Traps Write-Up

[wallydubbs]

To the player's benefit, on rare circumstances, they've been able to coerce or force a monster into a random pit they created in order to force them to fight at a disadvantage. I often play the undead monsters as mindless drones - attacking regardless of risk of their own life.

Yeah, that's how I do Undead as well. The undead don't attack in any uniform fashion, they go after the closest target, hero or greenskin alike.
In cases when heroes bottleneck the doorway, if dealing with greenskins, one will attack then move, another will move then attack. Undead don't alternate, they wouldn't strategize unless a Necromancer was nearby guiding them.

[The Admiral]

In cases when heroes bottleneck the doorway, if dealing with greenskins, one will attack then move, another will move then attack. Undead don't alternate, they wouldn't strategize unless a Necromancer was nearby guiding them.

So once an undead is in the doorway it will remain there until killed? unless controlled of course. I like that reasoning. I certainly can't see a Zombie or a Mummy having a bite and then stepping back to let someone else have a nibble. I could see it with skeletons; they looked pretty organised fighting Jason and his mates!

[wallydubbs]

I've always found that bit about searching the bottom of pit traps comical. My players search pit traps frequently, though who would ever search there for a secret door?!

It's not really the same thing... but in the event of Pass Through Rock, it could happen...

[wallydubbs]

In cases when heroes bottleneck the doorway, if dealing with greenskins, one will attack then move, another will move then attack. Undead don't alternate, they wouldn't strategize unless a Necromancer was nearby guiding them.

So once an undead is in the doorway it will remain there until killed? unless controlled of course. I like that reasoning. I certainly can't see a Zombie or a Mummy having a bite and then stepping back to let someone else have a nibble. I could see it with skeletons; they looked pretty organised fighting Jason and his mates!

I can see your reasoning there, but they have 0 Mind Points, this implies they are instinctually based and will attack the nearest target that isn't undead with no form of strategy.

It would be interesting to add a mod to some form of undead (perhaps Zombies) to have a form of infection that can turn a hero into a Zombie, much like werewolves in Quest 7 of Mage of the Mirror can turn heroes into Werewolves. There is a wolvesbane potion, so there'd have to be a zombie cure potion as well.

[The Admiral]

It's probably HQ heresy, but I have never allowed, and we have never done, any searching down a pit trap. Nonsense in my opinion, but there it is.

[wallydubbs]

It's probably HQ heresy, but I have never allowed, and we have never done, any searching down a pit trap. Nonsense in my opinion, but there it is.

I understand that, why set up a trap and yet leave something of value in there?
Yes, it does say you can search pit traps in the rulebook. But I wouldn't go as far as to call it heresy. The North American rule book allows all heroes to search for Treasure in a room once, yet I don't allow my heroes to do this. One Treasure Card per room is my rule. The heroes don't max out as quickly and don't generally build up on their potions.
Considering I have an expanded Treasure deck not all cards are seen as often.

[mitchiemasha]

but they have 0 Mind Points, this implies they are instinctually based and will attack the nearest target that isn't undead with no form of strategy.

It doesn't imply anything, it's not in the rules, if it did it would be... Everyone is free to play that way if they choose and it does make for a nice addition. One could argue it is you controlling them, Morcar, the evil wizard, you have eyes every where and many ways to sense your enemies, it is your strategy they follow. Their lack of Mind giving you more direct control, they lack fear and other impulses that stand in the way.

An Orc is more instinctually based, having some mind. Is Mind not an extremely advanced string of instincts and memory of following them, then applying that toward future choices? 0 Mind could be said to have no instincts at all, nothing, simply reanimated dead that follows what ever it is controlling it.

[mitchiemasha]

It's probably HQ heresy, but I have never allowed, and we have never done, any searching down a pit trap. Nonsense in my opinion, but there it is.

It's not heresy, as wallydubs points out, it's in a version of the original game.

why set up a trap and yet leave something of value in there?

Someone could of died with what ever you find down there... Also... Remember Goonies, do they not find a tunnel down a Trap? Pinches of pall!!! I can't say I'm overly fond of the idea but I wouldn't see it as unlikely. They only issue I'd have is players wanting to climb in every trap to search it. Having that extra search is a huge incentive to not use the tool kit on unsprung traps, especially if we limit treasure searches.

[The Admiral]

One Treasure Card per room is my rule.

Yes, mine as well, but the deck is never reshuffled until all treasure cards have been revealed.

[mitchiemasha]

but the deck is never reshuffled until all treasure cards have been revealed.

Lets have a think about that...
Why reshuffle the deck if it's only the bad cards? I presume you mean the full deck. How large is a dungeon? How many rooms? How many searches? How large is the treasure deck? When limiting searches to 1, how often have you reshuffled the deck? What quest was that in? This is why it's important to use "Plus each item of furniture", 4 searches for each room is too many, 1 search is too little. Now a room with a quest specific, linked to an object, still has a normal search, some rooms have 3, most just 1.

Also...
Shuffling back the bad cards to the good cards is an important mechanic of the original game. There's a reason he made it that way. It symbolises the increasing danger over time. With each search, each good find removed, the tension increases. Wounded, do you take that risk, I guess it depends if you've found the Treasure Hoard yet.