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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Skallgrim" data-source="post: 4911186" data-attributes="member: 79271">Actually, I think it would be quite possible to do a good Tomb of Horrors in 4e, because of the high hit points, healing surges, and absence of "save or die" mechanics.High hit points mean that you can easily create traps with damaging auras, ongoing damage, easily triggered attacks, etc.  Those things can damage a party, and whittle down hit points each round, without the use of high damage attacks.  The healing surges mean that each trap/encounter can be really nasty, with a genuine potential for character death, but still allow a surviving character the chance to "heal back up" before the next room, so each room can be a real challenge in itself.The 4e mechanism of after-effects and disease/poison progression means that you can have really cool and dangerous traps which gradually reveal themselves to be deadlier and deadlier, rather than "It hits you and you die".  Some quick ideas:A room with a trapped floor (and ceiling).  No tile in the floor activates until there is no weight on the floor in the previous room.  The far door cannot be opened (normally, of course) until the floor tiles have been activated.  Every tile is electrified, and sends an arc of electricity to the tile on the opposite surface when it is stepped on (and again at the start of each player's turn, if it is still stepped on).  The attack targets Reflex, and does, let's say, d8+1 damage.  It has a secondary attack on a hit, which targets Fortitude, and this, on a hit, slides the target one square (involuntary muscle contractions).Now, the lightning arcs also KEEP another trap from triggering.  If any tile activates and does NOT conduct an arc of lightning to its opposite tile (because you've disabled it with force, a thievery check, or because you resist the lightning and do not conduct it, the two tiles are quickly slid towards each other.  This attack is vs. Reflex and does, say, 3d10+7 damage.  On a hit, you are also restrained (by being crushed by the two columns) and take ongoing 10 damage until you escape.  On a miss, you shift one square (because you are dodging the two columns).  If you cannot shift, the trap automatically critically hits you.This means that those two columns are now joined, and form a 5' impassable column from floor to ceiling.See?  That is a really rough sketch of an absurdly dangerous trap.  There are certainly ways past it (One person enters on foot, while the others enter using flying.  When the trap triggers, the one person on foot also begins to fly.  The rogue, using flight with Hover, hovers over the door and picks the lock.  That's one way off the top of my head.  Maybe the entire party can spider climb on the walls!).  There are also ways to just survive it.  Take the lightning damage, run through the damn room, and break down the opposite door on your way through.  Perhaps the next room will be better?I think you can easily come up with good, really insanely dangerous rooms in 4e.  In fact, it's kind of awesome, because any traps this deadly will be worth TONS of xp, so any party who can make it through the Tomb will emerge as grizzled survivors with lots of levels!</blockquote>

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