| 1 | [[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/toothpick_small_2363.png]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:[-So simple, even a ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros princess]]'' can do it.-] ]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''"The first rule of patrol duty is vigilance, even when people are talking to you. Furthermore, if you hear any suspicious sounds, investigate them at once. Only once you can do these things on instinct will you be a true watchman!"'' |
| 5 | -->-- '''Anonymous guard''', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' |
| 6 | |
| 7 | You're in the middle of a StealthBasedMission. Your path is blocked by an inconveniently placed patrolling guard; he turns around too quickly for you to sneak past him while his back is turned, and if you knock him out his body will raise suspicion. What do you do? |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Easy: you pick up a rock, a coin, a bottle, or some other nearby object capable of making a noticeable sound when it hits something and toss it past him. When it lands, the noise will catch his attention, and he'll go to investigate, giving you ample time to slip past. This trick is what we call Throwing the Distraction. Alternatively if you're making an action movie, you can pass on the low budget rock and use a [[StuffBlowingUp grandiose explosion]] or a [[HollywoodFire massive fire]] instead. It's less likely to be dismissed and looks cooler. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | In almost all cases, expect the guard to investigate the noise even if they've seen the object being thrown, rather than heading towards where it was thrown ''from''. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | In real life, tropish as it is, admit it; if you're patrolling solo you're a lot more likely to investigate where the sound came ''from'' than the opposite side of the room. Of course if there's more than one of you, it should be only one who goes to check. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Subtrope of TheGuardsMustBeCrazy. Closely related to SoMuchForStealth, where this is done by accident and alerts every guard to your presence. Both tropes depend on guards being incredibly sensitive to noise, even though ItsProbablyNothing. See also GoFetch when this is done with an AngryGuardDog or any other sort of animal. Not to be confused with CatScare, nor ThrowThePin. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | {{Ninja}}s call this "throwing the toothpick". |
| 18 | |
| 19 | ---- |
| 20 | !!Examples: |
| 21 | |
| 22 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 23 | |
| 24 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 25 | * ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart '', Ichikawa tosses ''his bike'' down a hill as a distraction to stop Nanjou from pressuring Yamada into giving him her LINE, which successfully divides the two and gets ''a lot'' of people's attention when the bike falls into a drainage ditch. |
| 26 | [[/folder]] |
| 27 | |
| 28 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 29 | * Used by Johan in ''ComicBook/JohanEtPirlouit'' while going around bad guys in a darkened cave. He even refers to it as "a trick as old as the world". |
| 30 | * ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'': In issues #22, Trixie uses a timed smoke bomb to lure away the two police ponies that are guarding the museum. |
| 31 | -->'''Trixie:''' Always makes the audience look somewhere else! That's the power of misdirection! |
| 32 | * ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'': Tim lets go of his whistling staff and kicks it to ensure it spins to make its signature sound in the middle of attacking BlindWeaponmaster Edmund Dorrance, which allows him to misdirect his larger, stronger better-trained opponent enough to allow Tim to kick him out a window. |
| 33 | * ComicBook/UltimateMarvel |
| 34 | ** ''ComicBook/UltimateWolverine'': Black Box threw the video will of Wolverine during the fight with Wildchild, modified to display several holograms of Wolverine at once instead of one. This distracted Wildchild for a second, enough for Jimmy to destroy his artificial claws. |
| 35 | ** ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': Storm summoned some rain inside the Indian complex, so Nightcrawler could teleport inside while the guards were distracted and open the main gates. |
| 36 | * ''ComicBook/CodeNameGravedigger'': In ''Men of War'' #19, Gravdigger throws rocks across a clearing to cause a German soldier to turn in the wrong direction: allowing Gravedigger to [[PistolWhipping slam him with a rifle butt]]. |
| 37 | * Variant: Franchise/{{Batman}} sometimes rolls a marble from his utility belt down a flight of stairs to simulate the sound of descending footsteps. |
| 38 | * ''ComicBook/ZatannaEverydayMagic'': Nimue throws the (actually fake) MacGuffin toward Zatanna in order to distract her while she uses the opportunity to stab her with a [[MagicTool magic absorption needle]] (the ''real'' MacGuffin). |
| 39 | [[/folder]] |
| 40 | |
| 41 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 42 | * Naruto arranges a very elaborate one in ''FanFic/AGrowingAffection'', tying his jacket to a kunai and throwing it through tall grass, so the person in question will not only hear the sound, but will see a flash of orange, too. |
