Chapter 289 Extra: The Four Elements God, Rock and Earth Lord ‘Gulanba’

The four elemental lords, the earth elemental lord.

The earth elemental plane has powerful divine power,

absolutely neutral

Grumbar is a powerful deity, often depicted in cult art as a giant earth elemental with clumsy, muscular arms and eyes that sparkle like brilliant rubies. He represents stability and resistance to change, which are typical characteristics of the earth. He is also the quiet lurker and observer, the bearer of burdens without complaint, the guardian of secret treasures in the dark folds of the earth's crust.

Like all elemental lords, Gulamba is relatively ruthless towards his followers on the planet Abeir-Toril. If his thinking is strange and strange, his reactions are predictable; he resists change and development, always choosing to maintain the status quo.

The relative inaction of Gulamba and the other Elemental Lords has resulted in their existence being viewed as minor deities in the Realms, and their followers being classified as heretics.

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

Guramba accepted the sacrifice offered to him without complaint, suggestion or comment, and breathed it into the earth. He is said to have favored sardonyx and jasper, and his statues often have eyes made of those gems or rubies.

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

Some dedicated followers spent their lives offering him gems or stone works of art, only to receive nothing; while others merely pronounced his name with approval and then stumbled upon a rich vein of ore. During the Time of Troubles, Guramba was not recognized among the Realms.

Incarnation of Guramba

According to written records, Gulamba only visited the planet Abel Toril four times in his incarnation form. (The first was during the creation of the Great Rift.) The Earth Lord appears as a massive earth elemental that stands over 25 feet tall.

His footsteps sounded like earthquakes as he rumbled across the ground. His voice is the sound of one rock hitting another, the clatter of pebbles on the beach, or the sound of a rake cutting through turf. He casts spells from the earth elemental and healing realms, as well as from the earth elemental school.

Special Attack/DefenseSpecial Att/Def:

Guramba's usual tactic in battle is to try to knock out his opponent. As long as he walks on the ground or merges with the earth, Gulamba is considered a native of the Prime Material Plane in any crystal wall system in which he is present.

This makes him immune to the adverse effects of anti-magic shells, protection from evil/good, and holy words on creatures from other planes. In addition, Gulamba's incarnation is immune to any spell that would remove him from the earth (levitation, reverse gravity, fly, wind walk, etc.).

Each of Gulamba's punches can penetrate any magical protection of land creatures without causing harm 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).

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

Other Manifestations

Guramba sent manifestations to the realms more times than he sent incarnations to the realms. Every time an earth element appears in the realms, it is viewed by Guramba's followers as a direct divine intervention. (Of course, this follows that the enslaved earth elementals must be freed at all costs.)

Guramba is also said to send servitor creatures from the elemental plane of earth, such as sol monsters, crystals, khargra, or lava children, to complete his bidding or aid his followers. Earthquakes are signs of His wrath, and rich veins of metals, minerals, or gems are always seen as signs of His providence.

The Church

All dedicated priests, crusaders, monks, and shamans of Gulamba receive religious knowledge (Faernian) as a non-weapon proficiency bonus.

In addition to the necessary proficiency, Grumbarryn priests are also strongly encouraged to learn engineering and survival (mountain mountain). In addition to their normal magical domains, all shamans of Gulamba are given elemental earth as their primary domain.

Before the Troubles, all elemental cults had priests among their priests. But now, only the exclusive priests remain. Why the Elemental Lords decided to transform their clerics into specialty priests is unclear, but much of their actions are mysterious and difficult to comprehend.

Since the Godswar, the Guramba order has added a small order of warrior monks and a crusaders to fulfill those duties adversely affected by the loss of Guramba priests.

Members of the Guramba priesthood often actively resist change at every possible turn. Devout followers of the Land Lords often oppose the expansionist activities of other churches. This opposition takes many forms, both negative and positive.

Guramba's priests may gather together to summon an elemental to destroy the foundations of a church being built, or they may instigate armed attacks against followers of his power. Their resistance to change is not limited to other churches, but also includes political changes, organizational changes, and even geographical changes.

Despite their strong opposition to change, the priests of Kolamba were not considered fanatics. Their actions are often well thought out and the church never makes hasty decisions.

The priests of Gulamba are organized into fulcrums. Each Fulcrum contains 21 priests - 7 specialty priests, 7 monks, and 7 crusaders - as well as many supporting lay members. The high priest is always a dedicated priest.

Each pivot is composed of members of a similar camp. While this type of organization does serve to ease the situation in a particular pivot, it leads to differences in how the faith is viewed in different regions. Most priests live within the same region as other members of their Fulcrum, but some roam the surface of Faern, spreading the faith of Ubta'o and monitoring threats to their religion.

