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2010-03-28, 12:57 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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- Denver, CO- USA
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A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Greetings, this is both my first shoutout to the forum and my first project within, so bear with me as I form both my introduction and the project into one, semi-flawless piece of fluff :P
When Gygax died (can you believe its been a little more than 2 years since?), like many of you, I mourned in my own way. For me, it was taking a break in DnD and advancing my projects in other fields. Then Arneson died (coming up on a year), and I began to get back into the roleplaying world. So I reintroduced myself to the 4e world and began learning the new trends.
The biggest disapointment for me so far is the lack of carrying on the tune of my favorite module, the Tomb of Horrors. I'm well aware that theres a movement to convert ToH to 4e however, after all the years of remaking the Tomb I feel that we've lost something in the wake of time. The adventure, the uniqueness, the thrill of of playing/running a module that was insanely deadly, well loved, and entirely unique.
Recent recreations of the Tomb have seemed to have lost something... while I would still play them, its the equivalent of playing with hand-me-down toys.
We can rewrite/update the Tomb countless times, and the demons within can repair it endlessly, but nothing that comes from its shadow will bring back that feeling of excitement that we had the first time through, only the memory of that time is with us.
You're probably wondering what my point is... which is quite simple, we remake the Tomb of Horrors, not rewrite it. Fill it with once again new and deadly encounters, the likes that no mortal has seen before.
We'll need writers, artists, and devious tacticians to complete the project, but most of all, the one thing that will seperate this from those that have come before, is its tribute to those lost to our world.
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2010-03-28, 01:03 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2005
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Undr 4E rules? It might be kinder to let the poor Tomb rest in its grave, than unearth it and force it into compliance with a ruleset it has no business associating with. You could accomplish it, but it wouldn't be pretty, and there'd still the the business of the status condition
Spoiler
obliterated by the Sphere of Annihilation
(save ends).NOW COMPLETE: Let's Play Starcraft II Trilogy:
Hell, It's About Time: Wings of Liberty
Does This Mutation Make Me Look Fat: Heart of the Swarm
My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er: Legacy of the Void
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2010-03-28, 01:06 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2005
Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Honestly? I'd wait for the 4e Tome of Horrors To come out first, to see what Wizards thinks you can get away with for the module.
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2010-03-28, 01:08 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2007
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- Missouri
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
There is nothing in the 4e rules that says you can't have instant death effects. It's just that by default, 4e doesn't have them because they are incredibly anticlimactic and unsuitable for the edition's cinematic gameplay.
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2010-03-28, 01:13 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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- SF Bay Area
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
My god, they actually plan to release the Tomb of Horrors into 4ed DnD? Do we get a save to see if our backup characters are killed before we even start the game? I have to wonder what the Tomb of Horrors could really do in a new world where players seem to have the rather upper hand, instead of the DM just needlessly punishing his fellows with a mere wave of his hand. I mean, I don't know the rules too well, so what sort of horrific things can we throw at PCs...I mean technically speaking PCs are supposed to be allowed to kill Orcus O.o
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2010-03-28, 01:13 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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- Denver, CO- USA
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Believe me when I say that I'm the biggest fan of 4e, it does however offer a great ease of getting into the play of the game, far better than any previous version, and much more enjoyable for the current generation of roleplayers. It is by accepting this fact that we take our first step in understanding the value of 4e, and what it can offer us in such a project... the ability to reach the next generation of gamers, to give them that sense of honor and terror of running a module as evil and twisted as the original Tomb of Horrors.
No task worth doing ever comes easily, its up to us to create the world that the new Tomb will exist in, and that includes such things like the Sphere. Again, I reitterate, we'd be recreating the Tomb, not updating it. It would be our goal to bring about just as deadly of options in the 4e universe as there where before. Besides, this would hardly be the first module to create an item outside of the core rules. Besides, this time around we can be far more vicious, it could be a treasure chest of annihilation.
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2010-03-28, 01:15 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2008
Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Well, failure and death can be cinematic too.
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2010-03-28, 01:22 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Indeed it can. Lets take a quick jaunt back to Return to the Tomb of Horrors for the direction I'm considering. Yes, players are to be able to kill Orcus after they get strong enough, but that fight wouldnt be easy, just possible. By allowing players to reach powers like that you allow them to challenge their own beliefs about how the world should be run, and allow them to effect major effects in all realms. When you're living in a world where video games give you the limits of never becoming a god, being able to kill a god is quite enjoyable.
Back to Acererak, its 3e history that he was defeated, mainly because then they wouldnt have to worry about what god's he'd be killing once he came into power. My thought, and initial direction for it is, what if he was never defeated, and he's since claimed the souls of Gygax and Arneson. The third I was considering leaving it open, for the players to fill in, as they could find a person in their life or in their characters life that would fit the bill of being a soul that Acererak would need to become a god, thus giving a reason for every player to go after Acererak, to redeem their family memebers soul.
Anywho, thats just the direction I was thinking.Last edited by Anasazi; 2010-03-28 at 01:24 PM.
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2010-03-28, 01:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Back then, they were also allowed to kill Lolth/Lloth in 1st edition. And a few years later, Odin, Zeus, Horus-Ra and other real-world deities, as well as newer ficitional beings like Cthulhu, Azatoth, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
Killing deities and anthropomorphic representations of holidays in D&D is not something that one should be complaining about.
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2010-03-28, 07:02 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Thou brings blasphemy to mix these names together and it could be an interesting take. it would be like writing an entirely new adventure without any use of any other background and letting the players help build it....hrm. I wonder could this be done?
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn"
Cthulhu: The REAL lord of chaos.
