Tomb of Horrors 5e and Rest mechanics

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

So I'm going to run the version of Tomb of Horrors that appeared in Dungeon magazine awhile back, and I'm looking for ways to avoid the 5-minute workday problem. The dungeon itself has no wandering monsters or inherent urgency. On the other hand a lot of the mayhem is "figure it out or die" rather than slow death my attrition damage, except for perhaps the many pit and poison traps.

So, will this be a problem which notably reduces the challenge? and if so, how should I get the group to press on rather than resting after every scuff and bump along the way?

Ideas I have are to adopt the "gritty" rest mechanics from the DMG, but so long as they have enough food (Hello create food and water) this doesn't change anything except the time scale.
Also, I thought about making it impossible to sleep within the tomb, due to magic filling them with an overwhelming dread when they try to rest. But very little stops them from back-tracking and leaving the tomb to rest outside, assuming they're smart enough to mark/record any traps they find.

Thoughts?

[Nonah_Me]

Have the Tomb be touched by the Far Plane or Limbo: the traps and hazards randomly reset or change their parameters every time the characters come across them. Change the DCs, change the damage, change their general location. That'd be my play.

[LordVonDerp]

Have the Tomb be touched by the Far Plane or Limbo: the traps and hazards randomly reset or change their parameters every time the characters come across them. Change the DCs, change the damage, change their general location. That'd be my play.

That may prove counterproductive...

[Ramshack]

Why don't you create wondering monsters, or ghosts. Whenever they rest ghosts come through the walls. Or they have nightmares and don't gain the benefit of a rest etc.

[Fwiffo86]

Ideas I have are to adopt the "gritty" rest mechanics from the DMG, but so long as they have enough food (Hello create food and water) this doesn't change anything except the time scale.
Thoughts?

This is the best option, especially if you are running TOH as a one off. The characters are likely 12-14th level at most. One rest period should be enough.

Don't forget that any attempt to teleport (including misty step) nets a 1d4 Type 3(I don't remember the actual type) demon attack as they are just sitting there on the astral waiting to reset everything when everyone dies or attack anyone attempting to circumvent things. No reason these demons can't spawn at night to interrupt a rest period.

[VoxRationis]

If you're really, really concerned about them taking too long, race them against another party, or against a thieves' guild (so the party won't think "Oh, they'll just die to all the traps").

[Easy_Lee]

I would do this: the objective must be completed by X time or Y bad thing will happen. Perhaps the big bad is performing a ritual, or some big good is going to die unless the players recover an artifact within a few days.

That gives the players a time limit, a set number of short and long rests they can take to complete the goal. It makes them want to rush and can also discourage derailing behavior. And if you want to avoid casters solving all of the problems, this is one strategy for avoiding that.

[JAL_1138]

A lot of instant death and difficult puzzles were pretty well how the Gygax version of the Tomb handled it too.

[Kurt Kurageous]

Keep track of game time in a 24 hour format.

They get a rest at lunch, and one more somewhere before they quit for the night.

I hated that module. Good luck.

[goto124]

What does the '5-minute workday' refer to, by the way?

Also, I hope everyone knows it's, well, Tomb of Horrors, and prepares loads of character sheets.

[Easy_Lee]

What does the '5-minute workday' refer to, by the way?

Also, I hope everyone knows it's, well, Tomb of Horrors, and prepares loads of character sheets.

In general terms, any party with many limited-use-per-day abilities can blow all of them in a nova, then head back to town and repeat it again the next. Wizards are most famous for it, since they can do the most things and have many methods of ensuring a successful long rest.

[Malifice]

Give them a small time limit to complete it. If it's a one off, Acerak fulfills his plan and coverts the realm into a new negative energy plane.

8 hours should work.

