"Traps and Treachery", is the first hardcover d20 supplement by Fantasy Flight for their Legends & Lairs line. It is a big book, crammed with information, and a little on the expensive side, thus the lengthy review. While most of the book is devoted to descriptions of a multitude of traps, this book also details many aspects of the thieving profession. It can be seen as a timely supplement for the rogue class because it was published a few months before anything else on the subject has been released. Although players will find some uses for this book, it is infinitely more useful for a DM. It would actually make a great gift for a DM; because of its specialised nature and its price, it might not be on the top of a DM's buying list, but it makes a great addition to the tools of the trade.

The first chapter is about rogues. The first section details the roles of the five senses in trap detection and evasion, as well as descriptions of the processes that can turn them into role-playing events more gratifying than just skill check dice rolls. The next section is entitled "The Business of Thievery" and details the more popular means of turning a profit by illicit means (smuggling, banditry, blackmail, extortion, protection rackets, etc.). After that comes a description of Thieves' Guilds, their organisation, and guidelines on how to design one.

Then we go into the new rules, beginning with the description of four new prestige classes. Only one, the Trapmaster, is a versatile PC class. The Trapmaster gains a trap resistance bonus to saving throws, can construct impromptu traps, and has a limited but interesting spell progression. The other three classes will only make interesting PCs if the gaming style of the group is very strongly bent on role-playing, or if the campaign takes place almost exclusively in a single city. Even the authors say so. However, these prestige classes can make interesting NPC's.

A new NPC class, the Thug, is a worthwhile addition to Warriors, Adepts, Experts and the rest.

Some of the new feats provided are interesting. A lot of the feats are double Skill Focus feats, like Alertness in the Player's Handbook. Alertness was the only feat that gave +2 to two skill checks, Spot and Listen. Otherwise, a single feat, Skill Focus, gives only +2 to one skill. "Traps and Treachery" offers a multitude of feats that give +2 to two different skill checks, like the new feat Fast Talker that gives +2 on Bluff and Diplomacy checks. Because this makes the Skill Focus feat obsolete, I question the appropriateness of those double feats. Still, there is nothing here that threatens the power balance of a campaign.

Signature Skill is a noteworthy feat that turns one cross-class skill into a class skill (particularly useful for the rogue who wants to learn Alchemy and use the new rules for making poison). A lot of the other feats make the rogue's sneak attack more powerful. One feat increases the damage dice, another increases the range of the sneak attack, and one gives an extra attack to a rogue who successfully performs a sneak attack. In my opinion, the last feat is a bit over the edge. Also, the way the feat that improves the range of a sneak attack works is strange, suggesting that thrown weapons are more precise at longer range than fired weapons, which is false. Other feats affect and expand the rules for dealing subdual damage.

Two new item creation feats are revealed to us, and those are prerequisites to access the most interesting new rules provided in this book: the Brew Poison feat, and the Craft Magic Trap feat. Brew Poison is accessible to all classes, but only spellcasters can use it to create magic poisons.

The section on poisons is very detailed, describing the effects of such toxins as irritants, nerve poisons, asphyxiants, psychotropic poisons, stimulants, and more. Some detail is given as to what comprises a Healing Test to help a companion suffering from poison. The effects of a few common poisons are described, such as alcohol, carbon monoxide, opium, toadstool, poison ivy, and more. I think, or at least I hope, that their interpretation of the effects of psylociben is wrong. One point of permanent Int and Wis damage? More than a few of us would be getting pretty dumb…

The rules for creating poisons are an excellent addition to the third edition. The difficulty of creating a poison is based on the Fortitude Save DC that the poison requires. There are rules covering the creation of the poisons found in the DM's Guide as well as the creation of new poisons, including enchanted and supernatural poisons. The first combines a natural poison and a magical effect, while the later has an entirely magical effect. An example of enchanted poison is the Draught of Wounding, that does one point of temporary Constitution damage as initial damage, and inflict critical wounds as secondary damage. Here is another one: Tasha's Hideous Laughing Venom. You get the gist.

This chapter also includes new tools for thieves, new magic items, the new Thievery Domain and a few new spells useful to thieves. Multiclassing Rogue/Priest suddenly becomes very interesting.

The second chapter explains trap design and construction. The "philosophy" of traps is discussed (why is there a trap at such a place, what is its purpose?). Traps are then classified according to their method of construction and means of activation. Technical design information is given, such as typical trap mechanisms and effects. The rules for constructing mechanical and magic traps are based on the CR of the trap. Extensive rules are given to determine a trap's CR according to its complexity, the difficulty of finding and disarming it, the amount of damage it deals or its ability to ensnare its victims.

The rest of the book, and that is more than half of it, describes twenty-two magical traps and forty-three mechanical traps of Challenge Ratings from one to ten, plus a few puzzles and challenges. These traps are not sadistic "kill the characters for fun" traps. Most of these traps provide an actual challenge to the players and the descriptions include ways of finding and disarming them. Some are really funny. All are ingenious. The attitude of the authors regarding traps is that they should be memorable and stand out by defining an adventure location rather than being lost in it. The drawings and plans accompanying each trap make it easy to understand their mechanics and layout. These illustrations are exceptional and probably count for a big part of the price of the book. The puzzles include logic, math, word, and chess puzzles and riddles, for a total of eighteen puzzles. On top of that we find ten physical challenges that test the characters' skills.

As a finishing touch, two new character races from an upcoming Fantasy Flight Games publication are added "for free".

This book will probably satiate any DM's needs for traps, puzzles and similar non-combat challenges throughout his career. It is not an essential book, but a potentially very useful one that can help create memorable evenings of D&D. It is of limited use to players, who should be content to consult their DM's copy in exchange for some refreshments to raise the spirits, eternal worship, or both. No peeking at the traps though.

New Rules: