''The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun'' is an

adventure module An adventure is a playable scenario in a tabletop role-playing game. These can be constructed by gamemasters for their players, and are also released by game publishers as pre-made adventure modules. Different types of designs exist, including ...

for the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (T ...

'' (''D&D'')

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

, for use in the ''

World of Greyhawk Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''—Dave Arneson ...

campaign setting A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A ''campaign'' is a series of individual adventures, and a ''campaign setting'' is the world in which such adventures and c ...

. The module was published by

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had been ...

in 1982 for the first edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' rules.

Plot summary

''The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun'' is an adventure that takes place in the

. This adventure starts with an incident from '' The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth''.
preview
The

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

s (PCs) discover the temple while trailing a gang of

norker This is the list of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monsters, an important element of that role-playing game. This list only includes monsters from official ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd Edition supplements published by TSR, In ...

s from the caverns. The PCs search hazardous mountain passes to find the lair of the monsters inside the temple. The adventurers are drawn into the story by a gnomish community and travel to the temple. After battling their way in, the PCs explore the temple chambers, which contain mundane creatures and new monsters from the ''

Fiend Folio ''Fiend Folio'' is the name of three separate products published for successive editions of the fantasy role-playing game '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). All three are collections of monsters. The bulk of the material in the first edition ...

'' supplement. During their exploration, the characters may reach chambers of the temple in which religious rituals were performed, and risk insanity and death as they encounter remnants of worshipers of the imprisoned god

Tharizdun In the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game, Tharizdun () is the god of Eternal Darkness, Decay, Entropy, Malign Knowledge, Insanity, and Cold. He originated in the '' World of Greyhawk'' campaign setting but has since also appeare ...

. To progress further, the characters must enact portions of the rituals of worship of Tharizdun, traveling into an underground sub-temple, and magically opening an inner sanctum called the Black Cyst. Having advanced this far, the characters are likely to be driven insane, killed outright, or permanently trapped within the underground temple.

Publication history

''The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun'' was written by

Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...

and published by TSR in 1982 as a 32-page booklet with two outer folders. It was given the code WG4 (World of Greyhawk #4), although adventures WG1, WG2 and WG3 did not exist. ('' The Village of Hommlet'' and its sequel '' Temple of Elemental Evil'' were originally to be given the codes WG1 and WG2, but instead were designated T1 and T2. Likewise '' Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth'' was originally designated WG3, but eventually was published as S4.) Gygax wanted to produce the adventure quickly, and to save time used freelance artist Karen Nelson to produce the module's art rather than waiting for TSR's design department. The adventure is a loosely connected sequel to module S4 '' Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth'', and can be used with or without it. It is a combined wilderness and dungeon adventure set in the Southern Yatil Mountains, focused on a temple dedicated to the evil and insane Greyhawk god

. A future work was promised to develop the plot from this adventure further, but was never published.

Theme

The thematic elements of nightmare and insanity bring

Lovecraftian horror Lovecraftian horror, sometimes used interchangeably with "cosmic horror", is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is named a ...

to ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and not for the first time. The concept of a trapped, malevolent god, intent upon the destruction of all that is, harkens to the dark and insane

Great Old One American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) created a number of fictional deities throughout the course of his literary career. These entities are usually depicted as immensely powerful and utterly indifferent to humans who can barely begin to ...

s of H.P. Lovecraft's fiction. In his comprehensive article on the topic of Lovecraftian influence on ''D&D'', "The Shadow Over D&D", James Jacobs says of ''The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun'' and ''Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil'', "Tharizdun ..obviously owes his pedigree to Lovecraft."

Reception

Jim Bambra Jim Bambra (born 1956)Jim Bambra: Director Summary
Company Check Ltd is a Briti ...

reviewed ''The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes ...

'', and gave it 9 out of 10 overall. Bambra noted that "The Temple is brought to life excellently and contains plenty for players to think about, gaining entry requires good tactical play and an imaginative approach is needed to fathom out the Temple's hidden secrets."

Lawrence Schick Lawrence Schick is a game designer and writer associated with role-playing games. Early life and education Schick attended Kent State University in Ohio. Career Schick, as the head of design and development at TSR, brought aboard Tom Moldvay ...

, in his 1991 book ''Heroic Worlds'', criticized the module's cover as "the worst cover of any TSR ''AD&D'' module, a morass of colored blobs." ''The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun'' was ranked the 23rd greatest ''Dungeons & Dragons'' adventure of all time by ''

Dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

'' magazine in 2004.

Other recognition

A copy of ''The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun'' is held in the collection of the

Strong National Museum of Play The Strong National Museum of Play (known as just The Strong Museum or simply the Strong) is part of The Strong in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1969 and based initially on the personal collection of Rochester native Margaret ...

(object 110.1944).

References

External links

World of Greyhawk Series (WG4 - 12)
at The Acaeum

at the TSR Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, The Greyhawk modules Lovecraftian horror Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1982