PlanetADnD.com

Tomb of Horrors and Labyrinth of Madness!!!


I have been thinking of starting another game on the site. Due to time constraints I’m kind of forced to run pre-cons that I’m already pretty familiar with. This thread is to feel-out the level of interest regarding the game below. Let me hear your thoughts, even if you aren’t interested in participating. I’d also love to hear if anyone has played/ran either of these modules.

I’ve been kind of itching to do an old school dungeon crawl and I may have the opportunity soon. I have narrowed my thoughts down to two modules.

The (Original!) Tomb of Horrors!!!
That’s right, I said module S1 by the great Gygax himself from 1978. Everything will be adapted to 2e (since that is the system I’m most familiar with) and kept as close to the original 1st ed as possible. This is NOT the Return to ToH written for 2e. Labyrinth of Madness!!!
You got it, module S6 by Monte Cook from 1995. Designed for 2e. IMHO this one is the tougher of the two, but not by much. To paraphrase an old quote I recall but couldn’t quite track down:

These modules are designed for DMs seeking the untimely, gruesome, horrific and gore-splattered demise of their adventuring parties.

As a side note, Gygax created ToH to challenge his long-term, highly experienced gaming chums…


I want someone to make it all the way through, so long as there isn’t a total party wipeout players will be able to keep rolling up characters if one of theirs dies-off. If there is enough interest, I can make some pre-gens for quick-replacements.

If you are interested, please say which module you would like to play and if you have an idea for what type of character you would want. I won’t start working up a forum for this game until I hear from at least a couple of people.


The Big Sixteen are:
1. What game system are you running (D&D, Call of Cthulu, Palladium, GURPS, etc.), and if applicable what edition (Original, Classic, Revised, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th, etc.)?
D&D 2E


2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be (i.e. "Shadow Chasers" or "Agents of Psi" for d20 Modern)? What is the setting for the game (e.g. historic period, published or homebrewed campaign setting, alternate reality, modern world, etc.)?
Generic Prime Material Plane #4 (my go-to) Though characters can be from practically anywhere, I won’t be picky. Kender and halflings together, no problem.


3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?
4-9 players. If I can only find 3 interested players, I might be able to run it anyway.


4. How fast or slow of a pacing do you want to set? Some games require that players post once a day, every three days, or once a week.
I hate having to push a game, but I know lots of people play at different paces. I would prefer at least one post every 2 days, but I know people have lives. I will instead say 1 post/3 days to be strictly enforced.


5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?
These are advanced modules. I haven’t settled on an exact lvl yet, and in all likelihood it will be based on an xp value. Right now I’m leaning towards 1.5M xp, which equates to about lvl 14 in 2e… don’t feel too super powered just yet… LoM was designed for lvls 15+…


6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?
Depends on which game I run, but it will be commiserate with the xp/lvl chosen. Characters will get lots of funds to pick out a mess of magic items. I’ll provide lists and such. Most anything from the DMG will be available, as well as almost everything from the 2e “Complete Book of Magic Items”


7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?
Classes: Pretty much anything from the official 2e ‘complete’ series of splatbooks. I have made specialized kits in the past, but the life-expectancy of characters in this game might be a little short to put in that level of effort for… No Psions… sorry.


8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?
Any race from PHB or the ‘complete’ series, but Not complete humanoids.
Exceptions: I will allow (from complete humanoid) Bugbear, Gnoll, Flind, Goblin*, Hobgoblin, Kobold*, Half-Ogre, Orc, Half-Orc.
*Means they will get +1 to dex in addition to the stat adj in CH.


9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?
Still thinking about this one. I’m tempted to do a point-buy, but I really don’t like those. Probably either: 4d6 7x drop lowest die from each and lowest total roll; OR 3d4 6x plus 28 pts to spend, Max of 6 spent in any one stat.


