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4[[quoteright:244:[[Webcomic/RealLifeComics https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rlc_rfed.png]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:244:Honestly, by the time he's done explaining it, you'd probably ''prefer'' being eaten by the dragon.]]
6%%
7->''"You and your group of nerds fall into a pit and it's full of dynamite and you blow up. The end."''
8-->-- '''Rodrick''', ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKidRodrickRules''
9
10This is what happens in {{Tabletop RPG}}s when the GameMaster gets utterly fed up with the players: he kills them ''all'' spectacularly. It is essentially the GM deciding to take his ball and go home.
11
12Precisely what drives a GM to this extreme varies. Perhaps somebody was a RulesLawyer once too often. Perhaps the gaming group mocked his plotting skills a bit too much. The players might have spent all their time going [[OffTheRails everywhere but where the plot wants them to]]. Maybe the group consisted entirely of {{Munchkin}}s. Maybe they didn't like that "totally awesome" {{GMPC}} as much as the GM did and tried to kill him in his sleep. Or maybe the players are just TooDumbToLive. Or maybe, just maybe, the GM is a [[KillerGameMaster sadistic bastard]] who's determined to see the players fail ''at any cost''.
13
14Regardless of the cause, if the GM goes as far as Rocks Fall Everyone Dies, [[JumpingTheShark the campaign has failed]] on a [[EpicFail grand scale]]. Maybe it's time to stop the metagaming, let somebody else GM, or just find a new gaming group altogether.
15
16A lesser form of this trope can target just one particularly annoying player, [[BoltOfDivineRetribution often with a bolt of lightning]]. Since the GM is the local god, this works even if the target character is underground, in a Faraday cage, wearing a static discharge bracelet. Merely threatening players with lightning can also be effective in controlling players. The first edition ''Advanced TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Dungeon Masters' Guide'' even suggested using "blue bolts from the heavens" and "ethereal mummies" on [[PlayerCharacter PCs]] to keep their players in line.
17
18The webcomic ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' provides the TropeNamer in [[https://somethingpositive.net/comic/peejee-dragons-pt-6/ this strip]]. The underlying concept stretches back to the beginning of {{Tabletop RPG}}s, having been seen in the extremely deadly AD&D adventure ''TabletopGame/TombOfHorrors'' in 1975 (and quite likely used by individual [=DMs=] even before that). This ending is a TabletopGames form of ShootTheShaggyDog, or EverybodyDiesEnding when premeditated. A subtrope of TotalPartyKill. When the players decide to detonate the game instead of the GM, it's OffTheRails. A nigh-unbeatable BeefGate used this way is sometimes referred to as a "Grudge Monster" or "Grudge NPC." Compare to DroppedABridgeOnHim for generally abrupt, unceremonious deaths.
19
20Not to be confused with BigRockEnding.
21
22Referenced on 1d4chan, the wiki for 4chan's /tg/ board [[http://1d6chan.miraheze.org/wiki/Rocks_fall,_everyone_dies on this page]].
23
24'''NOTE: This is not just a trope for everyone in a story dying. That is EverybodyDiesEnding.'''
25
26'''Also, do not add examples about the [[TheCretaceousIsAlwaysDoomed extinction of the dinosaurs.]] Although their extinction likely involved [[ColonyDrop literal rocks falling from space]], they are not a part of this trope. They too fall under EverybodyDiesEnding.'''
27
28----
29!!Examples:
30[[foldercontrol]]
31
32[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
33* Early in ''Manga/YuGiOh'', Yami Bakura was an evil dungeon master whose goal was to steal his players' souls. When the series' protagonist managed to nearly beat him, he attempted to self-destruct and kill EVERYBODY. (The RPG allowed less freedom of rock-falling since it's played on a set game board.)
34[[/folder]]
35
36[[folder:Comic Books]]
37* B.A. from ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'' finds himself forced to do this to his players constantly, just to keep them in line--two are dedicated HackAndSlash types, another is a RulesLawyer.
38** Every GM who isn't Patty Gauzwieler will pull this at one point or another in the comic. The most infamous is Weird Pete's Temple of Horrendous Doom, an obvious jab at the Tomb of Horrors. [[spoiler:Actually subverted when they play the Temple of Horrendous Doom - everyone dies, yes, but that's just the start of the adventure.]]
39** One nice storyline, after the group pulled off some particularly annoying feat of munchkinry, rather than declaring a RFED, B.A. manipulates the characters that the same players play in his ''other'', science fiction campaign, into nuking his fantasy world (and thus, their fantasy characters) into oblivion.
40** Averted when Weird Pete gets into a battle of wills with Sara over whether he can manage to kill off her player-character. After he arbitrarily declares the entire dungeon falls on her PC, Sara simply invokes a magical debt to survive it and then uses class level skills to begin digging her way out. When Bob asks Brian, "So who's losing?", Brian answers, "The architecture."
41* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'': In the Farasian Shores arc, there's a flashback where Zecora tried to play [[AlliterationAndAdventurers Ogres & Oubliettes]] with her friends, but they wouldn't stop arguing, so she ended the game by saying that their characters all died in the desert.
42[[/folder]]
43
44[[folder:Comic Strips]]
45* Jason does this to Paige in one ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' strip, purely to annoy her. After a week's worth of strips setting up the game, Jason causes the cave to collapse and kill the entire party after Paige's ''very first turn''.
46-->'''Jason''': Your bodies will remain undiscovered for... *roll roll roll*... 82 centuries!
47** This could also be a reference to the classical adventure ''TabletopGame/TombOfHorrors'' where, yes, the very first door in the beginning paragraph has a collapsing trap that can kill you.
48* In a ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' strip Calvin initiates a DerailedFairyTale in the story his father is reading, so Dad just has the tiger eat everybody to end the story.
49** In another strip, Dad gets sick of always reading the same story to Calvin at bedtime, so he decides to tweak it a bit. One GilliganCut later, and Hobbes is wondering if the villagers will ever find Hamster Huey's head...
50[[/folder]]
51
52[[folder:Fanfiction]]
53* A deliciously silly ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' fic on the now closed Creator/BioWare boards had Alistair as DM resort to this after a staggering amount of player stupidity from Morrigan, Sten, Wynne, and Oghren. "Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies" was actually the title.
54* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fic [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/02/story-ponies-play-d.html Ponies Play D&D]], Spike gets fed up with the group's constant arguing over every decision they come across. When [[TheRealMan Rainbow Dash]] [[LeeroyJenkins attempts to slaughter the archangel NPC]] [[{{Railroading}} about to spell out the party's next objective]], his patience snaps and he traps the party in a cave with a massively overpowered Stone Ogre. [[spoiler:[[NaiveNewcomer Applejack]] unwittingly averts a TotalPartyKill by rolling a timely nat 20 and decapitating the Ogre in one blow.]]
55* River mentions this trope by name in the ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' fic, ''FanFic/{{Forward}}'', when [[spoiler:she's captured on Persephone and brought before Ornstintz, after intending to kill him. During her interrogation, when he comments on her foolishness for thinking she could come alone and kill him, she casually rattles off the names of several asteroids in unstable orbits she could have ''very'' easily destabilized and targeted him with]].
56--> '''River''': Rocks fall, everyone dies.
57* ''FanFic/KnowledgeIsPower'': This is literally how the author kills off the cast in the original timeline.
58* Amastroph's ''Webcomic/NuzlockeComics'' spinoff ends with his sociopathic Kricketune [[http://amastroph.deviantart.com/art/TOPNC-Dlelewhoop-End-257331727 slaughtering the entire cast]] ("[[BlackComedy which went well, by the way]]") and becoming a GodOfEvil Genosect, explicitly due to boredom with the story.
59* How Bajoran [[UpThroughTheRanks ex-NCO]] Kanril Eleya's run at the KobayashiMaru scenario turns out in "Fanfic/TheUniverseDoesntCheat". Eleya attempted XanatosSpeedChess against the computer, initially looking like she was going to try to talk her way out but instead planning to shoot her way clear, and then repeatedly changing her tactics when the computer tried to compensate. The computer finally gave up all pretense of pretending to be a fair test and spawned a Klingon battleship in a weapons blind spot to "kill" her (which just got her mad at the instructors).
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
63* Towards the end of ''Film/TheFall'', Roy tries to end the story he's telling by killing off the characters in brutal ways. [[spoiler:Alexandria objects and starts taking control of the story by stepping into it]].
64* MissionControl attempts to do this in ''Film/SpyKids3DGameOver'' by spawning a powerful lava monster when they realize that the BigBad is Railroading the party. It doesn't work because [[spoiler:falling into the lava is harmless.]]
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Folklore]]
68* A [[https://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/98/Jul/gazebo.html story passed around]] since the 1980s now about a GM who killed a player character because of his player's architectural ignorance: Not knowing what a "gazebo" was, the player decided to ''attack'' it rather than, say, ''ask'' what it was. After numerous attacks with no effect, the player decided to leave, at which point the GM announced, "It's too late. You have awakened the gazebo. It catches you and eats you." [[note]]According to the actual DM, when the player started to attack it, he just asked the player if he knew what a Gazebo was and everyone explained what one was. But that's not as funny[[/note]]
69** The story appeared in a mid-1980s ''[[UsefulNotes/{{Mensa}} Mensa Bulletin]]'' newsletter, so it's at least OlderThanTheNES.
70** This story was widely popularized in the gaming community by the comic ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable.''
71** Referenced in the Steve Jackson card game ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'', where a Gazebo really is an enemy monster that players may encounter. A rather scary one, too. And if you try to run away from it and fail, it really will pounce and kill you.
72--> "You must face the Gazebo--ALONE."
73** Also referenced in ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'' at one point; in one of the last few issues, a gazebo was the location of a fault in space-time which an evil god planned to exploit.
74** The comical ''D&D'' supplement ''Portable Hole Full of Beer'' actually includes monster stats for "The Dread Gazebo".
75** As well as in the ''[[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Order of the Stick]]'' board game, where you can accidentally land on the Gazebo and wake it up, if you're not careful.
76** Also referenced in ''Dungeons & Dragons Online''.
77* A [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Gongs.jpg similar story]] was provided by a [[FauxtivationalPoster demotivator]]: after a wizard forgot what a "gong" was and began hurling magic missiles at one (sample dialogue: "A sonic attack! Quick, everyone, cover your ears!"); the DM responds, "OK, while you're distracted the door sneaks up behind you and slits your throat."
78* One story tells of a player who was annoyed by the DM, the DungeonmastersGirlfriend, the DM's and his girlfriend's characters and possibly the whole campaign and contrived to covertly gather [[EarthShatteringKaboom massive]] quantities of explosives using innocuous ingredients including barrels of stale urine. Using some advanced chemistry and geometry knowledge, the player managed to turn the city in the valley where the player party as well as every NPC of note stood into a crater, ''forcing'' the DM to say "Rocks fall, everyone dies."
