Traps!, Running The Game

[@mcolville]

You know, this is not the most exciting video in the world, but new DMs are being made every day and this can help them. We got more exciting videos in the future. :D

[@Calebgoblin]

Speak for yourself, this is the most exciting video of my entire month! I've been looking forward to your insight on traps

[@chrisdion3260]

Great to have more Matt Colville content these days!

[@kailastnam9793]

Don’t be like that! Trap can be extremely exciting if your game has emphasis on positioning! This video will DEFINITELY help me out a lot, and I’m sure it’ll help others as well!

[@lonelygiant]

Its super solid. Going back to the Dealian (sp?) tomb is awesome.

[@joshuabrown-clay4858]

I concur. My players are about to see a lot more, and spicier, traps! I had somewhat often skipped them if they were in a module because I found them boring. I see value in them now and how they can add atmosphere to a dungeon.

[@Leocmatias]

Admiral Ackbar disliked the video.

[@TheRacoonGhost]

took me way to long to get it.

[@TookyG]

Nicely done. Clappingpicard.jpg

[@MDJButcher]

Well done.

[@theophrastusbombastus1359]

I see what you did there

[@ABEW19043]

So did the mods

[@lowflyingdonut]

Curious is the trapmaker's art - his efficacy unwitnessed by his own eyes.

[@FarSideTube]

Underrated reply

[@sluggaboyzWC3]

Unless it is a dragon that has made an arrow that can kill it but traps it to just watch the horror of adventurers as their Trump card sabotages them.

[@lCore17]

Ancient traps lie in wait, unsprung and thirsting for blood

[@noobgayfer9041]

Cruel machinations spring to life with a singular purpose!

[@QuindariusGooch-s8o]

Ambushed by foul invention!

[@Ozai75]

I'll never get tired of Matt giggling gleefully when a trap like the Gelatinous Cube/Pit trap or his own Cube/Mimic trap works and the players are induced into 'running around like chickens with their heads cut off' mode.

[@codyhoney9101]

I'm putting this in my next session.

[@MonarchsFactory]

Thank you!! You didn't have to worry, my birthday's coming up this week so you're perfectly on time!

[@jrm13]

Happy birthday, fellow Leo!

[@splugen]

Happy human day!

[@TheDreamSyndicateArts]

It's a Factory of Monarchs in the wild! I'll have to check-out your Greek myth stuff as I've been back-burner noodling with a Greco-Roman setting for years! I'm happily reading through Theros atm!

[@Frederic_S]

Happy Birthday Ms Monarch

[@badasunicorn6870]

Happy b-day (that was?), love your stuff, and have permanently implimented your thieve's cant idea into my DMing

[@lolo2221]

One of the things I've adopted from a discussion on reddit is the "What do you do?" mechanic for traps. "As you step forward, you feel a slight tug on your foot. A tripwire. It's too late to not trigger the trap, what do you do?" Depending on what the trap is, and what the players say they do, changes the outcome of the trap. If it's a pitfall, and the player says they drop to the floor... well make your save at disadvantage and try again next time. If it's an arrow trap however, that same floor drop might give advantage on the save! Leaping from the trap might avoid it altogether, or it may put you more squarely in it. I also typically only give them a few seconds in real life to make their decisions, if they hesitate at the table their character hesitates and just stands there. Adds some drama and encourages quick thinking methinks.

[@enixxe]

"If you want to skip this video..." That is the exact opposite of anything I've ever wanted.

[@ZorgoXorgon]

I love traps that aren't just Dex Saves. Give the players an easy puzzle instead, a riddle, a difficult RP scenario, etc.

[@rhyzvanic3660]

My favourite kinds of traps will always be runes of reverse gravity. Especially in the middle of a fight. Suddenly, players are literally on different playing fields. Featherfall is a good spell to have in my games, FYI.

[@hangriat9376]

Those arent traps, then. They’re puzzles, riddles, or difficult RP scenarios

[@Sarivelle]

Matt, I know you read some of these comments, so I'd just like to say what an amazing thing you're doing here. Your running the game videos are one of the reasons I started playing D&D, and it's since then become a huge part of my life. Your help, advice, and witty comments on fantasy, politics, and whatever else happens to be on your mind are invaluable to me. You have made my life just a little bit better with these videos, thank you.

[@mrenotts]

I second this. Big time.

[@badasunicorn6870]

I third this, I wouldn't have been a DM if not for Matt, and I might even be a better person then if I hadn't come across running the game. It's also inspiring to see such a talented and passionate DM designer and writer make awesome stuff (refrencing S&F and the chain as well).

[@tellguzzo9848]

I’ll have to fourth this comment. My confidence as a DM comes from this series, and it always challenges me to not run the game by the book

[@alttaab]

Xanathar's Guide to Everything has an entire chapter dedicated to traps. It even introduces the concept of "Complex Traps" which play out like 1/2 combat 1/2 puzzle. I thought it was pretty neat. Sounds kinda like what you mention towards the end of the video. Keep up the great work Matt! =]

[@eclipset.9683]

I forgot about that, thanks for the reminder!

[@JadeNeoma]

+

[@Akeche]

Sometimes, not all the time but some of the time, it can seem like Matt hasn't read the newer books. I think he even admitted he hadn't read the DMG.

[@alttaab]

@@Akeche Yeah I figured that might the case, and I don't blame him. He seems like a very busy guy, and he's learned several editions of the game already. Just figured it would be helpful for others looking for trap resources. I'm definitely gonna check out the book of challenges.

