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

The pages are nice and thick. Most of the content is in monochrome less the cover reprinted module scans and a beautiful inside cover illustration. And of course the classic blue map foldout. Actually, not fully monochrome, each page has a grey footer. More on this later. I saw a video review of this book that complained about the foldout maps having the map portion of those sheets center-bound through the map itself, but my copy of this book didn't have that problem at all. The map is entirely on the foldout and no central binding cuts through any of them. The editorial notes are an interesting read that provides a greater appreciation of what's included. The 5E conversion is pretty solid and adds a lot of stuff in the same flavor of the original. One thing to keep in mind is that, while this is for levels 3 through 6, it's for between 6 and 10 players which is IMO an awful lot for 5E. A total of 26 - 34 levels is indicated for the original adventure and, while old levels aren't strictly the same current levels 1:1, I would consider that about right. You're definitely going to want a dedicated Cleric and Wizard in the party. The introduction text on the original module suggests this would take anywhere between one and four sessions to complete. This prediction is preserved in the 5E version, but with all the new content and that 5E can get pretty slow sometimes, I would say no way to those estimates. Monsters, at least for the 5E conversion, are helpfully one per page with an illustration of each. You also get details on the Amber family which is also nice. There is another conversion out there (that still requires a purchase of the original module) that has some pretty bad reviews for swapping a lot of the unique monsters out for generic ones found in the MM. I think Goodman Games paid the adventure the reverence it deserves. One major downside is that the bottom footer on each page has the page number and the name of the book and nothing else. No indication on what chapter / appendix you're on, no indication between the original reprint and the conversion, no side indexes which I think ever the core rulebooks could benefit from. The footer then is just wasted space. And, speaking of, the font size of the conversion is IMO excessively large, especially when you compare to the pages that contained the reprinted original, inflating the page count and cost / price. That said, it sure is impressive on a shelf. About the same size as the core rulebooks but twice the thickness (for fewer pages!) Overall, I quite like it and I'm excited to be able to run this as a new DM.

First, full disclosure: I'm an older player who ran the Isle of Dread back in the day, and I have tons of nostalgia for it. I rarely ran pre-written modules, but the Isle of Dread was one exception. I LOVE it. So needless to say, I picked this up right away. If you are reading this listing you probably already know what these Goodman Games releases are: they take old D&D modules, reprint them in their original version or versions, then do a full and expanded 5th edition conversion that has the full original adventure plus a bunch of extra stuff to make it even bigger. Add in a bestiary in the back, NPCs, and more (plus a bunch of great articles & interviews at the front), and you've got a book PACKED with material. So you get new + nostalgia in one book. As for the Isle of Dread, here's why I recommend it: It's a great sandbox with tons of adventure to be had, and it's one that any DM can EASILY adapt for their own campaign world. You can either drop the whole island into your world, or you can just as easily grab any of the dozens of locations here and drop them into your campaign as needed. Old temples, ancient ruins, pirate lairs, caves filled with monsters, jungle villages, settlements of spider people, small dungeons, and lots, lots more, all of it easily adapted with next to no work needed by the DM. Plus, you can also run it as intended: as a big exploration-focused adventure. For that alone, this offers a good value for your money. You can milk this for many, many adventures. Need some one-shot standalone adventures? This has you covered. Want a campaign sandbox? You can use it like that, too. It doesn't even have a focused story, so the story options are limitless. Whether your group wants to seek out riches, solve mysteries, fight monsters, or some story of your own devising, it will all fit on the Isle of Dread. Basically, this is a campaign between two covers, with endless possibilities on how you use it. Big thumbs up.

One of the absolute coolest and underrated modules of the era. Contains both the AD&D adventure and the one for 5e.

This two book boxed set is wonderful. Very thorough and well put together. Great fun for nostalgic old school players who remember this adventure from way back when. Well worth the price. It’s a now a prized book on my rpg book shelves.

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.

