History Literature / DeathtrapDungeon

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Upon completing the trials of the Trialmaster, you're free to turn around and kill the bastard who put you through hell and forced you to kill Throm. He's significantly easier than Throm, and he nets you a suit of armour awarding a +1 skill bonus.

* SoleSurvivor: Five adventurers brave the Dungeon, but only one of them can make out of it alive... and even that is by no means guaranteed.

* AntiVillain: Baron Sukumvit built Deathrap Dungeon as a twisted game to induce people to risk their lives for his amusement. On the other hand, everyone who enters the Trial of Champions does so of their own free choice and he doesn't force anybody to enter it. If anybody actually wins the Trial, Baron Sukumvit is honorable enough to pay the staggering prize he offers. Fang also prospered greatly from the attention the Trial of Champions attracts every year, especially since no one's ever survived it.
* BreadAndCircuses: One of the reasons why Deathtrap Dungeon was built by Sukumvit.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Let's just say that ''Deathtrap'' Dungeon's name is, well, well-earned and self-explanatory in nature.

* PlotCoupon: The three precious gemstones you need to unlock the gate to the exit. [[spoiler:To make things harder, while the emerald and the diamond are in a guarded room, the second gem, the sapphire, is hidden in a random hole in the wall halfway through, with no hint at all that it's there.]]

* SkippableBoss: The Pit Fiend is huge and fearsome, with Skill on par with the Blood Beast and no weakness... but since it's, you know, confined to a pit, if you have the right items you can make your way across the pit with a rope and avoid the beast entirely (which is for the best).
* SoleSurvivor: Five adventurers brave the Dungeon, but only one of them can make out of it alive...and even that is by no means guaranteed.

The devilish baron Sukumvit revived the city of Fang by building the deadly dungeon maze known as Deathtrap Dungeon, a place filled with terrible monsters and fiendish traps, both physical and magical in nature. However, it is said that a huge reward is waiting for the adventurer who will face the perils of the "Walk" and leave the labyrinth victorius. Armed with courage, wits and a sharp sword, you'll face the perils of this diabolical maze.

The gameplay follows the basic rule of many others in the series, and features a single possible path to victory, as expected. In 1998 it received a video game adaptation. For that, see ''VideoGame/DeathtrapDungeon''.

The following book ''Literature/TrialOfChampions'' can be considered a sequel/remake of ''Deathtrap Dungeon'', visiting the same location albeit with a different hero and different perils ahead. ''Literature/IslandOfTheLizardKing'' seemingly features the same protagonist, hence being its sequel.

* AchillesHeel: The Bloodbeast seemingly has a large amount of eyes, but only two of them are real. If you fight it and know of this weakness, you can Test your Luck every time you land a hit to see if you manage to strike the [[GoForTheEye real eyes]].
* ActionGirl: The only [[SmurfettePrinciple female participant]] is a Elf lady. She makes it quite far in the Dungeon before being crushed to death by a massive snake. [[spoiler:If you kill the snake fast enough, she will give you a clue with her last breath.]]
* AnnoyingArrows: Averted, from crossbow traps to amazingly accurate Troglodytes, arrows are a threat in this dungeon.
* AntiVillain: Baron Sukumvit built Deathrap Dungeon as a twisted game to induce people to risk their lives for his amusement. On the other hand, everyone who enters the Trial of Champions does so of their own free choice and he doesn't force anybody to enter it. If anybody actually wins the Trial, he's honorable enough to pay the staggering prize he offers. Fang also prospered greatly from the attention the Trial of Champions attracts every year, especially since no-one's ever survived it.

* EverythingIsTryingToKillYou: Oh boy, monsters and traps at every step and in every room. [[spoiler:Except for the ghost girl who gives you a precious advice and the mysterious cone of light.]] Justified, because it was specifically designed to be nearly unwinnable by Sukumvit.
* FateWorseThanDeath: The Mirror Demon will grab you and drag you across the mirror in another dimension.

* GorgeousGorgon: Averted, the Gorgon you can encounter [[spoiler:in the cage covered with drapes]] looks like an old, snake-haired crone.
* GratuitousNinja: One of the contestants, which later ambushes you in the Dungeon (he carries one of the gems needed to win). While Titan has a fantasy counterpart to Japan, it's in a whole other continent entirely.
* HelplessWithLaughter: One section has you partnering with another contestant of the dungeon walk, Throm the barbarian, where both of you decide to rest in a cavern after defeating a pair of trolls together. Unfortunately, in the process Throm accidentally had a stray rat running on his fingers, tickling him into laughing uncontrollably... which is loud enough to cause a cave-in that the two of you must outrun.
* IndyEscape: Do you think that Sukumvit could have neglected the chance of installing a giant rolling boulder trap?
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Upon completing the trials of the Trialmaster, you're free to turn around and kill the bastard who put you through hell and forced you to kill Throm. He's significantly easier than Throm, and he nets you a +1 skill bonus armour.

