''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' is an

adventure module An adventure is a playable scenario in a tabletop role-playing game. These can be constructed by gamemasters for their players, and are also released by game publishers as pre-made adventure modules. Different types of designs exist, including ...

for the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...

game ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

'', set in the game's ''

World of Greyhawk Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''—Dave Arneson' ...

campaign setting A campaign setting is a setting for a tabletop role-playing game or wargame campaign. Most campaign settings are fictional worlds; however, some are historical or contemporary real-world locations. A '' campaign'' is a series of individual adve ...

. The module was published by

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

in 1985 for the first edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' rules. It was written by

Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering tabletop role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax creat ...

and

Frank Mentzer Jacob Franklin Mentzer III is an American fantasy author and game designer who worked on early materials for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. He was an employee of TSR, Inc. from 1980 to 1986, spending part of that tim ...

, and is an expansion of an earlier Gygax module, ''The Village of Hommlet'' (TSR, 1979). ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' is also the title of a related 2001 Thomas M. Reid novel and an Atari computer game. ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' was ranked the 4th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by ''

Dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...

'' magazine in 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game.

Plot summary

In the module T1 ''The Village of Hommlet'', the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...

s must defeat the raiders operating out of a ruined fort nearby, and thereafter the characters can use Hommlet as a base for their adventures. The adventure begins in the village of Hommlet, situated near the site of a past battle against evil forces operating from the Temple. The adventurers travel through Hommlet and are drawn into a web of conspiracy and deception. The module is intended for first-level characters, who begin the adventure "weary, weak, and practically void of money". They travel to a town with a reputation as having a great opportunity to earn fortunes and to defeat enemy creatures, but also to lose one's life. While the town initially appears hospitable, the characters soon learn that many of its inhabitants are powerful spies for minions of evil. The T1 adventure stands alone, but also forms the first part of T1–4. In ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'', the characters begin at a low level, and after establishing themselves in Hommlet, they explore the vast dungeons beneath the Temple, thereby earning experience. T1 culminates in a ruined moathouse where agents secretly plan to re-enter the Temple and free the demoness Zuggtmoy, imprisoned therein. ''The Village of Hommlet'' module has been described as a beginner's scenario, which starts in the village, and leads to a nearby dungeon, while ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' continues the adventure.
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In the next section, T2, the adventurers move on to the nearby village of Nulb to confront several nefarious opponents, including agents from the Temple. Based on the outcome of these encounters, the player characters can then enter the Temple itself to interact with its many denizens and test their mettle against Zuggtmoy herself.

History of the temple

The temple referenced in the module's title is an unholy structure located in the central Flanaess not far from the city-state of Verbobonc. In 566 CY, forces of evil from

Dyvers Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''—Dave Arneson' ...

or the Wild Coast constructed a small chapel outside the nearby village of Nulb. The chapel was quickly built into a stone temple from which bandits and evil humanoids began to operate with increasing frequency. In 569 CY, a combined force was sent to destroy the Temple and put an end to the marauding. This allied army clashed with a horde of evil men and humanoids, including orcs,

ogres An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world. ...

and gnolls, at the Battle of Emridy Meadows. Men-at-arms from

Furyondy Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''—Dave Arneson' ...

and

Veluna Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''—Dave Arneson' ...

united with dwarves from the Lortmils,

gnomes A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

from the Kron Hills, and an army of elven archers to face the threat of the Horde of Elemental Evil, consisting largely of savage humanoids such as orcs,

, and gnolls. The arrival of the elves from the shadows of the Gnarley Forest turned the tide of battle, trapping the savage humanoids against a bend in the Velverdyva where they were routed and slaughtered. At some point in this battle, Serten, cleric of

Saint Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria ...

and member of the Citadel of Eight, was slain. The Citadel was notable for its absence at this pivotal moment in the history of the Flanaess, and their failure to take part in the Battle of Emridy Meadows contributed to the group's decline and eventual disbandment. After dispersing the Horde of Elemental Evil, the allied forces laid siege to the Temple of Elemental Evil itself, defeating it within a fortnight. Spellcasters loyal to the goodly army cooperated on a spell of sealing that bound the demoness Zuggtmoy (a major instigator in the Horde of Elemental Evil) to some of the deepest chambers in the castle's dungeons. The site itself remained, however, and over the following decade rumors of evil presence there persisted. The Viscount of Verbobonc and the Archcleric of Veluna became increasingly concerned, and cooperated to build a small castle outside the Village of Hommlet to guard against the possibility of the Temple rising again. For the next five years, Hommlet gained in wealth thanks to adventurers who came to the area seeking out remnants of evil to slay. Things quieted down for another four years as the area returned to peace and normalcy, but in 578 CY evil began to stir again, with groups of bandits riding the roads. In 579 CY, the events in the T1–4 module occur. ''

Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil ''Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil'' is an Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons), adventure module written by Monte Cook for the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition, 3rd edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role ...