79* One story that gained some fame tells about a campaign focusing on a group of heroes trying to find and defeat a [[OurLichesAreDifferent Lich]] before he can raise an undead army. They arrive at a kingdom and decide to prode on anything they can, including their stance on homosexuality. The DM says that, while homosexuality isn't forbidden, gay marriage isn't allowed. The group suddenly decides they want to change the direction of the story into overthrowing the ruler of the kingdom and establishing a democracy and they finally convince the DM to follow this thread. When the group finally overthrows the goverment, [[SomethingWeForgot the Lich arrives with his now massive undead army]] and [[YankTheDogsChain proceeds to destroy the kingdom and everyone in it]]. [[TheBadGuyWins The end]].
80[[/folder]]
81
82[[folder:Literature]]
83* Used as a plot point in ''Literature/BimbosOfTheDeathSun''. After Appin Dungannon[[note]]the author of "Tratyn Runewind", a popular series of ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian''-esque novels[[/note]] is murdered at a sci-fi convention, protagonist Jay Omega (another guest author) takes over the "Celebrity ''D&D''" and uses it as part of a plan to expose the murderer. [[spoiler:During the game, he hits Runewind with a HumiliationConga that ends with his getting [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] and killed; this causes the LoonyFan to flip out and attack Jay. He confesses that he's trying to save Runewind "again" -- he broke into Dungannon's hotel room, saw a chapter where he was planning on killing off Runewind ([[ItMakesSenseInContext only not really]]), and shot the author in order to "save" the character.]]
84* Robert Fulghum describes telling a story to his children. He thought he had finished conclusively and the kids were asleep, only to hear them ask for "the rest of the story." He would resort to apocalypse. "Suddenly a comet hit the earth and blew everything to pieces." A moment of silence, and someone would ask "What happened to the pieces?"
85* Happens in ''[[Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules]]'', where Susan forces Greg to play ''[[AlliterationAndAdventurers Magicik and Monsters]]'' with Rodrick. [[ItMakesSenseInContext (Long story.)]] Greg is prepared for the worst game-session of all time, when Rodrick, who happens to be player AND GM in this session, just decides that all the adventurers fall into a hole filled with dynamite and die in the very first turn. Greg is relieved.
86* In "How to Write Good," a humorous essay by Michael O'Donoghue of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and ''Film/NationalLampoon'' Magazine fame, the author advises the aspiring writer that if he is having trouble finding a suitable way to close out his story, he should simply end it with "Suddenly, everyone was run over by a truck. -the end-". There are a few caveats: If writing a story set in England, it should end with "Suddenly, everyone was run over by a lorry. -the end-". If set in France, "Soudainement, tout le monde etait écrasé par un camion. -finis-". If writing a story about ants, "Suddenly, everyone was run over by a centipede. -the end-". "In fact," O'Donoghue says, "this is the only ending you need ever use." In a footnote, he cautions: "If you are writing a story about trucks, ''do not'' have the trucks run over by a truck. Have the trucks run over by a ''mammoth'' truck." And the entire essay ends in a CallBack, with "There are many more writing tips I could share with you, but suddenly I am run over by a truck. -the end-".
87* ''Literature/TheYearsOfRiceAndSalt'': This happens regularly to the main characters, since they are reincarnated throughout the centuries following their original deaths.
88* The Creator/WilliamSBurroughs short story "Ali's Smile" ends with a slag heap collapsing on the town, killing everyone.
89* In the ''Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse'', Montgomery Scott dealt with the KobayashiMaru scenario by attempting a {{technobabble}} trick that worked on paper and therefore apparently so within the simulator, but not in reality. The computer retaliated by spawning more Klingon warships than existed in the entire Empire at the time. As for Starfleet Academy, they pretty much went "ha ha, very funny" and transferred Scotty away from command track to engineering, [[AllAccordingToPlan which was what he wanted all along]].
90* ''Games Night'' by Johnny Nexus (about a TTRPG played by a group of gods and how this affects the lives of the mortal characters) ends this way quite literally. The Allfather announces the end by having rocks fall on all the mortal characters because the other gods are getting restless, bored or just hate his out of nowhere twist about the world the mortals live in.
91* In ''Literature/TheDevilsDictionary'', Creator/AmbroseBierce relates the story of a pair of writers working together on a RoundRobin, only to begin suffering from severe CreativeDifferences and squabbling incessantly. Eventually, one of the writers gets fed up with it all and writes a chapter in which the entire cast dies horribly in a shipwreck then quits, leaving his former partner to sort the mess out alone.
92[[/folder]]
93
94[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
95* ''Series/{{Frasier}}''. In a variation on this, Niles got so upset at Frasier's over-directing a radio play in "Ham Radio", he decided to take action.
96-->'''Niles:''' Okay, that's it. Never mind all that. I'm just going to take this gun off the table. ''(fake gunshot)'' Sorry about that, O'Toole; I guess we'll never hear your fascinating piece of the puzzle. ''(two fake gunshots)'' Or yours, Kragan and Peppo! Could the [=McCallister=] sisters stand back to back? I'm short on bullets. ''(fake gunshot)'' Thank you. ''(to Roz)'' What was your name again, dear?\
97'''Roz:''' Mithuth Thorndyke.\
98'''Niles:''' Thank you. ''(fake gunshot)'' Oh, and also Mr. Wing. ''(fake gunshot, and sound of muted bell on Mr. Wing's hat)'' And, of course, one final bullet for myself, so the mystery will die with me. ''(fake gunshot. Niles taunts Frasier)'' HA.
