Killer GM Runs: Return to the Tomb of Horrors


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I GM'd this campaign in October 2002 under the 3.0 edition rules. I recently came across my very detailed notes that I took during this campaign which have made it possible for me to now chronicle this hilarious romp through the ultimate 1st edition dungeon crawl, for all of you humble Peeps, Sick Freaks, and Killer GM's sadistic enjoyment.

I also do this to honor Don "the Dying One" the best player of d&d I've ever met. His great love for the game, combined with his inattention to important details and the staggering number of player character fatalities that resulted are the stuff of legend. This brief campaign is one of Don's crowning achievements. I hope to have the first post up within a day or two.

Regards,
Killer GM


That's funny, as we just had a Tomb of Horrors game session last week. One of my players ran it, so I wasn't dming for a change, which was nice. We had 5 character fatalities in the session, which I figure is probably a pretty average start to that adventure. I tried to post the details of the game session on the weekend, but it was mysteriously gobbled up and I haven't rewritten it (the one time I don't use a word document and cut and paste, boooo!). Anyhow, I may have to redo it and see how our results compared.


P.H. Dungeon wrote:
That's funny, as we just had a Tomb of Horrors game session last week. One of my players ran it, so I wasn't dming for a change, which was nice. We had 5 character fatalities in the session, which I figure is probably a pretty average start to that adventure. I tried to post the details of the game session on the weekend, but it was mysteriously gobbled up and I haven't rewritten it (the one time I don't use a word document and cut and paste, boooo!). Anyhow, I may have to redo it and see how our results compared.

I may not have been in the campaign, but I know my good friend Don. You will not have as many fatalities, rest assured of that.


Allow me to concur with the wise Captain Jose.


Prelude:

The stated purpose for Don & Friend’s, PC’s attempting to conquer the Return to the Tomb of Horrors in the 2002 campaign, was to rescue Don “the Dying One’s” PC Sorcerer, who was lost in the 2001 Return to the Tomb of Horrors campaign, which the Dying One was a part of as well. Don's Sorceress in question, whom the Dying One described as physically appearing “like Baywatch’s Pamela Anderson”, was the victim of a Sink spell in the 2001 campaign, which entombed her beneath the earth until freed or dispatched by the bad guys. The Sorceress’ family offered to hire the current group of PC’s to find her and bring her back, alive if possible.

The 2001 Return to the Tomb of Horrors Campaign:
I’ll mention the 2001 Return to the Tomb of Horrors campaign just in passing. Not only was the Dying One a player in that campaign, but so were some other players who are currently in Turin the Mad’s two different Savage Tide Campaigns (which he has ongoing campaign journals for). Those players being: Haru, Lord Red of Neck, & Sir Ineptus. Also participating were the Brother of Sir Ineptus, ‘King of All Sarcasm’ (a long time group member who has not played with us since 2005), and of course, Don "the Dying One". Additionally I had several NPC characters for several of the Players to use when their previous character died and they didn’t have one ready for use immediately.
What I observed from behind the Monkey Screen (DM’s screen) in the 2001 campaign was that the Tomb of Horrors ultimately ‘wears the players down’ while methodically and cruelly wiping out their characters. It is a test of intelligence and mental endurance. Half of the players in the 2001 group were “Role-players” and the other half were Power-gaming Munchkins. None of them were the thinking, analytical & calculating type of players that Turin and myself are. This proved most unfortunate, and about halfway through the actual Tomb itself, the players began to unravel and the campaign plummeted into disaster. It proceeded as follows.
Prior to reaching Skull City and the Tomb of Horrors, the following player characters ‘bought the farm‘. First to go, was naturally, the Dying One's Female Fighter who was killed by the Boulder Trap in the Mountain Giant Lair above Desatysso's lair. “Millerins” the Rogue/Fighter/Blade Dancer, played by Sir Ineptus was critically hit and killed by a Mountain Giant (I used the stats for a Cloud Giant). The 13th level Cleric played by the Brother of Sir Ineptus and ‘Garret #1’, the 12th level Rogue played by King of All Sarcasm were drained and killed while sleeping by the Vampire Blaesing. Once within Skull City, “Kei Yung” the new Rogue/Fighter/Blade Dancer of Sir Ineptus was Disintegrated and killed by Instructor Ngise; and both the Dying One’s Sorcerer ‘Pam Anderson’ and the Brother of Ineptus’ Rogue PC fell victim to a Sink Spell trap and vanished down into the earth, and were not recovered.
The group then got into the tomb proper and the Tomb and its traps started to take their toll. While none of the PC’s were killed by a trap in the early parts of the Tomb, the players were continually trying to keep their characters alive, and the group’s penchant for Role-playing & power gaming were not helping matters. The group got to the “Chapel of Evil” in the tomb and withdrew into one of the earlier areas (one of the larger halls) to camp for the night. It was there that Mistress Ferranifer (Vampire Archmage) caught up with the group. Ferranifer’s Wail of the Banshee spell killed the Brother of Ineptus’ 13th level Wizard and ‘Garret #2’ Rogue of King of All Sarcasm. At that point the group began their rapid descent into self-destruction. The rest of the group then fled into the Tomb proper rather than fight a Vampire Archmage. Once the PC’s reached the ‘Chapel of Evil’ which was the fartherst point into the Tomb that they had reached previously, the PLAYER Lord Red of Neck angered the PLAYER HARU over something I don’t recall. A trap in the Tomb had caused the Haru’s Half Dragon PC to go insane, and it was at this point that things reached the breaking point. And after going through the Gender-Changing Archway TWICE, Haru elected to have his Half-Dragon PC Grapple Lord Red of Neck’s WereTiger PC(which he luckily did successfully thanks to a Natural 20 roll) and threw him threw the Gender-Changing Archway. At that point, the Player Lord Red of Neck was highly angry and declared intent to KILL all other player characters present. So in addition to having a Vampire Archmage ready to show up any moment and kill them, now the most dangerous PC in the group attempting to murder them off as well. The player characters fled in different directions. Sir Ineptus’ Cleric attempted to retreat and exit the Tomb, but when he arrived in the entry hall, he was confronted by Lord Red of Neck’s Weretiger, intent on carving Ineptus into lasagna. Ineptus managed to put up a Wall of Stone, which saved him from the marauding Weretiger of Lord Red of Neck. However, just behind Ineptus on his side of the wall, was the Invisible Vampire Archmage. The last sound heard of Ineptus’ Cleric was his screams as the Vampire Archmage ended his unhappy existence. The Half Dragon & one of the two NPC characters (a Cleric/Hunter of the Dead) “Steven Belmont” (controlled by Don the Dying One) fell into the “teeter-totter into the Lava” trap, and were killed.
The 2001 campaign ended at that point. There were only four characters left: Lord Red of Neck’s Monk/ Weretiger, King of All Sarcasm’s Rogue ‘Garret #3’, the Brother of Ineptus’ next character (I can’t recall what class he was), and the second NPC, an Elf Fighter. I ruled that Lord Red of Neck’s Monk/Weretiger could have escaped, while the other three were stuck in the Tomb without magic to allow them to leave. Only the NPC Elf Fighter had a Ring of Sustennance, and I presume that the other two characters would have died of thirst or hunger within a week or two.
When the 2002 group entered the tomb, they encountered the NPC Elf Fighter who told them of the sad tale of the first group, and then he left the tomb and returned civilization,


Session 1 of 5: October 5, 2002

Players slated: Don “the Dying One”, Donnie, Bo, Eric. I don’t recall who showed and who didn’t (other than Don was present, as it was his house we played at).
Initial Player Characters used: Arynhia Illios (Elf Rogue 12), Greggor Storm blade (Human Paladin7/Hunter of the Dead 5), Ungar (Dwarf Fighter), Dominus Falsus a.k.a. “Khelek“ (Human Wizard 12, and one of my old PC’s leant for use).

