About extending existing scripts, if for example I made a child script of the existing games trap script for bear traps that played a fire shaders, would that mean that all the bear traps in the game now would cause the actor to play the fire shader when the trap triggered?

All without making any edits to the original script nor the original properties nor the traps objects refs or base that have the original scripts?

(mmm.... but where would the child script be placed if not to the bear traps? My assumptions must be wrong.)