And so, the Temple of Elemental Evil shall be. I'm assuming that anybody interested in browsing the Greyhawk board is already intimately familiar with a 25 year old adventure, so I'm not going to be worried about spreading spoilers. Hopefully, we will be able to finish the Moathouse in one sitting.
The game is going to be set just before the Greyhawk Wars. Iuz ultimate goal is to establish the Temple as a fortress from which to occupy Veluna and Furyondy's southern forces when the main invasion occurs. Supreme Commander Hendrack is a member of the Lesser Boneheart tasked with making it happen. If Zuggtmoy can be released while so doing, so much the better. Operating under the cover of Elemental Evil happens to be much better for recruitment than openly admitting to the worship of Iuz.
I've never been a fan of Lareth being a cleric of Lolth. As far as I'm concerned, Lolth can stay a demon princess venerated by the rarely ever seen drow deep under the Crystalmist Mountains. So, Lareth becomes a cleric of Iuz working for Hendrack. Being such a charming fellow, Lareth is the primary individual responsible for recruiting followers. Everyone in the Moathouse but the Master's Lieutenant are fresh recruits soon to be sent to the Temple . . . err, and the undead which are Lareth's way of making the most of occupational accidents.
Banditry is on the rise in southern Verbobonc to support the growing Temple. Enter the PCs.
The game will start at the village hall in Hommlet with the PCs being briefed by the council. The herdsman noticed figures moving about the Moathouse's parapets when gathering his flock, and Jaroo has pressed to have some adventurers investigate.
I've drawn out a poster map of the moathouse and dungeons. These will be given to the players during the briefing, as I figure several of Hommlet's inhabitants will be aware of the layout.
Areas 12, and 15-18 are not on the map. These are new construction since Lareth took over. There is an umber hulk in the Temple which has been used to dig the new rooms and passages - when the PCs get to that part it will be obviously carved out with massive claws. Lareth needs the new areas to house his burgeoning new recruitments, and also, is half-heartedly looking for powerful magic rumored to be under the Moathouse (Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, but is not really expected to be a part of this campaign).
Translating everything over to 4e has proven to be a breeze; simply use the equivalent 4e monsters. I was surprised that there does not seem to be a giant lizard in MM I, II, or III, so I'm just going to use a wolf. I figure it is their pet anyway. A chocker without the body shield or chameleon abilities seems a decent giant tick. I like hobgoblins better than bugbears, so they are being switched out. A chuul makes a decent giant crayfish. Lareth and the Lieutenant are statted up as a cleric and fighter, respectively. I went with their stats in the module (Gygax was a munchkin giving Lareth three 18s, a 17, and a 16).
The Moathouse is set for a raucus good time. Looking forward to gaming.
Have you run into any issues with cleric powers/domains and the 4e-defined domains?
I've had a hankering to run a Greyhawk campaign ever since 4e was released. Now it's time; the group gets together Labor Day.
And so, the Temple of Elemental Evil shall be. I'm assuming that anybody interested in browsing the Greyhawk board is already intimately familiar with a 25 year old adventure, so I'm not going to be worried about spreading spoilers. Hopefully, we will be able to finish the Moathouse in one sitting.
The game is going to be set just before the Greyhawk Wars. Iuz ultimate goal is to establish the Temple as a fortress from which to occupy Veluna and Furyondy's southern forces when the main invasion occurs. Supreme Commander Hendrack is a member of the Lesser Boneheart tasked with making it happen. If Zuggtmoy can be released while so doing, so much the better. Operating under the cover of Elemental Evil happens to be much better for recruitment than openly admitting to the worship of Iuz.
I've never been a fan of Lareth being a cleric of Lolth. As far as I'm concerned, Lolth can stay a demon princess venerated by the rarely ever seen drow deep under the Crystalmist Mountains. So, Lareth becomes a cleric of Iuz working for Hendrack. Being such a charming fellow, Lareth is the primary individual responsible for recruiting followers. Everyone in the Moathouse but the Master's Lieutenant are fresh recruits soon to be sent to the Temple . . . err, and the undead which are Lareth's way of making the most of occupational accidents.