99[[/folder]]
100
101[[folder:Manhua]]
102* The previous DM in ''Manhua/InfinityGame'' did this to his world by wiping out everybody except D.D./Trishia, an {{NPC}}, but mostly because he was insane and bored. [[spoiler:This killed the players, who were in the game at the same time, in real life]].
103[[/folder]]
104
105[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
106* Deliberately invoked, and summoned by name, in "Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies", a one-shot by creator FrivYeti: "a game that is likely to be 95% character creation and 5% actual play time", for people who like character creation and worldbuilding better than actually playing.
107* Steve Jackson Games's ''TabletopGame/{{Toon}}'' actually has a table of 'Apocalyptic Big Finishes' in the back of the ''Toon Ace Catalog'' sourcebook, for when the characters don't quite make it to the end and you need a quick way to end things. Of course, no-one dies, but the principle's the same.
108** Steve Jackson Games's ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'' card game features a card that's actually called Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies. It can cause [[TotalPartyKill every player in the game to be killed]] if played at the right time. It was illustrated by the TropeNamer, too.
109* ''TabletopGame/TheApocalypseStone'' was a Second Edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' module deliberately designed for [=DMs=] that wanted to do this, in preparation for starting over with Third Edition. In it, the players steal a MacGuffin that triggers the end of the world. They can undertake quests to prove they are worthy to [[HeroicSacrifice die heroically]], but in the canonical ending, can't really do anything to prevent the world from imploding. However, the book included several cop-out scenarios to save things at the last minute in case the DM gets cold feet (or is being threatened with death himself…)
110* In the ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' boardgame ''TabletopGame/ArkhamHorror'', the players race to seal gates opening in the town of Arkham before a Great Old One (randomly decided at the start of the game) awakens and they have to fight it, which is difficult but (sometimes) possible to win. If the Great Old One threatening to awaken is Azathoth, however, the players ''[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt automatically and instantly lose]]'' if he awakens, as his first "attack" is to ''destroy the world''.
111* ''TabletopGame/{{FATAL}}'' has for the highest level caster ''job'' the spell F.A.T.A.L., which kills everything on whichever planet the game is set... obviously including the caster and his fellow party members. It's also possible to cast this ''by accident'' if you make a bad roll on the [[MagicMisfire spell-fumble]] chart. Considering the rest of the game, this is arguably the GoldenEnding.
112* This is the typical ending of many ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' missions where the players have somehow managed against all odds to squeak through with some of their backup clones intact. Actually, speaking of those clones, sometimes this is how the mission ''starts''.
113* Cheating in {{Pinball}}. This causes the TILT message to appear, ends the current chance immediately, and permits the ball to drain without further play. Some machines even take this to the next step by ''completely locking down'' and requiring the owner to manually restart the machine with a code or specialized key before playing can resume; others simply have the game lock down for a set amount of time, after which it will reset. OF course, this is not always a [[NoFairCheating retaliation to cheating attempts]]; for more advanced pinball machines that have delicate mechanics and electronics, the TILT function also serves to protect said mechanics by locking them into a safe position in the event that the machine were inadvertently toppled or bumped by an impact.
114* Creator/{{TSR}}'s ''TabletopGame/TombOfHorrors'' ran with this trope with a vengeance. Of the potential entrances into the Tomb, at least one will drop a ceiling on you and your party. Before even actually getting into the dungeon proper. And it's not even the worst trap by a long shot.
115* In ''TabletopGame/Werewolf1997'', a merciful moderator will usually have himself be the first night's victim just to keep the game going for the players. However, if they choose, they will be part of the game, with the "Moderator" card. Per the rules of the game, their card is kept hidden just like everyone else. Should a majority vote be cast to lynch the moderator, it is within the moderator's authority to [[TakingYouWithMe kill off everyone who voted to lynch him]].
116* In ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'', this is actually one of the ''purposes'' of the Lady of Pain. As her in-universe "job" is essentially keeping Sigil ticking along by rendering anyone who screws over the city as a whole DeaderThanDead, dungeon masters are told to go right ahead and use her to kill off any players they feel are being campaign-wreckingly disruptive. A willingness to abuse this aspect of her is one of the reasons why Planescape ''players'' tend to feel less fondly of her than dungeon masters do.
117* ''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'' and its sister games, given the [[CrapsackWorld nature]] of its [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}} universe]], when the events of campaign aren't already trying to cause a TotalPartyKill, has a particularly long list of ways the GameMaster can plausibly deal with player characters/parties/entire planets that have screwed up in spectacular fashion. This also includes having "(Ork) Roks fall, Ork Waaaaagh!, Everyone Dies".
118* If you stand in the way of the The God-Machine from ''TabletopGame/DemonTheDescent'', it will start taking actions against you. If you successfully resist its attempts on your life, [[KnowWhenToFoldThem it will consider you not worth its resources and move on.]] If you [[BullyingADragon keep on causing troubles for it]] and actually becoming a threat, it will pull all the stops and dump this trope on your head.
119* In the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' sourcebook ''Elder Evils'', a group of wizards tried summoning Pandorym, an EldritchAbomination, so they could threaten the gods themselves. The gods smote them for their insolence.