'' is set 12 years later, in 591 CY.

Publication history

The adventure module ''The Village of Hommlet'' was a 24-page booklet designed by

, and published by TSR in 1979. The original printing featured an outer folder and a two-color cover; the book was reprinted in 1981 with a color cover. ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' was originally intended to bear the module code T2 and serve as a true sequel to ''The Village of Hommlet''. Gygax began writing T2 soon after the publication of T1, but often stopped to work on other products, such as '' The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth'' (Gygax 1981). The T2 version was never completed, and no module bearing the codes T3 or T4 was ever independently published. Instead, the material for the sequel was combined in 1985 with the original T1 storyline and published as an integrated adventure bearing the module code T1-4. The original printings of T1 featured monochrome cover art by David A. Trampier, who also contributed interior art along with David C. Sutherland III. The 1981 and subsequent printings of T1 featured a new color cover painting by

Jeff Dee Jeff Dee is an American artist and game designer. He was the youngest artist in the history of pioneering role-playing game company TSR when he began his work at the age of 18. He also designed the ''Villains and Vigilantes'' superhero game. He ...

surrounded by a lime green border. The expanded T1-4 book from 1985 features cover art by

Keith Parkinson Keith A. Parkinson (October 22, 1958 – October 26, 2005) was an American fantasy artist and illustrator known for book covers and artwork for games such as ''EverQuest'', '' Guardians'', '' Magic: The Gathering'', and '' Vanguard: Saga of Hero ...

and interior art by Jeff Butler,

Clyde Caldwell Clyde Caldwell (born February 20, 1948) is an American artist. Self-described as a fantasy illustrator, he is best known for his portrayals of strong, sexy female characters. With his work at TSR in the 1980s, he is considered one of the artis ...

Jeff Easley Jeff Easley (born 1954) is an oil painter who creates fantasy Work of art, artwork for role-playing games, comics, and magazines, as well as non-fantasy commercial art. Early life Easley was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky in 1954. He spent time ...

Larry Elmore Larry Elmore (born August 5, 1948) is an American fantasy artist whose work includes creating illustrations for video games, comics, magazines, and fantasy books. His list of work includes illustrations for ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Dragonlance'', ...

, Parkinson, and Trampier. T1-4 ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' was written by Gary Gygax with

, and published by TSR in 1985, incorporating T1 ''The Village of Hommlet''. Gygax gave his notes for The Temple to Frank Mentzer who used them to design ''T1-4, The Temple of Elemental Evil'', which was released in 1985. The module was a 128-page book with a 16-page map booklet, and featured a cover by

and interior illustrations by

Jeff Butler Jeff Butler (born February 26, 1958, in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American illustrator and comic book artist. He worked with the art department of TSR, Inc. for five years, illustrating products for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-pl ...

, and Dave Trampier. The module includes descriptions of two towns, the Temple itself, and four large dungeon levels. Although initially written as a stand-alone series, T1-4 was made to dovetail into A1-4 ''

Scourge of the Slave Lords ''Scourge of the Slave Lords'' (A1–4) is an adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, published by TSR, Inc. in 1986. It combines the contents of four earlier modules, all set in the World of Greyhawk campaign ...

'' when these two campaigns were revised in 1986 as supermodules. The combined campaign then culminates with the GDQ series, incorporating modules G1-G3 '' Against the Giants''; D1-D3, which introduced D&D fans to

drow The drow ( or ) or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of Elf (Dungeons & Dragons), elves connected to the Subterranea (geography), subterranean Underdark in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have t ...

elves for the first time; and finally Q1, ''

Queen of the Demonweb Pits ''Queen of the Demonweb Pits'' (''Q1'') is an adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game written by David Sutherland. The "Q" in the module code is an abbreviation for "queen". The module, a sequel to the D series of modul ...

'', in which the heroes fight against the spider demon

Lolth The drow ( or ) or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil and c ...

herself. These last adventures were also combined and republished as a supermodule bearing the code GDQ1-7, '' Queen of the Spiders''. In 2001,

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...

published a novel by Thomas M. Reid also bearing the title ''

The Temple of Elemental Evil ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' is an adventure module for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'', set in the game's ''World of Greyhawk'' campaign setting. The module was published by TSR, Inc. in 1985 for the first edition ''A ...

