The dungeons of the Temple
of Elemental
Evil are extensive. It is quite likely that
many long adventures must be conducted
before your players have exhausted its possibilities.
You will, therefore, become not
only intimately familiar with the Temple but
will also come to know the Village of Nulb
as if it were your own. In fact, the place is
only sketched so that you can, in effect,
make it so.
This adventure began in the Village of
Hommlet, only about thirty miles west and
south of the edge of the Nulb area map. You
can easily construct your own campaign
map by using graph paper of roughly the
same parameters as that of the Nulb map,
assuming 100 yards to the square. Two
sheets of paper to the west and two to the
south cover all of the important territory,
with Hommlet being located on the High
Road, two maps west, one south near the
map bottom, but in the southwest quadrant.
(The Velverdyva River, by the way,
generally remains along the upper portion
of the northern map additions, bulging a bit
on the first map addition to the west, then
swinging northwards to flow along the very
edge of the second map addition. ) If you
make such a map, players might wish to
base their characters in Hommlet and ride to
the Temple for adventures. This exposes
them to more random danger, but it does
give them a more friendly home base than
otherwise, in all likelihood. If they inquire
or search for themselves, they find that the
only ford of the Imeryds Run is at Nulb, the
next nearest being six leagues upstream. If
characters base themselves in Nulb, they
can stay at the hostel, or may attempt to
buy a deserted structure somewhere else in
the place. (Your option as to location, but
cost should be about 500-800 gp for land
and building, with an initial asking price of
at least double that amount followed by
slow, hard bargaining downwards). All
repairs and safety measures must be accomplished
by the characters, of course.
A party based in Nulb will certainly
attract attention if they are obviously of
Good alignment or well-heeled. A few successful
raids on the Temple draw prowling
night monsters to the party—with some
offensive aid from the inhabitants of Nulb.
A great load of booty brought to Nulb by a
weakened party is an open invitation to
every pirate, brigand,
and town militiaman
to band together and overwhelm the strangers
to get the treasure! In any event, if there
is continuing action in the village, you
should prepare a map of the place, and possibly
some of its main buildings, following
the examples found in Hommlet. Only four
places in Nulb are dealt with herein, and
you should enjoy developing the remainder.
As with the village, the Temple is reasonably
well-organized. While there is no particular
rivalry in the village, the citizens are
Chaotic and Neutral Evil by
and large, so
concerted action is limited in scope (i. e.
numbers and time). Nulbish folk make fast
raids, but are not prone to become involved
in protracted plans and long sieges; they
have other preferences. The Temple suffers
from the same attitude, and it has its rivalries
as well. After the short section hereafter
pertaining to the village, the Temple is dealt
with at great length. Following these sections,
appendices on new monsters (including
the redoubtable St. Cuthbert) and
magical items are given. Outdoor adventuring
is possible around Nulb and the upper
ruins of the Temple, but the four dungeon
levels and four Elemental nodes are certain
to provide the greatest excitement and richest
rewards.
As with any adventure, be certain to read
and familiarize yourself with all the material
thoroughly before you START the campaign.
Adjust details to suit your own concept of a
fantasy milieu; personalize things for your
group; add things to make the work a more
complete setting for the action to come—
and have at it! It is a certainty that the
adventures cause changes; just accept them
as they come, and emend accordingly.
Adjust the Players' background notes to
reflect their actions in Hommlet. Remember
that the following adventures are designed
for characters who, after starting at first
level in the Hommlet setting, have now finished
that prelude and can continue with
these challenges.