Long story short, the group arrived at Desatysso’s lair looking for clues about the Devourer. They arrive at Desatysso’s ruined home, the Elf Rogue decides to explore and sneaks into Desatysso’s home via a hole in the roof. The Elf Rogue unintentionally frees a Huge Fire Elemental Guardian, who wounds the Rogue severely before she escapes out the way she came in. The rest of the PC’s oblitterate the pursuing Fire Elemental. They are then immediately attacked by 4 Hill Giants. Don “the Dying One” elected to have his Elf Rogue attempt to Backstab one of the Hill Giants, which she did successfully. However, the Dying One failed to consider that his Rogue PC had only 4 HP remaining, and one good swat from the same hill giant on its next action dealt CASUALTY #1 for the afternoon. The giants were mopped up by the rest in short order, and the group sacked the remains of Desatysso’s lair. They then went to explore the Mountain Giant lair in the mountains above Desatysso’s lair.
In the tunnel leading up to the mountain (I used fire and cloud giant statistics) giant’s lair, the PC’s failed to note the giant in the tunnel, who proceeded to roll a very large boulder down the tunnel. The PC’s then began the humorous endeavor of trying to outrun the boulder. The Paladin/HotD and Dwarf Fighter PC’s got crushed by it for 81 HP of damage each, but neither were killed.
At this point, the decision was made to use some of the DM’s (my) pre-made Player Characters for some additional fire power. Thus in came “Cap’n Druid, human druid 12; ‘Fotar Fatboy’ (human Paladin 12); No-Name the Gnome (gnome Cleric 6/Fighter 6) and Tygart (Half-Orc Fighter 12), all of whom were heroes from 1st edition campaigns in the late 1980’s, returned for one last hurrah. They joined the three other PC’s equaling 7 altogether.
The group reached the top of the tunnel and the mountain giant lair. The Wizard and the Druid cut loose on the giants & troll servants with spells. The giants acted before the rest of the PC’s did. I had several of the giants grab (grapple) several of the PC’s in an attempt to toss them off the cliff, down the mountainside (a 1,000 foot drop). The mom & dad mountain giant (used Fire Giant stats) hit and successfully grabbed No Name the Gnome and Ty’Gart. On the next round, No Name and Ty’Gart went sailing off and down the mountainside, each taking 70 HP damage. The mountain giant shaman (cloud giant stats) then clobbered Greggor Storm blade (3 hits) for 97 HP damage, putting the Pal/Hunter of the Dead at -9 (he had Endurance & Die Hard Feats, so he could act next round). On the next round, Greggor braved an attack of opportunity to drink a Cure Serious Wounds Potion, I needed to roll a Nat ‘5’ or higher to hit & kill Greggor, and I rolled a Nat ‘1’ and killed a nearby Troll instead. Lucky bastard.
On the following round, Cap’n Druid and Ungar the Dwarf Fighter joined No Name and Ty’Gart plummeting down the mountainside for 70 HP damage (all survived). A troll grabbed Dominus Falsus (PC Wizard) and tried to jump off of the cliff with him to both of their deaths. Dominus rolled a natural ‘20’ to break the grapple check (in mid air), and with his hasted action (remember, these were 3.0 edition rules) and cast a Teleport spell to avoid the lethal plunge. The troll took 105 HP damage and was splattered all over the mountainside. As there were no other PC’s left, Fotar Fatboy the Paladin began climbing down the mountain side to help his wounded comrades at the bottom of the mountain. That was where Session 1 of 5 ended for the evening. I’ll get working on sessions 2 through 5 as soon as possible. Perhaps to my reader’s surprise, ONLY 1 PC death in this session. Don’t worry, the Dying One won’t disappoint… Just you wait.


First Allen, allow me to mention I haven't read this journal yet. I assure you though I will. RthToH was a great campaign, so seeing how the Killer GM ran it should be most educational!

After having read it....HAHAHAH! This is going to be entertaining!


Yasha0006 wrote:

First Allen, allow me to mention I haven't read this journal yet. I assure you though I will. RthToH was a great campaign, so seeing how the Killer GM ran it should be most educational!

After having read it....HAHAHAH! This is going to be entertaining!

Yes, yes it will be a fun, albiet brief ride indeed. The Dying One well earned the moniker, racking up more character deaths in 2 or 3 years than most players earn in a decade or two.


I trust you'll enjoy this then...

Session 2 of 5: October 11, 2002
Characters: Greggor Stormblade (Pal 7/Hunter of the Dead 5), Ungar (Dwarf Fighter 12), Dominus Falsus (Wizard 12, DM’s PC on loan), Cap’n Druid (Druid 12), Fotar ‘Fatboy’ (Paladin 12), No-Name the Gnome (Fighter 6/Cleric 6), and Ty’gart (Half-Orc Fighter 12).
Characters Added later during the session: Bornan of Rel Astra (Cleric 12), The Dying One’s Sorcerer 12 (exact name unknown).