[Hawkstar]

If you don't want them to be able to leave the tomb at all, find a way to have it seal behind them.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

I'm thinking I'll use a combination of terrible visions and existential dread preventing long rests within the tomb combined with the soft-urgency of the other adventurers (Backup PCs if the party wipes early) that they ditched in town a few days ago so they could keep the the dungeon treasure for themselves will likely be enough to keep them moving. But if I see the group becoming overly-cautious the visions could warn them of imminent doom to be stopped, e.g. I'll wing it.

[Kurt Kurageous]

A cloud of green-grey gas of undefined effect pursues the party room from room. It worked in hunger games, they knew when it was time to run...

[Submortimer]

Give them a small time limit to complete it. If it's a one off, Acerak fulfills his plan and coverts the realm into a new negative energy plane.

8 hours should work.

I agree with this. If you read Ready Player One, the tomb featured very prominently in that, and everything in the Tomb (Including the Joust machine Acererack was using (it makes sens in context) reset every day at midnight.

[Yoroichi]

So I'm going to run the version of Tomb of Horrors that appeared in Dungeon magazine awhile back, and I'm looking for ways to avoid the 5-minute workday problem. The dungeon itself has no wandering monsters or inherent urgency. On the other hand a lot of the mayhem is "figure it out or die" rather than slow death my attrition damage, except for perhaps the many pit and poison traps.

So, will this be a problem which notably reduces the challenge? and if so, how should I get the group to press on rather than resting after every scuff and bump along the way?

Ideas I have are to adopt the "gritty" rest mechanics from the DMG, but so long as they have enough food (Hello create food and water) this doesn't change anything except the time scale.
Also, I thought about making it impossible to sleep within the tomb, due to magic filling them with an overwhelming dread when they try to rest. But very little stops them from back-tracking and leaving the tomb to rest outside, assuming they're smart enough to mark/record any traps they find.

Thoughts?

Simply tell your players that in the tomb you cant take a long rest :0

[endur]

Ideas I have are to adopt the "gritty" rest mechanics from the DMG, but so long as they have enough food (Hello create food and water) this doesn't change anything except the time scale.
Also, I thought about making it impossible to sleep within the tomb, due to magic filling them with an overwhelming dread when they try to rest. But very little stops them from back-tracking and leaving the tomb to rest outside, assuming they're smart enough to mark/record any traps they find.


Tomb may have one way doors ... i.e. once you enter, you can't leave.

[KorvinStarmast]

Tomb may have one way doors ... i.e. once you enter, you can't leave.
Tomb of Horrors ~ Hotel California

Seems to work, on quite a few levels.

[Vogonjeltz]

So I'm going to run the version of Tomb of Horrors that appeared in Dungeon magazine awhile back, and I'm looking for ways to avoid the 5-minute workday problem. The dungeon itself has no wandering monsters or inherent urgency. On the other hand a lot of the mayhem is "figure it out or die" rather than slow death my attrition damage, except for perhaps the many pit and poison traps.

So, will this be a problem which notably reduces the challenge? and if so, how should I get the group to press on rather than resting after every scuff and bump along the way?

Ideas I have are to adopt the "gritty" rest mechanics from the DMG, but so long as they have enough food (Hello create food and water) this doesn't change anything except the time scale.
Also, I thought about making it impossible to sleep within the tomb, due to magic filling them with an overwhelming dread when they try to rest. But very little stops them from back-tracking and leaving the tomb to rest outside, assuming they're smart enough to mark/record any traps they find.

Thoughts?

Isn't the point of the Tomb that it requires slow careful planning and forethought, and that rushing in with no care at all = certain death?

If anything this behavior of the players should be rewarded.


Give them a small time limit to complete it. If it's a one off, Acerak fulfills his plan and coverts the realm into a new negative energy plane.

8 hours should work.

How would they even know there's a time limit? And if this is common knowledge, why aren't the real heroes of the universe doing something? You know, those level 20 guys who are even more amazing.


Tomb may have one way doors ... i.e. once you enter, you can't leave.

If these guys are level 12-14 and they enter a tomb rumored to be extremely dangerous without the ability to break a door, they're out of their league.