D&D 5E Temple of Elemental Evil is the next Original Adventures Reincarnated

Goodman Games has announced the next in its line of Original Adventures Reincarnated - -and it's The Temple of Elemental Evil, in late 2020 or early 2021.

"Like all of the Original Adventures Reincarnated line, this release will contain both the original material scanned in and cleaned up to present it as it originally appeared, along with a full, new 5E translation in the second half of the book. The new material is being designed by a creative team led by Chris Doyle with contributions from Rick Maffei and others, all of whom are seasoned veterans of Dungeons and Dragons across its many incarnations.

Unlike the previous five volumes in the OAR line, the sheer size and scope of this module requires something new: OAR #6: The Temple of Elemental Evil will be released as a two-volume hardcover slipcase edition. The two volumes will also contain expert commentary about the original modules and their history."

Here's the back cover text:

EVIL BORN ANEW

The Village of Hommlet thrives again. Years ago, this quaint village nearly fell prey to a great, neighboring evil. The nearby Temple of Elemental Evil, a grand edifice of wickedness, was defeated after a great battle and thrown into ruin forever … or was it? Bandits have started to ride the roads again, and there are other ominous signs afoot. It is whispered that the demonic evil at the heart of the Temple was not truly conquered but merely imprisoned. Even now, agents of evil, malevolent beasts, and far worse creatures are conspiring to return the Temple to power and enslave the surrounding lands. Hommlet and the neighboring ruins may hold clues, but not everyone is to be trusted. Surely danger lies hidden in this idyllic region.

Sharpen your swords and axes. Purchase your iron rations and tinderboxes. And don’t forget at least one 10-foot pole. Great adventure awaits those that dare confront the Temple of Elemental Evil!

This book collection is an homage to the origins of an adventure that began decades ago with T1: The Village of Hommlet and T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil. Herein you will find high-quality scans from multiple printings of the original first edition adventure modules, plus commentary by gaming legends. Full fifth edition conversions of both adventure books are included, as well as brand new adventure material that adds new wilderness encounters, expands the Village of Nulb, fully details the evil Elemental Nodes, and provides fifth edition updates of many original magic items, monsters, and spells. This is a fully playable mega-dungeon and mini-campaign—many hours of classic-style adventure await you!​

 

[teitan]

I read the comments about "balance" and it got me thinking about older adventure design and my own approach. I've always felt that the 4e way of balancing encounters kind of leads to an inorganic feel, people thinking, oh I can't send my level 3 party into an encounter with a Huge Black Dragon. It encourages more of a combat oriented game and these old adventures weren't designed with that in mind when the abstract idea of balance was more about the balance between players. These were designed in a time where XP came from treasure and monsters were very low in value and encounters with monsters were roleplaying opportunities rather than pinatas. I am sure most are aware but I hadn't seen it addressed.

 

[TerraDave]

I think we failed to focus on the goals and thought we could make the dungeon safe again for the citizens nearby. I think that was an impossible mission, and had we focused on getting to the middle of the dungeon instead of clearing it we might have had a better end to that campaign.

With some hinting by me and their own growing impatience, the party eventually water-walked to the middle part. I don't know if they did a third of the outer mines.

In any case, this news is very exciting. (And worthy of my first post on these boards in ages.)

 

[darjr]

True, but the two contracts might preclude it in this case. Just speculation.

I think your right. I’ve asked for at least the new maps be made available. No response though.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

My current DM may pick this up. He ran us through the 3.5E version of RttToEE and another in my group ran us through PotA. Might be interesting to see how a 5E update of the original compares.

 

[Weiley31]

Whizbang Dustyboots noted you could get the original adventures in PDF, which is entirely correct.

Drivethru RPG or DMguilds is selling the physical copy of Temple of Elemental Evil.

 

[Guest 6801328]

So I was just leafing through my original ToEE, and thinking about how some of it would be converted to 5e. For example, some of the magical items could be used almost without any conversion at all, except that the original versions don't follow 5e philosophy.

I don't have any of these OAR conversions so I don't know how Goodman handles this sort of thing. Should we expect elegant and inspired conversion, or should we expect most things to be verbatim just like the original?

 

[Parmandur]

So I was just leafing through my original ToEE, and thinking about how some of it would be converted to 5e. For example, some of the magical items could be used almost without any conversion at all, except that the original versions don't follow 5e philosophy.

I don't have any of these OAR conversions so I don't know how Goodman handles this sort of thing. Should we expect elegant and inspired conversion, or should we expect most things to be verbatim just like the original?

Well, they are not verbatim, though a lot of the combat encounters are much the same (not a big deal). Old ad hoc skill bits from the old modules are made into usable 5E skill checks, NPC's are expanded upon... it's different, and more than a straight conversion. Tons of extended material, too.

 

[MNblockhead]

Yeah, my post was a bit of a threadcrap, I'll admit. I had this thread and the one talking about deserts of desolation as possible new AP open at the same time. I'd still prefer to see Goodman also do some new stuff rather than old stuff rehashed, if that makes any difference?

GG does publish new adventures. This line serves a very different purpose. These are large, heavy, hardbound and expensive books. Really not the greatest form factor for running at the table, especially since the bulk of the books are just printing often several versions of the originals. I buy these more to read and browse. They are nice table books and bookshelf eye candy. These are great books if you like the history of the game. I have them shelved together with Art & Arcana.

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

Shut up and take my money!

Also, I agree with the poster above. Desert of Desolation next please.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Also, I agree with the poster above. Desert of Desolation next please.

Goodman's preferences, from their old 3E DCC modules, to the DCC RPG today, to this line, seems to be focused on TSR between the dawn of the BD&D/AD&D era through just before Dragonlance dropped, when things got a lot more glitzy, polished and commercial.

I would be surprised to see the Desert of Desolation modules in this line, since that series doesn't really have the rough edges Goodman loves.

On the other hand, I think it's an excellent possibility for a Ghosts of Saltmarsh type product, assembling a bunch of desert and fantasy ancient Egypt adventures (probably all set in the Forgotten Realms) together. I also think a Ghosts of Saltmarsh style product is why we haven't seen anything from the old Slavers series since it was republished (and expanded!) in the 3E collectors edition series.