GM: Suddenly an explosion is heard!
Ben: We draw our swords!
GM: And poison gas starts filling the room!
Jim: Oh God, it's Tomb of Horrors all over again.
Ben: We draw our swords!
GM: And poison gas starts filling the room!
Jim: Oh God, it's Tomb of Horrors all over again.
"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. Not only is it chock full of incredibly deadly monsters and unforgivingly lethal deathtraps, but in many cases the encounters and traps are triggered for no readily apparent reason, and cannot reasonably be avoided even by players exercising extreme caution. Anyone who has ever played this adventure has had characters die horribly in the Tomb.
You'd think this would make the Tomb of Horrors unpopular. On the contrary, it is regarded as one of the greatest D&D adventures ever published, which just goes to show you the mentality of many of the DMs who ran it. It's so popular that Wizards of the Coast revised it and released a version for 3.5 Edition D&D, which you can download for free to torment your current players."
You'd think this would make the Tomb of Horrors unpopular. On the contrary, it is regarded as one of the greatest D&D adventures ever published, which just goes to show you the mentality of many of the DMs who ran it. It's so popular that Wizards of the Coast revised it and released a version for 3.5 Edition D&D, which you can download
for free to torment your current players."— Darths & Droids, The Rant for the above strip
Gabe: I ran the Tomb of Horrors last night.
Tycho: And?
Gabe: Somebody lost their arm in the first room. After that, it was four hours of poking things with sticks and throwing shit through portals! They left the table haunted and demoralized.
Tycho: Mission accomplished, then, for the Tomb of Horrors.
Gabe: I thought they'd at least have fun!
Tycho: You're thinking about the Tomb of Jet-Skis and Handjobs. That's not even the same tomb.
Tycho: And?
Gabe: Somebody lost their arm in the first room. After that, it was four hours of poking things with sticks and throwing shit through portals! They left the table haunted and demoralized.
Tycho: Mission accomplished, then, for the Tomb of Horrors.
Gabe: I thought they'd at least have fun!
Tycho: You're thinking about the Tomb of Jet-Skis and Handjobs. That's not even the same tomb.
Roy's Archon: Just a word of warning while you're here: Be careful around the Hall of Characters That Died Without a Saving Throw. A lot of the guys are still testy about the "Tomb of Horrors".
Gary Gygax: Heh, heh, oh, man, Sphere of Annihilation in the statue's mouth. That never got old.
Gary Gygax: Heh, heh, oh, man, Sphere of Annihilation in the statue's mouth. That never got old.
I think it's a mistake to think of the Tomb as anything other than what it was intended. Gary's answer to players who came up to him saying "My character is unkillable. I've already killed the Tarrasque and Tiamat and Orcus and all the gods."
It's mostly a bunch of unsolvable "fuck yous" each of which is designed to kill your character without a roll.
If you're having the problem Gary had, then it sort of makes sense. Though I suspect there's about a million better ways to deal with that. Otherwise, pass.
Gwyntorias: I've heard of Tomb of Horrors. Isn't that an absolutely brutal dungeon crawl?
I. Hate. This. Module. I hate it with a passion. It's a pointless meatgrinder with traps that provide no clues. The treasure is mostly cursed, like the scepter that you have to leave behind or you're gonna be attacked by a greater demon as soon as you leave. The actual treasure at the end is wealth but you never we're going to keep those so a hundred and sixty thousand gold pieces that those gems were worth were completely worthless because you have to use the gems as ammunition against a demi lich because those are some of the only things that can hurt him. Because nothing the party possesses can hurt him. To actually hurt him you need spells that are way beyond your level. You need magic items that a party of your level is never going to realistically possess. To kill the thing you have to think outside the box but you have to think fast, 'cuz he's gonna eat one party member a turn, no save. And even if you do kill it, all you get is some minor gems and a bunch of magic items where half of them are cursed. The module punishes you even after you somehow beat it. This module was made to kill characters. It is a terrible adventure that should never be played because it sucks all the fun out of the game as it just kills one character after another for making "mistakes" like walking through the wrong door, touching the wrong part of the crown, or opening a door that offers no clue on the actual key. It exists to kill characters and does so without warning or mercy. The worst part is, this was written by Gary Gygax, who told you in the Dungeon Master's Guide you never kill players with traps without warning. This module ignores that advice more times that I care to count. But since I just spoiled the entire module for you, you don't have to play it, you can actually go play something fun. You're welcome.
Every turn and decision you make will often lead you to death or a complete middle finger to your character. I fully believe Gygax wrote this as a middle finger to his players, a way to say "f*** you" and make them dislike Dungeons & Dragons. If you want to punish someone, play the Tomb of Horrors. If you want to give yourself and your friends a headache, play the Tomb of Horrors. If you wanna ruin your campaign by throwing a seemingly legendary hard dungeon into it to challenge your players, but eventually have them all die and your players leave your campaign because that was the worst thing they have ever endured, play the Tomb of Horrors.
XP To Level 3, The Worst Dungeon Ever
''The Tomb of Horrors. A.K.A Gygax's "So You Think You Like D&D" the game. "You walk up to the front door. It has a shotgun." "Can I do anything about it?" "No." "Do I see it?" "Yes." "Can I disarm it?" "No, you're dead. Thanks for playing."
—Chris Zito, Team Four Star
