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Any D&D/D20

Shadowrun

World of Darkness

Palladium

Other (feel free to post about it)

[Dorsidwarf]

well thats what Passive Perception is, isnt it? A way for the GM to know who's most likely to spot traps without any dice-rolling to give the game away

[Grim Portent]

I'm not a fan of traps at all, they're both unrealistic* most of the time and very hit/miss. I prefer things like murderholes in chokepoints. But then I also don't use dungeons as a concept much, preferring castles and forts when I need a difficult to assail position.

*Most traps are the equivalent of sticking landmines on your front path, inconvenient and liable to kill friendlies more than they'd stop a determined invader.

[Kagus]

*Most traps are the equivalent of sticking landmines on your front path, inconvenient and liable to kill friendlies more than they'd stop a determined invader.

And yet we build them in forts all the time...

[Dorsidwarf]

I think the last time I encountered a trap in the standard D&D sense it was literally just a tripwire set up to trigger a bunch of crossbows which had been set on the floor sixty feet further up the corridor in a very haphazard way, because the occupants were only there for a short while

[Mesa]

I don't exactly use traps either, in particular because a lot of standard traps don't exactly fit a sci-fi setting (in particular, a spaceship), although inevitably something will come up - though not now because the ship my party is on is in statis so most defenses (namely, turrets) don't exactly work, though that might change if the party fails to stop the reactors from being repaired...


Barring this doubly specific scenario however, I don't see the appeal of traps in general either, at least of those that serve as minor nuisances or stopgaps rather than genuine challenges in their own right - plus there is also that issue of "more likely to be troublesome to your own troops and minions and whonot, than to invaders" with most trap layouts (which is kind of an immersion breaker) - then again, Dwarf Fortress' many varied trap designs do show that you can have a functional living space that is still defended through traps both big and small, so maybe I'm in the wrong there.

[Jimmy]

I use traps, but in a more logical way than a simple "HP tax for walking," typically as a part of an encounter. For example, the party is in town at a big outdoor festival and gets delivered a written message that contains explosive runes, the trap acting as a signal to trigger an ambush by hidden assassins. A wizard's tower has a room guarded by a clay golem with a permanent acid fog trap that heals the golem.

[scriver]

I don't exactly use traps either, in particular because a lot of standard traps don't exactly fit a sci-fi setting (in particular, a spaceship)

But advanced technology makes for so many great trap possibilities!

[Hanslanda]

I don't exactly use traps either, in particular because a lot of standard traps don't exactly fit a sci-fi setting (in particular, a spaceship)

But advanced technology makes for so many great trap possibilities!

Electrified things, dangerous mechanisms exposed to people, malfunctioning devices that explode, rerouted coolant system that freezes or fries the room if something is activated, empty elevator shaft with a hologram of an elevator waiting, etc

[NullForceOmega]

Concealed panels that open the room to void.

[Trekkin]

I use traps as a way to give the party plot points that they might otherwise have missed. At their most basic level, the fact that a particular doorway or container was trapped telegraphs that someone didn't want anyone going that way, so there's probably something of interest further on. It can also foreshadow who they're up against if, for example, it uses a particular type of esoteric poison or was built in some characteristic way.

Enemies can certainly serve the same purpose, but traps can't be interrogated (which can easily become a tediously open-ended process even if torture isn't involved) and are generally more predictable in their effects.

[NullForceOmega]

You know what else can't be interrogated?  Bulettes.  They don't need orders, they don't remember faces, they just kill everything.  They also make an excellent unwanted visitor disposal.

[Kagus]

You know what else can't be interrogated?  Bulettes.  They don't need orders, they don't remember faces, they just kill everything.  They also make an excellent unwanted visitor disposal.

Unless you're wearing a certain jerkin...

[Trekkin]

You know what else can't be interrogated?  Bulettes.  They don't need orders, they don't remember faces, they just kill everything.  They also make an excellent unwanted visitor disposal.

Yep, they're almost totally useless for my purposes. They can't tell the party anything they couldn't get from a sapient enemy, but unlike a guard they can't be negotiated with. They're boring to trick, too, as difficult as they reputedly are to outsmart.

I guess they could be fought, but...why?

[wierd]

I think the idea is "fun surprise at the bottom of that false-floor chute"

IE, the owner of the dungeon knows all about the trap. It is there for adventurers that he does not want to deal with personally. (think, arrogant mage type.) He does not want to hire minions, they cost money and ask questions.  Instead, he can just keep dangerous creatures down there, and the fact that they are starving with no way out just makes them all the more interested in eating whatever falls down the chute.  Bonus if the creatures are smart enough to actively hunt adventurers that fall down there, AND are impervious to asking or being asked questions, since then adventurers could not ask them or compel them to divulge any way in or out other than the chute.

This would be a trap that is for a more hard-core group though. Kinda like the rouge-like of pen and paper sessions.

[Persus13]

I like having traps that act as a doorbell for the residents of the dungeon/whatever. The adventurer's freak out when they trigger a tripwire, and then get paranoid when they realize the trap didn't do anything to them. But it might. And its not as situational as a pit trap, so it can be anywhere.