S is for Skill Use

Since it seems to be a "hot topic" due to musings on the WotC site, I thought I would share some bits from the "Skill Use" section I've written for RCFG.  Later on, I intend on writing a series of "S is for Sandbox" blog posts, but for right now.....S is for Skill Use.

(Most of this will be OGC under the OGL in the upcoming RCFG ruleset.  If you want to use some part of this -- which is not already OGC due to appearing elsewhere -- in your own project, send me an email at ravencrowking at hotmail dot com.)

Without further ado:

Trying Again

Unless a consequence of failure prevents an additional attempt, it is usually possible for a character to try a skill check up to three times before success becomes impossible.

A skill check that has become impossible due to three failures can be attempted again when the character gains another rank in the relevant skill.

In some cases, the Game Master may allow additional checks, but will apply a —2 penalty to all subsequent checks for each failed skill check that has gone before.

The Game Master may allow a new check after significant time has passed, allowing the character a chance to reflect on the causes of failure, even if the character has not gained a level or increased his or her modifier. 

The Game Master determines what qualifies as “significant time”.

DESIGNER NOTE:  Three Strikes

There is a reason that characters usually only gain three chances to succeed  at a particular task — it prevents the game from becoming stale.

In some SRD-derived games, a character can keep making checks until she succeeds.  This means that, unless there is some penalty for failure, when the GM sets the DC, he automatically knows the end result.  Skills become a binary on/off switch, where either an eventual roll of “20” will succeed, or it will not.

This is the same reason that RCFG uses a variable for the Take 20 mechanic….to prevent setting the DC from dictating the outcome.

Three chances still allows characters to take a wild stab at  a task, try harder by using the Take 10 mechanic, and then make their best attempt with the Take 20 mechanic, if circumstances allow.

Taking 20

When a character has plenty of time and is faced with no threats or distractions, and there is no penalty for failure, the character can Take 20.  In general, this means that the character is well rested, at his or her peak, and can control most variables.

It is actually possible to do better under these circumstances than when performing under time limits or stress.  Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, roll 1d6 and add the results to 18; use the resultant number (from 19 to 24) as your roll.

Taking 20 does not mean that the character is simply trying until he or she gets it right, nor does it assume that the character fails many times before succeeding.  Instead, the character is making his or her best stab at a single attempt, considering as many variables as possible before proceeding.  This means that the skill attempt takes at least two minutes, and may take considerably longer (at the Game Master’s discretion).

Threshold Checks

It is also possible for the Game Master to set a threshold at which a skill check automatically succeeds.  If a character’s skill check modifier meets the threshold, the character automatically succeeds.  If it does not, either the character automatically fails, or a regular skill check is called for (see below). 

Threshold checks may be active or passive.

An active threshold check (ATC) occurs when the Game Master determines that a player character’s action triggers the skill check.  For example, the Game Master may determine that a particular wall can be climbed by anyone whose Climb skill check modifier is +7 or greater.  This would be noted as “Climb ATC +7”.

Usually, if a character fails to meet an active threshold, he or she may attempt a standard skill check.

A passive threshold check (PTC) occurs when the Game Master determines that a player character need take no special action to trigger the check.  For example, the Game Master may determine that an ostler will feel loyalty to any character whose Diplomacy is +5 or higher.  This would be noted as “Diplomacy PTC +5”. 

Likewise, the Game Master may decide that a particular piece of information was available to anyone with a Knowledge (History) +4 or higher.  This would be a passive threshold check if the player did not need to ask to get the information.

In the event that a character fails to meet the threshold, the Game Master can either determine that the check itself is failed, or that a normal skill check might allow for success.  If the threshold check was a passive threshold check, any normal skill check allowed must be triggered actively by the player character in question.

The DC of the normal skill check need not relate directly to the DC of the threshold check.  This allows the Game Master to set up situations where a certain degree of competence guarantees success, but even a little less competence makes a large difference in the odds of completing a task.

