Magic Traps (for dummies)

[GakToid]

Our group is having a bit of a contention on magic traps so I'm going to try and post the question and be as least biased as I can.

There are 3 types of traps: Mechanical, Magic Device, and Spell Traps.

Do either Magic Device traps or Spell traps show up with detect magic?

Only a rogue can use the search skill to find a trap. Once found, can the rogue point out a trap to other characters?

Once found, can the rogue point out a spell trap, such as a Glyph of Warding, to another character to either avoid the glyph or target it for dispel magic or read magic?

Can a magic trap, either a magic device or spell trap, be dispelled or suppressed with a Dispel Magic cast as the Burst option?

Thanks for your input!

 

[Black Knight Irios]

Do either Magic Device traps or Spell traps show up with detect magic?

Magic is involved so detect magic will detect that magic, the answer is yes!

Only a rogue can use the search skill to find a trap. Once found, can the rogue point out a trap to other characters?

The Rogue can tell them where the trap is, so that the WIZ might dispel it if it is a magical one, but later on that.

Once found, can the rogue point out a spell trap, such as a Glyph of Warding, to another character to either avoid the glyph or target it for dispel magic or read magic?

Yes, he can.

Can a magic trap, either a magic device or spell trap, be dispelled or suppressed with a Dispel Magic cast as the Burst option?

Yes, the magic can be surpressed with dispel magic for 1d4 rounds like any other magical item and a magical trap is nothing than a special purpose magic item. The group walk through all magic traps with an active Anti Magic Field and most of the traps will be useless at all against them.

 

[jgsugden]

Clever DMs can hide magic traps from detect magic.

The spell can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.

A thin sheet of lead can block detect magic, so if the trigger for the magical effect is blocked from view by a thin sheet of lead (or 1" of common metal, etc ...), then the magic will be hidden from the spell.

How can this be used? It is best used with certain triggers: Sound, Touch and Timed are the best traptriggers for magic traps covered by lead.

Sound can penetrate lead (though it will be muffled), so it can be used easily. Touch can be used indirectly, where the PCs do something that causes something else to move and touch the trigger (or stop touching the trigger, as in a lead hinge that opens that contains the trap on the inside of the hinge).

When you hide a trap behind lead, you must make sure that you maintain a line of effect from where the trap is hidden to where you want it to go off. In the case of a thin lead covering and damage spells, you can often blast right through through the lead covering. For instance, a fireball spell that goes off right where the trap is located can often blast through the lead and carry on to others in the room. Other techniquest to maintain line of effect involve using angles so that the trap can not be seen from where it is located, but a line of effect will go to where the center of the effect is located.

I use these techniques to hide magical traps in higher level games. A rogue can still find them with a search skill, but walking around with detect magic does little or nothing to help the PCs out.

 

[Black Knight Irios]

A thin sheet of lead can block detect magic, so if the trigger for the magical effect is blocked from view by a thin sheet of lead (or 1" of common metal, etc ...), then the magic will be hidden from the spell.

That wasn't the question, but basically you can detect traps involving magic with detect magic.

And I don't think, he was thinking about high lvl adventures with lead protected traps and the like, but sure it was good to mention it.

 

[jgsugden]

That wasn't the question, but basically you can detect traps involving magic with detect magic.

And I don't think, he was thinking about high lvl adventures with lead protected traps and the like, but sure it was good to mention it.

You pretty much answered his question. No need to say the same thing twice.

I just mentioned ways around the answer to help him out. Even a low level wizard setting up a magic trap might think to use lead if he expects the trap to be subject to a detect magic spell.