The Temple of Elemental Evil

Setting: Greyhawk / Hommlet Region Unlock: Complete The Village of Hommlet Difficulty: 1.15× Part 2 of 5 — The Greyhawk Arc

The Temple of Elemental Evil was supposed to be finished. The armies of Good broke it a generation ago. The high priest was slain. The doors were sealed. The cult the party broke in Hommlet was not trying to rebuild the Temple. They were trying to break the seals. They got further than anyone knew.

The party descends into something that should have stayed closed.

Unlock Requirement

Complete The Village of Hommlet before attempting this campaign. Use !campaign temple-of-elemental-evil to begin.

Stages

Five stages descend through the Temple — from the forecourt through the four elemental nodes and into the chamber at the center of everything. The architecture does not follow rules the party will recognize.

The campaign follows the standard named campaign structure — rest shrines between stages, Brother Yvannis appearing at stage 3, and a party vote at the end to determine the outcome.

The Boss

What waits at stage 5 is not the Temple's master. The Temple was never the point. It was a vessel. What the Temple was built to serve is still here, and it has been waiting considerably longer than the party has been alive.

Endings

After the boss is defeated, surviving participants vote on how the campaign ends. There are four possible outcomes. Each carries a persistent consequence that follows players into future campaigns.

Stage Milestone Titles

Reaching each stage earns a permanent title regardless of the final outcome.

Clear Title

All survivors of a full clear earn a unique title for having descended into the Temple of Elemental Evil and come back out.

Artifact

A unique artifact drops to a random survivor on full clear. The scholars in Greyhawk City would very much like to study it.

Continuing the Arc

Completing The Temple of Elemental Evil unlocks Scourge of the Slave Lords — the third campaign in the Greyhawk Arc. Use !campaign scourge-of-the-slave-lords to begin.

TIP

ℹ️ The Temple is harder than Hommlet. Come in at full HP. The rest shrines are real — use them.

WARNING

⚠️ Something in the Temple noticed the party when they entered. The consequences of what happens here follow players into every campaign that comes after it.