Find Traps: Don’t Take the Bait
Usable By: Cleric, Druid, Ranger
Spell Level: 2
School: Divination
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Components: V, S
You sense the presence of any trap within range that is within line of sight. A trap, for the purpose of this spell, includes anything that would inflict a sudden or unexpected effect you consider harmful or undesirable, which was specifically intended as such by its creator. Thus, the spell would sense an area affected by the Alarm spell, a Glyph of Warding, or a mechanical pit trap, but it would not reveal a natural weakness in the floor, an unstable ceiling, or a hidden sinkhole.
This spell merely reveals that a trap is present. You don’t learn the location of each trap, but you do learn the general nature of the danger posed by a trap you sense.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
Find Traps is a design enigma to me. They created so many spells that detect an area for a duration like Detect Magic, spells that have persistent knowledge based effects that tell you a little about the world. Those are priced at just a 1st level spell slot and get the ritual tag to make them free to cast. Find Traps is an instantaneous 2nd level spell that only finds intentional traps, does so instantaneously, and doesn’t reveal anything about them beyond that they exist. Find Traps is basically a way to confirm your suspicions about a shady door. That isn’t worth a 2nd level spell slot. It just isn’t.
A huge element of dungeon delving is the skill based expertise classes identifying and breaking down hazards along the way. Features like barbarian’s Danger Sense even let some reckless exploration occur. Countermeasures like a 10 ft. pole were commonly used in older editions, as were tossing pebbles and other weighted objects into areas before you to look for evidence of potential hazards coming up. Find Traps would then be a secondary tool you’re using once you’ve already reached a space you think is trapped. It's not something you’re using if you have no idea if there are traps nearby, because the majority of the time, there aren’t traps nearby. It would be a waste of a spell slot there. But if you already believe there is a trap in front of you, you don’t need a spell to confirm that. You can just act on the information. You can make investigation checks, test it with tools, engage with it. Find Traps doesn’t help with that engagement at all.
I can’t believe somebody has played with Find Traps and felt it was rewarding to cast. It doesn’t DO anything. I don’t understand why it was released like this. You don’t need Find Traps, regardless of how dedicated to dungeon delving you are. Find Traps has next to no practical applications, and shouldn’t exist. It’ll just waste your spell slots.
Thank you for visiting!
If you’d like to support this ongoing project, you can do so by buying my books, getting some sweet C&C merch, or joining my Patreon.
The text on this page is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.
‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
and are used according to the terms of the d20 System License version 6.0.
A copy of this License can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.
