You know what’s fun? Getting racked. Getting racked is fun, at least by comparison to taking college finals. If you’re unfamiliar, here’s a demonstration:
Looks refreshing, doesn’t it? But in all seriousness, there aren’t words sufficient to describe the kind of soul crushing anxiety that college tests cause me. Knowing that my entire future may rest on my ability to successfully complete one exam. At any rate, do you know what actually is fun? Dungeons & Dragons! And the most fun thing about Dungeons & Dragons is the fabled and infamous Tomb of Horrors. This one:
Gary Gygax wrote this little nugget for the very first Origins convention in the way back days of 1975. D&D had only been around about a year, and I’m sure he was looking for an effective way to promote the game, and I gotta say, there was no better way than this module. Over the years, this module has taken the lives of countless player characters in the game, and it’s been such a popular phenomenon that it’s been reprinted, and updated for every edition of D&D. It’s pretty much become a staple of tabletop gaming, and since tomorrow is International Tabletop Gaming Day, and I get to run this gem for some unsuspecting saps, I figured we’d take a look at the book that started a phenomenon. Also, I kind of felt like I ran through this scenario in real life this past week! So take enjoyment at the expense of my suffering! I wouldn’t have it any other way!
As I said before, E. Gary Gygax wrote this adventure in order to promote D&D at the first Origins convention in 1975. The setup is pretty basic. Your adventuring group stumbles across an artificially built, and mysterious looking hill. Rocks on the hill form the facade of a smiling skull, but only if you look at the hill from just the right angle, which most players don’t bother to do. The thing that I love about this adventure is that it’s specifically designed to kill every character that gets played in it. One entrance of three goes nowhere. The second entrance leads to an inescapable death trap. Characters walk in, players filled with awe and wonder, and then a spiked wall crushes them. The final entrance is the entrance that will actually take characters into the full dungeon, but even this entrance is fraught with peril. There are traps all over, and the first obstacle characters run into is an enticing glowing portal that steals all of the character’s items and deposits them back at the entrance to the tomb. However, if you survive that leg, all that’s left is the proverbial D&D meat grinder. Every turn conceals subtly hidden traps that can absolutely kill a character instantly. There are puzzles to be solved, and monsters to be defeated, and of course, treasures to be had, if you can survive! *Cue the evil laughter and thunder. Should the players survive the monsters, and the fake out treasure hoards, their reward is an epic final battle with a demi-lich named Acererak. This boss battle borders on the realm of system breakingly unfair, but it offers a huge challenge, and the rewards are are vast. You get… Your items back! And a few other shiny items. Of course, should they survive, they also get the prestige of surviving the tomb.
This is an extremely challenging D&D module to play in. Honestly, there’s not a lot of draw if you don’t like your character being killed. However, the fun of the game is just seeing if you can make it through, and if you do, the sense of accomplishment is well worth the frustration. And you can’t argue with the iconic nature of the adventure. Generations of gamers have approached the Tomb in order to test their mettle. It’s a challenging and enjoyable time for everyone involved, and surviving earns the highest respect from pretty much any other gamer who’s in the know. As we prepare to celebrate International Tabletop Game Day, let’s take a moment to remember all of those characters claimed by the infamous Tomb of Horrors. Stay tuned! Next week we’re starting what will hopefully be a fascinating series for the month of May!
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