From where we left off last week, the player characters (PC’s) had gotten the worse end in a battle with 3 mountain giants (used fire & cloud giant stats), and 6 trolls. Several of the characters had been thrown over the cliff and down the mountainside while Fotar the Paladin, who had left the encounter after everyone else was thrown over; Dominus Falsus who teleported out of harms way, and Greggor Stormblade, who was captured by the giants. The mountain giant leader shouted from above, down to the PC’s, that the PC’s would have to pay 5,000 gold pieces for the release of Greggor Stormblade, whom they held prisoner (and who had only 4 HP left at present). The Dying One thought about it for all of about 3 seconds before deciding to refuse to pay the ransom and have two of the other characters under his control march back up the mountain and attempt to force the giants to release Greggor Stormblade. Ungar the Dwarf and Ty’gart were cured of their wounds and marched back up to demand Greggor’s release. Don the player, was extremely unsuccessful in his Intimidate check against the giants, and when the giants gave the Dying One’s PC’s one last chance to pay up, the player Don didn’t even hesitate for a moment before telling the giants to “Shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.” The giant’s moved quickly and used their surprise actions to successfully grapple both Ungar and Ty’gart. After winning initiative, the giants then proceeded to throw Ungar and Ty’gart back over the edge of the cliff to plummet down the mountainside yet again for another 75 HP of damage (both survived), and then for good measure, they threw Greggor Stormblade over the cliff as well. Having only 4 HP at present, Greggor ended up at –71 and splattered all over the mountainside, CASUALTY #2.
From there the PC’s sadly made their way back to Kalastrand. Once there the group added two new characters, first Bornan of Rel Astra (cleric 12), and then added “The Dying One’s Sorcerer 12”(I don’t remember the character’s actual name) in lieu of Dominus Falsus (who would later return again when needed). The group located Lord Red of Neck’s Were-Tiger Monk from the 2001 failed Tomb of Horrors campaign and learned the necessary facts from him, and then began their trek into the Vast Swamp in search of the Tomb of Horrors.
Prior to reaching the Skull City and the Tomb, the characters were discovered by the Dim Triad. One of the three vampires (Blaesing) successfully infiltrated the foggy campsite in gaseous form and managed to avoid detection by all PC’s (+34 Hide bonus). All characters who were awake failed multiple Spot & Listen checks, and the vampire was able to drain Ungar the Dwarf and Cap’n Druid, CASUALTY #3 and CASUALTY #4. Both characters died in complete silence and unknown to their fellow PC’s who were only a few yards away. It was Very creepy, and I enjoyed it very much. In the morning, upon discovering the deceased PC’s, the Dying One’s Sorcerer immediately Disintegrated both PC’s bodies, hoping to avoid any new vampires.
The five surviving player characters reached Skull City in the morning hours when it appeared most of the guardians were sleeping or resting like undead creatures are apt to do. The PC’s infiltrated the Black Academy without difficulty. The group convinced Leon that the Dying One’s Sorcerer wished to petition for admittance to the Black Academy. Leon allowed the Dying One’s Sorcerer and Bornan of Rel Astra to go inside, and the other three of PC’s stayed at the entrance of the Black Academy. While at area 14, the Dying One (Don) made the fateful decision to have his Sorcerer PC place his hands into those of the skeleton statue in area 14, and the statue detected his good alignment, and not being a necromancer; and then the statue attempted to drain the Sorcerer’s soul right from his body. The Dying One spectacularly managed to succeed on his Fortitude saving throw to resist being killed instantly, However as the module text then stated he received 20 d6 of Electrical damage (no save) for his trouble. The Sorcerer took 65 Hp of damage and had 5 Hp remaining, but then rolled a Natural ‘1’ on his Saving throw versus Death from Massive Trauma, and died instantly, CASUALTY #5. Bornan of Rel Astra then took his fellow PC’s remains, used a Word of Recall spell to go back to Kalastrand; where a previously bought True Ressurection spell was applied by an 18th level cleric in Kalastrand, and the Dying One’s Sorcerer then teleported both of them back into area 14 of the Black Academy. How efficient.
The two PC’s then returned to the entrance to reunite with the other 3 PC’s, and found that Leon had gone to take a break, and had left them alone. The five PC’s then decided to search the Academy at their leisure and look for the entrance to the Tomb of Horrors. The PC’s opted not to open the Necrohazzard doors. Then they tried to open the door to Academician Drake’s room. The PC’s ended up using a Knock spell. Drake was behind the door, but blew his initiative check, and was hit by a Hold Person spell by Bornan of Rel Astra, and failed his saving throw, and I was quietly cursing profusely. The PC’s tied Drake up, having no idea who he was, and asked him some questions about the place. Drake played along, taking the guise of a janitor tasked with cleaning the Wizard Drake’s chambers. (I would have been suspicious about this, but the Dying One wasn’t). Drake then sent them off to find Instructor Ngise, and off the PC’s went to find the evil Ngise. Drake then cast an improved invisibility spell and began to silently stalk the group throughout the Academy waiting for an ideal moment to strike. The group opened Ngise’s door and saw Ngise sitting at a table reading a book, and pondered what to do. Ngise looked up (I had everyone roll Initiative), and Ngise (who went first) cast a Disintegrate spell at the Dying One’s Sorcerer 12, and he once again failed his save and went ‘Poof’, and assumed the consistency of fine dust on the floor, CASUALTY #6. The rest of the PC’s charged Ngise, who attempted to fight back valiantly. Ty’gart, the first to attack Ngise was nailed by Ngise’s Bone Wand, and had all of his joints and ligaments FUSED together, putting him out of action. Bornan, No Name, and Fotar dropped Ngise, but the Necromancer still had 15 Hp remaining, and was just playing dead. No PC bothered to inspect him or simply stab him for good measure. They did however take Ngise’s wand and carried Ty’gart out to try to help him. Bornan of Rel Astra then repeated his previous exercise of Word of Recalling to Kalastrand, in order to get the Dying One’s Sorcerer 12 True Resurrected, and the Sorcerer then teleported both back to the Black Academy, AGAIN.
That was where we finished for the evening. The PC’s are currently in the process of trying to help Ty’gart in his bone-fused condition. Ngise teleported away to sound the alarm and get patched back together, while Academician Drake is invisibly stalking the PC’s waiting for his ideal moment to strike. There were FIVE casualties in today’s session.


And this...

Session 3 of 5: October 18, 2002

Character’s Present: the Dying One’s Sorcerer 12 (actual name unknown), Bornan of Rel Astra (cleric 12), Fotar ‘Fatboy’ (Paladin 12), No Name the Gnome (Gnome Cleric 6/Fighter 6), Ty’gart (Half-Orc Fighter 12).
Character’s Added midway through the session: Grugner the Gray (Duergar Dwarf Fighter 12), Tee-wan “T-1” (Wizard 12), Lauric the Fair (Cleric 12), Lembu (Fighter 12), Dominus Falsus (Wizard 12, DM's PC on loan), Grimthor (Fighter 12), Rexxor (Fighter 12), Bolo of the Scarlet Broterhood (Monk 12), and Corsair the Quick (Rogue 12).

We began today’s session with the five PC’s present exploring the Black Academy. It was during the daylight hours and thus most of the undead and living necromancers were resting or passed out in other areas of Skull City, and hence not present or active. Only Drake was active in the Black Academy currently, invisibly stalking the PC’s waiting for the ideal moment to strike. The PC’s managed to ‘unglue’ Ty’gart who had had his bones fused together with Ngise’s very naughty wand last game session. I generously allowed the PC’s to spend the necessary three rounds needed to unglue Ty’gart before Drake opened up his can of whoop-ass on the PC’s. Drake fired a Finger of Death spell at Bornan of Rel Astra, the cleric failed his Fort save, and died instantly, CASUALTY #7. The Dying One’s Sorcerer 12 rolled a Nat ‘20’ on his spot check and located the improved invisible Drake, and told the other PC’s where Drake was located. Fotar ‘Fatboy’ and Ty’gart the Half Orc then immediately charged where they believed Drake to be located. Drake (a 16th level Necromancer) who was under the effect of a Haste spell (remember the 3.0 edition rules for Haste were much different than under 3.5) had moved to the end of the corridor. At that point, the Dying One’s Sorcerer 12, and No Name the Gnome went down a different corridor, which went in a circular direction and rejoined the corridor that Drake and the other two PC’s were currently located in, in an attempt to catch Drake from behind. Fotar and Ty’gart could not locate Drake, but got a big clue when Drake hit Fotar with a Disintegrate spell, and Fotar blew his Fort save and died instantly, CASUALTY #8. Ty’gart attacked Drake, and would have hit him, but was screwed by the 50% miss chance for total concealment. Drake took a five foot step back and nailed Ty’gart with a Finger of Death spell, and Ty’gart blew his Fort save, and died instantly also, CASUALTY #9.
As this point, things were looking bleak, so the Dying One proposed something that only he would, he opts to have his Sorcerer leave No Name the Gnome and return to where Fotar and Ty’gart had been fighting Drake, dividing the remaining two PC’s. Drake continued around the corridor, looking for more intruders, and encountered No Name the Gnome. No Name did not detect Drake’s presence, and was baked by a Hasted Fireball (remember 3.0 edition rules for Haste allow a spell caster to cast both a Hasted spell and a standard action spell per round-quite devastating) and frozen by Drake’s standard action spell, a Cone of Cold, for a total of 75 HP of damage. No Name the Gnome had only 40 HP remaining, and died instantly and very painfully, CASUALTY # 10. Drake however was caught by the Dying One’s Sorcerer’s Hold Monster spell, Drake failed his Will save, and watched in horror as the Dying One’s sorcerer Coup’ de Gras’d him on the next round. I was within inches of a TPK, but unlucky Donald managed to pull off a miracle. Not to be his last…
The Dying One’s Sorcerer exited the Black Academy, and I allowed the ‘replacement characters’ to all show up in mass. Thus added to the group were the following PC’s: Grugner the Gray (Duergar Dwarf Fighter 12), Tee-wan “T-1” (Wizard 12), Lauric the Fair (Cleric 12), Lembu (Fighter 12), and Corsair the Quick (Rogue 12). The group of PC’s then tried to finish exploring the Black Academy before sunset, which would herald the arrival of all kinds of reinforcements. The PC’s located the secret door in area 14, but could not resist another try on the skeleton statue, and Grugner the Gray attempted to hold hands with the statue. Grugner failed his Fort save, and his soul was ripped out and added to Acererak’s phylactery, CASUALTY #11. Do these idiots ever learn???
The PC’s spent the rest of the evening’s game session fumbling about through the hall of catacombs (area 15) trying to find the entrance to the Tomb of Horrors. The PC’s eventually did locate the Tomb’s entrance without any further casualties. This was mainly due to their LUCKILY AVOIDING entering the lair of Mistress Ferranifer, the Vampire Archmage (Wizard 18, CR 20).


