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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Henry" data-source="post: 2689492" data-attributes="member: 158">The Tomb isn't quite a "screw the players" module, compared to the unofficial entries of the time, and that's even more an indication of the shift in player culture. REAL "Screw the player" games are spoken of in the 1st edition DMG (under the "Killer DM / Monte Haul DM" section), and I don't even wanna think about what those were really like.When it was written, according to Gary, it was actually a true testament to skill at puzzle-solving, which was a more desired trait among the predominant players of the day, versus now. In Gary's (and many others') view, one of the desired traits of an experienced player was the ability to be cautious and tenacious in following a goal. As he explained once, there was a large prevalence of players at the time (both in his home groups and at conventions) who had high-level characters, and were quite boastful of their accomplishments. This module was the ultimate "Oh, yeah? Let's seen you try THIS!" of the time. While not every trap and danger had a work-around, a dead PC or hireling was ample testament to not being fooled twice by the same trap. From what I gather talking to Rob, Skip, etc., in Gary's home games, if you had a high-level character, it meant the player was crafty, inventive, and as cautious as a soldier on his fifth tour of duty in a war zone, yet wasn't perturbed by losing a high-leve character to the "fortunes of war."Remember, that the whole thing, as designed, was passive. whatever you do in that module, you do it to yourself, by entering a certain room, or being careless with subtle signs that something's wrong, etc. It's meant to harm characters in such a way that sheer ego will drive players onward. Not much of an inflated ego? You have no business in the Tomb - let Acererak sleep. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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