For example, imagine a lock that a professional thief might easily pick, but even a slightly less competent thief might find troublesome.  The Game Master can choose to make this an active threshold check, with a threshold of +6 (the normal professional standard), that requires a DC 20 Theft check from those who fail to meet the threshold. 

This would be noted “Theft ATC +6/DC 20”.

DESIGNER NOTE:  Skill Options

Players and Game Masters have a lot of options for using skills in RCFG.  Don’t worry about which option is “right” for any particular game event.  The “right” option is the one that works….and keeps the game moving.

If one skill use option is being used, and the result of a check makes another option make more sense, the Game Master can switch to the other option.

In all cases, the Game Master has the final say as to which options are applied.

Complex Skill Tests

In some cases, resolving a problem may require a series of skill checks, using different skills, in a more complex way.  This is known as a complex skill test. 

A complex skill test can be devised by the Game Master as part of an encounter, or running through (and affecting!) a series of encounters.  Players can also trigger complex skill tests by switching gears during a complex skill check or a degree of success check.

In general, a complex skill test runs similar to a complex skill check or a degree of success check.  The Game Master either sets a number of checks to be completed and a DC for each (as per a complex skill check) or a Target Number that must be achieved (as per degree of success).

In the case of a complex skill test, though, the characters are not limited to any particular skill.  Rather, they choose what skill should apply narratively, and the Game Master ascribes a bonus or penalty to the check based upon the narrative explanation supplied. 

The Game Master may also apply some specific effects for failure or success based upon the skill used.  If the Game Master is designing a complex skill test as part of an adventure, he or she should also consider what skills are likely to be applied, and determine what the effects and modifiers are appropriate.

The structure of a complex skill test should never trump events within the game narrative.  If the players manage to resolve a problem with some brilliant ploy outside the structure of the complex skill test, the Game Master is encouraged to allow that resolution to stand.

Example 1:  A group of PCs is being chased through a crowded marketplace.  The Game Master is resolving the action using the multiple opposed DS mechanics using the level as modifier rule, when suddenly one of the players decides to pull down some stacked crates into their pursuers’ path. 

This changes the nature of the action from a straight chase to a more complex test.  The Game Master determines that pulling down the crates will use the level as modifier rule (character level + Strength modifier in this case), and the pursuers must make an Acrobatics check to get past the barrier (DC set by the check of the character pulling down the crates).

The character pulling down the crates makes no gains toward meeting the Target Number, but the Game Master determines that any pursuers who fail, the check loses 5 points toward reaching the Target Number each round until the check is passed.

Example 2:  While designing a dungeon adventure, the Game Master creates a room that is sealed by a sliding wall, trapping any characters who enter it.  Within, a whirling series of blades extend from the walls and floor, while the room slowly floods with water.  The characters have to find a way to cross the room to the far door and throw the lever there to reset the trap and escape.

The Game Master determines that crossing the trapped room, requires 5 checks to succeed.  Each check represents 10 feet of movement.  Two checks can be made in a single round, but the second check takes a –4 penalty.  Instead of determining a number of failed checks that causes the entire complex skill test to fail, the Game Master decides to simply apply the effects of failure:

• Any check, such as Acrobatics, used to dodge the blades causes the character 2d6 damage if failed.  DC 12.

• Bludgeoning weapons can attack the blades effectively (AC 15, DR 5, 20 hp); long weapons can be used to jam the blades (AC 25; weapon must be left in place).  Each blade destroyed or jammed adds a +2 to future checks.  Failure by 5 or more exposes the attacker to another blade, which strikes at a +6 bonus to hit for 2d6 damage.

• Each round, 1 foot of water enters the room.  Each foot of water increases the DC of any physical check (except Swim checks) by +2.  Every 2 feet of water, however, decreases the damage done by the blades by 2 points. 

• When there are 3 feet of water in the room, characters can attempt Swim checks to get past the blades.  Swim DCs start at 15, but every additional foot of water grants a +1 bonus to the check. 

• Drowning is a real possibility.  The room is completely filled with water after 10 rounds.

