So, I read the section in the GM Core about hazards, particularly that regarding traps. No where can I find guidelines on how characters or NPCs actually go about constructing a mechanical trap. I searched skills and feats and could not find anything either.
I am likely to require an INT check with an appropriate DC to allow a PC or NPC actually go about constructing a mechanical trap. However, if this is covered in the rules and I overlooked it, I would love to know. Is there something I overlooked in my reading?
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Snares are the main player-facing mechanic for making traps. I'm not super familiar with the new Core books but I believe a lot of the mechanics for snares got moved to Player Core 2. But making a snare follows the Crafting rules, which seems like a better model for NPCs constructing traps as well.
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Snares are the main player-facing mechanic for making traps.
Seconded. PCs don't make traps, they make snares.
NPCs can make traps just as a plot device. Some NPCs may also follow the PCs rules and create snares. The difference being how the XP of the encounter would be counted. If the NPC is creating a trap, then the trap is a separate XP contribution. If the NPC is creating snares, then the snares are part of that NPC's XP just like if they summoned a minion.
When I think of a snare, I imagine a fairly simple woodland traps. Can someone tell the difference between Pathfinder snares and traps> Being new to Pathfinder I only have the two Remastered books, in which snares are not discussed.
I am rewriting the dwarven races that I created to make them work for Pathfinder ancestry rules rather than D&D races. Each dwarven ancestry gets one ability and these particular dwarves are good at building traps of mechanical nature to protect their home valuables, businesses, and mines. These dwarves will be available as PCs.
As I transfer my documents from D&D to Pathfinder, I am looking for ways to retain as much of my lore and rules as possible, thus I'm looking for compatible Pathfinder rules for traps or snares. I find it disturbing if PCs cannot create traps to protect their castles or other places of importance.
Can someone enlighten me a bit more on this topic. I certainly can see how the Crafting skill would apply to traps.
I find it disturbing if PCs cannot create traps to protect their castles or other places of importance.
Creating traps to protect a home location is not something actually covered by the rules in general. The general rules are geared for the PCs being explorers and adventurers.
I have seen some game mechanics for doing that in a couple of published adventures. So this feels like something that for a personally created adventure you should feel free to brew up something to make it work. Having enemies attack a fortified location that the PCs control is already going to be something non-standard for the game. I would probably use some combination of the Rituals and the Building Hazards rules.
'Snare' is just the game mechanics name for a trap that the PCs use. It can be describe as crude or polished as you want it to be. A Hampering Snare lends itself to being somewhat crude, while a Clockwork Chirper is something much more sophisticated.
The rules for creating and deploying snares are here.
Each dwarven ancestry gets one ability and these particular dwarves are good at building traps of mechanical nature to protect their home valuables, businesses, and mines. These dwarves will be available as PCs.
Also, this sounds a lot like the Kobold: Snare Setter ancestry feat.
Which is a good thing. You can use that as a basis for creating a similar ability for your Dwarves.
Each dwarven ancestry gets one ability and these particular dwarves are good at building traps of mechanical nature to protect their home valuables, businesses, and mines. These dwarves will be available as PCs.Also, this sounds a lot like the Kobold: Snare Setter ancestry feat.
Which is a good thing. You can use that as a basis for creating a similar ability for your Dwarves.
Thank you, I will look into the kobold snare ability. It might transfer quite well to the dwarves. As of now I simply stated the DC for making, setting, noticing, and disarming traps/snares is reduced by -2.
Can someone enlighten me a bit more on this topic. I certainly can see how the Crafting skill would apply to traps.Well, it's definitely not an arcane knowledge and is open to all as most of the game rules:
Snarecrafter Dedication
Snare Crafting
Snares
And yes, players definitely can use snares to protect their hideouts (but mostly permanent ones, from the Snare Crafting feat/normal Craft activity).
Are these official rules or homebrew someone put together? Just curious. Looks like someone put some thought into it.
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Those are official rules, they simply haven't been reprinted/updated in the new Core books yet.
Archives of Nethys, the website linked, is also the official online source for PF2 rules/mechanics, so the closest to homebrew on that site will be alternate rules published in stuff like GM Core
Those are official rules, they simply haven't been reprinted/updated in the new Core books yet.
Archives of Nethys, the website linked, is also the official online source for PF2 rules/mechanics, so the closest to homebrew on that site will be alternate rules published in stuff like GM Core
+1
For examples of some of the alternate rules, there is Free Archetype (for more flexible characters that aren't really more powerful), Proficiency Without Level (for a more D&D5 bounded accuracy feel), and Complex Crafting (which is probably strictly worse than the new crafting rules in Player Core and should be ignored).