Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
On this, one of the points of discussion in the podcast that interested me (I can't remember which episode) was respecting trap placement and the use of standard operating procedures. I actually encourage the use of SOPs in certain situations, as opposed to asking for a declaration every time. But I make sure the players know the consequences before they employ them.
In particular, I want to know what everyone in the party is doing when they travel down a hall. Is someone mapping? (Believe it or not I have Leeroy Jenkins players who don't want the party to be slowed down with mapping, and then wonder why they get lost.) Is someone checking for secret doors as they go? Is someone probing ahead with a 10' pole? Is someone on point, and is someone keeping an eye on the rear? Do you have enough characters to cover all those tasks?
I also have hall traps, but I make them automatically detectable if one character is assigned to using a 10' pole (I'm considering having some chance of failure, to balance the choice between risking traps and losing surprise because of all that tapping; I'm not really sure if this is an issue yet). Part of the reason for this is to encourage mapping (see previous paragraph), because (a) that way they know where the traps are when they try to escape (not that Leeroy Jenkins ever runs away
), and (b) I slow down party movement the same amount for pole use as for mapping, i.e. enough to make wandering monster checks meaningful, so if they do one they may as well do the other.