I failed to mention the addition of the additional five PC's (Dominus Falsus (Wizard 12, DM's PC on loan), Grimthor (Fighter 12), Rexxor (Fighter 12), Bolo of the Scarlet Broterhood (Monk 12), and Corsair the Quick (Rogue 12), in the text above along with their comrades after the 4 PC deaths to Academician Drake.


Delightful as always Sir Allen. Ah, the heady days of Hasted spellcasters...


Session 4 of 5: October 25, 2002
The Tomb of Horrors
Cast of Characters: The Dying One’s Sorcerer 12, Kuros the Brave (Fighter 16), Dominus Falsus (Wizard 12), Lauric the Fair (Cleric 12), Lembu (Fighter 12), Tee-Wan “T1” (Wizard 12), Bolo of the Scarlet Brotherhood (Monk 13), Grimthor (Fighter 12), Rexxor (Fighter 12), The Dying One’s Rogue 13 (used in place of Corsair the Quick).

The evening’s adventure began as the Player Characters (PC’s) entered the actual Tomb of Horrors. The PC’s sat around briefly debating which of the three entrances to choose. The Dying One was somewhat aided in the initial parts of the Tomb, owing to his having been a part of the 2001 Return to the Tomb of Horrors campaign, and was able to avoid some of the mishaps. However the Dying One’s memory apparently didn’t include which passageway to enter, and he went down the false entryway to area 1, and some of the PC’s proceeded to take damage from the collapsing ceiling. The PC’s then settled on the correct passage into the tomb.
The Dying One’s Rogue 13 scouted ahead of the rest of the group. And cleared a safe path for them to walk and avoid the numerous pit traps in the entry hall. The Dying One’s Rogue missed a few search checks but sadly always made the necessary Reflex saving throws to avoid falling into the pits. Within about 45 minutes of actual time, the PC’s had worked their way to the end of the entry hallway and began contemplating whether to try the Archway of Glowing Mist or the Green Devil’s Face. The group was unsuccessful in their attempt to dispel the mist from the archway, and elected to enter it anyway. The first PC to enter was strangely the Dying One’s Sorcerer 12. He was promptly teleported to the ‘Forsaken Prison’ at area 7. Eventually, the rest of the PC’s give into curiosity and try the archway likewise, and end up sandwiched in the tiny cubicle that is the Forsaken Prison. After close to ONE HOUR of actual time, the PC’s stumble onto the solution and push all three levers up simultaneously, and this opens the secret hatch in the ceiling, allowing the PC’s a chance to escape. The Dying One had his Rogue 13 search the escape tunnel thoroughly, but did not think to describe or perform any tapping or other advanced searching techniques (as the module specifies & requires) to find the hidden plug which blocked his way to freedom. The Dying One instead had his Rogue return to the Forsaken Prison, and push all three levers down simultaneously. The instant he did, the floor dropped out and the entire party of PC’s plummets down a 100 foot deep shaft, and were then faced with the problem of getting out before the pit lid closes and shut them in.
With several mishaps, the PC’s manage to get out of the pit, reseal the pit lid (floor area of the Forsaken prison), and with a bit of encouragement from your friendly neighborhood Killer GM (me), resumes his search of the escape tunnel, finds the plug, and the PC’s are then able to exit the Forsaken Prison, very happy and mentally exhausted from the endeavor. Upon reaching the end of the escape tunnel, the group finds themselves back in the entry hall staring at the same Archway of Glowing Mist and the same Green Devil’s face. This time the Green Devil’s Face tempts the PC’s curiosity, and they investigate. The Wizard Tee-Wan “T1” ties a rope around his waist and gives the rope to several PC Fighter-types, to lower him down to whatever is inside the ebony black gaping mouth. I had the Player (the Dying One was currently controlling Tee-Wan) roll a d20 roll-off against me to determine if his “Sixth Sense” didn’t pick up on something hazardous about his proposed course of action. He lost the check, so I had the player (the Dying One) actually Act Out his character’s entering the Green Devil’s Mouth by stepping into an imaginary circle, just as if he were his PC. As fate would have it, the Dying One actually stepped through rather than test things first with his hand/arm. I had the Dying One roll a Reflex saving throw in one last effort to catch and steady himself. He needed a ‘9’ or better on a d20. He rolled a ‘5’, failed, and fell into the Devil’s Mouth, which of course was a Sphere of Annihilation, and was Killed Instantly, Casualty #12. I did not inform the Player(s) of the other PC’s as to the fate of Tee-Wan, to see if any others would follow suite, but none elected to do so.
The PC’s then turned their attention to the Archway of Glowing Mist once again. After extensive experimentation, the PC’s were able to cause the mists to dissipate and then the group slowly made their way through and were all teleported into the Second Great Hall, via area 11, and the statue of the 3-armed Gargoyle. The PC’s eyed the statue suspiciously, but did not discover it’s purpose, nor the gem it contained.
In the second great hall (of Spheres), the PC’s searched the hall for traps. The Dying One’s Rogue fell victim to both spear traps, but was not killed by either. At this point the PC’s were confused about where to go. The group explored the other spheres and discovered the hidden crawlways located behind several of them. But before exploring the crawlways, the PC’s first decided to go and have a look at the new Archway of Glowing Mist located at the south end of the Hall of Spheres. Despite prolonged effort, the PC’s could not dispel the mist in the archway (it can’t be dispelled). Not deterred, the PC’s entered the Misty Archway anyways, and when the PC’s emerged, they were all standing at the beginning of the FIRST Great Hall (the entrance to the Tomb of Horrors) completely naked, without any possessions or magic items. When we finished for the evening, the PC’s were faced with the prospect of either continuing the Tomb of Horrors with no equipment, trying to fight their way out of the Academy bare handed, and the long trek through the swamp, with only the Cleric’s creation spells to assist with food and water, or finding some other alternative. I quickly came up with a solution to the problem, and in the final session’s post, you’ll see if the Dying One did as well.


Session 5 of 5
November 2002
The Tomb of Horrors
Characters: The Dying One’s (Sorcerer 12), Lauric the Fair (Cleric 12), Dominus Falsus (Wizard 12), Kuros (Fighter 16), Lembu (Fighter 12), Rexxor (Fighter 12), Grimthor (Fighter 12), Bolo of the Scarlet Brotherhood (Monk 13), The Dying One’s (Rogue 12).

