The character is skilled at setting lethal traps such as deadfalls and snares, assuming he has the proper equipment. He can use otherwise ordinary materials and objects to build a potentially deadly trap. The character’s Build Traps bonus is equal to (rank x 5) + ((DEX– 15) x 3). To build a trap, the skill roll result is compared to the Build Traps table below. Generally the GM will make the roll in secret.
Build Traps Table |
| Absolute Success | Extremely well built trap. Trap will only be noticed with a 1x PER roll. If activated, the trap has a strike chance equal to 30 + Build Traps roll and target has a defense equal to DEX. If a hit is indicated, target takes 1d8 damage per rank. |
| Success | Well built trap. Trap will only be noticed with a 2x PER roll. If activated, the trap has a strike chance equal to Build Traps roll and target has a defense equal to DEX. If a hit is indicated, target takes 1d6 damage per rank. |
| Near Success | Moderately well built trap. Trap will only be noticed with a 3x PER roll. If activated, the trap has a strike chance equal to Build Traps roll and target has a defense equal to DEX. If a hit is indicated, target takes 1d4 damage per rank. |
| Partial Success | Shoddily built trap. Trap will be noticed with a 4x PER roll. If activated, the trap has a strike chance equal to assassin’s Build Traps roll and target has a defense equal to DEX. If a hit is indicated, target takes 1d2 damage per rank |
| Failure | The assassin can’t get the trap to work. |
| Absolute Failure | The trap appears to be set correctly, but the trigger will fail or activate prematurely causing no damage. |
| Blunder | Trap activates as the assassin trying to set it, causing 1d6 damage per rank to the builder. |
GM NOTE: I seem to have had 2 skills for building traps. One was called Build Traps (description above) and the other was called Trap Building (description below). I combined them into just Trap Building but there may be some discrepancies between the above description and the below one that the GM can hammer out.
A trap has several elements:
- Strike Chance - this is the chance that the trap will be correctly triggered. It is possible to build a trap that is triggered automatically when a target enters the trap area, or one that is triggered manually by the trap builder or ally. Note that it is possible for a trap to cause critical or grievous damage. If it is a single target trap, and a critical or grievous is rolled, the target is affected. If the trap affects multiple targets, each target after the first is allowed a 2x LUCK roll to take normal damage instead of critical or grievous damage. If grievous success is rolled, the base chance of a grievous actually occuring is 30%.
- Damage - The amount of damage caused by the trap to those affected by it.
- Concealment - The potential target's chance to notice (and thereby avoid) the trap.
- Area of effect - How many targets are affected by the trap.
- Time to build - How long it takes to build the trap. This assumes that all necessary material is already on hand.
| Element | Base | Increase | Maximum |
| Strike Chance | 30% (40% if manual) | +5% per point | No max |
| Damage (dice) | 1d10 | +1d10 per 5 points | No max |
| Damage (bonus) | +0 | +1 per point | 3 points |
| Concealment | 4x Per roll to notice | 3 points for 3x, 8 points for 2x, 20 points for 1x, 30 points for 1/2x. | 30 points |
| Area | 1 target, 3' diameter | +1' diameter per 2 points | No max |
| Time to Build | 30 rounds (5 minutes) | -1 round per point | 29 points |
The trap builder gains points in the following ways:
- 3 points per rank of Trap Building
- 3 points per unskilled assistant (max 3 unskilled assistants for 9 points)
- Taking extra time:
- +6 rounds (1 minute) - 3 points
- +30 rounds (5 minutes) - 6 points
- +15 minutes - 9 points
- 1 hour - 12 points
- 6 hours - 15 points
Note that up to a maximum of 3 trap builders can pool their points.
Example:
Qix and her friends are being pursued by ogres. Qix estimates that the ogres are about 15 minutes behind them. She decides to set up a trap. She is rank 5 in trap building and has 3 assistants, giving her 24 points. Since the ogres are 15 minutes behind, she also decides to take an extra 5 minutes to build the trap, giving her another 6 points, for a total of 30.
She spends 10 points to increase the strike chance from 30% to 80%. She spends 4 more to increase the damage to 2d10, 2 points for a +2 damage bonus and another 8 points to reduce the chance of noticing the trap to a 2x roll. She spends another 6 points to increase the area of effect from a 3 foot diameter to a 6 foot diameter, hoping to get 2 of them. She ends up with the following trap:
Strike Chance: 80%
Damage: 2d10+2
Concealment: 2x PER roll to notice
Area: 6' diameter
Time to Build: 10 minutes |