[@MalcIgg]

Came to say the same, and also agree that Matt may have all the stuff he needs in is head, or existing references already. However the XgE is so good in many ways, Id recommend it fro all new players / DMs / at least a couple of copies in a play group :)

[@tobythompson3746]

I... never thought about it that way. Traps are made to prevent players from bringing all their force to bear, not just to drain resources and the like. I think I’m going to start using traps now, thank you.

[@Antipodeano]

An Indiana Jones style mosaic tiled floor (randomly trapped) with appropriate treasure visible on the far side. Crumbling floor tiles that fall to great depths, vines for grabbing to save yourself. On a complete set of failures (DC 15 avoid trapped tile, DC8 grab a vine) they fall and automatically become entangled in vines 20 feet below hanging in the void for rescue, taking some fall damage (2d6). To add the right amount of tension, once a tile crumbles, or the first character makes it across, skeletal warriors start to rise up and attack from the treasure, but they are also prone to falling through the tiles, except they don't grab the vines. Made for great tension and some real hilarity as characters could reach out to grab adjacent falling friends or vines. I also had some of the random treasure tumble down the pile and roll out onto the dodgy tiles, or have the skeletal warrior pick up the obviously magic weapon to use. Disarming came into play and so did abseiling into the depths to retrieve the fallen treasure.

[@ollep0lle]

Whats the difference?

[@dddmemaybe]

@@ollep0lle Containment rather than punishment.

[@TheGoblinoid]

MCDM: Raises 2M Matt: It's like we're a real company! Never change, man.

[@dahlmanerik]

"What is the fastest way to end up with a million dollars in the RPG industry? Start with two million dollars." :P

[@TheGoblinoid]

@@dahlmanerik Yeah, but I love Matt's humility. Like he appears to think he's no big deal.

[@dahlmanerik]

@@TheGoblinoid I realize. It's just a funny quote I heard from when I worked in the gaming industry. :)

[@TheGoblinoid]

@@dahlmanerik oh gotcha. Man, is it that rough?

[@dahlmanerik]

@@TheGoblinoid Definitely can be. I was with a larger company and wasn't actually in the RPG department. But, said large company just let their entire RPG department go about 5-6 months ago.....

[@niallkinsella2687]

"I put my information at the front so you don't have to spot through the whole video" ...instant like. Proceeds to watch whole video.

[@Ragdefender]

Coming from older editions one of the times I got confused was “where the heck is the disarm trap skill”. It took some time for me to realise that there isn’t any and players have to come up of the way to disarm it and describe how to the dm.

[@JadeNeoma]

Tbph i always just thought that sleight of hand was expanded to cover it. I always ask my players to describe what they are attempting to do though to make sure it would even work if they are successful

[@collin6691]

Its thieves tools in 5e. The describe hw to do it approach is more OSR

[@Ragdefender]

Collin I do that for lock related traps. But some traps can’t be disarmed by thief tools. Leaves covering a spiked pit for example.

[@Ragdefender]

Jordyn Young Yes me too because I was stuck with the mindset that one of these things had to be the disarm trap skill. It can be used sometimes depending on the trap I guess.

[@jonathantalerico2580]

Thieves tools is the default but you have to take the trap into consideration. Leaves over a pit isn't a "disarmable" trap. You have to go around it or though it. There isn't triggering there. A trip wire, pressure plate, or something of the like is where thieves tools come in.

[@gustavoluna3574]

Hey Matt, I've been Dm'ing for my Dad and sister throughout quarantine and I'd like to say thank you for this series. Its been a wealth of helpful guidance.

[@JadeNeoma]

Speaking of Dael, her video on traps is a great follow on from this, it talks more about theming and in world explanations of traps

[@ShadowRadiance]

This one? kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYm9iYaPn9Ghfac

[@williamkitty6246]

My husband has been the "forever DM" and I wanted to give him a chance to play. Your videos have been so helpful to me as I try my hand at running the game. I am excited to see that you are still making them. Thank you for all the tips and tricks- I have been really enjoying being the DM.

[@splugen]

Bless you for DMing, I'm sure you'll do great

[@abihansen2119]

So hyped to see more RTG videos. Easily my favorite series on KZbin. Love these vids Matt!

[@kolskit]

When you’re considering if a trap is what you need to make your encounter more interesting, and in that moment your phone tells you Matt just uploaded a video about Traps. I love synchronicity.

[@RainaThrownAway]

Serendipity.

[@BlueCrabAnimals]

Yeah, he's really honing his psychic skills recently!

[@sebbychou]

The iron gate trap was the one where they used the portable hole to go through right?

[@CritCrab]

Oh I'm early I better say something funny, uhh Haha Matt Colville hair go ✨✨

[@sirblockepicmcswaggins5248]

Crab? Crab! Hey man, how you doing?

[@shanespence3084]

All hail the crab king 🦀

[@TheGoblinoid]

I love that you comment on stuff.

[@unknqwnshepherd1872]

All hail the crab king

[@QuirkyEclipse]

I love you, Matt!! I am making a dungeon, so I needed this urgently!

[@TheBuddyd]

Matt Colville, slowly succumbing to Lycanthropy right before our eyes!

[@TheArcturusProject]

Absolutely love that you tell everything in the beginning without a stupid intro music video etc. I always watch the whole video because you have great content

[@pieterpauwels548]

one thing I found in grimtooth's that I really liked was something called the "idiot's vase", although I modify it to be more fun and less brutal. My interpretation is an enchanted vase that visibly has a key or some other piece of loot at the bottom, but if you stick your hand in, you never seem to be able to reach the bottom. if you break it, the enchantment shatters and deals force damage. the real trick to it is to simply turn it upside down and let gravity do the work.

