On the Thursday Trick, Signs

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Signs (Category: Special)

Trigger: Mechanical: Interaction  Other: Player Greed	Effects: Varies
Save: Varies	Duration: Varies
Resets: Automatic	Bypass: None (Avoid) Special

From the Highly Recommended Oglaf

Description: Sometimes you want to challenge the player. Are they suspiscious? Are they greedy? Are they brave?

Some examples.

A trigger (lever, button, etc.) next to a sign that says "Treasure Vault Release". When pulled it opens a chute that drops coins of selected denominations on top of the players. If coins weigh 10 to the pound, it takes relatively little treasure to crush the players. This sign can be found inside of a pit to increase the lethality. This is an example of the literal sign. The sign is literally true and sounds positive but has negative consequences. Another example is a slide labeled "Safe Exit". It will allow you to exit the dungeon safely, but leaves you thousands of feet in the air.

A sign with text on it surrounding the trigger. The sign says "Push to X" where X is opening a door or some other desired effect. The trigger itself has a negative effect, setting off a trap or the like. The sign itself is what must be depressed in order to trigger the correct effect.

A warning or truth sign. This sign presages a trap, but does so in a way that misleads the characters into triggering the trap. A "Danger" sign with small text that you have to be close to read. This will trigger the proximity trap.


Detection/Disarming: Traps like this contribute to the myth of "DM versus Player" play, because it presents a choice that depends on the player himself to actually think. Given this requirement, an unscrupulous Dungeon Master might engage in Quantum Ogre finagling to get the result he desires to see. This all around results in bad play.

But the idea of a sign is not. In fact, it leads to engaging play. The key is, as mentioned above, that the Dungeon Master remain impartial -- that he look at the situation objectively when the players interact with the trap. This is important because these traps rely on misdirection, puns, and inappropriate assumptions made by the players.