Advice for Return to the Temple? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Advice for Return to the Temple? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
pwilcox
02-20-04, 09:57 PM Well, I wrapped up my d20 Modern game a month and a half ago, and our Traveller d20 game is just about wrapped up, so I think my gaming group might be ready to tackle a serious campaign (at last.) And I've wanted to run the Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil module ever since it was released.

However, I've never run a campaign that lasted anywhere near as long as this book! My Modern game took the PC's from 4th to 9th level in about 3.5 months, and that's the record. I was wondering if I could get any more-experienced DM's to give a few hints about running a long campaign like this.

My players haven't even rolled up characters yet, but it'll more than likely end up looking like:

-human monk
-dwarven cleric
-human, elf, or half-elf rogue
-? wizard/sorcerer?

My players tend to think their moves out a bit more than most, I think. They stop and confer among themselves to come up with a plan of attack, and then follow through (usually) to success. (One thing d20 Modern is good for is teaching you the value of cover and planning.)

What party mix works well in this adventure? I'm not going to let them try without a healer of some sort, but other than that it's up to the players to pick PC's. They're all going to be 'good guys' - lawful, chaotic, good or neutral.

Any other pieces of advice you can give would help out a bit. We're going to roll up characters this weekend, probably start in about 2 weeks so I have time to make photocopies and whatnot. Thanks.
Zar Niln
02-20-04, 10:29 PM Looks like your party mix pretty well covers it. The alignment of the party should be neutral or up. No evil. Though I do remember a guy on the boards a few months back who ran an evil one. Apparently they struck a deal with one of the priests in Hommlet and joined the cult of Tharizdun. My how I wished to play that game...

But anyhow, my advice is to plan against them. I was having an oversized group (6 players) who annihilated a bunch of the ghouls in the Moathouse. So I the entire Hommlet cult come in, round up all the ghouls, zombies, gnolls possible, and have a huge facedown. Things like that add to the variety of the Temple. Also, have extra sheets prepared. Players at that level LOVE to charm.
SupaFreak
02-21-04, 12:16 AM www.montecook.com (http://www.montecook.com)

Go there now. Read the message board. Embrace the message board.
halzmar of geoff
02-21-04, 01:03 AM The best part of that one was when the PCs decided to return to town to call in the cavalry - Rufus and co. - and found all the high level NPCs had been assassinated and they were on their own :)
SnowbearK
02-21-04, 01:07 AM Best piece of advice you'll ever receive:

Don't play it as a module, it's not an adventure...it's a setting. A living, breathing world unto itself, a microcosm where the butterfly effect (yes, I've actually even said this before the movie came out) should reign -- every action influences something else, so take notes during the game.
Twilight_Knight
02-21-04, 01:19 AM SnowbearK is right on the money...

Also, you'll probably have to either reduce the challenges within the temple areas or have a side trek adventure between the moathouse and the temple. Otherwise they'll be worm food.
Eldren
02-21-04, 03:07 AM If you've never run a module like this, preparation is the key. I recommend reading the whole freaking thing, front to back covers. Then re-read what you think your party is likely to be able to get through in your regular-length sessions, and read maybe about half a session's worth of adventuring ahead of that, so you're prepared.

The one thing I noticed when running it was that I kept having to flip back and forth between a room description and the stat blocks in the back of the book. Don't do that; photocopy the stat blocks as necessary, or write them out (or scan that section of the book into your computer, if you have a scanner, and print out as necessary), and then have them on-hand for a given encounter, so you don't have to keep flipping back and forth. It's time-consuming, and makes you look like an unprepared Dungeon Master (as I obviously was).

You're going to read about some really cool-sounding (although unfortunate for the PCs) stuff in the module, and you'll be excited to have the PCs go through that stuff, but be ready if they find some way, by luck or intent, to bypass it entirely (such as the big pillar thing in the bottom of the Moathouse).

This campaign is also very reactive. There are a lot of sections that say, "If the PCs do this, then this group of villains in this section are going to do this." Be ready for that, and be ready to handle the details, so that when the PCs get to an area that's been affected by their efforts elsewhere, you're ready to run it organically, instead of fumbling because now the flavor text for that section in the book no longer applies.

The PCs are going to make multiple forays into danger areas in this campaign, and you're going to have to be ready for the fact that if they're gone long enough, areas they've cleared out are likely to slowly repopulate. Be ready for that if they decide they want to manually walk out instead of using Teleport or something similar to make travel between the temple and Hommlett a lot quicker.

It's a very cool adventure to run, but it isn't for beginner Dungeon Masters. You have to be very well organized, and really know not only the material from the module, but the Core Rules themselves, quite well. I recommend re-reading at least the Dungeon Master's Guide and Player's Handbook before running this adventure. Also realize that "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil" was written for 3.0, and some things changed in 3.5 that were significant enough that you might have to tweak some things in the module to make it line up with 3.5.

I hope you have a great time running it; it's a lot of fun if it's run properly, and your players won't soon forget it.
Dauntless
02-21-04, 03:16 AM Tell the players this ahead of time:

"This is what adventuring is all about. You don't always win. You don't always ride back to town victorious. Sometimes the only 'victory' is one of survival. Know that the forces of evil in the world are in fact more powerful than the forces of good, and it'll take more than a bunch of upstarts with pointy magic sticks to actually DO anything about it. Got it kids?"

This serves the double-edged purpose of pumping them up, but warning them about whats to come.

