One of my players is playing a monk with 20 dex. he gets out of every trap I try to put him in. what are some good non dex traps that are not poison gas
You could homebrew any trap you like. Make it a trap that the Monk needs to make something other than a Dex save. Make it a magical trap that needs a Constitution save. Maybe a grasping vine trap that requires a Strength save. Or insert any effect spell into a trap, and use its save.
DEX saves are basically simulating 'dodging' the darts, or suchlike that are triggered by the trap. By that logic we can explain other saves linked to other traps.
Tar Trap - STR A sticky, glue like substance is dropped from the ceiling or oozes from the floor. The ooze works its way up to the knee height of the player character. A STR save is necessary to have the player character break free or pull themselves away from the tar. You could also think about quicksand or bogs in this way too.
Noxious Gas Trap - CON A cloud of noxious gas fills the air in a 10ft radius, the gas burns on contact with the skin, and if breathed in causes double necrotic damage. A CON save simulates the character's physical ability to resist the gas. A calloused and hardy adventurer isn't going to be bothered by minor skin irritation, but a less hardy adventurer is going to have a bad time.
Puzzle Gate Trap - INT Two gates slide into place, one in front and one behind you. On one gate appears a puzzle that must be solved in order to free oneself. Touching anything but the puzzle panel on the inside of the gates causes lighting damage. Once solved, the gates open allowing passage through the corridor.
Psychic Barrage Trap - WIS Emitting from somewhere out of sight, your mind becomes barraged by the telepathic 'sound' of a thousand voices all speaking different languages. A wisdom save is necessary to be able to block out the voices and push through the 50ft area of the trap.
Beguiling Mirror Trap - CHA This one works in reverse...the player characters need a LOW CHA roll here. Its a normal looking mirror, but when looked in the player character must make a CHA roll (not saving throw)...if that roll is lower than their CHA score, nothing happens. If higher than their CHA score they are beguiled by their own charismatic visage and become incapacitated.
These are just off the cuff ideas for non-standard traps. I haven't included DCs or damage because, well that's level dependant. However, the point stands. Think about what each ability represents and how you would design a trap to exploit that skill. Granted, CHA is always the most difficult of the skills to design traps for but I feel that makes it a lot more fun.
Beguiling Mirror Trap - CHA This one works in reverse...the player characters need a LOW CHA roll here. Its a normal looking mirror, but when looked in the player character must make a CHA roll (not saving throw)...if that roll is lower than their CHA score, nothing happens. If higher than their CHA score they are beguiled by their own charismatic visage and become incapacitated.
This seems unnecessarily complex. I would just have the pc roll a set dc cha save.
Beguiling Mirror Trap - CHA This one works in reverse...the player characters need a LOW CHA roll here. Its a normal looking mirror, but when looked in the player character must make a CHA roll (not saving throw)...if that roll is lower than their CHA score, nothing happens. If higher than their CHA score they are beguiled by their own charismatic visage and become incapacitated.
This seems unnecessarily complex. I would just have the pc roll a set dc cha save.
My counter to this would be that this trap has been put in front of at least 51 different players. It has been tested and refined across different playstyles and table types. Originally it was CHA save, but the objections from players was that it shouldn't work like that and didn't make sense.
And to be fair, it is still a single roll. You're still setting a DC, it just that the DC is drawn from the character sheet. There's nothing complex about it. It's a roll with a DC. Requiring a lower number rather than higher is no different to many cases where PCs might actually want to fail a save. And there are many, many cases where that's a possibility, but the players can't actively choose to fail.
Beguiling Mirror Trap - CHA This one works in reverse...the player characters need a LOW CHA roll here. Its a normal looking mirror, but when looked in the player character must make a CHA roll (not saving throw)...if that roll is lower than their CHA score, nothing happens. If higher than their CHA score they are beguiled by their own charismatic visage and become incapacitated.
This seems unnecessarily complex. I would just have the pc roll a set dc cha save.
My counter to this would be that this trap has been put in front of at least 51 different players. It has been tested and refined across different playstyles and table types. Originally it was CHA save, but the objections from players was that it shouldn't work like that and didn't make sense.
And to be fair, it is still a single roll. You're still setting a DC, it just that the DC is drawn from the character sheet. There's nothing complex about it. It's a roll with a DC. Requiring a lower number rather than higher is no different to many cases where PCs might actually want to fail a save. And there are many, many cases where that's a possibility, but the players can't actively choose to fail.
