RttToEE any good?

[Gregor]

Ahoy,

I know I have seen countless threads on this module, but until I stop being a lazy bum and become a community supporter, I cannot search.

*note to self.....become ENWORLD community supporter.

Ok, so basically the title says it all. I want to DM a group of friends through a big module and RttToEE looks absolutely fantastic. How did you all enjoy it? Pros, Cons, etc. Is it worth the price?

My thanks in advance!

Cheers,

 

[Cyronax]

RttTOEE is a great module, but its not necessarily the best for all types of groups.

It is the quintessential save the world from an evil so much more dire and powerful than even Tokien's Sauron. So it'll have an epic feel regardless of how you run it. "The save the world" theme imo, is good only some of the time, and in this case its completely pervasive. So if you and your players like that style and also HUGE dungeon crawls (with well thought out rooms and factions though) then RttTOEE is great.

It also is as Greyhawk as it comes, if you run it the way its written. This again, is neither good nor bad, just a fact.

Anyway, if you do run it, I suggest you have a few more side plots and maybe some NPC rival adventurers/allies, as well as some politics thrown in, because RttTOEE feels a big bogged down once you get to the Crater Ridge Mines.

Edit: Yes the price for this module is a great bargain. Its loaded with NPCs and stats that I continue to use (2 years later) for different adventures and campaigns. Its a toolbox as well as an adventure in some ways.

Have fun,
C.I.D.

 

[Miquiztli]

Well here is my short review of RTTTOEE

Fun Beginning!
The Middle becomes a life draining hack fest!
Fun Ending!

 

[smetzger]

Thumbs Up

I am currently running it for my group. We are all having alot of fun with it.

If you do plan on running it I strongly suggest asking for advice on Monte's boards:
http://pub58.ezboard.com/fokayyourturnfrm17

Any problems you have, you can probably get worked out there.

 

[mmu1]

Depends if you consider the following fun:

1. Extremely high level of character death.

2. Very densely populated dungeons, which means that realistically speaking, the PCs frequently should be met with overwhelming force unless they use a great deal of stealth and hit-and-run tactics.

3. It's a complete hackfest if you approach it the way players usually do, thinking they have to explore everything and kill all enemies.

 

[Hawklord]

The module is well worth it.

I'm still running my group through it after nearly 18 months, it's got a good plotline (albeit potentially very dark), loads of NPCs than can be (and will be) re-used, and some nifty new monsters and magic items.

On the downside the middle section in the Crater Ridge Mines, can turn into something of a hack-fest which may not be suitable for all groups, and the character attrition rate can be quite high. At some points the overarching story line can get quite opressive with the PCs feeling out of their depth and facing overwhelming odds ( at one point my group were referring to it as the "Temple of Futility" ) as a player, I can see their point.

As a DM I love it!

 

[krichaiushii]

I second the recommendation to check out the forums at montecook.com. There are numerous well-developed side plots for all sorts of events that happen in the book, as well as rewrites of major participants using the assorted splatbooks and other books published.

Excellent stuff.

That said, it is a LONG adventure, requiring a resourceful party if success is desired.

Enjoy.

 

[Rel]

I'm running it right now for what I'm calling a "pickup" campaign. Our normal gaming group of 4 guys meets weekly but we have lots of other friends that like gaming to one degree or other and they wanted to play something. I decided to run RttToEE about once a month and have it be very casual.

We usually just pick a weekend day that seems like it would work, send out an e-mail and whoever can come comes. If everybody showed up, I think I'd have 9 players. So far, the most that have showed at one time is 7, which I managed ok. Usually it is 5 or 6.

The module is complex enough to be entertaining and enough of a hack-fest that it suits our "beer and pretzels" style of play. I don't worry about character continuity too much (characters appear and disappear in the middle of the dungeon based on who shows up to play on a given week). I also don't track experience, just attendance. Every three sessions you show up, you gain a level. Characters can lag behind the group by one level but if they would fall two levels behind, they automatically gain a level anyway. This allows the very "casual gamers" to miss lots of sessions and still be able to show up and not get slaughtered.

Speaking of getting slaughtered, I've also made a house rule that everybody gets one Raise Dead without the level loss. It is very likely that characters will die in this module and I didn't want them to be falling below the 4th level module minimum. I still charge them the GP cost for the spell and so far two characters have died and used up their "freebie".

They're now in the Crater Ridge Mines and I've warned them that the place is a huge dungeon crawl and they don't seem to mind so far. I will say that because of our infrequent play schedule, it will probably take us several years to complete it.

 

[Cog]

Just one note on this module.

I ordered it from my local gaming store 3 weeks ago, and the guy has been phoning stores as far away as California to get a copy (I'm currently in Ames, Iowa), as it's out of print.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

It's....ok. I've been running it for a long time now, the party just is getting to the 3/4 point and we have been playing for a year and half. I'm ready to lop off massive parts of it just to get it over with. The intro is fine, but the middle section as alluded to earlier, is a grind. Not bad, but the monster selection is weak and too many "halves" everything seems to half something with a template. I draw the line at fiendish half dragon/half t-rex's, and half elementals.

If you have played the original Temple of Elemental Evil then you may be in for a shock, I don't think Monte read it very well as he makes some errors in terms of classic TOEE canon. I had to do some reworking to get it more in line with what happened before. But that is something that only annoys people like me for some reason.

Expect a HIGH body count.