Grimtooth's Traps: April Fools' Fun, Troll-Style

In honor of April 1st, what could be better than getting our “gullible” on with Rediscovered Realms and seeing some of the devious (and sometimes ludicrous) fantasy RPG trap designs & artwork from that old rascally troll, Grimtooth?

“Assembled herein are one hundred and one catastrophic traps, sinister snares, engines of evil,and deadly devices, with passing comments made on a folio of fearsome fates . . . in all, one hundred and one ways to influence delvers, tunnelers, and all player characters” - Grimtooth’s Traps (first volume)

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Grimtooth’s Traps was first published in 1981 by Flying Buffalo (of Tunnels & Trolls fame). It became a beloved resource for Game Masters looking for devious traps to challenge their players.

The campy books contain a collection of cunning traps contributed by various creators, including some names you may recognize.

I remember my friends and I finding these books at our local game store and thinking they were one of the best and funniest things in the world. The problem was is if you used them too much, it really led to almost instantaneous overkill!

After the success of the 1st volume in 1981, “Grimtooth’s Traps Too” came out in 1982.

Then “Grimtooth’s Traps Fore” in 1986

Then “Grimtooth’s Traps “Ate” in 1989

All the covers and most of the interior illustrations were done by Steven S. Crompton, except for “Traps Fore” where the interior illustration artist was Michael von Glahn. (Although I suspect that Liz Danforth did some of the illustrations of Grimtooth himself, as she is listed under the credits for: “Grimtooth’s Makeup”)

The volumes were organized by type of trap:

• Room Traps

• Corridor Traps

• Door Traps

• Items and Artifacts Traps

• Things Traps

• (Volume “Ate” added a new category, “Food Traps”)

Speaking of nefarious traps . . . Did you catch this Rediscovered Realms newsletter about that pesky D&D baddie, The Mimic?

And each trap entry had a number of skulls to rank it’s deadliness factor.

These books were all part of the system-agnostic “Catalyst Series” of role playing game supplements by Flying Buffalo.

Other famous supplements in the Catalyst series besides Grimtooth’s Traps included the Citybook series, Maps series, and Lejentia Campaigns

Another awesome RPG supplement back in the day was TSR’s own Dungeon Magazine. Explore the first 3 ever made:

Here’s 9 other hand-selected traps from the first 4 volumes (I’ll let you decide how deadly or goofy they are!):

Like funny fantasy comics? Check out some of the best Funnys from the annals of Dragon Magazine!

Can’t get enough magic items? Did you catch our newsletter on Role Aids “Fantastic Treasures”?

The 1990s included: “Grimtooth’s Traps Lite”, “Grimtooth’s Dungeon of Doom”, “Grimtooth’s Traps Bazaar”.

I was surprised to find there was a Kickstarter back in 2015 that compiled most of the Grimtooth volumes into a 460-page hardcover book called “Grimtooth’s Ultimate Traps Collection”!

Then there was “Grimtooth’s Trapsylvania” in 2019 and the legendary lost 8th Grimtooth book - “Grimtooth’s Lair”.

And I don’t know how I missed this, but just this past November, there was a Backerkit campaign for “Grimtooth’s Old-School Traps”, fully statted for D&D 5e and Dungeon Crawl Classics that will be released sometime later this year!

BTW: Did you know you can get electronic updated versions of some of Grimtooth’s volumes on DriveThruRPG?

“101 devilish, devious, death-dealing engines of destruction calculated to terrify dungeon-delvers of all types. This is the original book from 1981, digitally redone by the artist, Steve Crompton. Includes a (humorous) description of each trap, and a (fiendish) illustration by Steve. Includes new art.”

Looks like they’re heavily discounted at the time of this writing!

Who is this “Grimtooth” fellow anyway?

He first appeared on the cover of Tunnels & Trolls (5th edition) and then in SA (“Sorcerer’s Apprentice”) Magazine, where his visage and vitriolic commentary could be read in the “Trolltalk” column and often in other places throughout the magazine.

Explore SA Magazine with Rediscovered Realms:

It was fun seeing the “101st” trap section at the end of each volume. This was written in 1st person by Grimtooth and featured some puzzles/ciphers for the reader to figure out.

And there you have it - a sampling of the mad-genius of Grimtooth (and dozens of other sick minds) who want nothing better for you Adventurers than to enjoy some April-Fools’-Type fun (or an occasional uproarious maiming).

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Upkeep of the Realms ain’t cheap. Rediscovered Realms’ subjects wanted me to thank you in advance for any and all donations to keep the kingdom safe from marauders and of course, to Keep the Adventure Going Strong!

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Other News from The Realms

• Epic Tolkien Giveaway Contest about to conclude!

  • Rediscovered Realms is celebrating reaching 1,000 subscribers by drawing one name from our current roster of subscribed adventurers (must be subscribed here by 11:59 PM PDT March 31, 2024).

  • We’re keeping the celebration going, though. Tune in next week to see what’s in store for the next Epic Giveaway Contest!

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• Award-winning game designer, James Ward, passed away on 3/18.

  • James was an O.G. (“Original Gamer”) and integral to so many of TSR’s products, including: Dungeons & Dragons modules, 1 on 1 Adventure Gamebooks, Endless Quest books, Catacombs Solo Quest, Deities & Demigods, Greyhawk Adventures, Forgotten Realms novels (including Pool of Radiance), Gamma World, and more.

  • He also was the creator of the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game, Westeros Game of Thrones Miniatures rules, and more.

  • James was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame in 1989. Rest in Peace, Jim, and thank you for the gift of your imagination.

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• Starting April 11th, D&D-branded Converse shoes will start to be available.

  • Luke Gygax (son of D&D creator, Gary Gygax) also came out with his own shoe line a few months back. We featured them here on Rediscovered Realms in December in the “Other News from The Realms” section of this newsletter.

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• LEGO Dungeons & Dragons set releasing on April 1st (for LEGO Insiders. General Release is April 4th)! The special incentive to buy? An included buildable LEGO D&D Mimic Dice Box!

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• Check out this epic fan art of Gandalf battling the Balrog by julienverge_art on Instagram.

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• Here are some impressively interesting recent Fantasy Substack newsletter editions you should check out:

  • Just The Axe, Ma'am #8

  • S&S Roundup #35

  • The Skeletons

  • Thoughts on "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie"

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Another week down (and another month!) Have fun, but be safe out there, Adventurer - sometimes the traps of life are harsh and unforgiving, while other times they may be as whimsical as having bowling balls hurled at your bound body by gigantic monsters.

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.” — Dr. Seuss

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Do you love heroic fantasy gamebooks like me? Consider signing up to be informed when I launch my very 1st one!

(Featuring artwork from Clyde Caldwell & Luke Eidenschink!)

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