120[[/folder]]
121
122[[folder:Video Games]]
123* The AI in ''VideoGame/AIDungeon2'' can be quite the temperamental GM at times, with seemingly random actions leading to the player characters' death. Notably, this rarely ever results in an actual GameOver, with the story sometimes continuing onward [[MindScrew as if the player dying never happened.]]
124* ''VideoGame/PlanetSide'' was shut down with this trope, with the final moments before the servers were taken offline highlighted by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOi-vlzRHEw meteor showers killing everyone still connected.]]
125* If ''VideoGame/NetHack'' encounters a fatal bug, the last messages it gives you are "Oops...", followed by "Suddenly, the dungeon collapses."
126** "Suddenly The Dungeon Collapses" is an achievement in ''VideoGame/DungeonsOfDredmor'', obtained in the same way.
127** This is also used in the "screen" terminal emulator. Try it next time you boot Slackware.
128** [[http://git.savannah.gnu.org/gitweb/?p=screen.git;a=blob;f=src/attacher.c#l609 Here it is in screen]] - there's a whole pile of [=NetHack=]-inspired messages [[http://git.savannah.gnu.org/gitweb/?p=screen.git;a=blob;f=src/nethack.c;h=585dc4376c68caec50fccd8c42da5422faf0dafb;hb=HEAD here]], but the dungeon collapsing one is used even if the rest are not enabled. [[http://nethackwiki.com/wiki/End.c#line271 And here it is in [=NetHack=].]] Isn't open source great?
129** In a straightforward example, attempting to exploit now fixed bugs (such as item duping) will result in the player's death, for "trickery".
130* The above example can be found in ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecrodancer'': Some characters have exclusive weapons that prevent you from picking up any other type of weapon, and attempting to ditch them by certain exploits in hopes of obtaining a more convenient one will have you instantly die for "cowardice".
131* This is the preferred method among [=MMOs=] for closing up beta test servers, though generally with a bit more variety than rocks. This can range from [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft giant demon invasions]] to [[VideoGame/CityOfHeroes UFO attacks]] to [[VideoGame/GuildWars legions of fire-wielding little girls]].
132* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIIShadowsOfAmn'', the game summons Arkanis Gath to immediately {{One Hit Kill}} you if you attack any characters that are necessary to advance the plot. This is basically a way to prevent players from getting stuck if they kill someone who prevents them from advancing the plot. In the original, of course, doing that causes them to be replaced by Biff the Understudy.
133* In the 550-point and 580-point versions of ''VideoGame/ColossalCave'', you are warned not to use a particular magic word near water. If you ignore that warning, the most likely result is that you will turn into a jellyfish and die; but there's a small chance that the entire dungeon will collapse on you, your extra lives will be revoked, and you'll be summarily ejected from the game.
134* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'':
135** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'''s {{Superboss}} has some very specific (if unwritten) rules about the kinds of Persona and attacks you can and can't use. If any of these rules are broken, the boss will heal themselves back to maximum, then use Megidolaon to hit you for 9999 damage, [[OneHitKO killing you instantly]].
136** Later games in the series aren't as strict with the rules for the bonus boss, but they all share one: don't use the Omnipotent Orb, an accessory which nulls all damage except for Almighty. Megidolaon does Almighty damage. Guess what your punishment for using the Orb is.
137** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'':
138*** The Bonus Boss in ''Persona 5'' does not punish you from using the Omnipotent Orb, but if you take too much turns to reasonably hurt them, they will All-out attack you and end the battle instantly without fail.
139*** In ''Royal'', during January, the Bonus Boss, which is [[spoiler:the complete form of the aforementioned bonus boss, will do the same if you don't damage her by 5000 HP within 9 turns, with her second and third trials also requiring Technical Damage and Critical Damage '''every turn'''. And yes, she ''can'' All-out attack even if she's just one enemy. Furthermore, if you drop her HP to 25% or below, every 6 turns she will use Concentrate, then cast a Megidolaon doing around 2700 damage on average, unguarded. It's survivable if you are lucky, however.]]
140*** While it's fairly difficult to trigger, the TrueFinalBoss of ''Royal'' will cast a Megidolaon doing around 1300 damage (Which almost always equates to instant death) if you take too much turns trying to kill them. A similar instance happens during Cognitive Wakaba's battle much earlier on.
141*** A non-gameplay example happens when the BigBad starts [[spoiler:rolling his control plan out for real. It starts by Tokyo begins to merge with Mementos to form the Qliphoth World, followed by your entire party being wiped out from existence while writhing in pain. It turns out that the BigBad, also known as the Holy Grail, had manipulated the public so they think that the Phantom Thieves do not exist. And not only the Holy Grail is the kickstarter of ''everything'', your whole journey up to this point is a game for him...and a game that only he can win.]]
142** The ultimate bonus boss of ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' will instant-kill your entire party with a Gaea Rage that [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill does at least 4 digits of damage]] if you go into battle with any immunities or throw up any immunities in mid-battle. A boss of similar class in ''Digital Devil Saga 2'' does the same, but with the ''slight'' [[AntiFrustrationFeatures mercy]] of simply removing immunities instead of ending the battle before it even starts if you start the battle with immunities.
143* The ''Franchise/StarWars''-based {{MUD}} ''Legends of the Jedi'' once used a Chiss invasion to kill off the galaxy during its annual timeline reset. In this case, though, the admins did it because they wanted to do something interesting instead of just having everyone's characters vanish into the night.
