Trapdoor: Rules for Dungeon Crawls Unleashed!

[Funghy-Fipps]

Disclaimer: This game is not in any way affiliated with the eighties British claymation series The Trap Door. Just thought I'd make that clear before there is a derailment of epic proportions. These are the rules previously know as CAVERN CRAWL, of which there are several existing threads about on this board (here and here). I changed the name because somebody else used Cavern Crawl as a game title in the interim and I didn't want any funny business.

Anyway, here's the fluff:

If that hasn't sent you into a deep coma then might I direct you HERE where both pdf and print copies (b&w, softcover) may be purchased for a meagre sum. If you have any queries then please feel to ask!

[Tactalvanic]

Actually looks quite interesting.

And compared to rancid, smokeping and other wonderful things to configure and do to day thats much needed diversion

Will have a browse when I get home from work, but, like the other threads, I should mention, Really really wanted to see some blue plasticine silliness.

[PatrickWR]

Looks cool. I like Trapdoor better than Cavern Crawl, if that helps!

Is the game written expressly to include miniatures, or are they just icing on the cake?

[Funghy-Fipps]

Looks cool. I like Trapdoor better than Cavern Crawl, if that helps!

Is the game written expressly to include miniatures, or are they just icing on the cake?

Thanks. Yes, it is a miniature based system rather than an outright rpg.

[area23]

I agree on the name. Quite catchy and different from other fantasy games.

[Blue in vt]

I'm very happy to see this wonderful set of rules being brought to the public Market!  Congrats to you FF!

Now...everyone...go get a copy...

...or two!

Cheers,

Blue

[phreedh]

Purchased, downloaded and statting up a party tonight! =)

Get them rules, friends. It's a very nice and straightforward system. Congrats on getting it to market, Gareth!

[krieghund]

Sorry, someone had to  .

[VoodooInk]

I have my copy!

I have been looking for a crawl game. How close to the old red box basic set is this game.

I think Trapdoor captures the feel of [and pays homage to] the classics, but it definitely isn't a D&D retroclone. That's what I love about it. It takes all the elements that make a dungeon crawl cool and puts them in a tight, concise ruleset with modern design sensibilities. It's really impressive how comprehensive it is without getting bogged down in minutia. 

It definitely gets the thumbs up from me. Trapdoor is what I use all the components from my first edition Descent board game for. And really, you can't beat the PDF/print combo price.

[Cherno]

I've been searching for a dugneon crawler with good granularity and longevity, and it sounds like TD might fir the bill. However, before I go and purchase it, I would like some more information on the underlying gameplay mechanics, especially what attributes there are and their limits, and how level progression is handled, as well as maybe a short desription of a melee attack or something like that

[Elbows]

I have the old PDF from a year or two ago.  It's intriguing, though it's a very early build.  It looked well thought out - was well written though it looks a little bit dry for my style.

That was a long time ago - might take a peek at it again.  It had good mechanics for building and pricing out units - allowing a GM a lot of lee-way.

I remember not being overly enthused with the basic attack mechanics - but that's a huge matter of personal preference (and something that can be simply changed by the end user if desired).

[phreedh]

thats what I was getting at, the 'feel' of a red box game of D&D. (lets go down a hole and kill stuff and take its money!) Which while lacking in the role playing depth of later games did deliver a super fun game in its own right. I guess that would be my dream. All the fun of 'role playing' 80's style with the added bonus of minis and tile terrain of which both was unaffordable back in the early 80's to me.

That's the EXACT itch I'm aiming to scratch with Trapdoor. So far, I've only had a few trial games on older versions but it seems promising.

[Funghy-Fipps]

Firstly apologies for not responding sooner, but I'm recovering from 'flu so am somewhat indisposed at the moment. I will attempt to make amends now.

It definitely gets the thumbs up from me. Trapdoor is what I use all the components from my first edition Descent board game for. And really, you can't beat the PDF/print combo price.

Thanks Brent!

I have the old PDF from a year or two ago.  It's intriguing, though it's a very early build.  It looked well thought out - was well written though it looks a little bit dry for my style.

That was a long time ago - might take a peek at it again.  It had good mechanics for building and pricing out units - allowing a GM a lot of lee-way.

There's been an awful lot of evolution and streamlining from older beta versions of Cavern Crawl. I'm not sure which edition(s) you played, but in some respects the game is almost unrecognisable from past incarnations.

thats what I was getting at, the 'feel' of a red box game of D&D. (lets go down a hole and kill stuff and take its money!) Which while lacking in the role playing depth of later games did deliver a super fun game in its own right. I guess that would be my dream. All the fun of 'role playing' 80's style with the added bonus of minis and tile terrain of which both was unaffordable back in the early 80's to me.

Trapdoor is essentially in the 'smash 'n grab' tradition of tabletop rpgs. You can pick locks, disarm traps, search and listen, but most of the onus is on crushing your enemies and stealing their belongings (if any). Advancement of hero characters is fairly rapid (about once per game), but the way the system is set up it takes a long, long time to max your hero out.

Purchased, downloaded and statting up a party tonight! =)

Get them rules, friends. It's a very nice and straightforward system. Congrats on getting it to market, Gareth!

Thanks Phreedh! Your name is writ large in the acknowledgements.

I've been searching for a dugneon crawler with good granularity and longevity, and it sounds like TD might fir the bill. However, before I go and purchase it, I would like some more information on the underlying gameplay mechanics, especially what attributes there are and their limits, and how level progression is handled, as well as maybe a short desription of a melee attack or something like that

Each model has six 'stats' plus traits (which confer positive and negative modifiers) and equipment. Advancement is made by earning 'advancement points'; these are gained for achieving certain things: inflicting 'wounds' on opponents, casting spells successfully, disarming a trap, surviving a quest etcetera. Here is how Melee basically works:

1. Attacker 1d10+MEL ('Melee roll'). If a '1' is rolled the attack automatically fails and the action is wasted.
2. Defender 1d10+RES ('Resilience roll').
4. If attacker wins work out Margin of Victory (MoV: MEL Roll minus RES Roll) and cross-reference with weapon's Damage Rating (DAM) on Damage table.
5. If defender's RES Roll more than doubles attacker's MEL Roll, attacker is Repulsed and become Shaken.
6. Note that with MEL and RES Rolls certain traits and circumstances will allow the rolling of additional d10, with the highest result being chosen before adding the appropriate characteristic.

Hope this answered some of your questions Cherno!

[CaptainHaddonCollider]

Bought 

I started on D&D 5th this week with my gaming group, which has most of my dungeon crawling covered, but I think this will prove to be a good supplement to the boardgames in the house. Now, all I need is enough otherworld miniatures to populate my dungeon ten times over...

[thenamelessdead]

Pleased to see the full release see the light of day. What can I say except to echo the praise already heaped upon it other than to say well done on achieving publication