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19:12
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A: How do I manage a player who is handling traps by metagaming?

JoeWhat's wrong with what he's doing? As far as he can tell, this is a good strategy. He's exceptionally tough, and running through traps has worked for him in the past, so he believes it'll be fine in the future. If you don't want this strategy to work, you'll need to try a different kind of tra...

Possibly traps that simply reset, until disarmed correctly?
+1 for the "Traps that trap" idea. Perhaps he just needs exposure to something more than a simple damage trap. A poison trap that slows/paralyzes/blinds the victim, separates him from the party, etc. There are all sorts of traps, and high HP isn't always the remedy.
The opening to this question solves so many problems that DMs have with players. The player has found something that works. If you don't like it, give them something where it won't work (but be fair about it!). This is why I love glyph of warding as a more interesting trap. Any spell of third level or lower, triggered by a bunch of things, with the option to target or exclude certain people. How about a glyph that blinds? Or my personal favourite, a glyph that casts reduce? After having to spend a fight as a Small creature, perhaps he'll be more wary of traps...
Don't forget to combine all three - some damage, hoisted up in a net and a gong that calls the trap's keepers next round while the fighter is hanging restrained above.
@railsdog: you can even design these things so that they're worse for the tank than for the squishier characters. Back in the day, rust monsters were a living nightmare for fighters, and a minor nuisance to the rogue ("oh, not, it's eaten my dagger, I guess I'd better hang back from the next fight. Woe is me").
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@SteveJessop: Or if we are talking a rope trap immobilizing the character, the Rogue has high enough Dexterity to escape (normally) while the tough Fighter might not have enough Strength to burst the ropes. So for the Rogue it's a 1 round escape (maybe 2 if unlucky) but for the Fighter it's a full-encounter escape, and his companions will likely complain after having had to fight without him.
Traps that Trap then slowly dip the poor catch in lava.
Vld
Vld
Also +1 for Traps that Trap. This solves the problem without overly penalising anybody - if other players enjoy disarming traps, then there you go - they now need to disarm the trap that holds their fighter. And the fighter is more significantly inconvenienced than "just a scratch". More importantly, it'd be more fun than just outright killing the character or otherwise trying to solve it by throwing more damage.
I somewhat disagree with the "more damage" part because you're punishing the entire party for the acts of one member of the group. This might make the rest of the group try to explain why his behaviour is not appreciated, if it is the case at all. Perhaps even the rogue enjoys "the easy way" (even though from experience I wouldn't). However, a huge +1 for Traps that Trap and Alarms.
I would consider one more category of traps: Status Affecting. Traps that can poison, blind, etc. can be used to great effect here. Fighter triggers a poison gas trap, and even if he can pass the Fort save the rest of the party is going to be on the other side. You could also use magic traps that require Will saves, which is a Fighter's bane already, for spells like Blindness or Daze. Traps that use Ref saves are also ideal, since it would reinforce that your Dex PCs like the Rogue should be dealing with them
Joe
Joe
@D.Spetz et al, that's a good idea.
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I'd add a trap that does "nothing". Simply a green flash, maybe a weird odor in the air, maybe a grim in the face of the DM. No saving throws, no damage, nothing. There's no save against player paranoia, every once in a while :D
Joe
Joe
@Einacio, once they've learned their lesson, traps like that become a great idea.
Even if the player might be metagaming, is the character? If the character knows their own toughness, and has not yet experienced a trap yet that can take them out, then even from the character's perspective, this might be a viable choice.
A particularly good type of alternative damage is a poison that reduces strength. This won't significantly impair the mage or the rogue, but a fighter that can't hit anything is not having any fun in the next combat.
Ben
Ben
@Einacio [DM looks at the player, horrified... scribbles something on a piece of paper... looks back at player, shaking his head... continues with the game] The power of the notebook is not to be trifled with.
More damage can also be easily done, how about a long way with a hundred small damage traps? If each just costs him 3 HP he won't survive the whole passage... But the squishy characters could try a lot of ways to disarm or get around this problem, without risking instant death
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Another upvote for Traps that Trap. Put an oubliette or twenty in his way, and see how much the player (or PC) enjoys running headlong into an auto-resetting concealed pit. (Adding giant beasts and pig-faced guards is optional.)
Chute trap that sends them down to a rust monster that gribbles all their stuff. (or other 'GM hates us' monster). Or just plain stat damage. 'con' or 'str' drain.
"But like you said, this would make the traps much more dangerous for the squishier characters." You can counter that by making the high damage traps easier to detect/disarm/avoid.

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