| 43 | * In ''Fanfic/HeroicMyth'', Bell realizes that Ryuu and Syr had gotten into a fight with Terry Cervantes' men at the casino over the lives of the girls Terry enslaved. To distract the Ganesha Familia, Bell decides to abuse his [[BornLucky Luck skill]] to win an utterly massive number of chips before knocking them all over as the girls spill out of the VIP area. This gets the down-on-their-luck adventurers and gods to pounce on the chips, starting a ruckus that security is forced to contain rather than investigate Ryuu's fight. |
| 44 | * ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'': Diamond Tiara attempts to throw a rock to distract guards, but Discord warns her they will head to the opposite direction of the sound and find her. Instead, she drops the rock where she is standing. The guards assume the rock was thrown from somewhere else and walk away, allowing her to sneak in. |
| 45 | * ''Fanfic/TheProgenitorChronicles'' (''Franchise/ResidentEvil''): The MC relies heavily on this tactic to get past B.O.W.s, as he’s very much incapable of fighting them off. For example, he concocts a plan to throw a metal signpost into an airport security checkpoint, setting off the metal detectors. |
| 46 | [[/folder]] |
| 47 | |
| 48 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 49 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'', Penny (the character on [[ShowWithinAShow the show]]) likes to roll an actual penny into the field of vision of whomever she's trying to sidestep. Eventually, Bolt (in reality) would try the same trick -- yes, it really does work. |
| 50 | * ''WesternAnimation/CaptureTheFlag'': Amy distracts the night guard at the retirement home with a rock so she and Mike can get inside and meet Mike's grandfather. The guard ignores the first rock, but investigates the second one (which hits a lamp post), and when doing so discovers 3 residents secretly working on their own model rocket. |
| 51 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Mr. Incredible beans a guard in the head with a rock--all the other guards nearby leave their post to look at the unconscious guard. In fairness, it [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident looks like the guard slipped and fell from an upper landing]]. |
| 52 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', Hogarth throws a penny into the kitchen to divert his mom's attention away while he sneaks out one of the Giant's hands, which has detached and is wandering around the house. The penny knocks over the spice rack by accident. |
| 53 | * ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'': When Sullivan's reckless attempt to retrieve the flag in the library attracts [[ScaryLibrarian the Librarian's]] [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever attention]], Mike and the Oozma Kappa create a series of noisy activities in various parts of the library to distract her from Sullivan and the flag. |
| 54 | * Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieAcrossThe2ndDimension''. When Perry the platypus needs to slip away without his owners noticing him, he throws a rock, leading to this exchange: |
| 55 | -->'''Baljeet:''' What was that small noise?\ |
| 56 | '''Phineas:''' [[LampshadeHanging Let's all go walk over to it!]] |
| 57 | * ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'': Very early on, Al does this with a skateboard. Justified in that it does create an audible crash, and the person he's distracting (Andy's mother) isn't a highly trained guard. |
| 58 | [[/folder]] |
| 59 | |
| 60 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 61 | * Happens twice in ''Film/{{Apache}}''. When returning to the mine, Massai throws a rock to draw one of the soldiers out of hiding so he can shoot him. Later, while hiding in the cornfield, he throws his empty rifle to distract Sieber, and then tackles him. |
| 62 | * Specifically mentioned in-universe in ''Film/BatmanBegins'' as a "cheap parlor trick" to distract and confuse one's enemies. |
| 63 | * ''Film/BloodyHomecoming'': While hiding on top of a bank of lockers in the change room, Loren throws one of her shoes into the lockers on the far side of the room to distract the killer. |
| 64 | * This is one of the uses of the Bat-Shuriken in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''. *thwing* "Huh, what was that? Oh, it's a little metal ba-" [{{Vertical Kidnap|ping}}] |
| 65 | * In ''Film/ColdPrey'', Tobias throws a spanner at the door to the Mountain Man's hidden room in the cellar to attract his attention. |
| 66 | * ''Film/TheDecalogue'': Majka, while hiding behind a wall, throws a small wooden ball down the stairs, thus distracting an old woman watching over the entrance to the back of the stage. |
| 67 | * ''Film/DraculaVsFrankenstein'': During the fight in Dr. Durea's MadScientistLaboratory,, Mike throws a bottle across the room where it smashes, causing Durea to shoot at the noise, while Mike makes a break for the stairs. |
| 68 | * ''Film/DungeonsAndDragons2000'' has the heroes distract a patrolling Beholder -- a creature covered in eyes -- with a thrown rock. |
| 69 | * ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'': In their battle in Hong Kong, Kong uses the buildings to hide from Godzilla. Kong hurls a construction crane at a building. When Godzilla turns toward the noise, Kong attacks him from behind. |
| 70 | * ''Film/TheGunsOfNavarone''. Andrea and Mallory have reached the top of the cliff, but there's a German sentry guarding it. Mallory tosses a piton to distract the guard. A variant because they end up killing the guard. |
| 71 | * Film/HarryPotter: |
| 72 | ** In TheMovie of ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', Harry tosses a broken stone to distract the blinded basilisk who was cornering him. |
| 73 | ** As in the book Harry uses a loud Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes product to distract Ministry of Magic workers so that he can sneak in and search Umbridge's office in ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. |
