Return to the Tomb of Horrors (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Tomes) [Box set] [Game]

Bruce R. Cordell (Author)

Product Details

• Game
• Publisher: T. S. R. (July 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786907320
• ISBN-13: 978-0786907328
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.2 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,437,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Intense Deathtrap Challenge Even For Experienced Players, October 20, 2000

By 

Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine (Fairfax, Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Return to the Tomb of Horrors (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Tomes) (Game)

Return to the Tomb of Horrors is a new boxed adventure module based on the old S1: Tomb of Horrors module from tournaments and 1st edition AD&D. The scenario is intended for four to eight characters from 13th to 16th level. Like the original Tomb by Gary Gygax, Cordell's Return is an intense deathtrap challenge even for experienced veterans of the game.

Set in Greyhawk but usable in any campaign, this adventure begins with mysterious villager disappearances and swarms of undead. Your party comes to investigate and becomes entangled in a web of deadly schemes. But what does this have to do with the original Tomb of Horrors? The one that's been dared by many, plundered by few, over the years? Well, it's still in business, and still merrily eating heroes. But if the original deathtrap dungeon was a satisfying meal, this new adventure, wrapped around the original module and set 20 years later, is a murderous banquet. This is the first dungeon adventure I've ever read where I actually felt sorry for the players, and I'm including the original Tomb in that. The new story enfolds the original dungeon crawl in a deadly blanket of new traps and additional story, creating a hideous multi-stage gauntlet for anyone seeking the final mystery at the end. Yes, you get to visit the Tomb itself again, but its significance has changed and deepened.

I have to agree with the author on the use of characters for this adventure: either the group ought to be specifically rolled up for this adventure, or, if the players' regular favorites are to be run through the scenario, tone the thing down, WAAAYYY down. There are sections in this beastly tome that can kill one character per page, and, as the party penetrates the deeper mysteries, the killer trap rate escalates to one or more per room. This makes a party of four-to-eight high-level PCs seem rather puny, and suggests a horde of henchmen, hirelings, and cannon fodder, preferably walking out in front.

Can someone familiar with the original Tomb play or enjoy this? Absolutely. In fact, I'd like to see a group of players, all either DMs who have run Tomb or players who went through it successfully, go through the Return to the Tomb of Horrors. Maybe they'd live long enough to get to the second half of the adventure. Maybe.

This boxed set is stuffed with goodies. There are nine maps and seven new monsters in a full-color maps and monsters book. The maps are very clear, with one exception: Map 3 is so darkly printed that the color-coding is very difficult to make out, but I believe that because of the restricted movement in those areas there should be little impact on play. An illustrated "module" of 160 pages, with appendices of new spells and magic items, includes many "old" spells relying on several other AD&D books (some out of print) but the author urges the DM to make appropriate substitutions when necessary. There is a facsimile of the original S1: Tomb of Horrors module, which is actually used in play. DMs will want to go through this and make detailed adjustments beforehand, since it is not written to 2nd edition AD&D standards. No problem for collectors worried about the value of your original copy: this is not an exact facsimile, as the illustration booklet is bound into the middle. A new illustration book holds scenes to be shown to the players at various points in the adventure, and because since there are two scenes on each page you might want keep a sheet of plain paper folded length-wise handy for covering the second illustration. Lastly, there are handouts for the players, consisting of an eight-page "journal" (in a very difficult font) and a double-sided color card, with special instructions for photocopying and preparation.

In playing this adventure DMs may want to keep in mind their particular players' temperament and game style: are they looking for a real, undiluted challenge, or are they going to be murderously upset by the DM making their PCs into elf flambe, dwarf kabobs, and Halfling hash in one evening? If there is serious risk of you becoming a DM pretzel, you might want to edit this severely and just integrate it into your regular campaign.

Return to the Tomb of Horrors is an excellent adventure in the old module style.

--Sharon Daugherty for Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Running game in two groups due to its popularity, January 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Return to the Tomb of Horrors (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Tomes) (Game)

This was an excellent module, but is not one for a new DM to attempt. I am running this game in two completely seperate groups. One group has nine players and ten characters of 11th-16th level. The other is a slightly smaller, higher level group.

I found this to be one of the most exciting games I've ever run, but also among the most deadly as well. It is certainly the most successful.

There are many opportunities for players to die, and die horribly without chance of resurrection. This puts a great responsibility on the shoulders of the DM, since if you play the module strictly you could kill the entire party with little trouble and without changing a thing in the module!

Overall, if you decide to take on this very challenging adventure as a DM, be prepared to fudge in favor of the characters, or your game will end as swiftly as it has begun.

In my first game, the characters are about 3/4 of the way through the adventure, and they have had five character deaths, two of which were permanent and irrevocable. And I am a very benevolent and kind DM! The players love it, though, and I have written a 70 page adventure log in story form, which my players love and rave about.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is what Fantasy gaming is supposed to be!!!!!, June 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Return to the Tomb of Horrors (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Tomes) (Game)

Top quality production adds to plain old good writing in this large scale adventure for high level Player Charcaters. It has it all, including a retro return to Gary Gygax' grand tomb itself. Been there in the 80's? Try this one on. Easy to DM, fantastic imagry, great NPC's. This one drew me back to TSR, and shows what gaming product can be.