In Defense of the Green Devil Face

Even more than four decades since its publication in 1978, I think it's fair to say that Gary Gygax's Tomb of Horrors is a controversial module, with a sizable chorus of detractors. That's perfectly understandable in my opinion, given its difficulty and the seeming cruelty with which it was designed. I say "seeming," because, by most accounts, Gygax created the scenario as a challenge for very experienced players rather than as an exercise in mere sadism. Of course, this fact didn't stop many a Dungeon Master from taking vicious glee while inflicting it on player characters in his campaign. I suspect that much of the bad feeling toward the module stems in part to bad personal experiences with it and I cannot fault anyone for thus having reservations about it.
Nevertheless, as I've stated on numerous occasions, I rate Tomb of Horrors very highly and indeed consider it one of the greatest D&D modules ever written. A big reason why is that, as Gygax states in his prefatory "Notes for the Dungeon Master," the dungeon "has more tricks and traps than it has monsters to fight." That makes it quite unusual among TSR's published adventures and something Gygax obviously considered important.

It is this writer's belief that brainwork is good for all players, and they will certainly benefit from this module, for individual levels of skill will be improved by reasoning and experience. If you regularly pose problems to be solved by brains and not brawn, your players will find this module immediately to their liking.

This is where the rubber hits the road, so to speak. A common criticism leveled at Tomb of Horrors is that, despite Gygax's statement – in capital letters, no less – that "THIS IS A THINKING PERSON'S MODULE," its tricks and traps are, in the main, unavoidable and nonsensical. Exhibit A in this line of thinking is the infamous "green devil face," more properly called "the face of the great green devil."

The green devil face occurs very early in the dungeon, at the end of the first corridor of the true tomb. The trap has the potential to kill a character instantly, without recourse to a saving throw, which is probably why it is so often mentioned as being emblematic of the fundamental unfairness of  Tomb of Horrors. While I'm genuinely sympathetic to such a criticism, I don't think it's warranted. Take a look at the short description of the trap from the module:

THE FACE OF THE GREAT GREEN DEVIL: The other fork of the path leads right up to an evil-appearing devil face set in mosaic at the corridor's end. (SHOW YOUR PLAYERS GRAPHIC #6). The face has a huge O of a mouth; it is dead black. The whole area radiates evil and magic if detected for. The mouth opening is similar to a (fixed) sphere of annihilation, but it is about 3' in diameter – plenty of room for those who wish to leap in and be completely and forever destroyed.  

For the benefit of those who might have forgotten, here's Graphic #6 referenced in the text.

Perhaps this speaks poorly of my trust, but the only thing that could possibly make this illustration more suspicious is if the words "Free Candy" appeared somewhere in the darkness of its gaping maw. The text makes clear that the devil face is "evil-appearing," as does a mere visual examination of the face. The text likewise emphasizes the dead blackness of the mouth area and that it radiates evil if a character detects for it. I don't know how much more clear the threat posed by the green devil face could be.

I wonder how many characters truly died by leaping into the face's mouth. I've never witnessed it myself, but I'm sure it must have happened in some groups. Be that as it may, I don't think the green devil face is at all unfair. There are numerous clues that it's nothing to be trifled with; I expect even the most reckless of players would know better than to leap before they looked when it came to something so obviously sinister. In fact, I would like to suggest that the obviousness of this trap is the point. The green devil face is "Baby's First Death Trap." Gygax intended it as a clear signal of what was to come, a reminder to players to pay attention, lest their characters meet a terrible fate. Rather than being cruel, I think Gygax is being kind in starting things off with such a blatant trap.

The Arch of Mist, on the other hand …