* MagicPotion: While the dungeon has its fair share of deadly traps, it also contains all kinds of magical items that aids your adventure, the most helpful which is a potion that help you detect traps.

* RocksFallEveryoneDies: Somewhat justified in-universe, but from a gameplay perspective it happens several times and is annoying, resulting in quite a bit of TrialAndErrorGameplay. Most notably with things like the giant statue with two gems for eyes: the left eye is the PlotCoupon required to win, the right eye is instant death, with absolutely no indication in-story of which is correct.

* SkippableBoss: The Pit Fiend is huge and fearsome, with Skill on par with the Blood Beast and no weakspot... but since it's, you know, confined to a pit, if you have the right items you can make your way across the pit with a rope and avoid the beast entirely (which is for the best).
* SoleSurvivor: Five adventurers brave the Dungeon, but only one of them will make out of it on his legs. Or not even that, if you mess up.
* TakenForGranite: One room hosts a crazy sorcerer who likes to turn people to stone (notably, this is how the Knight at the start of the dungeon meets his end). However, if you answer correctly to his riddle, he'll be happy and bless you with a bonus to ''all'' your stats before letting you go.

Besides being one of the most popular of the ''Fighting Fantasy'' series, ''Deathtrap Dungeon'' also marked the first shift towards [[CanonWelding building a consistent setting for the books]], with mentions in the background of Port Blacksand, the main location of Ian Livingstone's previous book ''Literature/CityOfThieves1983''.

Besides being one of the most popular of the ''Fighting Fantasy'' series, ''Deathtrap Dungeon'' also marked the first shift towards [[CanonWelding building a consistent setting for the books]], with mentions in the background of Port Blacksand, the main location of Ian Livingstone's previous book ''Literature/CityOfThieves''.

Besides being one of the most popular of the ''Fighting Fantasy'' series, ''Deathtrap Dungeon'' also marked the first shift towards[[CanonWelding building a consistent setting for the books]], with mentions in the background of Port Blacksand, the main location of Ian Livingstone's previous book ''Literature/CityOfThieves''.

* ContinuityNod: One of the many dangers you'll face is a burly female orc named Poison Ivy, who turns out to be the sister of Sourbelly from ''Literature/CityOfThieves1983''.

* ContinuityNod: One of the many dangers you'll face is a burly female orc named Poison Ivy, who turns out to be the sister of Sourbelly from ''Literature/CityOfThieves''.

* ContemptibleCover: The [[https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2015/06/18/deathtrap-dungeon-not-entirely-pleased-by-japans-moe-presentation-of-adventure-gamebook Japanese reprint]] of ''Deathtrap Dungeon'' took some, um, let's say, ''creative'' liberties with the source material.

* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: The other barbarian hero met such an end, pinned like a butterfly to a massive wooden board.

* TRexpy: The "Pit Fiend" encountered late in the maze can be described as more upright ''T. rex'' popular with gladiator arenas, hence its name. (It should be noted that the actual ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' has a separate entry in the ''Out of the Pit'' supplement, and it does have stronger stats than a Pit Fiend.)

* TRexpy: The "Pit Fiend" encountered late in the maze can be described as more upright ''T. rex'' popular with gladiator arenas, hence its name. (It should be noted that the actual ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' is described separately in the ''Out of the Pit'' supplement, and it does have stronger stats than a Pit Fiend.)

* CallARabbitASmeerp: What's that? A ''Tyrannosaurus rex''? Oh, wait, it's just a "Pit Fiend". All right.

* RouteBoss: In order to bypass the Dwarf Trialmaster's test, you must enter an arena and, depending on the choices you make, fight either a [[ScaryScorpions giant scorpion]] or a [[ALoadOfBull Minotaur]], as one of two optional bosses, before completing the challenge.

Besides being one of the most popular of the Fighting Fantasy series ''Deathtrap Dungeon'' also marked the first shift towards[[CanonWelding building a consistent setting for the books]], with mentions in the background of Port Blacksand, the main location of Ian Livingstone's previous book ''Literature/CityOfThieves''.