Something straight out of the Heart of Darkness, or perhaps Apocalypse Now.
Today we’re going to visit the Tomb of Horrors, talking about it’s real life history rather
than fantasy lore!
(What!?)
Why is this classic adventure so important to D&D?
Does it match your play style?
Should you play it!?
And no, there won’t be any spoilers for the Tomb, but there will be pictures.
Feel safe watching this video, I fully understand that the fun of the Tomb of Horrors is solving
it!
But first!
This video is sponsored by WarLock Tiles from WizKids!
WizKids makes some great D&D products and this time they are launching Warlock Tiles!
They’ve been working on these tiles for over a year and now you can get them in your
RPG hands!
These are fantasy game tiles with interlocking pieces and come pre-painted.
Along with tiles various accoutrements are included to dress up your dungeon or tavern!
You can pick apart these WarLock tiles and reassemble them as you see fit!
You could potentially build the Tomb of Horrors!
How epic would this iconic adventure be with the use of WarLock Tiles.
Click the link in the description to see more and to preorder them!
The WarLock Tiles will release June of 2020!
Head over to their website WizKids.com/WarLock which is conveniently linked in the description
below!
Thanks again WizKids and Warlock Tiles!
Hello everybody Jorphdan here the PH is silent and today we’re going to be talking about
the 1975 adventure module “Tomb of Horrors”.
Written by Gary Gygax himself for Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition it has been updated
and rereleased for all versions of D&D.
Originally it was made for a tournament at the 1975 Origins 1 convention in Columbus
Ohio.
Now for tournament play you would have lots of players running through the same adventure
scoring points on how far they got and how well they did.
The problem with this is there were multiple dungeon master’s running the game and each
DM would put their own spin on describing a room or encounter.
To level the playing field and ensure more standardized play Gygax commissioned artists
to draw what the characters would see in the dungeon.
Two dozen illustrations were crafted for the tournament, allowing the Tomb of Horrors to
become the legendary adventure it is today.
This is the original cover from 1975, along with some of the original art!
I know old D&D art is sometimes funny because they didn’t have the budgets they do now.
But you can tell from these pieces TSR and Gary Gygax were onto something.
Allowing everyone to have a similar experience with this dungeon allowed fans from across
the world to share their Tomb of Horror Stories.
This is rather clever.
You can see some of the original art, comparing it to art from other editions, and if you’ve
played Tomb of Horrors you know exactly what you’re looking at.
The demi-lich skull, the devil mouth, heck the layout of the tomb itself.
This is pretty neat, the original dungeon drawn in pencil for the 1975 convention.
I assume photocopied for each DM to run it.
These photos are from the visual art history of D&D book that came out called “Art & Arcana.”
Which if you are interested in the history of D&D, it’s worth a look.
Gygax wrote Tomb of Horrors as a way for DMs to deal with the egotistical player.
The player who boasts of having such a powerful character they could deal with any challenge.
Many believe Gygax didn’t intend for the players to finish the Tomb of Horrors.
The fun was in seeing how far you could get before a trap took out your party.
Full of puzzles, traps, and curious items it can be a very fun experience for both the
Dungeon Master and Player.
Gygax also intentionally made it sound very attractive to greedy players.
The treasure hoard at the end of the module is very tempting, and if you can get there
and back you’re coming out with some sweet magical items.
What is the plot of Tomb of Horrors?
It is the ancient tomb of a lich, Acererak’s Tomb, specifically.
The demilich was made famous from the World of Greyhawk and lore wise has found his way
into other worlds.
More information on him in the top right of the screen, and in the description below.
Your goal of the Tomb is to survive, and battle your way through it to locate the resting
place of Acererak, destroy him, and take his wealth.
Later on it became a place for Acererak to gather souls for his phylactery.
If you die in the Tomb your spirit will keep Acererak functional in the world of D&D.
Kind of fun to think that thousands of player characters die every year in the Tomb of Horrors
and that keeps Acererak a constant villain within D&D lore.
Tomb of Horrors is divided up into 33 encounters, and the majority of these are trying to trick
the players.
The adventure was written to mess with the people playing it, not necessarily their characters.
The phrase “What would my player character do?”
doesn’t apply here.
You are trying to outwit the module, solve the puzzles and keep your player character
alive.
Gygax specifically wanted to thwart what he referred to as his invincible players Rob
Kuntz’s PC (Robilar), and Ernie Gygax’s PC (Tenser).