It just seems weird to me. The odds are mathematically identical to a dc 10 cha save, except that it doesn't factor in proficiency (or other save buffs) and the odds go up every odd number of your cha score rather than even. Also, I can easily imagine a player getting excited when they roll a natural 20, and then having to break it to them that that means they failed.
Wouldn't that kind of trap normally be a wisdom save?
Yeah. Charisma saves are a weird rare case, mostly for things like teleportation, soul traps, and the like (a mirror that caused anyone who looked into it to be thrown into a weird mirror universe, and spawns a doppelganger where they were standing, would be a charisma save).
One of my players is playing a monk with 20 dex. he gets out of every trap I try to put him in. what are some good non dex traps that are not poison gas
My youtube channel
You could homebrew any trap you like. Make it a trap that the Monk needs to make something other than a Dex save.
Make it a magical trap that needs a Constitution save. Maybe a grasping vine trap that requires a Strength save.
Or insert any effect spell into a trap, and use its save.
A Poisoned Needle is an Example Trap in the Dungeon Master Guide that rely on Constitution Saving Throw.
You could easily modify other existing ones the Fire-Breathing Statue to instead deal Acid damage on a failed Constitution Saving Throw.
Other examples could include various conditions and damage type;
Spells are a good place to look at for things a trap could do.
Okay, here's some thoughts then:
DEX saves are basically simulating 'dodging' the darts, or suchlike that are triggered by the trap. By that logic we can explain other saves linked to other traps.
Tar Trap - STR
A sticky, glue like substance is dropped from the ceiling or oozes from the floor. The ooze works its way up to the knee height of the player character. A STR save is necessary to have the player character break free or pull themselves away from the tar. You could also think about quicksand or bogs in this way too.
Noxious Gas Trap - CON
A cloud of noxious gas fills the air in a 10ft radius, the gas burns on contact with the skin, and if breathed in causes double necrotic damage. A CON save simulates the character's physical ability to resist the gas. A calloused and hardy adventurer isn't going to be bothered by minor skin irritation, but a less hardy adventurer is going to have a bad time.
Puzzle Gate Trap - INT
Two gates slide into place, one in front and one behind you. On one gate appears a puzzle that must be solved in order to free oneself. Touching anything but the puzzle panel on the inside of the gates causes lighting damage. Once solved, the gates open allowing passage through the corridor.
Psychic Barrage Trap - WIS
Emitting from somewhere out of sight, your mind becomes barraged by the telepathic 'sound' of a thousand voices all speaking different languages. A wisdom save is necessary to be able to block out the voices and push through the 50ft area of the trap.
Beguiling Mirror Trap - CHA
This one works in reverse...the player characters need a LOW CHA roll here. Its a normal looking mirror, but when looked in the player character must make a CHA roll (not saving throw)...if that roll is lower than their CHA score, nothing happens. If higher than their CHA score they are beguiled by their own charismatic visage and become incapacitated.
These are just off the cuff ideas for non-standard traps. I haven't included DCs or damage because, well that's level dependant. However, the point stands. Think about what each ability represents and how you would design a trap to exploit that skill. Granted, CHA is always the most difficult of the skills to design traps for but I feel that makes it a lot more fun.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
This seems unnecessarily complex. I would just have the pc roll a set dc cha save.
A trap that triggers a Confusion effect, per the spell.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
My counter to this would be that this trap has been put in front of at least 51 different players. It has been tested and refined across different playstyles and table types. Originally it was CHA save, but the objections from players was that it shouldn't work like that and didn't make sense.
And to be fair, it is still a single roll. You're still setting a DC, it just that the DC is drawn from the character sheet. There's nothing complex about it. It's a roll with a DC. Requiring a lower number rather than higher is no different to many cases where PCs might actually want to fail a save. And there are many, many cases where that's a possibility, but the players can't actively choose to fail.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
It just seems weird to me. The odds are mathematically identical to a dc 10 cha save, except that it doesn't factor in proficiency (or other save buffs) and the odds go up every odd number of your cha score rather than even. Also, I can easily imagine a player getting excited when they roll a natural 20, and then having to break it to them that that means they failed.
Wouldn't that kind of trap normally be a wisdom save?
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Yeah. Charisma saves are a weird rare case, mostly for things like teleportation, soul traps, and the like (a mirror that caused anyone who looked into it to be thrown into a weird mirror universe, and spawns a doppelganger where they were standing, would be a charisma save).
I think that it could make sense especially if, for a crit success, you beguile the reflection instead maybe?
Really the whole concept of the trap sounds strange to me. Are all of the pcs so vain that they could be incapacitated by themselves?