[@Sirrano_]

One of my favourite things for the third use of traps, especially when it comes to higher levels, is the glyph or warding spell. The spell can do a lot of dynamic things - silencing spellcasters, wall of fire and the like the split the party, etc. It can even do something "traps" definitely aren't intended to do, and a powerful cleric could throw a glyph of warding down to cast Heal on themselves (or a similar beneficial spell) in response to a certain trigger. In my game recently a Drow Matron Mother had a very mediocre time when the party got a clutch Feeblemind off on her, making her far less threatening. If she ever comes back from the dead (very unlikely, but not impossible) she'll be sure to have a glyph that Heals her if she makes an attack with her Demon Staff - a last resort option normally, but really the only thing she can do once feebleminded. I think generally when it comes to traps to make a seemingly easy or manageable encounter spiral out of the party's control, traps that divide and conquer, or debilitate the party somehow, are much better choices than traps that simply do some additional damage. The goal with a trap in this scenario in my opinion is to make the party ask "well how to we deal with this new problem in addition to the enemies we face" and a trap that just fireballs the party or similar is easily answered with "heal through it". Another great video, I know I'll be checking out the book of challenges and maybe throwing some of these nasties at my players in the future. :)

[@thehillisalive]

I'm way earlier into the RTG series and am so happy you're still coming out with more! I'm not COMPLETELY new to DMing (I've DMed maybe 3ish campaigns with a new one this Saturday) but every single video I basically learn at least one new thing and it's so engaging and interesting! Thanks so much and excited to learn more!

[@thehillisalive]

Update: last night was session 1 with my new party, and it went so smoothly and everyone was laughing nearly the whole time. I took lots of advice from the RtG series and I think it really helped

[@matthewturner5178]

The T-section trap sounds like a perfect example of chronic and sustained cruelty. I love it

[@arthurcarlyle7263]

Two things: 1. I have used Treacherous Traps (5e) and, although it isn't perfect, it adds an incredible amount of the 'stuff' I want in trap making. I was a backer to their project and wasn't disappointed in the slightest. Highly recommended! 2. This is a general comment about Matthew Colville's videos that I didn't really recognise until now. Coming from someone who teaches college-level students, this video made me realise that Matthew Colville is incredibly good at explaining things that are incredibly obvious in a way that anyone could understand. This isn't a slight against him in any way, as doing so can be incredibly tedious and sometimes difficult. Thank you, Matthew, for being the kind of person D&D nerds need, but don't deserve.

[@Afrancis1968]

I made a poison trap that is the classic "the doors close and poison starts to fill the room." The trick was the trap opens in three rounds, but the characters can easily plug the pipes where the poison comes from. There was very high anxitey and basically told the players that if they're not careful they could die. By the way, this was in pathfinder 2e.

[@kjs5932]

Matt, I am working a night shift and super bored and just found this new upload so I just wanted to shout out to you and say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thanks to your series I have started running DND with literal zero experience just 4 months ago, now we are well into the thick of my homebrew campaign. I ran oneshots for 10 people, all of who want to keep playing and I have a steady group of 5 who send me endless praises. Which really belongs to you. Just a few months ago, I would have never imagined playing, god forbid running DND, thinking it to be something only a veteran could do. The way you explained the game, how you interpreted this complex game into simple components and explained its merits had me too jittery to play with my friends and I just had to try. Before, DND was some nerd thing too intense for me, now its a playground for me and my friends to craft as we please. 2 of my players initially didnt even want to play DND at all because they thought it wasnt for them (one is sports freak and the other never liked rpg or gaming like rest of us) and after running the game in your Colvillian style (I say that to them a lot) they can't get enough! They are the ones bugging me constantly to play more frequently now. Even if you dont read this, just wanted to say thanks, for bringing such a delight into my life in a time that could have been very dark. You truly are a river to your people.

[@colinbunn6066]

After months of drought, we're getting so many videos so soon. Maybe 2020 is getting better...

[@messydeskproductions4159]

He is a river to his people

[@Antipodeano]

www.twitch.tv/mcdm/ is another great place to get your Colville fix!

[@christopherclubb9167]

He's been busy with Kingdoms and Warfare, which I am stoked for!

[@FruitH.]

I see this commentor didn’t use the company issued time machine. Unlucky ☹️

[@dodostarforce]

I ran my first ever campaign for 3 of my friends on Sunday and it went INCREDIBLY. Even though it was over Google Hangouts. We all had a blast and are excited to play again this Sunday. And it was entirely due to your videos! (as well as dimension 20 and naddpod inspiration). The tips you provided helped make my first session 1000 times better than it would have been otherwise, though I do also have my incredible players to thank for such a good time too. Thank you so much for helping me gain the confidence I needed to run a game of D&D. When I got into it, it wasn't even hard! Excited to see where this incredible hobby takes me and my friends and I'm excited to steal more of your ideas and put them in my game

[@jonothanthrace1530]

5:31 I think Wizards is leaving money on the table by not having toy soldier style Bucket of Goblins (with attachable bases so you can use them as minis) for sale.

[@azuraben5128]

Love how straightforward you are with your early explanations! Keep being an outlier, for me it gives me even more incentive to watch the full video!

