Thematically/flavorwise/fluffwise- why do Barbarians get trap sense? Rogues are specialists in avoiding traps because they're thieves and spies and everything else you can pack into the name 'Rogue'; but what about Barbarians?
Why...do they...get Trap Sense?
Leaving aside the question of why these warriors who "know little of training, preparation, or the rules of warfare; for them, only the moment exists, with the foes that stand before them and the knowledge that the next moment might hold their death" get four skill points whereas learned fighters get two.
Well, remember, Barbarians aren't avoiding traps in the way a Rogue would.
The Rogue is finding the traps before they go off, using the power of observation and a good intuition on where traps could be to discover them before walking into them. Their preferred method of dealing with a trap is to disable it, but they're pretty good at getting out of the way if they accidentally set it off.
The Barbarian has no idea that there's a trap, right up until the moment he discovers it with his face. At that point, his quick reflexes (likely gained while trying to survive in less civilized areas, dealing with large predators) help him react fast enough to either dodge the trap or evade the worst of it.
I do think it's odd that Fighters get so few skill points... There's also a number of skills that I think should be class skills for them, but aren't. Either way, it makes sense to me that a Barbarian has more skill points overall. They have little formal combat training compared to the Fighter, but they still have a good bit that they've learned from experience. On top of that, they've had to use a variety of skills just to survive away from the luxuries of civilization. Those skills are also useful to the Fighter while out in the field, but he likely doesn't have as much first hand experience with them (at least until higher levels).
My problem is that they get the exact same ability; rogue trap sense is the same as barbarian trap sense, and they even stack if you multiclass.
I suppose fluffing it as superior reflexes makes sense... but then why don't Rangers have it? Eh but that's probably not a fair comparison.
Just that considering all the archetypal features of Barbarians, I don't see a special affinity with traps included. Particularly I don't see some affinity identical to that of the rogue. Just personal opinion I guess, but I don't see the argument for trap sense being that strong.
Hmm; interesting point about having to survive. Maybe Fighter know-how is embodied by their unparalleled knowledge of feats, rather than skill points.
The 1E AD&D barbarian got a whole bunch of ranger- and thief-like abilities, and that's one of the ones that survived the translation. As noted, barbarians were supposed to be cunning survivors.
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Thematically/flavorwise/fluffwise- why do Barbarians get trap sense? Rogues are specialists in avoiding traps because they're thieves and spies and everything else you can pack into the name 'Rogue'; but what about Barbarians?
Why...do they...get Trap Sense?
Because both Conan and Fafhrd were good at it?
I think the connection between rogue and barbarian might come from the fact that they both are "intuitive" classes (term from the starting age chart; these are the only melee classes in that age range. This is the youngest starting age range, meaning that they are the ones that can come into a campaign as young as 16 for humans)In some ways, you could parallel their formative experiences, with barbarians facing the dangers and struggles of the wilderness while a rogue faces the backstabbing and poverty of civilization.
Both gained their experience from getting into fights. Not from training academies or the relative order of battle formations, but from random brawls in their everyday life. While a fighter might be taught the ways to avoid being flanked, the rogue and barbarian had to experience the danger of being ganged up on first hand and develop the skills and reflexes to survive such situations.
So, translating this into trap sense, I suppose the simplest way of explaining it would simply be the fact that, as young and brash kids, they got caught a few too many times in deadly traps for their liking. Paranoia sets in eventually.
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The 1E AD&D barbarian got a whole bunch of ranger- and thief-like abilities, and that's one of the ones that survived the translation. As noted, barbarians were supposed to be cunning survivors.
It's this. 1e barbarians (only) got trap sense and uncanny dodge(although called different things). In the transition to 3.0 the developers were gracious enough to share these abilities with rogues.
It was supposed to have to do with superhuman reflexes and a preternatural danger sense. 1e barbarians were pretty unbalanced. You couldn't even adventure with spellcasters until 2nd level, and no arcane casters until 6th. You had a wisdom maximum of 16. You got XP for destroying magic items.
Keen hunters awareness of their surroundings.
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They get Trap Sense because Paizo will get sued if they call it Spider Sense instead.
It's the name that seems to be causing problems, but to call the exact same ability by two different names for two different classes could be confusing.
In primitive societies you get married early ... so trap sense is vital for survival!
You often didn't see your bride before the wedding too. So you might want to avoid a trap in another sense. Just ask Pedro III of the Kongo
I have a bit less familiarity with (Fritz Leiber's) Fafhrd, but one of the major reasons Conan managed to survive is because he consistently had fantastic senses and reflexes. The whole uncanny dodge thing seems to reflect that.
True, he does get called a "a thief, a reaver, a slayer" in the introduction first story by the original author. It might represent their existence as thugs, or rather an individual of great strength on the fringes of 'civilized' society whose morals might not mesh well.
Rogue or Barbarian or any other class with this ability: Trap Sense is ONLY the ability to avoid traps or react to traps that have been tripped. This is unlike Trap Finding which actually helps you locate traps. Also, traps are one of the most primitive forms of hunting and defense. Snare, pit, spring snare, deadfall, tension, bird, & fish traps are all primitive forms of traps & hunting aids that have been around longer than the rogue's skill set.
Edit: Uncanny Dodge is a reaction to people and not inclusive of traps.