The first TSR module that I ever played or ran was T1, The Village of Hommlet, published in the old orange monochrome cover with iconic cover art by Dave Trampier back in 1979. I was twelve years old and the idea of a (mostly) above-ground adventure largely taking place in a medieval peasant village was a mind-blower. This was probably the first sandbox scenario I'd ever come across-- the first place where the GM had to imagine an entire world beyond the dungeon-- the first place where the GM had to improvise and adapt because the plot as written wasn't entirely linear. And I didn't just run Hommlet for others-- I ran it five or six times in a matter of weeks. I was obsessed with D&D, and Hommlet was a real place where I could turn that obsession loose. Yeah. It's fair to say that this module holds a special place in my heart. I returned to Hommlet just once in the years since, in 1984, when the long-awaited follow-up adventure was finally published. The Temple of Elemental Evil was a grand, sweeping tunnel-crawl. I had to play T1-4 from beginning to end, so I recruited a friend to run the game, and it was satisfying enough-- but it was really that village where the story began which had so captured my imagination as a child. This massive two-volume set reproduces the original TSR modules in their entirety and also provides an updated version for 5th edition D&D, so you basically get two copies of more or less the same material with revised game rules and current game statistics. Paying for two versions of the same adventure might not be as appealing for people without the nostalgia for the originals, but I enjoyed revisiting Hommlet and rereading the text that I knew so well in 1984. Goodman Games has done a great job with this update to The Temple of Elemental Evil. They didn't strictly limit themselves to converting the material to 5e, either, and also added several new minor encounters to smooth the story out a bit. Creatures from 1st edition AD&D who aren't currently canon in 5e D&D are suitably statted, giving the game a very 1984 feel. The game's layout was, I think, intended to preserve the appearance of an old-school adventure module, and this is perhaps the one criticism I have of the product. Bringing the adventure's format into the 21st century with text boxes, sidebars, and indexing would have made the material a bit more useful and user-friendly, especially considering the massive size of these two tomes. Even as a longtime fan of this material, my heart sunk a little as I flipped through its hundreds of pages, knowing that my first task, after skimming, would be to figure out how to organize and make use of its voluminous contents. The quality of the physical product is outstanding. Both books are solidly bound in a sturdy cover, with a thick heavy-duty slipcase to protect them. This published adventure should survive just about anything short of being immersed in fire or water. My only quibble here goes back to my complaint about the outdated layout-- some new art to update the feel of the adventure would have been really cool-- but the black-and-white drawings contained within are certainly appropriate for the 1980s old-school vibe that Goodman Games was clearly going for. I think I could have done without the reprint of the original module, as much as I enjoyed revisiting my past through those pages. Still, this is a classic adventure module, easily on my short list for best-ever adventure modules, and it's worth having both versions.

OMGoddess, I paid $40 bucks give-or-take and the sheer volume of "BOOK" I got is simply criminal. Seriously, I feel ashamed for not paying more (Goodman Games must have FAMILIES to take care of, surely!) *THIS ASSESSMENT DOESN'T EVEN INCLUDE Content!! LIKE ART AND WORDS AND STUFF, lol! I'M SAYING THIS IS A BARGAN EVEN IF YOU ARE JUST GOING TO USE IT AS FUEL FOR THE FIREPLACE, THERE'S just Paper for weeks!* And the Content, like Artwork, is AMAZING. IF you haven't met this volume In-Person, once you DO, you WILL be rendered Impressed. If you are even kinda thinking about it: just GET it (for Forty Buck?!? See? I won't shut-up about it, because My Goddess, honestly "THEY" should be asking $100--I'm THAT IMPRESSED. Goodman Games has WON My Goodwill. (I bought "Dungeon Crawl Classics" CORE RULEBOOK too--that purchase led me to the ELEMENTAL EVIL listing, in fact.) Haven't Played yet, but I'm GLUED to the Content already. I bought all this to help break my YouTube Addiction (gonna transfer the Adventure yet again to the DCC-System, since WotC/Hasbro has gone insane...) I not only made a Great Choice, but: BARGAN! (if you see this for LESS than $60 bucks US, 2026, GET!! You'll be able to Quit Smoking, even, there's SO much Material here....GOOD Material--freaking LOVE even!!

I decided to grab a copy of this text after watching Professor Dungeon Master over on YouTube. He uses it as the basis for a campaign that he's running called the "Caves of Carnage", and I have to say, it's exactly what he touts it to be: a goldmine of ideas and small dungeons for beginning players. I had a copy of this back when I was a kid, but I never played it. That's a shame really! The Keep on the Borderlands is a classic module that serves as the bedrock for a new campaign and it's chalked with plenty of adventures. So why get this particular version? True, you can get a similar amount of mileage out of the original modules (which you can still find at reasonable prices on the web), but you get so much more with this book by Goodman games. First off are the interesting articles written by some of the figures of classic D&D, including Gary's son Luke. Next is you get four (sort of) different modules! You get the original copies of B1 In Search of the Unknown. two versions of the Keep on the Borderlands, and then you get 5E versions of both modules! So you get to see the original texts of these classic Basic D&D modules and you get to see up-to-date versions of this modules that keep the original text from the modules but use the modern mechanics of 5E. Players and DMs like me who prefer the classic mechanics also benefit from the larger maps, and bigger text in the classic modules (us old gamers need it now-a-days!). Honestly, the only down size in my opinion is the sheer size of the book! It weighs in at 382 pages and is the size of your old college textbooks. It would be a unwieldy companion for your gaming table, but it is an excellent reference to use while planning. It's best friend is a journal that you use to plan your adventures in. Jot down descriptions and stats from the book and use the maps to create your own maps and flow charts that you can use at the table. When it's game time use your notes from your journal and keep this tome on the book shelf where it belongs. I honestly can't recommend this book enough.