tricks and traps in pre-Supplement I D&D

[geoffrey]

On page 6 of The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures are listed the following sample tricks and traps:

1. False stairs, either up or down

2. Steps which lead to a slanting passage, so the player may actually stay on the same level, descend two levels, or ascend two levels

3. Trap steps which lead up a short distance, but then go downwards for at least two levels, with the return passage blocked by bars or a one-way door

4. Intra-level teleportation areas, so that a player will be transported to a similar (or dissimilar) area on the same level, possibly activated by touching some item (such as a gem, door, or the like)

5. Sinking rooms, including rooms which seem to sink, while the doors remain shut fast for a period of several turns

6. Illusion, mind control, and geas rooms

7. Sections which dead-end so as to trap players being pursued by monsters

8. Doors which are openable from one side only, which resist opening from one side, or which appear at random intervals

9. Natural passages and caverns which have varying width and direction, so that it is virtually impossible to accurately map such areas

10. Space distortion corridors or stairs which seem longer or shorter than they actually are

It's interesting that most of the above examples are designed to get the characters lost or confused. The poor map-makers! This is also instructive when we consider Gary's words: "In the original D&D game there was no thief class, and the traps were not as frequent or complex. A 10' pole in cautious hands and a dward PC were usualy sufficient to spot most of them."
(link: www.enworld.org/forum/archive-threads/125997-gary-gygax-q-part-ix-40.html#post2332482 )

Also consider all of the above while contemplating Gary's map of the 1st dungeon level beneath the ruins of Castle Greyhawk:



Click here for larger image of map: www.philotomy.com/images/Gygax_Greyhawk_Level_1_Detail.jpg

All in all, it looks like the one of the most pervasive dangers of Gary's early dungeons was getting lost in its labyrinths.

[jasons]

What better way to eliminate those annoying mid-delve trips back to town and make resource management a matter of life and death!

[grodog]

Good stuff, Geoffrey. I think it's also worth noting that many of the original Castle GH tricks were tricks on the players (either as mappers, or that required player knowledge, the ability to figure out riddles/puns, etc.): there was no fourth wall at the sand table in Lake Geneva

[tavis]

In playing Blackmoor Dungeons at Gen Con, the most satisfying run had the players laden with treasure, five levels deep, at a point where there was enough time left in the session to game out the process of them finding their way back to the surface. This was filled with tension in a way I rarely see, the opposite of the initial entering the dungeon suspense. Will the players' map be accurate enough to get them back? As I count out the distance they're traveling, will I manage to roll a wandering monster to stop them?

I think the virtue of tricks/traps that make you get lost is to create and enhance that particular kind of tension. It seems to me that the earliest dungeons, e.g. Blackmoor or the section of El Raja Key's dungeon that we explored at GaryCon, have many more choices (doors, staircases, empty rooms) than later examples which are more "naturalistically" designed; finding your way through these spaces is a manageable challenge that can quickly be promoted to nail-biting when you realize you've been teleported or whatever.

[aldarron]

Awesome pic!

Note that Blackmoor dungeon has lots of dead end corridors.

Arneson loved maps and loved screwing with players in regards to thier map making - something he mentions in quite a few of his interviews and even some webposts on this forum.

[grodog]

Sept 15, 2010 7:37:32 GMT -6 tavis said:

I think the virtue of tricks/traps that make you get lost is to create and enhance that particular kind of tension. It seems to me that the earliest dungeons, e.g. Blackmoor or the section of El Raja Key's dungeon that we explored at GaryCon, have many more choices (doors, staircases, empty rooms) than later examples which are more "naturalistically" designed; finding your way through these spaces is a manageable challenge that can quickly be promoted to nail-biting when you realize you've been teleported or whatever.

Exactly! That's why the PHB spend a good chunk of time in the "Successful Adventures" section talking about setting goals, and how the goals should always be reset to "finding your way to familiar ground" once you've been lost/teleported (from page 109 of the PHB"):

A word about mapping is in order. A map is very important because it helps assure that the party will be able to return to the surface. Minor mistakes are not very important. It makes no difference if there is a 20' error somewhere as long as the chart allows the group to find its way out! As it is possible that one copy of the party's map might be destroyed by mishap or monster, the double map is a good plan whenever possible - although some players have sufficiently trained recall so as to be able to find their way back with but small difficulty, and these individuals are a great boon to the group. If pursuit prevents mapping, always go in a set
escape pattern if possible - left-straight-right-straight, etc. Such patterns are easy to reverse. In mazes always follow one wall or the other, left or right, and you will never get lost. If transported or otherwise lost, begin mapping on a fresh sheet of paper, and check for familiar or similar places as you go along. Never become despondent; fight until the very end.

When everything is all set, it will take only a very few minutes to organize the group for the adventure once time for actual play begins. Your referee will certainly appreciate this, for his or her enjoyment comes from adventuring, not from waiting for a party to get their act together. With your objective all set, it will also be a relatively quick trek to the "jumping off" area, as the expedition leader will be able to give clear and concise directions on how to get there to the DM, and that means there will be few monster dice, for the party is marching along quickly down known passages, not mapping or otherwise tarrying.

Avoid unnecessary encounters. This advice usually means the difference between success and failure when it is followed intelligently. Your party has an objective, and wondering monsters are something which stand between them and it. The easiest way to overcome such difficulties is to avoid the interposing or trailing creature if at all possible. Wandering monsters typically weaken the party through use of equipment and spells against them, and they also weaken the group by inflicting damage. Very few are going to be helpful; fewer still will have anything of any value to the party. Run first and ask questions later. In the same vein, shun encounters with creatures found to be dwelling permanently in the
dungeon (as far as you can tell, that is) unless such creatures are part of the set objective or the monster stands between the group and the goal it has set out to gain. Do not be sidetrocked. A good referee will have many ways to distract an expedition, many things to draw attention, but ignore them if at all possible. The mappers must note a11 such things, and another expedition might be in order another day to investigate or destroy something or some monster, but always stay with what was planned if at all possible, and wait for another day to handle the other matters. This not
to say that something hanging like a ripe fruit ready to be plucked
must be bypassed, but be relatively certain that what appears to be the case actually is. Likewise, there are times when objectives must be abandoned.

If the party becomes lost, the objective must immediately be changed to discovery of a way out. If the group becomes low on vital equipment or spells, it should turn back. The same is true if wounds and dead members have seriously weakened the group's strength. The old statement about running away to fight another day holds true in the game. It is a wise rule to follow.