| 74 | * Johnny of ''Film/JohnnyMnemonic'' throws a small rock, which sends Baldy looking for him in the wrong direction. |
| 75 | * ''Film/JurassicPark'': |
| 76 | ** In the middle of the film, Alan tries to lure the Tyrannosaurus away from the kids -- who were trapped in one of the cars that is attacked by the same dinosaur -- with a torch flare. This almost works, until Ian Malcolm intervenes with another flare. |
| 77 | ** Later, Lex uses something like this to draw a Velociraptor's attention away from Tim (and very bravely, closer to herself). |
| 78 | * ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing'', Frodo, Merry, Pippin and Sam are hiding from a black rider (Nazgûl/Ringwraith) under some tree roots. As the rider is peering overhead, and it seems they are close to being discovered, Merry throws his and Pippin's sack of (stolen) vegetables, which gives the four of them enough time to escape the scene. |
| 79 | * The high-tech version occurs in ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'' -- the IMF team use a sound projector to make a Kremlin guard leave the corridor he's guarding and go into the next room. |
| 80 | * Used against the good guys in ''Film/TheNameOfTheRose'', after they've unwittingly stumbled across the book that's the motive of the murders. The assistant librarian (who was reading it, and is now hiding in a dark corner) picks up a hammer with the apparent intention of doing violence, but then tosses it across the flagstones. When Brother William and novice Adso run to investigate, the librarian steals the book and flees. |
| 81 | * ''Film/OnceAThief'': The two protagonists, Joe and Jim, are in the middle of raiding a vault, Joe having rigged the vault's exterior with C4, when a bunch of thugs intending to kill them (having gunned down the guards outside which Joe and Jim avoids) enters. As Joe and Jim beats a hasty retreat, an unarmed Joe, realizing one of the thugs is approaching, throws his ''[[ShoeSlap shoe]]''. The thug mistakenly thought the shoe is an IED and dives into an adjacent room... which is the vault's entrance, crammed with C4, accidentally triggering them in the process. One ''massive'' OhCrap on the mook and... '''[[StuffBlowingUp BOOM]]'''. |
| 82 | * ''Film/{{Predator}}'': During the final confrontation with the Predator, already hard to spot thanks to the mud covering him, Dutch throws a rock to distract the alien hunter and gets a chance to spear him. |
| 83 | * ''Film/{{RoboCop|1987}}'': [=RoboCop=] opens the fight in the abandoned factory by throwing a piece of trash to distract the bad guys. They start firing in the wrong direction, and the cyborg uses this to gun down one of them. |
| 84 | -->'''[=RoboCop=]:''' Looking for me? |
| 85 | * ''Franchise/StarWars, Film/ANewHope'': Obi-Wan uses the Force to pop a gasket to distract two stormtroopers blocking his exit from the tractor beam control room, allowing him to sneak away. |
| 86 | * ''Film/TenDeadMen'': During the final showdown in the timber yard, Ryan throws the empty pill bottle to distract the Projects Manager. |
| 87 | * Subverted in ''Film/ThreeAmigos'' One of the amigos throws a rock to distract a guard they're trying to sneak past, but accidentally hits the guard's head and knocks him out. |
| 88 | * In ''Film/TigerHouse'', Kelly throws Mark's alarm clock (one of the ones built into a ball and designed to be thrown against a wall to turn it off) across the room, where it beeps and distracts Shane and Callum long enough for her to make her NotSoGreatEscape from under the bed to the bedroom door. |
| 89 | * ''Film/{{Water|1985}}'': Creator/MichaelCaine's character sees a mercenary attaching limpet mines to the oil well, so he throws a bolt, then sneaks up behind the mercenary while he's pointing a gun in that direction and hooks a crane hook into his belt, lifting him into the air. |
| 90 | [[/folder]] |
| 91 | |
| 92 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 93 | * In the first ''[[Literature/{{Animorphs}} Alternamorphs]]'' book, the unnamed second-person protagonist uses a thrown rock to escape aliens in a dark construction site. As they're doing it, they think about [[LampshadeHanging what a cliche it is]] and hope the aliens have never watched any TV or else they'd probably recognize the trick. |
| 94 | * ''Literature/HarryPotter'': |
| 95 | ** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', Hermione instructs Harry and Ron to cause mayhem in Snape's class to distract him while she steals ingredients for Polyjuice Potion. They throw a firework into a cauldron. |
| 96 | ** In the book and film of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', Harry distracts some Ministry workers with a rambunctious Weasley toy in order to sneak into Umbridge's office. Justified, both because that's what the toy was built for and because, apparently, the Ministry sees that sort of thing fairly often. |
| 97 | * In ''Literature/RoseMadder'' Rosie distracts Erinyes the blind bull from killing her by throwing a blood-soaked rock and running in the opposite direction. |
| 98 | * {{Subverted}} in ''Vagabonds of Literature/{{Gor}}'': Tarl throws a stone and the guy he's trying to draw away from his position turns towards him. |
| 99 | * In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' book ''Battles of the Clans'', there's a story about how [=RiverClan=] develops a move called the "Rushpaw Splash" where a cat makes a splash to distract their opponent away from their attacking Clanmates - originally done by accident during training when Rushpaw falling into a stream makes the perfect distraction for the other apprentices to sneak up on Mistyfoot. |
