We're Going To Do Return to the Tomb of Horrors and One Player has Freaked Out!

[spectre72]

I will add a different opinion than most....

It sounds like alot of people have never played in either TOH or RTOH (of which TOH is a part).

I have run the TOH several times in every edition of D&D and have played in it a couple of times.

Most of my comments revolve around TOH since I have not played the return.

The player should be scared, and so should the character since it should be a place of legend.

Something like "I heard that Bob the Mighty Barbarian and his 7 companions went searching for the tomb, and they were never heard from again......." repeated many times.

The DM can tone the adventure down, but if run as written (and as intended by being a tournament module) you can wipe the floor with any party of characters since it is designed to kill them.

I recently ran a conversion for a local convention with 8 characters of levels 12 - 16 and it ended up as a TPK both times within 2 to 3 hours.

The comments after the event were along the lines of .....

"We never had a chance"

"That was CRXX and we are only YY"

In todays "Balance" driven games players are not prepared for a session where they are outclassed and outgunned.

I have had conversations with the other DM's in our group and we consider the module appropriate for two things, either a one shot or a campaign ending event.

If you put it in the middle of a campaign then you would have to "Balance" it to keep from killing everyone.

 

[Ravellion]

The DM held up the module for all to see? Smiling, was he?

Has the DM dropped hints lately that he would like to start a new, lower level, campaign?

Rav

 

[Gentlegamer]

Find out if the scared player would rather play a converted Isle of the Ape instead . . .

 

[SamuraiY]

I have to admit, I once threatened to drop out of a game like that and I still feel like an incredible jerk for having done it, but in this case I really think you should listen to him. Roleplaying shouldn't be an excuse to throw away a campaign thats been going on for this long. Unless he has seriously retooled the scenario I would be very woried.

 

[jonesy]

"Gather around one and all, and I shall tell you the secret to surviving the Tomb of Horrors..."

*The sound of someone being skewered.*

"...no no no. Over here. Don't trip on the bodies and..."

*The sound of crushed bones.*

"...oh my, that has got to sting a little. Now if you'll just..."

*The sound of someone going mad and tearing his heart out.*

"...will you all please stop dying long enough for me to tell you the trick! Thank you. The trick is this: Don't lose your head."

*The sound of the storyteller being mobbed by the party.*

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I played a theif in the original TOH. Died in the first five minutes due to a bad roll. I checked for traps, found a trap, attempted to disarm, failed, died. Woo-hoo.

 

[Falkus]

My rule of thumb is that if you, the player, have an overwhelming fear of the PC dieing then it's time for the PC to retire.

There's a difference between being afraid of your chracter dying, and not wanting your character to stick his head in a gullotine and pull the lever.

 

[spatha]

Well we did the module as a campaign ender in 2e days. We made it 3/4 of the way through the module with no loss of life. As a matter of fact my theif/mage was doing extremley well. I unfortunatley couldn't make it to the rest of the games due to work. I believe we only lost 1 of our group of 6 to the module and that was in the final battle. Not that bad actualy just need to play smart and not try to bash your way through it.

 

[Henry]

I perhaps have a different motive, a metagaming motive: I'd send my character in. I wouldn't care.

Why? Because I enjoy gaming. I enjoy all the pitfalls, the highs, the lows, the TPKs, the vast treasure hauls, the winning of kingdoms and the losing of your shirts. When I die, I make another character. When the whole party dies, we make new characters. We play the same game as another up and coming bunch, or we start a new campaign.

I've got at least 5 campaign settings right now I wouldn't mind trying. I've got two I'm playing in that I'm enjoying right now. There's always another concept. All of it's a game, and I'm wasting time if I'm not playing it.

 

[Gentlegamer]

I perhaps have a different motive, a metagaming motive: I'd send my character in. I wouldn't care.

Why? Because I enjoy gaming. I enjoy all the pitfalls, the highs, the lows, the TPKs, the vast treasure hauls, the winning of kingdoms and the losing of your shirts. When I die, I make another character. When the whole party dies, we make new characters. We play the same game as another up and coming bunch, or we start a new campaign.

I've got at least 5 campaign settings right now I wouldn't mind trying. I've got two I'm playing in that I'm enjoying right now. There's always another concept. All of it's a game, and I'm wasting time if I'm not playing it.

Well said!