I'll leave any discussion of the ToH to the other thread (which I haven't forgotten). But I will say that I've never much liked the deadly sacks of grain in the 1E DMG's sample adventure. Here are a few reasons why:
1. The idea that rooting around in a sack of moldy grain might kill somebody instantly doesn't seem realistic to me and does nothing for my sense of verisimilitude. I don't imagine that moldy sacks of grain are actually instant death traps in the real world. I am somewhat surprised to find that they are in the game world.
2. IIRC, there are no clues or hints in the sample adventure that the moldy sacks of grain could be a deathtrap. There is no reason for a player (particularly a newbie player) to believe that investigating the sacks might kill their PC dead. It feels arbitrary to me. I'd be happier if some such a clue was present.
3. The encounter encourages a style of play that I don't care for. It teaches the players that even mundane objects can be insta-killers. Exploring common dungeon elements can lead to death with little to no warning. IMO, this approach risks inculcating a habit of excessive caution and a reluctance to explore and interact with the game world. I don't want players who are afraid to poke at some rotten sacks. I definitely don't want players to spend 30 minutes of game time dithering over the safest way to approach a pile of rotten sacks. I think the encounter in the sample adventure leads to both.
1. The idea that rooting around in a sack of moldy grain might kill somebody instantly doesn't seem realistic to me and does nothing for my sense of verisimilitude. I don't imagine that moldy sacks of grain are actually instant death traps in the real world. I am somewhat surprised to find that they are in the game world.
2. IIRC, there are no clues or hints in the sample adventure that the moldy sacks of grain could be a deathtrap. There is no reason for a player (particularly a newbie player) to believe that investigating the sacks might kill their PC dead. It feels arbitrary to me. I'd be happier if some such a clue was present.
3. The encounter encourages a style of play that I don't care for. It teaches the players that even mundane objects can be insta-killers. Exploring common dungeon elements can lead to death with little to no warning. IMO, this approach risks inculcating a habit of excessive caution and a reluctance to explore and interact with the game world. I don't want players who are afraid to poke at some rotten sacks. I definitely don't want players to spend 30 minutes of game time dithering over the safest way to approach a pile of rotten sacks. I think the encounter in the sample adventure leads to both.