User blog comment:Furkan Zomer II/Research Results: Tripwires/@comment-3498155-20140227024931

As far as I know, blowing tripwires attracts nearby goblins - I'm not sure whether the game actually spawns new encounters though. For example, the grove with the drake has a ton of these. If I've killed the drake and cleared out the goblins, tripping the wires doesn't seem to call any more goblins, although if I'm not mistaken your pawns will still occasionally comment about how that can't be good and to look out for trouble.

It's been a while since I played the game but I distinctly remember testing the tripwires at the grove. As far as I can tell, if there are any goblins nearby they'll be drawn to the area immediately, but if you've cleared the area out, nothing seems to happen. Tested with Dark Arisen.