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 priso...
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Unmasking the Hidden Hand: Updating the Temple of Elemental Evil’s Leadership and Nulb’s Underworld in Greyhawk

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 If you've ever tried to run the classic T1–The Village of Hommlet or dive headlong into the Temple of Elemental Evil, then you know how tantalizing—but fragmented—the original material can feel. There’s a brilliance to the foundation Gygax laid, but to truly make the world breathe, a Dungeon Master has to lift the veil and stitch the darkness together.

That's what this latest article update for the Leadership of the Temple of Elemental Evil sets out to do.

Bringing the Enemy to Life

One of the greatest shortcomings in the original module is that the leadership structure of the Temple is vague and uncoordinated. Yes, we have Hedrack, Senshock, Romag, Alrrem, and Belsornig—but how do they function? Who do they trust? Who spies on whom? How does smuggling operate in Nulb without tipping off the knights of Furyondy?

Our latest article does what the module never fully dared: we gave the Temple leadership teeth, chains, spies, and an underground network that now pulses through the heart of Nulb.

  • Commander Feldrin is now the ruthless master of Temple logistics.

  • Gefreid Patris holds the critical Hunting Cottage—a key node that feeds prisoners and supplies through a secret tunnel into the Greater Temple itself.

  • Lucius Graeme is no longer just a name—he’s the nerve between Nulb, Verbobonc, and the Temple.

  • Madame Selentis, once the disgraced Lady Nysera Krivaltis, now operates as the spider in Nulb’s web, channeling captives and coin through the Boatman’s Tavern and beyond.

These aren’t throwaway villains. They are political actors in a dark cult war—a cast of manipulators, schemers, and occult bureaucrats entangled in a logistical machine beneath the crumbling surface of a swamp village.

Why It Matters for Your Campaign

For me, as someone developing the Verbobonc Campaign Guide 576 CY, this kind of character and faction work breathes life into the sandbox. When the Temple's agents are real people with motivations, ambitions, and rivalries, every side quest becomes an opportunity for intrigue.

Your party doesn’t just find evil—they stumble into it. They meet it in the tavern. They bargain with it unknowingly in the market. They betray it over drinks, or perhaps get betrayed by it at the pier.

That’s the kind of tension the new Leadership of the Temple of Elemental Evil article was written to create.

Nulb, the Living Rot

The revised material for Nulb isn’t just window dressing—it’s a fully realized frontier of corruption. With detailed articles for:

  • Boatman’s Tavern

  • The Brothel of Elvanna Thorne

  • The Waterside Hostel

  • The Hidden Prison Cellar

  • The Black Market

  • Warehouse Logistics

  • The Hunting Cottage and Secret Tunnel

…we’ve transformed Nulb from a “muddy map square” into a battleground of political influence, cultic maneuvering, and desperate survival.

More Than Just Nulb: Building Greyhawk Village by Village

This game has given me the framework to develop more than just one den of evil. It’s inspired me to flesh out:

  • Verbobonc City – with political tensions, noble rivalries, and rising gnomish unrest.

  • Hommlet – still recovering from the Moathouse and unknowingly tied to Lucius’s web.

  • Sheernobb, Ostverk, and Twilight Falls – each a piece in the growing storm leading to the Temple’s return.

If you're running Temple of Elemental Evil, or even T1: The Village of Hommlet, don’t treat these locations as dots on a map—make them part of the living world. That's what I aim to do with every new supplement, article, and character I write.

For New Players and DMs Entering Greyhawk

If you're just starting your journey in the World of Greyhawk, or introducing players to it through a Temple of Elemental Evil campaign, this updated material offers:

  • Side quests with purpose and power dynamics.

  • NPCs with layered relationships and goals.

  • Locations that reward exploration, infiltration, and consequences.

The Elder Elemental Eye is watching—and now, so are the Dungeon Masters who want to give it form.

Explore the World of 3orcs

To read the full Leadership of the Temple of Elemental Evil article with artwork, sidebars, and secret faction notes, visit the Verbobonc Campaign Guide 576 CY website.

📖 Verbobonc Campaign Guide 576cy
📹 And check out our deep-dive video series on the 3orcs YouTube Channel, where we break down Temple politics, encounter design, and worldbuilding tools.

Whether you’re a veteran of the Greyhawk wars or a new Dungeon Master carving your first trail into the Gnarley Forest, I hope this material helps you bring your game to life.

May your dice be cruel—especially in Nulb.
– 3orcs


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