Running Noble Ambitions Inside Temple of Elemental Evil: The Suel Pantheon Toolkit for DMs

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  If you’re threading Living Greyhawk’s Noble Ambitions through Temple of Elemental Evil (ToEE), the Suel ruins and gods aren’t just wallpaper—they’re switches and levers your players can read and pull. This post is my behind-the-screen guide to using my Suel Pantheon article as a practical, table-ready engine for side quests, clues, and atmosphere. TL;DR: This supplement gives you a readable Suel myth-map, visual keys for ruin symbols, fast DCs for “reading” rooms, and plug-in side quests—all built to snap directly into Noble Ambitions scenes inside the ToEE sandbox. Why I wrote this (and why it helps you run NA in ToEE) I’m 3orcs . I’ve spent years building the Verbobonc Campaign Guide 576cy —adventures, NPCs, art, and maps for running ToEE at epic, lived-in scale. My players weren’t satisfied with “a dusty mosaic and some orcs.” They wanted to decode the place. So I distilled the Suel mythos into table tools: A clear Elder Order list with symbols you can drop into ...
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Running the Gnarley Elves in Temple of Elemental Evil — A 3orcs DM Guide

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Why this matters for your campaign

If you’re running an epic Temple of Elemental Evil game, the four elven clans of the Gnarley—Meldarin, Sherendyl, Fealefel, and Enlanefel—turn the forest from “travel corridor” into a living faction web. They give you lawful sanctuaries, tense borders, rival priorities, and a reason for the party to care about what happens between Hommlet and Nulb. This post previews my upcoming 3orcs YouTube deep-dive and shows how to slot the clans, locations, NPCs, and hooks straight into your table.

Quick primer on each clan (use-at-the-table summaries)


Meldarin — Oaths and Hidden Streams

  • Role at the table: Diplomats and wardens; the neutral ground your PCs can earn.

  • Anchors: Alaeduril (Temple of Ehlenestra, Sanctuary of Rillifane, Besh’norin Oath Oak), the Ansynor/Runeoak cordon.

  • Levers for DMs: Sanctuary law, oath-binding, bonded caravan escort, cordon emergencies.

Sherendyl — The Hidden Fortress

  • Role: Soldiers and logistics; the fortitude of the forest.

  • Anchors: Düalarn on Lake Nuralin, tunnel granaries and armories, las’törla Aerith Sherendyl.

  • Levers: Readiness drills, road security against Dyvers timber drives, decisive military help when earned.

Fealefel — Ley Wardens

  • Role: Arcane checks and balances; planar seams tied to Elemental Evil.

  • Anchors: Durvanai canopy, sealed research arbors, ley pylons.

  • Levers: Research permits, anti-summoning wards, fraught cooperation with “independent scholars.”

     

Enlanefel — Lore and Precedent

  • Role: Memory, rites, arbitration.

  • Anchors: Oakvein living fortress; reliquaries and oath-steles.

  • Levers: Evidence gathering, ritual clearance, neutral adjudication between hot-headed factions.

     

Signature locations you can drop on the route to Nulb

  • Alaeduril, Harmonious Dells (Meldarin): Sanctuary markets, moonlit oaths, and the Oath Oak council hollow. Ideal for safe harbor, political pressure, and gear checks that require favors.

  • Runeoak/Ansynor Cordon (north of Alaeduril): Rotating stealth posts and ward-stones; eruptions of tainted earth elementals and undead. Perfect for timed encounters and joint ops with elven pickets.

  • Düalarn, Hidden Fortress (Sherendyl): Lakeside calm masking a war-ready tunnel network; Corellon’s Hall of Seven Vows above the Armory of Seven Seasons. A great staging point for counter-bandit actions and supply arcs.

  • Durvanai Research Arbors (Fealefel): Request-only labs at a ley crossing; superb for side quests that reveal why the Temple’s energies ripple through the Gnarley.

  • Oakvein (Enlanefel): Living fortress for precedent and rites; the place to seal compromises when factions clash.

NPCs to headline your faction play

  • Thonás Elaenda (Meldarin; Ranger/Statesman): Charm offensive across nine tribes; asks PCs to safeguard witnesses and enforce peace writs.

  • Gilathadar Telva (Meldarin; Wizard 15): Old ally of Verbobonc; lore on ruins and way sanctuaries; a bridge between human politics and elven caution.

