How to Set Traps in D&D: Causing Chaos, Mayhem and Problems for Your Players

Older players who look at the D&D 5E rogue would be forgiven for thinking traps aren’t in the game anymore. In fact, throughout the 5E Players Handbook, traps are given less attention than in previous editions. But that doesn’t make them any less important to the game, or any less tricky for the DM to get right.D&D Traps require the DM to walk a fine line. Balance them right, and your PCs will find themselves in a world of trouble that’s entirely their fault. But overdo it, or make traps too randomly deadly, and the party can slow to a crawl as they check for traps every 5 feet — cursing the DM the whole time. Deathtraps are a dungeon classic, but the best traps cause chaos more than straight kills. Before you line the entryway of your fort with lightning runes, are you sure the people living there can get in and out themselves? Do these traps even make sense in the dungeon you’re running?You want a trap to engage your players in some kind of problem-solving. In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave talk about how they build hazards that up the mayhem and force layers to solve problems, without reducing traps to two rolls to avoid random death … at least not too often.2:00 Do traps still fit into modern, encounter-heavy, exploration-light D&D with its murder rogues? 7:00 Your traps should make sense in the world and the environment, and also at your table11:00 What do good and bad traps look like? Would you want to live next to it? 14:00 Do you want the party checking for traps every 5 feet? How careful do you want them to be? 19:00 What’s the goal of your trap makers?27:00 Tony’s favorite traps: The Mirror of Opposition, Glyphs of Warding29:00 Dave’s favorite Traps: The no-trap trap, the stone wall that splits the party34:00 Aside: Handling magic weapons with unarmed PCs or PCs with specific weapon needs40:00 Cursed treasure and the Lich that faked his death to let the party TPK themselves44:00 “That was on us!” What good traps teach the party45:00 Bad Traps: Revisiting the Murder House debate and the salt it left on the table51:00 Bad Traps, Marvel Edition: The “Big Bomb” with multiple fail states and what it taught the PCs58:00 Traps that create chaos and disadvantages for monsters to exploit are better than instant death64:00 Trap specialist classes vs. D&D 5E’s approach where anyone can find/disarm traps72:00 Final thoughts