What is the best way to have a character check to see if they notice something ? For instance, noticing that they are stuck in a trap. I have a character who just climbed into a carriage with another character, this character has set a trap for the unsuspecting character by using magic to hold that character in the seat of the character. How would I have him check to see if he notices that he is sitting in a trap? And what could he do to attempt to free himself from the trap?
This is one of those instances where a skill check doesn't make a lot of sense at first.
They sit down and they're "trapped", granted by magic but, trapped. The moment the character tries to move in a particular way they're going to be painfully aware that they're stuck, no skill check necessary.
As to knowing how to break free from the trap, the easiest way is to roll an Arcana check to see if they recognize the effect from experience, stories, books, etc.
*** If there is no possible way for them to know about this effect then don't bother with rolls. Simply tell them that it is something they've never experienced. ***
In those situations I'll say something along the lines of "It's like Hold Person, strangely, there's something unique about this that you can't figure out, but you know it's not the same spell".
As to how they could break the spell, well part of that is on you, you created the trap. The other part is; Dispel Magic, Antimagic Field, or similar effects.
I must respectively disagree with DMThac0 ( hey look! we finally disagree on something! ), when he says "As to how they could break the spell, well part of that is on you, you created the trap".
To paraphrase Matt Colville - DMs aren't there to manage the Players' problems; they're there to manage their solutions.
I don't typically devise possible solutions to problems for my Players and build them into the adventure. It's their job to come up with solutions, not mine. What I do is try to fairly adjudicate their attempts to solve the situations I come up with. Usually Players will come up with more creative and novel approaches for solving problems/obstacles/situations than I would have anyways :)
In short - don't worry about how they'll get out of the trap. Let them solve it. That's part of their job, and a large part of their fun.
In this case, it's unlikely that they'll be stuck there forever. If the villain went through all the trouble of capturing the Character, eventually they'll release them from the trap and take them into custody, and then the Players' problem switches from "how do I get out of the trap" to "how do I escape from the Villain". So, failing to solve the trap here isn't disastrous.
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I must respectively disagree with DMThac0 ( hey look! we finally disagree on something! ), when he says "As to how they could break the spell, well part of that is on you, you created the trap".
LOL! I can see where you're coming from, and I probably should have elaborated rather than leave it as open ended as I did.
What I meant by that was:
If you've created the trap you understand how it was set, how it was triggered, who set it, all of those pieces of information. By having that information there are going to be clues as to how one might disable, circumvent, or otherwise deal with the trap. The trap setter chose that location, had to use something be it spell or item, to set the trap, and they would know how not to be caught by their own trap. As the DM you'd have to figure out, at least in general terms, all of that information. So it gives a small idea of, at the very least, one possible way to avoid or disable the trap. As a story teller/DM one should be able to answer the 5 Ws in regards to the scenario being presented, even if the information is purely for themselves.
I do not feel, meaning I agree with you, that it is the DM's responsibility to provide, remember, or plan for, every possible way it could be dealt with. The players should do all the heavy lifting in this case.
If you don't want to give the game away that there is "something" going on noting the characters' passive perception scores, and/or active perception (and related) skills and rolling secretly for them can be a good way of determining if they notice before it becomes blatantly obvious. A seat that they can't stand back up from will be obvious when the character tries to stand, but they may notice something before then. Saying 'roll a Perception check" tell the player there is something there to perceive. I do this in many games, making secret rolls on behalf of the character if I don't want the player to know that something is going on if the character doesn't.
In this case if the player indicates that they are looking for traps or otherwise checking before they sit down a check on Perception, Investigation, Insight (to sense the villain's motives). or Arcana (it is a magical trap) might be appropriate depending on how they are approaching the trap checking. If they just hop in the carriage and sit down they probably don't notice the tea until it is too late.
What is important for you as the DM is to know how the trap is constructed. You can then adjudicate what will happen based on the player's attempt to escape. They may think of something you hadn't. Destroying the chair that is holding them for instance, rather than dispelling the magic on the chair. Depending on how the trap is set up this might free them or they might still be held in the area.