[@Parker8752]

Traps can also encourage exploration of more complex dungeons - if the party spot a trap, and there are routes they haven't yet been, they might decide to explore one of those routes to see if there's a way around the trap. Locked doors can have the same function. In terms of splitting the party with traps, pit traps are excellent for this. It's a little bit of fall damage - but if you put a couple of zombies at the bottom of a 15' pit, you've created a situation where only one or two party members are in immediate danger - leading the others to focus on helping whoever ended up in the pit. If a couple of ghouls then take advantage of the distraction, you've got yourself a pretty tense fight. I mean, for a party of four level 4 PCs, two zombies and two ghouls are a medium encounter, but if you've split the party like that, it's a whole (hole?) other situation to deal with. Sure, provided they have a cleric, the party will almost certainly get through largely unscathed, but during the fight itself? Much like with the portcullis, they're having to deal with not being able to use the tactics they're used to using. The important thing with traps is that they have to make sense when you consider who lives in the area. Nobody is going to defend their lair with a trap they themselves cannot easily get past.

[@lfoster6759]

What about a cave-in instead of a pit trap? A natural weakening of the floor in a catacombs built too close to an underground river or cistern -- the stones fall away, the characters fall into a sinkhole beneath. The noise attracts a bunch of undead. Same trap, but now it's more synchronous, makes more sense within the setting. Not to mention, the adventurers now have difficult terrain to negotiate when they are on their way back out of the catacombs, maybe while being chased by a large army of undead they disturbed deeper within. Hmm.

[@Parker8752]

@@lfoster6759 Works just as well; the idea of a pit trap was more because a necromancer could just throw a couple of corpses into the pit, then cast animate dead on them (I forgot that it has a 10' range, but the necromancer could animate them and then order them to dig the pit - at that point, the control over the zombies will wear out, but the necromancer won't need that control because they're at the bottom of a pit.

[@mitchelllawson1096]

That T-junction trap is so evil, I'm laughing

[@xuetheviewer3897]

Something I kind of love about this video is that most of the advice you give here is just what you've been saying for years in Q&As, and live streams and the like when you would get questions about traps but in a concise and significantly more put together format.

[@Nukeclearchipmunk]

"It's like we're a real company with this stuff." -Matt Matt, you *are* a real company

[@novaseaker]

My favorite rules for traps in any edition of D&D are "Encounter Traps" from 3rd edition. Originally published in Secrets of Xen'drik for the Eberron setting, and then reprinted in the core product line in the Dungeonscape book. "Encounter Traps" differed from regular 3rd edition traps in that they each required multiple successful disarm traps, and they had evolving or repeating effects every round. You rolled initiative when they were triggered, and you had so many rounds to figure out how to disarm it before or while something bad was happening. Classic!

[@granthuttar5755]

I'm very impressed by your analytical approach to how and why to use traps. I've been watching videos all day looking for ideas and this is the first that really made me think in depth about the reasons behind the traps and getting into the mindset of the players that could interact with them.

[@BenGreen1980]

Another fantastic third edition book is "Traps & Treachery" which has detailed mechanical descriptions for traps and how to describe them to players who notice them and what they can do to disarm them.

[@rworrick8037]

Awwww, this is going to make Dael's day. I love you man, thanks for continuing to be a river to your people.

[@JP-mg5hy]

I clicked on this video, thinking about that book on my shelf. Then you explicitly mentioned it. I LOVED that book when I was a kid. I sat and read through them all, because I didn't have people to actually play with on the long summer days.

[@travispackard9946]

Matt you're awesome! I would just like to say that these videos are what really got me into DMing. I've been at it for a little over a year and already got 3 of my players to DM and one other is thinking about at least doing a 1 shot! Thank you for all that you do. Keep up the great work man.

[@emiliarinaldi1534]

I heard you talking about a lot of this before, but I'm glad it is now all in one video for easy reference. Plus, you are always fun and inspiring to listen to.

[@GMspiration]

Ugh... Stage 4 lock-down... mandatory masks... beginnings of cabin fever.... This week su- A running the game video! Best. Week. Ever.

[@sjlemmon]

Hey ive just started stage 4 too. Must be an aussie

[@GMspiration]

@@sjlemmon and both Victorians I'd wager.

[@DimaJeydar]

That time seems so distant now.

[@krakesgarrick5203]

Matt- I always love the enthusiasm you bring to whatever your subject is, and you always help me to really think about what I want to add to my campaigns. Right now I'm working on a dungeon that relies heavily on illusions and traps, and you've given me some good food for thought here. Thank you!

[@cannedcream]

Traps don't always have to be deadly or dangerous to spice up a mission. I remember during one campaign through an enemy stronghold, we passed through a normal looking hallway only to discover the hard way one of the walls had a powerful magnet installed behind it. Everyone with metal armor or weapons needed to do a strength save; easy for the ones with only a few things, and damn hard for anyone in heavy metal armor like our paladin who failed and found themselves pinned to the wall. This put us in the situation of figuring out how we free them before a guard patrol could find us. The paladin could take off his armor to un-stick himself, but then he'd have to adapt to, well, not having any armor until we could get it unstuck. While the trap itself was never the danger, it really helped break up the flow of the dungeon and forced us as the players to get creative.

[@wesrose4258]

“If you spend this time making traps, you’re just making the game more tedious.” Amen and AMEN.

[@craigjones7343]

I absolutely love this video series and look forward to every new episode. It has been a great resource for me as a GM who has not run a game in over 18 years, and a first time D&D GM.

[@grantgravity_plus]

Amazing video. Every vid doesn’t need to be mind-blowing to be valuable. Sometimes us DMs just need a reminder like “Hey, this thing you take for granted? Be more creative with it.”