| 100 | * ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'': Luke Skywalker uses the Force to make a guard think he heard a noise, which allows the group he's with to sneak past. A much more {{Justified|Trope}} example than most, as he's actively altering the guy's mind rather than merely hoping that he's easily-distracted. |
| 101 | * In ''Literature/{{Rubbernecker}}'', Patrick is snooping in the dissection room when someone else walks in and turns the lights on before Patrick can see who they are. Patrick is afraid whoever it is is the murderer, so he throws his trainer across the room and then leaves while the person is following the sound. |
| 102 | [[/folder]] |
| 103 | |
| 104 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 105 | * Lampshaded on ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' when Apollo throws a grenade into a passageway, yelling for everyone to clear out (they do). It turns out he didn't pull the pin, and tells Starbuck that she would have thought it was a brilliant idea if she'd come up with it. |
| 106 | * ''Series/BreakingBad'': Mike does this in the episode "Full Measure" while taking back one of Gus's warehouses from several cartel members that had taken it over. He rolls a high-heel shoe down the hall, making it sound like a person running, and sure enough, a cartel member jumps out from the other end screaming and firing wildly, only to be easily taken out by Mike when he rounds the corner. |
| 107 | * ''Series/ChroniclesOfNarniaBBC'': In ''The Silver Chair'', just before they disappear under the rock, Puddleglum throws his hat away when they are pursued by the giants and the hounds, and one hound is distracted by it. |
| 108 | * Subverted in an episode of ''Series/DarkAngel'', Max throws a stone to distract the guard, who goes to investigate where the stone came from. |
| 109 | * In ''Series/DoctorWho'' Series 4, the Doctor distracts a guard with a wind-up mouse. [[SubvertedTrope Almost as soon as he picks it up, he is knocked unconscious by]] [[OppositeSexClone the Doctor's cloned daughter]] Jenny. The Doctor is quick to call her out on what she's done. |
| 110 | * An episode of ''Series/KungFuTheLegendContinues'' does this -- earlier, Kwai Chang is showing Peter how to blow a candle out using the gust of air from a palm strike. Later, when facing sentries in the woods, Peter sarcastically asks, "what are we going to, throw a rock and divert their attention?" as Kwai Chang performs a palm strike and rustles a bush instead to distract the guards. |
| 111 | * ''Series/MacGyver1985'': In "Slow Death", [=MacGyver=] takes his shoe off and throws it on top of the train to make the bad guy think that he was up there when in reality he came up the stairs after him. It didn't work as he is [[PistolWhipping hit with a gun]] and knocked down. |
| 112 | * In the ''Series/MidnightCaller'' episode "Wait Until Midnight'', Annie Driscoll, who is blind, manages to knock her attacker unconscious and steal his gun. After he regains consciousness, he throws his shoes past her, causing her to fire in the wrong direction. |
| 113 | * ''Series/MissionImpossible'': Used in "The Council, part 1", to draw someone away from a buried man that the team needed access to. |
| 114 | * In the ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'' episode "The Committee," Starsky throws his [[CompanionCube pet rock]] away so he can get the drop on one of the villains. Once everyone has been arrested, he runs back to look for it. |
| 115 | * In an episode of ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Arya throws a book across the room to distract the [[OurZombiesAreDifferent white walkers]] prowling the library. |
| 116 | [[/folder]] |
| 117 | |
| 118 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 119 | * ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'': |
| 120 | ** Hyeon throws his [=iPod=] away in the hopes that the music will distract the smoke snakes that are attacking him. It does manage to halt them for a few seconds, though it doesn't last long. |
| 121 | ** Elly sets off her personal alarm and then throws it aside in the hopes that Daigo's monster will follow it rather than her. It gives her and her brother a few seconds, but the monster eventually turns its attention back to them. |
| 122 | [[/folder]] |
| 123 | |
| 124 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 125 | * In the video games, VideoGame/APlagueTaleInnocence and VideoGame/APlagueTaleRequiem, there are several missions and quests in the game that involve you throwing various items to distract the guards and send them running after the noise you created so you can stealthily sneak past them. This is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] since much of the game series relies on stealth missions almost as much as it does on combat. |
| 126 | * ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'': Amanda has a few options for doing this, including lighting up a flare and tossing it, or MacGyvering up a noise-maker. These work on [[CrazySurvivalist various armed humans]] and [[MechaMooks Working Joes]], but they also work on getting the xenomorph's attention away from her. However, in its case [[ArtificialBrilliance it will not fall for the same trick twice in a row]], requiring her to mix it up with different methods of drawing it off[[note]]And on Hard or Nightmare difficulty, if you use it too much, the Alien won't fall for it ''at all'', so you have to be careful with how you use them[[/note]]. |
| 127 | * ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' |