Example 3:  The characters are trying to find a black market in a medium-sized city.  The Game Master has no specific ideas as to what is required, but has an idea of roughly how difficult it should be.  So the Game Master decides to set a complex skill test, where 5 successes are required before 3 failures, with a base DC of 25.  The DC is high because the Game Master determines that a black market that was easy to find would soon be located by the local government and shut down.

The Game Master also decides that, if the players are asking around, if they get three (or more) successes and two failures, they will be approached by thugs, who seek to get them to stop looking.  Obviously, these thugs also offer an opportunity to bypass the complex skill test before the final failure can occur.

The Game Master asks the players to narrate what they are attempting, and what skills they are using.  The characters gain bonuses or penalties to their checks based upon how relevant the Game Master believes their narrated attempts would be to actually accomplishing the task.

R is also for…Rocketships and Rayguns!

One of the things that I am doing with RCFG is ensuring that the game can be played with modern characters, as a planetary romance (or sword-and-planet saga), and even in a post-apocalyptic  framework.  Many modern players like to sharply divide fantasy from interplanetary stories containing rocketships and rayguns.  But this sharp division is not necessarily the best way to go.

Going back to many of the greats, the authors that made myself (and others) love fantasy, I see a lot of crossover between genres.  Robert E. Howard wrote Amulric, a sword-and-planet novel with a modern protagonist.  He writes of Conan encountering an alien in The Tower of the Elephant – an alien which is reminiscent of the sort that appears in so many H. P. Lovecraft stories.  Before either writer, anyone who thrilled to the adventures of John Carter on Mars or Carson on Venus knows well what a good writer (in this case Edgar Rice Burroughs) can do when he crosses genres.  Burrough’s Caspak novels, Pellucidar novels, and Moon Maid cycle offer further examples.

C.S. Lewis’ Narnia stories revolve around the intersection of our world with a fantastic one, from the dawn of that world’s creation to it’s final battle.  Likewise, in Lewis’ Silent Planet cycle, humans encounter the fantastic first on Mars, then on Venus, and finally at home on Earth.  In order to tell these kind of stories in a game, it is necessary to have the means to travel to other worlds, be they other spheres orbiting the same sun, or fantasy lands like Narnia.

In terms of blending magic and fantasy in far future, post-apocalyptic worlds, who can forget to mention the works of Jack Vance?  For those of my generation, Thundarr the Barbarian is another major influence for this kind of world. 

Nor is this concept new to gaming.  The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1^st Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide contains guidelines for crossovers with TSR’s Boot Hill and Gamma World games.  Gary Gygax’s module, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, had adventurers investigate a crashed starship – some of the alien creatures on board have since become standard Dungeons & Dragons monsters!  The 2^nd Edition Spelljammer setting was a (mostly) clever take on mixing fantasy and interplanetary fun.  Ed Greenwood’s Forgotten Realms once had much traffic with our own world – hence they are “forgotten” not by their inhabitants, but by ourselves.

Following the adoption of the Open Gaming License with 3^rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons, crossover material became even more prolific. 

Even if you never have a group of adventurers travel to the moon, or have an infantry squad discover themselves on a strange parallel earth, having rules on psionics, mutations, and classes that capitalize on the same, can be very useful when advancing the odd aboleth or other Lovecraftian horror.

Blending fantasy and science fiction and adventure tales continues to be popular.  It may have started with Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, but it has a wide range of later application, from the Jeds and Jeddaks of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom to the Jedi of Star Wars.  Every steampunk story containing the fantastic, every urban fantasy tale, every horror story set within the context of the modern or a future world, is part of the same long tradition. 

Even J.R.R. Tolkien suggests, in The Hobbit, that the goblins (or orcs, as they are called in The Lord of the Rings) are part of our world, and may be responsible for some of our worst modern weapons, while Gandalf’s flash-and-bang that kills several goblins in the cave in the Misty Mountains is at least suggestive of gunpowder.  Gandalf is, after all, a master of fireworks, and that is mentioned in the very first chapter!  Why?  Because the fantastic must be grounded in – and in contrast to – our everyday “world” of assumptions in order to ring true.

