History Main / MuckingInTheMud

* This was a major factor in the outcome of the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War, with heavier-armored french troops getting bogged down by a muddy battlefield.

** One area in ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' is a thick marsh. You'll move more slowly both on the overworld and in battle sequences, though your enemies are, of course, completely unaffected.
** Castor Wilds in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' consists of a quicksand-like marsh with safe zones in the form of raised land. Traversing it safely requires getting ahold of the Pegasus Shoes, which let you dash across before the muck can take hold.

* ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' has poisonous swamp water in Satorl Marsh.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' has several levels set in swamps that play this straight.

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* A segment of [[Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs "The Ballad of Big Al"]] shows 2 Allosaurus falling victim to a mud trap after trying to scavenge a Stegosaurus carcass.
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* In the ''Series/JurassicFightClub'' episode "Bloodiest Battle", 2 Stegosaurus and a Camarasaurus wind up trapped in the mud near a river, while an attacking Ceratosaurus and Allosaurus avoid getting stuck because their more spread out feet allow them to walk on the hard top layer without breaking through.

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-->'''The Duck Man''': I used to mess about in boats when I were a boy.
-->'''Coffin Henry''': We could [[RussianReversal boat about in mess]].

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* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'': Kyril is displeased with the mud in Scathlocke, for it, along with the cold and humidity, are responsible for bogging down the soldiers under his command.

* One of the special minigames had this feature in ''VideoGame/MarioParty 7''.

* Castor Wilds in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' consists of a quicksand-like marsh with safe zones in the form of raised land. Traversing it safely requires getting ahold of the Pegasus Shoes, which let you dash across before the muck can take hold.

* One area in ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' is a thick marsh. You'll move more slowly both on the overworld and in battle sequences, though your enemies are, of course, completely unaffected.

* As UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball games are played in any kind of weather (save those that are direct threats to players or fans like thunderstorms), there have been several Mud Bowls or similarly-named slopfests in the history of the NFL and college football. One of these was a 2007 Monday Night Football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins, where heavy rain turned the field into heavy mud that kept the game scoreless until just 17 seconds left, with the Steelers getting a 26-yard field goal to win 3-0. At one point in the 3rd quarter a punt resulted in the ball just going splat when it landed on the field without any kind of bounce at all.

* As AmericanFootball games are played in any kind of weather (save those that are direct threats to players or fans like thunderstorms), there have been several Mud Bowls or similarly-named slopfests in the history of the NFL and college football. One of these was a 2007 Monday Night Football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins, where heavy rain turned the field into heavy mud that kept the game scoreless until just 17 seconds left, with the Steelers getting a 26-yard field goal to win 3-0. At one point in the 3rd quarter a punt resulted in the ball just going splat when it landed on the field without any kind of bounce at all.

[[quoteright:320:[[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mucking_in_the_mud.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Gettin' dirty just to know the answer...]]

* A segment of [[Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs The Ballad of Big Al]] shows 2 Allosaurus falling victim to a mud trap after trying to scavenge a Stegosaurus carcass.

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* ''Roleplay/STOForumVersusThreadRP'': Eleya and Kang materialize in a swamp, and join forces after she gets stuck in the mud and he runs across her and rescues her.
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In some cases the bog may actually [[GrimyWater be hazardous to your health,]] dealing damage over time, [[QuicksandSucks acting like quicksand and swallowing you whole if you spend too long within,]] or applying some unpleasant StandardStatusEffects.

* ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' has shallow pools of purple goop that prevent the player from jumping or dashing, forcing them to search for a ramp to escape. The game also likes to hide [[AttackOfTheMonsterAppendage Tentacles]] just under the pool's surface to ambush you.

See also SwampsAreEvil and GrimyWater. Oddly enough, rarely combined with MudWrestling. Unrelated, except by name, to the old text game MUD and MUCK.

* ''Super Mario Strikers Charged'' has a stage known as ''The Dump'' which is muddy.

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* In ''VideoGame/GretelAndHansel 2'', Gretel can wade around the swamp but can't get across completely without her brother's help because of a snake that lurks halfway across.
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* The River Ankh in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' is very slow and polluted, so it's really more of a swamp than a river. ''Discworld/TheTruth'' has this:

This is a common subtrope of GeoEffects, where boggy or swampy areas drastically impede your movement. So long as you remain in here, you'll move at a snail's pace, vulnerable to passing enemies. [[JumpPhysics Your jumping, if applicable, may or may not be affected by this, and in fact you may be able to move quickly by repeatedly jumping in and out of the bog.]]

* In ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', Batman loses his first fight with the Mutant Leader, largely because age has reduced his speed and agility. He sets up a rematch in a mud pit, insuring that they'll ''both'' be moving slowly and ponderously.

* In the Series/JurassicFightClub episode "Bloodiest Battle", 2 Stegosaurus and a Camarasaurus wind up trapped in the mud near a river, while an attacking Ceratosaurus and Allosaurus avoid getting stuck because their more spread out feet allow them walk on the hard top layer without breaking through.

* Applied OnceAnEpisode in the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' series: Made extra annoying because it limits the quality of your rolls and slows you immensely, unless you spend stamina to run around faster.

** In double battles, by using Water Pledge and Grass Pledge at the same time, the ground beneath the opposing team's feet is turned into swamp for four turns, which makes them move four times slowlier.

* Jungles are the worst possible terrain for any kind of divisions in ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIronII''. Armoured divisions barely make any progress at all, all troop types suffer massive penalties and on top of that they can easily start shrinking due to attrition if your supply lines and techs aren't on par. Marshes are almost as bad, but at least there's usually no attrition and Marine divisions suffer less penalties to combat and movement.

* Happens a few times in WesternAnimation/CraigOfTheCreek

* In WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys episode "Forget Me Not", some elephants are shown taking a mud bath. This takes a dark turn when one of them gets stuck in another pit of mud and pulling her free requires the Thornberry's camper van.
* In the WesternAnimation/MyFriendRabbit episode "Muddy Puddle", rabbit tries to cross a dried up river bank only to get stuck when his inflated shoes break. Thunder, Hazel and the ducklings also get trapped and eventually they're all freed when Edweena gives them a log to climb onto.
* In the [[Series/BigBag Slim Pig]] episode "StickySituation", a game of fetch goes wrong when Dog ends up stuck in a mud puddle. Fortunately, he breaks free to continue playing fetch.