"Player was killed by a trap."
We all know what that means. Sometimes we laugh about it, sometimes we groan in our wincing about it. There are players who would just plain quit, whether it be a le-sigh quit or ragequit. Hopefully it does not involve broken keyboards or monitors.
All joking aside, this thread is about improving death traps in a way that they remain with the same kind of peril but are survivable. The reason for this is because not only is it annoying that exploring faraway places they send the player back to a pub instantaneously and are so punishing but prinarily because the server simply cannot handle the amount of items that are dropped and build up over time on these squares. When enough items are dropped on the ground anywhere in the realm, the server will no longer be able to properly process any more dropped items. This is problematic especially when staff are not active. This is not a topic whining about death traps, condemning them, nor a topic to request the removal therefor.
To exemplify, let us look at the room where the infamous Credenza is found. A Seal of Kiaransalee is required to enter the room, but any character that does not possess the appropriate item which is a Sentinel Shield is killed instantly by some wrathful magic.
So, perhaps, a similar concept could be applied to the icicles of the Icy Caverns. Characters that bear shields will be guaranteed survival, any other characters that do not will be killed. The icicles do not instantly kill characters, they cause massive damage. But, maybe, with shields the character receive a greatly reduced amount of damage allowing for survival. No, Small Shields will not be enough. Let us talk about greater shields like Spiked Shields, Dragon Shields, Shield of Divinity, and such. Classes with Protect can entirely avoid the icicles, classes that can bear shields large enough to protect themselves can greatly reduce the damage, the rest gets impaled to death.
The same could apply to lethal poison dart or flame traps. Perhaps, metallic armor could be the things which protect characters from lethal poison dart such as Dragon Plate and Crusader's Crest but not Warrior Tunic or Azure Robes. Dragon's Skin could be used to prevent flame traps from incinerating the character, along with Sand Wurm Hide. Of course, the items that are held ought to be "great" and valuable enough that they are equipped rather than being left in the inventory. But I am still pretty sure there will still be players who just tough it out and hope they do not die running through the areas so they do not end up preparing themselves to safeguard themselves against any and all trap every time as there would be a large variety of them and many different items needed to survive the traps.
The deadly crushing ceiling of the Pyramid of the 3rd Moon could be stopped with a Shield of Faith. A message comes up, "You look up and realize that the ceiling is coming down toward you, and quickly jam your Shield of Faith against the wall into a small gap. Its magical protection shimmers violently as the ceiling meets it. You are relieved that you are not crushed, but you sense that staying is not wise." Then, after leaving the room, "As you step out of the room, you hear a thud after a snap. You realize, your Shield of Faith had just faltered and its magical protection gave just after you had left the room." And, maybe the other death trapped rooms could have different kinds of traps which require certain things to survive them.
Here are more examples along with the ones already mentioned.
For both servers:
- Icy Caverns: Shields greatly reducing the damage of icicles. Real shields, not Small Shields.
- Pyramid of the Mortal God or 3rd Moon: A means of jamming the falling ceiling or that these traps are changed so different ways of surviving them is possible.
- Mountains: There are some places where one simply plunges to their death. How about Grapping Hooks? Mithril Hook, new item? Or, hey, wings.
- Magma Chamber: Maybe Water is sufficient with a message saying, "Your Deity swipes water away from you and splashes it into the magma where you would have plunged; you find yourself standing upon a small island of already deteriorating solidified magma. You do not think it is wise to continue in this direction." Or something else, seeing as on the 1-alt server other classes can explore the area.
For the multi-alt server:
- Temple of Sun: Instead of instant death, the wrong rooms could trigger a "Rolling Boulder" which would attack very rapidly, deal major damage and cast vision so to stimulate a rolling rock that flattens characters as it rolls over the party. The party still has a chance of survival by running away or by letting the boulder roll over or past them. The boulder would run only a straight course from the trapped room outward and exit straight out.
- Pit of Despair: For those who are familiar with it, it is simply death and nothing else. What if a character had, say, Golden Wings? There might be a message saying "You are surprised by the sudden flare of your Golden Wings and hover safely down onto the ground of the pit."
- Soft Places: Light, feathery or floaty things allowing characters to not sink into the swallowing quicksands.
- Shadowfall Caverns: Maybe a simple, plain Torch could do but it is not bright enough. So, say, Aetherium Circlet or Celestial Herald bright enough to repel the shadows. The rest, unfortunately, dies.
The point is that the traps are still perilious but their teeth are not entirely removed either. They are still there, but there are means of surviving them and the means should involve greater, higher items rather than easily obtainable ones like Crowbar to jam a falling ceiling. We examine that Templum Venenum can be used to exit the trap squares of the Harabec Dungeon. That is another prime example. Another prime example is the usage of Water Ring.
Ideas, thoughts?