''. Wizards of the Coast also published a sequel to the T1-4 adventure in 2001, the 3rd Edition module ''

''. In March, 2013Wizards of the Coast published a remake of ''The Village of Hommlet'' adventure for ''Dungeons & Dragons'' 4th Edition in ''

'' issue 212. The original TSR product code for module T1 (bluetone and full color cover) is 9026.

Reception

Kirby T. Griffis reviewed ''The Village of Hommlet'' in 1981, in ''

The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...

'' #35. Griffis found it a very playable module, noting that the module could be very fun if run by a good DM. Griffis commented: "Players 'get into' their roles, the thieves stealing from the revellers at the inn, the fighters getting drunk under the table." He also found the map to be well-keyed, and noted that important buildings have floor plans mapped out. Commenting on the imbalance of power, he noted that "some of the evil spies are entirely too powerful for the party to tackle, and the local high level good characters are hardly ever interested in aiding the adventurers." Overall, Griffis found ''The Village of Hommlet'' to be a very good introductory adventure, and recommended it as an introduction to ''D&D''. In a retrospective review of ''The Village of Hommlet'' in '' Black Gate'', Bob Byrne said "Gygax packs in a TON of information into this module. Hommlet is brought to life and the Moathouse is ready to run. And with the history, there's room for growth (The Temple). So, it's ready to go 'off the shelf.' But there's also space for the GM to create as well. If the players want to mix in role play, the GM has a lot to work with. You could run quite a few sessions without any adventuring at all."

Legacy

''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' was ranked the 4th greatest ''Dungeons & Dragons'' adventure of all time by ''

'' magazine in 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game. ''Dungeon Master for Dummies'' listed ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' as one of the ten best classic adventures, calling it "the grandfather of all huge

dungeon crawl A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video g ...

s".

Lawrence Schick Lawrence Schick is a game designer and writer associated with role-playing games. Early life and education Schick attended Kent State University in Ohio. Career Schick, as the head of design and development at TSR, brought aboard Tom Moldvay ...

, in his 1991 book ''Heroic Worlds'', says of ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'', "If you like huge classic dungeon crawls, this is probably the best of the lot." John ONeill for '' Black Gate'', said "''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' may be Gary Gygax's crowning achievement as a dungeon designer. It was the last major adventure he designed for TSR and — at 128 pages — was by far the largest and most ambitious." Commenting on ''The Village of Hommlet'' in ''Black Gate'', James Maliszewski said "I consider the 'incomplete' nature of ''The Village of Hommlet'' to be a positive thing that inadvertently encouraged me to spread my wings as a fledgling referee. Far from stifling my creativity, this module fostered it." Scott Taylor for ''Black Gate'' commented that "Although expertly covered by artist Keith Parkinson, the remainder of ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' veritably screams that it was birthed in a maelstrom of financial panic and leadership void." Scott Taylor of '' Black Gate'' in 2015 rated ''Temple of Elemental Evil'' as #3 in "The Top 10 Campaign Adventure Module Series of All Time, saying "I can attest that it is truly one of the greatest campaigns you can take players on, period."

In other media

Computer games

In 2003 a

computer game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual feedback from a display device, mo ...

, ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'', based on the original T1-4 module was released. It was developed by

Troika Games Troika Games was an American video game developer co-founded by Jason Anderson (artist), Jason Anderson, Tim Cain, and Leonard Boyarsky. The company was focused on role-playing video games between 1998 and 2005, best known for ''Arcanum: Of Steam ...

and published by

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

. It remains the only ''D&D'' related computer game set in the original ''Greyhawk'' setting. In an update to the game, ''

Dungeons & Dragons Online ''Dungeons & Dragons Online'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Turbine for Microsoft Windows and OS X. The game was originally marketed as ''Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach''. Upon switching to a hyb ...

'' has made an in-game version of the adventure. In the same month that DDO's update went live, the online D&D game ''

Neverwinter Neverwinter is a fictional city-state in the ''Forgotten Realms'' campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Neverwinter was founded by Lord Halueth Never. It sits on the northwestern coast of the subcontinent of ...

'' also released an in-game version of the Temple of Elemental Evil.

Board games

published the '' Temple of Elemental Evil Board Game'' in 2015.

Reviews

*''The V.I.P. of Gaming Magazine'' #4 (1986) *'' Jeux & Stratégie'' #55