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Chapter 289: The Four Elements Gods: Rock and Earth Lord 'Gulamba'

The four elemental lords, the earth elemental lord.

The powerful divine power of the earth elemental plane,
Absolute neutrality
Grumbar is a powerful deity, often depicted in art of his faith as a giant earth elemental with hulking, muscular arms and eyes that sparkle like sparkling rubies. He represents the stability and resistance to change that are so characteristic of the earth. He is also a quiet lurker and observer, a bearer of burdens without complaint, and a guardian of secret treasures in the dark folds of the earth's crust.

Like all elemental lords, Grumbar is relatively cold toward his followers on Abeir-Toril. If his mindset is strange and alien, his reactions are predictable; he refuses to change or evolve, always choosing to maintain the status quo.

The relative inaction of Grumbar and the other elemental lords has meant that their presence in the Realms is viewed as lesser powers, and their followers are classified as heretics.

In the Hordelands, Grumbar is known as Etugen, a goddess of the Elemental Plane of Earth. The distinction between male and female forms of the Earthlord makes no difference to the faith.

Grumbar accepts sacrifices made to him without complaint, suggestion, or comment, breathing them into the earth. He is said to favor sardonyx and jasper, and his statues are often made of those gems or rubies for eyes.

The gifts he bestows on his followers are most often protective magic or knowledge of secret underground locations or rich mines, though he seems to have no clear reason for speaking them.

Some dedicated followers offer him gems or stonework during their lifetimes, receiving nothing in return, while others simply pronounce his name approvingly, then stumble upon a rich vein of ore. During the Time of Troubles, Grumbar was not recognized in the Realms.

Gulamba's Avatar
Grumbar has only visited Aber-Toril in avatar form four times in recorded history. (The first was during the creation of the Great Rift.) The Earth Lord appeared as a massive earth elemental that stood more than 25 feet tall.

His footsteps sound like earthquakes as he rumbles across the ground. His voice is the sound of rock crashing against rock, pebbles clacking on a beach, or a plow cutting through turf. He casts spells from the Elemental of Earth and Healing spheres, and the school of Elemental Earth.

Special Att/Def:

Grumbar's preferred tactic in combat is to attempt to overpower his opponent. As long as he walks on the ground or blends into the earth, Grumbar is considered native to the Prime Material Plane in whatever crystal system he is inhabiting.

This makes him immune to the adverse effects of spells such as anti-magic shell, protection from evil/good, and holy word on other planes. In addition, an avatar of Grumbar is immune to any spell that would remove him from the earth (levitation, reverse gravity, fly, wind walk, and so on).

Each of Grumba's blows can penetrate any magical protection of land creatures without causing damage to himself. Because of this ability, spells such as stoneskin have no effect on him. Flying creatures retain all protection from his attacks, except those based on earth elemental magic (such as stoneskin).

Grumbar can, at any time, spend 2 rounds merging with the earth to leave the battlefield or the Material Plane.

Other Manifestations
Grumba sends manifestations to the Realms more often than he sends avatars to the Realms. Each time an earth elemental appears in the Realms, it is viewed by Grumba's followers as direct divine intervention. (Of course, this is accompanied by the requirement that the enslaved earth elemental be freed at all costs.)
Grumbar is also said to send servant creatures from the Elemental Plane of Earth, such as xorns, crysmals, khargras, or lava children, to do his bidding or aid his followers. Earthquakes are signs of his wrath, while rich veins of metals, minerals, or gems are always seen as a sign of his favor.

The Church
All specialty priests of Grumbar, crusaders, monks, and shamans receive religion (Faernian) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency.

Grumbarryn priests are strongly encouraged to learn engineering and survival (mountain) in addition to the required proficiencies. In addition to their normal magical domains, all shamans of Grumbarryn receive elemental earth as their primary domain.

Before the Time of Troubles, all elemental priesthoods had clerics. Now, only specialty priests remain. Why the elemental lords decided to convert their clerics into specialty priests is unclear, but most of their actions are mysterious and difficult to understand.

Since the Godswar, Grumbarite orders have gained a small order of warrior monks and a crusader group to fulfill duties that have been adversely affected by the loss of Grumbarite priests.

Members of the Grumbar priesthood often actively resist change at every possible turn. Devout followers of the Earthlord often oppose the expansionist activities of other churches. This opposition takes many forms, both passive and active.

Priests of Grumbar might come together to summon an elemental to destroy the foundations of a church under construction, or they might instigate an armed attack on followers of other powers. Their resistance to change is not limited to other churches, but can include political change, organizational change, and even geographic change.

Despite their strong opposition to change, the priests of Grumbar are not considered blindly religious. Their actions are often considered and the church never makes hasty decisions.

The priests of Grumbar are organized into Holds. Each Hold contains 21 priests—7 specialty priests, 7 monks, and 7 crusaders—as well as many lay members who provide support. The high priest is always a specialty priest.

Each Fulcrum is made up of members of similar alignments. While this type of organization does ease tensions within a particular Fulcrum, it leads to differences in how the faith is viewed from region to region. Most priests live in the same region as the rest of their Fulcrum, but some roam the surface of Faern, spreading the faith of the Cult of Ubtao and monitoring threats to their religion.

Most devout followers have smaller fulcrums, and their congregants and clergy are required to focus on year-round tasks set by the elders of the church of Grumbar. In primitive or nomadic societies (such as those of the Tuigan), Grumbar is served by shamans who are not associated with a specific fulcrum.

Novices of the Grumbar sect are called the Unspoken. Upon uttering the Oath of Landwalking, they become full priests and are called the Oathbound.

