On the question of Trapmaker's art

Our yesterday's game session started with James and Becami deciding to interrogate the hobgoblin that we captured. The talk went well (my bard was the translator - you hang out with Zak's cleric for a while, you have to pick up some Goblinese), which led to the mention that dungeon exploration is much more rewarding with a Speak to Monsters spell. To which Jeff Rients replied that well, yeah, but there's no Speak to Traps spell. And also told a hilarious anecdote about a player who wanted his character to be able to speak to walls that was printed in the very first issue of Dragon magazine, but I'm not telling it, look up the issue or ask Jeff, it's funnier when he tells it. 

Anyways, this made me think. I've never been trained to be a sapper, but I learned a thing or two. 

Thing one: landmines took some time to develop into what they are now. They started out as just "step on it, get shot in a foot" thing, which wasn't all that effective. They evolved into something that sent a message. You take a step ahead - you will be maimed. You'll be crippled and in pain and your comrades will see what happens to you and they'll have to take care of you. So keep that in mind. 

Thing two: in a sapper's mind, everything can be booby-trapped. And will be, given half a chance. A good sapper thinks in a special way, different from a normal person - that's what makes them what they are. 

So what does that give us, tabletop roleplaying-wise? 

You can play it simple, "You roll for traps - okay, you found this acid-filled thing that would've melted your face if you didn't notice it in time, good for you", or just forget traps altogether and focus on whatever is fun for you and yours. 

Or you can make the traps say something about their makers. Like that Indiana Jones movie - the traps are tests, they are questions and you need to answer them correctly. 

In So You Want To Be A Hero PC game, the Kobold has a fire trap on his invisible stash of gold. The message here is sort of clear - "I live in a cave and have no friends, and I want whoever wants to grab my stash to die". 

The cleverly hidden poison trap on the ridiculously simple lock that kills Tasslehoff in Silvanesti says "I know there are Kender in the world and I hate the fact". 

Or you can make it into more of a "trap language", especially if some of your players have this sick kind of mind that would make them good sappers. You can give them some extra bits of information - like the person who set this trap was left-handed, or used a rare sort of perfume to mask the smell of acid, or clearly had a deathwish because the way the trap is set it could've killed them as they were setting it and they evidently didn't care, or their favourite colour is blue. It can help the players track a trapmaker down. It can help the characters understand what is the message that the trapmaker is sending, and to whom.

Note to self: after I finish the current thing, I want to try and write up a trap-centric adventure. And probably a Trapmaker character class while I'm at it.