So, if you are wondering why a fantasy game – any fantasy game! – should bother with rules on creating mutants, aliens, or alien technology, that is my answer.  Likewise for rules on allowing interaction between the fantastic and the mundane worlds.

These things are part of the fantasy genre.  They always have been.  They always will be.

R is for Rust Monster

The original rust monster was a rather goofy-looking creature, which legend tells us was inspired by a coin-machine toy.  Having grown up in Wisconsin, and having seen the sort of toy that might have inspired the rust monster first hand, I am in no position to play “Myth Busters” here!

However, the rust monster is sometimes seen as nothing more than a “gotcha” monster.  In fact, I have had discussions in which it was suggested that the rust monster would be better statted up as a “hazard” (ala Wizards of the Coast-style Dungeons & Dragons).  This is a position that I reject utterly.

Rust monsters are not simply mobile hazards that do nothing more than leap out of the dark, allowing the GM to cackle maniacally as the fighter’s armour dissolves into a reddish-brown pile.  No.  They are creatures that can make sense within the fantastic milieus of D&D, and that can add depth to the campaign while adding interest to the dungeon.

Early rust monsters had no effective attacks apart from turning metals into rust, and so were ideal creatures for dwarves to harness with leather and wood, using them to locate rich veins while feeding them with lead and other base metals.  Because rust monsters can turn any metal into rust, even non-ferrous metals.

This last ability may be of interest to sages, wizards, and other folk who craft magic items or spells.  Indeed, the rust monster’s ability to detect metals may be important to the creation of certain wands, potions, and the abilities of some intelligent weapons.

By the 2^nd Edition, rust monsters could defend themselves with a nasty bite.  Thus, those same dwarves now had clubs and/or whips to keep the rust monsters in line.  The dwarves would sometimes make use of bits of jagged glass braided into the leather of their whips, both to impress the rust monsters more, and to use against other creatures of the endless dark.

Of course, the dwarves also kept their rust monsters on long leashes, which they held partially coiled to limit the creature’s movements.  When faced by an enemy, the leash could be extended, so that the enemy would have to deal with the rust monsters while the dwarves sent runners for archers.  And, of course, any opponent deprived of armour and weapons would be quickly met with club and whip.

In early dungeoneering, taking off one’s armour to deal with the rust monster seemed to be an obvious thing to do.  Yet, that assumes that the character will be free to don it when the rust monster is no more.  Indeed, that assumes that no creature is watching, waiting for the character to do just that.  Because other creatures have learned from their encounters with the dwarves, and they do not all mean adventures well! 

It also assumes that the rust monster, like those of early Dungeons & Dragons, has no nasty bite.  As that same early game encouraged creative refereeing, this wasn’t always a safe assumption even then.

The rust monster presented in 4^th Edition is an anaemic version of its previous incarnations, whose ability to rust metals is strangely subject to reversing itself.  Strangely enough, “Essence of 4e Rust Monster” may well be a component in rituals to mend items. 

But it still isn’t just a “gotcha” monster.  Which should come as no surprise to the clever GM, as it never was before.

Clarification (Re: EN World)

In this post, http://www.enworld.org/forum/5661569-post84.html, Plane Sailing is correct that EN World reviewed the situation independent of my decision.  My decision came about as a result of EN World's decision to permanently ban those who caused EN World to review their options and to "recognise that the topic under discussion needs alarm bells all over it in future" (as nedjer put it).  


So, any implication that EN World's decisions have been swayed by my stance is wrong, as far as I can tell.  On the other hand, any implication that my stance is unrelated to EN World's decisions in this case is misleading.


So, from my position, the score is RCK 0, ENW 0, Trolls 224 and still scoring regularly and often.

Some Sidebars from RCFG Skills Section

Working for a Living

Skills like Craft, Perform, and Profession make it possible for characters to earn a living without adventuring. 