Banditry is on the rise in southern Verbobonc to support the growing Temple. Enter the PCs.
The game will start at the village hall in Hommlet with the PCs being briefed by the council. The herdsman noticed figures moving about the Moathouse's parapets when gathering his flock, and Jaroo has pressed to have some adventurers investigate.
I've drawn out a poster map of the moathouse and dungeons. These will be given to the players during the briefing, as I figure several of Hommlet's inhabitants will be aware of the layout.
Areas 12, and 15-18 are not on the map. These are new construction since Lareth took over. There is an umber hulk in the Temple which has been used to dig the new rooms and passages - when the PCs get to that part it will be obviously carved out with massive claws. Lareth needs the new areas to house his burgeoning new recruitments, and also, is half-heartedly looking for powerful magic rumored to be under the Moathouse (Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, but is not really expected to be a part of this campaign).
Translating everything over to 4e has proven to be a breeze; simply use the equivalent 4e monsters. I was surprised that there does not seem to be a giant lizard in MM I, II, or III, so I'm just going to use a wolf. I figure it is their pet anyway. A chocker without the body shield or chameleon abilities seems a decent giant tick. I like hobgoblins better than bugbears, so they are being switched out. A chuul makes a decent giant crayfish. Lareth and the Lieutenant are statted up as a cleric and fighter, respectively. I went with their stats in the module (Gygax was a munchkin giving Lareth three 18s, a 17, and a 16).
The Moathouse is set for a raucus good time. Looking forward to gaming.
What's really cool about TOEE is that, if the PC's time it right, when they finish destroying the Orb and cause the Temple to collapse... Iuz loses access to the elemental planes for 2 years. I always felt that would mean his priests also lose it and can't summon evil elemental creatures to support the Wars. Sure, they can summon demons and such, but no salamanders and what-have-you.
Looking forward to reading along vicariously.
Have you run into any issues with cleric powers/domains and the 4e-defined domains?
With 4e domains you are talking about the essentials Cleric? I haven't worried about it. We do character creation tomorrow; if someone chooses an essentials Cleric that Storm or Sun doesn't fit, well then, I guess we'll cross that bridge.
I statted Lareth up as a PHB 1 cleric, and the powers were sufficient to make him appropriately thematic for worshipping Iuz.
What's really cool about TOEE is that, if the PC's time it right, when they finish destroying the Orb and cause the Temple to collapse... Iuz loses access to the elemental planes for 2 years. I always felt that would mean his priests also lose it and can't summon evil elemental creatures to support the Wars. Sure, they can summon demons and such, but no salamanders and what-have-you.
That's an interesting notion. Particularly given that demons are elemental-ish in 4e, it could potentially sever his priests' ability to summon them as well. That would effectively cripple the war machine.
Question: When you say "statted up as a cleric (Lareth)", do you mean you built him as you would a PC (as opposed to like a monster)?
edit: for clarity
Question: When you say "statted up as a cleric (Lareth)", do you mean you built him as you would a PC (as opposed to like a monster)?
Yes, I built him as a 5th level cleric using PC creation rules, using the ability scores Gygax gave him, choosing thematic powers like causing fear and summoning a demon, spending feats on wearing plate armor and his signature 2-weapon fighting style as per the module. Lareth is very stout and could potentially slay the PCs, though I feel his personality fits fleeing and fighting another day rather than battling to the death for what is only a recruitment outpost.
I also built the Master's Lieutenant as a 4th level fighter, though the module only gives him a 15 Strength which makes him seem a bit wimpy.
In that they used a Rage Drake for the giant lizard.
Lareth is built as a monster and his lieutenant, Drex, is a 5th level Dragonborn soldier.
A rage drake makes an excellent stand-in for the lizard. Thanks.
I'm not opposed to dragonborn in Greyhawk, but putting one in Hommlet feels a bit shoehorned.
Looking forward to reading along vicariously.
Have you run into any issues with cleric powers/domains and the 4e-defined domains?
With 4e domains you are talking about the essentials Cleric? I haven't worried about it. We do character creation tomorrow; if someone chooses an essentials Cleric that Storm or Sun doesn't fit, well then, I guess we'll cross that bridge.