We left off with eight out of the nine PC’s standing buck naked at the entrance area (3.) to the Tomb of Horrors after going through yet another misty archway. All of their magical gear was of course teleported to the lair of the Demi-lich. To address this problem, it was decided that the one player with any equipment left (including clothes): the Dying One’s Sorcerer 12, would teleport himself and several other naked PC’s back to Kalastrand and purchase some clothes and basic non magical equipment with what little money they did have. The Dying One’s Sorcerer either had some spare gold on hand or had to sell a minor magic item or two (I don’t recall) but he bought food, clothes, and basic non magical weapons for everyone and then teleported back with the other PC’s who went with him, and all the goodies.
The group then began the task of trying to negotiate the remainder of the tomb with only the bare essentials in hand. It is interesting that the Tomb itself is able to be navigated without much in the way of PC gear, as you will soon see. The PC’s retraced their steps to the second great hall (area 10), proceeded through the crawlway, and entered the ‘chapel of evil’. They did not enter the archway therein and instead did locate the concealed door and discerned that they needed to sacrifice a magical ring to open the portal. As the only PC left with any magical equipment, the Dying One’s Sorcerer 12 was forced to part with one of his two beloved magical rings, and I smiled gleefully. The PC’s then proceeded down the newly discovered corridor, and through several doors, falling into the first pit trap but avoiding the second and the third. The group proceeded up to area 16 which is the teeter-totter-into the lava trap, but the Dying One remembered the fate of Haru and the NPC fighter in the 2001 Return to the Tomb of Horrors campaign (see the post earlier in this thread), and was not fooled into trying to move into this area. The PC’s backtracked and began searching, the corridor again. After some encouragement, the PC’s did manage to locate the secret door inside the pit trap. Note: there is a great deal of frustrating search checks to make, and would-be killer DM’s need merely take advantage of the natural feelings of frustration that are inevitable in this adventure to further complicate your players efforts to conquer the tomb.
After going through the secret passageway in the pit trap, the PC’s strangely found the special secret door quite quickly, the lucky creeps. The PC’s then however couldn’t resist a trip down to the Pseudo Lich in area 18A, and polished off that encounter without much difficulty. I (the GM) was converting the adventure myself (later conversions to 3rd edition by EN World and Bruce Cordell for WoTC were not available at that time). As a result, I allowed a high number of PC’s and of a higher level than I should have (Bruce Cordell designed the tomb for four 9th level PC’s.) This proved to be a problem for me throughout the remainder of the adventure.
At length, the PC’s found their way into the alchemical laboratory and found the necessary key. They soon thereafter navigated the large open that discharges spikes, and managed to avoid any fatalities. In the room with the green curtains, none of the PC’s managed to damage the rooms furnishings and hence saved themselves major problems. The group skipped the room of the Sirine entirely. They found the secret false door at area 23 and then continued to explore northward. At area 23A, the Dying One’s Rogue succumbed to the Sleeping Gas trap and was CRUSHED TO DEATH AND PULVERIZED INTO DISGUSTING BLOODY JAM AND STEW (woops, sorry, got too excited while typing there…) by the elephant juggernaut, before the other PC’s could intervene, CASUALTY #13. I do not recall whether the Dying One had the pulverized 12th level Rogue, True Res’d or just brought in another one, but he had a 12th level Rogue for the duration of the adventure. Having learned his lesson, he was not going to be without a rogue in this place… Drats!
Next, the PC’s arrived in the throne room & pillared hall. They proceeded to INFURIATE ME by ignoring many of the room’s deadly diversions and going straight for the throne itself. The Dying One sadly managed to learn how to use the crown and scepter without annihilating his PC. The group then headed onto the mighty doors outside Acererak’s false crypt. At this point I was beginning to get concerned. There were still nine PC’s remaining, and though I wasn’t going to allow replacements at this point, the throne room hadn’t claimed a single one of them. My Perfect record of never allowing a group of PC’s to succeed in conquering the tomb was on the line, and the PC’s were close to the end of the adventure. The PC’s further infuriated me by not botching themselves in opening the door that lead into the false crypt. In the false crypt, there isn’t much to harm the group, and they eventually found the secret trapdoor in the floor. Then the moment of truth came, and the PC’s found the keyhole just beyond the trapdoor. My hopes for an easy end to the adventure were dashed when no PC’s were killed by the “Squash to Jelly” trap, and the true crypt of Acererak lay before the PC’s. This was to be the first time out of the 4 or 5 times I’ve previously GM’d the Tomb that a group of PC’s had actually entered the crypt of Acererak. It was time to kick some butt.
Interestingly, when they had actually found it, I don’t think the PC’s grasped where they were or what was to come. They saw the treasure and their old equipment before them on the floor. The PC’s then immediately seized their respective gear and suited up. Before long, one of them (I don’t remember which) gave into curiosity and examined a certain skull lying in the far end of the crypt. Here, my sporting nature and desire to “give a sucker a break” came to bite me. The first edition Tomb of Horrors text does not allow a saving throw against the soul drain ability of the demi-lich, while the 3rd edition description in the Epic level handbook did. I had used the 3rd edition demi-lich from the epic level book as a template, but had scaled him down significantly to make him a CR 18 opponent. I ultimately went against my basic killer instincts and allowed the PC’s to get a saving throw against the soul drain effect.

There were nine PC’s for this encounter. Upon inspection, the demi-lich skull went airborne. Initiatives were rolled. I rolled a Natural 20 and went first. The demi-lich used the soul drain on Kuros (Ftr 16), who failed his Fortitude save and was soul drained and destroyed, CASUALTY #14. The PC’s then began to take various actions, some were defensive in nature, including several buff spells, others attempted to attack the skull. The demi-lich remained within sword’s reach, as the text states that he had to be hit by at least 1 PC before he could use his soul drain again. Subsequent texts (the 1st edition Monster Manual 2 for example) state that the demi-lich could move about at will but I tried to stay true to the text and most of the PC’s couldn’t damage or threaten the demi-lich seriously anyway so I didn’t think it mattered, which soon proved to be a mistake on my part. On the next round, the demi-lich drained and destroyed the PC cleric Lauric the fair, who failed his Fortitude saving throw, CASUALTY # 15. On the third round, the demi-lich successfully drained and destroyed the Dying One’s Sorcerer 12, CASUALTY #16. By this point, the group was getting concerned. In round 4, the demi-lich attempted unsuccessfully to drain Dominus Falsus, the Dying One who was controlling him made the Fortitude save. At this point, the remaining PC wizard Dominus Falsus no longer had spells memorized that could harm the demi-lich, and only several of the fighters were posing any serious threat. In round 5, the demi-lich drained and destroyed Bolo of the Scarlet Brotherhood, CASUALTY #17. On round 6, the demi-lich drained and destroyed the Dying One’s Rogue 12, CASUALTY #18. At this point the demi lich had taken about 35 or 40 HP of damage of his 66 total. In hindsight I should have not humored the PC’s and wiped out the remaining PC fighters earlier. I next got to work on them. In round 7, the demi-lich drained and destroyed Lembu, CASUALTY #19. In round 8, the demi-lich drained and destroyed Rexxor, CASUALTY #20. Then things started to go against me. At that point there were only TWO PC’s remaining, Grimthor and Dominus Falsus, and only Grimthor could potentially harm the demi lich. The demi-lich had drained and destroyed 7 PC’s thus far. He had only 1 empty gem remaining for a soul drain. If I could get only 1 more PC, then the adventure text stated that the remaining PC(s) were teleported 100 to 600 miles away and left to their fate. On rounds 9, 10, and 11 the demi-lich attempted to soul drain Grimthor. The Dying One who was controlling Grimthor at the time rolled Natural 18’s on each of the 3 saving throw rolls. As you receive negative levels even on a successful save, the DC was going up each time, and on the third roll in round 11, the Dying One needed a Nat’ 18, and the lucky bastard got it… In the 12th round, Grimthor would have needed a Nat’ 20 to save, but sadly, there was not to be a 12th round, because Grimthor managed to hit the demi-lich and dropped him below 0 HP, ending the adventure and dealing me my first defeat as a GM for the Tomb of Horrors.
Altogether there were 20 PC fatalities in 5 game sessions, averaging out to an even 4 PC deaths per game session. In the aftermath, the campaign fizzled out. The tremendous amount of character deaths took the wind out of the campaign sails and the two surviving characters, Dominus and Grimthor scattered into the four winds.


