Canonfire! Forums-viewtopic-Temple of Elemental Evil

Mon Dec 05, 2011 1:26 pm Temple of Elemental Evil

I have been scanning through ToEE and I dont know if I have missed it, but I am trying to figure out what time of the year in 579CY the adventure starts?

I was thinking of kicking of during the last month of 578CY. This would be my introduction adventure that leads up to Hommlet.

Has anyone run the game at a different starting date other than 579CY? I was considering starting it in 576CY to give me a couple more years before the wars ...

My Campaign Legacy the Path of Heroes is due to kick of on the 17 January 2012. I must say I am pretty amped to get back into the DM chair, it has been way overdue.

Any Suggestions are more than welcome, I am starting with T1-4, A1-4 & then GDQ1-7. I have a three gap filler adventures written to help bring everything together. The players will see there characters aspire from lowly farmhands and apprentices to adventurers of renown. The campaign is set to take players from level 0-20 using the Pathfinder rules.

Mon Dec 05, 2011 2:25 pm

In answer to your initial question, I always just assumed that the Village of Homlet began in the late spring or summer, but that was because I haven't DM'd it since I was in High School and we didn't think much of the change of seasons back then. I think it would be quite interesting to begin the adventure in the middle or end of winter while the moat at the moathouse is still frozen over. Could put an interesting twist on quite a few aspects of the outdoors portions of the adventure. Smile

I really like your idea of putting together so many of the classic modules into a 0-20th level Adventure Path. I do the same thing, but begin with The Keep on the Borderlands and advance through a variety of modules like The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, Ravenloft, White Plume Mountain, throwing in myriad side treks until the party is high enough level to adventure through GDQ 1-7.

Though I enjoy T0EE and the Slavers modules, I just can't fit those in with all the others and I prefer to offer my players a broader scope of adventuring scenarios than those two alone provide.

SirXaris

Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:23 pm

I am currently playing the computer version of the game and it has my game starting in the fifth month of 579. I believe that's the month of "Flocktime," if you use the month of "Fireseek" as the first month of the year.

Hope that helps.
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Mon Dec 05, 2011 6:25 pm

@MS

I played through that many years ago. It was quite a bit of fun. Happy

SirXaris

Mon Dec 05, 2011 7:19 pm

I was quite pleasantly surprised when Iuz -- they pronounce it Eye-ooze -- showed up and started kicking my butt, then over-joyed when St. Cuthbert showed up and "saved" me. Shocked

Too cool.

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Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:48 pm

I would read through the text, especially towards the behinning of the mnodule and see if it mentions at least the season. I would also look at any outdoor pictures and see if trees are in full bloom, just budding, bare with no snow on the ground, or if there is snow on the ground. Another clue might be how people are dressed when outside.

I will take a look at the module when I get home this morning from work and check into these factors for you, then post my findings.
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Eileen of Greyhawk, Prophet of Istus, Messenger of the Gods

Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:09 pm

Thanks for the input guys.

I want to try and start the adventure as close to the beginning of 579CY as I will be doing my version of the Wars and I need time for the other adventures to fit in.

@SirXaris the characters will be facing some greater challenges but I did not one to include them on the forum. Somethings are best left as a surprise.

I will email you later .... Surprised

Tue Dec 06, 2011 2:26 am

Does anyone remember how much time passes in the ToEE adventure? I would like to compare notes on this, again if too much time passes it could then end up being a mad rush into Greyhawk Wars.

T1-4 / A1-4 / GDQ 1-7 How much physical time would pass in the adventurers world? To me this just screams a long term campaign, but is it in reality. I mean this events could conceivably take place in weeks.

Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:15 am

Based on the artwork in the book, the trees have full leaves on them, I would say its anytime during the summer. There is no text that states positively what time of the year it is.
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Eileen of Greyhawk, Prophet of Istus, Messenger of the Gods

Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:32 am

Scourge of the Slavelords.
First, it is assumed that this adventure begins shortly after the player characters have finished with The Temple of Elemental Evil.

I just checked A1-4 and in the text it makes reference to:

"The winter snows are finally receding.Here, in Hommlet, crocuses crack through the crust of old snow"

"In the warm sun, sap creaks through the oaks and elms."

"We beseech you to kindly honor us with yourpresence during the Feasts of Edoira at Windy Crag in the town of Safeton."

"The season is late spring and the weather looks to be fine for traveling. The trip can be estimated to take five to six days by horse, or twice that for horse-drawn wagon."

The Feast of Edoira is a holiday celebrated on the fourth day of Growfest, Godsday during the Spring Equinox.

So one would assume then that at the start of A1-4 it is halfway through Coldeven allowing players up to 14 days travel with a fully loaded wagon. This will then give them ample time to arrive in time for the start of Growfest.

According to Greyhawk Wiki A1-4 is set to start in 580CY, so that would give me just over a year worth of play for T1-4. It states that A1-4 starts shortly after the events of T1-4 ....

more to follow ...

Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:39 am

I can't recall mention of any starting time for the year, but I started it in the fall, such that the natural beauty of that time would transition into the grim desolation of winter. Sets the mood nicely in my opinion, and, if things go well with a certain NPC of importance, you can end up with a nice spring wedding too! Happy

If not, there is still some sense of renewal for the victorious PCs. Cool

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Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:49 am

What is considered Canon WRT Thrommel??

