[RPG] Can any character disarm traps

dnd-5etraps

In D&D 5th edition, can any class disarm a trap, or can just the Rogue class do that?

Best Answer

There's no specific class requirement for the general action of disarming a trap. There's really no specific "disarm a trap" action, either, it's just a thing you can do like other interaction with your environment.

If disarming a trap requires an ability check, the only real guidance is that it may involve a Dexterity check (PHB p. 177).

The main aspects that a Rogue has are:

  1. If one has proficiency with Thieves' Tools (as a Rogue does), then one can add one's proficiency bonus to the check (PHB p. 154).
  2. If one chooses the Thief archetype at 3rd level, one gets the "Fast Hands" ability which allows for using your Cunning Action Bonus Action to disarm a trap (PHB p. 97).

Under "Detecting and Disabling a Trap" (DMG p. 120):

A trap's description specifies the checks and DCs needed to detect it, disable it, or both. A character actively looking for a trap can attempt a Wisdom (Perception) check against the trap's DC. You can also compare the DC to detect the trap with each character's passive Wisdom (Perception) score to determine whether anyone in the party notices the trap in passing. If the adventurers detect a trap before triggering it, they might be able to disarm it, either permanently or long enough to move past it. You might call for an Intelligence (Investigation) check for a character to deduce what needs to be done, followed by a Dexterity check using thieves' tools to perform the necessary sabotage.

So, there may be more specific requirements depending on the specific trap. For example, the sample "Poison Needle" trap (DMG p. 123) says that a "DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools disarms the trap", though I'm not completely confident whether that means that having thieves' tools are required in order to even attempt disarming it, or whether that language is just saying that in the Dexterity check one can add one's proficiency bonus if one has proficiency with Thieves' tools. That's just a sample of a kind of trap that a DM might use, though, and each trap can be different. There certainly could be a trap that some DM has used somewhere that could only be disarmed by a character with the knowledge that comes from having the Rogue class. But there are no general requirements that apply to disarming all traps that require any particular class.