Questions on Tomb of Horrors/Greyhawk/AD&D history

[Pbartender]

I want to get the conversion, but really don't see how.

Check out this thread...

 

[Katana_Geldar]

That's a maybe, a very BIG maybe given my location. But thanks for the headsup all the same.

 

[Mouseferatu]

(as opposed to the hardback, which is really a conversion of return to)

Um, no. It re-uses some elements/locations of Return, but it's absolutely a new adventure, not a "conversion" of anything.

As Merric pointed out, it's basically part three of the ToH trilogy (albeit written to stand alone).

 

[Thanael]

KG, do you have access to the original ToH, you can see the tiny bit that is there. (also nice for the illustration book).

Return to by Bruce Cordell is certainly an expansion and adds quite of background (and skull city, wich you know from the new 4E hardback)

Iiirc the 2E boxed set contains a reprint of the original. If you don't have it the original should be readily and cheaply available as a reprint or a used copy on ebay.

 

[Katana_Geldar]

Found it for $50 on Amazon, though one of my players was nice enough to give me an early Christmas present of Return. So I've spent this weekend I've been sick reading up on it and I'm getting some sort of picture that I just want to confirm.

So, Acererak wasn't officially defeated once and for all until Return? He's just been bouncing back and back again as when he's been destroyed the phylactery wasn't? I'm trying to make some sort of sense and a bit of continuity to the story, while at the same time have a few things embroidered into the tale that may or maynot even be true.

I really like Return, and I'm going to use parts of it for my own campaign when I get to it. Like Desatysso's diary, which they're probably going to find in some library where the last group left it for safe keeping.

As for the group that actually defeated Acererak and destroyed his phylactery, I can have a little fun with the adventuring party and make them whoever I like. I'm guessing it's about 50-70 years since then and some of the adventurers could still be around...

 

[MerricB]

Acererak is sort of like a comic book villain: each time you think he's defeated, he pops up again. Bit like Vecna, really. Or Magneto.

What is particularly interesting about this new adventure is that in the first two adventures, the presumption is that it's in the World of Greyhawk. With the new Tomb of Horrors, it's in the new cosmology and setting - which is very much "the Best of" setting, where if something was really good in a previous edition of D&D, there's a place for it here.

So events such as the original ToH and RttToH may have occurred here, but not exactly as you might imagine them.

(As far as really dangerous adventures go, I still really enjoy Gary Gygax's Necropolis, which I ran during 3e).

Cheers!

 

[Katana_Geldar]

I'm running it in my own group's campaign setting which we develop in dribs and drabs, depending on who's DMing at the time. It has a lot of the "dressing" of the default 4E setting, like the planes and gods, but everything else we make up as we go along...

What's more, while I'm taking a break from the chair until the whole group can get back together for part 2 (won't be until the New Year), another DM in the group wants to expand the lore a bit more to give potential plot points to explore later...but I am still keeping hold of the vital cards until it's time for the reveal.

Just as a check, did I get these races and classes right for Return? Some of them were guesses.

[sblock]
Gerik Desatysso – Human Wizard
Sather – Human? Cleric (making it Pelor in my game)
Falon T’selvin – Human Fighter?
Aaron – Elf Ranger
Lyla – ? Rogue
Grunther – Human Fighter
Tiefon – Dwarf Fighter?[/sblock]

 

[Thanael]

Here's the Greyhawk wiki entry on Acererak