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2010-03-29, 12:14 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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- Denver, CO- USA
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Indeed it can. In all reality, this is what Gygax and Arneson did in the very beginning, and the writers of current modules and delves are just normal people with a creative idea.
But we still need to get it down, such is the task, and such is why I'm looking for help. See, I'm a strategic mastermind and I have plenty of puzzles and interesting fights thought out, but I'm not so good at writing fluff, and I'm in no way an artist.
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2010-03-29, 08:22 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Sounds like a great idea. It was mentioned that 4e spends a lot of time making things look cinematic, and what's more cinematic than a gauntlet of doom?
What's great is that the fact that characters are exponentially more powerful this go means that we get to create exponentially more devious deathtraps for them to flounder in.
If guinea pigs become necessary, I know somesuggestible freshman minionsfriends who play 4e and would be eager to playtest, I'm sure.
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2010-03-30, 08:01 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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- Denver, CO- USA
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Lol, Exactly Jack!
Anyone who's interested in helping PM me. We'll be releasing the final product so everyone can use it and anyone involved will have their names written into the delve.
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2010-03-30, 07:35 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Remember back in the early 1980's when it first came out at gen-con and it was so frikin' deadly that if you made it out alive you could do stuff like have bumper stickers saying "I Survived The Tomb of Horrors!".
Well what really bugs me is that apparently they plan to make the 4e one Balenced!!! Well screw that! We can totally make an overpowered Kick-in-the-Door style classic dungeon crawl with way to many traps and ridiculously deadly monsters!
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2010-03-30, 08:14 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
I'm thinking it should be in the paragon tier, but if it's in the heroic tier than it could give the PCs a sort of "helpless" feel. BWAHAHAHA
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2010-03-30, 08:22 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Wait, balanced? I thought the whole point of Tomb of Horrors was supposed to be a horrible grueling test of ones mettle and patience with constant death...and in the end you win a +1 dagger for your efforts. AFTER you kill the demi-lich by the way...oooh, demi-lich they still have those in the new edition? I haven't read all of the new manuals.
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2010-03-30, 08:25 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
I know, the tomb of horrors should Never be balenced!
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2010-03-30, 11:39 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Hang on, I'm feeling some evil brewing here...ok, so stay with me here. So, we have, I dunno, a full adult volcanic dragon with a demi-lich riding on its back. Now, the battlefield would have to be large as minions would have to swarm about, or something like that. Trolls, ogres, you know enemies that don't die from a puff of wind from a wandering butterfly. Re-animating skeletons? Zombies that can't be stopped until the demi-lich is killed, maybe even the adult dragon has some offspring? Man, wouldn't it be cool to kill a volcanic dragon, those things are frightening.
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2010-03-31, 05:51 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Lets have lots of acid pits and instant death traps.
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2010-03-31, 07:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
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2010-03-31, 09:00 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Last edited by Chainsaw Hobbit; 2010-03-31 at 09:00 PM.
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2010-03-31, 09:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Lets not have a volcanic dragon but instead have a good old-fashioned red one.
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2010-03-31, 10:02 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2008
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- United States of America
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
If you guys need a fluffy writer, I wouldn't mind offering a bit of help. I'd have to actually read over the old tomb of horrors, but I'm still offering. Main reason for my offer is a bit selfish though. Still trying to decide between game design/creative writing for my major. ;P
[spoiler]All hail Snuggles, may his eye never come to rest on thee. CATNIP FOR THE CAT GOD! YARN FOR THE YARN THRONE!
The awesome avatar of ownage was created by none other than the esteemed Nevitan
Characters
Kage
K- 42 (Kaz)
Kurai
Rai Sho
Rosuto
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2010-04-01, 06:49 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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- Denver, CO- USA
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
We all have our own reasons for doing it Kaz, nothing selfish about it. The team and I are happy to have anyone interested in the project join. The end result will be released publicly for all to enjoy but it might take awhile so be patient, we're going to be doing this right, and doing things right takes time.
Further ideas or questions about the project are welcome, and we might come back and update every now and then.
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2010-04-01, 08:58 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2008
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Alrighty then.
[spoiler]All hail Snuggles, may his eye never come to rest on thee. CATNIP FOR THE CAT GOD! YARN FOR THE YARN THRONE!
The awesome avatar of ownage was created by none other than the esteemed Nevitan
Characters
Kage
K- 42 (Kaz)
Kurai
Rai Sho
Rosuto
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2010-04-02, 06:17 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
I don't know all that much about 4e (I have the DMG and KotS, but that's it). I can help with murderous traps and stuff, but whatever I post will be mechanic-free. I can also do some fluff. Pm me when we get to work. In the meantime, I'll check in once-in-a-while.
Bienvenue Au Kébec !!!
Improve Kébec's Industry!
Improve Kébec's Transport!
Improve Kébec's Security!
My Trophies!
Spoiler
Also, if anyone has any sort of problem at all that they feel like talking about, my PM box is open.
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2010-04-02, 06:23 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2007
Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Open Grave has stats for demiliches- and Acererak.
DMG has the Sphere of Annihilation as a Level 29 Hazard- damage, ongoing damage, if killed, you are instantly reduced to dust.Marut-2 Avatar by Serpentine
New Marut Avatar by Linkele
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2010-04-02, 09:42 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
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2010-04-02, 10:10 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2007
Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn
Two versions- the construct version is a Level 13 solo, the demilich himself is a level 26 solo.
Marut-2 Avatar by Serpentine
New Marut Avatar by Linkele
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2010-04-02, 11:21 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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Re: A Tribute to Gygax: Tomb of Horrors reborn