I statted Lareth up as a PHB 1 cleric, and the powers were sufficient to make him appropriately thematic for worshipping Iuz.
Not necessarily. I was referring to the concept from Divine Power for the PHB Cleric.
Endangered bandits, caged in fright
Slayed in cold blood, no chance to fight
The stage is set, evil paid the price
An ego boost, players don’t think twice
Powers and surges, the battle’s unfair
They swing the sword without a care
Shoot the arrow that makes you a man
Pseudo-safari, the Moathouse is canned
All are gone, all but one
No contest, to the Temple to run
No more left, only one
This is it, this is the Elemental Evil Extinction
(apologies to Dave Mustaine)
The intrepid party of adventurers was formed: human essentials Sun cleric of Pelor, razorclaw shifter ranger, tiefling warlock, and shardmind battlemind. Out of 4 characters there is a cat person, a demon person, and a living crystal. Sigh, that’s 4th edition for ya.
The wayfaring adventurers readily agreed to check out the Moathouse for banditos, and so, traipsed down the overgrown trail. Finding a hiding point a couple hundred yards away, they easily spotted 3 guards upon the battlements. And so began a long discussion as to the best manner of assault. Eventually, a farmer was espied slinking down the road toward the Moathouse. Easily subdued, the farmer acknowledged that he planned on joining the bandits. He was sent back to Hommlet after being convinced against joining the ranks of evil.
And so, the party approached the Moathouse offering to join their ranks. Suspicious of their intents, Lareth questioned as to what contact sent them. The warlock nearly blew the cover by saying, “a hobo in the streets of Hommlet.” Lo, as is often the case, a high Bluff roll saved the day. Still not fully trusting them, Lareth told them of an incoming caravan and if they would sack it and bring the goods, they would be able to join the ranks.
Off to sacking a caravan. After some discussion, it was agreed that good folks would not actually participate in banditry. Negotiations with the caravan driver bargained a cost of 3,000 gold for the 3 wagons of goods. Zipping off to town with the speed of thought, the Battlemind convinced Canon Terjon to bankroll the 3 grand for a tithe of 25% of whatever was recovered from the Moathouse. Caravan driver and guards went off to Hommlet with a story about how they were attacked by bandits. Adventurers drove the wagons to the Moathouse, firing a few arrows into the wagons for effect.
Quite pleased with the results, Lareth told the party they would ship out to the Temple in the morning. Over fried frog legs, the party discovered the Temple was rearming; Lareth was recruiting for it.
Given one of the upper rooms for the night, the party watched as the human bandits bedded down for the night while the hobgoblins (switched out from the bugbears) came up to guard in the dark hours. Three hobbies went to the parapets while two of them half-heartedly watched the hallway going to the PC’s room. Eventually, one of the hobbies got bored and went outside to chat with his compatriots, while the other hardly paid attention to his duties.
Sneaky ranger strike! Having no problem slinking up to the hobgoblin, the attack roll was made to slit its throat – a 3! Initially panicked that the guard would sound alarm, the player fortunately realized the utility of action points. Dead hobbie. Slinking around to kill the sleeping upper floor bandits was easily accomplished. When the second hobgoblin charged with watching the party reentered the building, the whole party was poised to quickly take him out.
Ignoring the 3 hobgoblins on the parapets, the party gathered their breath and went down the trapdoor in room 7.
Thump…thump, to the right. Cackling laughter to the left. Shrugging shoulders on the best way to go, to the right it was. Four PCs popping encounter powers led to one quickly dead ogre. The gnome was freed; his ring acquired.
Zombie battle! Stupid zombies throwing themselves onto the cleric’s zone of anti-undeadness.
And then to come was the great gnoll gnash of room 11. Battlemind at point rushed to battle as soon as seeing 3 gnolls handing out in the room. Intense battle raged as more and more gnolls came clamoring out of room 12. The claw fighter slunk off to wake up Lareth. Gnolls were slaughtered. I rather messed up on not having the demonic scourge join battle until pretty much all the rest were dead, only to realize his powers have to do with allies. Ah well. Lots of dead gnolls.
