Deathtraps
| You should never kill
player characters arbitrarily. But it's perfectly all right to make it
look as though you will arbitrarily kill them. A deathtrap, naturally, threatens the
heroes with death. This is useful in a super-hero story, because the
heroes are ordinarily invulnerable to most damage and seldom fear death.
A good deathtrap hits them where they live. But judging a deathtrap is tricky.
There must be an escape, since an ugly death in a trap is neither heroic
nor dramatically appropriate. But the escape can't be too obvious, or
the threat vanishes. But the heroes have to find the way out, or they're
dead meat. This is a fine balance to strike.
Still, you have many tools to keep things under control. For example: 1. The villain's motives. Despite the term deathtrap the bad guy may not want to actually kill the PCs. Perhaps he or she just wants to find out more about the heroes' powers, or toy with them, or preoccupy them while a crucial part of the villain's scheme takes place. When the deathtrap turns out to be non-fatal, play up the narrative surprise. 2. Coincidence. An accident can cut power to the deathtrap just as the heroes are about to die. A PC ally, separated from the deathtrap victims earlier in the story, can discover them just in time to stop the trap. And so on. 3. NPCs. Generally it is too cheesy to have an NPC release the heroes from a trap. But if necessary, a repentant henchman of the bad guy can work a deal with the heroes in return for freeing them. Or a rival villain may rescue the heroes-so he or she can kill the heroes him- or herself! Out of the frying pan . . . |
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Means of Escape |
| What ways can the heroes
use to escape the deathtrap? They will nearly always think. of something
you hadn't, but here are some avenues you may consider:
1. Heroic effort. This traditional method relies on the idea that the villain doesn't have a clear idea of the hero's power level. Doctor Destroyer may know a PC is incredibly strong, but that does not mean Destroyer knows specifically that the hero has Super Strength. Perhaps the heroes can snap their bonds with ease. But next time Destroyer puts them in a deathtrap, their bonds will be stronger! 2. Cleverness. Ideally, the hero responds to the deathtrap with brain power, not brute force. Observation, deduction, and improvisation should show a way out. For example, suppose a detective hero is covered with honey and tied up on a termite mound beneath the blazing sun. The hero could work loose the magnifying glass in his or her belt, then focus the sun's rays to burn through the ropes. If the players prove unable to see the deathtrap's solution, you can break down and give them an IQ roll to see an escape route. But this makes players feel bad unless you handle it carefully. 3. Trickery. If the villain is gloating over the trapped heroes, they may try some elementary trick such as, "If we die, you'll never find out the identity of your greatest foe." The villain may rightly sneer at feeble lies. But the players, often a clever lot, may come up with a bluff that really does sway the villain. The deciding factor should be the degree of admiration and hilarity the bluff produces in the players. If everyone thinks the idea is brilliant, then it probably is. The players enjoy themselves more when they think they've put you on the spot-even if you are secretly cooperating in being put there. |
Staging Deathtraps |
| A few points to remember:
1. Be serious! This is no laughing matter. Avoid dumb puns, unless that is a gloating villain's style. 2. Keep the heroes conscious. One would think the ideal time to spring a deathtrap would come when the heroes are kayoed and can't free themselves. But villains like to see the heroes sweat. So if they have knocked out the heroes, they shouldn't activate the deathtrap until the heroes start to wake up. 3. Move things along—but not too fast. The heroes may have scant seconds to think their way out of the trap, but give the players a little more time than that. Answer their questions, and tell them about whatever they could observe. Don't let them take forever, but a few minutes of suspense won't hurt. |
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Deathtrap Examples |
Arena |
| This deathtrap works best
in some exotic land, planet, or dimension, one with a different culture
and denizens. The heroes get thrown into an apparently inescapable
arena. After them comes a variety of opponents: formidable warriors,
hungry monsters, or squads of normal-level gladiators.