As I've typed up my remaining notes from the last bit of the 2002 campaign, I thought a bit about why I ended up on the losing end of this campaign, whereas I've sent all other previous Tomb of Horrors groups home in body bags, including one back in 1984-85, where fellow Paizo poster Turin the Mad, managed to get a copy of the adventure and cheat his way to false tomb before I caught on to his chicanery. Leaving your hand written copy of the map and notes in the DM's trash can when you break for the day will often tip him/her off to such. Although I could have won had I limited the number of PC's towards the end to 8, I still should have won, had I merely eliminated the more dangerous PC fighters earlier against the demi-lich instead of soul draining the PC's, I "had it out for." My choices ultimately cost me the victory.

The Tomb of Horrors remains the true classic d&d adventure. It is the one adventure where you (the GM) get to repeatedly wipe out every PC possible, and need offer NO appologies whatsoever. Everyone knows what they're getting into when they enter this tomb. No quarter is asked and none should be given. I wholeheartedly encourage DM's everywhere to download a copy of the revised 3.5 edition tomb from the WoTC website and treat your players to it. Or, even better yet, send them to Northern Virginia on their next vacation, and I'LL DO IT FOR YOU:D


I've been playing through this recently, most recently Friday night. We've done about 3 game session of it, and have easily seen about 20-30 PC deaths.

My first character was a cleric of Vecna posing as a cleric of Wee Jas, she did pretty well, but went through the mist gate and lost all her gear. I sent her down the hill to the tavern and she came back with a new gown, but no equipment. None the less I sent her right back in. She triggered a lightning bolt trap while tampering with an unholy altar, which killed her.

My 2nd PC was a gnome rogue. He did very well, disarming and evading many traps and other nasty perils. However, he too fell victim to a teleport trap (different one) that sent him back to the entrance of the tomb with no gear.

My 3rd PC was a wild sorcerer who did almost as much harm to his fellow party members as anything else in the tomb. He too fell victim to yet another teleport trap that separated him from his gear. However, he had eschew materials, so I sent him back in gearless. Unfortunately he fell victim to a trap that put him in a room filled with animated shields and weapons. They carved him up for some 160 damage in one round.

My 4th PC was a dwarf fighter, and he made the mistake of trying on a crown that he could not take off and would not allow him to leave the room he was in, unless he touched a magical scepter against it. However, he did this incorrectly and was disintegrated. He only lasted a few minutes of game time.

My 5th PC was another dwarf fighter, basically a clone of PC 4, except I made him LG instead of CE, and gave him a quarterstaff instead of a maul (mostly because I had a dwarf mini with a quarterstaff that I wanted to use). He picked a fight with an efreeti, and the thing managed to kill him with a crit from its falchion. It nearly tpked the party because it was permanently invisible and had made persistant image of itself. I wasted several rounds attacking the image (I wasn't given a will save to disbelieve even though I was directly interacting with the illusion, so that was a bit unfair), while the real efreeti was busy picking off other characters. I realized they were dying, but at the time thought he had some invisible stalker minions, and kept on trying to kill the image. In the end only one party member survived the fight, and we quit at that point.

We haven't made it the final chamber, but I don't think its going to happen. Of the players I had the least PC deaths. Pretty much everyone else had twice the ammount of deaths I did, which should say something about the nastiness of this adventure.


ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS P.H., loved your post. This is the beauty and the hilarity of the Tomb. Gawd, I love it...


And P.H., please don't hesitate to have your DM put all this down on a Paizo post for the rest of us to enjoy as well:)


Or failing that, post it for him...


There were a lot of fun moments in those few game sessions. The best death we had by far was in the first hall with all the pit traps. There was a monk in the party who decided to jump down into one of the pits to explore it. However the pit was spiked at the bottom, which he knew, but he figured his slow fall would save him. It didn't he ended up impaled on the spikes and suffered extensive poison damage, which was the first fatality of our tomb of horrors session. Shortly after we found the secret room with the four armed gargoyle, which tore through the party, my cleric survived by going invisible (thanks to magic domain I was able to use a wand of invisibility), and then using her spider climb slippers to cling to the wall. The gargoyle probably killed 3-4 PCs before we brought it down.

The best moment for my gnome rogue was when we were in the chamber with the lich (18a I think according to your postings). It had pretty much trashed the party, and the gnome was one of the only PCs still going. There was an enchanted mace on the floor that I think may have been some kind of replica of the mace of St. Cuthbert. I was trying to use it against the lich, even though it was too large for me to wield easily. I landed a couple blows, but then got strength drained to 4 strength. He could barely lift the weapon, and missed several times, but finally rolled something really high (18 or 19) and landed a solid blow that finished it off.


Priceless P.H. Any additional tales of death and hilarity in your expedition are most welcomed. Because Tomb of Horrors is something that many have played in, we can all enjoy (or empathize, depending on your point of view) the experiences and misadventures of others who have played in it also...


So Allen, have you ever actually run RttToH through the full campaign? Not just the original but continuing into Moil and all that?

I only ever had the pleasure of getting one group that far into the campaign, but it was very worth it. I think the best part was when one of the dead PCs player said, "Uh oh...you guys aren't in Kansas anymore.."

The rest of the players were rather worried at that point and died in quick succession in the City that Waits.


Yasha0006 wrote:

So Allen, have you ever actually run RttToH through the full campaign? Not just the original but continuing into Moil and all that?

I only ever had the pleasure of getting one group that far into the campaign, but it was very worth it. I think the best part was when one of the dead PCs player said, "Uh oh...you guys aren't in Kansas anymore.."

The rest of the players were rather worried at that point and died in quick succession in the City that Waits.

Yasha, in a simple word, NO, no one's ever made it to Moil or beyond. In the 1980's, there was of course nothing besides the original tomb, and no group I ran back then ever even got through that:) The 2 times that I've GM'd the Return to the Tomb (the 2001 and 2002 campaigns described in the campaign thread posts) both ended in failure.

Before I purchased the Return to the Tomb of Horrors in 1998, Turin (who had already purchased it) GM'd a campaign in which I was a participant. I had to control multiple characters due to lack of players, and I had only 2 PC deaths in the ENTIRE campaign, and I completed it successfully, defeating Acererak in the Fortress of Conclusion. I lost a 14th level Fighter "Caroc the Lizard Man" to Drake in the Black Academy via a Disintegrate spell (Nat 1 roll), and I lost a 16th level Fighter "Koseuth" to the Weight of the Wait spell trap in the Fortress of Conclusion.


I think that the Tomb (I've recently re-read the 3.5 update done by Bruce Cordell, which is scripted for 9th level PC's) is difficult enough to defeat most 3.5 characters. That suggests that getting to the City of Moil is likely to happen only with intelligent players who know the game well, and/or those who have prior experience with/and/or knowledge of the tomb adventure itself. As a GM, I particularly looked for every possible opportunity to WASTE each and every PC Rogue. Any PC party without at least 1 Rogue PC will start dropping like flies VERY quickly. A 9th level PC Rogue with 12 Ranks of Search and Disable Device and a 14 Intelligence will find the typical trap in the tomb (DC20) about 75% of the time (and disable device about 65-70%), which leaves a 25% miss chance on a typical search check, and this should take its toll on the Rogues over time. Compare that to the 12th level Rogues I was allowing on the 2002 campaign, and it's no small wonder why my group suffered very few casualties in the tomb proper. 9th or 10th level is about right for the tomb under the 3.5 rules system.


I agree with you on that Allen. There is nothing that can so get in a players way than their own stupidity. Talk about a hell of a stumbling block!

In all seriousness though, one of the things I loved about, both the original and the Return, Tomb of Horrors, is that they required inventiveness and quick thinking on the part of the players for even a little success. It required a good deal of tough critical thinking to actually beat the campaign, with a healthy dose of luck too.


Yasha0006 wrote:

I agree with you on that Allen. There is nothing that can so get in a players way than their own stupidity. Talk about a hell of a stumbling block!