The party was concerned about taking a 5 minute breather, for one gnoll did slink off to gather allies. Ultimately, they decided to rest. No interruption. Lareth and co were waking up and donning armor.
As we were also using the break to eat some dinner, it felt appropriate to hand out experience points. Added it up and bingo! Enough for second level. Everyone chose Utility powers while munching on cold cuts. Spent healing surges and dailies remained spent for the day.
Scouting out areas 13 and 14, the party decided not to mess with a giant crayfish or crawl down tunnels battling undead.
I combined rooms 16 and 17 into one large room to make for a more hearty arena, with the exit tunnel 15 going from it to give Lareth at least a chance at escape.
Massive final battle! The party decided to hole up in the hallway outside to ambush whomever came out. The gnoll claw fighter was sent. The gnoll claw fighter instantly died.
Parley ensued as Lareth was unwilling to send more men down the hallway to death and no party member was willing to soak all the held attacks to be the first entering the room. The parley did not lead to any conclusion.
Deftly asking if initiative was reset, and given a yes answer, the Battlemind moved at the speed of thought to get in the room. With a lucky initiative roll, many power points, and an action point, the Battlemind was able to slay most of the minions with his Bull’s Strength.
Fierce battle raged. The party lost unity and became scattered about, defender unable to defend. Things looked grim when a soldier Lareth had send down tunnel 15 to gather the remaining reinforcements from upstairs (3 hobbies on the battlements) arrived coming from room 11. The warlock was cut off from entering the room with everyone by the Master’s Lieutenant and the hobbies surrounded from the other side. It looked like he would die.
Finally, finally, the dice started turning the party’s way. The Master’s Lieutenant was slain. The hobbies were slain. The remaining sergeant was slain. The tide had turned.
The exit tunnel was only 1 square wide. Lareth had deftly positioned himself at the tunnel’s entrance. Summoning a demon to block pursuit (guardian of faith), he hightailed it. Of course the party wanted to pursue.
We weren’t sure on the exact rules of getting past the demon, so I called it at an acrobatics check to tumble past. The battlemind tried and failed, thrown down with a thwack. The warlock tried and failed, thrown down with a thwack. The cleric tried and failed, thrown down with a thwack. The nimble ranger deftly bounded past. Low on hit points and long since out of healing, nobody else tried a second time.
It came down to a one on one fight between the ranger and Lareth in the exit tunnel. As the faster of the two, the ranger initially did well by moving and shooting. Eventually, Lareth cast sanctuary to move into melee. The ranger was beat down to a bloody mess! Lareth escaped! In haste, Lareth did not deal a killing blow. Fortunately, the ranger passed his roll and stabilized
Thus 10 hours of adventure ended. Party victorious! All were tired with a following day of work/school. Treasure will be divvied up later. Enough xp to gain 3rd level accrued. A recurring villain created.
The intrepid party of adventurers was formed: human essentials Sun cleric of Pelor, razorclaw shifter ranger, tiefling warlock, and shardmind battlemind. Out of 4 characters there is a cat person, a demon person, and a living crystal. Sigh, that’s 4th edition for ya.
Wow, what a session!
As for the party diversity, I suppose the razorclaw shifter could be from the Tiger Nomads, the tiefling from the Horned Society, and the Shardmind... I got nothing. ("Did you grow up under a rock? Oh right...sorry, bro.")
The intrepid party of adventurers was formed: human essentials Sun cleric of Pelor, razorclaw shifter ranger, tiefling warlock, and shardmind battlemind. Out of 4 characters there is a cat person, a demon person, and a living crystal. Sigh, that’s 4th edition for ya.
Wow, what a session!
As for the party diversity, I suppose the razorclaw shifter could be from the Tiger Nomads, the tiefling from the Horned Society, and the Shardmind... I got nothing. ("Did you grow up under a rock? Oh right...sorry, bro.")
What is often missed is that adventurers are yes, special.
there is NOTHING wrong with a party of by example all 'Awakened' (magic) able peoples in Shadowrun by example, or a gang of nippo-american Onis (orc 'metavariant') in Seatles. Or odd races in GH.
Shardmind could come from the Underdark. It exist in GH too, if a bit different and less one united network.
