Decline of Glory question

[Useplanb]

Okay, getting ready to wrap up my 3 GM session this week with Decline of Glory and I have a question that experience GMs may be able to help me with.

Act 4:

The Collapsing Entrance Trap that is described here has me a little confused as to how the damage and possible Disable Device check will work.

The general description when I read it to the players talks about a 5-foot indent, so I imagine that at least one player will step in and begin to pull out timbers, loose rocks etc. There may even be a couple of others within the group that will walk up and assist, but not in the indent.

I assume that after a few minutes of doing so the trap will trigger pulling all those working on it into the stairwell.

The damage listed under the trap is one of the first things that confuses me.

"Effects: All creatures in a 10 ft. by 10 ft. area over the opening take 2d6 falling damage plus +10 melee 1d4 jagged wooden posts (1d4 each); DC 15 Reflex negates."

Huh?

So they fall and take 2d6+10 damage? That's pretty brutal if they were 1st level, or even 2nd level. In my case it will be 6 level 2 players so we are playing in Tier 3-4. Or do they mean that each player will take 2d6 damage from the fall, each player will be hit by 1d4 jagged wooden posts that have a +10 to hit, and each post will do 1d4 damage? Does the DC 15 negate all the damage or just the wooden posts?

Also, how does the Disable Device of 20 even figure in? If they disable it they do not get sucked in and they drop all the debris and contained ghoul below?

[MisterSlanky]

2d6 falling damage

Plus

1d4 potential post attacks, each at + 10 to hit and 1d4 damage.

The DC 15 refers to whether they go for Mr Toad's Wild Ride or not.

The DC refers to doing some jury rigging such that the debris are shored up and do not collapse at all, in Chicago case they deal with that ghoul separately.

[Mark Moreland]

Spoiler:

They take 2d6 falling damage for falling. There is a chance they skewer themselves on a post during the fall, however, so in addition to the falling damage, you make an attack roll for the wooden posts. A single PC can be "targeted" by as few as 1 and as many as 4 (1d4) posts, so you'd make as many attack rolls at a +10 bonus as needed, and each successful hit deals 1d4 damage. If a PC makes her Reflex save, she doesn't fall in the hole and therefor takes neither falling nor wooden post damage.

A PC who disables the trap using Disable Device would shore up the loose earth so it didn't collapse unpredictably, set off a controlled collapse that wasn't a threat to the PCs, or otherwise eliminate the possibility of the "trap" portion of the entrance challenge.

[Mark Moreland]

"In Chicago case," Ryan?

[MisterSlanky]

On phone. Autocorrect rocks.

[Useplanb]

Okay, thanks Ryan and Mark.

Now just to try and figure out what "Chicago" autocorrected from. :)

On a side note, I would think Knowledge: Engineering would also be allowed to avoid the trap, since its not really a trap per-sé.

[MisterSlanky]

Understanding engineering and disabling devices are two different things. I would allow a knowledge (engineering) replace perception though.

[Kyle Baird]

I would allow knowledge enginneerig to aid the disable device check. In fact I've written a trap that does actually suggests that to the GM... ;-)