[@ENTProductions]

A Matt Colville video under 45 mins?? Sacrilege of the highest order!

[@pathfinderGM]

Im using some simple traps in my campaign right now. The adventures have to get thru a tunnel complex with 2 groups fighting inside. Goblins and kolbolts. Kolbolts are using traps and tactics to fight back. Sometimes the adventures comes across a trap that has already tripped with some troops in the middle of recovering. Or come across the trap maker and a defense squad resetting traps and looting bodies in those traps. The nice thing is when they start going the wrong way the traps get more elaborate and patrols become more common. And this makes sense because it is getting closer to one group or the other. This is great for lower levels because I dont know if they will but they can always come back once they are stronger to wipe out one or both of the groups of monsters. Plus they can role play, they are lost and come across a hobgoblin nearly dead in a trap that was set off. They could kill and loot him or they can pull him out and use him as their guide. Then the question becomes how do they do this? Threats and intimidation vs mercy and kindness. Each thing has their own perks and benefits

[@TorianTammas]

Nathan Kelly - Brilliant idea to have the characters in the middle of two fighting factions and they actually see what is going on.

[@FusterCluck678]

One of my favorite stories involving a trap was when I was a player, my first 5e game actually. We were in the underdark going through a cave with old worked stone (I was a dwarf and my stonecunning check revealed to me this place is old and was important at one point(red flag #1)). We came to a narrow passageway that led to a T intersection. In the middle of this passage unbeknownst to us was a pressure plate. One of the players stepped on it and it clicked. Nothing happened. They stepped off fine. The next player went, click, nothing. The third player, cocky and assuming the trap old and broken after all this time, crossed it, click, and a fireball went off at the plate's location burning him. I was the 4th to cross and I remember sitting there like "oh well that's simply amazing!"

[@Sincato]

You diagnosed my trap anxiety perfectly! Really appreciate the way you broke it down in a way that makes a trap useful to the DM. The DM’s guide should be written like this.

[@Ben.Pickett3]

Just discovered today that my first ever d&d adventure was done in the delian tomb. Loved it and glad to know that no matter how experienced you are these videos are always useful. Respect to Matt and my dm John the Geordie

[@cjjackstraw]

Thanks for all the advice! I recently started playing again. I originally played with my brother and friends in the late 70s. Now I'm teaching my kids. These vids are really helping me improve as a DM. Wish I had them when I was 12!

[@MistaXFacta]

Listening to Matt Colville talk about D&D gets me excited in a way I can only assume an 80's kid running AD&D did back in the day. My only experience is with 5e in the past five-ish years and I only feel this excited about running an "Adventure" rather than a campaign when listening to one of your videos. Don't know how you do it, but it's pretty awesome!

[@Rallarberg]

The best (most memorable) trap for me ended up as an NPC. Long story short-ish: The party ventured down into the dungeons beneath the ruins of Castle Greyhawk. Zagig himself had put a magical trap on a door decades ago, a pretty tough one to find and disarm. But the rogue of the party didn't come that evening, so instead I decided the magic of the trap had made the door sentient! When the ranger searched the door, and failed the check, the door shouted "BOOM! Did I get'cha?" and grinned. After a short convensation, and some much needed lubrication on the hinges, the door agreed to become the front door of the party's estate back in the River Quarter of Greyhawk, that they were currently renovating.

[@DrewZaun]

Matt, thank you so much for this epic resource! I’m 46 and have wanted to play D&D since I was about 8 and my older brother played, but for reasons I never did. This year looking for something to do with my older kids I found the starter kit, and figured if I wanted to get involved, I’ll just learn how to DM and trick my kids into playing. I’m running a group of four kids 11-13 now and we’re all hooked! Im loving your videos and I’m hoping my kids will soon be asking me how to DM for their friends too. Thanks again!

[@JinhC]

In 5e, when deciding how much difficult a trap's stuff should be to interact with, or how much damage a trap would do, it's a good idea to use the stats of a monster in the dungeon. I could swear i heard this first in one of your videos, but since I didn't hear it in this one I wanted to vouch for that advice.

[@Bluecho4]

It's also useful to consider what, in-universe, the trap is intended to do. Not "what are the mechanics of the trap", but it's function within the larger space it occupies. Traps take a great deal of time, effort, knowledge, and resources to build and maintain. The more complex the trap, the more of all of those you need. A trap built to last hundreds of years without maintenance even moreso. No one goes to those lengths without a good reason. Nor do they implement them within spaces they intend to occupy (even for a brief period) without good reason. Tombs tend to just want to discourage looters, so their traps will be designed to hurt or kill casual grave robbers (1d6 damage is often more than sufficient). If the trap is designed to slow intruders down, the traps will be more inconvenient than damaging (though a foot stepping into a spiked-filled hole that cripples it for life will certainly inconvenience and slow them). If the trap makers would rather capture intruders, the traps will be built to _literally_ trap them in a confined space, knock them out, or otherwise make locating them easier (instead of a spiked pit trap, it might just be a regular pit). Even "insane wizard dungeons" (Tomb of Horrors, White Plume Mountain) have some esoteric purpose, even if known only to the insane wizard who built it. Etc, etc.

