Traps in woodland

[Hex]

Um. So I live in a city and, you know, I know what trees look like but not much about them...

If there was a woodland with lots of trailing creepery-type things hanging from the trees, how easy would it be to set a trap to catch a person? Ideally it would tangle them in the creepers.

Could you do it quickly?

 

[Mouse]

What sort of woodland? And what do you mean by 'trailing creepery-type things?' Rope things? Or vine things?

 

[The Judge]

Is this real life in a European country? Because we don't really get many trailing creepery things, I don't think, not ones strong enough to hold a person.

If it's a fantasy you can invent your own liana tree which can do whatever you want.

 

[Hex]

It's fantasy -- sort of set in a fairytale typey land, so the vines can behave any way they like.

The guy who they're trying to catch knows his way around -- so I'd like, if possible, for the trap to be created by the other characters -- so they change something to set a trap for him (if that makes sense?)

Vine things, Mouse. Maybe root things too.

 

[Abernovo]

Depends upon how thick and strong the lianas are. You can make ropes out of them quite easily, but it takes time. Thicker ones work on their own. If you make a trip trap, it's simple, but the more complex you have your trap, the longer it will take.

It's easy to make a pit trap, but again it takes time for the digging. You could make a net out of the lianas to tangle the victim. How quick do you need to make it?

 

[Mouse]

Hmm... well, this is where I walk the dog:

Could possibly get someone tangled up and trapped in there pretty quick? (You can just about make out vines hanging down too, but the trees are twisty). Like, the people could set up something to block the way out quick.

 

[Hex]

@Abernovo -- A net would be perfect. They'd make it as quickly as possible because the guy is following them. They'd have... maybe an hour? There are four of them (and they know very little about woods and stuff -- but a bit more than I do).

@ Mouse -- oooh yes. That sort of thing. Would there be a way to trap someone without hanging around and jumping on them?

 

[Mouse]

I don't know if they could have something pre-set up?

 

[MstrTal]

You do not necessarily need a vine or even "trailing creepery-type" thing you can use common saplings and thin green wood. In fact as long as the trees are supple and springy you can make any number of traps and dangerous devices to trap animals and people. With enough time you can even use the fiber from saplings and plants to create ropes to make your traps.

Here is a link that may give you some Ideas. http://www.autonopedia.org/survival/Food_and_Water/Traps_and_Snares_2.html

Another idea is to do a web search on survivalist and hunting forums.

You may also consider hitting up your countries version of an Army Surplus Store for SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) Manual's that are produced by your nations armed forces.

 

[The Judge]

The simplest thing is a noose/lasso if one could drop down over him and then pull itself tight.

In war films they have booby traps where a rope is attached to a bent tree and the loop is on the ground and when the person steps on the loop, it closes on his ankle and he's pulled into the air as the tree straightens (not sure of the mechanism).

Could you have a quick growing man-eating vine that wraps itself around creatures like a boa constrictor, and they others have disguised it so he doesn't realise what it is?

 

[Hex]

Is that the trap which Homer in the Simpsons uses to catapult a rabbit over the hills?

That would be good -- then he'd struggle and get tangled.

Thanks, MstrTal -- I read through the page and it's very useful (now rabbits need to fear me. ha ha!)

 

[Abernovo]

MstrTal is correct. Bend a sapling and tie it loosely, enough that anyone walking into the vine keeping it in place will release it. More vines can be used as a snare or a net. They can be quite lethal.

Net - you 'knit' it. Strands one way and strands across, over, under, over, under, secure with knots. It's not going to hold for long against a knife, but will slow down. Thing is, an hour's not long, and each minute spent in one place preparing it is a minute the pursuer gets closer. My nasty side coming out, but cut some thorny trees as you're going, shape them on the way and leave them as caltrops on the path. Then you really have to hope he doesn't catch up with you.

 

[Hex]

Brilliant. Thank you, everyone.

 

[MstrTal]

Now if your a little more cruel and really want to slow them down you can go a slightly different route. Take a sapling branch and as long as you don't want to bog down your story with minutia suspend it chest high, bent back and hooked to a trip wire of some sort across your pursuers path. One of your characters can either be equipped with twine, paracord or sacrifice some shoestrings if vines are not local to the area. The branch sapling need not even be studded with anything lethal if that is detrimental to your story.

the point being that psychologically one needs to ask themselves what is going to slow a party of pursuers down more, getting snared/ trapped in a net or receiving a potentially rib cracking blow that sends them flying? If I were in such a party I would either leave behind the snared individual and keep up with the chase being a little more cautious while on the hunt but if one of my fellow hunters just got a wallop I think I would slow up a touch as bodily injury is something no one takes lightly. Even the most hardened combat vet would slow their roll when presented with such a situation and take things more seriously.

It would give your characters more time to head for the hills so to speak.

 

[Esfires]

Going with MstrTal's reasoning, the trap doesn't even really have to work. The pursuers only have to see that something nasty has been prepared for them and they'll slow up, go more carefully. A simply net, even if it worked, wouldn't slow them down for more than a few seconds. Hardly a good payoff for the half hour it took to prepare it.

But something really gruesome, something that might snap an ankle or rip a man open? That would give me pause.

 

[Hex]

Hee. I'm going to use this in my next story!

For this one, I need something more specific -- something that probably won't hurt someone (too much) and will get them tangled. I think maybe the net -- or maybe some variety of a springy sapling and some vines.

 

[Kylara]

Coming from an owner of carnivourous plants and cacti (on a "don't enter the greenhouse...or the sunroom...oh and be careful near the windows" level) we can envisage some nice things...you want something that'll tangle eh? well, sundew plants (carnivourous - https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=s...DgJ4KlqgGK2oHACQ&ved=0CFQQsAQ&biw=951&bih=328)have tendrils that have sticky beads on them, very strong, a baby one caught a big wasp the other day, now irl, they cover the ground, but I'm sure you could beef them up, giantise them, and make them tree parasites that hang down from branches, or make a catapult that launches them at your pursuer...very difficult to escape... or you could go with a cactus type that I have been growing for years, which is spiky on three sides (shaped a bit like a toblerone tube but it goes in instead of straight on the sides like a three pointed starfruit) and it grows along the ground and up and sends out rooter shoots from pretty much everywhere...find some of those, giantise them, and you have a nasty prickly trap, combine those with the (giantised by you) tree like one I have which has super fine spikes (bugs you for days...) and there is no way anyone is getting past...or just drop one of these on them...http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2207/2152958435_291889d2d1_z.jpg

 

[stormcrow]

What about using wild roses? They're creeper-like, and have the nasty bonus of thorns. Flexible shoots - willow and hazel grow pretty quickly and are strong/flexible; so are candidates for trap-making.

As potential alternatives, what about spider silk? Mutated hanging tree-fungus?

 

[Hex]

Brilliant ideas!

It's now the mechanics of the trap I'm wondering about. Saplings and vines and pits and stuff.

 

[MstrTal]

Aside from the link I supplied and the other suggestions I already listed if you want more lethal woodland and jungle traps I would suggest a little research into Veitmanam Era Booby Traps. You will find a wealth of information as well as pictures, diagrams and other such useful things.