144** Note that a Chiss invasion is something just as logical as rocks falling out of the blue and killing everything. This race practices [[MartialPacifist martial pacifism]] according to all canon sources.
145* The ending to the original campaign for ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' seems to be a sort of homage to this trope; after you kill the FinalBoss, [[LoadBearingBoss the temple collapses]], killing over half your party ([[spoiler:Casavir, Elanee, Grobnar, the Construct, Bishop, Qara, and ''[[NeverFoundTheBody maybe]]'' Zhjaeve]], for those curious, though before the expansions it was implied to be a TotalPartyKill) and causing the PlayerCharacter to disappear, never to be seen again. (In this case, "never" lasted as long as it took the developers to make an expansion pack.) Being a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' game, it's exactly the kind of ending a TrollingCreator would design.
146* In ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', the beginning of the D&D-themed DLC ''Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep'' has Tina doing this at the beginning of her campaign, where she introduces a dragon that can't be damaged and downs you with a single attack. She's then told by Lilith that killing the party is bad DM etiquette, at which point Tina revives the player and replaces the dragon with a random skeleton.
147* Piss off the Kami of ''VideoGame/{{Ryzom}}'' by harvesting materials from an area for too long, and you and everyone around you will get hit (and killed) by the full brunt of their wrath.
148* Although the trope is usually averted in the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' series, it's invoked by name in the first story DLC for ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition.'' In ''Jaws of Hakkon,'' it's possible for resident author Varric to meet an Avvar fan of his books. The Avvar claims he has read all the versions of Varric's ''Hard in Hightown'' crime serial, including the banned version. Varric, who is already incredulous to encounter a reader in an otherwise mostly illiterate mountain settlement, takes this in stride.
149-->"Nice to know the 'rock falls, everyone dies' version found its audience."
150* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'':
151** Though it's not clear how many die and how many survive, this is how Sigurd's army is destroyed in Chapter Five, but with meteors instead of rocks. Sigurd himself is [[KillItWithFire personally executed]] by Arvis.
152** A high-profile FanRemake of ''Genealogy'' ended the first chapter this way as an AprilFoolsDay prank when the developers realized that [[TroubledProduction they wouldn't be able to finish the whole game]] using ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Blazing Blade's]]'' engine. They did this by throwing about a dozen copies of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem Legion/Roro]] onto the map when the chapter would normally end, who would then proceed to [[HopelessBossFight wipe the floor with the player's army,]] shouting [[NoFourthWall "FE4A is dead!"]] as they attacked.
153* ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'' has the Endgame Collapse. When a gate opens, or the killer shuts the hatch, the Entity notices and a timer starts counting down. The timer is two minutes by default, but slows down if a survivor is in a Dying state or hooked. Once time runs out, if any survivors are still on the map, the Entity ''personally'' kills them. This isn't particularly subtle - massive spiky tendrils erupt from the ground and impale any survivor still present.
154* ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'': After [[spoiler:Persephone moves back into the underworld]], your run through the game continues as usual; but since [[spoiler:there's no reason for Zagreus to stay in the surface and he has to die somehow [[StatusQuoIsGod so that he can return to the Underworld]]]], the narrator makes up an explanation for how Zagreus died after reaching the surface in a variety of ways. [[HandWave Or doesn't]]. (This was also what happened after beating the game during Early Access, before the ending was added).
155* In ''VideoGame/XComEnemyUnknown'', in the ''Long War'' mod, if you take too much before launching the final mission the game spawns a horde of alien battleships that immediately start tearing down your satellite network and can't be defeated by your air forces. The reason? During the early versions of the mod, the streamer Beaglerush [[ObviousRulePatch managed to exploit]] the travel time of the shuttle to the alien base and back (you can cancel the mission before starting it) to make your headquarters finish anything that was queued (production, research). Normally, when you unlock the final mission, time advance is disabled and thus you shouldn't be able to complete whatever you forgot to finish.
156* In ''VideoGame/{{Inscryption}}'', Leshy has a very particular story in mind for your playthrough, which includes you dying at certain points so he can reset the map and introduce a new mechanic. If you manage to progress further than expected by beating the first phase of the Angler on your first run or the first phase of the Trapper in your first two runs, Leshy will declare "TOO FAST, TOO SOON" and glitch the game. This replaces the Angler's/Trapper's second phase with a nearly-unbeatable wall of Grizzly Bears, forcing the player to die.
157* When you're at Zee in ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'' and your Troubled Waters menace reaches 8, but you don't have a more plausible cause for your unfortunate demise, this is what the game picks for you. Glim falls, everyone dies. It even comes with a hefty stack of glim as a consolation prize. And in case you start thinking this [[{{Unishment}} might be a viable way to grind glim,]] the developers later added another failure state after the first seven Glim-falls where your character gets sent to [[FateWorseThanDeath the State of Some Confusion]] (i.e. goes insane with paranoia trying to predict the next Glim-fall) instead.
158[[/folder]]
159
160[[folder:Webcomics]]
161* A wonderful ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' strip is the TropeNamer. [[https://somethingpositive.net/comic/peejee-dragons-pt-6/ She had it coming]].
162* In the ''Webcomic/VGCats'' comic [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=110 Skittles]], a game-mastering Aeris declares everybody dies from the plague transmitted from a rat Leo wanted to [[ImprovisedWeapon turn into a weapon]].