So, eitheir you asa dm allow it, ot not, IN THE CAMPAGN'S setting. At start; you can say 'these do not exist in my world'. Or not.
You can try to find simple ways to fit them in, as the guy pointed - he have some good ideas.
Wow, what a session!
As for the party diversity, I suppose the razorclaw shifter could be from the Tiger Nomads, the tiefling from the Horned Society, and the Shardmind... I got nothing. ("Did you grow up under a rock? Oh right...sorry, bro.")
A couple years ago, I brainstormed a bit on dehumanizing the Flanneass which should probably still be on these boards. As a rule of thumb, as long as the players are having fun let them play what they want.
The Hommlet folk will warm up to them soon enough, what with whacking the bandits and all. If and when Verbobonc, Dyvers, or Greyhawk are visited to offload loot, the jaded big-city merchants will have seen it all at some point or another anyway.
I've never liked the way Nulb flowed. The party has sacked the Moathouse and learned of the growing power of the Temple. They are pumped and excited about kicking some Elemental Evil butt. And then a whole session is devoted to piddling around a pirate town. And why would the party want to set up base of operations from Nulb when they have just started getting to know the Hommlet folk?
Methinks skipping Nulb is best for now, getting to the upper temple and level 1 for the next session. And let's face it, the dungeon is a long slog. There will be plenty of willingness to break that up with exploration of Nulb during the campaign.
As for Lareth, disgraced in the Temple ranks for loosing the Moathouse, he will be going to Nulb to get back on his feet. Recruiting Tolub would go far in that direction.
I simply note the room number and monsters. Conversion to 4E is blimey easy - just jot down which monster manual and page number the bestie is in. Hence, an entry becomes, "104 6 ghouls I-118." During play, I'll decide exactly which type of ghouls are present. For named baddies, or particularly significant ones, I am writing them up as a full PC.
Romag and Hartsch are both PHB1 clerics - which don't really have powers that feel thematic with elemental earth, reskinning of powers during play is necessary. The commander is a PHB1 fighter and his lieutenant a PHB1 warlord. The Turnkey is a nasty looking slayer that will likely cause the party a world of hurt if he can gather up some allies. I got lazy with Wonillion just making him an MMII gnome, since I didn't feel like putting in the effort to write up an NPC prisoner that shouldn't be fought.
With that, the first level of the dungeon is converted and ready to go.
1. DM describes the dungeon, players are responsible for mapping it to the best of their ability. This is perhaps my lease favorite. Confusion reigns. The DM and the mapper spend lots of time chatting back and forth to the exclusion of everyone else. Not the lease problem is because as a player I despise mapping.
2. DM describes the dungeon, nobody maps, movement around the map is kind of handwaved. Players, "This is a dead-end, where haven't we been?" DM, "There was another passage back in that room where you fought the wights, a doorway back in the room with a big pillar, another door back..." I tend to like this method for small dungeons without many options on where to go; it's easy. However, it looses the charm of a big winding dungeon across several levels presenting PCs with many options on which direction to explore.
3. DM draws/traces a player's map on a sheet of graph paper as they progress. This is a fairly good method, but slows down exploration as the PCs enter a new area for the DM to draw it out. As most every battle will also involve drawing out the battle board, I can see this slowing things to a crawl.
4. DM draws out the map on inch-grid paper as they explore doubling up as the map and the battle board. Staples makes wonderful inch-grid poster sized paper. The biggest drawback is that Temple will take up multiple poster sized sheets, but I think this the method to use for this campaign. As things progress, and the PCs tread over the same area of the dungeon multiple times, that area will already be drawn up for any deadly encounters.
What methods work for other DMs in conveying the dungeon map to the players?
Despite decades of DMing D&D, I've never actually ran a dungeon as extensive as the Temple to conclusion. At lease a part of that is, I feel, due to the challenges of conveying the map to the players. Several options can be had:
What methods work for other DMs in conveying the dungeon map to the players?
As a DM I either, (pre)draw up the map using software and print out, draw it up by hand with the graph paper you mentioned or use a battlemat and dungeon tiles*. In a night of adventuring I'll probably do all of the above. But the important thing is I only draw the maps to miniature scale for encounter areas and rely on verbal description or smaller area maps to detail the "between" areas. i.e., I don't draw an entire cave complex, tunnels and all, but only the caves with encounters/important places and handwave the rest.