For drama, have a hero face the adventure's master villain in a duel to the death. The chosen hero should be one with a deep, personal grudge against the villain (or vice versa). The cruelest stroke forces the heroes to fight each other. However, most heroes simply refuse to do so, no matter what the cost. They get to be noble, but the deathtrap loses a lot of impact. Drastic coercion, such as holding a beloved NPC hostage, should be frowned upon unless your bad guy is truly nasty. In certain circumstances, such as in a primitive culture, the heroes can become gladiator heroes, lead a revolt of their fellow slaves, and overthrow the government. However, this is a time-consuming process. |
Demolition Zone |
| The villain places the heroes, bound and probably gagged, in some building or other site scheduled for imminent destruction. Often this is the villain's own headquarters, about to be sacrificed. The villain may destroy the headquarters to conceal evidence or because his or her latest evil scheme involves its destruction. For instance, a rocket carrying a mind-control satellite is due to launch soon, and the exhaust will destroy the launch site. Really crazy villains will sacrifice themselves and their HQs to kill their longtime foes. The Red Skull did this many times in repeated attempts to bump off Captain America. Of course, he always had a concealed escape route. However, the typical villain will tie up the heroes, gloat a little, then run off to avoid the upcoming calamity. Since the villain seldom sticks around, the heroes' escape and reappearance may take the villain by complete surprise. |
Exploited Weakness |
| Many super-powered heroes have a secret weakness. For example, the Shi'ar warrior Gladiator, one of the most powerful mortals in the universe, can be harmed by an unidentified form of radiation. Other vulnerabilities can include mental attacks (these work well on the Juggernaut), particular chemicals, or strange magic. In this deathtrap, the villain has learned of the hero's weakness, and the trap is loaded with whatever causes it. Details of the trap vary according to the weakness exploited, but the trap can be quite deadly according to how much the substance weakens the hero. Sometimes the only way out is to have a non-vulnerable teammate rescue the susceptible hero. |
Murder by Buddy |
| Often seen in the comics,
this deathtrap is a favorite of villains because one of the heroes own
teammates killed them!
In one version, all the heroes are wired into the same murderous gimmick, like a multi-slot guillotine or parallel electric chairs. Any one hero can get free without a problem-but the action triggers the device to kill all the other heroes. Coordination and cooperation are the keys to success. (Before you run this trap, be sure everybody caught in it cares about everyone else!). Another version puts all the heroes except one in a totally escape-proof trap. They're helpless. A villain mind controls the one free hero into triggering the deathtrap. Naturally the hero by tremendous spiritual exertion, breaks free of the mind control, belts the villain, and frees his or her friends in time for the grand finale showdown. |
Natural Disaster |
| Avalanches. Volcanic eruptions. Tidal waves. Earthquakes. The bad guy leaves the heroes in a spot where their powers can't help, and Mother Nature is about to do something awful. Not much time left; what do the heroes do? |
Old Style |
| The walls that close in, the sharpened scythe that swings lower and lower, the heavy block poised to crush the life out of the hero beneath, the sawmill blade, the chamber that slowly fills with water or gas, the Burmese tiger trap. .. all of these classics can be made fresh with a new slant on them. But be sure the slant is genuinely new, or at least new to your players. Nothing gets old faster than a routine deathtrap. |
Pinball |
| This is a favourite pinball or video game blown up to larger than life size. |
Running the Gauntlet |
| Perfect for the villain who toys with his or her prey. A gauntlet is technically a double line of armed warriors. An unarmed person, either a criminal or an applicant to the warriors' ranks, must run between the two lines while the warriors beat him or her with their weapons. The term now applies to any severe trial or ordeal. This starts out as one of the deathtraps described above, but there is one obvious escape route. This leads straight into another deathtrap. That leads into another, and so on, for as long as you want to run it. Perhaps, while trapped in the slowly filling lava pit, the heroes spy an air vent and crawl through it. The vent's bottom suddenly drops away, and the heroes plummet down a long slide into an alligator pit. Leaping to the rim, the heroes find a boulder rolling down at them. Evading it, they dodge into a room filled with poison gas. The traps may really be lethal, but the villain does not count on it. Generally, he or she is observing and taunting the PCs at every step. When the heroes emerge from the gauntlet, ragged and exhausted, the villain and all his or her henchmen are waiting there for a huge battle. |