163* The [[GameMaster Dungeon Master]] decides that everybody dies in [[http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=1165 this strip]] of ''Webcomic/DMOfTheRings''. He apparently changes his mind though, as they're all fine in the next page.
164** [[https://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=673 In an early strip]], he threatens to strike everyone with 2d6 lightning damage when the players refuse to stop quoting ''Monty Python''. It doesn't work, because Legolas sees the violence inherent in the system. The DM finally gives in and refers to him as a "Bloody peasant!"
165* Used as a response to... let's call it "criticism", of 4th edition D&D in [[http://cad-comic.com/comic/dm-rules/ this strip]] of ''Webcomic/CtrlAltDel''.
166--> '''GM:''' An illithid appears and forces the cleric to tear out his own spine. The illithid then feasts on the cleric's brain. The cleric is dead. Forever. Rest of the party is fine.
167* A ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' alternate strip in which the GM finally has enough of Qui-Gon's continual attempts to "cast SummonBiggerFish". [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0208.html Fish fall. Everyone dies]].
168** Ironically, though, the player characters aren't included in the "everyone dies"...only the characters needed to continue the plot.
169* [[http://www.thewotch.com/?epDate=2008-10-21 This]] strip from ''Webcomic/TheWotch'' features the individual variant.
170* [[http://www.galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=440 This]] strip of ''Webcomic/CaseyAndAndy'' also features the individual variant.
171** See also [[http://www.galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=513 this]] strip.
172* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by name by [[SignificantAnagram Parson Gotti]] of ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'' in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0149.html this page]] and the pages preceding it. [[spoiler:He wins a game that he has deduced to be basically [[UnwinnableTrainingSimulation unwinnable]] by [[UnusualEuphemism uncroaking]] an extinct volcano causing... well, you know the rest.]]
173* ''Absurd Notions'' shows a genuine [[TotalPartyKill party-killing]] deathtrap in [[http://www.absurdnotions.org/page38.html this strip]].
174* ''Webcomic/EmergencyExit'' has one when [[http://eecomics.net/?strip_id=504 the final boss of the RPG is killed in one hit.]]
175* Alluded to in [[http://antiheroescomic.com/comic/50 this strip]] of ''Webcomic/AntiHeroes''.
176* Tony from ''Webcomic/RealLifeComics'' does this quite a bit when [=DMing=]. His favorite is [[http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/000731.html "A dragon eats you."]]
177* ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'''s Tycho firmly believes that this is the final goal of ''all'' [=GMs=]. [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/12/02 Observe his prowess at it here.]]
178* [[http://www.doesnotplaywellwithothers.com/comics/pwc-0021 This strip]] of ''Webcomic/DoesNotPlayWellWithOthers'' demonstrates a rather disgusting, but highly amusing, total party kill.
179* After having the last campaign torn apart in one session and ragged with frustration at the nitpicking of the current one, the DM of ''Webcomic/FriendshipIsDragons'' [[http://friendshipisdragons.thecomicseries.com/comics/149/ turns to this.]] Fitting that Applejack's last statement before she sets the DM off is the classic TemptingFate line of "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."
180* ''Webcomic/NerfNow'' [[http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/851 D&D arc]] had [[http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/861 this]] in a RebusBubble.
181* Matt in ''Webcomic/DorkTower'' often does this (mostly to Igor). Usually it's understandable, but sometimes he can be petty. On one occasion he sent a bolt of lightning at Carson's character in revenge for [[IfItTastesBadItMustBeGoodForYou healthy gaming snacks]], after all the other players had announced ''their'' intent to kill Carson's character for the same reason.
182* Doc of Webcomic/TheWhiteboard says this after test firing a gatling paintball gun with curved backspin barrels. "[[http://www.the-whiteboard.com/autotwb1788.html BZZZRRRRRAAAAAAAATT!]]
183-->'''Doc''': This is kind of a 'rocks fall everybody dies' type of weapon, isn't it?
184* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' this is how reality ensures that YouCantFightFate. Deviation from the predestined path of the alpha timeline creates a doomed offshoot timeline and leads to the inevitable death of anything and everything inside, while also causing time shenanigans that push the alpha timeline back onto the correct path. Essentially, reality is the game master, and it doesn't like it when you fuck up the campaign.
185[[/folder]]
186
187[[folder:Web Original]]
188* In the "Dungeon Master" episode of ''[[WebAnimation/JoCat A Crap Guide to D&D]]'', [=JoCrap=] gets fed up when none of his players will listen to him as the DM, so [=JoCrap=] rejects all of their actions and then kills them all by having the BigBad drop a mountain on top of them. [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere This causes all of his players to leave the table.]]
189* [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment The Spoony One]], in his ''WebVideo/CounterMonkey'' series of videos, tells of a ''{{TabletopGame/Shadowrun}}'' campaign that had gone so far OffTheRails, that he was forced to do a TotalPartyKill to bring everyone back down. Spoony even suggests doing this once the party gets too rebellious, if only to remind them [[RuleZero who's in charge]]. To give the reader the reason why it went so bad, the [=PC=]s brutally murdered a few museum guards and ''janitors'' all because they were too stupid to wear masks after bungling through an easy heist at a public museum. Spoony was so disgusted by them he had to bring in "falling rocks" from a completely different game [[note]]the Cyber Psycho Squad from ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}}''[[/note]] and kill them as they tried to escape in the sewers.
190* In ''Roleplay/AvatarAdventures'', the first time the gang decided to restart the RP they ended the current one by having everyone killed by a god of reality in one strike.
