http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051031a
I note it is for "9th Level Characters." Seems 3.5 characters are tougher than their predecessors.
it's funny that you say that because in other forums, people are commenting on how much the original sucked because it was TOO difficult and was nearly impossible to complete.
that is because it took brains to complete rather then raw combat power or nifty character abilities... it was definatly a "problem solver" dungeon that gave hack-n-slashers, power gamers, and people just in it for the roleplaying experience a very dificult time.
it did not "suck", it just was not everybodies cup of tea.
that is because it took brains to complete rather then raw combat power or nifty character abilities... it was definatly a "problem solver" dungeon that gave hack-n-slashers, power gamers, and people just in it for the roleplaying experience a very dificult time.
it did not "suck", it just was not everybodies cup of tea.
Preaching to the choir. I've always loved puzzle solving and playing trapfinding rogues so an adventure like this is right up my alley.
it's funny that you say that because in other forums, people are commenting on how much the original sucked because it was TOO difficult and was nearly impossible to complete.
There's always been good players and poor players. Guess which kind whines the most.
Pretty darn cool. Just having the original art in downloadable form is treat enough for me.
The art is interesting. You could surmise a lot about Ur-Flannae mythology in Acererak's time - or possibly the state of Acererak's knowledge of the Lower Planes - using the illustrations as a guide.
For example, the dog-headed creatures on page 7 might be arcanaloths/arcanadaemons, civilized ancestors of gnolls, or jackal-headed psychopomps. The faces behind them, all along the edge of the ceiling, look like efreet. What is the horror on the ceiling with the lobster claws and hooves?
What's the Great Green Devil? An archdevil? Or just a barbazu?
Illustration #10 is more interesting: what is the falcon-headed creature? A god? Why does the "hydra" look like Tiamat?
Why does the "hydra" look like Tiamat?
probably because it only has 5 heads, a look at the hydra illio in ToH and the hydra pic in the Monster Manual (1e) shows that it is defintaly a hydra (the ridged beak-like mouths give it away).
Being a construct means it's immune to clerical turning and rebuking, which makes it slightly more fearsome and surprising to PCs who are expecting something undead.
The foe at the end got nerfed big time, from a quick glance, and I think they nerfed a lot of the deadliest traps.
3rd Edition tend to shy away from the "You're dead, no Saving Throw" elements that were so common in 1st Edition. Most likely owing to its wargame origin, in which one side was competing against the other, there's a definite antagonism between DM and players encouraged in the early material.
that is because it took brains to complete rather then raw combat power or nifty character abilities... it was definatly a "problem solver" dungeon that gave hack-n-slashers, power gamers, and people just in it for the roleplaying experience a very dificult time.
Actually, the Tomb of Horrors was specifically created to kill characters.
Gygax got tired of players approaching him at conventions and bragging about how tough their characters were. So he created the Tomb to run at cons and kill those characters.
The original tournament scoring was based on how many rooms you explored before your character died.
3rd Edition tend to shy away from the "You're dead, no Saving Throw" elements that were so common in 1st Edition.
Well, they left the famous 'gaping mouth' trap, at least.
Personally I wouldn't run my group through this with their normal characters. I'd be doing them (and myself) a disservice if a bunch of people didn't die heinously.
I might do it as a one shot some day, giving each player 2 characters to run.
Actually, the Tomb of Horrors was specifically created to kill characters.
actually it was designed to kill characters of people who had no skill at playing the game yet had absurdly powerful characters anyway...the fact that there is a way to succeed shows that Gygax thought that somebody might do so.
The original tournament scoring was based on how many rooms you explored before your character died
based upon the way tournaments worked then, where each game was given a specific time limit, it is highly unlikly that anybodyu would have finished the module any way, so I would bet that the scoreing was based upon how many rooms you explored (whether you died or not).