Old Pc Rpg "Temple of elemental evil" Inspired me to write a short tale based on events that actually happened during the opening hours of game play. Anyone having played the game will obviously relate to this more than others, though it shouldn't take any of the comical value away even if you haven't.
What started out as frustration, ended up a Bards tales about my First Encounter in the "Temple of Elemental Evil" Pc Role playing turn based game.
So here it was, the Temple of Elemental evil. Grace the cleric, Strogg the dwarven warrior, Zoltan the mage, Eldarr the ranger, Nimble the rogue, Serena the hunter, Ronald the sorcerer and Elmo the brawler all stood together gasping as they looked up towards the towering spires, each lost for a brief moment dreaming of the rewards they hope to reap from this unholy of places. Even Elmo, who couldn't wait to get back to the Lusty Wench for a casket of Aunt Bethels Vintage Tonsil Burner was lost for the briefest of moments . Elmo belched in anticipation.
After a quick search of the perimeter, all Eldarr could find was several footprints and two strange looking blue doors. These doors seemed to be scattered everywhere, indeed the group had encountered many before during their Journey so far. It seemed that their main purpose seemed to be teleportation to different locations. So, not so fearlessly, Strogg grabbed the door to the North East upon which all the Party Magically appeared in a similar environment, all be it not alone.
This new Place seemed to be on the East side of the Temple. A burly man stood outside of what looked suspiciously like the way in. Eager to begin what must surely be their biggest quest so far the team raced towards the door, only to be stopped by this giant of a man. As the teams leader and diplomatic representative, Grace approached with caution. With a Charisma score of 16, she could usually sell sand to an Arab, but it seemed this guy had no interested in converse or reason. His limited vocabulary however didn't stop Nimble from sneaking behind for a quick back stab. Job done, way clear.
Fearing the worst was ahead, our strapping band of adventurers prepared. Mage armour and several broaches of shield spell were cast before the door to the Temple was finally opened.
What the hell was this!! Before us stood 4 crossbowmen, 4 archers 3 footmen, 2 witches, 2 lieutenants, a wizard and their leader. 17 enemies in total, and all equipped with spells and armour our foolhardy hero's had yet to witness. At only level 3 this surely was going to be a tough fight. But wait, maybe theres a way out of this yet as It seemed the Brigand leader wanted to talk. "Prepare your spells", he screamed before approaching our Graceful leader, Grace. "Hang on a minute, why the fuck cant we prepare our spells", Zoltan slurred. "These are the ones who killed Lareth!", the Brigand leader continued. "How in Gods soiled Jockstrap does he know that was us? We left no survivors", mumbled Strogg. "It wasn't us, erm, he ran away", Grace pleaded as she stepped forth cap in hand. "Lies!! Attack!! ". What a complete waste of time that was, Elmo said mid belch.
Quick as a flash Eldarr drew his +1 Longbow and fired off a double volley of arrows. Eldarr " Quicksilver " Ranger, surely took after his name, as not many could beat this man to the draw. Unfortunately Initiative seemed to be the only thing this Ranger had going for him, as he couldn't hit a Saggy elephants arse from 2 meters. Miss, Miss. Second to charge in was Elmo, which surprised everybody considering his drunken state.
"Drinking grog and riding horses slows your reaction time", warned the paper flyer stuck to the Tavern wall. Though it seemed nothing effected " Detergent " Elmo anymore, nobody was more surprised than Ronald who whilst attempting his spell, miscast as 2 arrows lodged in his groin. Nimble winced then sprung into action. Looking for the first hit of the night she quickly unsheathed her Dagger of Venom, only to realise that although she was only the size of one of Stroggs armpit hairs, her way was blocked due to the cramped setup of the Rebels mess hall. All the tables and chairs were piled towards the entrance, leaving only room enough for single file access to the rest of the spacious drinking quarters. With the rest of the exploring party squashed together like last summers free bar at the Frisky Wench, Nimble realised there was no getting past Stroggs size 18 backside, so replaced the dagger with her less than impressive crossbow and froze motionless for the next few minutes. Just as things didn't seem to be going too well, the miracle happened.