***SPOILER ALERT!!!***

Copy-n-paste the text below and enlarge it to see the spoiler.

Is he a vampire? Does he get rescued?

Then there is the question of Robilar and Zuggtmoy does he rescue her while the players are adventuring in the temple? or was that only in Gary's version?

Tue Dec 06, 2011 8:42 am

***SPOILER ALERT!!!***

Copy-n-paste the text below and enlarge it to see the spoiler.

To prevent spoiling I have edited my answer to - too bad.

Tue Dec 06, 2011 9:42 am

Yes I saw that much in the different adventures ...

Tue Dec 06, 2011 11:42 pm

SPOILER ALERTS, people! SPOILER ALERTS! Idea

I edited those in for you folks. Many are familiar with Greyhawk material, but not all. And, you never know when players may be lurking where they shouldn't, so don't make it too easy for them. Wink

As these spoilers are mostly non-scripted adventure outcomes, which will surely vary from gaming group to gaming group, I wouldn't consider the "canonicity" of anything coming out of an open-ended adventure as being limiting in any way. Present the adventure to the players and they will take it where they will, or, being the DM, you will steer it where you want it to go. Either works, depending on the group/DM.

I found what you are looking for DarkHerald. I recently was looking at an old campaign document of mine, and I wondered why I noted the starting year of the campaign as being CY 579. Now I know why.

There is some direct mention of time that I did find on page 5, left column, towards the bottom of the page. After the Battle of Emridy Meadows, which took place in CY 569, there was a period of 5 years without incident in the area of Hommlet. Then a troll plagued the area "for a time", until some adventures killed it. Then there were 4 more years of quiet. Then one more year of increasing bandit activity, which finally caused the people of Hommlet to notify the Viscount of Verbobonc that evil might once again be lurking in the area. That brings us to a total of 10 years after the Battle of Emridy Meadows, placing the starting year of the ToEE in CY 579. There are many interesting little details hidden in the adventure, so read it carefully. Wink

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Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:18 am

There is, yes.

As for the Robilar thing, that meant to be just in Gary Gygax's campaign.

Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:55 am

Thanks for all the comments.

I have worked out the start dates for T1-4 and A1-4. Now I need workout how long A1-4 lasts and when the start of GDQ1-7 is.

In the beginning of GDQ1-7 it states that the characters are or have run out of money as some time has passed. Any idea how long before G Series starts?

Then what year does GDQ1-7 finish?

Rasgon thoughts?

Thu Dec 08, 2011 3:01 am

Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:13 am

Referencing data from The Acaeum & Allan "grodog" Grohe's Greyhawk Tournament History, I compiled the following list of a potential timeframe for adventures in the World of Greyhawk. I have not gone through any time specific information inside of the modules themselves.

Doing Time on Planet Oerth

and my Oerth calendar...

Still Doing Time on Planet Oerth

Ciao!
Grendelwulf

Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:26 am

Thanks Grendel!

I found your posts on your site at 3am this morning :)

Was most helpful

Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:34 am

I'm always glad to help a fellow 'hawker

Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:30 am

As an aside, regarding another "pronunciation" discussion "we" were having, in the computer version of the game, they pronounce Oerth -- Oh-earth. FYI.

Like the time frames, Grendelwulf. Cool

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Fri Dec 09, 2011 12:21 pm

But Gygax decreed:
"Say it as Oi-th as if you were from Brooklyn, and that's the way I pronounce it. That annoys all who take a fantasy world far too seriously"

Is Zuggtmoy = Zoog-TEE-moe-ee ? Happy

Fri Dec 09, 2011 5:22 pm

Jut to put it out there, if sticking to a timeline is overly constraining to your campaign, not sticking to what is essentially the timeline in somebody else's campaign(i.e. TSR's/WotC's) is a better idea. Many/most of us played through these adventures long before any of the events in them were laid out in any sort of timeline, but are our dates then wrong?

Just saying. Wink

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Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:06 pm

Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:57 pm

Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:42 pm

Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:57 pm

Thanks very much most helpful BlueWitch

Tue Feb 14, 2012 10:54 pm

Good morning.

My party is about to level up for the first time after they (hopefully) live through their current encounter with the bandits of the upper moathouse.
There should be no problem finding training facilities for the fighter, the mage and the thief of the group in Verbobonc, but where would a priest of Pelor head to? Is there any temple in reach of Hommlet?

Thx for your help
cyric

Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:14 pm

Verbobonc is known to have major temples to Cuthbert, Pelor and Heironeous, and a thriving following of Kord. The city of Verbobonc - Canon Ramses of the Church of Pelor

or

TWILIGHT FALLS
Twilight Falls is a small town in the Viscounty of Verbobonc approximately 75 miles east of Verbobonc City, on the Forest Roadwhich runs through the Gnarley Forest.
Churches dedicated to Pholtus, Pelor, Myriss, Boccob, Olidammara, Garl Glittergold, and Fharlanghn were established.

Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:28 pm

Thx for the fast reply. Good to know about Twilight Falls now. And when I read through the Verbobonc guides I had on my computer an hour ago there was no mention of the Pelor temple at all - or I must have totally missed it. Maybe I should just go for another cup of coffee... or two... rolleyes