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<blockquote data-quote="Justin Bacon" data-source="post: 2734505" data-attributes="member: 3795"><p>I think it's easy to point to key design flaws in the original Tomb: There are too many situations in which death is simply capricious, since Gygax delights in the undetectable and unavoidable. (Thus, rather than being a true "thinking man's" module, it's actually a "lucky man's" module.) The lack of boxed text and poor organization frequently makes it difficult for the DM to properly present the module -- presenting all the information the PCs should have without revealing anything they shouldn't. There are also some fundamental gameplay problems that could have been resolved with a little thought about how the module would actually work at the gaming table.</p><p></p><p>But, despite those flaws, the Tomb is a classic: When run properly, it does exactly what it advertises -- it freaks players out. I've seen groups that have literally routed a legion of dark dwarves single-handedly reduced to cowering in the Tomb trying desperately to figure out how they're going to escape. And if you bring the right attitude to the Tomb, it crafts memories that last for a lifetime of gaming.</p><p></p><p>Now, personally, I can't imagine ever using the Tomb as part of an established campaign. I've always used it as a one-shot with the expectation that the characters aren't going to make it out alive. I understand this and the players understand this, so we're both on the same page and we can both enjoy the module for what it is: A meatgrinding challenge of personal resolve and character.</p><p></p><p>And contrary to what someone else said here, the module CAN be a roleplaying experience. One of my most enjoyable memories from the Tomb was a character desperately trying to recover the rapidly-burning corpse of his friend from a pool of lava so that he could be revived... only to suffer deadly damage themselves from the lava. There was no metagame reason for this: The character was simply insane with the desperation of saving his friend.</p><p></p><p>Good stuff.</p><p></p><p>Now, Cordell's version has done some stuff to clean up the module's faults. For example, boxed text is a bloody godsend. And the skill checks and saving throws, while too easy to overcome in some cases (IMO), help to make the module a sensible playing experience: You can detect and investigate and avoid. Death is ubiquitous, but not capricious.</p><p></p><p>But, ultimately, Cordell cleaves fairly close to the original module. And, as a result, he brings a lot of the flaws from the original with him. For example, look at Area 5: How do you determine whether or not a particular character steps through on the path or off the path? You basically have to ask a very leading question, "Are you walking through on the path or off the path?" And the response you get back is essentially random noise: There's no way to determine which is the correct choice. And if the player chooses wrong, they'll know they simply need to try the other option.</p><p></p><p>An easy fix for this would be to widen the misty arch to 15 feet and have the path be 5 feet wide -- then you could simply ask the players to <em>show</em> you, on a battlegrid, how their characters go through the arch, without teling them the significance of what you're looking for. That way, when the wizard ends up back at the beginning of the hall while the fighter is teleported safely to area 11 -- because they walked through side-by-side with the fighter on the path and the wizard off it -- the players won't instantly know <em>why</em> that happened.</p><p></p><p>Probably the biggest "fault" in Cordell's version of the Tomb is that he felt a need to balance the Tomb for 9th level characters. The Tomb has never been a "balanced" place -- it's a gauntlet.</p><p></p><p>Early last year I completed my own complete adaptation and update of the Tomb. It was a more drastic revision than Cordell's, aimed specifically at resolving the gameplay issues without compromising the essentially deadly and <em>uncompromising</em> nature of the Tomb. My revision can be found on my website at <a href="http://www.thealexandrian.net/creations" target="_blank">http://www.thealexandrian.net/creations</a> for those who are interested.</p><p></p><p>Justin Alexander Bacon</p><p><a href="http://www.thealexandrian.net" target="_blank">http://www.thealexandrian.net</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Justin Bacon, post: 2734505, member: 3795"] I think it's easy to point to key design flaws in the original Tomb: There are too many situations in which death is simply capricious, since Gygax delights in the undetectable and unavoidable. (Thus, rather than being a true "thinking man's" module, it's actually a "lucky man's" module.) The lack of boxed text and poor organization frequently makes it difficult for the DM to properly present the module -- presenting all the information the PCs should have without revealing anything they shouldn't. There are also some fundamental gameplay problems that could have been resolved with a little thought about how the module would actually work at the gaming table. But, despite those flaws, the Tomb is a classic: When run properly, it does exactly what it advertises -- it freaks players out. I've seen groups that have literally routed a legion of dark dwarves single-handedly reduced to cowering in the Tomb trying desperately to figure out how they're going to escape. And if you bring the right attitude to the Tomb, it crafts memories that last for a lifetime of gaming. Now, personally, I can't imagine ever using the Tomb as part of an established campaign. I've always used it as a one-shot with the expectation that the characters aren't going to make it out alive. I understand this and the players understand this, so we're both on the same page and we can both enjoy the module for what it is: A meatgrinding challenge of personal resolve and character. And contrary to what someone else said here, the module CAN be a roleplaying experience. One of my most enjoyable memories from the Tomb was a character desperately trying to recover the rapidly-burning corpse of his friend from a pool of lava so that he could be revived... only to suffer deadly damage themselves from the lava. There was no metagame reason for this: The character was simply insane with the desperation of saving his friend. Good stuff. Now, Cordell's version has done some stuff to clean up the module's faults. For example, boxed text is a bloody godsend. And the skill checks and saving throws, while too easy to overcome in some cases (IMO), help to make the module a sensible playing experience: You can detect and investigate and avoid. Death is ubiquitous, but not capricious. But, ultimately, Cordell cleaves fairly close to the original module. And, as a result, he brings a lot of the flaws from the original with him. For example, look at Area 5: How do you determine whether or not a particular character steps through on the path or off the path? You basically have to ask a very leading question, "Are you walking through on the path or off the path?" And the response you get back is essentially random noise: There's no way to determine which is the correct choice. And if the player chooses wrong, they'll know they simply need to try the other option. An easy fix for this would be to widen the misty arch to 15 feet and have the path be 5 feet wide -- then you could simply ask the players to [i]show[/i] you, on a battlegrid, how their characters go through the arch, without teling them the significance of what you're looking for. That way, when the wizard ends up back at the beginning of the hall while the fighter is teleported safely to area 11 -- because they walked through side-by-side with the fighter on the path and the wizard off it -- the players won't instantly know [i]why[/i] that happened. Probably the biggest "fault" in Cordell's version of the Tomb is that he felt a need to balance the Tomb for 9th level characters. The Tomb has never been a "balanced" place -- it's a gauntlet. Early last year I completed my own complete adaptation and update of the Tomb. It was a more drastic revision than Cordell's, aimed specifically at resolving the gameplay issues without compromising the essentially deadly and [i]uncompromising[/i] nature of the Tomb. My revision can be found on my website at [url]http://www.thealexandrian.net/creations[/url] for those who are interested. Justin Alexander Bacon [url]http://www.thealexandrian.net[/url] [/QUOTE]
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