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{{quote|''Another day, another death course...''|'''Ratchet''', ''[[Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsenal]]''}}
The linear version of the [[Death Trap]], the
'''These can be found in:'''
* [[Temple of Doom|Ancient temples]], where they are driven by [[Durable Deathtrap|very durable]] [[Bamboo Technology]].
* [[Supervillain Lair
* [[Eternal Engine|Factories]], if they are damaged and were [[No OSHA Compliance|unsafe to start with]].
'''Any of the pitfalls included under [[Death Trap]] may be used in the
* The dart launchers, triggered by the passing of the hero (an automatic machine gun, in modern settings).
* The [[Indy Escape|giant rolling stone ball]], always an [[Indiana Jones]] [[Homage]].
* [[Trap Door
* [[One-Way Entrance]]s
* [[Surprise Slide Staircase|Stairs that become slides]]
* Mines
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* [[Advancing Wall of Doom]]
* The [[Corridor Cubbyhole Run]].
* And, of course, [[Bottomless Pits]] and/or [[Pit Trap
The
▲The [[Death Course]] makes a mundane walk in the park into a slightly less sadistic version of football training camp. It's common in [[Video Game Tropes|video games]] where [[Everything Trying to Kill You|hazards are commonplace]], and action series. Sometimes, there are [[Dungeon Bypass|Dungeon Bypasses]] available.
{{examples}}
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* ''[[Hanaukyo Maid Tai|Hanaukyo Maid Tai: La Verité]]'' has one hidden under the front lawn of the mansion.
* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', Ed discovers one of these on his way into the Fifth Laboratory. After the first few traps, though, he gets sick of it and transmutes the hallway to have perfectly smooth, unbroken walls and walks straight through.
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* The Dog Race in ''[[Deadman Wonderland]]'' features swinging pendulum blades, flamethrowers, electrified water, and a disintegrating floor that empties into a pit of spikes. Because DW is a ''publicly open'' prison/themepark, the horrific deaths and disfigurations that result from this race explained as "special effects" a la a stunt show.
* A very short over-land one shows up in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog The Movie]]'', consisting mainly of about a half-dozen spike traps and an ambush by a swarm of Buzzbombers.
* One features in the second episode of ''[[Angel Beats!]]'' in the form of anti-Angel traps on the path to Guild which the heroes must themselves traverse. They don't see it is a big deal because in their world, [[Death Is Cheap]].
* [[Gintama]] had one in an episode involving an art museum. It included a [[Corridor Cubbyhole Run]], [[Spikes of Doom]], a treadmill floor and {{spoiler|[[It Makes Sense in Context|a 100% normal old man, his wife, their son and their grandson riding on said treadmill]]}}
* An episode of ''Amagi Brilliant Park'' features major characters Kanie Seiya, Sento Isuzu, Moffle, Tirami, and Macaron finding their way into one. When the first huge ball comes rolling down the hallway, Tirami and Macaron scream, "A cliché trap!" Then the spears and sword blades start jabbing or slicing out of the walls, Isuzu and Macaron fall through trap doors....
== Comic Books ==
* This is Arcade's MO - for a fee, he'll ''capture'' heroes and put them in a death trap (''Murderworld'') of his own devising. One wonders why villains don't just pay him to capture and collect their unconscious foes.
** Because that's Arcade's 'thing'.
** He is also willing to rent his courses out to various villains so that they can train.
* The [[Don Rosa]] Scrooge McDuck story "Treasure of the Ten Avatars".
* The [[X-Men]]'s Danger Room, in its first incarnation, is one of these, although controlled by the participants.
* In an issue of ''[[Catwoman (
* A hero-villain inversion occurs in ''[[Sin City]]''. [[Heroic Sociopath|Marv]] sets fire to [[Serial Killer|Kevin's]] house, lures him out with gunshots, tries to trip him up with razor wire, sets up his coat as a decoy, tries to lob his head off with a hatchet, and then just resorts to handcuffing him and punching him in the face.
== Film ==
* The ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' films, but most notably the opening sequence of ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', as noted above.
* In ''[[Galaxy Quest]]'', the characters are moving through a spaceship based on the one in the TV show they starred in. When there's a
{{quote|
* The execrable ''[[Dungeons
* The opening of the "Weird Al" Yankovic movie ''[[UHF (film)|UHF]]'' is a loving parody of the famous [[Indiana Jones]] sequence, right down to the giant rolling stone ball. However, this one can navigate and turn corners.
* Let's not forget the path into Alcatraz in ''[[The Rock]]''.
* [[James Bond (film)|James Bond]] movies:
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* The entrance to Lex Luthor's lair in ''[[Superman (film)|Superman]]'', particularly in the extended cut of the movie that didn't make it into theaters.