| 128 | ** In any game, kill a guard and other guards will come by to investigate so you can sneak around them or use the hidden blade on them. |
| 129 | ** In the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII second game]], throwing money will distract the guards just as well as a body. |
| 130 | ** ''Assassin's Creed: Revelations'' ups the ante considerably by including a dozen different possible types of harmless distraction bombs. There's a weak smoke bomb designed to look like a smoldering fire that will only attract guards facing that direction but make no noise, a cherry bomb that just makes a loud bang that draws guards, and even a coin bomb that attracts a crowd to a spot by exploding money there. |
| 131 | ** Both ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedFreedomCry'' and ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRogue'' provide the player character with firecrackers, which can be used to distract guards or, in the latter case, draw enemy assassins out of hiding. |
| 132 | * ''VideoGame/{{Augustus}}'': You can toss coins in this stealth game, thought more often that not it would result in the guards running towards your hiding spot instead. |
| 133 | * ''VideoGame/{{Basingstoke}}'': The PlayerCharacter can throw items like food and flares to distract the undead. |
| 134 | * Part of chapter 4 of ''VideoGame/BendyAndTheInkMachine'' requires you to distract the Butcher Gang by throwing empty cans of bacon soup. |
| 135 | * You can do this in ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'' with the disk-launcher, but the [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy guards are so stupid]] it's usually easier to just walk slowly around them. |
| 136 | * In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'', there is a tactical grenade that is called a decoy that can be used to simulate gunfire and shows up on the enemy's radar, making it seem as if there is someone firing in that location. |
| 137 | * ''VideoGame/{{Commandos}}'' allows you to throw rocks to distract the guards. You can also throw them ''on'' the guards if feeling suicidal. |
| 138 | * In the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' games there's both an item and a spell that does this. The item is called the Alluring Skull, a skull that when thrown, will burst and [[OurSoulsAreDifferent releases lingering souls]] that grab the enemies attention. Though this only works on some enemies. The spell, known as Aural Decoy in '’VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' & ‘'VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'', Yearn in '’VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', does the same thing as the skulls, but usually affecting many move enemy types than the skull. |
| 139 | ** ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' continued this trend with the Pungent Blood Cocktail and the Pebble. The Pebble is only able to distract a single enemy, while the Blood Cocktail when thrown, “releases a pungent odor when thrown that attracts [[BloodLust blood-thirsty beasts."]] |
| 140 | * ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'' has the learnable perk "Diversion", which causes the survivor to throw a rock several meters in front of them; the Killer is given a noise notification and various scratch marks where it lands. |
| 141 | * ''VideoGame/DeathToSpies'': This stealth game allows you to do this with cutlery and dishes. The mini-map even shows you how far the sound travels. |
| 142 | * ''VideoGame/DeusEx'': Can be done, as pointed out in the training mission by Anna Navarre. |
| 143 | * ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'': Can be done as well although downplayed a bit - the closest guard only investigates unless it is something extra heavy and loud and they will go to the origin if they saw it thrown and only to the destination if they only heard it. |
| 144 | * ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'': One of Hawke's options during the stealth section of the ''Mark of the Assassin'' DLC. |
| 145 | -->'''Tallis:''' We'll have to try our best to stay out of sight -- or we could try to create distractions. Provided you're good at throwing stones.\ |
| 146 | '''Guard:''' What was that scrabbling noise? |
| 147 | * ''VideoGame/EndlessNightmare'': A unique feature in the entire series, where enemies like zombies and monsters can be distracted by throwing objects (rocks, porcelain cups, coins, etc). They'll shamble away, allowing you to either sneak past them or execute monsters from behind. |
| 148 | * ''VideoGame/ElHijoAWildWestTale'': In the beginning of the second monastery level, [[PlayerCharacter El Hijo]] gains a bunch of rocks from a basket that he can throw to distract enemies, causing them to leave their post so El Hijo can sneak past them. |
| 149 | * ''VideoGame/EscapeFromStMarys'': A thrown bottle of tang does the trick. |
| 150 | * The ''Franchise/FarCry'' series gives the player an infinite amount of throwable stones. Just don't throw them in a trajectory that the mook you want to distract sees, because he'll figure out where it came from and beeline towards your position with his buddies. |
| 151 | ** In keeping with its theme, ''VideoGame/FarCry3BloodDragon'' replaces the stones with throwable ''dice''. Being tounge-in-cheek they are refered to as "nerd rocks"... and Rex's onboard A.I. calls him a nerd for having them. |
| 152 | ** ''VideoGame/FarCry6'' substitutes the stones with baseballs and lumps then in with the other throwable equipment, complete with a limit on how many you can carry at once. That said, this also means you're allowed to swap them out for another throwable depending on whether you're trying to optimize your loadout for stealth or combat. |