Yes.. that Tenser!
It wasn’t officially published until 1978 for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and since
then has been rewritten and published for every edition for D&D.
It was ranked the 3rd greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon Magazine
in 2004.
It is almost a right of passage as a D&D fan.
If you’ve played D&D for a while, the Tomb always pops up eventually in conversation.
You may want to test your Druid’s skill in this challenging adventure!
It should be noted that some feel the module is difficult for a DM to learn, there are
a lot of subtle items that one must remember.
More so than other free form modules where you can improvise and everything will be ok.
Tomb of Horrors isn’t about killing large amounts of monsters, but surviving a complex
trap riddled dungeon.
A Dungeon Master needs to understand how these traps work and allow players to make their
own choices.
It has been described as a “thinking person’s module.”
Gygax said himself that brainwork was good for players.
Tomb of Horrors is a pop culture item now.
The Green Devil Face with the giant mouth can be seen on tshirts, stickers, it was reused
for parts of Tomb of Annihilation the 5th edition adventure.
The tomb of horrors was a key part of the Ready Player One novel.
So at this point, you’re sold right?
You want to play in or run this module.
Well, just so you know it might be a different style of game than you are used to.
Player’s won’t be making rolls to solve puzzles or find magic doors.
They need to touch objects within the dungeon, and the DM might have to describe what something
feels like.
Your descriptions can make this module come alive.
A good poker face is helpful when players activate a deadly trap.
I would also remove the phrase “Are you sure you want to do that?” from your vocabulary.
If the player said it, they did it, and here are the consequences.
Although I feel a DM should be ruthless when running this it is important to remind your
players to have fun.
I think they can easily get discouraged when they haven’t discovered a solution.
Be prepared to spend several sessions with this module, it’s not a one-shot.
I ran this module for 5th edition D&D, found in Tales of the Yawning portal.
Although 5e characters are a lot heartier than older editions I feel the module translates
well for 5th edition.
Long story short I had a lot of fun but I felt awful that I was going to kill my players.
If you want to hear my thoughts on the experience I’ve made two videos about it that I’ll
link in the description below.
But note: I have grown a lot as a DM after making those videos.
In hindsight I held my player’s hands too much and I should have let the dungeon hit
them in the face, full speed.
When they realized the training wheels were off of Dungeons & Dragons they would 100%
have risen to the challenge.
Regardless, we had so much fun.
Dying, exploring, trying to figure out exactly where the Tomb was leading us.
Although I never got a chance to play in the Tomb of Horrors I feel DMs can live that experience
through their players.
The Tomb of Horrors is very memorable, and you have to remember that when you play in
it, you can only have that experience once.
I want to emphasize that.
You can’t replay the Tomb of Horrors and have that same sense of dread when you fall
into a vat of acid.
However if you have played it once, I would encourage you to run it for a group that hasn’t.
You’ll share in their experience as they slog through the dungeon for the first time.
Remember though not everyone will love this adventure, but I think most DMs truly will.
If your players truly enjoy the hack and slash of D&D, fighting their way out of a situation,
then Tomb of Horrors might not be for them.
When I ran this module we made 10th level characters to explore the Tomb.
Nobody was super attached to these characters which made exploring the dungeon a bit easier.
If your gaming group wants to use their treasured characters who have grown from levels 1 to
10, remind them there could be death.
I believe that this is an experience all fans of D&D should have, but I don’t believe
you should use this as a punishment for your players.
Tempt them with magical items, tempt them with lots of money, but let it be their informed
decision.
The Tomb has existed on many worlds, in many games, and few have lived to tell the tale.
But hey it’s your game, it’s their choice, and I think all D&D fans should have that
Tomb of Horrors experience to share with others.
The next time you’re at a gaming convention see what experiences others have had with
the Tomb of Horrors!
Thanks for watching everyone.
Please share this video with a friend and tell me about your Tomb of Horrors game.
Maybe share this with your Dungeon Master, perhaps it will convince them to run Tomb
of Horrors for you!
Thanks again to WizKids for sponsoring this video, be sure to check out their website
for Warlock Tiles!
They are really great.
I have a group that hasn’t experienced the Tomb of Horrors yet and I think these Warlock
Tiles will give one of the best experiences for that module.
Please subscribe to the channel, and thank you to those who are already subscribed!
New videos weekly!
I’ll see you all in the next one!