* The tunnel network explored by ''[[The Goonies]]'' certainly qualifies; while it didn't kill anyone in the movie, its traps had caused the death of Mr. Copperpot some decades before.
* Inverted in the ''[[Home Alone]]'' series, in that it's the ''villains'' who are forced to negotiate a
* Shifu's temple from ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'' has one of these.
* One appears in the song [[Training Montage|"One Last Hope"]] from ''[[Hercules (
* In 1972's anthology ''Tales From The Crypt'', the abusive manager of a home for the blind gets his comeuppance when the visually-impaired men he's been mistreating lock him in his office and construct a
== Literature ==
* In the ''[[Alex Rider]]'' book ''Eagle Strike'', Alex is thrown into an exact replica of a Aztec level of a video game by the game's creator. This features darts, slippery surfaces, a robot snake which is a real snake in body armor and two Aztec gods (guards in costume).
* Near the end of ''Inheritance,'' (the last book of the ''[[Inheritance Cycle]]') Eragon, Saphira, Elva, Arya, and eleven other elves make their way through a hallway filled with traps to get to [[The Big Bad]].
* In [[Matthew Reilly]]'s books ''Seven Deadly Wonders'' and ''The Six Sacred Stones'' almost all the action sequences take place in
* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' books, it is heavily implied that Lord Vetinari has one of these set up in the passage that leads to Leonard of Quirm's cell. Or maybe that's just what he wants you to think.
** Leonard apologizes earnestly for designing it, so it is far more likely to be true.
** The Lost Jewelled Temple Of Doom Of Offler The Crocodile God (from ''[[
*** Maybe not. Given their reaction when Death arrives, it seems Mrs. Cake might already have been...
** ''Small Gods'' features this as a security precaution against visiting dignitaries from hostile lands. They didn't count on the main character's photographic memory.
* In the [[Young Bond]] novel ''Hurricane Gold'', El Hurican has ''La Avenida de la Murete'': a death course where all the challenges are based on legends of the Mayan gods.
* The titular castle ''[[Malevil]]'' is well, ''[[Shaped Like Itself|a castle]]''. See the [[Real Life]] section below.
== Live-Action TV ==
* ''[[Angel]]'' runs through one of these to save Darla's life, though it should be noted that this was set up for the explicit purpose of testing the mettle of applicants to a specific and quite powerful supernatural favor.
* British game show ''[[The Crystal Maze]]'' (hosted by Richard "Riff-Raff" O'Brien of ''[[Rocky Horror Picture Show]]'' fame) presented a much-toned down version as the central set piece of the program.
* ''[[MacGyver]]'' features several death courses, some linear, some (implicitly) not, typically they are associated with his arch-nemesis Murdoc. One particularly blatant episode (which has a rather "Man with the Golden Gun" feel) involved a reformed Murdoc enlisting Mac's help {{spoiler|to save Murdoc's sister}}, and being forced to traverse a linear
* The game shows ''[[Legends of the Hidden Temple]]'', ''Viking: The Ultimate Warrior'' and ''Sasuke'' (known as ''[[Ninja Warrior]]'' in North America) have these either as stages or take place within them entirely. (The games in ''[[Takeshi's Castle]]'', known in America as ''[[MXC]]'', are too separated to count.)
* The obstacles in ''[[Knightmare]]'' - the only children's game show where you could (virtually) die by being impaled on spikes, sawn in half by giant blades, having your head knocked off by flying bits of masonry, falling into bottomlessness after stepping on the wrong tile of an Indiana Jones-style causeway, and so on and so forth.
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** ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'' loved this trope. Another episode had a Death Course in the form of {{spoiler|an agent-killing automated factory}}.
* The episode "Legacy" of ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' had a villain who would capture and put anyone he deemed useless to society (prostitutes, junkies, vagrants, etc.) in a meat plant he had inherited, which he filled with such pleasant things as vicious dogs, noxious gas spewing vents and a room filled entirely with broken glass. Though he told his captives that he would let them go if they found the exit within a certain amount of time this appeared to just [[I Lied|be a means of inspiring false hope]] and in the end he'd just vivisect them with lots of nasty looking tools.
== Tabletop Games ==
* In ''[[Robo Rally]]'', each of the players navigates a robot through a
* ''[[Tomb of Horrors]]''. Enough said.
== Video Games ==
* ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'', most particularly 2, where a
▲* ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'', most particularly 2, where a [[Death Course]] is seen as a training ground for the Shadow Thieves of Amn.
* ''[[Tomb Raider]]'', in which most of the tombs are equipped with diabolical anti-raider devices.
* ''[[Prince of Persia]]'', since day one, has had these in every castle of the ancient world. There are some paranoid sultans out there, apparently. (In ''Prince of Persia: Sands of Time'', it's slightly more
* Arguably, most parts of the ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]'' series not concerning killing undead skeletons are Death Courses.