| 153 | * ''Videogame/HalfLifeAlyx:'' A must when confronting [[FluffyTheTerrible Jeff]], who hunts through hearing but is both completely blind and relatively stupid. Since he's found around an abandoned distillery, there's thankfully a big bunch of empty beer bottles to toss around and shatter to keep him off your way. Just [[OhCrap watch when you open something and one of them falls off before you can catch it]]. |
| 154 | * ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': This is one of Henry's few tricks that consistently works (probably because it's so mundane). He distracts a guard by throwing a penny in ''Stealing the Diamond'', and two guards by throwing a guard's hat in ''Fleeing the Complex''. |
| 155 | * ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' series: |
| 156 | ** In the first mission of ''[[VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney Blood Money]]'', you're encouraged to toss a coin to distract some guards. 47 seems to have a Mint in his back pocket - a coin is always available in the inventory, no matter how many you've already thrown. You can even carry them through metal detectors without setting them off. |
| 157 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution Absolution]]'', you lose the coin but can pick up other random objects to throw around. It has the same effect, but you won't always have something to throw, and can only carry one throwable object at a time. |
| 158 | ** In ''VideoGame/Hitman2016'' and ''VideoGame/Hitman2'', the default loadout includes three coins in the third inventory slot that can be used as a distraction of this kind. While they are perfectly usable, and very useful, they are sort-of an InfinityMinusOneSword in ''2016'' and ''2'', as coins are made redundant by the latter games' briefcase (which can be thrown like coins can, store weapons, and guards/ NPC's will take it away from the area it lands to somewhere else in the level), and even without the briefcase, as in ''[[VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution Absolution]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/Hitman2016 2016]]'', you can just pick up and throw pretty much any item in a level that isn't intel or nailed down, and it'll cause a distraction, meaning the tool slot can be used on something else instead, like say, a lockpick. |
| 159 | * ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'' has rocks Aloy can throw to distract enemies and draw them closer to her for stealth takedowns or further away to get past them. Some enemy bases also have alarms that opponents will activate if they spot you and get back to it before you stop them, but Aloy can also set it off herself in order to draw all her opponents to the same location. |
| 160 | * ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' has bricks, bottles, etc that can be thrown to distract/attract enemies or [[ImprovisedWeapon simply smack them in the head.]] |
| 161 | * ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' and ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' gives you grenades in the forms of pipe bombs and Boomer Bile. The Infected are distracted by the Loud beeping and/or scent and will chase after them, even if they were just clawing you apart a second ago. |
| 162 | * During a StealthBasedMission in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'', Link must invoke this trope to distract one guard who doesn't turn around when spoken to. What the guard says when spoken to is immortalized above as the page quote. |
| 163 | * The PC and console versions of ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing'' give Frodo an unlimited number of stones to throw. While they ''can'' be used to ([[DeathByAThousandCuts eventually]]) kill enemies, their main purpose is to distract those enemies and send them rushing over to wherever the stone landed. They are especially necessary for avoiding the Black Riders in the nighttime section of the Shire level. |
| 164 | * During a flashback sequence in ''VideoGame/MadnessProjectNexus2'', Jebediah tries distracting a guard by throwing a rock. Said guard ends up ''leaving the room to tell his colleagues about the rock'', letting Jeb sneak past. |
| 165 | * All ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' games have some sort of variant. Can even be done with grenades, but enemies will freeze in terror or take cover, depending on the soldier. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' and later, you can throw empty ammo magazines to distract guards. The only way to get one is to fire all the bullets in a full mag, which isn't very useful in a stealth game. |
| 166 | * ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever'': One of the gadgets Cate can equip for any mission is a few coins. That's all, just coins. Plain, ordinary currency. Not even enhanced in the usual ridiculous manner other common items are made into spy gadgets in this game. At first, it seems absurd that carrying a few coins in your pocket takes up an equipment slot that could be held by, say, lipstick grenades, until you see just how stupid the guards can be when a coin is chucked across the room... |
| 167 | * ''VideoGame/ShadowGambitTheCursedCrew'': {{Mooks}} can be temporarily distracted by throwing a coin, or firecrackers. Quentin can throw his golden skull on the ground, and a mook who sees it will walk towards it to investigate. |
| 168 | * A viable strategy in ''VideoGame/{{Shinobido}}'': thrown objects are an excellent way to distract a guard on patrol and lure him/her away, so that you can sneak past them or stealth-kill them as they're distracted. Sometimes, the distraction is even explosive, so that it will damage (and possibly kill) the victim and draw even more guards on the spot. |
