06-13-2021, 12:07 PM | #41 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: When did traps get silly?
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I'm not very interested in the technical details of traps. But I want to have a sense that they're something that makes sense in the setting I'm envisioning. In medieval or comparable settings, in particular, I mostly prefer to have low-end magic; I'd rather not have wizards be either supers or one-man artillery, at least not without a few years of buildup to the implied power level. Everyone to their own taste, of course! Another way to describe this, I think, would be to say that the "gamist" element is the weakest in my playstyle. When I read mysteries, for example, it's because I like the characters (as with Dorothy Sayers or Charles Stross) or the milieu (as with Conan Doyle); I hardly ever have any hope of "playing the game" of solving the mystery. But what I primarily want is to set up the situation and say, to quote Gregor Vorbarra, "Let's see what happens." Though another factor in this might be that I'm definitely an introvert.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. Last edited by whswhs; 06-13-2021 at 12:57 PM. |
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06-13-2021, 06:19 PM | #42 | |
Join Date: May 2010
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Re: When did traps get silly?
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06-14-2021, 06:09 AM | #43 |
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alsea, OR
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Re: When did traps get silly?
I often have bypass methods, and most traps in dungeons I've created are fairly sensible.
For example, a door with a fire-trap... which can be disabled from the dungeon side via a physical disconnect which is not reachable from the outside. the basic mechanism is a flint in the door and a ceiling strike plate, with a series of holes connected to a flush tank leading to above the door swing sprinkler holes. Pulling the lever disconnects the flush valve and raises the striker plate, so no sparks and no fuel. Normal mode? those entering knock, and give the word of the day. A guard inside then disconnects it. And there's a vent shaft, too... but it doesn't connect inside... This leads to a hall leading to a 30'x30' room, divided into a 25x30 and a 5x30 foot path, separated by fixed iron bars (set in using Slush-Yuck, the T&T version of Earth to Mud). The exit from the narrow side is locked with a steel bar in a hidden slot which is locked when the handle is 15' from the door, and unlocked at 23'. .. noting that the handle is in the large side. Also in the large side is the door to the barracks. There are spears galore in the wide side. So players get stabbed at through the bars, and don't have room to effectively use their own long weapons... The only other traps in that dungeon are a trapped chest, using a blue puppet dragon (or sometimes, a rasta puppet dragon), and the unintentional traps: the septic pits and the enchanted cold room. Oh, and the drains for the wash-water. |
06-15-2021, 08:10 AM | #44 |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: When did traps get silly?
I was just rewatching The Last Airbender and came to the part where Aang and Zuko start playing Indiana Jones, by exploring a city belonging to the original Fire Benders. Aang comments that it's surprising that the traps they encounter still work after centuries, but it turns out to be a hint that city is still occupied by a few descendants who are maintaining things.
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06-22-2021, 05:28 PM | #45 |
Join Date: Sep 2018
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Re: When did traps get silly?
Yeah, I pretty much came in to say this. There were some funny traps before Grimmtooth's, but this was the first time I saw attention dedicated to excessive and ridiculous traps and they were a huge hit when they came out, started influencing dungeons to have weirder more pointlessly excessive traps.
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06-23-2021, 03:49 AM | #46 | |
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Re: When did traps get silly?
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I remember it being highlighted in Oblivion as various NPCs remark on the extroardianry state of preservation of the traps in the Ayelid ruins. Still nothing on their ability to preserve fruit though. |
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