Trap
Trap.png

When you gain the Trap sphere, you gain proficiency with thieves’ tools. If you are already proficient, you instead gain a bonus talent of your choice.

In addition, you also gain the ability to create temporary traps. While anyone could put a bucket above a door or otherwise ‘trap’ a location, you possess the knowhow to create powerful temporary traps that can swing the state of battles, whether they be potent tripwires, flying blades, or other mechanisms that can maim or kill the unweary. You cannot have more of these traps active at a time than your proficiency bonus.

So long as you have thieves’ tools, you are considered to have the materials needed to create a trap, and you may spend 1 minute to place a trap on any solid surface within your reach. This trap lasts for 1 hour or until triggered before breaking apart. Alternately, you may expend your martial focus to create a trap as an action, but the duration is reduced to 1 minute. The trap is placed in a 5-foot cube, which you may increase by one additional 5-foot cube at 5th level (two 5-foot cubes), 11th level (three 5-foot cubes), and 17th level (four 5-foot cubes). All cubes a trap occupies must be contiguous, and you can not place two separate traps in the same cube. Entering a trap’s space triggers the trap, and both the Perception DC, disarming DC, and any saving throw DC called for by the trap are equal to your sphere DC.

You never set off your own traps unless you choose to, and you always succeed at checks to remove your own traps. Creatures who you warn or who see you set a trap are aware of its location. If a creature wants to remove a trap but doesn’t have thieves’ tools, they can also smash a temporary trap through attacks. A trap’s AC is equal to your sphere DC, and its HP is equal to twice your level. You may add poison to a trap that deals damage as if it were a weapon.

There are two basic types of temporary traps: snares and darts.

Darts

A dart trap is constructed of spring, twine, and usually a needle or other blade. When triggered, the dart flies in a straight line up to 90 feet from one space containing the trap and in a direction chosen when you set the trap before falling to the ground, stopping early if it impacts against a solid surface. If the dart would strike a creature, it makes an attack against that creature using your proficiency bonus and your key ability modifier. If successful, the dart stops moving and deals 1d6 piercing damage. The dart damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).

Some talents have the (dart) descriptor, which allows you to modify your darts. Each trap may only benefit from one (dart) talent.

Snares

A snare trap is constructed from rope, wire, and similar materials. A snare triggers the first time a creature enters the area on its turn. A creature may avoid triggering a snare with a successful Dexterity saving throw; doing so leaves the trap untriggered and makes the creature aware of the trap.

Some talents have the (snare) descriptor, which allows you to create new snares.

When you first gain the Trap sphere, you gain the following two snares:

Activation Trap (snare)

You may create a snare that activates an item such as an alchemist’s fire, an acid flask, caltrops, dyes or perfumes, a magical consumable item, or an appropriate consumable item from the Alchemy or Tinker spheres. This item activates and, if the item requires a target, targets the triggering creature. You may allow this trap to trigger multiple times but must add an item for each activation and triggering the trap only activates one included item. You may recover unused items from a removed or expired trap.

Tripwire (snare)

A creature that fails its save against a tripwire snare falls prone. This trap is not destroyed when triggered, but creatures aware of this trap gain advantage on their saving throw against it. Creatures who are already prone cannot trigger this trap.

Trap Basic Talents

Talents with the (trigger) descriptor allow you to modify how or when your traps are triggered.

Dart Talents

Aimed Shot (dart)

Instead of launching the dart in a predetermined line, you may choose to have your dart target the triggering creature only. The dart’s damage die increases to d8, and you may augment the dart with one Sniper sphere (snipe) talent you possess, chosen when the trap is set.

Blunt Dart (dart)

This thick dart deals bludgeoning damage and increases the dart’s damage dice d10. When a dart modified by this talent reduces a conscious and stable creature to 0 hit points, the dart only knocks the creature unconscious and stable.

Deadly Dart (dart)

This larger dart deals either slashing or piercing damage (your choice) and increases the dart’s damage dice to d10.

Net (dart, snare)

When used with a dart trap, the trap deals no damage, and targets must pass a Dexterity saving throw instead of being attacked.

If a target fails their saving throw against this trap that target is restrained until it successfully untangles itself, requiring an action through either a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against the trap’s DC or destroying the trap via damage.

Snare Talents

Alarm Trap (snare)

Rather than producing an effect on the triggering creature, this trap instead creates a loud noise when triggered, clearly audible to all creatures within 300 feet of the trap. In particularly quiet places, this sound can be heard up to 3 times as far away.

Flash Trap (snare)

All creatures within 5 feet of this trap’s spaces must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be blinded for 2 rounds.

Magic Trigger (snare)

You may rig any magic item that requires activation to be triggered by your snare, such as wands, staves, or other items. The time required to place the trap increases to match the item’s activation time if it is greater. If activating the item requires an ability check, this check must be made as part of setting the trap. This trap is not destroyed when triggered. Each time it is triggered, it consumes one charge from the item (if it is a charged item; single-use items are counted as possessing 1 charge for this purpose), destroying the trap when the remaining charges reach 0.

Once the trap is destroyed, any item used may be recovered, less any charges used. If the magic effect targets a creature, the triggering creature is targeted. If it targets an area, the effect originates from the space where the trap was triggered. Shapes such as cones or lines must have their orientation determined when the trap is placed.

