Line #77 TabletopGame/TombOfHorrors


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6	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tombofhorrors.jpg]]
7	[-[[caption-width-right:350: 33 Years before VideoGame/DarkSouls, and MORE deadly]]-]
8
9	->''Tomb of Horrors is one of the all-time classic Dungeons & Dragons adventure modules. It is, in the true sense of the word,'' infamous ''for being one of the most devious and impossibly difficult adventures ever written. Anyone who has ever played this adventure has had characters die horribly in the Tomb.''
10	-->--''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'', [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0005.html Search and Destroy]]
11
12	''Tomb of Horrors'' is a module released for the original ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. In it, a group of adventurers travel to the titular tomb to fight the demilich Acererak and recover any loot found along the way. The only problem? The tomb is filled with dozens of deathtraps. Ridiculously hard to figure out and frustrating, ''Tomb of Horrors'' is one of the most infamous adventures for any campaign, and is called a "meat grinder" by many gamers for good reason.
13
14	The adventure's reputation is due primarily to its use in an early ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (now referred to as '[[TabletopGame/OriginalDungeonsAndDragons Original D&D]]') tournament, in which players were competing against other teams... not to ''beat'' the dungeon, but to see who could solve the most traps and puzzles before the (virtually certain) TotalPartyKill. A few years later, it was published as one of ''[[TabletopGame/AdvancedDungeonsAndDragons1stEdition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]'' (what is now called 'first edition AD&D') premade adventure 'modules' (albeit an adventure with a 'very high risk' disclaimer), ''S1: The Tomb of Horrors''. Out of print for many years, it has been made available again as a PDF.
15
16	In 1998, a sequel adventure written by Bruce R. Cordell - Return to the Tomb of Horrors - was released for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition ruleset.
17
18	Many years after the original module debuted, an updated version for use with the ''D&D'' [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition 3.5 ruleset]] was available as a free download from [[http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051031a the Wizards of the Coast Web site]]. This heavily reduced the lethality, partly due to the differences in edition rules, primarily due to general AdaptationDecay; rather than a perfect replication under the 3.5 ruleset of the original super-lethal module, the official update is actually a standard, mostly-balanced dungeon crawl, aimed for level 9 characters. Not only are there few of the classic traps from the original left in, the Acererak encountered at the dungeon's end is actually a [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil CR12]] "fake demilich construct" - the 'Demilich' monster had not undergone the same AdaptationDecay as the adventure itself, and the new designers felt gamers would not appreciate a FailureIsTheOnlyOption dungeon.
19
20	The Tomb of Horrors is located in the ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'' setting, but can be adapted to almost any other setting with minimum fuss.
21
22	There are two versions in [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFourthEdition Fourth Edition]]. One is merely a conversion of the old tomb. The other a rather long campaign that is a sequel to Cordell's ''Return to the Tomb of Horrors'', taking place over the course of four separate "tombs" (a Feywild graveyard, the city of Moil within the Shadowfell, a city built around the ruins of the original Tomb, and finally Nerull's tomb within the plane of Pluton) as Acererak works to ascend to godhood and beyond.
23
24	A [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition Fifth Edition]] version was released on April 4, 2017 in the ''Tales from the Yawning Portal'' adventure collection, alongside 5th Edition versions of the classic adventures ''Against the Giants'', ''Dead in Thay'', ''Forge of Fury'', ''Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan'', ''Sunless Citadel'', and ''White Plume Mountain''. While not as lethal as the original, owing to rule changes, it's still quite deadly, and the Acererak at the end is a proper demilich again with all the terrifying powers you'd expect him to have.[[note]]If anything he's ''worse'' than before, as he now has access to additional lair and legendary actions, whereas before all he'd do was steal souls.[[/note]]
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26	One of the storyline adventure modules to be released for 5th Edition concerns a version of the Tomb that Acererak constructed in the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'', called the ''TabletopGame/TombOfAnnihilation'', and concerns a strange curse: those who have been resurrected before slowly waste away to die again, while attempts to resurrect people completely fail. Consultation for the story of this particular module was done by Creator/PendletonWard.