What is the best way to have a character check to see if they notice something ? For instance, noticing that they are stuck in a trap. I have a character who just climbed into a carriage with another character, this character has set a trap for the unsuspecting character by using magic to hold that character in the seat of the character. How would I have him check to see if he notices that he is sitting in a trap? And what could he do to attempt to free himself from the trap?
This is one of those instances where a skill check doesn't make a lot of sense at first.
They sit down and they're "trapped", granted by magic but, trapped. The moment the character tries to move in a particular way they're going to be painfully aware that they're stuck, no skill check necessary.
As to knowing how to break free from the trap, the easiest way is to roll an Arcana check to see if they recognize the effect from experience, stories, books, etc.
*** If there is no possible way for them to know about this effect then don't bother with rolls. Simply tell them that it is something they've never experienced. ***
In those situations I'll say something along the lines of "It's like Hold Person, strangely, there's something unique about this that you can't figure out, but you know it's not the same spell".
As to how they could break the spell, well part of that is on you, you created the trap. The other part is; Dispel Magic, Antimagic Field, or similar effects.
I must respectively disagree with DMThac0 ( hey look! we finally disagree on something! ), when he says "As to how they could break the spell, well part of that is on you, you created the trap".
To paraphrase Matt Colville - DMs aren't there to manage the Players' problems; they're there to manage their solutions.
I don't typically devise possible solutions to problems for my Players and build them into the adventure. It's their job to come up with solutions, not mine. What I do is try to fairly adjudicate their attempts to solve the situations I come up with. Usually Players will come up with more creative and novel approaches for solving problems/obstacles/situations than I would have anyways :)
In short - don't worry about how they'll get out of the trap. Let them solve it. That's part of their job, and a large part of their fun.
In this case, it's unlikely that they'll be stuck there forever. If the villain went through all the trouble of capturing the Character, eventually they'll release them from the trap and take them into custody, and then the Players' problem switches from "how do I get out of the trap" to "how do I escape from the Villain". So, failing to solve the trap here isn't disastrous.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
LOL! I can see where you're coming from, and I probably should have elaborated rather than leave it as open ended as I did.
What I meant by that was:
If you've created the trap you understand how it was set, how it was triggered, who set it, all of those pieces of information. By having that information there are going to be clues as to how one might disable, circumvent, or otherwise deal with the trap. The trap setter chose that location, had to use something be it spell or item, to set the trap, and they would know how not to be caught by their own trap. As the DM you'd have to figure out, at least in general terms, all of that information. So it gives a small idea of, at the very least, one possible way to avoid or disable the trap. As a story teller/DM one should be able to answer the 5 Ws in regards to the scenario being presented, even if the information is purely for themselves.
I do not feel, meaning I agree with you, that it is the DM's responsibility to provide, remember, or plan for, every possible way it could be dealt with. The players should do all the heavy lifting in this case.
If you don't want to give the game away that there is "something" going on noting the characters' passive perception scores, and/or active perception (and related) skills and rolling secretly for them can be a good way of determining if they notice before it becomes blatantly obvious. A seat that they can't stand back up from will be obvious when the character tries to stand, but they may notice something before then. Saying 'roll a Perception check" tell the player there is something there to perceive. I do this in many games, making secret rolls on behalf of the character if I don't want the player to know that something is going on if the character doesn't.
In this case if the player indicates that they are looking for traps or otherwise checking before they sit down a check on Perception, Investigation, Insight (to sense the villain's motives). or Arcana (it is a magical trap) might be appropriate depending on how they are approaching the trap checking. If they just hop in the carriage and sit down they probably don't notice the tea until it is too late.
What is important for you as the DM is to know how the trap is constructed. You can then adjudicate what will happen based on the player's attempt to escape. They may think of something you hadn't. Destroying the chair that is holding them for instance, rather than dispelling the magic on the chair. Depending on how the trap is set up this might free them or they might still be held in the area.
Thanks for the advice.