*I've also used a projector to project images from my computer to the tabletop. Not time efficient, but very cool in play!
For named baddies, or particularly significant ones, I am writing them up as a full PC.
See. This is stange to me. One of the things 4e did was simplify monster creation/use/re-skinning. I'll post a copy of Lareth from the 4e conversion WOTC did, soon as I make sure that's cool. :-) Just seems you are making more (unnecessary) work for yourself by building NPCs as full characters...
Despite decades of DMing D&D, I've never actually ran a dungeon as extensive as the Temple to conclusion. At lease a part of that is, I feel, due to the challenges of conveying the map to the players. Several options can be had:
What methods work for other DMs in conveying the dungeon map to the players?
As a DM I either, (pre)draw up the map using software and print out, draw it up by hand with the graph paper you mentioned or use a battlemat and dungeon tiles*. In a night of adventuring I'll probably do all of the above. But the important thing is I only draw the maps to miniature scale for encounter areas and rely on verbal description or smaller area maps to detail the "between" areas. i.e., I don't draw an entire cave complex, tunnels and all, but only the caves with encounters/important places and handwave the rest.
*I've also used a projector to project images from my computer to the tabletop. Not time efficient, but very cool in play!
That's a pretty good method, and basically what I did when running Keep on the Shadowfell/Thunderspire Labyrinth what with the poster maps. However, it doesn't match my DMing style. My monsters are all over the map going about their day and reacting to the PCs. It is just as likely for Romag to gather some elementals and hunt down the PCs in a storeroom as it is to fight them in the Earth Temple.
Using a projector sounds awesome! You have access to your whole map collection with just a click. Hmmm....might have a christmas present idea for myself there....
For named baddies, or particularly significant ones, I am writing them up as a full PC.
See. This is stange to me. One of the things 4e did was simplify monster creation/use/re-skinning. I'll post a copy of Lareth from the 4e conversion WOTC did, soon as I make sure that's cool. :-) Just seems you are making more (unnecessary) work for yourself by building NPCs as full characters...
I like making characters ;) WotC stats for Lareth would be interesting, though.
Well between this thread and the new Mordenkainen's Emporium book, it's got me looking at Greyhawk again! :-) Pulled out a map and notes I'd prepared for running a campaign in 4e from a couple of years ago...and both versions of the Village of Hommlet.... uh, oh...
:-)
We got a new player! A barbarian has joined the intrepid adventurers. Ahhh, the fun of a person new to the hobby where telling the difference between a d8 and a d12 is a function of discovery. Methinks that 4th may not be the best gateway with a bewildering array of powers when all she wants to do is thwack the beastie with an axe.
I like roleplaying. I like the characters developing connections in town. I like having the silly little conversations with the merchant to sell hard-gotten gains. My current crop of players...not into it so much.
The hoard of wealth drug out of the Moathouse needed to be sold with resulting coins partitioned out. All I wanted was a 5 minute conversation with the trader - important to introduce him as a character for the inevitable double cross. PULLING TEETH! Sigh. Time in town is totally metagamed; I let them buy anything 3rd level or lower with the books as a catalogue.
On to adventure! Nulb is entirely skipped as they head to the Temple. Instead of bandits, in the tower were hobgoblins with goblins riding the giant ravens. It took a bit for the party to fight their way inside the tower, and while outside, it appeared death by goblin giant raven riders would occur. However, once they battled their way inside the hobbies and gobbies were rather easily laid low.
Several of the goblins in the tower surrendered. Whereby the party developed its viscious no prisoners policy. "You kill the cowering goblins?" "Yes, we hack, hack, hack!" Fortunately for the gobbies, a few were able to escape by flying away. Otherwise, massacre.
I find the first level of the Temple to be one of the most boring and pointless exercises in the realm of D&D. A big, giant, empty building with mountains of descriptive text and nothing to do but find some robes and a throne with colorful stones around it that the players have no idea what to do with. They did get a kick out of the soiled white robes, though.
