Ah, what would Thiefly life be without the plethora of traps that come our way? From the lethal, to the highly annoying, to the just plain embarrassing, traps are an unforgettable part of everyday Elanthian life. Here I'll list all of the traps that -I- know about, and how I think they're best dealt with.

--The Poisons --

"Green Poison" -- Green poison is a needle with a greenish discoloration on it's tip that is hidden next to the lock. After you've been jabbed by the poisonous needle, you'll probably notice the following symptoms: internal wounds develop in the hand that is jabbed by the needle, eventually causing bleeding, which often quickly gets out of hand. Because it is internal bleeding, it cannot be tended. It is because of this poison that I recommend all locksmiths keep a yelith root on them, just in case they botch one of these far from aid. Green poison is one of the most common traps, it only affects the person who sets it off, though it can be deadly. (I've died from it.)

"Nerve Poison" -- A very painful and potentially deadly poison, this traps resembles a needle with a rust-coloured discoloration on the tip. I believe it affects the nervous system and the inner eyes, much the same as viper poison. This is a rarer trap. Unfortunately, there are no herbs which heal internal eyes, so be prepared to run to an Empath for aid if you are unlucky enough to botch one of these.

"Chlorine Gas" -- These traps are often referred to as "gassers". They affect everyone in the room where the trap is blown. I believe the trap resembles a large vial with lime-green liquid in it. I recommend doing all boxes in an empty, rarely-used room because of this trap. This trap causes you to fall to your knees coughing -- the symptoms are internal chest, abdomen and back wounds, which often begin bleeding if left alone. This trap is very nasty indeed.

"Cyanide Poison" -- The deadliest of all the poisons, I it resembles a tiny dart next to the lock, and smells of almonds. Some people smell the almond smell and some do not, but the dart is always there. (Click here for Royce's post about the almond smell.) This trap is almost certain death, causing unconsciousness and the rapid loss of vitality. I know someone that died within sixty-three heartbeats of being poisoned. Very, very nasty. This trap causes a dart to fly from the box and lodge itself in your forehead. Most unpleasant. It is said that removing the dart quickly helps a little, but there's no way to verify that.

"Laughing Gas" -- Not precisely a poison, this trap produces highly amusing effects, causing everyone who inhales the gas to tell bad jokes and find everything about life hilariously funny. It wears off eventually, but is really fun to blow in populated places, being a room trap. This trap resembles a crystal sphere and a hammer, I believe. I've never seen one myself, but I have seen the effects. Most amusing.

--Note, there is also rumoured to be a Crossbow Bolt trap with poisoned bolts, which might also fit into this category.

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--Projectiles --

"Acid Trap" -- This trap resembles a tiny hole next to the lock of the box, which appears to be a trap of some kind. This trap causes acid to shoot out of the aforementioned hole, which can cause damage to the locksmith -- resulting in external wounds and vitality hits. Also, this trap can eat up armor...so if you are wearing armor, and the trap hits a place that is covered by the armor (chest, for instance) the acid will begin to eat away your armor. It is because of this trap that I recommend all locksmiths remove their armor when they disarm. It's much easier to be healed than it is to replace expensive armor...silly as that may seem.

"Crossbow Trap" -- This trap resembles the tips of wickedly-barbed crossbow bolts concealed inside openings in the box. It causes several crossbow bolts to be fired from the box, lodging themselves into your body. I've never died or suffered serious injury from this trap, but I've heard of those who have.

"Shrapnel Trap" -- A deadly trap by all accounts, this trap affects all those unfortunate enough to be in the room when the trap is blown. It causes the box to explode, launching tiny slivers of metal at all those in the vicinity. I've heard that this has killed people, and seen the dead in the empath's guild with the slivers lodged savagely into their bodies, but I've not seen it in action as of yet.

"Poisoned Bolts" -- Just what it says. You set it off, and poisoned bolts lodge into you, just like a crossbow bolt trap, except the bolts are poisoned. I think it looks like crossbow bolts "glistening with moisture" but I've had yet to have run into this one, myself. I have reason to believe this trap is only found on higher range critters.