** However, the game has two areas that are intentional Death Courses, rather than being naturally inhospitable or dangerous due to damage: The Temple of Pandora (including the Cliffs of Madness), and Hades. The Temple of Pandora is [[Justified Trope|justified]], as it's explicitly designed for the sole purpose of killing anyone unworthy of obtaining Pandora's Box.
* ''[[Sly Cooper]]'' has had its share, as well.
* The ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' games are mostly a combination of the various types of Death Courses, with most of the pitfalls included.
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*** {{spoiler|Taking a mysterious crystal from an inter-dimensional bureaucrat who comes from nowhere tells you to "prepare for unforeseen consequences" and bombarding said crystal with lasers is safe? I mean, I suppose such a thing is so ridiculous that OSHA hasn't covered it, but still. Come on.}} {{spoiler|1=Actually OSHA has a catchall regulation just for "You just did something so absolutely and clearly dangerous to your employees you blew our minds. We could never imagine somebody being so stupid. Here's your fine. You're not going to get off on 'well you didn't tell me [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|not to specifically do this]]'." It's called the [http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=OSHACT&p_id=3359 General Duty Clause.] }}
*** Well, they WERE worried about if something goes wrong. They just thought it was very unlikely. You get lines of dialog of arguing scientist before the test. Unfortunately, the person complaining is right.
* In ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]'', the entire Aperture Science Enrichment Center appears expressly designed to murder its test subjects by exposure to vaporizing balls of energy, highly toxic liquids, fatal drops, hyperactive sentry
* In ''[[Portal 2]]'', it's turned [[Up to Eleven]]. Not only are the tests back, with some new elements like high energy lasers, but there are two sequences where the AI in charge resorts to the [[Malevolent Architecture]] of the Enrichment Center in an attempt to kill you directly, and you are forced to run for it through gauntlets of crushing walls and endless drops. Further, in the second act of the game, you descend into the abandoned test facilities beneath the modern ones, which make you contend not only with the tests but also all the broken catwalks and decaying environments between them.
* First two ''[[Max Payne (series)|Max Payne]]'' games have a level where you have to run through a building as it is burning down around you, escaping by finding the "safe route" out of the fire and generally straight into the arms of the baddies.
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* The K'chekrik Gauntlet in ''[[Heretic]] 2''.
* The Gauntlet in ''[[Nox]]'', through which prospective Warriors must fight their way to show they've got what it takes.
* ''[[Mortal Kombat
** ''[[Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks]]'' has a good number of these.
** In the core games, there were Stage Fatalities, where the winner could use a feature of the area (like the Pit with spikes, the Dead Pool full of acid, or even a subway train) to finish off the opponent. From Deception onward, there were also Death Traps, which were like Brutalities (the ability kill the opponent without reducing his life bar to zero) using something in the area. The nastiest is likely the Falling Cliffs in Deception and Armageddon, which is a platform in a mountainous area that is constantly wracked by earthquakes; knocking a combatant off causes the unlucky fighter to be impaled on a long stalagmite. It's even possible for both players to be taken out by [[Mutual Kill]] here.<ref>In which case, whoever's health bar was less at the time that happens loses the round.</ref>
* This is the entire point of ''[[I Wanna Be the Guy]]''. It would be redundant to list the numerous things that will kill [[One-Hit-Point Wonder|The Kid]] throughout the game, but suffice to say that every single screen is enough to make the proudest [[Adventure Archaeologist]] [[Bowel-Breaking Bricks|shit bricks]].
* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' lets you build these as a very effective method of keeping your fortress safe from invaders. Interestingly, you can make an auxiliary entrance which invaders are forced to take when your drawbridge is up or your main entrance is sealed off in some other way. This entrance, of course, can be extremely long and extremely deadly.
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* Oni Island in ''[[Okami]]'' is a huge deathtrap... which is apparently entertainment for the local youkai. There are even ''rules'' for these areas posted on a small, hard to miss sign right before them. And don't get me started on Tobi, the game master for the largest of these death courses...
* In ''[[Star Wars]]: [[The Force Unleashed]]'', the Death Star level consists of a series of Laser Hallways ''on steroids''
* Jack Vambrace, Treasure Hunter, is first introduced to the party in ''[[Wild
* ''[[N]]'' in all its incarnations is just a ninja [[Le Parkour
* Games with level editors can allow players to make Death Courses. Such as a [[Mega Man Powered Up]] level where the floor and every platform are made from [[Spikes of Doom]], or a [[Halo|Halo3]] multiplayer map where all the teleporters and spawn points are placed outside the map's border.
