(RttToEE) (Some minor spoilers) Five Years Later They Return

[the Jester]

So imc five years ago the pcs started to play Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, and ended up joining the evil forces for a time and advancing the plot from the bad guys' perspective. Now a mostly different party is heading back there, but they're a 12th-16th level party. It's been five years- how would you handle the updated plans of the Temple?

Please note that I'm not gonna handle the release of Tharizdun the way it's done in the module, either.

 

[Katerek]

I guess it would mostly depend on the way the plot was advanced when ran from a bad guy perspective.

What all did that entail?

 

[diaglo]

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what factions and major NPCs are left from the original?

maybe one side is the winner. so a unified temple now stands ready to challenge the PCs.

 

[the Jester]

Well, previously they helped track down and identify the Champion of Elemental Evil. So I'm thinking maybe they've uncovered the other nodes and summoned at least some of the other EPoE.

I was looking through my copy of RttToEE and realized I'll have to beef up the hard encounters if I want them to be hard encounters.

Diaglo, good to seeya! None of the original factions were defeated previously; in fact, only one of the evil npcs in Appendix 3 was killed by the pcs.

 

[Katerek]

Hmmm

I would think about expanding the cultists zone of control.

Maybe they have thoroughly infiltrated the nearby communities.

Make the Temple the climax to something that is building on a wider scale, or perhaps a branch office has opened up somewhere.

Build it like a growing plague.

 

[diaglo]

reintroduce the traders from Hommlet and beef up the assassin they hire to track down the party.

maybe Rufus, Elmo, and Burne met unfortunate accidents.

make Prince Thrommel a vampire ala S4

 

[Katerek]

I had forgotten about Thrommel the vamp!

Man did that have a ripple effect in my game all those years ago!

Yeah do that. In fact, if you have access go through some of the earlier modules and read them as if a party sponsored by the Temple had been there and looted the place, looking to see if there was anything of value.

Modules are alot different if you look at them from a bad guys point of view.