Shrines and temples of Grumbar are always made of stone. Most have splendid vaulted ceilings and walls, giving the place of worship the feeling of having fallen into living rock. Because of the order's strong preference for stone, wood is a rarity in temples of the Earth Lord, though gemstones and other precious minerals are used liberally to decorate most surfaces.

Dogma:

The church of this sect is founded on a strong resistance to change, especially drastic change. Notable Grumbar followers, priests, and warriors, are often depicted in stories and fables that reinforce the believers' belief in the importance of resisting change. Grumbar doctrine also speaks of the sanctity and absoluteness of oaths. Grumbar followers take their oaths with great solemnity, and will never break their promises without suffering expulsion from the faith.

Novices to the Grumbar faith are commanded as follows: "Grumbar the Eternal is perfect and unchanging. Strive to become more like the Eternal, and do not change or allow change to occur. Vows are the foundation upon which stable societies are built. To break an oath is to create a rift in the foundation of civilization. Go forth, spread the word of Grumbar, and demonstrate through your efforts the stability and peace he will bring."

Daily Activities:

Those who follow the Earthlord are often seen in public, preaching the evils of magical ships and (to a lesser extent) criticizing those who would board ordinary ships and sail to unknown places. Finding a new land is a noble mission, but the Cult of Grumbar argues that large areas of Faerun, Kala-Tur, and Zakara remain to be explored. And the sentient beings of Aber-Toril should expand slowly and steadily to understand its every crevice.

Throwing oneself into the void of space is reckless to the extreme. Many members of the clergy preach that there are enough troubles to occupy our time at home, so why seek out new ones?

Grumbar's clergy have also been opposed to changes in social norms, changes in political systems, the construction of new landmarks that alter the landscape of the land (such as dams), and changes in their own religion. Many elders and high-ranking clergy are still trying to determine what mistake they made that led Grumbar to convert all of the order's clerics into specialty priests after the War of the Gods.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies:

Devout believers pray to Grumba at dawn each day and before retiring each night, thanking him for keeping the land stable and safe for another day. In addition to this daily ritual, the church has two personal rituals and an annual ceremony.

The Land Oath is a vow that all Grumbar followers take upon joining the priesthood, which forbids them from traveling by air or sea.

Only in the most dire of circumstances do priests of Grumbar surrender themselves to hostile air elementals. Even in such dire circumstances, they may suffer the loss of their spells. Water travel is permitted as an act of sacrifice only when it will benefit the cult.

Such benefits include building a new branch temple or shrine in a new land, obtaining a new source of minerals or stone to replace one currently mined, or even discovering a new species of soil-based life.

The Earth Brotherhood is a ceremony that the exclusive priests of the Grumbar sect must undergo in order to be accepted. They must have a certain level of skill to call upon their elemental brothers from the Elemental Plane of Earth.

The ceremony is preceded by a day of fasting and prayer, after which the elemental is summoned. When it responds, it is given gifts of gems and gold and returns to Gulamba with the best wishes of its followers.

At Midwinter, the order holds a celebration to mark the end of another year in the eternal church of Gulamba. During this festival, church leaders and elders gather to plan the faith's activities for the coming year. Once these plans are set, they never change during the following year and are only revised at the next Midwinter.

Main worship centers:

Major temples dedicated to Grumbar are hidden in the World's Spine Mountains, the Giant's Spires Mountains, and the Mu'alahar Mountains, the Mount Mughal Mountains, and the Osram Mountains.

These hidden temples are all secret, either located in natural caves or carved out of the ground with exquisite craftsmanship, so that even if the traveler is almost on top of them, they still look the same as the terrain they are on.

The southern part of the Mualahar Mountains is home to the most sacred site of the Church of Gulamba, and most Gulamba members attempt to make the pilgrimage here at least once in their lifetime.

Affiliated organizations:

The monastic order of the Cult of Grumbar is called the Disciples of the Changeless Face. They are a Stoic and Spartan order who preserve knowledge of the nature of things in order to detect and counteract change.

The faith's crusading order is called the Sardonyx Knights. Members of the order guard the faith's holy sites from the infidels and lead the faith's rare field missions. They are also responsible for punishing those who break their vows.

Priest's vestments:
Grumbarians tend to be large, stocky men, and their ritual vestments are designed to make them appear as large (and spiritually solid) as possible.

The ceremonial costume consisted of a brown clerical garment with a belt around the waist; a brown leather turban or hat; a huge cloak of grey-green and rust-brown, artificially lengthened and reinforced with shoulder pads to make the wearer look as large as he was tall; and thick-soled wooden clogs beneath the soft leather boots they wore.

They always wear the holy symbol of Grumbar, a large ruby ​​or carnelian carved into the shape of Grumbar's symbol and incorporated into a ring or pendant.

Adventure Outfit:

Adventuring priests wear traveling cloaks and traveling boots in the drab, gray, or black colors typical of their faith, but they understand that bulky clothing makes you look taller but provides little real protection from knives or arrows.

Bulky armor is another matter, and Grumbar cultists wear whatever armor offers the most protection they can afford.

Grumbar Spells

Earth Explosion

This spell causes the ground around the target creature to rise inward and upward in a violent eruption of dust and rock. The number of rocks created by the spell is 1d4 plus the caster's level.

Each rock deals 1 point of damage to the target, disrupts spellcasting, and counts as a successful attack for the purpose of saving throws against stoneskin. The rocks are considered a magic missile weapon for the purpose of determining whether a target can be successfully hit by them.

If the target is standing on a solid stone surface (such as bedrock, as opposed to slate), this spell has no effect unless the caster is 10th level or higher. Earth and stone fall where the spell is cast unless cleared away by physical force after the magic is complete.

The material components of this spell are the priest's holy symbol and a handful of pebbles to be thrown at the target.

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