While there are no extended rules for this within RCFG, the Game Master is encouraged to look at the rules for what NPCs in various professions make as wages, and reward the PCs accordingly.  Certainly, having a profession (or similar skill) can be used to allay the costs of “down time” between adventures!

That said, the Game Master should also remember that NPCs have an initial advantage over PCs in almost every profession.  This advantage is based on several factors:

· Existing workspace/shop/supplies.

· Existing customer base – a startup business usually makes less than an established one.

· Existing social network – known professionals are usually supported by their community, using a network of friends, family, and business contacts.

In some cases, marketing oneself as a professional requires admission into a guild or other professional association, which may or may not be easily attained.

For this reason, most PCs who both work and adventure will either have to hire an overseer and labourers to build their business while they are away, or will have to hire themselves out as intermittent journeymen.

Busking and begging (usually using the Perform skill) may also be regulated, or subject to guilds, gangs, and assigned spots.  A percentage of the gross take might be payable on a daily basis to a local boss who “owns the corner” where begging takes place.

Overall, these considerations are not to discourage players from considering business ventures for their characters.  Rather, they are offered as a means both to prevent players from assuming that working requires little more thought than a skill roll to generate lucre (in which case, why adventure at all?) and to ground the PCs in the campaign world’s various guilds, criminal gangs, and professional associations (as appropriate).  In addition, it makes it possible for the Game Master to make such contacts available as a form of “treasure” for adventuring!

How long does it take to make a belt buckle?

Craft skills allow characters to make items, generally at half the cost the item is typically sold for.  Usually, the DC for making these items runs between 5 and 20, depending upon the complexity of the item.  Assume a crafting time of 1 day to three months or more, depending (again) upon the complexity of the item.

Some rulesets attempt to give you a formula that you can use to determine exactly how long it takes to craft any given item.  RCFG doesn’t do this; crafting proceeds at the rate that the Game Master says it does.  The Game Master is encouraged to listen to the players, and to attempt to make a reasonable ruling. 

In the long run, though, the Game Master cannot be expected to know how long it takes to make a bow, or a suit of armour, or a belt buckle, and his ruling is final.  If it seems like the crafting process is taking longer than it should, or that it is going incredibly swiftly, then there is some other factor influencing it, like a run of good or bad luck.

Generally speaking, trying to meticulously determine how long it takes to craft anything is more time consuming and difficult than any benefits gained by so doing.

The Importance of Crafts

Craft skills are more important in a pre-industrial society than in a modern society.  Even in the early industrial era, it was imagined that given the time and tools, most modern conveniences could be recreated.  Thus, in Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island, or Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, the industry of knowledgeable craftsmen is rewarded in a primitive environment.

Characters traveling to wild and exotic locations may not always be able to buy or scavenge the equipment that they need.  The ability to make weapons, pottery capable of holding water or grain, shelter, and so on, can make the difference between survival in a primitive milieu, and death.

To people living in a post-industrial society, who have never crafted furniture by hand, or shoes, or worked metal...who have never turned wood, made a cart wheel, fixed a wooden axle, or thatched a roof….how to complete these sorts of tasks can seem “obvious” or “easy”.  There is little conception in modern society of the skill, knowledge, or time required.

Players are advised to read Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe for some conception of working crafts under primitive circumstances.  The BBC historical series, Tales from the Green Valley, is also highly recommended, and is available on DVD, as are many episodes of the BBC series, Time Team.

Q is for Quipper

Ah, the quipper.  Was there ever a monster to cause more of a love/hate relationship?

When the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition Fiend Folio tome first appeared, it was met with a mixed reaction.  On one hand, it was nice to see some monsters from modules appear in hardcover; on the other hand, some of the monsters seemed a bit...goofy.  On on hand, some of the monsters really seemed to fit in a D&D campaign milieu; on the other hand, some of the monsters seemed a bit more science fictional.  I mean, the Horta from Star Trek and the Martian rats of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter stories both made appearances, albeit with different names and enough changes to prevent legal action

And then there is the quipper.  It's a piranha, except it is found in colder water.  And it's name suggests a bit of a joke.  Hmmm.  Why not just call it a piranha?  And yet....the move to include the piranha - by name or otherwise - in the official D&D canon was a good one.  I have used the quipper in many an adventure back in the day.