191* ''WebVideo/LoadingReadyRun'' 's ''WebVideo/DesertBusForHope 4'': A New Hope. After raising $1,000 for the specific purpose, viewers were treated to Jer Petter's Temple of the Lava Bears. For an indicator of just how this went, Creator/WilWheaton personally called in and advised any remaining party members to cast "Don't be a Dick" on the GM.
192* In the French audio webseries ''AudioPlay/RefletsDAcide'', one character has a nightmare of the GM punishing him with the French equivalent, the falling necropolis. The advantage of the necropolis over rocks is that if the character(s) somehow survive the falling damage from the necropolis, then they have to survive the zombies inside, then the lich lord...
193* ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'' features a mild version of this the end of the second RP when [[spoiler:Crimson Base levels Pelvanida with a massive airstrike]]. WordOfGod states this was done because the GM wanted the RP to end and it was starting to drag on.
194* [[http://albruno3.blogspot.com/ Al Bruno III]]'s ''Literature/BinderOfShame'' includes an anecdote entitled [[http://albruno3.blogspot.com/2010/06/rpgnet-rant-2-day-i-killed-entire-party.html "The Day I Killed The Entire Party Before The First Combat Encounter"]], involving an incident with a character's motorcycle.
195* Non-RPG example: [[Literature/TheLayOfPaulTwister Paul Twister]] [[InvokedTrope uses this word-for-word]] to describe a nasty trap involving boulders levitated by magic, hovering over some treasure that he needs to retrieve, but if he does, his AntiMagic will disrupt the spells...
196--> '''Paul:''' Thus placing me in right the middle of the room when [[LampshadeHanging the rocks start to fall, and everyone dies.]] Got it.
197* ''WebVideo/DoorMonster'' featured a [[https://youtu.be/qgBySAs6MVw sketch]] showing a group of adventurers in a fight in a forest, speaking the lines of their players, and getting in an argument with the BigBad who's speaking as the DM. After mounting frustration, all the adventurers are crushed by falling rocks that appear out of nowhere. From below the rubble, one of the adventurers ''still'' tries to rule-lawyer that since he has the Rock Catching Feat...
198* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'' DM Creator/MatthewMercer jokingly threatened this by name when the group spent too long making jokes about NPC Captain Santy of the Shore Shanty in Episode 107 - "Does he sell sea shells by the sea shore?" It would have been an impressive end considering they were in the middle of the ocean at the time.
199** PlayedForLaughs in ''WebVideo/CriticalRoleCampaignThree'' where Matt says this trope by name after the group had mentioned sexual innuendos one too many times.
200* ''Roleplay/TheBalladOfEdgardo:'' Initially attempted by the mods on both Edgardo and A Guy Called Squid, swarming them with dangerous monsters at the behest of the rest of the playerbase who wanted them dead. Once they survived, the mods became apathetic about the whole matter and didn't try again... right until the end of the tale, when the most powerful player in the setting has taken an unstoppable infinite power punch to the face and refused to keep playing after that; every player except the three ''rioted'' on the forums until the ultimate version of the trope was called and the forum was ''shut down''.
201* ''WebVideo/TFSAtTheTable'' had an interesting take on this. hbi2k=, one of the players, decided to leave Team Four Star at the end of 2018 when the campaign was on holiday break. DM Chris Zito had to do a lot of rewriting to keep the plot going without one of the most important characters, which lead to the very next session starting with [[spoiler:a TimeSkip of two months, during which time the party failed its mission and was seemingly killed when the city of Eburkal exploded. The players picked up from that point with Lanipator returning to his original character Wake Scalebound[[note]]Whom he'd sidelined for plot reasons earlier on[[/note]] while Grant and Brian rolled up new brand-new characters. Unlike most examples, the players agreed to this in order to keep the story going.]]
202* According to WebVideo/TierZoo, which discusses various zoology topics in terms of [[CharacterTiers tier lists]] in a [[MetaFiction fictional]] MMORPG called "Outside", this is why the dinosaurs were wiped out at the end of the Cretaceous period (though the extinction event itself, as noted in the introduction, is '''not''' to be confused with this trope). Specifically, the SerialEscalation of the overall top-tier status of the various dinosaur builds, to the point where they out-competed most if not all the other players all over the world, reached its peak during the Late Cretaceous, and the developers realized that there was only one way to restore balance to the metagame: implementing a balance patch that would render the top-tier dinosaur builds unviable.
203[[/folder]]
204
205[[folder:Western Animation]]
206* Non-game example: the ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'' bout between Music/{{Hanson}} and Music/TheSpiceGirls suddenly ended when Marilyn Manson severed the bank of lights above the ring, causing it to fall on the two opponents and killing them. His reason was simply because the music of both bands suck. The real Hanson and Spice Girls were reportedly quite upset about this.
207[[/folder]]
208
209[[folder:Other]]
210* Website/TrollpastaWiki has a full-fledged category named after this very trope.
211* [[http://shirtoid.com/97439/grumpy-cat-gm/ This T-Shirt]]. But given who's [=GMing=], it's to be expected.
212* [[https://www.deviantart.com/infinitywave/art/Rocks-Fall-Everyone-Dies-532963790 This]] T-shirt logo. "If the DM is wearing this... [[OhCrap it's a bad sign.]]"
213[[/folder]]
214
215%% Do not add examples about the dinosaurs. They are not this trope. They fall under EverybodyDiesEnding.

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