CR on a trap

[AuraSeer]

There's no such thing as a wish that irrevocably transforms a character. The best it can do is duplicate another spell, like polymorph any object or some such. No polymorph effects are instantaneous-- they all have an ongoing duration-- which means they're subject to dispel.

So, you can get your dwarf back with a simple greater dispel magic. If your DM declares that won't work, have your mage bust out a disjunction; that sucker can even destroy artifacts, so it will effortlessly take apart that simple little wish. And it won't cost you 5000 XP.

If your DM tries to argue that the transformation is truly irrevocable and permanent and cannot be undone in any manner, inform him that he's a tool, and find yourself a new DM.

 

[shilsen]

Here's a suggestion - just show your DM this thread and the comments on it. Anything you say to him after that will seem incredibly polite and diplomatic

 

[domino]

It seems that everything that I was going to say has already been said.

But I'll say it again.

That trap right there's a big, steaming, heaping load.

A DC 40? Unless we're talking epic levels, which I seriously doubt, you might as well just call it a DC of "It's going to happen anyways."

And disarming the trap sets it off? That means it simply can't be disarmed. And thus, renders a rogue, any rogue, completely useless, and goes against the theme of the game. Traps are obstacles to be overcome. Not excuses for the DM to tell people they're dead.

 

[dcollins]

Man, if people are angry over this, better nobody tell them about AD&D Module S1...

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

I must say I would also consider altering that if I myself were doing my own conversion. But, one must remember that back in the day of AD&D games were played for keeps. There were a lot of instant death traps around, and no automatic raise deads available either. Lots of folks will call that "unfun", but it is a faithful translation of the adventure in question.

I never saw an old style D&D save that gave a penalty worse than -4. A 10th level 1e PC would make that save 60%-70% of the time. So where does DC 40 come from? Or DC 27?

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

Locating, much less rescuing, this unfortunate, will be an epic quest; not even a wish can return the affected being to its former nature unless it is located and forcibly removed back to the Prime Material Plane.

Luckily they are playing 3.5. Gate will bring the PC back with no fuss whatsover.

 

[dcollins]

I never saw an old style D&D save that gave a penalty worse than -4. A 10th level 1e PC would make that save 60%-70% of the time. So where does DC 40 come from? Or DC 27?

It's a trap with no save. There's lots and loys of those in AD&D adventures. The DM here tried to make it easier by attaching some kind of save to it, and everybody here winds up complaining about it. Guess that'll show him to actually modify the adventure to give the PCs a chance.

 

[Felon]

I must say I would also consider altering that if I myself were doing my own conversion. But, one must remember that back in the day of AD&D games were played for keeps. There were a lot of instant death traps around, and no automatic raise deads available either. Lots of folks will call that "unfun", but it is a faithful translation of the adventure in question. A plane shift by itself isn't going to remedy this, either. The adventure original text says (Part III, p. 51):

OK, so I gather this "Nights Below" is 1e conversion. Can we get some authors and maybe a date of release, just to put things in perspective?

Yep, no-save traps aplenty in the good ol' days. You weren't supposed to be terribly attached to your PC, any moreso than you would be to, say, the racing car you played in Monopoly or the queen you played in a chess game.

In Tomb of Horrors, what was the save against sticking your head into a room-sized sphere of annihlation? Or a long, long hallway that flat-out drops you into an inferno? Don't recall if there was a save against having yor soul sucked into one of Acererak's eyes or being trasnported into in an extradimensional prison the size of a laundry hamper....ah, good times.

 

[moritheil]

There's no such thing as a wish that irrevocably transforms a character.

If your DM tries to argue that the transformation is truly irrevocable and permanent and cannot be undone in any manner, inform him that he's a tool, and find yourself a new DM.

Evidently the Wish spell functions differently in that campaign. If wish is that powerful, just have your characters wish to gain divine rank. Repeat until you're strong enough to remake the fabric of reality, and restore your old buddy. Of course, the game is now over . . .

 

[Staffan]

OK, so I gather this "Nights Below" is 1e conversion. Can we get some authors and maybe a date of release, just to put things in perspective?

2nd edition, actually. 1995, and I think it was mainly written by Carl Sargent.