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28	Completely unrelated to the similar sounding '''''Tome''' of Horrors'', a series of ''Monster Manual''-type books from Frog God Games which are dedicated to introducing new monsters and select old monsters from 1st and 2nd Edition ''D&D'' to 3.x Edition ''D&D'', ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', and ''Swords & Wizardry''.
29
30	'''Since EverythingIsTryingToKillYou inside the tomb, many of the tropes below will spoil its traps.'''
31	----
32	!! These works contain examples of:
33	[[folder:Tomb of Horrors]]
34
35	* ActuallyADoombot: [[spoiler: There is an earlier encounter that some players will think is Acererak but isn't. And later games and versions reveal that what the party fights at the end of the first game was a Demilich construct, not the real one.]]
36	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor:
37	** Gygax created the module in response to members of his original group (mainly Rob Kuntz and Luke Gygax) rampaging with abandon through the toughest dungeons Gygax had to offer.
38	** Within the dungeon, there is [[spoiler:an orange gem that purportedly has the ability to grant wishes. Unfortunately, any wish made upon it will be corrupted. Then, just for shits and giggles, the gem explodes, potentially killing everyone in the blast radius.]]
39	* BewareTheSkullBase: The Tomb lies beneath a blighted, rocky hill that looks like a large skull from the air. It's fitting for a place that's an infamous TempleOfDoom, the lair of an UndeadAbomination, and [[spoiler:SchmuckBait for overconfident adventurers.]]
40	* BoringButPractical: At least one group of adventurers has made it through without a single casualty by having a team of dwarves [[DungeonBypass dig around the traps and obstacles]] with non-magical mining equipment over the course of several weeks. The writers planned for ethereal travel, melding into stone, magical defenses, teleportation, etc. but never expected an ordinary pickaxe and a group of patient, careful adventurers.
41	* CollapsingLair: [[spoiler:Subverted. It's an illusion]].
42	* EmbeddedPrecursor: In the follow-up adventure, ''Return to the Tomb of Horrors''.
43	%%* EverythingTryingToKillYou: You're doomed.
44	%%* EvilSorcerer: Acererak.
45	* FightingAShadow:
46	** Even if you kill the Tortured Vestige, it reforms a day later as long as Moil exists.
47	** Acererak himself is a lich who cannot die unless you destroy his phylactery and the undead body he inhabits... and in ''Return'', he can possess any undead in the Fortress of Conclusion.
48	* GenderBender: There is a hallway filled with mist that reverses gender and alignment when you pass through. If you try to step back through it to reverse the effect, your alignment is changed back to normal, [[FirstLawOfGenderBending but not your gender]], and you take minor damage. Passing through a third time will change your gender back to normal, and also teleports you outside the dungeon -- without your clothes or equipment.
49	* GlowingGem: The PlayerCharacters can encounter a huge glowing orange gem which is a cursed Gem of Wishing.
50	* GoldenEnding: In ''Return to the Tomb of Horrors'' it ''is'' possible to save the souls and destroy Acererak; but this requires killing ''every'' single undead in the Fortress of Conclusion - including one he specifically set up near an escape pod - and then dissolving his phylactery. Since he has nowhere to go, he ceases to exist. (This is implied to be the {{canon}} ending, not that it stops Acererak from StayingAlive, at least a millennium later.)
51	* HandInTheHole: One of the more infamous {{Death Trap}}s used. [[spoiler:The hole in question contains a ''Sphere of Annihilation''.]]
52	* {{Homage}}: One ''ComicStrip/{{Nodwick}}'' strip had the heroes go through the Tomb of Horrors. Naturally, Nodwick was killed a lot (being used as a shield and bait by his teammates even in ordinary dungeons), and claimed he died more times here in one day than any other, but amazingly, the other three heroes avoided death. (Although Yeagar ''did'' fall victim to the first part - but not second part - of the GenderBender trap mentioned above.)
53	* HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace: Do not go astral or ethereal while in the Tomb. Ever. [[spoiler:Doing this is a very good way to get set upon and most likely flayed alive by Type I-IV demons]].
54	* HopelessBossFight: You are ''not'' supposed to be able to beat the Tortured Vestige. You are supposed to run.
