The Secret War Beneath the Hills: Temple Logistics at the Hunting Cottage

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As Dungeon Masters building immersive worlds in Greyhawk, we often focus on the sprawling dungeons and cursed temples—but what makes a setting breathe are the living villages, the secret roads, and the nameless lieutenants that oil the gears of evil. With this latest update to the Verbobonc Campaign Guide 576 CY, the Hunting Cottage south of Nulb becomes more than just a footnote on a wilderness map—it becomes the nerve center of the Temple of Elemental Evil’s underground war effort.

A Cabin Cloaked in Secrecy

Located deep in the Kron Hills, buried beneath the dark canopy of the Gnarley Forest, this "innocent hunting lodge" masks the Temple’s most critical logistical node. Thanks to expanded lore and character development from recent articles, the cottage now connects the surface world to the Greater Temple’s lower levels through two secret tunnel entrances—one canon (a vertical shaft through a water well) and one newly developed (a limestone cave reinforced for prisoner and supply transport).

Why it matters: Every agent, prisoner, and box of weaponry bound for the Temple passes through this site. It’s the ultimate bottleneck—and now, it’s fully realized with terrain, defenses, politics, and beastly surprises.

New Additions: Logistics, Monsters, and Power Politics

This revision layers deep strategy atop the original location entry. Here’s what makes it sing:

💀 The Greater Temple Bandits

Under Gefreid Patris, this ruthless garrison executes Commander Feldrin’s will. These aren't wandering brigands—they are the logistics officers of evil, maintaining shipment records, receiving prisoners from Madame Selentis’s crews, and rerouting supply caches from Lucius Graeme or Lareth’s Moathouse.

🐺 The Iron Claw Bugbears

Commander Feldrin has extended his command by placing a dedicated squad of bugbear guards from the Iron Claw Clan to protect the secret tunnel—along with enslaved goblins, death dogs, and carrion crawlers as “biohazard deterrents.” Their presence is hostile even to allied bandits. Tensions simmer.

🏞️ Real Terrain, Real Threats

The region is brought to life with natural terrain details—dense brush, hidden paths, perimeter snares (with D&D 5e mechanics!), and an expertly fortified cave mouth. If you're like me, you want your players to feel the dread as they stumble upon scuffed ground and boot prints outside a "harmless" cottage.

Running This as a DM? Here's Why You Should

I designed this location update because my Temple of Elemental Evil campaign needed realism in its logistics. Players weren’t just raiding ruins—they were tracking supply chains, following rumors of missing caravans, and spying on movement patterns.

This expansion allows you to:

  • Stage intelligent infiltration missions.

  • Show the true scale of the Temple’s influence.

  • Allow espionage and sabotage side quests.

  • Inject inner conflict between Temple agents (especially between humans like Gefreid and monsters like Druk Marrgut’s bugbears).

  • Raise the stakes with NPCs like Lucius Graeme arriving mid-encounter.

The Broader Picture

This location isn’t isolated. It connects to an entire framework we’ve built in the Verbobonc Campaign Guide:

  • City of Verbobonc: Where political pressure mounts from nobles and inquisitors.

  • Villages like Hommlet, Sheernobb, Ostverk, and Twilight Falls: All influenced by the Temple’s rise and harbor their own secrets.

  • Nulb: A hive of scum and villainy, but also a machine—moving recruits, slaves, and goods under Madame Selentis’s hand, through Lorveth “The Broker,” and toward the Temple via the cottage.

This expanded Greyhawk content lets you run T1–4 Temple of Elemental Evil like never before—layered, political, and alive.

 

Explore the Original Article

🗺️ You can read the full article “55. Hunting Cottage” with narrative text, terrain maps, stat blocks, NPCs, encounter hooks, and temple logistics in the Verbobonc Campaign Guide 576 CY.

📺 And if you want a deeper breakdown of how to run it at your table, I host regular lore dives and campaign discussions on the 3orcs YouTube Channel.

Final Thoughts from 3orcs

The Temple of Elemental Evil isn’t just about cultists and dungeons. It’s about how evil moves. The Hunting Cottage is where the whispers of shadow turn into action. For worldbuilders and DMs like us, that’s the sweet spot where story, strategy, and roleplaying collide.

Happy worldbuilding—and may your snares always hit.

— 3orcs

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