General Prestige Class : Trapsmith
That, my friends, is what we in the trade call a blood melon. A nasty little trap designed to fire razor-tipped darts into your head when you bend down to look through the keyhole. Stand back - I'll take care of this."
- Kalder Phentley, trapsmith
Many adventurers view traps as nuisances - just more obstacles to be overcome - but some see traps as an art form. Similar to a rogue in many respects, a trapsmith hones her craft to a level of perfection that few can hope to emulate. Simple and crude traps offend her, and complicated death traps cause her to leap about (cautiously, of course) in wonderment and joy. More than just an expert at disarming devices, a trapsmith excels at rigging deadly surprises to harm her enemies, secure her camp, and confound pursuers.
A trapsmith needs a high number of skills and the trap-finding class feature, so many members of this prestige class begin their careers as rogues. Other classes can qualify, including ninjas, scouts, and spellthieves, factotums, and rangers who have the trap expert alternative class feature. But rogues have the easiest time of it.
Because the trapsmith is a skill-based character, she must have a high Intelligence score. A high Dexterity score also proves to be of great value, adding to a number of her skills.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Trapsmith, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Craft (trapmaking) 8 ranks, Disable Device 8 ranks, Open Lock 5 ranks, Search 8 ranks.
- Special: Trapfinding class feature.
Class Skills
The trapsmith's class skills are Appraise, Craft, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Knowledge (architecture and engineering), Listen, Open Lock, Profession, Search, Sleight of Hand, Spot, and Use Rope.
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Class Features
As a trapsmith, your abilities revolve around using mundane traps and magic traps to your advantage. After attaining only a few levels, you are the most qualified member of your party at dealing with traps, and your abilities allow you to protect your fellows in a number of ways. Versatility is key when designing your character, because while traps are a common danger, they are not always present. Make sure to carry plenty of supplies so that you can make your own traps to use against enemies.
Booby Traps (Ex): You can quickly set up simple booby traps (see the sidebar) to harm and hinder your foes. When setting up a trap, make a Craft (trapmaking) check. The check result is the Difficulty Class of an attempt to find the trap by making a Search check. Half the check result is the DC of an attempt to disarm the trap by making a Disable Device check. The check result affects other variables, too; see the Booby Trap sidebar below for details. Setting up a booby trap is usually a full-round action, though some take longer, as noted in the sidebar.
Starting at 3rd level, your skill improves such that you can create advanced versions of the simple booby traps you already know.
Master Disarmer (Ex): Your skill at finding and disarming traps is legendary. When dealing with a trap, add your trapsmith level to your Search checks, Disable Device checks, and Open Lock checks.
Trap Sense (Ex): You are adept at evading the effects of traps, gaining bonuses at 1st level, 3rd level, and 5th level. See the barbarian class feature (PH 26). Trap sense gained from other sources (such as barbarian or rogue levels) stacks with this benefit.
Spells: If you are smart enough, you might gain the ability to cast arcane spells. To cast a particular spell, you must have an Intelligence score of at least 10 + the spell's level. Your bonus spells are based on your Intelligence. Saves to avoid the effects of your spells have a DC of 10 + the spell's level + your Int bonus (if any).
You cast spells as a bard does. The table below details how many spells you can learn at each level. Choose your spells from the following list.
1st - arcane sight, cat's grace, clairaudience/clairvoyance, dispel magic, fox's cunning, gaseous form, haste, knock, protection from energy.
2nd - arcane eye, dimension door, lesser globe of invulnerability, Otiluke's resilient sphere, stoneskin, stone shape.
3rd - Bigby's interposing hand, break enchantment, fabricate, greater dispel magic, wall of stone.
| Trapsmith Spells Known | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Spells Known | |||
| Level | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| 1st | 2 | - | - |
| 2nd | 3 | - | - |
| 3rd | 3 | 2 | - |
| 4th | 4 | 3 | - |
| 5th | 4 | 4 | 2 |
Arrow Proof (Su): When a trap activates, you know how to lessen the impact and reduce the damage. Starting at 2nd level, you gain damage reduction 5/- against the effects of traps. The reduction applies only to damage from physical attacks, such as arrows, crushing blocks, or pits. Damage caused by spells or magical effects is not reduced.
Damage reduction gained from multiple sources stacks, but only for damage dealt by a trap.
Quick Fingers (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, you can disarm traps more quickly. When you attempt a Disable Device check, use the table below in place of the table on page 72 of the Player's Handbook. If you have the quick fingers alternative class feature, reduce the time needed for checks on difficult and wicked traps to 1d3 rounds.
| Device | Time | Disable Device DC |
| Simple | 1 standard action | 10 |
| Tricky | 1 full-round action | 15 |
| Difficult | 1d4 rounds | 20 |
| Wicked | 1d4 rounds | 25+ |
Unweave (Su): At 3rd level, your understanding of magic traps allows you to unweave their magic, as if targeting the trap with dispel magic. Your caster level for this ability equals 5 + your trapsmith level. You can use this ability three times per day. It works only against magic traps, but spells such as alarm, glyph of warding, and the symbol spells are valid targets.
Dance through Danger (Ex): Starting at 4th level, when you make a Search check to find a trap and your result exceeds the DC by 5 or more, you can move past the trap without setting it off. This benefit applies only to you—the careful movements and balance needed cannot be taught to your fellow adventurers.
Spell Proof (Su): Starting at 4th level, you enjoy a measure of protection against magic traps. You gain spell resistance equal to 15 + your trapsmith level. This spell resistance applies only to magic traps, which include spells such as fire trap, explosive runes, glyph of warding, and the symbol spells.
Avoid Disaster (Su): At 5th level, you learn to negate the effects of a trap as they happen. Once per day, when a trap is sprung, you can make a Disable Device check as an immediate action. If the check succeeds, you quickly disable the trap and avoid its effects. If the check fails, the trap activates as normal.
| Trapsmith | Hit Die: d6 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day | ||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||||||
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Booby traps (simple), master disarmer, trap sense +1 | 1 | - | - |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +0 | Arrow proof, quick fingers | 2 | - | - |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +1 | Booby traps (advanced), unweave, trap sense +2 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Dance through danger, spell proof | 3 | 2 | - |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Avoid disaster, trap sense +3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Trapsmith Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (architecture and engineering) or Knowledge (local) can research trapsmiths to learn more about them. When a character succeeds on a skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.
- DC 10: Traps are difficult and dangerous to handle. Experts in this field are known as trapsmiths.
- DC 15: Trapsmiths are highly skilled at locating and disarming traps of all kinds. They are also said to be quite talented at creating such devices.
- DC 20: Trapsmiths can set up quick, simple booby traps with ease. Some also cast spells that emulate the effects of traps.
- DC 25: Experienced trapsmiths can avoid much of the danger posed by a trap, shrugging off effects that would kill others.
Source: Dungeonscape