems cheap.)
Similarly, the rogue's the most likely character to climb out on unstable terrain to get to the chest, if a mage doesn't just move it for them.
Finally, a related question. Would you include something like a trapped chest at all if there was no rogue (or rogue-like) in the party?
Its the rogue's time to shine it shouldn't take up much time for him to just move over unlock and go on. Now if you mean Indiana Jones trap then everyone has plenty to do if he sets it off.
As far as no rogue depends on the trap and what skills the party has remember anyone can find it and unless its magical anyone can disarm if they have the skills.
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The chest is linked to some magic do dad. It always tries to move toward the do dad but it is kind of stupid. When it has a straight open path it will move at 30 toward the do dad. When the path is not so clear it moves at half speed. Players happen upon it as a group of evil guys do.
Alternately, have the never ending supply of enemies. One of the traps is a summon monster every time the chest is not touched with the command word. That trap is the last you can disarm. i.e. you have to get into the chest past the first traps and under the treasure.
Pick a summon monster that a caster of their level could cast and work your way through the list. If one is too easy then have it summon another one.
or
The chest uses a maze like spell to trap all those around it when touched without the command word. The maze is easy but requires the disarming of a bunch of easyish traps. The traps are the crush you, smash you and the party kind. While that goes on a bunch of ethereal creatures attack the party.
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You want to turn a trapped chest into an encounter for the entire party?
Here's how the rules can help you.
Time: (Complex DC 20+) 2d4 Rounds
That means that when a rogue starts disabling a device he may already trigger it depending on the trigger.
A Location, Touch or Timed trigger would all work.
Now all you need to do is make the trap interesting for everyone.
False Floor Pit Trap CR 1
XP 400
Type: Mechanical; Perception DC 20 (Stonecunning applies); Disable Device DC20
Effects
Trigger: Touch (The Chest at the end of the room)
Reset: Manual
Effect
1st round. 20 ft. Deep pit trap (2d6 damage); DC 20 Reflex avoids opens in square closes to the door.
2nd round. Same occurs in 1d3 squares adjacent to the first square (DC 20 reflex avoids)
3rd round. Same occurs in 1d6 squares adjacent to previously opened pits (DC 20 reflex avoids).
4th round onwards (as 4th round until all squares except chest square).
Now the other PCs need to avoid the opening pit-traps as the rogue races against time with his Disable Device check.
For added bonus fun, throw some monster living in the pit below (something undead is always fun since you don't gotta feed 'em).
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I have been thinking about this a while. Traps can get boring for the rogue after a whiled if the dialog goes:
Rogue: "I search for traps"
GM: "You find a a trap"
Rogue: "I try to disable it"
GM: "You disable it"
And so on.
For a trapped chest I try to think of it like a security system. The owner would probably have worked a way to get around the trap into it so they could open it. This requires a bit more prep for the GM because you now have to think about more details:
- The owner of the trapped chest
- the Trap
- The workaround
- How would it be disabled
This allows for a lot more creative solutions for the rogue as the workarounds could involve pressure plates, switches, combinations, puzzles, etc that might involve too much space for the rogue to reach them all at the same time. A trap is really effective if it requires action on the other side of the room at the same time as actions on the chest to disable.
To involve the rest of the party, think of the rogue as Macgyver giving instructions to the rest of the team to circumvent the trap. The workarounds might involve the different party members standing in different places, holding switches, turning dials in a certain order, or just getting ready to close a door quickly to contain a blast.
If you can find a copy, a good resource is the Wurst of Grimtooth's traps. It has built in workarounds for very very complex traps that are a lot more interesting for a party than just a trapped chest.
Indulge me to tell a trapped chest story where the players turned a minor trap into a killing trap.
I had two rooms separated by an open 10' square pit 100' deep. In the first were three stone chests and across the pit a single stone chest. There was a plank across to the other room. There were 10,000 CP in each the outer chests, hinting at better loot across the plank in the single chest.
My trap was that when the single chest was opened, it released a 9' square block of stone over the plank, which then would drop down the 100' shaft. Since I couldn't envision anyone foolish enough to stand on the plank, I looked at the trap as a harmless "Whew, glad that didn't hit anyone" encounter. My players had other ideas.
They asked how heavy the stone chests were, I said, "Around 300 pounds each." Coins? "Another 200 pounds. Why?"
They tied a rope to the rogue so they could pull him back if something happened to him in the next room. To be sure, the wizard cast enlarge on the rope to make it thicker and stronger (This was a 2nd Edition game). They tied the rope to, not one, but all three of the stone chests on their side of the room. Then they sent the rogue across.
He tripped the trap, the block fell, smashed through the plank, and, with the rope under it, dropped 100'. The rogue was snatched backwards into the pit behind the block of stone. The slack of the rope took up on the party's side and the stone chests, each still full of 10,000 CP, were dragged one by one off into the pit after the rogue.
First he took the standard 9 D6 damage from the fall (He only fell 90', landing atop the block). I gave the chests only a 50% chance to land on him and let the players roll. All three landed on the rogue, each doing another 9 d6 damage (500 pounds of coin and chest falling 90' on someone should do as much as the fall itself, I reasoned). Rolling 36 d6 damage to a 2nd edition 9th level rogue (maximum of 54 HP, maybe a few more from constitution)... well, you get the picture.
As one player said, "Wow! The only thing we didn't do to make it worse was douse him in oil and toss a torch in to see if he was alive."
Well, something I enjoy is the encounter traps that were laid out in Dungeon Scape in 3.5. There are some interesting ideas in there for ways to incorporate the rest of the party. For instance I used an ice trap where the room is slowly filling with freezing water flowing from spigots in the ceiling, and the door is blocked by a big chunk of ice. The rogue can try to disable the spigots, the fighters can try to cut through the ice, and the casters can try to heat or burn their way out or freeze over the spigots (and preven further water flow). The whole thing worked out pretty well actually.