"Razor Trap" -- A semi-projectile trap, it doesn't seem to fit anyplace else. The Razor trap causes a sharp razor to shoot out of a seam in the box and cut off first the hands of the victim, then, if no more hands are available, the victim's head. Once you loose a hand to this trap, I reccommend waiting until you get it healed before trying the box again. It's found on dryads and up, I believe.

"Cyanide Poison" -- This could also be considered a projectile trap, see the note above.

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--Shocking Traps--

"Shocker Trap" -- An annoying but not deadly trap, it causes the locksmith to suffer mild electrocution, sending them flying through the air, causing nerve damage. It only affects the locksmith, and I believe it it resembles two metal studs that look suspiciously out of place on the box.

"Lightning Trap" -- A rare and deadly trap, this resembles a circle of lacy metal and a coin sized disk, I believe. It causes the unfortunate locksmith to be struck by lightning, I think the result is usually death, and bleeding wounds to the skin. It only affects the locksmith.

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--Bombs--

"Boomer Trap" -- This trap, when blown, causes the box to explode (destroying all the contents) and often results in hand or eye wounds to the locksmith. It resembles a glistening black cube surrounded by wicker. (Or something to that effect. I've seen this one so often that I hardly pay it any mind.) A very common trap, not deadly, but rather embarrassing and annoying.

"Naphtha Trap" -- Naphtha causes the box to explode, destroying -most- of the contents. (Usually the things of the least value in the box survive.) It also, gives the locksmith abrasions and cuts all over their body, and often gives those in the room abrasions and cuts, as well. It resembles a vial of deadly naphtha near to the lock, I believe.

"Shockwave" -- This trap, tentatively known as "Shockwave" resembles a tube leading down into a wad of what looks like clay. When you botch this trap, you trigger some giant explosion, sending everyone in the room flying. (Everyone goes flying out of the room, like one of those dolls you can kick.) This incurs a hefty fine of endangering the public, hooliganism, and some other fine for each person in the room when you set it off. Also, you won't -know- that you set it off until too late -- apparently you think, up until the last moment, that you have actually disarmed the trap. Evil, huh? This trap causes internal head bleeding, deafness, and roundtimes because you will try to pop your ears.

Click Here for GM Royce's Post on this trap.

"Bouncer" -- A newer addition to the traps, this trap causes the box to begin to vibrate madly, jumping out of the locksmith's hands and then jolting from room to room, spewing its contents as it goes. More annoying or embarrassing than anything else. I believe this trap resembles a string going back into the depths of the box..

Shrapnel might also be included in this category.

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--Curse Traps--

"Magebane" -- The magebane is my favourite trap of all, mostly because it has no effect on me, or any other non-magic user. (Thieves, Traders and Barbarians.) It causes the harness levels of the person who botches it to drop for some time to zero, but being a Thief, that doesn't bother me one bit. It resembles a rune-covered bronze seal, I think.

"Curse" -- This trap resembles a small glowing rune -- it causes the box (and all its contents) to stick to the hand of the person who botches the trap. It's a rarer trap, and a pain besides. (Have to get the box uncursed by a Cleric, as well as all the contents, if you plan on keeping them.)

"Toad trap" -- This trap resembles a lumpy green rune, and when botched, turns the would-be locksmith into a warty green toad! It wears off, eventually, but it is most embarassing indeed. This is supposedly the first trap in a long line of "polymorph" traps.

"Mime Trap" -- This trap resembles a tiny fae face bronze fae face positioned atop a tiny bladder. This trap turns the unfortunate locksmith into a Mime for an hour or so. The Cleric Spell uncurse will remove the effects of this trap. This trap allows you to complete 1 out of 3 or so actions attempted, but the rest will be turned into a random mime action.

"Shadowling Trap" -- This trap makes the locksmith speak like a Shadowling. It resembles a dark crystal positioned near the lock. The duration is 30 minutes or so, and there is no known cure for this trap.

Click Here for Royce's Post on the "Toad" Trap

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--Diseases--

"Disease" -- a very dreadful trap, it causes sores to spread all over the victim's body. Eventually these begin to bleed, and then vitality loss usually causes death. Oddly, departing will not rid the victim of the disease (well, so have I heard...), Empathic aid is needed in these cases. This only affects the person who botches the trap. I believe the trap resembles an animal bladder of some kind.

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