| 169 | * In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' you can fire an arrow into a room and any enemies present will visible on your compass while rushing to investigate it. |
| 170 | * ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves'' has the alarm clock gadget as Sly, trigger bombs as Bentley, and other guards as Murray. |
| 171 | * ''VideoGame/SniperEliteV2'', ''VideoGame/SniperEliteIII'' and ''VideoGame/SniperElite4'' allow you to throw rocks to distract enemies. Like the ''Hitman'' example, you're encouraged to do so in the tutorial stage and have an infinite number of them in your inventory. ''Un''like most examples, this will only get the guards out of your hair for a second or two before they start searching the area just to be sure -- you have a pretty small window if you want to actually get past anyone that way. ''VideoGame/SniperElite5'' however replaces rocks with empty bottles instead. |
| 172 | * A puzzle late in ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest 2'' requires you to get past a guard to a door. You ''can'' just sneak by with careful movements, but it's easier to throw a stone to distract him and get him to leave. But the most points are for throwing a stone with your athletic supporter and pegging him in the head, killing him. |
| 173 | * Early in ''VideoGame/SpiderAndWeb'', you throw [[spoiler:your electronic lockpick]] to sneak past a guard. [[spoiler:Subverted as part of the UnreliableNarrator theme of the game. You actually left the pick in a lock when the guard came along and you were forced to hide.]] |
| 174 | * ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' has this in spades, allowing you to pick up items for no other purpose than to throw them and distract the enemies. However, the AI is smart enough to register not only the point of impact, but also the trajectory they have seen, therefore, doing the same thing as on the image above would actually make any guard run towards you. Even if they ''don't'' find you, they'll be more vigilant. |
| 175 | ** Of course, if you nail them in the head with the object, they simply get knocked out. |
| 176 | ** In ''Conviction'', where there aren't any throwable objects, a silenced pistol can serve the same purpose, as pistols get unlimited reloads only in that game. Fire a shot and nearby guards will investigate the point of impact. |
| 177 | * This is an option in the ''VideoGame/{{Tenchu}}'' games. Throwing bombs, or shuriken, or rice balls can distract guards letting you sneak past them, or [[BackStab kill them]]. |
| 178 | * ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' likewise has throwable objects. It also has noisemaker arrows, which do just that: cause a lot of noise upon impact. Even normal arrows can work as distractions if fired at a hard surface. However, trying this trick isn't always a good idea; while it may draw the guards' attention elsewhere, it will ''also'' make them alert for intruders, which mitigates the advantage to some degree. |
| 179 | * ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': The "Distract" skill Rogues have. It doesn't cause a monster or guard to walk toward the noise, but it ''does'' turn them around, leaving you free to [[{{Backstab}} stab them in the back]]. |
| 180 | [[/folder]] |
| 181 | |
| 182 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 183 | * ''Webcomic/{{Archipelago}}'': In book 10, Credenza distracts the insane raven spirits (long story) by throwing a sword. It's not like she needs it at this point. |
| 184 | ** In the sequel, ''Webcomic/CityOfSomnus'', Paollo tries this with a pebble when the Feyn are chasing him and Odette, but [[TheKlutz lacks the hand-eye coordination]] to do it right. Fortunately, Odette chucks another pebble far enough to serve as a distraction. |
| 185 | * Princess Peach demonstrates the technique perfectly in [[http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/comic/260-thecaptiveprincess/ this]] ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily'' strip. |
| 186 | * A recurring gag in ''Webcomic/DragonTails:'' involves Lemuel throwing rocks in the bushes to distract enemies. The targets found the sound to be distracting but never investigated the noise beyond standing and thinking about how annoying it is, opening a window of opportunity for the other dragons. |
| 187 | * Done in ''Webcomic/{{Girly}}'' to [[http://girlyyy.com/go/440 sneak into a women's dorm]], with some heavy [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]]: |
| 188 | -->'''Lisa:''' I dunno, Beth. The last eight times that happened, it resulted in men sneaking...\ |
| 189 | '''Beth:''' Lisa, that was a ''rock''! A ''rock'', for God's sake! Are you suggesting we let it ''be''!? |
| 190 | * [[DoubleSubversion Triply subverted]] humorously in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}:'' the GAP [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/comic/11262006/ try to distract the Brassmoon City gate guards]] [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/comic/11272006/ by throwing a rock,]] but instead of going to investigate the noise, one of them shouts "Someone's throwing rocks at us from the woods!" and they go to investigate the place from whence the rock was thrown. However, the goblins manage to slip away, and when the guards don't find anyone in the bushes, they [[IdiotBall start arguing]] there. Being distracted, they let a couple goblins enter the city (a double subversion). But then, the distraction doesn't last long enough, and the last two members for the GAP are spotted while trying to get in (a triple subversion!). |