The best OGC equivalent that I am aware of is the "blood fish" from Into the Blue (Bastion Press).  Mix with the "creature swarm" template from Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary, and you have something for characters to truly fear!  I used exactly this combination in Balmorphos, published in Dragon Roots #3.  I think to good effect.  This version of the piranha/blood fish will be the basis for the same creature in the Big Book of Monsters for RCFG.

The quipper.

On one hand, you have to ask yourself, why the funny name?  On the other hand, you have to chuckle with glee when you place them in a dark waterway deep underground.

And that is really so much of the 1st Edition AD&D experience, isn't it?  On one hand, you are wondering why things are as they are written.  On the other hand, when you let go and just enjoy it, it is very much fun indeed.

Related Note to EN World

A post on EN World suggested "Post[ing] random quotes attributed to RC saying random or silly things in reponse to another post, things RC never actually said, but due to his total deletion of all his posts can never be conclusively proved that he did not say."  


Intentionally misquoting someone has been a violation of the Rules since the day I started posting there.  It also might open EN World and the poster(s) in question to legal action.


A report of that post, instead of spurring moderator action, ended in an email to me suggesting that I cannot have it "both ways"; I cannot both leave and expect the Rules to apply.


Interesting times indeed.


By all means, tease away.  Stop your teasing short of intentional libel, though.  Or publicly encouraging actionable behaviour.  And if you are intending on committing libel, be a little smarter than this.  Don't publicly announce it.

(Shameless Plug)

http://poemhammer.blogspot.com/2011/08/flumph-with-waving-tentacles.html

P is for Poetry in the Tomb of Horrors (Spoiler Alert!)

Perhaps the most famous riddle in Dungeons & Dragons is Gary Gygax’s riddle poem in Area 3 of the Tomb of Horrors.  Yet it seems that some folks find this riddle a bit difficult to parse.

WARNING:  SPOILER ALERT for the TOMB OF HORRORS. 

If you don’t want to read spoilers, skip this post!

Okay, then.  If you’re still with us…..I give you the riddle/poem:

Go back to the tormentor or through the arch,

and the second great hall you’ll discover.

Shun green if you can, but night’s good color

is for those of great valor.

If shades of red stand for blood the wise

will not need sacrifice aught but a loop of

magical metal - you’re well along your march.

Two pits along the way will be found to lead

to a fortuitous fall, so check the wall.

These keys and those are most important of all,

and beware of trembling hands and what will maul.

If you find the false you find the true

and into the columned hall you’ll come,

and there the throne that’s key and keyed.

The iron men of visage grim do more than

meets the viewer’s eye.

You’ve left and left and found my Tomb

and now your soul will die.

To get through the Tomb of Horrors, you need to proceed from Area 3, reach Area 10, and then reach the following Areas (in order):  14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28, 30, 32, and 33.  It is useful to gain the gem of seeing from Area 11, and the gems in Area 8 help with that.  Note that no area which one does not need to traverse is actually described in the poem; it is not a key to all of the Tomb, but merely to the “correct” path.  Not only that, but the clues to the correct path are given in the order that they are likely to be needed.

Obviously, there will be even more spoilers in this post.  If you don’t want to read them, skip the post.

With this in mind, let us examine Mr. Gygax’s riddle.

Go back to the tormentor or through the arch,

and the second great hall you’ll discover.

This refers to the image of the torture chamber (‘the tormentor”) in Area 3A and the arch at Area 5.  The second great hall is Area 10. 

Shun green if you can, but night’s good color

is for those of great valor.

This refers to the Face of the Great Green Devil (Area 6) and the black sphere in Area 10, which leads to a crawlway that proceeds to Area 14.  “[N]ight’s good color” is black, but it is not the dead black of the Green Devil, and the whole area of the Great Green Devil radiates evil.

