There indeed are more than a few traps we'd like to be able to disarm or pass without having to resort to pyramid throwing or plain damage-tanking. Not to mention mines. I have the feeling such a thing should be added to any of the "precise hands" skills, like lock-picking, pickpocketing, or crafting. That would probably make crafting too useful, pickpocketing isn't really that coherent, so why not lockpicking ? Since it's not a very useful skill in the game right now, that would give a good enough reason to take it and use it.
Maybe a high enough Loremaster check could be made, some form of trap knowledge. having to pass both a Loremaster and Lockpicking test to disarm a trap doesn't actually sound that harsh. The biggest downside is that you would need the same character to upgrade those skills as they go. Luckily, Loremaster IS a very useful skill ( even more useful when it will display stats during the encounter again ).
On the topic of weapon merchants, while I get where you're coming from, I don't think, during our sessions, that we ever really needed to buy things in town. I for sure didn't, but maybe my partner did. Loots are plentiful enough and the very first encounters are easily beaten even with basic weapons. It's possible to steal a few very good 1handed weapon in the barracks down by the port, or even some 2handed in Esmeralda's shop, there is a low tier bow right on the beach with the very first Orc attack, another bow in the fields with the bomber and archer skeletons, etc.
That being said, I can see how a player discovering the game for the first time would maybe have need of merchants. To be honest, I think a NPC with a good enough repair skill is even more needed. Or well, you know, not *needed* but would be quite damn useful.
But at the end of the day, unless drop rates are lowered, one can quite easily progress with no merchants available.
It may be harsh to go into combat with the Sparkmaster with Source Hunter standard gear, though, agreed. :p
