This game is nothing if not uncompromising.
You'll either sink or swim on your own, and although you should be able to get through the combat in the opening vignettes with your eyes closed, you're entirely likely to get wiped out in Hommlet if you pick a fight with the wrong person. Suffice it to say, there's no easy difficulty level, no way to turn off friendly damage, and basically, no concessions to novice players. If you want an overview of the combat mechanics, you're really better off flicking through a copy of the D&D rulebook. True to the pen-and-paper game, Elemental Evil is turn-based in combat, and has an action point system to balance movement, combat and other activities. Chaotic parties, in contrast, get to slaughter a village full of innocent peasants for kicks. Lawful parties, for example, get to unselfishly rescue a caravan from a bandit attack. The game opens with one of a number of vignettes, based on your party alignment. You'll notice this from the very first character creation screen, and if you're not already familiar with abilities, skills and feats, or you don't know the difference between a wizard and a sorcerer, be prepared to spend some time digesting the 170-page spiral-bound manual before getting into the game.
Not that that's a bad thing, of course, if the combat is up to scratch, and thankfully Troika's interpretation of the 3.5 rules has been excellently done. Don't expect BG-style epics, character interactions or even particularly many side quests - this is a classic dungeon crawl adventure. This is where your party comes in, tasked with destroying this ancient evil. But now bandits are roaming the roads around Hommlet, and forces are starting to converge on the temple. The temple fell into disrepair, and all was quiet for years. Long ago, a war between the evil forces of a temple near the village of Hommlet and the good armies of the lands nearby ended when the temple's masters were imprisoned. They've also converted a classic first-edition module, The Temple of Elemental Evil, to these new rules.Ĭompared to the Infinity Engine RPGs, and even to Neverwinter Nights, there's not a lot of plot to Elemental Evil. Undaunted by these concerns, Troika has made the brave move of bringing the newly published 3.5 edition D&D rules to the PC without adulteration. They had their reasons, too, as a complete interpretation would probably put off a lot of casual players. Recent computer RPGs like the Baldur's Gate series and Neverwinter Nights, while strongly based on the traditional pen-and-paper Dungeons and Dragons rules, all made quite a number of alterations to the core rules.
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