Tomb of Horrors - Part I - Areas 1 - 7

[@feththeexorcist]

I believe the 3 stone puzzle is meant to mimic the sky cycle during the day. At dawn, the sky would mostly be flooded with the color yellow, mid day, the sky is blue as the sun is directly above, and at dusk, the sky is orange. The mist in the archway is supposed to represent the clouds in the sky. That's my take on it at least.

[@Classic_DM]

That's a really smart analysis. I wonder if that was ever explained in an old issue of the Dragon?

[@robertconway8741]

that's an interesting analysis. I don't recall ever seeing this specifically referred to in any contemporary 1e AD&D source but it could make sense and you could create a clue around it if needed. As there are only 6 possible combinations of color stones nothing really prevents the party from just sitting and trying all of them until a possible result is observed.

[@joycekoch5746]

H.H. Holmes Hotel was a sad attempt at this.

[@joycekoch5746]

One of the great challenges is the tomb takes days to get through and that means sleep breaks, eating, and crapping and deciding when they do these things and when and where. So often Dm's forget the game play when players bed down and who is keeping watch ect.

[@robertconway8741]

There are no wandering monsters in the Tomb. The module specifically states players can pretty much rest where they like without fear of encounter though the DM is not supposed to tell players this. However when i run the Tomb any time the party actually falls asleep in the Tomb with or without a watch they are attacked by some form if spectral undead, the sprirt of a prior adventurer who lost their lives in the Tomb

[@erniemiller1953]

The archway sequence is the poem found earlier and describes the colored circles in another room.

[@Classic_DM]

Thanks, Ernie Miller!

[@robertconway8741]

What poem found earlier? the one in the Gargoyle lair? It doesn't mention the sequence. Which version are you referring to.

[@stevewright8431]

Tomb of Horrors was not created or written by Gary Gygax. He provided the artwork, graphics, editing, and packaging for publication. As with many other things D&D, it was plagiarized by Gary. ToH was written by Alan Lucien, one of the group of the original designers of the game, and ruthlessly DMed it at Origins. For his contribution to D&D rules, Alan created the majority of the original Magic User spells. Gary disappeared with all the game notes then returned months later having published the game under his own name, giving the other creators "a free copy of the rules." At Origins, after seeing no group get through the dungeon, Gary loved it and asked Alan if he could publish it as a module (seeming reasonable this time). Alan said, "sure." Gary published the game, having added the artwork and graphics since Alan just had it all in pencil, as "Tomb of Horrors, created by Gary Gygax. The author wishes to express his thanks to Mr. Alan Lucien who was kind enough to submit some of the ideas for this dungeon," as seen on the cover of the original module, and on the 1981 version, but omitted in all later versions. As with D&D, Alan never got a penny of the profits, just a free copy of the module. In later years, Alan (and many other creators) declined to "submit some ideas" to Gary. As for myself, I have played a character in ToH twice (the first time with Alan himself at his house) and never made it past the first hallway!

[@Classic_DM]

This is great history that I had no idea about! Thanks. I'm pinning this comment so others can read. Again, thank you for sharing these details about Alan, the original creator. It must have been awesome to play the game at such an early stage. How old was Alan and yourself then?

[@robertconway8741]

Are you saying Lucien actually DM'd this at Origins I? Every source I've ever encountered suggested EGG did. And that the adventure that was brought was EGG expansion of Lucien's original dungeon and that EGG had commissioned Tracy Lesch to do the artwork that was brought for that convention that would later be updated by the TSR artists. If Lucien DM'd Tomb of Horrors at Origins I and not Gygax, it would imply that Lucien worked much more closely w Gygax on the adventure brought to Origins than any of the historical sources document. Can you elaborate further on this statement of yours? Is there documentation that Lucien ran the ToH tournament at Origins I and not Gygax ( and that he was running ToH and not the Tomb of Ra-Hotep?

[@stevewright8431]

@@Classic_DM I was about 17 years old. I'm 62 today. I had started with the SCA and Alan, an excellent fighter at the time and I had joined his household so Alan (Alfric his SCA name) could teach me. He showed me one of the first D&D characters ever created, before Gary left to get it published: a then 13th level magic user named Blamor (who had picked up a curse along the way that if someone said his name backward, "Romalb" would cause his instant death). I think Alan was in his mid 20s at the time I was part of his SCA household. The OG group was into the miniature game, Chainmail. At some point Gary made a comment how cool it would be if the minatures were more lifelike. Then the brainstorming began and they came up with Dungeons and Dragons.

