Locks & Traps

Locks & Lockpicking

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    During your exploits with us at Realms of Adventure, you are bound to explore hidden catacombs, delve into dungeons and find boxes and chests of treasure. Sometimes while you are doing this, the door you need to get through or the chest you want to open challenges you in ways other than a monster intent on killing you. Sometimes the challenge you are faced with is as simple as a lock.

At RoA, you may (and in time probably will) encounter locks. Locks are represented as official RoA tags that are affixed to a door, chest or other item in such a way that the tag will need to be broken in order to open it. These tags, although in the real world they are made of paper, represent mechanical locks (or sometimes wizard locks) in a wide variety of complexities. In order to open one of these locks you must possess the appropriate skill or spell. The most common skill used to bypass locked items such as doors and chests is Lockpicking. A true art of the rogue, this skill may be purchased multiple times and each time it is purchased it increases your ability with more difficult locks. When a lock is encountered in-game it will be represented by a “locked” tag with a number on it. The number represents the difficulty in picking that particular lock. If for example you have Lockpicking 3 and encounter a lock with a 5 on the tag you are unable to pick it, but if you encounter a lock with 3 or below on it you can. Players must role-play picking the lock and should have physical representations of the appropriate tools. Examples of this can be in a “thieves’ tools” kit containing a few picks or other devices, or can be as simple as a few bent paper clips made to look like picks. A player must spend 5 minutes picking a lock that is equal to their current level and can reduce the time by 1 minute for each level of Lockpicking they possess above the minimum. A rogue can never pick a lock in less than 10 seconds regardless of his level. (Example: Myra has Lockpicking level 10. If she came across a lock of level 10 she would need 5 minutes of role-playing time to pick the lock, as it is the most difficult lock she can manage. If the lock had been only level 7, three levels beneath her level of Lockpicking, it would only take her 2 minutes. If she encountered a level 5 or lower lock (5 levels below her Lockpicking level) it would still take her 10 seconds to pick. Once the lock is picked the rogue can either take the lock for his own use or leave it behind. Broken lock tags can be replaced by logistics at designated times. If this is abused (Example: you keep breaking your own tag to go in the locked box over and over again) the privilege will be revoked. Some merchants will also sell lock tags in-game. There are also rumored to be spells which exist that have varying degrees of success in opening locks.

Sometimes you may encounter a locked tag that says “WIZARD LOCK,” or “IMPROVED WIZARD LOCK.” These locks are magical in nature, and cannot be picked with Lockpicking skill. There are appropriate spells for defeating such tags.

Note : You may not use an out of game real life lock on an in game box. Any locks used to safeguard items that are in game must also be in game locks.

Traps

    Like locks, traps can be found throughout the game during a typical weekend at RoA. Traps can vary from a minor nuisance to a deadly encounter for those unaware of their presence. Below you will find some of the basic traps used at Realms of Adventure. To keep things simple, although there are several different types of traps, the damage they cause has been standardized so they are easy to remember. If you should encounter a trap at RoA you may ALWAYS choose to avoid it. For example if you see a popper or pull string trap you can choose to step over it or go around it at your option.Once any of these traps has been set off they are considered “safe” until they get reset. If you set off your own trap you are still affected by it. You may NOT attempt to pick up, move, tamper with or disarm any trap you encounter without possessing the Disarm Trap skill. If you do have the disarm skill you may safely move the trap, but if you trigger the trap while moving it you will take full effect from it, as will any unfortunate victims around you if it is an area effect trap. You may never remove a trap from the area it is found in or dismantle it and carry it away. When disarming traps you may NOT tamper with electrical or other parts of any trap, if you wish to disarm this type of trap you must look for and disarm the triggering mechanism. (i.e. tripwire, pressure plate etc.)

  • Popper & Pull String Traps – They are set off in a variety of ways (usually by walking through them, opening a trapped door, or stepping on them) and make a sharp popping noise when set off. These traps do 3 points of damage to the person who sets them off, and will break the leg that stepped on the trap. A broken limb will not repair itself, and in order to fix will require 3 points of healing in a single shot.
  • Electrical & Sonic Traps – Both these traps are considered “area of effect” traps. When set off, electrical traps will emit a loud buzzing noise and are representative of an electrical shock being dispersed through the immediate area. Sonic traps will emit a piercing shriek that represents a sonic blast to the immediate area. Anyone in the immediate area when either of these traps is set off will suffer 5 points of damage.
  • Dart & Weapon Traps – These traps are representative of a dart or spring loaded knife being fired from a hidden crevasse in the wall, a blade swinging out to hit an unsuspecting victim or a similar weapon based trap. These traps do 10 points of damage to any person struck by them. If the weapon hits more than one person, all who are hit suffer the effects. They can be blocked by a shield or dodged if you are quick enough. If struck in this method you should make sure the weapon does not have a tag on it as it may bear a tag stating “poison,” “sleep poison,” or some other effect. If a tag is present this effect is in addition to the 10 damage but can be avoided in the usual ways. (i.e. Armor will block poison etc.)
  • Falling Stone Traps & Cave Ins – When this trap is set off it is representative of the ceiling caving in or heavy stones being tipped off a ledge. Anyone hit by at least one stone will suffer 10 points of damage. If hit by more than 1 stone you will still suffer only 10 damage. A shield may not be used to block the stones due to the weight and force at which they are falling.
  • Lightning Traps – Another “area of effect” trap, these traps let out a bright flash of light (like a camera flash bulb) when triggered. Everyone caught in the immediate area of this trap will suffer 20 points of damage and this cannot be resisted by any means short of the Evade Trap skill.
  • Tag Traps – These traps are variable in type, effect, and delivery method. When these traps are triggered you will see a tag that should be read. The tag will indicate what misfortune has befallen you. For example you may open a box and there is a tag affixed clearly on the inside that says “Disease Spore Trap! Whoever opened this box suffers from disease as per the effect.” In all cases this type of trap will be clear and concise and should be role-played accordingly. If you do not understand the effect please get it clarified.