WIR S1 Tomb of Horrors [SPOILERS!! SPOILERS EVERYWHERE!!]‏

[Havrik Stoneskimmer]

Huh?! I always took it that the Juggernaut rolls 10-60' EVERY turn if the DM rolls a 4.

It's very vague. The exact text is "Each turn of slumber roll a d4, and if a 4 results, a stone Juggernaut (rather like a steam roller) comes out of the 20'x20' room to the north and rolls 1-6 spaces (10'-60') south then west as determined by a roll of d6".

If it wasn't for the "comes out of the 20'x20' room to the north" part, I might agree with your interpretation that the juggernaut keeps moving each turn. Although that itself is odd: it stops for 10 minutes and then starts rolling again?

I think the most literal interpretation of the text is that it's meant to be a one-shot trap that is completely lethal if you draw the unlucky numbers. Kind of a lame trap, IMO, although any other interpretation is even more unfair and lethal.

The alternate idea that the PCs could individually wake up while the trap is activating is really cool, but would require a lot of DM judgments that the module doesn't provide: Did you wake up before or after your friends got squished? Can you stop the juggernaut from moving? Can you drag your sleeping friends away in time? Even though it requires a lot of DM improvisation, I might run it this way just to turn it into a trap that could be fun instead of another case of "rocks fall, everyone dies" with no warning.

 

[Stoat]

Area 24. Adamantite Door

If the PC's find the secret trapdoor in Area 23, it leads down to a narrow hallway. 100 feet later, they stand in front of Area 24.

The module does not describe the door, and there is no picture of it. Presumably, it is made from "Adamantite." There are 3 slots in it at about waist height. The door is marked secret on the map, but it is not secret. The map marker is only there "to make certain that its actual nature is known".

The adamantite door is protected by permanent anti-magics. There is no magical or physical way to force your way through. The only way to open the door is to simultaneously shove 3 swords into the 3 slots. Even then, the door will only stay open for 5 rounds, and it will not open from the other side.

The module doesn't say what happens to the 3 swords, but I'm going to assume the PC's never get them back.

IMO: Meh. Area 24 and the means to open it are not mentioned in Acererak's riddle or anywhere else. The only hint or clue to this area is the description of the door itself, which the module does not really supply. Still, "You see a big Adamantite Door with three slots in it at about waist high," is probably going to be enough to let most groups figure out what to do.

This is not a death trap, and it cannot hurt the PC's. The module makes a big deal of the fact that it's a one-way door that closes after 5 rounds, but in desperate times there is nothing stopping the party from teleporting past it.

And why is this marked "S" for secret on the map? "To make certain that its actual nature is known." What the hell does that mean?

Finally, I've heard of Adamant and Adamantine and Adamantium, but "Adamantite" is a new one. This is a word with more weird variants than Mithril.

 

[Bullgrit]

Area 24. Adamantite Door

This door really should have an illustration to show the Players.

To me, I don’t see how Players will naturally, or at least quickly, come to the idea that the slots in the door are for sword blades. I mean, swords come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, even within the various categories, (long, short, two-handed, scimitar, etc.). I’m kind of surprised that the man who wrote pages and pages about the diversity of polearms would write a gimmick that seems to assume that all swords are the same.

But let’s say that the Players do figure out that inserting three sword blades into the three slots will open this door. Let’s look at the precedents set so far in the Tomb of Horrors:

The gargoyle statue – place ten 100gp gems in the statue’s hands, and it crushes each to dust. Fortunately, the PCs can find ten 100gp gems in the Tomb, in an earlier area.

The stone gate – place a magic ring into the slot, and the door crushes it to pieces. Fortunately, the PCs can find a magic ring in the Tomb, in an earlier area.

Now we have a door which requires you to insert three swords. As a Player, I’d assume the three swords would be destroyed. Also, I’d assume that we must have missed three swords for this purpose in an earlier area. At levels 10-14, surely every sword in the party is magical. I damn sure wouldn’t put my sword blade in any of these slots. This would mean the party either needs to backtrack and search for the area we missed where we can find three swords/keys for this door, or we’d backtrack all the way out and go grab some extra swords that we wouldn’t mind being destroyed to open this door.

Finally, I've heard of Adamant and Adamantine and Adamantium, but "Adamantite" is a new one. This is a word with more weird variants than Mithril.

Armor of +3 bonus is of special meteorite iron steel, +4 is mithral alloyed steel, +5 is adamantite alloyed steel.

Bullgrit

 

[Squire James]

I was under the impression that, unlike the previous scenarios, these swords were recoverable. All the other scenarios made a specific reference to the fate of the items places, and this one didn't, so I guessed that nothing unusual happened to the swords. Given what's past the doors, I doubt those swords would help much anyway!

Ironically, if the door were somehow removed and forged into swords, a bunch of paladins might have a chance against it...

 

[jonesy]

I think it would be fair to assume that if a player says the character inspects the slots, the DM's response should be something along the lines of "they look sword shaped". Otherwise it's a gamestopper. They'd never even get to the point where they find out that you need to do all three slots at the same time.

I was under the impression that, unlike the previous scenarios, these swords were recoverable. All the other scenarios made a specific reference to the fate of the items places, and this one didn't, so I guessed that nothing unusual happened to the swords. Given what's past the doors, I doubt those swords would help much anyway!

That was my assumption as well.

Ironically, if the door were somehow removed and forged into swords, a bunch of paladins might have a chance against it...

Use them as throwing weapons? If only there was a Hulking Hurler in the party.

 

[Hussar]

Screw using the door as a weapon, sell it, get MASSIVE amounts of xp for treasure and come back when you just gained two or three levels.

 

[FoxWander]

We bypassed the door by stoneshaping the hinges free and then we stole the whole thing. Then we didn't have to worry about getting locked in the next room either.

 

[Hussar]

We bypassed the door by stoneshaping the hinges free and then we stole the whole thing. Then we didn't have to worry about getting locked in the next room either.

This brings up a very interesting point. How lethal the Tomb is will REALLY depend on what system you run it in. The caster types at these levels just gain SO many options in later editions of D&D. In straight up 1e PHB AD&D, this dungeon is quite a bit more difficult.

 

[shmoo2]

In straight up 1e PHB AD&D, this dungeon is quite a bit more difficult.

Stone shape is in the 1e PHB.

More like, this is an example of DM interpretation determining how the encounter operates.

I would not allow that trick to work. The text is explicit that magic can't bypass the door. It seems pretty dumb to build an invulnerable door, and place it in a vulnerable wall.

 

[jonesy]

I would not allow that trick to work. The text is explicit that magic can't bypass the door. It seems pretty dumb to build an invulnerable door, and place it in a vulnerable wall.

That's not what the text says:

It has permanent anti-magics on it, and there is no magical or physical way of forcing entry.

Nothing about bypassing it. Just about force against the door itself.