D&D 5E Is It me, or has TFYP Missed Tomb Of Horror's Best Trap?

[Benji]

So, Spoilers, Obvs.

In Tales take on Tomb, location 30 - In the 'Sarcophagus', section it seems to sell that part as a 'Why the demilich has been destroyed' and completely miss explaining the point of that bit to DM's. I think it is important to explain that the Staff of the Magi has been broken inside the antimagic field, right? Not every Dm is gonna realise that removing from the Antimagic field will trigger the effects of breaking such an item? If you've got a cruel Dm, that's like 800 damage at ground zero (assuming it was full when broken). Anyone wonder why they didn't put more thought into explaining that?

 

[Lucas Blackstone]

I don't have the book in question, but the staff description says that when you break it, it happens. If it is broken already and they take it out of the anti magic field, it's no longer a staff of the magi. It's a broken staff that used to be a staff of the magi. It's no longer a magic item to my knowledge and therefore won't explode.

If the book says something different, or there is some other ruling I am not aware of or thinking of that makes the staff still blow up, that seems a little nuts if there are over I would lower the charges to something more reasonable when calculating the damage.

 

[Ath-kethin]

I'm also not looking at the book ATM, but most of what I saw was copy-pasted word for word from my old 1e ToH module, with updated mechanics. I'd be surprised if the later section was any different.

 

[seebs]

So, Spoilers, Obvs.

In Tales take on Tomb, location 30 - In the 'Sarcophagus', section it seems to sell that part as a 'Why the demilich has been destroyed' and completely miss explaining the point of that bit to DM's. I think it is important to explain that the Staff of the Magi has been broken inside the antimagic field, right? Not every Dm is gonna realise that removing from the Antimagic field will trigger the effects of breaking such an item? If you've got a cruel Dm, that's like 800 damage at ground zero (assuming it was full when broken). Anyone wonder why they didn't put more thought into explaining that?

Why on earth would you think that removing an antimagic field would retroactively trigger an instantaneous effect?

 

[Benji]

Why on earth would you think that removing an antimagic field would retroactively trigger an instantaneous effect?

Well first, this is how another Dm explain it to me after we'd decided not to pick up the staff and had finished the adventure. I thought then that it was literally the best trap I'd ever seen. I'm sad to hear it apparently isn't the case. But as I enjoyed it let me make a case for it anyway.

1) Antimagic doesn't destroy magic, a continuous effect comes 'back on' after it's been inside a field.
2) So do magic items, like a +1 sword or everburning torch will come 'back on' too.
3) In that case an item is basically something is powered down and up when it goes inside field. So a staff of magi would have no power when inside the field. Broken inside, it doesn't detonate.
4) Taking it back out 'turns the thing back on' an here is really a never discussed much in my head the staff suddenly came 'back on' and went 'I'm broken' and react accordingly. Again I am not talking about removing the anti-magic field, I'm talking about removing it from the field.

That's some thoughts. I suppose wands that have been fired inside a field don't then go off when you leave.

I don't have the book in question, but the staff description says that when you break it, it happens. If it is broken already and they take it out of the anti magic field, it's no longer a staff of the magi. It's a broken staff that used to be a staff of the magi. It's no longer a magic item to my knowledge and therefore won't explode.

I can see this part of the argument now, I have never questioned it up until now, so I have been believing this is the coolest trap in D&D for like over a decade. Which kind of makes tomb of horrors much more dumb in my estimation. Why even bother defining it as a staff of the magi? Just to add weight to the illusion? Obligatory loot grab with some work?

I may have to work a way to out it back in that way, change the room slightly.

 

[Undrhil]

As often as I hear people talking about the Tomb of Horrors (from the olden days), I'm surprised they don't just scrap it completely and make it new with all new traps and monsters, since there's no surprise to it anymore, except to brand new players who haven't had the privilege of listening to an old-timer talking about the mod and how they ran their kids through it without any warning, as their eyes then get a far-off gleam in them and they start cackling madly....

 

[Henry]

As far as the original goes, unless you have an eidetic memory, just not playing it for a couple of years will likely make it deadly again, as it's so convoluted it would be like forgetting the answers to a test you took two years ago.

Seriously, though, I do think we gamers should invest in some new legends, because relying on the existing ones can make us stagnant. Plus, what is deadly mechanically in one edition may need redefining in another.

 

[Raunalyn]

I don't have a problem with this as written...an Anti-magic field is not a stasis field. Now, if it was a Staff of the Magi that was broken inside of some time of time/stasis field, then I think it would be a legit trap.

 

[JonnyP71]

The point of the room is as a bluff. "A broken Staff of the Magi, bits of bones, a coffer filled with Treasure, an Efreeti granting wishes, hell yeah - he's already dead, we've won, let's go home!" Thus Acererak is left in his eternal sleep.

The party have no reason to believe they are in an antimagic field as *some* spells still work.

 

[Caliburn101]

I have run this dungeon in every edition of the game but 4th, and can say with some familiarity that there is no indication that the staff was broken inside the field, and in any case, as an instantaneous effect, would have 'gone off' uselessly, as only ongoing magical effects are supressed by an antimagic field.

If this were not the case, one could create an antimagic field with a spell, fire off spell after spell and then when the field went down, hit one's enemies with an unstoppable volley of destruction.

It REALLY doesn't work like that...