Zoltan, usually about as swift as a dead Swift, survived a myriad of arrows and unleashed his most powerful spell... Web. Success!, 13 of the crazed attackers became covered in Zoltans sticky residue. Now to anyone who didn't know Zoltan, this may not have seemed to be anything special. Wizard casts spell, and? But to those who did, knew this to be an incredible achievement. You see, Zoltan "Gums McDribble" earned his name for good reason. In his younger days, his 21st birthday to be precise, Zoltan "decided" that he needed his teeth removed. Though not actually deciding how himself, one too many "Vile Toad shots" indirectly instructed "Big Berther Ortez", the local Tavern bouncer and weekend Cross dressing Morris Dancer, to decide for him. " Move your fat hairy arse, you inbred Hobbit fondling Bastard " was never the right thing to say to Berther as he innocently queued at the Bar in his favorite floral summer skirt. Ever since that fateful day, Zoltan, a trained Wizard since the age of 14, has never been able to pronounce the "old language" in quite the same way. Wizardy spells were notoriously difficult to pronounce, made even more so now that Zoltans " S's " and " w's" were reduced to whistles and flying drabs of spittle. This lead to one memorable instance which will never ever be forgotten. One year ,as the mage attempted to conjure a dancing rabbit at the village galas "Ive got Talent Contest", his lack of pearly whites and excess of Man Dribble produced an interesting if rather unfortunate outcome. Rather than the intended fluffy dancing bunny, Zoltans slurred words unfortunately changed the town Mayor into what can best be described as a cross between a Garden Gnome and a 14 pound lump of overcooked spaghetti. Ingrid " The Flatulent ", took the prize that day, when she won outright with her smelly rendition of " A merry merry pitchfork ", but how Zoltan still managed third place will remain a mystery.
This was not the time for jubilation however, as the Brigand leader broke through Zoltans spider spell and stepped up to the plate. Toe to toe the mighty warriors clashed arms. Giant +3 fashion conscious killing machine vs Drunken Bum. All seemed lost. However, yet again it was Elmos intoxicated stupor that served him well, dodging cleave after cleave from the Brigand leaders 2 handed death prong, even managing an attack of opportunity causing the leader to be badly injured. Elmo belched in delight.
Unfortunately for our Motley crew, things were about to take a turn for the worse. Not satisfied with the fact that our death dealing mages' most powerful spell was less damaging than a party magicians card trick, the first of the Witches silenced the entire group with a click of her finger. Once a beholder of light!, conjurer of squirty sticky stuff!!, wizard of mighty arcane power !!!, now a skinny 9 hit point old man with a machine that fired pointy sticks. Not that any of this mattered, as another quick snap of the fingers from the second witch brought forth a magical blade, and a futher volley of arrows from the archers quickly sent Zoltan to an overdue grave.
Now spell silenced and realising her healing skills were now limited to band aids and therapeutic massages, Grace cocked her crossbow and fired at the enemy Wizard. Miss. "Take down the casters!!" , she would have screamed if it wasn't for the fact that , well , she couldn't. Everyone seemed to have the same idea though, it was as if some God like entity was in control of them all, coordinating their efforts. Serena fired off a round, miss.
Next up was Strogg. Charging headlong like a man possessed toward the footman attacking Serena's rear, he raised his Battle Axe high in the air. Anger, energy and hatred all combined together, with only one aim of splitting this foe clean in half. Closer and closer, faster and faster, the whole room half expecting this poor guys gizzards to be decorating the walls, all watching in awe as Strogg thundered ever closer, and then stopped. "What the..." Eldarr mimed as he pulled back on his bow with his +2 agility gloves, putting all his training and 18 dexterity points into this clear shot of the Webbed Wizard. This was his moment, his time to shine. The arrow whizzed through the air before finally clattering against a stone wall 2 foot from its intended target.
Unfazed Elmo smashed onward, wallop, critical hit, Brigand Leader Near death. Two more bolts flew their way towards the prone unfortunate Wizard. Miss, miss. Ronald and Nimble both looked at each other in total disbelief. " What a fucking lucky cunt " a mysterious voice said.
Things were looking grim for our dwindling bunch of happy ramblers. And although Strogg" did manage to resume his charge, splitting the footman clean in two, it wasn't until Serena took one too many for the lads, ending up in a slumped heap on the floor and looking like an overused pin cushion, that Grace knew things were lost.
With numbers dwindling fast, she knew she had to try change the sway of battle. Utterly horrified with the thought of mouth to mouth with a wizened old toothless codger, she bravely made a dash for the door and tried to escape. Although young fit and Battle fresh, Graces attempt to grab the portal door no more than an arms length away, rendered her completely exhausted. Unable to move for the next few minutes she was compelled to watch as Nimble was scythed into tiny pieces, (if that was even possible), by one of the witches conjured magical swords. Undeterred and belching silently,
Elmo sallied onwards. Swipe after swipe, the Brigand leader was hit with the ferocity of a man who clearly wanted to finish up and get to the bar before last orders were called. "Near Death 31" in red text again appeared strangely above the bleeding mans head.
This was his last arrow. Eldarr knew that with the lately deceased Zoltans sticky spell covering all but 3 square meters of floor, and that the Wizard of complete fucking Immunaty wasn't an option, he changed his target to Elmos Near death opponent... he had to make this count. Drawing his bow he let loose his pointy stick of pain. Hit !! 2 hp in red text magically rose from the Brigands head and off into the distance, "Near Death 33". After noticing Eldarrs glee, the first witch decided to join in the fun and cast Hidious laughter upon our already Joyous Ranger. Only this spell can make having your left testicle, which had recently been pierced by a 10 inch steel rod, funny. Eldarr died happy and without shame.