55	* JackassGenie
56	** There's a cursed gem that purports to grant wishes. [[spoiler:It gives you the ''opposite'' of what you wished for... and then it explodes.]]
57	** There's also an efreeti in an urn who will grant wishes. [[spoiler:If you tried to bargain with him before opening the urn, he perverts the party's wishes. If you roughly handled the urn, he just outright attacks you. If you free him without asking for anything in return, however, he grants the wishes without any malice.]]
58	* KleptomaniacHero: The remake has to explain, in great detail, how all the [[FantasyMetals adamant]] and {{mithril}} gates and doors are just magically hardened to resemble these mythical metals, and if removed would lose this enchantment. This is because in the original version, savvy players would find ways to detach and steal them, as these metals are ''very'' valuable.
59	* KillerGameMaster: Acererak created the tomb of horrors filled with deadly pitfalls and DeathTrap's and started rumors of its many treasures...to lure countless thousands of adventurers in to die within the Tomb so that he can absorb their souls and increase his powers.
60	* LavaPit: One hallway ''tilts'' to dump you in.
61	* LoadBearingBoss: [[spoiler:After you kill Acererak, you have to run out of a collapsing dungeon. Only if you go back, you find out the tunnel collapse was an illusion and the Acererak you killed was fake. He has a twisted sense of humor, and so does Gary.]]
62	-->''If the party runs out, [[EvilGloating ask them if they thought it was too hard a dungeon]].''
63	* LoopholeAbuse: A group of adventurers managed to kill Acererak by using one of the dungeon's traps (the crown) against him. Gary Gygax approved of this method - and then [[ObviousRulePatch made it impossible for the crown to be removed from its chamber]].
64	%%* MalevolentArchitecture: The entire tomb.
65	* MonsterShapedMountain: The entrance to the infamous tomb is through one of the openings in a skull-shaped cliff.
66	* MythologyGag: Acererak appears in the 3.5 Tome of Magic as one possible use for a PowersViaPossession based class. The entry on him states that the Tomb of Horrors was purposely set up to kill as many adventurers as possible as part of a scheme by Acererak to achieve godhood.
67	* NintendoHard: As ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'' is to video games, [[PlatformHell this module is to dungeon crawls]].
68	* TheNudifier: There are several traps which teleport ''the target'' to the entrance and all their ''clothes and equipment'' to the demilich's lair.
69	* ObviousRulePatch:
70	** In the 3.5 update, the crown cannot be removed from the chamber it's in. This prevents players from weaponizing it.
71	** All adamantium doors in 3.5 are made of magical "adamantium-like" material that loses its power if the door is removed. (Because adventurers will find ways to loot things even if they are nailed down; previous groups would get rich by stealing and selling the doors made of super-hard super-rare metal.)
72	* PartyScattering: The demilich Acererak had the ability to teleport the {{PC}}s attacking it up to 600 miles away in random directions.
73	* PressStartToGameOver: Your party has a high chance of dying before even entering the actual tomb.
74	* RiversOfBlood: If the valves of mithril are cut by a sharp weapon they will gush forth a river of blood - the blood of all of the creatures that have died within the Tomb. If not stopped, it will fill the room to the ceiling.
75	* RocksFallEveryoneDies: Likely to be ''the first thing that happens'', since of the three possible entrances of the Tomb, one is this and another is TheWallsAreClosingIn. You thought we were kidding about the sadism, didn't you?
76	* RuleOfThree: [[ExploitedTrope Exploited]]. There's one hallway behind a secret door which has three doors in it, each of which has a spike-filled pit behind it. The idea is that after the first two, the party will mostly ignore the third, and will continue on their way, where they'll run right into [[LavaPit another horrible trap]]. The real way to continue is via a hidden door in the third pit.
77	* SadisticChoice: The 3.5 module has two likely endings, one where Acererak escapes to a different world but you've released thousands of souls trapped in his phylactery (and it would take years for him to regain his power), or you destroy the phylactery with Acererak in it and condemn thousands of innocents to a FateWorseThanDeath.