Net (dart, snare)

When used with a dart trap, the trap deals no damage, and targets must pass a Dexterity saving throw instead of being attacked.

If a target fails their saving throw against this trap that target is restrained until it successfully untangles itself, requiring an action through either a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against the trap’s DC or destroying the trap via damage.

Noose (snare)

A creature that triggers this snare must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be unable to move from its current location, unable to breathe, and unable to speak or supply verbal components until it succeeds on a Strength or Dexterity check against the trap’s DC or destroys the trap via damage.

Terrain Trap (snare)

When a creature fails its Dexterity saving throw to avoid this snare, the snare creates an area of difficult terrain in a 10-foot radius centered on one corner of one of the squares it occupies, as determined when this snare is set. You can choose to create such an effect even without creating a trap (treating this as a trap that’s immediately triggered).

If you have the Aerial Trigger talent, this area of difficult terrain extends into the air as well, affecting their fly speed. This area of difficult terrain dissipates after one minute.

Trigger Talents

Aerial (trigger)

You can give your traps a trigger that extends to the air to affect flying creatures. Creatures up to 10 feet over the area occupied by your traps can trigger them as normal. The height of the trigger increases by 10 feet at 5th level (20 feet), 11th level (30 feet), and 17th level (40 feet).

Flying creatures fall to the ground if knocked prone unless they can hover. If your trap entangles or grapples a creature that can hover, it is pulled harmlessly to the triggering square.

False (trigger)

When setting a trap, you may choose to make the trap a delayed trap. A delayed trap gains advantage to its attack rolls and imposes disadvantage on any saving throws made against it. The first time a trap would trigger, the trap does not trigger and instead makes an audible, obvious noise (such as a click).

Remote (trigger)

You must be within 30 feet of the trap to use this talent. As a reaction, when a creature comes within 30 feet of one of your traps, you may trigger the trap. Additionally, when a creature rolls a Dexterity saving throw to avoid triggering one of your dart or snare traps, you may give them disadvantage on the roll as a reaction.

Warning (trigger)

Allies who can see and hear you never trigger your traps unless they choose to.

Other Talents

Opportunist

You may make a single attack as a reaction against a creature when it triggers a trap that you set.

Persistent Trap

When you set a trap, you may spend 10 minutes creating it. If you do so, the duration increases to 24 hours.

Razor Wire

When you place the tripwire snare, you may choose to have it deal 1d6 slashing damage to creatures who fail their saving throw against it, increasing by 1d6 at 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6), to the triggering creature.

Sneaky Trapper

You know how to place traps in a discreet manner. When you place a temporary trap, you may make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check against any observer’s Passive Perception in order to place it without automatically making the observer aware of the trap.

Stop Drop And Control

You can expend your martial focus to place a trap as part of a disengage action. The trap still has its duration shortened to 1 minute and must be placed in an unoccupied space you move through that turn.

Trap Expert

Double your proficiency bonus when using thieves’ tools.

Trap Launcher

You’re capable of setting traps at a distance. When expending martial focus to set a trap as an action, as a bonus action you may place the trap within the first range increment of a ranged weapon you are wielding.

You may combine this talent with Trap Wielder to place a trap directly onto a target at a distance. If you also possess the Sniper sphere, as a (snipe) talent you may expend your martial focus as normal to apply a snare trap to your ranged attack, setting it directly underneath the target if your attack hits.

Trap Wielder

Sometimes the heat of battle does not allow one to properly set and camouflage a trap. When placing a trap, you may place it directly in another creature’s space, making it immediately activate, targeting that creature. This usually requires expending martial focus to place that trap as an action. If you place a snare inside the space of multiple creatures, they are all affected.

Trapped Shield

When expending your martial focus to place a dart trap, you may place the trap directly onto a shield you’re wielding instead of on spaces. When you are missed by a melee attack, you may have the attacking creature trigger the trap as a reaction.

If you possess the Shield sphere, you may instead have the trap triggered with no required action as a (deflect) ability.

Trapper's Recovery

When a creature fails a saving throw against or takes damage from your trap, and you are aware of them doing so, you may gain martial focus as a reaction.

Trap Legendary Talents

Penetrating Trap

Prerequisites: Trap sphere, 5th level or higher.

Your damage-dealing traps are considered Magical for the sake of overcoming resistances.

Thaumic Sink (dart, snare)

Prerequisites: Trap sphere, 17th level or higher.

When used with a dart trap, a creature that is struck by your dart becomes affected as if he were inside of an antimagic field, as per the spell. This effect persists for a number of rounds equal to your proficiency bonus or until an action is spent removing the dart, inflicting damage equal to the dart’s minimum damage.

When used with a snare trap, a 10-foot radius around the triggering square is covered in an antimagic field per the spell. This effect persists for a number of rounds equal to your proficiency bonus.

Treat this effect as an 8th level spell.

Variants

Battle Trapper

You may not set traps. You gain the Trap Wielder talent as a bonus talent. You may not have both this and the Slow Worker variant.

Focused Trapper

Choose either dart or snare traps. You may not place or otherwise use traps of the chosen type. You gain the Trapper’s Recovery talent as a bonus talent.

Slow Worker

You must take at least one minute to set up a trap. You gain the Persistent Trap talent as a bonus talent. You may not have both this and the Battle Trapper variant.

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