In Area 3, characters must determine how to use the Arch to be successful.  As a character approaches the Arch, the base stones glow yellow on the left, orange on the right, and the keystone glows blue. 

According to the module text, “There is a misty veil across the archway, and nothing will cause the vapors to clear, nor will any sort of magic allow sight into the area, until the glowing stones are pressed in the proper sequence - YELLOW, BLUE, ORANGE.  If this sequence is pressed, the vapors disappear, and the path appears to go eastwards.”

If the archway is entered before the mist is cleared, characters doing so are instantly teleported to the Forsaken Prison (Area 7).  If the characters succeed in figuring out the sequence, they are teleported to Area 11 if on the path, and back to Area 3 if off the path.  (As a side note, it is suggested that it will require two characters to move the three levers at the same time, but a clever player can find ways around this.)

There are only six possible combinations of pressing stones (if the players think of this, and press each stone only once):  YBO, YOB, OYB, OBY, BYO, and BOY.  There is no clue to the order needed.  However, attempting such a minimal number of combinations makes this way more than possible.

However, given the difficulty of figuring out both the order needed, and realizing that the PCs need to walk on the path, many players are likely to try the Tormenter, and thus manage to gain passage to Area 8.  In Area 8, they gain ten gems (useful for Area 11) and gain another riddle:  “Look low and high for gold, to hear a tale untold. The archway at the end, and on your way you’ll wend.”

This riddle is somewhat nasty, but it serves to alert characters that pass through the Tormenter without using the Arch to examine the gold sphere that leads to Area 11.  In Area 11 there is a hidden gem of seeing, that can be gained by sacrificing the ten gems from Area 8.  It is difficult, but not impossible, to attain Area 14 and bypass Area 17 without acquiring this gem.

Moreover, the area immediately beyond is difficult enough to turn most parties back to the Arch.  In this case, characters move from one gargoyle (Area 8) to another (Area 11) in very short order.

Characters who pass through the Archway at Area 10A (The archway at the end, and on your way you’ll wend) find themselves back at the start, totally nude, with their goods and items teleported to Area 33.  “on your way you’ll wend” means “you’ll be leaving” in this instance, and it seems very likely that characters will be leaving if they pass through this arch.  If a character passes through the arch while carrying the gem of seeing gained in Area 11, the entire group is in trouble.

On the other hand, there is no way to make the mists in this archway disappear…and characters that have experience with Area 5 are likely to look for another way.  This is nasty, but not unfair.  Nor is the character so dealt with slain.

The “tale left untold” may refer to Area 14 (which raises questions about the demi-lich in life) or it may be a clue that the gem of seeing is used to find “untold” information.  Or it may be both.  This is the only riddle in the Tomb that I personally find to be somewhat opaque.

On the other hand, “night’s good color/is for those of great valor” is very clear indeed!  In my experience, it takes quite a bit of courage for players to consign their PCs to the long crawlspace leading to Area 14.  However, this is the correct course of action, exactly as the opening riddle/poem describes.

The red sphere in Area 10 leads to Area 13, where characters can gain a magic ring (if they need one.  Thus the next lines:

If shades of red stand for blood the wise

will not need sacrifice aught but a loop of

magical metal - you’re well along your march.

Any characters who reach Area 14 have (hopefully) learned not to step through just any archway they discover.  On the other hand, they can find a small slot with an ornate letter “A” traced faintly above it.  A magic ring (a loop of magical metal) sacrificed here opens Area 15.  This “A” should be known to the characters as the sigil of Acererak.

At this point the characters really are well along their march!

Two pits along the way will be found to lead

to a fortuitous fall, so check the wall.

The next challenge the PCs face is to find a door at the bottom of a pit, and these lines give a (perhaps needed) clue.  There are two pits along the way because a pit in Area 3 also has a secret door.  It is also a clue to consider the Tomb in terms of three dimensions – necessary to find the secret trapdoor in Area 23.  By the time characters reach Area 23, though, the players should be well aware that they need to consider what might be above or below a particular floor.