In all seriousness though, one of the things I loved about, both the original and the Return, Tomb of Horrors, is that they required inventiveness and quick thinking on the part of the players for even a little success. It required a good deal of tough critical thinking to actually beat the campaign, with a healthy dose of luck too.

I think so Yasha. GM'd efficiently and mercilessly, few groups should survive a run through either, but there are those few bold and lucky souls who will prevail... alas...


That 'weight of the wait' trap was a classic.
'Let's see what's in here'.....
Or:
'It's radiating magic, and there's something weird going on in this room. SMASH IT BEFORE IT CAN DO ANY PERMANENT HARM TO US.'

Edit:
And there was that lever next to a metal plate in the wall which bore the inscription 'Push me'.


The 'Push Me' trap was fun. My halfling Rogue pushed it, and I prayed...

The weight of the wait trap wiped out (in 1998) a player character I'd had since 1984/85, and left me really peeved... thus I empathize with players to a certain point, as I was one in the Tomb/Return, once before... but I'll still wipe out players one-and-all with no shame...


Although by no means a definite, another trip for the Glutton-for-Punishment Gang (a.k.a. the Red Folder Gaming Society) may be in the not-so-distant works. I've been dropping a few hints, and have gotten interest from several of my players on giving Return to the Tomb of Horrors another go. More on this in the weeks/months to come.


Allen Stewart wrote:
Although by no means a definite, another trip for the Glutton-for-Punishment Gang (a.k.a. the Red Folder Gaming Society) may be in the not-so-distant works. I've been dropping a few hints, and have gotten interest from several of my players on giving Return to the Tomb of Horrors another go. More on this in the weeks/months to come.

Fortunately, I will not have to endure yet another "go" at either version of the Tomb of Horrors. Been there, done that - although witnessing multiple character deaths can be gratifying, I have to say that it should be made VERY clear to the participants going in that either version of this place is a "one off" situation.

Any one ill-advised enough to bring in a character that they have any kind of emotional attachment to is asking to join quite a few group therapy sessions I suspect...


Turin the Mad wrote:


Any one ill-advised enough to bring in a character that they have any kind of emotional attachment to is asking to join quite a few group therapy sessions I suspect...

That's the idea:D


P.H., did you ever do a detailed account of your forray into RttToH?


Unfortunately, no. And now the memory of the whole thing is too blurry to put together any kind of journal- especially given that we went through something like 11 PCs in the adventure, and we never did make it to the demilich's lair.

Killer_GM wrote:
P.H., did you ever do a detailed account of your forray into RttToH?


Allen you are always an inspiration. I think I will post my latest AoW meeting today, and I may insert the ToH into the game to make them earn the Sphere of Annihilation, instead of just handing it over when it gets to that point. They are 9th level now, but they have yet to open the box from chapter one with the item that controls the sphere. I will just make the dungeon, such that it scales with difficulty so the smart idea of waiting until they are higher level won't work.


concerro wrote:
Allen you are always an inspiration. I think I will post my latest AoW meeting today, and I may insert the ToH into the game to make them earn the Sphere of Annihilation, instead of just handing it over when it gets to that point. They are 9th level now, but they have yet to open the box from chapter one with the item that controls the sphere. I will just make the dungeon, such that it scales with difficulty so the smart idea of waiting until they are higher level won't work.

Thanks man. I try... Regarding your statement above, that information changes a lot, if the group are ONLY 9th level characters. If so, put the sphere further/deeper in the tomb (the throne room is probably ideal, as there is a sphere there already-just say that some other adventurer(s) previously grabbed the sphere that was in the entry hall) and make your group suffer through more of the tomb to get it. That begs the question though, why are the group going after the sphere this early in the Age of Worms campaign? Manzorian/Tenser doesn't even tell the PCs about the possibility of using the sphere until MUCH later in the Age of Worms campaign, if I recall correctly. What's behind their early move to the Tomb?


Killer_GM wrote:
concerro wrote:
Allen you are always an inspiration. I think I will post my latest AoW meeting today, and I may insert the ToH into the game to make them earn the Sphere of Annihilation, instead of just handing it over when it gets to that point. They are 9th level now, but they have yet to open the box from chapter one with the item that controls the sphere. I will just make the dungeon, such that it scales with difficulty so the smart idea of waiting until they are higher level won't work.
Thanks man. I try... Regarding your statement above, that information changes a lot, if the group are ONLY 9th level characters. If so, put the sphere further/deeper in the tomb (the throne room is probably ideal, as there is a sphere there already-just say that some other adventurer(s) previously grabbed the sphere that was in the entry hall) and make your group suffer through more of the tomb to get it. That begs the question though, why are the group going after the sphere this early in the Age of Worms campaign? Manzorian/Tenser doesn't even tell the PCs about the possibility of using the sphere until MUCH later in the Age of Worms campaign, if I recall correctly. What's behind their early move to the Tomb?

Actually they aren't going after it yet. If they had opened the box they probably would be though. The reason for not opening the box at first was out of fear, now they seem to ignore or they have forgotten about it. I have given enough reminders that I won't give any more. It is one less thing I have to deal with. If they try to control the sphere without the talisman of the sphere I am predicting some bad results. They are in chapter 5 so the trek to the dungeon is only about a month away. I will be upping the intensity for whatever level they are at the time, and they don't have a dedicated trapfinder/disabler for some reason. I am expecting them to suffer for that decision very soon.


concerro wrote:
Killer_GM wrote:
concerro wrote:
Allen you are always an inspiration. I think I will post my latest AoW meeting today, and I may insert the ToH into the game to make them earn the Sphere of Annihilation, instead of just handing it over when it gets to that point. They are 9th level now, but they have yet to open the box from chapter one with the item that controls the sphere. I will just make the dungeon, such that it scales with difficulty so the smart idea of waiting until they are higher level won't work.
Thanks man. I try... Regarding your statement above, that information changes a lot, if the group are ONLY 9th level characters. If so, put the sphere further/deeper in the tomb (the throne room is probably ideal, as there is a sphere there already-just say that some other adventurer(s) previously grabbed the sphere that was in the entry hall) and make your group suffer through more of the tomb to get it. That begs the question though, why are the group going after the sphere this early in the Age of Worms campaign? Manzorian/Tenser doesn't even tell the PCs about the possibility of using the sphere until MUCH later in the Age of Worms campaign, if I recall correctly. What's behind their early move to the Tomb?

Actually they aren't going after it yet. If they had opened the box they probably would be though. The reason for not opening the box at first was out of fear, now they seem to ignore or they have forgotten about it. I have given enough reminders that I won't give any more. It is one less thing I have to deal with. If they try to control the sphere without the talisman of the sphere I am predicting some bad results. They are in chapter 5 so the trek to the dungeon is only about a month away. I will be upping the intensity for whatever level they are at the time, and they don't have a dedicated trapfinder/disabler for some reason. I am expecting them to suffer for that decision very soon.

AoW is brutal without (a) serious clerical power, and (b) a very VERY capable trap character. If you're running a Pathfinder conversion, the ability drain attacks are utterly ruinous though - they won't be able to deal with them without the Wormhunter PrC being available.


Turin the Mad wrote:
AoW is brutal without (a) serious clerical power, and (b) a very VERY capable trap character. If you're running a Pathfinder conversion, the ability drain attacks are utterly ruinous though - they won't be able to deal with them without the Wormhunter PrC being available.

Exactly, just how it should be:D And your point is...


Killer_GM wrote:
Turin the Mad wrote:
AoW is brutal without (a) serious clerical power, and (b) a very VERY capable trap character. If you're running a Pathfinder conversion, the ability drain attacks are utterly ruinous though - they won't be able to deal with them without the Wormhunter PrC being available.
Exactly, just how it should be:D And your point is...

