Publication History
Tomb of Horrors was written by Gary Gygax for official D&D tournament play at the 1975 Origins 1 convention. Gygax developed the adventure from an idea by Alan Lucien, one of his original AD&D playtesters, "and I admit to chuckling evilly as I did so." Gygax designed the Tomb of Horrors modules for two related purposes. First, Gygax explains, "There were several very expert players in my campaign, and this was meant as yet another challenge to their skill—and the persistence of their theretofore-invincible characters. Specifically, I had in mind foiling Rob Kuntz's PC, Robilar, and Ernie Gygax's PC, Tenser." Second, so that he was "ready for those fans who boasted of having mighty PCs able to best any challenge offered by the AD&D game."
In 1978, TSR, Inc. published the module with a monochrome cover, revised and updated for use with first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. The module included a twenty page book, a twelve page book, and an outer folder; the original printing featured a two-color cover. The module features a book of illustrations to show to players as the adventure unfolds. Tomb of Horrors was republished in 1981 as a thirty-two page booklet with identical text but a new, full-color cover. The module has been described as the first of a series of high-level scenarios, and was included as part of the Realms of Horror abridged compilation produced in 1987.
In 1998, the module was reprinted as part of the Return to the Tomb of Horrors module—a substantial expansion and sequel to the original adventure, written for 2nd Edition AD&D rules. Wizards of the Coast released an updated version of the original module as a free download for Halloween 2005, retaining much of the original content; the updated content is from the Dungeons & Dragons supplement book Libris Mortis. This updated version was designed for use with the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition rules. Tomb of Horrors was also adapted into a novel of the same name by Keith Francis Strohm for the Greyhawk Classics series published by Wizards of the Coast in 2002.
In July 2010, Wizards of the Coast released two adventures bearing the Tomb of Horrors name. One is a hardcover super-adventure written by Ari Marmell and Scott Fitzgerald Gray, which builds on and expands the legend of the original Tomb using the canon of Return to the Tomb of Horrors as a starting point. The adventure's cover art was by Ralph Horsley, with interior art by Kerem Beyit, Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai, Nicole Cardiff, Vincent Dutrait, Steve Ellis, Jason A. Engle, Warren Mahy, Vincent Proce, and Franz Vohwinkel. The second Tomb of Horrors is a conversion and update of the original module for 4th Edition rules, written by Scott Fitzgerald Gray and released to members of the RPGA as part of the DM (Dungeon Master) Rewards program].
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