Unlike Eldarr though, Strogg was clearly angry. If only one could have read his mind they would have understood why. He knew his moment to explain his feelings were now lost. Sure he was a giant of a dwarf, one that had more back hair than the whole of the Orcish royal brigade, but he also had more love than them all combined. It didn't matter to him that the sweat from between his toes could keep afloat a small fishing vessel, he knew, he hoped, he always dreamed since the first they met, that one day, one happy day, he could make it work and be together with his love. If only he had let her know, but now it was too late, Nimble was gone. "......." Strogg screamed, silently, as he charged undiscerning toward the Brigand leader, his eyes telling of his pain. Axe high above his head, without defence and unconcerned for his own life, Strogg brought his mighty warblade crashing down upon the Brigand leaders forehead. Critical hit. 14 hp floated away, " Near death 47". Seeing his fighting partners ferocious strike gave Elmo such an extreme boost in moral, that it sent him into a near uncontrollable fit of belching, struggling for breath.
Elmo had always admired Strogg. Dwarfs could drink, and Elmo liked drinking. Side by side, brother in arms, fighting for their life together. Blow after blow, parry after parry the fighting continued for what seemed like, minutes. With no time for concern that their once confident stalwart band of hero's were now reduced to just themselves, they battled on. Hit, 8 hp, Brigand leader " Near Death 55" Hit 11 hp " Brigand leader " Near Death 66 ".
Unfazed by the hedgehog like arrow cluster lodged in the side of his head Strogg fought on. The battle continued with each side landing blows that would outright kill any normal mortal, until finally, Stroggs dodgy ticker gave way. It wasn't the arrows that ended this brave warriors life, but the 17 family sized extra crusty lard pies he'd had the night before. In any normal circumstance this wouldnt have been a problem for a being of his monumental girth. At 5 feet 10 inches, Strogg was hardly Dwarven size and a meal of this proportion was not uncommon. It was the fact that Strogg had had the urge for a "number 2" since their arrival at the temple gates, and due to the sear lack of vegetation for a clean deposit and wipe, Strogg had been nipping the turtles head for close to an hour, and now it was way beyond any nipping. The flood gates had failed along with poor Stroggs broken heart. "Stop ! " Elmo shouted, mid belch.
Both surprised at hearing the enemy speak through the silence spell and Stroggs ability to cast cloudkill through his arse, the enemy froze. "What is it you snivelling worm?" the Brigand leader demanded. "Well i was just thinking you see", Elmo replied scratching his head. "Dont you think that this is all a bit unfair?", Elmo belched " I thought that a gentle introduction of lesser Mobs which slowly curved upward in difficulty depending on our fighting abilities, was how evil places of this nature were usually laid out". The Brigand leader tightened his grip on his sword. " But it seems that no matter how hard or how many times I hit you", Elmo Stabs the brigand leader, 5 hp float upward "Near Death 71", " this doesnt seem to be the case. " Combine this with the insanely acrobatic Wizard you have back there that could dodge the fury of Satan himself, and the fact that the whole of my companions were rendered completely useless within seconds of entering this cramped unfairly laid out shit hole", Elmo turned and pointed to the whole of his former team piled on top of each other like some crazed undead zombie orgy. " It seems I was sadly mistaken". Elmo lowered his head toward the floor looking aggrieved. "Besides, the "Lusty Wench" opens in 5 minutes", "Fancy a drink, Im buying?" Elmo had an uncanny knack to win people over, loveable and drunken were the only two characteristics he seem to have, but he played on them and used them to good effect. At first The Brigand leader looked furious, the look on his face could well have wilted a meadow of spring daisies", but this quickly subsided after seeing the boyish glint in Elmos eyes. "Well now, I guess you do have a point there lad" The Brigand leader lowered his mighty two handed weapon. "" Come to think of it, i could do with a pint ", " Besides, nobody got hurt did they? well, besides Boris over there", never did like him much anyway, always seemed to smell of stewed cabbage", " Oh, and erm, the whole of your group, but never mind hey ". " Dave!! " the brigand leader shouted as he turned to face the Webbed Wizard. " Clear this lot up we are off down the Lusty Wench ". The Wizards face dropped, " Why me? It will take hours alone", " Because you have done fuck all all night besides dancing round looking pretty, thats why ", " Snap yeh fingers or mumble that crazy shit you usually do, your a Wizard arent you? " The Brigand leader turns back to face Elmo, " Names Percy, Percy Manlove ". " Come on lets go get a drink "
To this very day Elmo recites the tale to anyone who cares to listen, the tale of him and his companions escapade to the "Temple Of Elemental Evil" But nobody believed it, nobody ever believed Elmo.
