D&D 5E (2014) Suggested level for Tomb of Horrors in TftYP and thoughts on a "Respawn" mechanic?

[Magma]

I'm planning on doing a one shot of Tomb of Horrors in a couple weeks. I'm trying to think of a way to ensure that the party will get to see all of the content.

I'm thinking of going with lvl 14 PCs and give them some sort of magical way to respawn so no one will have to sit out if they die early.

Is this even necessary for 6 lvl 14 PCs? Should it be a shared pool of lives or unlimited uses? Perhaps a penalty on each respawn where their stats are reduced by 1 each time?

I'm open to suggestions, the party is going to range from veteran players to one person who has never played before.

 

[alienux]

Have them bring multiple characters. If/when one dies, the party can find another character trapped and release them to join with them, and the player whose character died can join in with that new character. There are several ways to accomplish this without having it be the exact same scenario each time.

 

[darjr]

Google the DCC funnel idea.

Sunday me and another GM ran 14 people at two tables through as much of the mod as we could. All 1st level. Death meant a new character with a group as they tried again. We had over 20 PC deaths, seven sessions, and at least two TPKs one within moments of starting. It was a huge amount of fun.

 

[TerraDave]

Chance of dying early is pretty low. Its there, but low.

14 is a little high. It shouldn't matter too much, as its a challenge the player (not the charecter) type. Technically the last encounter has a CR of 21 (this is in the fine print of the monster manual) but again a poorly played higher level group will face disaster, whereas a more careful lower level one has a chance.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I agree with alienux on the multiple characters and TerraDave on how the module challenges player smarts more than character abilities.

That being said, if you’re really attached to the respawn mechanic, go for it. I’d agree that there should be some sort of a penalty, but if your goal is to get them back in the game quickly, it could take time to recalculate the stat penalty. A permanent level of exhaustion would be easy. Or maybe you could use the optional Injury rules in the DMG?

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Another possible penalty is simply: "If you use up all of your Orbs of Temporal Reversal [a.k.a. Undo Buttons], you lose."

Making the Undo Button be a shared pool is good if you want to encourage group cooperation; making it individual is good if your players enjoy competition and you want a Survivor-like race to the McGuffin.