Oh, and keep black character sheets and spare d6's handy, especially if it looks like the characters are getting too brave. :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
pwilcox 02-20-04, 09:57 PM	Well, I wrapped up my d20 Modern game a month and a half ago, and our Traveller d20 game is just about wrapped up, so I think my gaming group might be ready to tackle a serious campaign (at last.) And I've wanted to run the Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil module ever since it was released. However, I've never run a campaign that lasted anywhere near as long as this book! My Modern game took the PC's from 4th to 9th level in about 3.5 months, and that's the record. I was wondering if I could get any more-experienced DM's to give a few hints about running a long campaign like this. My players haven't even rolled up characters yet, but it'll more than likely end up looking like: -human monk -dwarven cleric -human, elf, or half-elf rogue -? wizard/sorcerer? My players tend to think their moves out a bit more than most, I think. They stop and confer among themselves to come up with a plan of attack, and then follow through (usually) to success. (One thing d20 Modern is good for is teaching you the value of cover and planning.) What party mix works well in this adventure? I'm not going to let them try without a healer of some sort, but other than that it's up to the players to pick PC's. They're all going to be 'good guys' - lawful, chaotic, good or neutral. Any other pieces of advice you can give would help out a bit. We're going to roll up characters this weekend, probably start in about 2 weeks so I have time to make photocopies and whatnot. Thanks.
Zar Niln 02-20-04, 10:29 PM	Looks like your party mix pretty well covers it. The alignment of the party should be neutral or up. No evil. Though I do remember a guy on the boards a few months back who ran an evil one. Apparently they struck a deal with one of the priests in Hommlet and joined the cult of Tharizdun. My how I wished to play that game... But anyhow, my advice is to plan against them. I was having an oversized group (6 players) who annihilated a bunch of the ghouls in the Moathouse. So I the entire Hommlet cult come in, round up all the ghouls, zombies, gnolls possible, and have a huge facedown. Things like that add to the variety of the Temple. Also, have extra sheets prepared. Players at that level LOVE to charm.
SupaFreak 02-21-04, 12:16 AM	www.montecook.com (http://www.montecook.com) Go there now. Read the message board. Embrace the message board.
halzmar of geoff 02-21-04, 01:03 AM	The best part of that one was when the PCs decided to return to town to call in the cavalry - Rufus and co. - and found all the high level NPCs had been assassinated and they were on their own :)
SnowbearK 02-21-04, 01:07 AM	Best piece of advice you'll ever receive: Don't play it as a module, it's not an adventure...it's a setting. A living, breathing world unto itself, a microcosm where the butterfly effect (yes, I've actually even said this before the movie came out) should reign -- every action influences something else, so take notes during the game.
Twilight_Knight 02-21-04, 01:19 AM	SnowbearK is right on the money... Also, you'll probably have to either reduce the challenges within the temple areas or have a side trek adventure between the moathouse and the temple. Otherwise they'll be worm food.
Eldren 02-21-04, 03:07 AM	If you've never run a module like this, preparation is the key. I recommend reading the whole freaking thing, front to back covers. Then re-read what you think your party is likely to be able to get through in your regular-length sessions, and read maybe about half a session's worth of adventuring ahead of that, so you're prepared. The one thing I noticed when running it was that I kept having to flip back and forth between a room description and the stat blocks in the back of the book. Don't do that; photocopy the stat blocks as necessary, or write them out (or scan that section of the book into your computer, if you have a scanner, and print out as necessary), and then have them on-hand for a given encounter, so you don't have to keep flipping back and forth. It's time-consuming, and makes you look like an unprepared Dungeon Master (as I obviously was). You're going to read about some really cool-sounding (although unfortunate for the PCs) stuff in the module, and you'll be excited to have the PCs go through that stuff, but be ready if they find some way, by luck or intent, to bypass it entirely (such as the big pillar thing in the bottom of the Moathouse). This campaign is also very reactive. There are a lot of sections that say, "If the PCs do this, then this group of villains in this section are going to do this." Be ready for that, and be ready to handle the details, so that when the PCs get to an area that's been affected by their efforts elsewhere, you're ready to run it organically, instead of fumbling because now the flavor text for that section in the book no longer applies. The PCs are going to make multiple forays into danger areas in this campaign, and you're going to have to be ready for the fact that if they're gone long enough, areas they've cleared out are likely to slowly repopulate. Be ready for that if they decide they want to manually walk out instead of using Teleport or something similar to make travel between the temple and Hommlett a lot quicker. It's a very cool adventure to run, but it isn't for beginner Dungeon Masters. You have to be very well organized, and really know not only the material from the module, but the Core Rules themselves, quite well. I recommend re-reading at least the Dungeon Master's Guide and Player's Handbook before running this adventure. Also realize that "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil" was written for 3.0, and some things changed in 3.5 that were significant enough that you might have to tweak some things in the module to make it line up with 3.5. I hope you have a great time running it; it's a lot of fun if it's run properly, and your players won't soon forget it.
Dauntless 02-21-04, 03:16 AM	Tell the players this ahead of time: "This is what adventuring is all about. You don't always win. You don't always ride back to town victorious. Sometimes the only 'victory' is one of survival. Know that the forces of evil in the world are in fact more powerful than the forces of good, and it'll take more than a bunch of upstarts with pointy magic sticks to actually DO anything about it. Got it kids?" This serves the double-edged purpose of pumping them up, but warning them about whats to come. Oh, and keep black character sheets and spare d6's handy, especially if it looks like the characters are getting too brave. :)