| 191 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': This is the subject of one of "Tarquin's Tips", a handy guide distributed to all his guard patrols. "'''Sound in the Bushes:''' Someone is throwing a rock to distract you. Try looking in the opposite direction." |
| 192 | * ''Webcomic/{{Stardroids}}'': Roll does this. What makes it unique, however, is that she does it in plain sight of the foes. Oh, and did we mention -- she's using a pair of her own panties. Slingshot-style. |
| 193 | [[/folder]] |
| 194 | |
| 195 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 196 | * Item #160 on the EvilOverlordList says to make sure guards can tell when someone's doing this: |
| 197 | -->Before being accepted into my Legions of Terror, potential recruits will have to pass peripheral vision and hearing tests, and be able to recognize the sound of a pebble thrown to distract them. |
| 198 | [[/folder]] |
| 199 | |
| 200 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 201 | * Toyed with in ''Film/AceVentura: The Animated Series'' -- Ace tries this by throwing a rock to distract the Burly Guard. The Guard looks over at the sound, ''turns to where the rock came from'' and shouts "I know you're over there and I'm coming to get you!" |
| 202 | * ''WesternAnimation/BubbleGuppies'': In "The Puppy and the Ring", Molly and Gil, who are making lemon slushies, get chased by an army of soldiers sent by the episode's BigBad. They climb up a tree, and Gil throws a lemon on the ground to distract the soldiers. |
| 203 | -->'''Commander''': What was that?\ |
| 204 | '''Soldier''': It sounded like a lemon, sir! |
| 205 | * ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'''s "Lyoko Minus One" has Odd pick up a small rock to throw away from himself in order to get away from a Tarantula to help Aelita. Luckily, the monster shoots it instead of him. |
| 206 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinotrux}}'' has Ty throw a small bolt to distract Scraptool guards. As they are scrap collectors easily DistractedByTheShiny, they aren't going to investigate a suspicious noise, they are going to fetch the extremely attractive spare part. |
| 207 | * ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'': |
| 208 | ** In "The Dreadful Doll", Hadji throws a rock to distract Korbay so Jonny can free Race Bannon. |
| 209 | ** In "Terror Island", Race Bannon throws a coin to distract some guards. |
| 210 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E14StrangerThanFanFiction Stranger Than Fan Fiction]]", while he and Rainbow Dash are Caballeron's prisoners, Quibble Pants throws a pin away to make a suspicious noise, alerting the goons. Quibble then pretends that it's Daring Do coming to rescue them. It works, and they disperse in search of their nemesis. As Quibble points out, they're stupid enough to leave nopony looking after the captives. |
| 211 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E4DyingForPieImitationKrabs Imitation Krabs]]", to get Mr. Krabs out of the way, Plankton throws a penny, and the greedy Krabs follows it as it rolls out the front door. Unfortunately, the penny eventually rolls back, leading Krabs to Plankton and his robotic Krabs imposter. |
| 212 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E7DuelOfTheDroids Duel of the Droids]]", Ahsoka escapes Grievous' notice (at first) be making a box fall further into the room she's hiding in with the Force, so Grievous walks past her hiding place. |
| 213 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/SWATKats'' episode "The Giant Bacteria", the villain Morbulus does a variant of this trope wherein he is dropped in the water and [[GivingThemTheStrip takes off his clothes]], then reassembles them to make it look like he's still in them. While the Enforcers are fishing what they think is his body out of the water, he is able to slip away in his underwear unnoticed. |
| 214 | * ''WesternAnimation/WildKratts'': In one Season 3 episode, Martin tosses a stone to distract a panther so he can steal its food cache (to feed some panther cubs the Kratts are babysitting, in case you're concerned). Panthers are known for their stealth, so it's only natural that some stealth tropes would pop up in an episode about them. |
| 215 | [[/folder]] |
| 216 | |
| 217 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 218 | * A common urban legend for soldiers using the M1 Garand (the standard US service rifle in [=WW2=] and the Korean War) was to keep one of the empty en bloc clips on them at all times. The Garand's self-loading mechanism would fire out the clip when the last round was used, which would make a very distinctive metallic "ping" noise. Supposedly, soldiers would throw empty clips to trick the enemy into thinking that their gun had run empty and encourage them to pop up out of cover. In reality, there's [[SubvertedTrope no evidence that this took place]] and it's unlikely that the ping could have been heard over the gunfire anyway (to say nothing of the risk of popping up because you heard one rifle go empty and facing an entire squad). |
| 219 | * This is [[GoFetch a good way to distract non-trained dogs]] if they aren't fully on attack mode. A solid object like a small stone will distract them for at least two seconds. Or [[DeliciousDistraction dog biscuits or meat]]. Can be taken to almost parodying lengths with some dogs, with whom you don't even have to actually ''throw'' the object, or even have any object in your hand at all, and they'll still run off in the direction they thought they saw you throw it. |
| 220 | [[/folder]] |
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