(Proper Poll) Rate T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil

[Vigilance]

Best campaign module ever written.

If this isnt a 10, Id like to know what is.

This should be required reading for all DMs. For all the guys who don't get what the appeal of D&D is, its all here.

I remember being very down on D&D at the end of TSR and the end of 2nd edition, completely baffled that the current TSR writers didnt get D&D in a way that the creators of the Diablo video game DID.

Chuck

 

[TimSmith]

I have great memories of running this adventure twice and the original T1 village of Hommlett before the mega adventure came out. The computer game was a blast, too, despite its very annoying bugs.

However, I rated it a seven because FOR ITS DAY it was good, and it has great nostalgia value (so nine or so out of ten), but I am afraid that if you look at it objectively its not very sophisticated by modern standards in either plot or presentation (so, five out of ten). Of course, its a good framework to hang your own story off but Ravenloft, another classic which we have discussed, has a very strong story.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

I give it an 8 overall. As a player I give it a 10. I believe it is geared towards intelligent and experienced roleplayers. I can understand how others have reservations against it any many people that I have played with in it hated me for being so clever. Oh well, life goes on.

 

[diaglo]

solid waste.

of all the modules pre UA this one is the pits.

the first part of the module T1 Village of Hommlet is a 10+.
and that is the only reason i gave this a score above 0.

i lost alot of respect for Gary and Frank for releasing this one..
chockfull of errors. and just poor layout.

the maps are just "meh" for the temple..

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Gave it 5 though it's only from a dim, ancient memory of playing it once, and having run it once.

It felt seriously over-long, even for 1E days and that's a bad thing. We went through the GDQ series mulitple times in multiple campaigns and never really tired of it. But TOEE got used only twice and the reception both times wasn't particularly memorable. There just isn't a lot of THERE there. It drags on without really advancing anything - like unfolding a large and complicated plot, building up anticpation of the big showdown with the individual or small group behind all the Evil, or the like. It may have somewhat better window dressing than usual (we actually DID collect a lot of expensive china and silverware for our PC's dining tables IIRC) but it's really nothing more than a dungeon crawl.

It IS a good concept I think, but needed some editing (read: wholesale removal) of some of the authors original material to make it a more compact, dynamic, module that could be more than just an over-extended set piece.

Don't even get me started on what I think of the Return to TOEE...

 

[Thorin Stoutfoot]

I ran my first 3E campaign on this module (yes, I wrote the original ToEE 3E conversion that's still floating around, having been converted to 3.5E). It's not bad until the second or third level of the dungeon, then it started to get a little repetitive. I eventually had to break it up with other dungeon adventures or the players were going to get really bored.

 

[Eternalknight]

solid waste.

I guess we now have the answer to THAT question

 

[billd91]

It's no gem as written. It starts off well with the moathouse, but the dungeon beneath the temple itself is too long, too tedious, and the bottom level is too silly in its design for words.
That said, with a judicious edit of the module, it can be dramatically improved. My recommendation would be to cut out the bottom level, cut out the elemental nodes, find some other way to insert the necessary gems, and re-distribute some of the other monsters (particularly the NPCs on the bottom level). Make the political situation in the dungeon far more obvious than you think it needs to be and the players should actually catch on to it (it's difficult to do so otherwise) and the whole thing should play better than it was written.

 

[Quasqueton]

One of my two favorite modules of all time (with KotB). I gave it an 8. If the individual room info had been better organized, and the interwoven plot among the various factions better explained up front, it could have gotten a 10 from me. Unfortunately, this module was written in the EGG style -- almost stream of consciousness writing rather than organized for easy DMing -- so you have to read the whole thing, highlighting and taking notes as you go, to get a good grasp of what is going on.

Quasqueton

 

[viscounteric]

This monster was the first adventure I ever ran as a DM (June 1989). Our group was used to dungeoncrawls where NPCs encountered were either rescued, killed, or joined the group. Going through Hommlet and Nulb were absolutely painful experiences for us.

The group went half-way through level three of the temple itself before we decided to move on to greener pastures. It might be the nostalgia talking, but I'd rate it an 9. 16 years later, Hommlet is still the base for the starting village in my home campaigns. I think I finally figured it out.