10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?
Alignment: Anything, as long as you have a reason for going into the dungeon. This could be as simple as ‘saving the world’ or ‘grave robbing’… I only ask that you play your chosen alignment truly, and that (even if characters conflict), you respect the other players.


11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?
Go for it. The base would have to be split for multi classers, though. A single class Mage with 1.5M xp is lvl 14, a 1.5M xp multiclass Ftr/Mg would be lvls 11/12, and Ftr/Thf/Mg would be lvls 10/12/11.


12. Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?
Rolls made via InvisibleCastle or Unseen Servant, and linked to the post. If Neither of these are available, I will make the rolls.


13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.
I use several home-brew rules for things like ‘firing into melee’ and spell components. Check out the rules on the Demiplane of Dread forum for more info, or just ask here. I want to see if there is any interest before I go too much in depth about this. I will consider NWPs from the


14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?
A short background is all that’s necessary. More than a couple of sentences, though. I’ll go more into this later.


15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?
Rare for me, this one will be low on the RP scale, but will have lots of puzzle solving. RP with other members of the group is encouraged and awarded xp-wise, though.


16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?
Anything from the Purple Worm site with the exception of the ‘Players Option’ and ‘DM option’ series.

A grown up Pyros? lol

I actually wouldn't mind trying a Mage/Cleric, I've always though those would be fun at higher levels.

Nice. That'd put you at lvls 12/11 and would be a metric crap-ton of spell slots for you

I may not have mentioned above, but I'll be allowing pretty much any race to take any class.
The only exceptions being no multi-class humans (or demihumans with less than 120 yr max age), and no dual-class demihumans (except those not available to Multi-class). Basically all the monster races I'm allowing would be treated like humans this way.


Any experience/preference on either module?

I'm in for either. I have not played them, only heard about them.

Here and from from friends who played 2e when it was new.

If you think that will be a high enough level to have a fighting chance, I'm good with the xp level.

As long as you aren't alone Survival for these depends more on quick-thinking than char lvl as long as you're over lvl 10 or so.

Reads the words, "Tomb of Horrors"...runs away screaming in terror.

That is one tough, challenging module. If players want a test of their gaming abilities, that's certainly up there. I can't join as I've played and DM'd that module.

I highly recommend that the players create two or three characters; for when the first character dies, they can just toss another one into the fray.

Cool, always good to know a fellow maniac that has endured 'The Tomb' . How long ago did you dm it? If you can keep char knowledge separate, I might still allow it. Mult chars on standby is definitely a good idea, partly why I was thinking of having some standbys if people wanted.

Altenatively, would you be interested in playing the Laby? I think i'd up the char lvl/items granted a bit for that one...

I like the word labyrinth, so I vote for that one.
I'm thinking of either elf or half-elf fighter/ abjurer.

Nice . Glad to see there's some interest in this

I'm completely maxed out on games right now, but thanks for the offer.

I'm the site admin over at Fairburne - it's another PBMB site. You're welcome to post the game advert there - maybe some players will sign on.

Here's the link to the forum if you decide to post an advert there.

http://fairburne.proboards.com/

You beat me to it Kerap!

Cool, thanks

Jen, you interested?

I'm ... Considering it..

Need a chr idea first.

So a Half Orc would be have to be dual classed?

What about half Orc/Elf?

Trying to come up with something that would be as torn between their humanity as they would be their classes.

Traditionally half-orc just means half orc half anything else (although complete humanoid specifically states 'except elves'. The phb doesn't go into that detail about half-elves, but we can assume the same. I'll look into it a bit more, but I might be able to fix something up for you.

Dual classing isn't that different, except that you don't progress in one class any longer, but you don't have to split xp. You could adjust the initial class to whatever level you want. As long as the second class is equal or higher, there is no xp penalty.

So if you went lvl 11 cleric (675k xp, capable of lvl 6 priest spells) before dualing to Mage, you'd have 825k in that.

As I said before, if we go with the Laby I'll probably give more xp to start.