Running Noble Ambitions Inside Temple of Elemental Evil: The Suel Pantheon Toolkit for DMs
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:
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A clear Elder Order list with symbols you can drop into boxed text or props (hourglass-stars, feather-bows, ruby glyphs, etc.).
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“How to Read Suel Ruins” quick keys so your table can infer meaning from geometry, tiles, lintels, and defacement (like scraped black spirals).
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A one-page creation spine (Lendor vs. the Unmaking Serpent) you can summarize in ten seconds.
I wrote it the way DMs actually prep: short, visual, and actionable.
What’s inside the Suel Pantheon article (in DM terms)
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Myth Spine: Ordered time (Lendor) vs. dissolution (Tharizdun). Use this to frame why Suel halls enforce calm, cadence, and measured rites.
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Elder Order at a Glance: Lendor, Wee Jas, Norebo, Phaulkon, Kord, Osprem, Xerbo, Lydia, Dalt, Jascar, Fortubo, Phyton—each with a clear icon for quick description.
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Wild & Dark Edges: Llerg, Bralm, Syrul, Pyremius, Beltar—perfect for frontier omens, hive-industry motifs, treachery, and fire/poison set-pieces.
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Forgotten/Scholarly Layer: Ea, Kia, Nabû, Utu, Sîn, Girru, Nergal—ideal as mosaic cameos or lintel cartouches the party can “read” for advantage.
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Cosmic Antagonist: Tharizdun’s erased spirals/black stars—whenever you describe scraped motifs, you’re telegraphing danger and later-cult meddling.
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At-the-Table Mechanics:
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Identify marks (Religion/History DC 11–15) → grant advantage on one related navigation/interaction.
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Symbolic hazards → chaotic noise can anger old wards; a measured chant can pacify them.
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Faction hooks → Scarlet Brotherhood (Pyremius/Syrul), dwarves (Fortubo), frontier folk (Llerg/Kord), scholars (Wee Jas/Lydia).
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Handy flavor lines to drop mid-session: “Suel faith is law carved in stone—then tested by the wild.”
How to plug this into Noble Ambitions scenes (side-quest seeds that fit while you run the module)
These are lightweight, session-friendly detours you can layer between NA beats inside the Temple and its approaches:
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The Ruby Ledger (Wee Jas)
A funerary record-slab is missing a tile; replacing it completes an order-ward that calms a cursed corridor for one crossing. Players earn the tile by negotiating with a meticulous scribe-priest (ties into Wee Jas’ magistrate role and tomb law). -
Wasp-Hive Antechamber (Bralm)
A hex-comb lintel and buzzing hush mark a work-hall; a steady, rhythmic chant lets the party pass while gathering clues about the complex’s layout (industry/hive motif). -
Bear-Fang Omen-Stones (Llerg)
PCs can attempt a trial of strength to gain a one-scene boon from omen-stones; describing bear-spirals on floor tiles foreshadows a bestial guardian deeper in. -
Order vs. Noise (Lendor’s Hall)
Use the symbolic hazard rule: if the party storms through shouting, dormant wards trigger; if they march in measured cadence, doors yield or traps “listen.” -
Scraped Spirals (Tharizdun)
The group finds a defaced black-star cartouche; tracking the vandal’s mud leads to a rival faction camped two rooms away—perfect for a social or stealth scene before the next NA milestone.
Read the room like a Suel scholar (visual lexicon for your narration)
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Geometry & Tiles: right angles, brass/iron fittings; every 6th tile etched with a faint rune (often Wee Jas order-ward).
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Lintels Tell Patronage: hourglass-star (Lendor), feather-bow (Phaulkon), bear-angle (Llerg), sea-scrolls (Osprem/Xerbo), ruby glyph (Wee Jas). Put these in the first sentence of your boxed text.
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Iconoclasm = Clue: scraped spirals or tarred faces indicate later cult defacement—use it to signal that “something else moved in here after the Suel.”
Where this slots in your dungeon article run
The pantheon keys and DCs were written to dovetail with your Ancient Suel Temple room run (e.g., Guard-Den of the Broken Secret, Murder Walk, Scorched Barracks, Hive-Queen Office, Book-Light Barracks). Keep the symbol language consistent from room to room and players will start solving the dungeon like a puzzle—because it is one.
What you get beyond lore
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NPC color & rites for Wee Jas, Kord/Llerg, Lydia, Fortubo/Jascar—use them to voice priests, scribes, and frontier votaries without extra prep.
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Fast mechanical hooks (identification DCs, chant pacifications, and faction tells) that reward player curiosity instead of raw stat checks.
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Flavor one-liners to punctuate discoveries or rests between NA scenes.
How I run it at the table (quick recipe)
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Open each room with one symbol + one texture (e.g., “ruby glyph over a brass lintel”).
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Offer a Religion/History DC 11–15 to “read” the site; reward success with advantage on a relevant action/conversation.
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If they’re loud or chaotic, escalate the room; if they attempt cadence or chant, de-escalate a ward.
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Use one faction tell per session (Brotherhood → Pyremius/Syrul, dwarves → Fortubo, etc.) to foreshadow who’s meddling behind the scenes.
Want the deep dive?
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The full Suel Pantheon article (with symbols, DCs, and lore beats) is part of my ongoing Verbobonc Campaign Guide 576cy project—browse the original articles and artwork there for more context and room-by-room support.
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I host long-form design talks and session-prep walkthroughs on the 3orcs YouTube channel—subscribe if you like seeing how I turn a wall carving into a skill challenge and a clue chain.
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And if you want the full module with NPCs, dialogue packs, side quests, art, and background designed to make Noble Ambitions sing inside ToEE, it’s available on Dungeon Masters Guild.
Join in & support
If this toolkit helps your table, consider supporting the project here on Patreon so I can keep producing room articles, NPCs, cartography, and watercolor/ink pieces in the same style across Verbobonc and Nulb. Your feedback shapes the next drop.
Happy delving—and remember: Where the hourglass stands, time is kept; where the spiral creeps, time frays.
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