For the love of booby traps!
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THE CONCEPT:
There is something very alluring about traps. $2, specifically. You could almost say they are rudimentary forms of enchantments; inanimate objects arranged for the purpose of carrying out the bidding of the wizard... or rogue, as it were.
Unlike enchantments, though, traps work in the $2 world as well. Some traps even outlast the ones who created them. Archaeologists have discovered many traps that still defend some Egyptian tombs long after the dynasty that created them was forgotten. Arguably, most of those traps are so far beyond the manufacturer's warranty that they aren't really much of a threat... but they're over 3000 years old. If they stop being effective traps after only 1000 years, that's still freaking cool.
One thing I've always loved in RPGs is traps. They break the combat mold by providing another danger to be aware of. Instead of fighting a monster, you need to watch for hidden contraptions that are trying to end your life. They don't have a brain or emotions or any desires because they aren't alive, but they still want to kill you. You can't listen for footsteps or cast "detect monster" to avoid them. You can't outsmart or outmaneuver them. Seems like it would be easier to out-think something that can't think at all but- as an adventurer- I take more hits from traps than I do from monsters!
Check out some of these real-life traps that an adventurer could construct out in the wilderness with nothing but wits and a knife:
There is something very alluring about traps. $2, specifically. You could almost say they are rudimentary forms of enchantments; inanimate objects arranged for the purpose of carrying out the bidding of the wizard... or rogue, as it were.
Unlike enchantments, though, traps work in the $2 world as well. Some traps even outlast the ones who created them. Archaeologists have discovered many traps that still defend some Egyptian tombs long after the dynasty that created them was forgotten. Arguably, most of those traps are so far beyond the manufacturer's warranty that they aren't really much of a threat... but they're over 3000 years old. If they stop being effective traps after only 1000 years, that's still freaking cool.
One thing I've always loved in RPGs is traps. They break the combat mold by providing another danger to be aware of. Instead of fighting a monster, you need to watch for hidden contraptions that are trying to end your life. They don't have a brain or emotions or any desires because they aren't alive, but they still want to kill you. You can't listen for footsteps or cast "detect monster" to avoid them. You can't outsmart or outmaneuver them. Seems like it would be easier to out-think something that can't think at all but- as an adventurer- I take more hits from traps than I do from monsters!
Check out some of these real-life traps that an adventurer could construct out in the wilderness with nothing but wits and a knife:
- $2 - 3 sticks delicately arranged in the form of the number 4. A creature disturbing the bait stick protruding from the back of the "4" will release the stick holding up the deadfall, crushing the poor creature.$1
- $2 - like the figure 4 deadfall trap, but it uses chord to create a more sensitive trigger. Instead of a massive weight to crush the vicitm, a spring-loaded stick comes whistling down to stab the victim.$1
- Here's a $2 (keep scrolling, there's more than you think.) designed specifically to kill or maim humans. Pretty awful, really, but for the sake of this game, pretty cool! $1
- As simple as those are, they don't even need to be that complicated to be effective. I'm not even sure a $2 could be considered a "device" or "contraption" because they are so basic. (Also known as "$2" when used by ninja or samurai)