Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil

By Greg Kessler

It is not very often that a Dungeons and Dragons module comes with a pedigree. That was until Wizards of the Coast began producing a new series of modules to coincide with the twenty fifty anniversary of the games original release. In this new Return to… series, Wizards of the Coast has taken some of the best of their TSR past and brought them forward into the modern gaming landscape. Modules such as, Keep on the Borderlands and Tomb of Horrors have been updated, not only to conform to the new 3rd edition rules, but also within the time frame of Greyhawk.

In Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, Monte Cook (one of the architects of the Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition) has taken the modules Village of Hommlet and the original Temple of Elemental Evil (by RPG guru Gary Gygax) and brought them fifteen years into the future. The resulting tome is almost 200 pages long. Unlike the original module, which was the type of short to the point scenario that TSR specialized in, this new game is expansive enough to guide players from 4th to 14th level, truly making it a campaign in every sense of the word.

Game play begins in the Village of Hommlet where players learn of trouble at a nearby temple ruin (the site of the original 1985 module). From the town, which is well fleshed out with interesting NPC's and a couple of good bars to get yourself thrown out of, players get to explore everything from a ruined moathouse to some really great catacombs.

Monte cook has done a great job of pacing this adventure to give players time to advance in level. Encounters are challenging but not immediately deadly. By the time the PC's reach the end of the module Cook has them facing bosses that make the end of Final Doom look like the ever present owl bears in Keep on the Borderlands. Cook takes great advantage of the BOSS ending (now so familiar to video game players). PC's making it to the end of this game can expect to meet rooms full of 100+ h.p. monsters, before they are allowed to live. Remember in the 1st edition DM's guide where Gygax gave rules for crossing D&D over into games like Gamma World? Well this is one dungeon where a couple of good torque grenades and a vibro blade would be handy.

If you are going to attempt this adventure, clear your schedule, send the kids to boarding school and get your wife and or husband the Spice Channel. The introduction to the game estimates that it will take months to complete, IF you play once a week. However, if you have the fortitude, screw your courage to the sticking-place, and have a ball. I can't wait to see what Cook and Wizards of the Coast come up with next.

GK