Tomb of Horrors
| Tomb of Horrors | |
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| Type: | Adventure module |
|---|---|
| Code/Abbreviation: | S1 |
| Edition: | First edition |
| Author(s): | Gary Gygax |
| Series: | S1, S2, S3, S4, Return to the Tomb of Horrors |
| Publisher: | TSR |
| First Published: | 1978 |
| Pages: | 12, plus 20-page Illustration Booklet |
| ISBN: | 0-935696-12-1 |
| Class: | Officially published material |
Tomb of Horrors is a 1978 adventure for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, written by Gary Gygax. It was the original tournament dungeon used at the Origins Game Fair convention. The Tomb of Horrors is a 2002 novelization of the adventure written by Keith Strohm. The Tomb is rumored to be located somewhere in the Vast Swamp south of Sunndi.[1]
Numbered "S1," the module was the first in the "S" (for "Special") series of modules. It was followed by S2: White Plume Mountain, S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and S4: Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. 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.
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.
The plot of the original module, such as it was, was a simple dungeon crawl; the evil demilich Acererak was said to linger on in his ancient tomb in undead form, and the characters were to fight their way down through it to the demilich's inner sanctum to 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 third greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon magazine in 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game.
Updates
The module was revised with a new cover in for the 1981 printing. Tomb of Horrors was later included in the compilations Realms of Horror and Dungeons of Dread.
Sequels to the module include Return to the Tomb of Horrors for second edition (which included a reprint of the original module), Tomb of Horrors (4e) for fourth edition, and Tomb of Annihilation for fifth edition.
Wizards of the Coast released an updated version for third edition (v3.5), Tomb of Horrors (Revised), as a free download for Halloween 2005 [1]. It retains much of the original content, updated with content from the Libris Mortis.
a fourth edition update for RPGA members;
Tomb of Horrors was included in D&D Next playtest rules in Dungeon[2] and as a bestiary-only conversion in one of the playtest packets.
On August 04, 2015, it was re-released in digital format on DriveThruRPG and Dungeon Masters Guild for $14.99. By 2023, Tomb of Horrors (4e) had reached the rank of "Electrum seller" on DriveThruRPG.
In 2017 the module was re-released, updated to fifth edition, as part of Tales from the Yawning Portal by Wizards of the Coast, along with other "classic" modules from Greyhawk.
A reprint of the 1975 version of Tomb of Horrors was included in the special edition of Art and Arcana (2018).
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.
In pop culture
The Tomb of Horrors featured as one of the challenges in Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. However, the final confrontation with Acererak was replaced with a best-of-three tournament of the arcade game Joust.
Creative origins
The concept of the Tomb of Horrors was conceived by Alan Lucien. Gary Gygax wrote the adventure from his basis with the particular goal of foiling Rob Kuntz and his son Ernie Gygax, whose characters Robilar and Tenser (respectively) had so far been invincible. Robilar ultimately managed to reach the final encounter by expending numerous orc servants. He fled with his loot rather than face Acererak. Tenser actually destroyed Acererak and kept his loot to boot, although the adventure (complete with demilich) would go on to slaughter countless other player characters.
Reception and influence
Sequels and remakes
External links
- Wizards of the Coast's Tomb of Horrors page
- The Acaem's page on the "S" D&D module series
- Pen & Paper's entry for S1
- RPG Now's entry for S1
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
- Cordell, Bruce. Return to the Tomb of Horrors. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
- ———. Tomb of Horrors (Revised). Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online:[2]
- Crawford, Jeremy, Kim Mohan, Mike Mearls, et al. Tales from the Yawning Portal. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast. 2017. Item code C2207 ISBN: 9780786966097.
- Gygax, Gary. Tomb of Horrors. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1978.
- Strohm, Keith Francis. The Tomb of Horrors. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Below the tomb of horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Dragon magazine #249 | |
| Return to the Tomb of Horrors Boxed Set (Tomes) | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Dragon magazine #249 | 38 |
| Return to the Tomb of Horrors Boxed Set (Tomes) | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Into The Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook, D&D 4e | 108 |
| Return to the Tomb of Horrors Boxed Set (Tomes) | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Tomb of Horrors (Revised), D&D 3.5e | 2 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Dragon magazine #225 | 49 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Dragon magazine #249 | 38, 39 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Into The Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook, D&D 4e | 108 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Dungeon magazine #213 | |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | From the Ashes: Atlas of the Flanaess | 73 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Ghosts of Saltmarsh, D&D 5e | 28 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Ghosts of Saltmarsh, D&D 5e | 28 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Living Greyhawk, Living Onnwal Gazetteer, D&D 3.5e | 5 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Return to the Tomb of Horrors | 3 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | S1-4 Realms of Horror, Adventure Booklet | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7-20 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | S1-4 Realms of Horror, Illustration Booklet | #1-18 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | S1-4 Realms of Horror, Inscription and Map Booklet | 1, 3 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Tomb of Horrors (Revised), D&D 3.5e | 1 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Tales from the Yawning Portal, D&D 5e | 4, 5, 212 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | Tales from the Yawning Portal, D&D 5e | 210-227 |
| S1 Tomb of Horrors | Adventure | Located in: Vast swamp, | World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) | 30 |
| Tomb of Horrors | Place | LT2 Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad | 29 | |
| Tomb of Horrors | Place | Player's Guide to Greyhawk | 27 | |
| Tomb of Horrors | Place | Return to the Tomb of Horrors | 6 | |
| Tomb of Horrors | Place | The Adventure Begins | 2 | |
| Tomb of Horrors (D&D 1e) | Adventure | Reference | SEE S1 Tomb of Horrors | |
| Tomb of Horrors (D&D 4e) | Adventure | Into The Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook, D&D 4e | 108 | |
| Tomb of Horrors, Revised (D&D 3.5e) | Adventure | Dungeons & Dragons 3.5, Web Update | ||
| Tomb of Horrors, Revised - Illustrations (D&D 3.5e) | Adventure | Dungeons & Dragons 3.5, Web Update | ||
| Tomb of Horrors, Revised - Maps (D&D 3.5e) | Adventure | Dungeons & Dragons 3.5, Web Update | ||
| Tomb of Horrors, Revised - Maps (D&D 3.5e) | Adventure | Map-A-Week Archive, 2005 | Web |