[@jackielinde7568]

Eh, I don't think you should do that with using monster stats to determine. Part of having a trap is to break up the monotony of "Let me throw another monster at the party". Which means, unlike a random encounter, the trap's going to have some purpose or goal in mind of its creator. Some traps (like pit traps without spikes, net traps, snare traps, and those snapjaw traps (bear traps)) are all designed capture, immobilize, and/or restrain a target without killing the target. (Maiming, however, is still on the table.) These are used by group who do believe in taking prisoners or like to recruit more slaves. This is why they're found all around goblin lairs. And, since they're generally not lethal (and hopefully the home teams knows where they are), they won't typically have a disarm or kill switch. Then you have what I call "the corridor traps". These are usually built into structures, and their primary purposes are to slow down any attacking group, alert the defenders that an attack is on the way, and buy those defenders time to organize their defenses. Again, these aren't generally designed to be lethal, but at this point the defenders probably aren't too interested in taking captives. Since these people are living with these traps in a manner akin to "sleeping with a loaded gun under their pillow", these traps won't be "fully lethal" and will have some sort of deactivation mechanism or bypass so the locals don't generally fall in them. But in no terms should a party of adventurers take these traps on willy nilly. Finally, we come to what I call "treasure traps". These traps are there to guard something, someplace, or someone very important. These should be the traps that leave red stains on the walls and brown stains in armor. If the party fails to detect or disarm the trap, there should be a good chance someone dies. A trap could be something as small as a needle or as large as a 50 foot corridor. The outcome could be poison, magic, a rain of rocks and rubble, or just some good, old-fashion sharp blade of steel on a swingy stick. But these traps should be the hardest to detect and disarm. Again, for these traps, they'll have ways to disarm them, and I'm generally of the mindset that there should be some clue as to the danger and disarming. It could be as simple as the corpse of some unsuccessful thief, odd stains on the floor, or even watching some retreating kobold forget the trap was there in their panic and tripped it. Which brings me to the other thing: detecting the trap. You're not going to get that from CR rating of the local monsters. That's going to be a combination of many factors: Skill of the trapmaker, age of the trap, and how much your goofy party is paying attention to their surroundings. A goblin who has to tie up two dozen snare traps probably isn't going to be too bothered making a perfect slip not for the trap or completely covering it with leaf litter. Likewise, a pit trap dug ages ago isn't going to have the greenest of cover and recent rains might have started eroding the side. Then again, maybe those dwarven miners and sculptures were talented enough to make those pressure plates nearly indistinguishable from the flagstone around them. But, even the most poorly concealed snare trap can snag a party on the run from a band of bugbears because the party wasn't watching where they were going.

[@RladalFatih]

@@Bluecho4 I agree about thinking of their use in-universe. Personally, that's why I don't use most of the really Indiana-Jonesque traps, and prefer to play with simple, practical ones. There's a lot your local kobolds/goblins can do just with hidden pits, nets, tripwire-crossbows and some hidden bear traps. I think they add a lot of immersion to some creatures, meaning attacking them on their turf is a real pain. Like, Matt's example with orcs and their pit traps is excellent.

[@TorianTammas]

@@jackielinde7568 If one has monotony in the story then one has no story. If the players are not eager to reach a certain point like getting the princess before the dragon eats is then you have two choices. Simply close the book as the adventure is over or get more interesting fast.

[@cryoshakespeare4465]

The thing that goes for traps as well as all dramatic devices - simple premise, with an unexpected twist, and opportunity for further drama. It's nearly a foolproof format. Gate slams down, but just between the two groups of party members! And now, hobgoblins are coming to see what happened. Let me make one - a pressure plate fires out arrows, moderate damage. But they hit oil lanterns on the far side of the corridor, and now flames rush towards the players. The entrance to the mine they just came in, propped up by wooden beams.

[@beansmalone1305]

thanks for the videos. after watching a ton of them and being enterttained for hours without being bombarded with ads I figured I'd buy one of your books. I started with priest and loved it now I just picked up the next one thief. can't wait to get into it. thanks again.

[@benjaminstout941]

As I am running a funhouse megadungeon I have given my traps a Rube Goldberg vibe in the descriptions as much as I can. What the players don't know is that the two liches that run the Megadungeon are MC Escher (the architect for the whole dungeon) and Rube Goldberg (master of trap design). I love the use of Rube Goldberg as insperation. Great job Matt.

[@benjaminstout941]

Matt Colville thanks for the series. I have built/am building the "Blackhaven Caverns" the formentioned Megadungeon based on your video on the Whiteplume Mountain. And I have had great joy at seeing my players try and thwart the overly elaborate trap mechanisms. Also I have been passing your videos along to some of my players who are preparing to move behind the screen themselves.

[@losmiercoles]

I just wanted to say, I've binged your whole series to get the courage to start DMing. Two sessions in, my players are having a lot of fun, I feel comfortable and have fun, we love the story I'm telling and I wanted to thank you 👍🏻

[@johnnycoutant3158]

I have always loved traps and this is perfectly in line with my thoughts. What I really enjoyed was how you succinctly expanded on them. Great video. Thanks Matt.

[@PXander]

One of my favorite channels out there, thanks for all your work Matt!

[@autolykos9822]

Completely agree. To understand where to put what kind of trap, it's best to look at it from a military perspective: What is the proper use of mine fields, tank ditches and barbed wire? It is either to slow down enemies *where you can easily spot and shoot them*, or to allow you to cover your flanks with only a few sentries, with the "traps" giving you time to send reinforcements and making it harder for your enemy to sneak by (or delaying them enough that they will be inconsequential when they finally make it). Basically use #3 and #2. Use #1 only happens incidentally, when one of the former kind of traps gets abandoned, and is pretty much useless. As the saying goes: "An obstacle not covered by fire is not an obstacle".

[@michaelthomas1916]

New monster: Bucket o' Goblins. "It's what you think it is." This is going in my next dungeon.

