The Temple of Elemental Evil

Evil stirs again beneath the ruins outside Hommlet, where tavern gossip, missing travelers, and growing bandit activity point toward an old elemental cult’s return. The Temple of Elemental Evil turns the classic Greyhawk tabletop module into a demanding computer RPG built around Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 rules. Its mood is deliberately old-school: patient, dangerous, and often unforgiving, with a rural fantasy setting that gradually gives way to monster-filled dungeons and cult strongholds. Rather than rushing players along a cinematic track, it lets a carefully assembled party investigate trouble in Hommlet, deal with the grim settlement of Nulb, and decide how deeply to involve itself in the crisis.

Play begins with creating up to five adventurers from a broad selection of races and classes, assigning abilities, skills, feats, equipment, spells, and alignment. Conversations, quests, faction relationships, and moral choices can open or close routes through the campaign, while recruitable companions add both practical help and personality conflicts. Combat uses a grid-based, turn-driven system where positioning, reach weapons, attacks of opportunity, spell areas, initiative, and intelligent use of the environment matter as much as raw character levels. Fights can be brutal when a party lacks healing, crowd control, or a plan, so scouting rooms, resting sensibly, and preparing the right spells become essential parts of the loop.

What truly carries the experience is its unusually faithful adaptation of tabletop tactical combat; few computer RPGs make D&D’s rules feel so physical and readable in battle. The updated edition benefits from the long-running Circle of Eight and Temple+ community work, bringing substantial bug fixes, interface improvements, better stability, smoother performance, and more capable enemy behavior to a famously rough original release. Multiple alignments and quest outcomes give repeat playthroughs a different flavor, although the dungeon-heavy structure and dated presentation demand patience. Fans of Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and especially turn-based systems like Solasta find plenty to admire, while newcomers should expect a classic RPG that rewards rule knowledge and deliberate decision-making.