D&D Has Best Introduction To Greyhawk (& It’s Not In The 2024 DM’s Guide)

Wizards of the Coast are now more heavily focusing on the world of Greyhawk for Dungeons & Dragons. This is actually the setting designed by D&D founder Gary Gygax. Originally played in his personal home games, Greyhawk was used in several editions of the official rules. But, for a long time the Forgotten Realms had overtaken Greyhawk in published works. But, there is a great place to jump into the world: The Temple of Elemental Evil adventure.

This module storyline has been a part of D&D across its 50-year history. It began with the 1979 adventure The Village of Hommlet and expanded outwards. Much like the current Dungeon Master’s Guide, during the 2000s the third edition rules focused on Greyhawk. Eventually, the game developer Troika Games decided to combine the older The Temple of Elemental Evil with this new ruleset, releasing a unique computer game in 2003. Both the pen and paper module and video game are a great way of learning about Greyhawk.

The Original Pen And Paper Module

Four Adventures In One

The entire D&D campaign was originally designed to be released in four standalone parts. But, after the success of T1: The Village of Hommlet, all four modules were released as a full bundle titled T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil. Owning the latter allowed a party to adventure all the way from level one to eight.

The Temple of Elemental Evil takes place near the city of Verbobonc in Flanaess. The region strongly worships Saint Cuthbert, the punishing cudgel against evil in D&D’s Greyhawk. But, with the large amount of forests and roads Ehlonna and Fharlanghn are also tolerated. With such a bastion of goodness, evil arrived to accept the challenge.

13 years in the past of D&D’s Greyhawk, these wicked forces began to construct what would become the Temple of Elemental Evil. Verbobonc and its allies soon retaliated, resulting in a massive bloody battle at Emirdy Meadows. They succeed in sealing away the demon leader, Zuggtmoy, in the depths of the Temple’s dungeon. However, Serten, one of Saint Cuthbert’s finest, was slain. After the chaos subsided, a new fortress was built near Hommlet village to monitor any future activity from the Temple.

Now, in the year of 579 CY in D&D, the party first set out to Hommlet. While it seems peaceful at first, many spies working for the Temple lurk undetected. This discovery leads the party to an abandoned moat house full of dangers and monsters. Next, the investigation heads to the run-down town of Nulb, a backwater place filled with thieves and pirates. Finally, the party enters the full Temple of Elemental Evil, heading into the depths with the goal of destroying Zuggtmoy once and for all.

The Video Game Version Was Very Faithful

Some Of The Best And Accurate Combat

The pen and paper module was a hit that stayed in the minds of D&D players for decades. Following the success of real-time with pause games like Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale, players yearned for a full turn-based RPG experience. In 2003, Troika Games was up for the task and released The Temple of Elemental Evil on PCs.

Unique introductions were added to account for a party of nine possible alignments. They still all end up in Hommlet, but the reasons could be completely different. Lawful Evil parties are servants of the deity Hextor, whose priest tasks them with destroying the chaotic sword Fragarach, one of the possible treasures in the moat house.

YouTuber Mortismal Gaming noted it would be easy to not know who Hextor is if you never experienced Greyhawk. Being True Neutral would result in working for the archdruid Hrudek, a similar role as Halsin in Baldur’s Gate 3. He simply wanted an update from his ally Jaroo, the local druid of Hommlet.

While The Temple of Elemental Evil allowed customized parties of five characters, it also allowed recruiting companions in various locations. The most commonly met first, is the drunkard fighter Elmo stumbling around the Welcome Wench pub. You could also blackmail the rogue Furnok after catching him cheating at gambling. The best part is, you could recruit some former enemies. Lareth, the cleric leader of the moat house, is happy to help evil players but will betray neutral ones.

An interesting tidbit is
Lareth worships Lloth
, the Drow goddess. They were originally a deity in Greyhawk before double-dipping into Forgotten Realms. This is because all realm crystal spheres are part of the larger multiverse and can be
visited via a Spelljammer ship
.

But, the standout feature of The Temple of Elemental Evil was the combat. It perfectly mimicked the turn-based systems of D&D 3e. You had all the possible action economy options including five-foot steps, swift actions, reactions, cast defensively, and readies vs [type]. Turn-based combat empowered the druid spell Call Lightning, which had so much more control than the seeming randomness in Icewind Dale.

The Temple of Elemental Evil probably leaned too much into fighting rather than full roleplaying. Often, you will go from encounter to encounter, not talking to anyone for up to six or more hours. Additionally, the game still used the early D&D system of random encounters while taking a rest. You could get out of a fight, attempt to sleep, and have a bunch of goblins or bugbears instantly on you.

Scions Of Elemental Evil Is a Good Sequel That Should Be Played After

Same Place, Different Time

To help revitalize the Greyhawk setting, Wizard of the Coast released Scions of Elemental Evil in October 2024. It takes place five years after The Temple of Elemental Evil and returns to some of the same locations. This short jump in time avoids the issues of the spellplauge and sundering in Forgotten Realms.

The magma cultist Ulsedra Vox has uncovered the ruins of the Temple of Elemental Evil, and she comes in contact with the Elder Elemental Eye. Soon, a whole horde of nefarious creatures come under Vox’s wing. Yolande, the queen of Celene, sends the party to hunt down and defeat Vox.

Scions of Elemental Evil is good in its own right, but should be played as a follow-up instead of right away. The mission starts at 4th level, which might be a bit higher than what new players may be accustomed to. Additionally, there isn’t as much onboarding for this interation of Greyhawk in Dungeons & Dragons. Yolande wants the team to get to the Temple right away without a stop in Hommlet, Nulb, or the Moat House. Additionally, there is no connection to Zuggtmoy, Saint Cuthbert, or the battle at Emirdy Meadows.

Source: Mortismal Gaming/YouTube