This has probably already been done, but I had an idea for a room where any noise would trigger spikes to start growing out of the floor and walls and everything. I wanted jt to be so the players had to figure out noise was the problem but I'm not sure how to do this, any ideas?
Public Mod Note
(Davyd):
Moved to Dungeon Masters Only
The stealth skill is used to move around quietly, so the better the stealth roll the quieter they are. So speed of spike advancement could be based on the party's average stealth score?
Perhaps perception rolls are required initially for PCs to notice that the spike's movement is triggered by sound.
The main challenge with this is that players usually don't know how much noise their characters are making. As a DM, in order for them to "figure out" that noise is the problem, you have to let them know how much noise they're making - and if you're doing that, you probably give away the thing you're trying to make into a puzzle. There's a very subtle line there where you give them that information without giving away the answer, and how tough it is to figure out probably mostly relies on how exactly you communicate the noise level.
Can you shift it so that instead of the puzzle being "figure out that noise causes spikes to move", make the puzzle into "how do the players navigate this room while minimizing their noise"? Put a bunch of metal plates on the ground that they have to navigate around, maybe put an easy-ish silent enemy in there (like an ooze or something) that they have to fight while avoiding making too much noise (or that they have to draw out of the room, or which they could impale on the spikes). Then it's ok that they figure out that noise=spikes after the first time they do something loud and you say "you made a lot of noise, the spikes move now" but the room stays interesting.
I'd rule an investigation check would be more applicable than a perception check (you are trying to figure out "how" the spikes work). A perception check would definitely be called for to "detect" the presence of the spikes before they trigger though.
I would definitely trigger it if a spell with a verbal component is used, or if a PC speaks "in character" in the room in addition to the sound made from their movement. That should help clue them in as well.
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This has probably already been done, but I had an idea for a room where any noise would trigger spikes to start growing out of the floor and walls and everything. I wanted jt to be so the players had to figure out noise was the problem but I'm not sure how to do this, any ideas?
The stealth skill is used to move around quietly, so the better the stealth roll the quieter they are. So speed of spike advancement could be based on the party's average stealth score?
Perhaps perception rolls are required initially for PCs to notice that the spike's movement is triggered by sound.
The main challenge with this is that players usually don't know how much noise their characters are making. As a DM, in order for them to "figure out" that noise is the problem, you have to let them know how much noise they're making - and if you're doing that, you probably give away the thing you're trying to make into a puzzle. There's a very subtle line there where you give them that information without giving away the answer, and how tough it is to figure out probably mostly relies on how exactly you communicate the noise level.
Can you shift it so that instead of the puzzle being "figure out that noise causes spikes to move", make the puzzle into "how do the players navigate this room while minimizing their noise"? Put a bunch of metal plates on the ground that they have to navigate around, maybe put an easy-ish silent enemy in there (like an ooze or something) that they have to fight while avoiding making too much noise (or that they have to draw out of the room, or which they could impale on the spikes). Then it's ok that they figure out that noise=spikes after the first time they do something loud and you say "you made a lot of noise, the spikes move now" but the room stays interesting.
I'd rule an investigation check would be more applicable than a perception check (you are trying to figure out "how" the spikes work). A perception check would definitely be called for to "detect" the presence of the spikes before they trigger though.
I would definitely trigger it if a spell with a verbal component is used, or if a PC speaks "in character" in the room in addition to the sound made from their movement. That should help clue them in as well.