Escaping Falling Block Traps

[Daedalus]

How should insufficient movement be treated when a Hero moves past or retreats back from a falling block trap?

First, the trap is sprung, and a falling block trap tile is placed under the Hero. Then, 3 combat dice are rolled for damage. Next, quoted from the US Instruction Booklet:

• You must now make a decision. You
  can either move ahead or move back
  to an empty space. Remember, the trap
  space is now a permanent block in the
  game. Your decision is a critical one.
  You could become trapped forever, or
  you could be cut off from the rest of
  the Heroes.
  
  
• Move to the space you have decided
  upon. This ends your turn.

I have some questions. They assume the Heroes are in a single-square corridor.

1) Say a Hero ends his movement on the falling block trap, and he has no more movement to spare. Is he trapped forever under the block? I don't think so, as the Hero is instructed to make a decision to move forward or back. Does this rule trump the standard movement rules?

2) OK, so say the Hero mentioned above can move. Is he allowed to move forward as if he had rolled 1 greater movement that turn, or should he be forced to move back to an empty space? Must that empty space be adjacent to the falling block trap, or could it be another empty square on route? What if there is another Hero on the space just before the falling block trap--does the triggering Hero with no further movement get to decide to move back 2 or move foward 1 beyond his original movement allowance?

3) Say there is a Hero on the adjacent space before the trap, and the triggering Hero still has one square of movement left. May he move beyond his normal movement back behind the adjacent Hero, or must he move forward 1 space, within his normal movement limit?

4) Say Zargon is an evil dick and designed a Quest with multiple falling block traps in consecutive spaces. A Hero only rolled high enough to end his movement on the first falling block trap. He decides to move forward one space, but he triggers another falling block trap. Can he keep moving foward to escape, without limit if there are more traps ahead? If this is so, then he could technically move well beyond his maximum movement allowance of 12. Does this suggest foward movement beyond what a Hero rolled shouldn't be allowed as a choice?

[drathe]

1. This rule trumps standard movement rules.
2. The Hero must move to any unoccupied space adjacent to the trap square.
3. The Hero makes their move to an unoccupied adjacent space and ends their turn as per the second bullet.
4. If the Hero decides to move onto a square containing another trap, they must follow the rules of that trap. If it's another falling block, they then choose to move to another unoccupied square adjacent to the next trap. That is, if they survive the traps.

[cynthialee]

no movement left?
dead hero

[Von Necron]

GM's discretion. I'd just say he continues to loose his turn until a fellow hero spends their turn digging him out.

[ken]

no movement left?
dead hero

Bit drastic, No I say, let the Hero play on and catch him/her on the rebound.

[Sjeng]

The European rules seem to be different:

A falling block trap is depicted with a falling block image and an arrow on a square next to it.

"When a character player moves through a square containing a falling block symbol, a block will fall. It will land into the adjacent square marked with the arrow on the quest map, blocking the way. Any character or monster in the square into which the block falls must roll 3 combat dice. The victim must lose one Body point for each skull rolled, and then move to an adjacent unoccupied square. If the victim cannot move to an adjacent square, he is eliminated by the falling block."

That's quite clear to me. Basically, the Hero setting off the trap never gets hit, because at the moment he triggers it, it falls onto an adjacent square. Only any other character on that space must roll 3 dice and try to escape if he can.


When heroes search for traps, Morcar tells them the ceiling looks unstable. He can place the block tile upside down on the trigger area, and a hero can then try to disable it or trigger it from that same square. If it falls, then he won't be harmed.

[Ethica]

1) Trap rules trump movement rules.
2) In eu rules if there is no empty space adjacent then the hero is instantly killed.
3) See 1)
4) They would be pushed along by the rule, or die from rolling skulls. That would be very evil.

I'd just like to add that if the hero has spare movement afterr the trap has been triggered and they didn't take damage, I would let them continue their move (ala spear traps).

[cynthialee]

no movement left?
dead hero

Bit drastic, No I say, let the Hero play on and catch him/her on the rebound.

how is it drastic?
we spend the entire game trying to kill heoes

[Big Bene]

1)

Does this rule trump the standard movement rules?

The rule says "You can either move ahead or move back to an empty space ... Move to the space you have decided upon", without regard to the standard movement rules. So this is what you do.

2)

should he be forced to move back to an empty space?

No, for the same reason as 1).

Must that empty space be adjacent to the falling block trap, or could it be another empty square on route?

Well, that's not clearly stated in the rule, but it's pretty obvious that it's ment to simulate how a hero jumps aside to avoid the falling block, so it should be an adjactant square.

What if there is another Hero on the space just before the falling block trap

If this happens, I'd say he is only allowed to move to the square behind the trap, so not to break the rules as descibed above. Having him pushing back the other hero or move over him to the next free suare would be OK for me, but it would still be a house rule, as nothing like this is mentioned in the book.

3)

May he move beyond his normal movement back behind the adjacent Hero, or must he move forward 1 space, within his normal movement limit?

Nope, for the reasons already quoted above.

4)

Say Zargon is an evil dick ... Can [the hero] keep moving foward to escape, without limit if there are more traps ahead?

Technically yes, but there would be no point for even the most evil dicked Zargon in arranging traps in this way. Falling stone traps (in the NAmerican version) block corridors (and 10 of them don't block it better than one), they don't harm the heroes.

[Daedalus]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Lots of interesting and logical interpretations. As for my take on falling block traps:

1) I'm with drathe, Ethica, and Big Bene. Trap trumps move. Sorry, Sjeng--your rules are just too different from the US set. However, I do find them kinda fun, in a Three Stooges kind of way. Does triggering a falling block trap end the triggering Hero's movement?

2) Gotta go with Big Bene on this one. I think the Hero may choose to go forward or back, as long as there is an empty space. Choice is in the rule, so it's paramount. Adjacency isn't in the wording and isn't necessary, but I'd say if an adjacent space is empty and in the direction you choose, then that is the space you move to, having no further movement remaining.

3) Hurray for Ethica and Big Bene, for I am with you! However, this point was pretty stupid to bring up. So un-hurray.

4) drathe and Ethica, your answers please me. Choosing to escape into another falling-block-trapped square forces more movement, as I see it. The rest of you I leave behind in the falling-block-trap thread I created to satisfy my curiosity! Damn, Sjeng escaped with his weirdo rules.

Those with a Pass Through Rock spell may tell the Evil OP to stuff it.