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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 3220996" data-attributes="member: 7737">I bought this boxed set at Origins just before 3e hit, and never got a chance to run it. However, I do remember staying up all night reading, and reading, and being amazed as how fantastical the Return seemed. Hats off to Bruce Cordell for writing a compelling module.(As an aside, one of the Dungeon magazine editors -- either Erik Mona or James Jacobs -- once wrote that when accepting submissions, they ask not only "Does this seem like a fun adventure to play?" but also "Does this seem like a fun adventure to read?" A lot of adventures get read and never played, and some people subscribe to the magazine just to read the adventures with no intention of ever using them.)So, back to the Return, I think the setup is a little slow, especially the part with the [spoiler]giants[/spoiler]. After the party gets to Skull City, however, the action picks up. It helps that Skull City is home to several of the adventure's coolest villains (the [spoiler]vampire trio, Mistress Feranifer, and Academician Drake[/spoiler]) and some of its best scenery.Then we get to the City that Waits (Moil), which as others have noted, just oozes an atmosphere of dread. The lethal puzzles in Moil are a fitting tribute to the original Tomb, and the new monsters like the [spoiler]winter wight[/spoiler] and the [spoiler]darkweaver[/spoiler] are equally high quality. There's also yet another great villain, [spoiler]the Lord High Exultant[/spoiler], who does what more villains should do: [spoiler]he cheats![/spoiler].Finally we come to Acererak's Fortress of Conclusion (another evocative name; Cordell is really good at coming up with them). I honestly don't see how this can end in anything but a TPK for the vast majority of parties. Big A is just too well entrenched and has too many [spoiler]undead bodies into which he can transfer himself[/spoiler], plus he's still got his array of save-or-die effects if the party gets far enough to face him in his floating skull form.However, the fact that the party can fail spectacularly, in a way to means the entire multiverse is f-cked, is great. No matter what happens, it's sure to be a memorable final battle.= = = = =Note: Return to the Tomb of Horrors is the subject of one of my favorite story hours here on EN World -- the first story hour I ever read, in fact. It's by James McMurray and is located <a href="http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=5176" target="_blank">here</a>.</blockquote>

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