78	* SchmuckBait: The entire thing. Both in-universe and out. The BigBad built the dungeon in order to attract, and then kill, adventurers. Why go out searching for powerful magic items when you can just get their owners to bring them to you? And in real life, there's a certain kind of player that can't resist the idea of challenging the world's hardest D&D module...
79	** Truth is, the original module of Tomb of Horrors isn't particularly rewarding in monetary treasure or magic items, and since there are very few combats, it isn't particularly rewarding in ExperiencePoints either. Also, a Fighter would need [[spoiler:a [[InfinityPlusOneSword +5 Vorpal Sword]] to damage the lich. There aren't any of those in the whole tomb; the poor fighter needs to bring his own InfinityPlusOneSword if he wants just one chance against the demilich.]] Subverted in the original module for players [[KleptomaniacHero savvy enough to steal the valuable metals used to construct the tomb]] instead of focusing on the magic items. Hence the ObviousRulePatch in the 3.5 version.
80	** Another example is Acererak's treasure: [[spoiler:An incredible set of magic items. All of which doubles as Acererak's [[SoulJar phylactery]]. So, you have to destroy the better part of the loot, or the lich will regenerate itself. Inside your new magic toy.]]
81	* SelfHealingPhlebotinum: The [=PC=]s can encounter a huge orange GlowingGem which is a cursed Gem of Wishing. If one of them dares to touch the gem and make a Wish, the gem will explode, leaving a mass of stinking purplish mold which bubbles and chuckles. In 1 week the mass will reform as the glowing orange gem.
82	* SoulJar: Acererak's, of course; one fueled by thousands of souls.
83	* SpikesOfDoom: All over the place. Also, they're all poisoned. And some of them fire up at you.
84	* TookALevelInBadass: After being replaced by a fake demilich construct in 3.5, Acererak is back to being a proper demilich in fifth edition, [[OhCrap and with a whole host of new abilities]].
85	* TotalPartyKill: Would be the whole point, if killing just one PC at a time wasn't just as common.
86	* TrialAndErrorGameplay: Parties will need to do a lot of this to get through the maze.
87	%%* YouHaveToBurnTheWeb
88	* YourSoulIsMine: One of the most dreaded powers of Acererak. [[spoiler:It's also the whole point of building the dungeon, to lure adventurers and steal the souls of the hardiest]].
89	[[/folder]]
90	----
91	[[folder:The 4th edition superadventure]]
92	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: A ''very'' downplayed example, but 4th Edition Acererak is more of a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds than the usual version, as he's had a miserable life due to being a cambion, with even his parents shunning him. It's explicitly stated that his whole reason for creating the Tomb is due his [[FreudianExcuse insecurities,]] and his whole reason for placing riddles is basically so he can say "I gave you a bunch of clues to make it easier, and you still failed!"
93	* DeadlyUpgrade: [[spoiler:Towards the end of the campaign, when the [=PC=]s find and destroy Acererak's phylactery, the final battle has him making a last-ditch effort to keep hold of the power he has gained until he can create a new phylactery -- and he does this by using the [[ArtifactOfDoom Eye of Vecna]]]].
94	* {{Doppelganger}}: One encounter has the players facing themselves, and they have to roll to make sure there isn't any FriendlyFire.
95	* EvilPlan: Acererak's plan in the 4E version of Tomb of Horrors is to [[spoiler:harness the power of dead gods, up to and including the one murdered by Asmodeus]].
96	* FallenAngel: Acererak managed to corrupt two angels, and they're hard to beat.
97	* ManEatingPlant: Or rather, the plant will [[spoiler:eat your soul]].
98	%%* NeverMessWithGranny: The Crone statue.
99	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In one of the other 4E super adventures, ''Revenge of the Giants'', [=PC=]s can travel back in time as part of a fetch-quest where they encounter [[spoiler:and kill (unless they convince the arrogant wizard to give up the goods peacefully by passing a laundry list of tough skill checks)]] a still-human Acererak. [[spoiler:He rises 1d10 days later as a lich, "starting his path to ultimate darkness and evil"]].
100	[[/folder]]

Context TabletopGame / TombOfHorrors