[@stevewright8431]

​@@robertconway8741 That is what I'm saying @robertconway8741. Gary did not DM ToH at Origins, Alan did. Gary didn't write the game or draw the maps. Alan did. It was his game created for Origins. Gary had nothing to do with it until he later asked Alan if he could publish the adventure, which of course happened after Origins. All Gary did was hire an artist (I believe you are right, it was probably Tracy) to clean up the penciled maps and artwork for publication, and likely hired a writer or did it himself (most likely), to transcribe the...again...pencil written notes. If Gary was not disingenuous, he would have published the game as "ToH, by Alan Lucien, Edited by Gary Gygax"...which in fact it was, and paid Alan, which of course, he didn't. The history you mentioned (that we have all heard over the decades) was "the history according to Gary Gygax". Of course. Gary was almost immediately rich when D&D (later penned Basic D&D) hit the market, while the others just got free copies of the rules. It was in his best interest to avoid giving them too much attention. For example, Tomb of Annihilation doesn't mention Alan's name anywhere. Alan's name is forever removed from the product. Alan was bothered by the plagiarism (both times) and just never dealt with Gary again. Alan (and to my knowledge, the other three that designed D&D with Gary) were, rather overtly, carefully, not mentioned over the years which has bothered me for decades. Gary wasn't much into sharing. Though I played D&D for nearly ten years after starting in 1979, before switching to other games, I have never been a fan of Gary. Oh, until your post above, I have never heard the term, "Tomb of Ra-Hotep" in the 45 years since I got slaughtered in ToH at Alan's house as a teenager. Either Alan never mentioned that to me or it's a recent addition to the mythology. That means nothing though. I have been 100% out of touch with D&D for 35 years except for a short stint 5 years ago running a Pathfinder campaign. Documentation? Receipts? Of course not. Why would Gary leave a trail that could get him sued or discredited? You just have to decide what you believe. An account relayed by some faceless guy on the internet sharing personal lived experiences. Or the established mythology crafted by known plagiarist Gary Gygax and passed on by ethically challenged corporations protecting their interests like WotC and TSR, relayed over the decades by tens of thousands of well-meaning players from person to person. Choose as your conscience dictates and NEVER regret your choice because in the end, it doesn't matter. Gary died in 2008, and Alan hasn't spoken Gary's name in over 35 years. Me, I'm just an old fart sharing memoires of younger times.

[@JonsDDVlog]

It'd be nice if, perhaps at conventions, people would run a bunch of DMs clinics. They would feel almost like college classes where the students could be given instruction on how to run different mechanics, modules or monsters...etc.. If I could participate in something like that, I'd be quite happy about it.

[@Classic_DM]

That would be an awesome idea. As long as it's about playing the game so players have fun!

[@JonsDDVlog]

@@Classic_DM I agree. We don't need it to become just another stupid corporate money making thing.

[@Classic_DM]

Correction! "All living matter which goes through the arch will be teleported to 3, while non-living matter is teleported simultaneously to 33, i.e. characters stepping through will appear at the start totally nude, while everything else with them will go to the crypt of the demi-lich."

[@Classic_DM]

Full Playlist kzbin.info/aero/PL4eDfZIBxlUa3eVxqvVbe0gZJoJKrdNCb&si=7TT2OgL_VOyxwtNs

[@robertconway8741]

you do not come into room 13 from room 7. the secret door goes into the extension of the path

[@Classic_DM]

Great catch! They enter from area 10, The Hall of Great Spheres via the, "...sphere illusion of red color" I always found this description confusing, "Eventually the small tunnel leads to a magical one-way door which opens in the pit side as shown, and players are back to square one . . ." The map shows what looks like a floor secret door hatch that opens into 13. When making the map it would have been clearer to just make the dashed tunnel go no where near room 13.

[@swirvinbirds1971]

In OG D&D poison was instant death if you failed your saving throw. Nothing unusual for this module.

[@Classic_DM]

Nasty. Imagine being level 12 and rolling a 1.

[@swirvinbirds1971]

@@Classic_DM it happened. But we also had stuff like the Reincarnation spell where you might come back as a Rock Baboon or a Troll with no class or levels. 😂

[@Classic_DM]

3 levers, each with 4 positions. Statistics?

[@robertshulman1659]

4 to the 3rd power. Or 4x4x4=64