The Fun of The Temple of Elemental Evil

tim-cain temple-of-elemental-evil troika game-development gary-gygax dungeons-and-dragons war-stories

Abstract

Problem: After discussing the difficult side of Temple of Elemental Evil's development, what was actually fun about making the game?

Approach: Tim Cain shares personal stories from the project — his phone call with Gary Gygax, his grand plans for a D&D game series, and hilarious tales from the team's internal D&D campaign.

Findings: Despite the rough development, the team genuinely loved D&D and loved making the game. The project brought once-in-a-lifetime moments like consulting with Gygax himself, and the team's internal campaign revealed the playful, competitive dynamics that defined Troika's culture.

Key insight: Even troubled game projects can be deeply rewarding experiences — the passion for the source material and the camaraderie of the team made ToEE a highlight of Tim's career despite its difficulties.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb6agFgh11E

1. The Grand Plan

When Tim was approached about making a D&D game, he was ecstatic. His 14-year-old D&D-playing self was overjoyed. He got to pick the module, and he chose Temple of Elemental Evil as part of a much larger plan:

  • Temple of Elemental Evil — the starting point
  • G Series (Against the Giants) — Hill, Fire, Cloud giants
  • D Series (Descent into the Depths) — the Drow series
  • Q1: Queen of the Demonweb Pits — the grand finale

All the modules were set in Greyhawk and the levels lined up, so players could keep the same party throughout. Tim was incredibly excited about this multi-game arc in the first few months of development.

He was so committed that he cut up his own pristine copy of the Temple module — one he'd owned since the 1980s — so artists could reference the maps and designers could work on different areas simultaneously.

2. The Phone Call with Gary Gygax

About a year into development, Tim got to call Gary Gygax to ask questions about the module. Tim notes that colleagues have told him he's very good at controlling his emotional state in meetings. He wants people to know that internally he was losing his mind, while externally he was saying, "Well, hello Mr. Gygax, what a pleasure it is to speak with you."

They talked for about 40 minutes. Tim had many questions about contradictions in the module. Key revelations from Gygax:

2.1. Prince Thrommel and Fragarach

Prince Thrommel is described as a paladin (lawful good only), but his sword Fragarach is chaotic good and actually damages any lawful good character who touches it. Gygax explained he had been planning to introduce chaotic good paladins with a "Celtic flair." Tim recognized this was way beyond the scope of anything he could implement or get approved.

2.2. Zuggtmoy Was Not the Original Boss

Zuggtmoy, the fungal demon princess at the bottom of the temple, was not originally supposed to be the final boss. Gygax had planned for an Elder Elemental God in levels even below where Zuggtmoy was found, but he ran out of time. Traces of this plan still appear throughout the module.

2.3. The Connection to Lolth

The temple was supposed to connect to Lolth. At least two agents of Lolth appear in the module, which Troika retained in the computer version. Lolth had "plans within plans within plans" for the temple. Tim's idea to connect ToEE to the Giant/Drow/Demonweb series was something Gygax not only approved of but had planned to do himself.

2.4. Gygax's Parting Words

Gygax had been ill — he'd had a stroke. He told Tim he was happy to have talked because he felt things were "in good hands." Tim said Gygax had inspired him when he was young. Gygax responded: "I hope you do the same and inspire young people too."

Tim adds quietly: "I hope I did. I hope I did, Mr. Gygax." Gygax passed away not long after.

3. The Troika D&D Campaign

To teach the team Third Edition D&D rules, Tim created a custom module called Bandits & Necromancers. One programmer, Sean Craig, had already played 3rd Edition and volunteered to DM. The resulting campaign reveals a lot about Troika's team dynamics.

3.1. The Characters

  • Tim Cain — Cleric of a god of luck (had Dimension Door: random teleport up to 100 feet indoors, a few hundred yards outdoors, could carry one person)
  • Steve Moret — Thief
  • Mary Meister — Wizard (Steve's girlfriend — "this is important later")
  • Peter Delgado (artist) — Orc fighter named Cheryl, with a Charisma of 3. When Tim pointed out the low Charisma meant an ugly fighter, Peter insisted: "No, he's not ugly. He's beautiful. He just has a bad personality."

3.2. The Death of Cheryl

Early in the campaign, the party found a magic axe. Peter wanted it for Cheryl. The group suggested selling it for 20,000 gold and splitting the money. Peter refused — Cheryl was keeping it.

Weeks later, Cheryl stepped into a room first. A giant troll was waiting by the door. Sean rolled behind his DM screen, then lifted it to show the table: natural 20. Maximum damage sneak attack critical hit. Cheryl didn't just drop to negative hit points (unconscious), didn't just pass negative 10 (dead) — Cheryl went past negative 50 (destroyed). The troll chopped Cheryl completely in half.

Everyone sat in stunned silence. Tim broke it: "Wow, Cheryl's even ugly on the inside."

3.3. The Missing Axe

After killing the troll, the party went to collect Cheryl's gear. The magic axe was gone. Nowhere to be found. Peter was irate and convinced one of the other players had stolen it, though he couldn't figure out how.

3.4. The Great Betrayal

Weeks later, the party was fighting giant bees in dense woods and losing badly. Tim decided to use Dimension Door to escape. As he started to announce this, Mary (the wizard) said "Take me! I'm out of spells, almost out of health." She was right next to him.

Steve asked the DM if he could whisper something to Tim. Sean allowed it but said it had to be short. Steve said: "It's okay, it's four words." He wrote on a scrap of paper and handed it to Tim.

The four words: "I have Peter's axe."

Tim looked at Sean and said: "I take my hand off Mary, put my hand on Steve, and Dimension Door away." They vanished. Mary was killed the next round.

Steve had been carrying the axe the entire time. He had a Glove of Holding (like a Bag of Holding but for touch) and had used Sleight of Hand to steal the axe from Cheryl's corpse weeks earlier. He'd been waiting for a good opportunity to sell it.

Tim doesn't remember what happened after that, but notes: "That should give you a good idea of the timber and tone of a Troika D&D session."

4. Conclusion

Despite Temple of Elemental Evil's rough development, the team genuinely loved D&D and loved making the game. Tim wanted people to hear the good side of the story — the excitement, the once-in-a-lifetime conversations, and the chaotic fun of a development team that played D&D together the way they made games: with passion, mischief, and a willingness to betray each other over a magic axe.

5. References