Question on a locked situation

[xgp]

Hello,

I am currently trapped in a small room:

[TT][BC=black][COLOR=white]
                                                                                                                                     
[COLOR="#00FFFF"]Dunadan[/COLOR]                                                                                                                              
[COLOR="#00FFFF"]Soldier[/COLOR]                                                                                                                              
[COLOR="#00FFFF"]Warrior[/COLOR]                                                                                                                              
LEVEL [COLOR="#00FF00"]     7[/COLOR]                                                                                                                         
NXT [COLOR="#00FF00"]       7[/COLOR]                                                                                                                         
AU [COLOR="#00FF00"]      917[/COLOR]                                                                                                                         
[COLOR="#C0C0C0"]|[/COLOR] [COLOR="#C0C0C0"]=[/COLOR]  [COLOR="#804000"]~[/COLOR][COLOR="#C08040"]([/COLOR] [COLOR="#C08040"])[/COLOR]                                                                                                                            
STR:  [COLOR="#00FF00"] 18/40[/COLOR]                                       [COLOR="#C0C0C0"]############[/COLOR]                                                                      
INT:  [COLOR="#00FF00"]    10[/COLOR]                                       [COLOR="#C0C0C0"]#[/COLOR]..........[COLOR="#C0C0C0"]#[/COLOR]                                                                      
WIS:  [COLOR="#00FF00"]    10[/COLOR]                                       [COLOR="#C0C0C0"]#[/COLOR]..........[COLOR="#C0C0C0"]#[/COLOR]                                                                      
DEX:  [COLOR="#00FF00"] 18/30[/COLOR]                                       [COLOR="#C0C0C0"]#[/COLOR]..........[COLOR="#C0C0C0"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]###########################[/COLOR][COLOR="#606060"]%%[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#606060"]%%%[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#606060"]%[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]##################################[/COLOR] 
CON:  [COLOR="#00FF00"]    15[/COLOR]                                       [COLOR="#C0C0C0"]#[/COLOR].......[COLOR="#FF4040"]?[/COLOR].@.[COLOR="#C0C0C0"]........[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"]............................................................[/COLOR] 
                                                   [COLOR="#C0C0C0"]#[/COLOR]..........[COLOR="#C0C0C0"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#########[/COLOR][COLOR="#C08040"]'[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]####################[/COLOR][COLOR="#606060"]%%[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#606060"]%[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#606060"]%[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#################################[/COLOR] 
Cur AC [COLOR="#00FF00"]   16[/COLOR]                                       [COLOR="#C0C0C0"]#[/COLOR]..........[COLOR="#C0C0C0"]#[/COLOR]        [COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR]                                                           
HP [COLOR="#00FF00"]  82[/COLOR]/[COLOR="#00FF00"]  82[/COLOR]                                       [COLOR="#C0C0C0"]############[/COLOR]                                                                      
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
350' (L7)                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                        [COLOR="#808080"]#########################[/COLOR]                                                    
                                                        [COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].......................[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR]                                                    
                                                        [COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#####################[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR]                                                    
                                                        [COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"]...................[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR]                                                    
                                                        [COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"]...................[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR]                                                    
                                                        [COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"]...................[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR]                                                    
                                                        [COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"]...................[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR][COLOR="#C0C0C0"].[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]#[/COLOR]                                                    
             LF:[COLOR="#0040FF"]2[/COLOR]-[COLOR="#00FFFF"]1[/COLOR] [COLOR="#FFFF00"]Light 3 [/COLOR][COLOR="#00FF00"]Fed[/COLOR] [COLOR="#00FF00"]37 %[/COLOR]                                                                                                 
[/COLOR][/BC][/TT]

I have searched in the room many times, and no secret doors are found. I do not have any digging tools. The only escape tool I have is scrolls of word of recall.

My question is, what if I do not have any scrolls that can take me out of this room? Do I have to kill the character and restart?

[Sky]

.. i dont understand. There is a corridor, can you go in that direction?

Are you blocked in by the rubble? In that case you can (T)unnel through the rubble.