[@MCPhssthpok]

My favourite trap from Grimtooth's was Fibber McGee's Cupboard of Caltrops. Literally just a cupboard full of caltrops that would fall out all over the players when they opened the door

[@GoldNEagle92]

10:34 So this trap is basically 2020 in trap form

[@agatheringofplayers]

The reason I watch your Running the Game series is because you get straight to the point. Seriously. With other people’s DM tips KZbin videos the person blathers on and on. Most likely to eek out extra minutes to fit more ads.

[@DurdleDers]

My heart lights up every time I see a new RTG video. Even in these dark days when DnD is scarce to play, always nice to have a mini delve into the imagination with our main man Matt.

[@davelens4714]

I love that we occasionally get directed to 2e or 3e books to look through for specific content, such as Gary Gygax's Book of Names in another video, and now the Book of Challenges. It's a bit of a challenge sometimes to port content to 5e, but it's not all that hard if you look past the minutia.

[@cynistar742]

What's the book of names focus on?

[@Ronin147]

@@cynistar742 dont want to be that guy but .... names. lol its book of names form different cultures and mythos to help name npcs and such.

[@TimTamSlam7]

I actually like having a reference to other sources in general. It’s nice to make a wish list of all the things I would love to read through and have a play around with.

[@pulloutkingthefinestnamein3089]

Tamazaaa Exactly! I love ordering PODs of old books on drivethrurpg. Just the other day I ordered the old Spelljammer book.

[@davelens4714]

​@@cynistar742 It's quite literally a guide on how to name things for different cultures: Primarily characters, but also cities, rivers, etc,... It's quite thorough and would recommend it to anyone homebrewing!

[@bbald90]

"A Bucket of Goblins" made me laugh harder than it reasonably should have.

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Grimtooth's books of traps are awesome. In 3.5 the rules on traps are more precise. I use traps in my campaign (3.5). I haven't played a lot of 5e but I've never encountered one in 5e. Interesting video.

[@girrafecrappinuryard]

This is phenomenal, I was stuck in such a block trying to figure out some good thematic traps and this gave me just the boost I needed! Thank you Matt!!

[@rudeboyjohn3483]

I enjoy utilizing the Passive Perception mechanic in 5e. Adventurer slips through a door, and notices the low perception check to notice the tripwire (without need to roll the dice). Now they are aware. Now they can investigate the layout of the contraption. They can worry. They can problem solve. It comes down to the description of the workings of the obstacle.

[@Beaurisque]

Dael Kingsmill had a super good suggestion about traps in one of her video : the "Click" moment. When someone triggers a trap, describe briefly the sound it makes and ask the player "Fast! What do you do?". If the player says "I jump!" or "I shout "On the ground!" and duck down", depending on the kind of trap, maybe offer advantage for the saving throw roll or let the player dodge it completly if that makes sense. That worked pretty well in my game!

[@awesomesauce1ish]

One of my favorite traps is a simple rope snare that lifts the character into the air when triggered. The character is dangling upside down, and has to rely on their comrades to free them using a nearby release. If the other characters simply cut the rope, the character falls and takes a bit of damage. If the rope is slowly let out, the reach the ground safely. I find it works really well to have one of these traps on a path so the players can learn the mechanics, then start placing these traps in combat encounters. Melee characters are removed from combat, ranged characters have their mobility taken away, and the party must weigh freeing their friend vs finishing the encounter

[@Ahrimas]

Every time I click on a new Colville video I learn a little something more about running dnd. I never thought about traps beyond step on trap, get hit before.

[@stevenclark1662]

Just want to say, I Love your books, games, videos and other media. I hope The Chain Of Acheron returns soon! But if they dont, keep doin' you! Everything I've seen from MCDM is pure entertainment (and even informative!)

[@adstud1]

Arrived here looking for some devious traps (I fell in love with the gelatinous cube/pitfall trap) for my Theros campaign, walked away with a beautiful additional source in Heroes and Villains of Theros. Must have been fate. This man's videos are always full of surprises.

[@alexmercer2743]

I've been watching your videos for years, and I'm finally going to DM for the first time this week. Thanks for everything Matt!

[@mikef.1807]

THIS TIMING WAS PERFECT! I am a new-ish DM and I've really been wanting help with traps. Also I have to need to TP-KO my players so I've bought all the stuff from DM's Guild. I bet they are really loving you Mat!

[@JPBennett]

Pathfinder's traps system is great, and "haunts" is one of the best implementation of traps.

[@intruder313]

They gave way too much XP though

[@mmerrill6181]

They give a lot less (relatively) in 2e but have a lot of the same feeling

[@bryal7811]

I remember a few of the haunts in RIse of the Runelords. They could be pretty nasty if you failed enough rolls but always had some great failsafes to continue into more RP opportunities or info about the area you were exploring. One was within an abandoned cabin in the mountains. A blizzard hits during travel and the players are forced to take shelter. Inside however, they're met with the ghosts of dwarves who try desperately to warn the players. Fear and madness spiral out of control, hindering the players more than helping them despite their best efforts before the wails of a CR 17 Wendigo ring through the night. The haunt is just a setup for the encounter to build atmosphere and it's such a great use for it! Another was the haunted mansion on an oceanside cliff where foxglove took up hiding, in which you learn about his dead lover and her demise. Failure to resist the haunt had a character get possessed. It starts slow by opening the window in her bedroom, gazing out to an ocean but soon escalates into leaping out onto the steep roof. At this point the player can break free of the haunt and try to grab onto the edge but if one rolled bad enough, multiple times, they'd fall to their demise into the ocean or even get skewered on the weather vane! Most traps end up being a "Surprise!" one and done event that either causes damage and has the players feeling cheated for rolling poorly or on the other hand, grinds the game to a halt as they find a trap and endlessly plan on how to avoid it if the disable device check fails. Haunts on the other hand, give so many more opportunities.