^_^ It depends on the GMs style of play.


Turin the Mad wrote:
concerro wrote:
Killer_GM wrote:
concerro wrote:
Allen you are always an inspiration. I think I will post my latest AoW meeting today, and I may insert the ToH into the game to make them earn the Sphere of Annihilation, instead of just handing it over when it gets to that point. They are 9th level now, but they have yet to open the box from chapter one with the item that controls the sphere. I will just make the dungeon, such that it scales with difficulty so the smart idea of waiting until they are higher level won't work.
Thanks man. I try... Regarding your statement above, that information changes a lot, if the group are ONLY 9th level characters. If so, put the sphere further/deeper in the tomb (the throne room is probably ideal, as there is a sphere there already-just say that some other adventurer(s) previously grabbed the sphere that was in the entry hall) and make your group suffer through more of the tomb to get it. That begs the question though, why are the group going after the sphere this early in the Age of Worms campaign? Manzorian/Tenser doesn't even tell the PCs about the possibility of using the sphere until MUCH later in the Age of Worms campaign, if I recall correctly. What's behind their early move to the Tomb?

stuff by concerro

AoW is brutal without (a) serious clerical power, and (b) a very VERY capable trap character. If you're running a Pathfinder conversion, the ability drain attacks are utterly ruinous though - they won't be able to deal with them without the Wormhunter PrC being available.

My players have been hit by ability damage and drain several times. I even told them that the forth coming undead worm(the name escapes) me can do enough con damage/drain to kill. Yet, nobody went and purchased restoration scrolls to make sure they had full constitution when they do fight it. Death Ward was not prepped or purchased to up their saves before they fight it. Things do not bode well for them. There is not much I can do on my side of the screen to save them. They either make the saves or they don't.


Turin the Mad wrote:
Killer_GM wrote:
Turin the Mad wrote:
AoW is brutal without (a) serious clerical power, and (b) a very VERY capable trap character. If you're running a Pathfinder conversion, the ability drain attacks are utterly ruinous though - they won't be able to deal with them without the Wormhunter PrC being available.
Exactly, just how it should be:D And your point is...
^_^ It depends on the GMs style of play.

I help players that try to help themselves, but if the players are willing to let the dice fall where they may, then so am I.


concerro wrote:
Turin the Mad wrote:
Killer_GM wrote:
Turin the Mad wrote:
AoW is brutal without (a) serious clerical power, and (b) a very VERY capable trap character. If you're running a Pathfinder conversion, the ability drain attacks are utterly ruinous though - they won't be able to deal with them without the Wormhunter PrC being available.
Exactly, just how it should be:D And your point is...
^_^ It depends on the GMs style of play.
I help players that try to help themselves, but if the players are willing to let the dice fall where they may, then so am I.

Sounds good then - eat their faces, then their brains ... then quote Dave Gerrold.

" Life sucks, then you die, then they throw dirt in your face, then the worms eat you. Be glad it happens in that order. "


Absolutely 86 every last one of them. I did NOT give my players as many heads up as you did to prepare them for the undead opponents. If after your generous warning, they still don't take precautions, then you have the green light to wipe them all out in droves.


I'm starting Return to the ToH again in October 2011. More on this to come.


Great thread Allen. Always fun to read your recaps of the final days of your player's characters. I hope you break some PC death records this next go around.

As coincidence would have it, I just obtained a copy of the Return to the Tomb of Horrors boxed set and this thread has really got me interested in running it sometime. I'll probably run it using Pathfinder when I do run it. At some point I also plan to run through the 4th edition version of Tomb of Horrors that I also have for a group given the adventure is fairly different from what I've seen and spread out over different levels of play.

Curiously, what version of the game were you planning to use for your October run and what changes/conversions are you considering to the adventure as written? For the party you are running it for, how many characters are you shooting for at a time and what levels will they be?

L

P.S. As a side question, in the boxed set, is it just the one folded journal piece of paper and the single color card with pictures on both sides in addition to the four books (adventure, maps, images, reprint of original)? Just verifying I have the whole complete set.


Legendarius wrote:


Curiously, what version of the game were you planning to use for your October run and what changes/conversions are you considering to the adventure as written? For the party you are running it for, how many characters are you shooting for at a time and what levels will they be?

L

P.S. As a side question, in the boxed set, is it just the one folded journal piece of paper and the single color card with pictures on both sides in addition to the four books (adventure, maps, images, reprint of original)? Just verifying I have the whole complete set.

Thanks. Glad you enjoy the thread.

I think your set is basically complete. I'll check again, but if you have anything lacking, it is probably inconsequential to running the adventure.

I'll be using the Pathfinder rules. If you plan to use 3.5 or Pathfinder rules, I recommend going to WoTC's website and downloading the 3.5 edition Tomb of Horrors conversion that Bruce Cordell did, and then to EN World, and downloading the 3.5 conversion for Return to the Tomb of Horrors. The 3.5 Return to the Tomb on EN World will take a little revamping, because some encounters are set for the mid-level characters while other encounters, (example: Ferranifer a CR 20 vampire archmage) is clearly intended for high level PCs.

In my opinion, you are much better off running the campaign for mid-level characters. I'll start my group of 6-7 characters at 8th level for Skull City/the Black Academy. I chose that because Bruce Cordell's 3.5 conversion of the Tomb of Horrors itself is designed for 9th level characters, which is (in my opinion) just right. Once rogues hit 10th level, they are picking up even more skill points on their Disable Device skills if they took the Skill Focus, and most of the traps are designed for a 9th level rogue (DC'wise). If you're allowing characters that are 12th level or higher, they're going to get around the traps in the adventure a lot more easily, and the fatality count will likely be low at best.

If the group actually survives the Tomb itself, then they would be 10th level when they went off to the City of Moil & 11th in the Fortress of Conclusion.

If you have the two 3.5 versions of the Tomb/Return to the Tomb, you shouldn't have to do much leg work, other than re-tooling some of the higher end Villains/NPCs (Ferranifer, Drake, Ngise, Leon, the Vestige, and a few others). I statted Ferranifer, Ngise & Drake all up as 11th level wizards, given that my group will be 8th level at the time, and 6 8th level PCs equals an EL 9 party, which is only two CR's less than each respective wizard. A very fair encounter.


Legendarius wrote:


L

Hey Legendarius. I see you're a Northern Virginia resident as well. If you're of the mind to stop in and witness the game in person, e-mail me (sirgalahad2 at juno.com) for the address and directions. We're starting Return to the Tomb on Oct. 8, 2011 at 10:00 AM.


A Shameless bump.


Hey Killer, been a while since I looked at this thread, thanks for bumping it. Thanks too for the recommendations regarding retooling Return to the Tomb of Horrors for 3.5/PF. I do live in Northern VA, out in Loudoun county. Wish my schedule permitted some time to work in a campaign right now. It sounds like you and your gang have a lot of fun and I really enjoy a lot of the classic adventures.

L


Legendarius wrote:

Hey Killer, been a while since I looked at this thread, thanks for bumping it. Thanks too for the recommendations regarding retooling Return to the Tomb of Horrors for 3.5/PF. I do live in Northern VA, out in Loudoun county. Wish my schedule permitted some time to work in a campaign right now. It sounds like you and your gang have a lot of fun and I really enjoy a lot of the classic adventures.

L

Depending upon where the gang decides to play, you're not more than an hour or so from the game. Depending on where in Loudoun County you live, you are half that time from myself in Reston. Small world sometimes. :)

For those who don't know, Washingtonians generally describe getting from Point A to Point B in the approxomate time it takes to make the drive, not the distance. It might be 5 or 10 miles, but depending on where to where it can vary from 10 minutes to an hour to actually drive it. ^__^

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