Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (Dungeons & Dragons) [Paperback]

I ran the original Temple of Elemental Evil back in the eighties, and never was I more pleased with how badly a game can crash my school grades and keep me up until the wee hours of the morning. The Temple of Evil was one of the most popular and lauded adventures ever for the popular Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D) game.

Well, Monte Cook is sure to make the "Module Hall of Fame" with this new epic set in the original lands of the evil elemental cult. Unlike some of the previous "return-to" modules, "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil" is not a simple re-hashing of old material. Rather, it is a true sequel, and a worthy successor to the Elemental Evil legacy.

Set about fifteen years after the original adventure, "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil" contains descriptions of several of the original people and places, so those familiar with the original material will find much to reminisce over. However, the tiny Village of Hommlet and its bulwark of heroes and villains have "grown up" now, and Monte Cook does an excellent job portraying the passage of time and fleshing out the new order of things in the quiet, wooded hills at the edge of the Viscounty of Verbobonc.

Furthermore, Monte Cook provides a compelling, rich history of the past events in the area, serving to bring new Dungeon Masters "up to speed" with the cult of Elemental Evil, but also providing new material and insight into events and forces only hinted at in the original work. After about fifteen minutes of reading, the prospective Dungeon Master, even if new to the game, can rest assured that she will not be missing any information vital to running this epic adventure.

The adventure itself is a truly monstrous undertaking, beginning with players retracing the steps of the original adventurers of fifteen years ago, but quickly taking them off the beaten path into an entirely new edifice of Evil, where they will find themselves pitted against several rival cults in a massive, several-hundred-keyed-locations dungeon that should provide hours and hours (if not months and months) of entertainment for all. To be fair, though, this is not a simple hack 'n' slash dungeon - rather, it is a complex, dynamic community, and Dungeon Masters are warned to prepare thoroughly before attempting to run players through this complex.

The climax to this grand adventure truly befits the monumental work which precedes it, and characters who begin play as 4th level characters can finish as high as level 14!!

The presentation and artwork are consistent with other products published by Wizards of the Coast, that is, superb. A 16-page full-color map booklet brings the many locations to life vibrantly, while settings, encounters, creatures, and magic items are organized in a consistent, logical manner. Major villains are separated from the keyed locations and placed into their own section, to remind Dungeon Masters that they do not simply stay put and wait for players to discover and slay them.

In conclusion, why are you still reading this review?? BUY THIS BOOK NOW!! "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil" is arguably the best adventure ever written for any fantasy role-playing game. You won't be disappointed.

It has been 15 long years since a party of adventurers last destroyed the Temple of Elemental... yet something stirs in its shadows once again.

This is not a 3rd edition gloss-over of the original -- It is an entirely new plot with lots of new territory to explore.

The old favorites are there, but different: Hommlet is growing, the moathouse is still standing in it's old, crumbly way, Burne and Rufus are leading the town, and of course, the old walls of the Temple of Elemental Evil still stand.

To keep the players on there toes a host of new magic items, monsters, races, and spells are scattered throughout the adventure (and collected nicely in the appendix).

But whereas the original adventure was a dungeon-crawl of epic scale, this product is "the backbone of a full campaign". Instead of trudging through endless dungeon hallways, this adventure will actually involve a bit more traveling, npc interaction, and imagine, just possibly, role playing.

Descriptions are good and solid. Most monsters are listed by hit points and page number in the Monster Manual with little variants noted as needed. Use of the 3rd edition templates have taken advantage of to provide interesting new surprises. The plot and story line is logical. NPCs are often listed with their own personal goals and motivations in addition to the plans of their cult. Splashed about are tips for handling parties that go astray, dally, or take things in an unexpected order. Suggestions are included for how The Temple reacts to attack, both immediate and long term recovery if the players wander afar.

This is not a nostalgic rehash. This is a new story, new bad guys and new characters. I never GMed the first adventure, but I played through it. I'm thinking it will be fun to scatter my friends of old in and around Hommlet as retired adventurers; the players can run into them in bars spinning yarns of their glories of old. And possibly dropping some hints and tips to help keep the party on track...

If you play this, you can expect exploration of the plans of an evil cult, encounters with a wide range of creatures and magic, and the occasional gabbing with NPCs of Hommlet, and I would guess a good year's worth of gaming.

Played "out of the box", players should not expect great intriguing NPCs, long dives into the Underdark, nor great armies clashing over territory. But then, if that's what your players want, a creative GM could always work more of that activity into the game. Unlike its predecessor, there are many points where hooks could be added to take the game play in any desired directions.

The maps are stapled into the back of the book. Some may see this as bad, but for me, I think I'll just photo-copy the 40 pages of appendix. This will make it easy for me to give out handouts, add details/scratch out NPCs as events dictate, and scribble notes on maps to keep up with changes as the campaign progresses.

Being an open book on the store shelf, it's easy for players to sneak a peek at what's in store for them. Proper use of shifting monsters, treasure, and traps should do plenty to keep them from overly benefiting from this.

Ratings on a 1 to 5 scale:

GM background: 5 - nice historical snapshot and intro sections

Dungeon notes: 4 - could make it more clear how the adventure is meant to flow from one dungeon/area to the next

Reference Materials: 4 - maps could have better notes to how they link to each other

Monsters: 5 - some may wish full details were in the module, but reprinting such details strikes me as a waste of space

NPCs: 5 - tactics, motivations and plans are a nice touch

Art: n/a - just enough to give a little flavor, most of it I liked, but I'm not going to rate it

Overall: 4.6

That being said, "Return" is a step in the right direction of what made AD&D great to begin with: Compelling Adventures. "Return" is just that. It takes the original module T1-4, uses it as a background and advances the story line into an interesting campaign. I must say, I was skeptic when I received the book in my mailbox and at first peek saw that it has one hell of a massive dungeon crawl. Having read it, I agree with those who've reviewed this before me. Mr. Cook has done an excellent job of making this a dynamic,long, dungeon trek that if run properly will not be your standard, "Kick down door, slay monster, take treasure, repeat". The environment reacts to the characters. Several of the areas could be revisisted, and would not be the same encounter twice.

Overall, the story is solid. Old timers will enjoy finding refrences to several of the classic adventures from 1st ed. AD&D modules. The campaign takes players from 4th to 14th, but I've found that by starting earlier in the time line, and by expanding on the side trek options given in the book, I've been able to expand the adventure to begin at 1st level and go all the way to 14th. It is possible that events started with this campaign could take your players well beyond 14th with a little creativity on the DMs part as well. I all so think it is important to note that even though this is set in Greyhawk, I've adapted it to my own campaign world ("Birthright") with very little effort.

Well worth the money.