Once you have passed the door after “a fortuitous fall”, you need to “check the wall” for Area 17, which leads to the demi-lich.  Characters who fail to do so pass to Area 18, the False Crypt…and probably end up fleeing the module with some modest treasure.

These keys and those are most important of all,

Refers to both the riddle, and the keys found in Areas 19 and 28 (as well as the scepter in Area 25D).  They are the most important of all because (1) it should be very difficult (if not impossible) to succeed without the keys, and (2) the next lines refer to what may be the two most difficult areas in the Tomb other than Acererak himself.

and beware of trembling hands and what will maul.

Refers to the Agitated Chamber (Area 21) and the Juggernaut (Area 23A).  Failing to pay attention to those keys will, indeed, kill you.

This is harder to parse than most of the poem because, while the players should determine that they might need “keys”, what the “trembling hands” are is not given, nor “what will maul”.  Clever players should be able to realize that their hands will be unsteady on the unsteady flooring of Area 21.  The real danger in this room is that the tapestries will be torn…and that danger can be eliminated by having steady hands resulting from dealing with the floor.  The characters will probably be aware of the floor’s motion before they have a chance to use their “trembling hands” on the tapestries.

On the other hand, characters that discover what “what will maul” is probably going to die, because they failed to fully solve Area 23.

If you find the false you find the true

and into the columned hall you’ll come,

and there the throne that’s key and keyed.

This refers to the False/True Door in Area 23, and is a clue to look for the true door where you find the false.  Of course, there is no direct clue to then look for a secret trap door, but a wary party should still have a charge or two left on the gem of seeing.  By this point, the group will have encountered two areas (the door to Area 14, and the secret door at Area 17) that require the gem, and a few areas where things are not as they seem.

The “columned hall” is Area 25 (as should be obvious to most players once they reach it), and there discover the throne that is both the key (via the scepter) and keyed (as the passage), leading them to Area 28 and 29.  The group should discover, at small cost, that the scepter is again the key, and thus into the False Treasure Room (Area 30).  Trying to remove the crown may have a greater cost, however.

The iron men of visage grim do more than

meets the viewer’s eye.

These lines tell the characters to examine the iron statues, which in turn leads them to Area 32.  It is likely that the players will first imagine them to be iron golems, but, when they do not attack, they are likely to be examined more carefully.

You’ve left and left and found my Tomb

Once you have left the room with the iron men, you look to the left, where you find a secret door (Area 32) leading directly to the actual Tomb (Area 33).  The alternative is to turn to the right and continue down the passage.

and now your soul will die.

Describes the demi-lich’s modus operandi to a T. 

It is not at all certain that Acererak is meant to be defeated.  Leaving him alone – both his shade and his skull – works, however.  Acererak has no interest in leaving you any particular clue as to how to defeat him, though.  He just wants tough, brave, and resourceful individuals to have their souls sucked by him, fuelling his undead life force as his soul explores strange planes.

Making use of the information provided in the poem, the gem of seeing, and the judicious use of divination magic, a thinking group should be able to successfully reach Area 33.  This doesn’t mean that they can defeat the demi-lich, of course, but a group that is both cautious and clever should be able to either discover the means to defeat Acererak, or, more probably, be wise enough to glean most of the treasure before leaving the demi-lich well alone.

Tomb of Horrors is described as a “thinking person’s module”, and it deserves this description.  Clever players will think of ways around the challenges that the module presents that are not included in the text.  The module is difficult, yes, but not unfairly so.  Failure to meet the Tomb’s challenges occurs, of course, but that should not be taken as a failure of the module to be fair.

Likewise, although the module has been much-maligned as being “unbeatable”, people have beaten it.  Likewise, I have heard complaints that the poem provides no clues until “after the fact” (or if one has the knowledge of the Game Master), but to the contrary people have parsed out the poem (as a whole or in part) and made use of the clues thus provided.

The poem is not quite a walk-through, but it is close enough that thinking persons can, indeed, do very well in the Tomb of Horrors.