[@JPBennett]

@@bryal7811 Exactly. And the solution to a haunt is always creative, too. It's not just a disable device roll, but you have to figure out and satisfy the condition. Delivering the ghost's last letter written while it was alive, or somesuch.

[@DM-Damian]

My players are currently on their first dungeon crawl, this video could not have come at a better time. Thanks Matt!

[@hobbsgoblin7498]

I GOT here 19 seconds after it was posted but I watched it 5 hours later. Some days stuff gets busy but it is always a pleasure to get a running the game video.

[@heathenwizard]

Excellent video! That Gelatinous Cube trap is fiendish and clever. Cubes are my favorite monster and I've always wanted to make a dungeon wherein players are forced to run away from a slowly-advancing ooze, like in The Blob. Seems like a perfect fit for Ghaunadaur/Juiblex!

[@ErcMan013]

that trap description made me laugh so hard I started coughing. I love traps like that!

[@williamotoole1540]

Matt I just wanna say, your videos make me genuinely happy

[@kwagmeijer26]

The advice I have for traps is: context matters. I pressure plate in the middle of a hallway is different from a pressure plate in the middle of a room. On paper, they may have the same stats, but the one in the middle of the room is much easier to bypass. The trick to good traps is using the context around it to give players the opportunity to creative their way around it if disarming it isn't an option. Plus, if players do bypass a trap instead of disarming it, it now can serve more purposes. Making escape harder for the players if they have to run, or giving the players a resource to use against enemies.

[@Bluecho4]

One of the tricks I learned from The Angry GM is what he called the "Click Rule". Where if you set off a trap, you are given some kind of warning that they just did so. The eponymous "click", and it should reflect how the trap's activation method and general nature. (The click of a pressure plate, the snapping of a tripwire, the turning of gears in a mechanism, the landing of a huge rolling rock, etc). At that moment, the DM asks "what's your immediate response?". It's your split second reaction to setting a trap off. Depending on what you decide (which, if you take too long, might be "Nothing"), you might get Advantage, Disadvantage, or a neutral reaction when making the resulting saving throw (or, where applicable, the trap is given Advantage or Disadvantage on its roll to hit you). Examples include diving in a particular direction, blocking with a shield, ducking, etc. It's whatever you decide to do in the moment between activating the trap and it going off. The purpose of this mechanic - this extra step to traps - is to give the player more agency in what is often a binary state between sensing the trap, and not sensing the trap and thus being at the mercy of the dice. You get to decide how you react, and thus have just the slightest measure of control.

[@DarkSoulsSauron]

i own that book and it really shaped how I view encounter design. i was lucky to read it early in my gaming career

[@DarkSoulsSauron]

honestly, the first chapter with it's 10 rules for encounter design are all you really need from the book. it gives you a handy checklist of things you should ask yourself as you design not just encounters but dungeons and story beats. everything else is just examples of how to use those 10 rules in action so you can brew your own ideas

[@SneakySeahorse]

Xanathar's Guide To Everything also has a section on simple and complex traps, how to make them, and examples of each. It's a good starting point for making your own traps.

[@Tbrekke]

My favourite thing to think about when designing a dungeon is a big mechanism for getting a gelatinous cube to the top of the dungeon to clean it, activating whenever someone steps on a pressure plate near the entrance. The mechanism takes time, so the players have plenty of time to wonder what the 'trap' may have been as they descend. Add in a room at the end of the dungeon with 10ft square grid in the floor that the cube falls through to reset the mechanism, filtering out any loot it might have picked up.

[@Humorless_Wokescold]

Book of Challenges is so good! I've been using that eternally respawning frog trap for ten years now. It's the perfect middle ground between whimsical and dangerous. The party is in real danger but there's just something funny about almost dying to an endlessly respawning army of foot tall frogs that explode in a cloud of chlorine.

[@M4TCH3SM4L0N3]

Please don't underestimate the value of what you consider a "boring" video like this! For me, the second best way (second only to experience) for me to learn about hhow to run the game is to hear you dissect the rationale behind the mechanics of the game. I would watch an entire series of just you describing the rationale of the seemingly most mundane development decisions because that's how I grow my understanding of things: by exploring the boundaries of what they are. Please post more Running the Game videos even if it is just you rambling about something you have alalready talked about before; I guarantee that there will be value in it for us.

[@oOPPHOo]

Little tip that's less about traps and more about combat design: Have combat take place in a room filled with traps. It creates fun dilemmas. A pressure plate triggers a bottle of everlasting smoke. Suddenly the room is heavily obscured by smoke, the echolocation relying bats are angry and there are still a bunch of pressure plates in the room threatening to electrocute anyone who steps on them. As Matt brings up, pits are a fun way of creating tension in combat because suddenly the party may be isolated from an important roll in the party like the frontline barbarian of the damage dealing rogue. Fill the pit with poisonous snakes that don't really damage the trap victim as much as the poisoned condition just makes it difficult to climb out. Having something else to fight down in the pit means that even if the victim can't get out in a few rounds, they still have something to do.

[@oOPPHOo]

Edit: and of course I should've just finished the video. Matt touches on this use of traps. Still, maybe my concrete examples will be of use.