Editing Mirrors of the Abyss (section)

==Official Warning==
This adventure is somewhat of a Valentine’s Day card to ''Tomb of Horrors'' and other “snuff dungeons.”

There's a crisis in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''...Too many characters are living too long. Too many Players have become smug and comfortable, knowing that their fantasy counterpart will prevail in their weekly pillow fight with toothless monsters, and that everything always works out in the end...Utter. ''Dribble''.

Is that a reflection of life? Is that the world we live in? As Dungeon Masters, we have decisions to make. Are you their tap-dancing, storybook-reading, omnipresent guardian angel, set to waddle in, in your red robe and fix die rolls? Or, are you their five senses upon an infinite and deadly fantasy universe, as you should be?

At some point, at every table, at least one Player gets the notion that they are playing the role of a super hero, and they are safe to wreak havoc, then reload their last save point, as if D&D were merely a video game. It is not. It was designed as a true game for adults (truly one of the only!), and adventuring is a high risk, high reward career choice in a fantasy paradigm absolutely brimming with danger.

''[[Tomb of Horrors]]'' could make even the oldest, level 30 [[grognard]]s cry a river of salt. Many classic modules were good at challenging the mettle of ''actual Players'', and not just the min-maxed ''stats'' they’ve amassed on their sheets. This module, though classically influenced, promises a sugary touch of fair play sprinkled throughout the big bowl of salt. But repeat after me: ''“In its total, it is not fair. It is not intended to be balanced. It is [[Abyss]]al...It's bat-poo crazy and it is as chaotic evil as it should be.”''

''Mirrors of the Abyss'' has no official affiliations, though I would have been remiss not to acknowledge [[Iggwilv]] and her well-known [[Demonomicon of Iggwilv|Demonomicon]], at least in passing. [[Gary Gygax]] (the coauthor, and an original creator of D&D/AD&D (along with [[Dave Arneson]]) and also the creator of Iggwilv and prime contributor to early [[Abyss]]al flavor) stated the following, roundabout, concerning [[Tomb of Horrors]], which I hope is apt for my module:

“This is a thinking person’s module. If your group is a hack and slay gathering, they will be unhappy...brainwork is good for all players.”

“The real enjoyment [of ''The Tomb of Horrors''] is managing to cope, and those players who manage to do so even semi-successfully will appreciate your refereeing properly and allowing them to ‘live or die’ on their own.”

“It is a killer.”