* The world of ''[[Jumper (video game)|Jumper]]'' [[Death World|is basically this]].
* Forgotten FPS/RPG ''[[Strife]]'' features the Training Facility.
* ''[[Fun Orb]]'' has "Tomb Racer", a
* About halfway through [[Dead Space 2]], Tiedemann seals Isaac in a section of the Sprawl meant for processing hazardous waste. This includes several large, sharp, spinning objects that will kill you if you get too close. Which must be navigated in Zero G. Arguably the most fun part of the game.
* [[Orcs Must Die]] runs on you creating these, [[Smashing Hallway Traps of Doom|pushing, crushing, smashing]] piercing, slicing, [[Kill It with Fire|burning]], [[Shock and Awe|electricuting]], bludgeoning, freezing and [[Impaled with Extreme Prejudice|impaling]] hapless orcs.. Then there's the catapult trap which, when placed correctly, can catapult the orcs all the way back to the beginning of said deathcourse.
* The ''Nuka-World'' DLC for ''[[Fallout 4]]'' has one that is literally called “[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|The Gauntlet]]”, a death course that anyone entering the park much go through. This course has turrets, mines, hostile creatures, and even an “impossible” boss fight at the end, all for the entertainment of the raiders who occupy the park.
* Kind of subverted by good old ''[[8-Bit Theater
▲* Kind of subverted by good old ''[[8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|Eight Bit Theater]]'': To become the bearded warriors and therefore told the earth orbs location the light warriors are supposed to go through the [http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=031202 four hundred bearded trials of strength] which black mage solves (almost) single-handedly by [[Dungeon Bypass|hadokening the whole course]].
* In ''Reality Experiment'', one of the main characters has to run a death course to return to life after being killed. The price of failure is eternal torment. However, after being asked by the Grim Reaper('s assistant) to try to avoid the grinding gears at the beginning, since it jams the whole course and takes forever to clear up, the character throws the Grim Reaper into the gears to jam the whole course and run back to life.
* Most of Castle Heterodyne in ''[[Girl Genius]]'' has turned into one of these by the time Agatha enters it.
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* In ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'', the titular Dr. McNinja was hired to infiltrate an ancient temple full of these, blocking a tennis robot which supposedly destroys the world if it's not beaten in tennis.
* ''[[Darths and Droids]]'', Pete puts the party through the factory sequence from Attack of the Clones while subbing for the regular GM, all because of something that Jim and the others did in a previous RP. They eventually make it through by SHEER LUCK, as revealed in a review by the original GM, who remarks "Wow...I don't see how anyone could make it through this..."
** This becomes a [[Hoist by His Own Petard]] for Pete as, when the regular GM returns, Pete's character is forced to make his way back through his own
== Web Original ==
* The ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'' villain Minos is obsessed with ancient Greece. His headquarters is ''always'' hidden at the center of a maze-like
== Western Animation ==
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* In ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'', The Green Goblin sets up one of these for Spider-Man and Tombstone in a refinery with [[No OSHA Compliance]], stuffed to the gills with bombs.
* In a episode of ''[[Mucha Lucha]]'', Rikochet ends up taking on soccer, and is doing a rather... challenging drill. As exemplified by his coach: "You must run the course like your life depends on it! Because, a matter of fact... it does!"
* In ''[[Danny Phantom]]'', Fright Knight's entire ''castle'' is a
* The ''[[Thundercats]]'' episode ''Tower of Traps'' is, well, exactly as it says. It features a octopus type monster, swinging blades, trick stairs, and more. Fun for everyone involved!
** The ''[[Thundercats 2011|ThunderCats (2011)]]'' episode "Journey to the Tower of Omens" features a spinning blade version, and several other [[Booby Trap]] rooms in a [[Temple of Doom]] that blocks the way to the Tower of Omens.
* In the direct to video sequel ''[[An American Tail]]: The Treasure of Manhattan Island'', Fievel and his friends pass through a
* [[Adventure Time|Gauntlet]] [[Awesome but Impractical|Dock!]]
* In the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' episode "Read It and Weep", Daring Do faces two sets of these back to back, though we only ever see the first. Said course involves thrown axes, fire pits, crocodiles hanging from the ceiling, arrows, and spikes.
▲== Web Original ==
▲* The ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'' villain Minos is obsessed with ancient Greece. His headquarters is ''always'' hidden at the center of a maze-like [[Death Course]].
== Real Life ==
* Castles, trench lines and other fortifications are typically designed to be a death course, at least for the attacking army. [[Storming the Castle|Storming a properly built fortification]] using a direct assault in practically any time period is an absolute suicide
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Action Adventure Tropes]]
[[Category:Video Game Difficulty Tropes]]
[[Category:This Index Is in The Way]]
▲[[Category:index]]
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