Into the dungeon to battle ghouls, ghouls, and more ghouls. I had picked up Monster Vault a couple days before the session. Wowzers are ghouls nasty! But they battled their way through, managing to clear out the guard room 149 before ending the session.
I've alway played long sessions of 10+ hours. So, I've always used the houserule that the party fully heals and gets all spells back between sessions with no resting necessary. Furthermore, they had earned enoush XP for 4th level. So, while they staggered into room 149, they swaggered out.
The Turnkey could have been fun. They players finally started to think to wear the robes as a disguise. Instead of charging in with swords swinging, they started with a parley. They found out that the various temples are battling each other for supremacy. They were on the verge of becoming involved in Temple politics. Then they attacked and slaughtered him.
Clearing out the remainder of the western half of dungeon level 1 resulted in an incredible battle with the bugbears in room 147. The bugbears managed to get the party split up and out of position. One bugbears slips through the secret door and runs down the hallway, the barbarian in hot pursuit. Earth elementals (Monster Vault Earth Archons toned down a bit) were rumbling and heading toward the remainder of the party. The battlemind heroically moves to hold off the first elemental while the cleric runs to help out the barbarian. The party is split to the 4 winds.
It was an epic little battle in the hallway between bugbear and barbarian. Blows were traded, both weakening, the bugbear cursing his luck for not having someone else to help get combat advantage. But the bugbear didn't need assistance. He cut down the barbarian mono-a-mono. Promotion and accolades were clearly in his future! But on the next initiative, the cleric rounded the corner into the hallway, finished off the bugbear's few remaining HP in one blow, and healed the barbarian to boot. The poor beastie's visions of glory lasted but the scant time from one initiative to the next.
Party member death! Holding off an elemental with only a warlock for backup was more than the battlemind could handle. One blow bloodied. Two blows down. The warlock panicked and ran for his life. Seeing no alternative, the remainder of the party followed suit - battlemind left for dead. As a shardmind, the battlemind was drug off by the elemental whereby the shardmind will be merged with the elemental to make a crystally earth elemental. The players' reaction if they ever encounter the elemental again will be fun.
Back to town in defeat. Spirits were low. Arguments were had over actions taken in combat.
Fortunately, the battlemind's player has long had a history of his characters dieing (including a Savage Worlds character in our gaming session immediately proceding to starting the Temple of Elemental Evil). He took it well and rolled up a monk. Huzzah, a party of 4 strikers and one leader.
Back to the temple depths with what has become a complete lack of wandering monsters, but we keep checking for them anyway.
This time they start getting smart. The cleric casts the Hand of Fate ritual asking for something that will help them defeat the elementals. It points them in the direction of Romag with his fancy-dancy robe. A long battle was had which featured all the earth temple dudes from rooms 133 to 137 with nerry a chance to rest between. Fortunately for the party, most guards were minions.
With Romag, Hartsh, the Commander, and the Lieutenant statted up like a PC, it was an epic battle indeed. As a fighter, the Commander was doing an excellent job of holding them off, and the bad guys had healing aplenty. However, they didn't have anyone capable of landing a hard blow. The party ground them down until finally only Hartsh was left. He surrendered. He was murdered.
And so our gaming came to an end, late at night with tired folks. The earth temple has pretty much been vanquished. Half the 1st level has been cleared.
They had just defeated the trolls who came in a big wave pincering in the party with their backs to the umber hulk pit. Falrinth is marshalling what forces remain in a desperate attempt to defend against the invaders.We show up to play last weekend, and the players unanimously vote to stop playing 4e. After much discussion of the different editions, the issue became decided when one of the players who had never seen a 1e book became enamored with the monk. So everyone rolled up 1e characters and we began a new game.
I have always struggled with long dungeon crawls. After a while they seem repetitious, particularly with the "yet another hallway" syndrome going on.
If I was to run the Temple of Elemental Evil again, it would not be a straight dungeon crawl. The Temple would be the central base of a network all across the local area. Most of the game would be dealing with the various agents of Elemental Evil across Verbobonc, the Vesve, Dyvers, with a variety of adventures. Dungeon crawl forays into the Temple itself would be limited with specific goals.