Tomb of Horrors

DnDmodule| module_title = Tomb of Horrors
module_

module_code = S1
module_rules = 1st Ed AD&D
module_character_levels = 10-14
module_campaign = Greyhawk
module_authors = Gary Gygax
module_first_published = 1978
series = S1 S2 S3 S4
Return to the Tomb of Horrors

"Tomb of Horrors" is a 1978 adventure module for the "Dungeons & Dragons" roleplaying game, written by Gary Gygax. It was the original tournament dungeon used at the Origins 1 convention [Lawrence Schick. "Heroic Worlds" (Prometheus Books, 1991).] . "The Tomb of Horrors" is a 2002 novelization of the adventure written by Keith Strohm.

Numbered "S1," the module was the first in the "S" (for "Special") series of modules. It was followed by ', ' and "". Although part of a series for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting, the four modules had no connecting plot or theme. "Tomb of Horrors" is one of the most famous "Dungeons & Dragons" modules. [cite web |url=http://skewedperspective.com/reviewsgiants.html |title=Against the Giants by Ru Emerson |accessdate=2007-03-25 |publisher=skewedperspective.com] It was also the first module to include a numbered series of drawings, each of which would be shown to the players upon entering a certain area or encountering a certain fate.

The "Tomb of Horrors" is infamous among players of the game as a "killer dungeon," filled with all manner of extremely deadly traps and monsters that are capable of easily wiping out high-level parties of player characters. Indeed, some players consider "Tomb of Horrors" to be "unfair"; many of the traps within largely ignore game mechanics and story logic in their operation [cite journal | last =Turnbull | first =Don | title =Open Box: Dungeon Module Review | format = review | journal =White Dwarf | issue =Issue 13 | pages =16–17 | publisher =Games Workshop | year = 1979 | month = June/July] .The plot of the module is that of a simple dungeon crawl; the evil demi-lich Acererak was said to linger on in his ancient tomb in undead form, and the characters were to survive the deadly traps and fight their way down to the demilich's inner sanctum and slay him once and for all. In 1998 a sequel was produced, "Return to the Tomb of Horrors", which significantly updated the plot of the original.

"Tomb of Horrors" was ranked the 3rd greatest "Dungeons & Dragons" adventure of all time by "Dungeon" magazine in 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the "Dungeons & Dragons" game. [cite journal |last=Mona| first=Erik|authorlink=Erik Mona|coauthors=James Jacobs|title=The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time|journal=Dungeon |volume=116 |year=2004]

Updates

"See also: List of Dungeons & Dragons modules"

Wizards of the Coast released an updated version of the original module as a free download for Halloween 2005. [ [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051031a Adventures: Tomb of Horrors (revised)] from Wizards of the Coast] It retains much of the original content, updated with content from the Dungeons and Dragons supplement book "Libris Mortis". The update was designed using the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 Edition rules.

Novelization

"Tomb of Horrors" was made into the novel "The Tomb of Horrors" by Keith Francis Strohm for the Greyhawk Classics series. The book was published by Wizards of the Coast in 2002.

References

*cite book
last =Gygax
first =Gary
authorlink =Gary Gygax
coauthors =
title =Tomb of Horrors
publisher =TSR
date =1978
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
id =
**Gygax, Gary [1983] (2005) revised by Bruce Cordell " [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051031a Tomb of Horrors (Revised)] ". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
*Erik Mona, James Jacobs, and the "Dungeon Design Panel". "The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time." "Dungeon" #116 (Paizo Publishing, November 2004).
*cite book
last =Strohm
first =Keith Francis
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =The Tomb of Horrors
publisher =Wizards of the Coast
date =2002 UK ISBN 0-786-92702-X. US ISBN 0-786-92727-5.

External links

* [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051031a Wizards of the Coast's "Tomb of Horrors" page]
* [http://www.acaeum.com/ddindexes/modpages/s.html The Acaeum's page on the "S" D&D module series]
* [http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showbook&bookid=1264 Pen & Paper's entry for S1]
* [http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=1095& RPG Now's entry for S1]