  • Aerith Sherendyl (Sherendyl; Fighter 13): Soldier-ruler who prizes clarity; offers hard help if you can show maps, names, and logistics.

  • Ienre Lafkel (Sherendyl; Ranger 6/Wizard 5): Cordon commander; turns “random encounters” into purposeful containment missions.

  • Elcàlla Yularith (Meldarin; Cleric 12 of Ehlenestra): Sanctuary and market law embodied; the moral voice when PCs waver.

Use them as rotating patrons: each advances the party’s goals if their clan’s customs are honored. Ignore a custom and doors close.

Plot hooks that braid into T1–T4

  1. Sanctuary at Capacity (Alaeduril): A poacher-turned-witness knows a Nulb smuggling route. The party must keep the peace for three nights of sanctuary while Temple agents lean on market law to snatch him.

  2. Ward-Stone Off-Measure (Runeoak): A ley hum goes wrong; PCs escort druids to reseat a menhir under undead pressure. Success earns a clan favor they can spend later in Verbobonc politics.

  3. Timber Charter Gambit (Düalarn): Dyvers sends a too-perfect logging charter. Forensics on seals and testimony gathering turn into a courtroom scene at Corellon’s Hall—an elegant break from dungeon crawls.

  4. Scholar or Smuggler? (Fealefel border): A “researcher” wants access to a pylon; evidence links them to Nulb torch-trade. The party chooses entrapment or exposure, either way learning how the Temple feeds on ley stress.

  5. Oath Before the Oak (Besh’norin): PCs mediate between Mounted Borderers and elven wardens after a botched arrest near the forest line; the result sets travel difficulty for the next three sessions.

How to pace this content alongside Hommlet and Nulb

  • Session 0.5: Introduce sanctuary law and green etiquette in a single page. Offer one small favor the party can earn in Alaeduril (escort, herb kits, a guide).

  • Levels 1–3 (Hommlet focus): One forest faction scene per level: a safe-market run, a cordon incident, a short audience at the Oath Oak. Keep these 40–60 minutes, tops.

  • Levels 3–5 (Nulb pressure): Let sheriffs or rangers ask for precise tasks that echo the party’s main mission: destroy caches, flip informants, jam a night ferry.

  • After each dungeon push: Give one forest scene that heals consequences or raises stakes. The forest is the living board between temple delves.

Tactics for DMs: making the Gnarley feel alive

  • Use oaths as currency. An oath sworn on living wood is a tangible favor; give advantage on a single check when the oath is invoked.

  • Standardize signals. Bird-cant, wood-bells, lantern codes—make them table tools. Players who learn them get earlier warnings and cleaner retreats.

  • Reward nonlethal success. Sanctuary culture prizes de-escalation. Pay it off with better prices, faster intel, and elite escorts.

  • Keep Dyvers present but offstage. Contracts, envoys, pressure. Not villains—pressure.

  • Lean on the Seldarine. Nature and memory rites from Rillifane and Ehlenestra can cleanse hexes, sanctify rest spots, or close a portal the module opened.

Video rundown outline (for your 3orcs YouTube episode)

  1. Hook: “Make the Gnarley a second protagonist.”

  2. Clan snapshots in 90 seconds each (maps and heraldry roll).

  3. Locations: Alaeduril, Runeoak cordon, Düalarn.

  4. NPC carousel: Aerith, Thonás, Gilathadar, Ienre, Elcàlla.

  5. Five plug-in plot hooks tied to T1–T4 beats.

  6. DM tactics: oaths, signals, sanctuary, Dyvers pressure, Seldarine rites.

  7. Call to action: where to get the module and supplements.

Resources

  • The full writeups, NPCs, dialogue, art, and encounter tables are collected on the Verbobonc Campaign Guide 576 CY site.

  • My deep-dive videos on each clan and location are on the 3orcs YouTube channel.

  • If you want a complete ready-to-run adventure path with these side quests linked to Hommlet and Nulb, see the companion supplement on the Dungeon Masters Guild.

Final advice for new players and DMs

  • Players: pick one forest tie (oath, mentor, rite) and one frontier tie (ranger post, border patrol, merchant). The story will find you.

  • DMs: treat every forest scene like a short, purposeful skill challenge with social stakes. Then let the dungeon breathe.

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