[Nick]

I think the answer is yes. Presumably you triggered a block fall trap, which is what locked you in.

How do people feel about the fact this can happen (if rarely)?

[xgp]

Presumably you triggered a block fall trap, which is what locked you in.

Yes, that was exactly what happened.

[Stephen2]

How do people feel about the fact this can happen (if rarely)?

Not good. I know having no escapes is almost a death sentence anyway, but we shouldn't make it an actual death sentence while the character is perfectly healthy.

[fph]

Basically one is already forced to have a source of recall in their inventory for the whole game anyway. The fact that one can get locked up like this does not change anything.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

Not good. I know having no escapes is almost a death sentence anyway, but we shouldn't make it an actual death sentence while the character is perfectly healthy.

I disagree. There is a reason for digging equipment being available. Failure to carry it, or a substitute in the form of a heavy weapon, ring, wand, spell, or certain rare artifact weapons, should not be rewarded. If you're @ is deep without it, well that's the same breaks for going deep without rPoison or Free Action, and is the risk that was taken. If shallow beginning depths, well, that's the breaks and not much time investment was lost.

[Stephen2]

I disagree. There is a reason for digging equipment being available. Failure to carry it, or a substitute in the form of a heavy weapon, ring, wand, spell, or certain rare artifact weapons, should not be rewarded. If you're @ is deep without it, well that's the same breaks for going deep without rPoison or Free Action, and is the risk that was taken. If shallow beginning depths, well, that's the breaks and not much time investment was lost.

My argument is that it's still fun while you die stupidly due to not playing well (or taking a calculated risk on purpose).

This situation looks just not fun at all, in any way.

[mrfy]

My argument is that it's still fun while you die stupidly due to not playing well (or taking a calculated risk on purpose).

This situation looks just not fun at all, in any way.

The OP is carrying scrolls of Recall, so they do have an escape.

[wobbly]

Sil has this in the form of Grotesques. It is a feel bad way to lose, but also fair. I wouldn't change an otherwise interesting trap over this possibility. It's rare & you have to have done something wrong. No escapes & no digger is a good way to die in general.

[Sphara]

It would be an extremely rare event to die this way, to starve there caved-in. Yet, I'm not a fan of the possibility of this happening.

One way to at least somewhat reduce the chance to die (without means to escape) is to make falling rock piece a quartz vein or whatever the softest wall material is.

Also: I do not know, on which level these traps start to appear.

[Pete Mack]

Angband isn't fair. I kinda miss the poison pits at DL 1 that did for a number of my starting mage chars.

[Nick]

One way to at least somewhat reduce the chance to die (without means to escape) is to make falling rock piece a quartz vein or whatever the softest wall material is.

Also: I do not know, on which level these traps start to appear.

The depth was where my thinking was going - they start on DL4.

I guess the solution should depend on the purpose of the traps. The trap is not my design (it was elly), so this analysis is guesswork.

It seems to me that the trap should be a temporary tactical inconvenience - the block's fallen, and now you can't get back to that other thing you were going to do, or you're stuck in the vicinity of monsters you don't want to be near. I feel that just pushing it considerably deeper would pretty much remove the danger of being trapped, but also most of the interest.

In summary - I think keep the same depth, but make it magma that falls.

[DavidMedley]

A trap that kills a character all by itself is over-powered. But a trap that can kill a character with two contributing factors seems fine. Why do we bother with these traps at all if they don't carry some grave risk?

[quarague]

I wanted to note that there are multiple ways of escaping here. Any way of digging (digger, any heavy enough weapon or a wand/spell) or earth quaking, a WoR, any source of teleport, a scroll of teleport level or deep descent, even a stack of phase door scrolls should work most of the time.
It does require a certain skill/ knowledge of the game to think of all of them (I probably forgot some) but killing a character in a rare situation because he didn't have any of them or because the human player didn't think of a good solution seems fine to me. All of Angband is full of situations that can kill an unprepared character and there are usually lots of different ways to get out of it. The only thing different here is that you are dying not of direct damage but of starving.