Goodman Games: Original Adventures Reincarnated #6: The Temple of Elemental Evil, Fully Playable Mega-Dungeon and Mini-Campaign

The guys at Goodman Games really pulled out all the stops for this two-volume deluxe slipcase edition. Collectors everywhere will be reinforcing their bookshelves to take the strain.The adventure is a true classic of first edition AD&D, and it’s awesome to have it converted so lovingly to the slick, modern game design of fifth edition for a new generation to enjoy.D&D has branched out in a multitude of weird and wonderful directions over the years, but it’s great to see its strong roots still being appreciated some four decades later.As with all the Original Adventures Reincarnated series so far, and indeed all that Goodman Games publish, the quality of this slipcase edition continues to set the benchmark, with thick, luxurious paper, bookmark ribbons, clear print and layout, and a strong, stitched binding.The introductory interviews are a treat for enthusiasts, and the black and white art is perfectly in keeping with the style of the original publications.As an aside, I strongly recommend Goodman’s flagship RPG, Dungeon Crawl Classics, for anyone looking for a grittier, less superhero-like gaming experience. If you’re wanting to dip your toes in the Old School Revival movement, DCC is a great place to start. It’s not as streamlined or user-friendly as fifth edition, but the detailed magic system alone blows 5E’s out of the water.For those who like the style and feel of first edition adventures like this one, I’d also suggest taking a look at the output of Frog God Games (who also publish as Necromancer Games). Rappan Athuk and The Slumbering Tsar are excellent examples of sprawling adventures in a similarly fiendish vein to Temple of Elemental Evil.

Excellent service, great product in great condition

I first ran into the ToEE in a secondhand bookstore back around 2000. I fell in love with the adventure, but it was for 2nd Edition. By the time I really started playing, 3rd Edition had come out, and that's what my friends and I were playing, so I never really got a chance to play it. Now, 20 years later, it's been reskinned for 5th Edition!The collection is two massive books. It includes quite a bit of commentary that honestly I have no interest in. It also includes reproduction of the original 2E adventure before it goes into the update. I only dug into the 5E portion, but when I glanced at the 2E repro, it looked just as I remembered.The update is extremely faithful to the original. Mechanics and stats were the primary things updated to make it playable in 5E. They also fleshed out the nodes to make them playable dungeon levels out of the box--in the 2E version, the node areas were just stubs, and it was up to the DM to make them work.Two cautions... party size & makeup and treasure.The encounters were originally scaled to 2E party size & makeup. Modern D&D doesn't necessarily follow the same standards, and the encounters weren't rescaled to match. That could cause encounters to be more dangerous in some situations. The developers did address the issue by giving guidance for the DMs on adjusting the encounters themselves.The other issue is treasure... in the olden days, treasure contributed to the XP the party earned, and it was of course to meant to be split (like the XP). Thus, treasure was integral to character advancement. Modern D&D doesn't directly consider treasure when calculating XP--especially if you're using milestone advancement. Some encounters have unreasonably large amounts of cache or other goods to be claimed... sometimes simply by finding it in a box under the bed. Other encounters may have epic fights with virtually no treasure reward afterwards. It seems a little inconsistent... but that's the way it was in the original adventure. Regardless, just be mindful of how much money is getting into your players' hands; you could break your economy or overpower the PCs.I can't wait to play this with my group :D :D :D

Very well done. My all time fav module. Love the hardback books. Order filled promptly and shipped. Arrived in mint condition.

This 2 volume set is a BEAST. The first book has an interesting introduction and a faithful reproduction of the original module series as well as a collection of short essays from various game publishers writing about their own experiences with the module. It also contains pictures of the covers of the various printings of the modules and an interview with Jeff Easley. The 5th edition conversion starts in the first volume and continues throughout the majority of the second volume. There are appendices of maps and pictures from the module as well as treasures and Monsters. If you are a fan of old school adventure but wish to use the new ruleset I think you will be pleased and if you want to try the original module with the old rules then the 5th edition material is not intrusive. The books are BIG though so that might be a turn off for some. I really enjoy this book set.