S1: Tomb of Horrors, A Review
In the annals of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, a select few modules stand out as truly memorable. Who can forget their first steps into the forbidding Caves of Chaos in B2: The Keep on the Borderlands? Or fighting for the safety of the titular village in T1: Village of Hommlet (or in it's expanded form, T1-4: Temple of Elemental Evil)?
Indeed, a select few modules exist that define early Advanced Dungeons and Dragons as a game, and among these classics there is one that to this day can bring fear into the heart of even the heartiest adventurer: S1: Tomb Of Horrors.
The module itself is sparse; a mere twelve pages of descriptions for the Dungeon Master, plus a twenty page black and white illustration book, and rounded out with the ubiquitous wraparound cover/map. Also included in the text of the module is a set of suggested pre-generated characters for running the adventure with players who have either not reached the suggested level (10th-14th), or are unwilling to play their "regular" character while adventuring in the module.
The module's setting is, ostensibly, within the World of Greyhawk in it's most distant reaches, but is generic enough to be conveniently placed wherever the Dungeon Master desires; it is not unthinkable that the module could be set in Faerun or elsewhere, although it might seem a bit out of place (without some conversion work) on the blasted world of Dark Sun.
Once the Dungeon Master incorporates the module or decides to play it as a stand-alone, the real challenge begins for the players. The Tomb itself is the last resting place of Acererak, a demi-Lich of unparalleled power and evil. Once within the Tomb, players will find it aptly named: every step brings a new peril in the form of a fiendish trap, some of which have solutions which are totally contra-intuitive if not completely hidden! Acererak has taken great lengths to protect the secrets and treasures (not all material!) that lie within his Tomb, and is loathe to give them up easily.
The module's "Notes to the DM" text state, very plainly, that S1 is not a "combat" module; and if the Dungeon Master plays it as such, the most the players will achieve is a sense of boredom and frustration. The focus of the module is on thinking; the dismal place that is the Tomb must be explored carefully, meticulously. If you're the Dungeon Master and you're running this module, I highly recommend you encourage your players to think like Indiana Jones - are those tiles safe to walk on, etc.
Of course, even though it's more of a puzzle module than not, there are denizens within the Tomb to make life a little more interesting; a vicious mutant Gargoyle waits for anyone foolish enough to trifle with it's treasure; a Skeleton of a different sort is waiting to spring a surprise, and a rather curious encounter with what might be Acererak. Of course, should the players choose to press on with their exploration, they'll discover the real Acererak, and find that he is not easily dealt with...
The module itself has a genuinely creepy air about it - there are valves that if activated will flood a chamber with blood, a trap based on a gem that will explode and very likely kill anyone who uses it to cast a Wish type spell, and countless other terrible things within. Ultimately, if the players are to survive, each new and unknown situation must be treated with the utmost caution. If something seems to have been accomplished too easily, it likely was!
Like many early Advanced Dungeons and Dragons modules, Tomb of Horrors is sparse in plot development, leaving that up to the Dungeon Master so as to facilitate incorporation within an extant campaign. This reviewer thinks that the module suffers as a result and takes on an air of "The Temple of Inexplicable Evil" (to quote a Usenet post in rec.games.frp.dnd). Be forewarned that many of the traps are of the instant-kill variety, and do not discriminate over hit points, class or level! For a Dungeon Master not interested in running a player-killer module but who do want some of the challenge of S1, there is work to be done to tone the traps down and give the players at least a little bit of forewarning as to what they are about to face.
Overall, I give the module a rating of two and a half stars out of five.