Most devout followers have smaller pivots, and their congregations and clergy are required to remain focused on year-long tasks set by the church elders of the Gulamba order. In primitive or nomadic societies (such as those of the Tuigan), Guramba is served by shamans who are not associated with a specific pivot.

The novice monks of the Gulamba sect are called the Unspoken. When they recite the Oath of Landwalking, they become official priests and become the Oathbound.

Guramba's shrines and shrines are always made of stone. Most have splendid vaulted ceilings and walls, giving worship at the site the feeling of falling into living rock. Because of the order's strong preference for stone, wood is a rare find in the temples of the Earth Lords, but gems and other precious ores are used liberally to adorn most surfaces.

Dogma:

The church of this denomination is built on a strong resistance to change, especially upheaval. Prominent Guramba followers, priests, and warriors are often depicted in stories and fables that reinforce believers' belief in the importance of resisting change. The teachings of the Gulamba sect also mention the sanctity and absoluteness of the oath. The Gurambas take their oath with the utmost solemnity and never break it lest they suffer excommunication from the faith.

Novices of the Guramba faith are asked as follows: "The Eternal Valley Ramba is perfect and unchanging. Strive to become more like the Eternal One, do not change and do not allow changes to occur. The oath is that stable society is built The cornerstone. To break an oath is to create a rift in the foundation of civilization. Go forth and spread the word of Gulamba, and use your efforts to demonstrate the stability and peace it will bring.”

Daily activities:

Those who follow the Earth Lords often appear in public spaces, preaching about the evils of magical ships and (to a lesser extent) criticizing those who would board ordinary ships and set sail for unknown lands.

Finding a new land is a noble mission, but the Gulamba sect maintains that there are still large areas of Faerûn, Kara-Tu and Zakhara to be explored. And the sentient beings of Abel-Toril should expand slowly and steadily to understand its every crevice.

Throwing yourself into the void of space is the height of recklessness. There are many members of the clergy who preach that there is enough trouble in our homeland to take up our time, so why look for new troubles.

Gulamba's clergy also oppose changes in social norms, changes in political regimes, the construction of new landmarks that alter the face of the land (such as dams), and changes in their own religion. Many elders and high-ranking members of the clergy are still trying to determine what mistake they made that led to Gulamba converting all of the order's priests into exclusive priests after the War of the Gods.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies:

Devout believers will pray to Guramba when they get up every day and before resting every night, thanking him for keeping the earth stable and safe for another day. In addition to this daily ceremony, the church has two personal rituals and one annual ceremony.

The Oath of Land Travel is an oath that all followers of the Gulamba sect must promise to fulfill when joining the priesthood. The oath prohibits them from traveling by air or sea.

Only in the most dire circumstances will the priests of Gulamba surrender themselves to the hostile air element. Even if they do so in such a critical situation, they may suffer the loss of the spell. Water travel was permitted as a sacrificial act only if the cult would benefit.

Such benefits include the establishment of a new branch temple or shrine in a new land, the acquisition of a new source of minerals or stone to replace one currently mined, or even the discovery of a new species of earth-based creature.

The Earth Brotherhood is a ceremony that specialty priests of the Grumbar cult undergo in order to be accepted, and 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 Grumbar with the good wishes of the faithful.

At Midwinter, the cult holds a celebration to mark the end of another year in the eternal Grumbar church. 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 Centers of Worship:

Major temples dedicated to Grumbar are hidden in the Worldspine Mountains, Giants' Spires Mountains, and the Mu'alahar, Mount Musram, and Osram Mountains.

These hidden temples are all secret, either located in natural caves or carved with such skill that even a traveler can almost see the same landscape as they do on top of them.

South of the Mu'alahar Mountains lie the most sacred sites of the Grumbar Church, and most Grumbarites attempt to make a pilgrimage here at least once in their lifetime.

Subordinate Organizations:

The monastic order of Grumbarites 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 counter change.

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

Priest Vestments:

Grumbarites tend to be large, stocky men, and their ritual vestments are designed to make them appear as large (and spiritually sound) as possible.

Ceremonial attire includes a brown clerical garment belted at the waist; a brown leather turban or hat; a large cloak of gray-green and rust-brown, artificially elongated and padded to make the wearer look as large as he is tall; and thick-soled clogs beneath their soft leather boots.

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.

Adventuring Attire:

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

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

Grumbar Cult Spells

Earth Explosion

This spell causes the ground around the target creature to rise inward and upward in a violent explosion of dirt 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 and 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, not slate), this spell has no effect unless the caster is 10th level or higher. Earth and rock are scattered where this spell is cast unless physically removed after the magic is complete.

The material components of this spell are the priest's holy symbol and a handful of pebbles thrown at the target. (End of chapter)