Followers of the Earth Dragon

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The Earth Dragon is and always was. An elemental spirit of immense power bound to the heart of the Drachensgrabs, the Earth Dragon is as old of the mountains, and has been worshiped on the Pomarj for countless centuries. Now the ancient faith is undergoing a resurgence in the cities of Obsidian Bay and Blue.

Overview

History of the Earth Dragon

The Earth Dragon is and always was. An elemental spirit of immense power bound to the heart of the Drachensgrab Mountains, the Earth Dragon is as old of the mountains, and has been worshiped on The Pomarj for countless centuries. It's influence has waxed and waned over those long eons as new worshipers ventured into the Drachensgrabs, were exposed to the terrible glory of the Dragon, and returned to spread its faith in the foothills of the peninsula.

The deity was probably at its most powerful at the dawn of prehistory, when the ancient descendents of the Flan first settled the region. Its power waned with the great migrations, as its traditional worshipers were driven by their lands or converted to the new, more dynamic gods of the invaders.

The Dragon's power once again rose to prominence during the years of the Keoish expansion, then the Poor March fell under the protection of Keoland and the Principality of Ulek. Explorers and adventurers penetrating the depths of the Drachensgrab for the first time in centuries encountered the slumbering spirit of the Dragon. For a time, worship of the Earth Dragon flourished among the human settlements of the Pomarj -– notably Highport, Stonehiem and Blue – but its influence once again came to a crashing end with Hateful Wars. Thousands of orcs, goblins and other monsters came swarming out of the Lortmils, driving the humans from their lands, destroying the temples of their gods, and enslaving all those who did not escape or die.

The Earth Dragon lay dormant for another century after the invasion, but in early CY 591 its worshipers once again began to appear throughout the human cities of the Pomarj. At first there were only a few shrines to the god located in the countryside, where clerics preached the Dragon's simple dogma and began accepting simple sacrifices of crops, coin, and the occasional animal. When these sacrifices were rewarded by rejuvenated crops, worship of the Earth Dragon slowly began to spread. Within a few months, temples to the Earth Dragon had appeared in both Blue and Obsidian Bay. In both cities, the temples are located within the poor districts where the god's clerics can preach to the pitiable, downtrodden refuges driven from their lands by the war.

Their primary tools for doing this are wandering through the districts offering food and soup, and water to the poor. They seek out those who are suffering from maladies or who have been badly wounded and offer healing, all the while letting those around them know that services to the Earth Dragon are conducted every Earthday.

Most recruits remain in the city, worshipping weekly and providing what sacrifices they can to the Earth Dragon. In some cases, entire communities of converts return to their former homes in the countryside, often accompanied by an acolyte of the Dragon. Once there, they find their homes miraculously untouched, the orc tribes who'd threatened them either dead or driven off, or their crops surprisingly robust. This has served to bolster the faith almost as much as the Temple's ongoing humanitarian efforts.

Followers in Obsidian Bay

The leader of the Earth Dragon followers in Obsidian Bay is Corog Nemgard. Nemgard was a former member of the Goldseekers Guild who went missing along with an entire expedition in the Drachensgrabs three years ago. The rest of his party was killed by hill giants, but he managed to escape. He wandered lost for weeks before, starving and delusional, he received a vision from the Earth Dragon which summoned him to the Great Mountain. When he arrived there, he found a small monastery dedicated to the Earth Dragon, and a handful of monks who nursed him back to health.

Once healed, he travelled back to Obsidian Bay to spread the faith of the god that saved him. His return to Obsidian Bay caused a minor stir, as members of the Goldseekers were stunned to see their long-dead compatriot return, and as a worshiper of a power few in the city remembered. He used his not-insignificant charisma to assure them that the Earth Dragon was a benevolent god, albeit a stern one, and backed up his assertions by funding soup kitchens and taking food to the hungry. Within a few weeks in the city he had attracted a sizeable following, and purchased several buildings which he tore down and replaced with a new, austere temple to the Earth Dragon.

Nemgard oversees the temple's charitable and political operations in the city, meeting with the members of other churches and politicians. His lead assistant is another cleric of the Earth Dragon, Dursen Gallohavo, a former refuge who was rescued by the temple who handles the temple's day-to-day operations. Their liaison to the fledgling countryside settlements associated with the Earth Dragon is Ernst Oaken. He spends most of his time in the countryside, returning to the city every week or two for new instructions and to escort refuges back to their farms.

Osil Ketterkerne is the leader of church security. He organizes and trains the guards who accompany the church's good-will expeditions into the Mudsitters District, as well as those who guard the temple itself.

Followers in Blue

Havrik Krang is the half-orc leader of the fledgling Temple of the Earth Dragon in Blue. He is surrounded by a group called the Dragon's Claws, whom he dispatches to assist the City Watch in patrolling the streets of the city and tracking down wrong doers.

In addition to this, Krang’s second – Ulm Silverbrow – runs an orphanage for the city’s children. In addition to the orphans left by the last Pomarjian war, and the unending humanoid raids, orphanage also takes in thieving street urchins caught by the Dragon’s Claw and distributes food to poor families with children.

People

  • Corog Nemgard, Priest of the Earth Dragon: The leader of the Temple of the Earth Dragon in Obsidian Bay.
  • Councilwoman Tyborea, Mudsitters District
  • Dursen Gallohavo, a former refuge who was rescued by the temple who handles the it's day-to-day operations in Obsidian Bay.
  • Ernst Oaken, the temple's liason to its followers in the countryside of the Pomarj.
  • Havrik Krang is the half-orc leader of the fledgling Temple of the Earth Dragon in Blue
  • Osil Ketterkerne is the leader of Followers security in Obsidian Bay.
  • Sarhel, Midwife of the Earth Dragon.: A midwife who helps deliver babies belonging to followers of the Earth Dragon.
  • Ulm Silverbrow: Second in command of the Earth Dragon Temple in Blue, and the leader of its temple-sponsored orphanage.

Organizations

Sites

Statblocks

Earth Dragon Thugs

Earth Dragon thugs are slow-witted, strong-willed individual who revel in spreading word of the Earth Dragon clerics through the streets of the Mudsitters District, driving home the clerical sermons with strikes from their clubs. These thugs usually roam the district in bands of 5-10, and often come into conflict with patrols of other churches, such as the Cuthbertians, Trithereonites and the Maidens of the Shield.

Earth Dragon Thug Male Human War2; Medium Humanoid; CR 2; HD 2d8+2; hp 16; Init +1; Spd 20 ft/x4; AC 14 (+3 armor, +1 dex), touch 11, flat-footed 13; Base Atk/Grapple +2/+3; Full Atk +4 One-handed (1d6+1;20/x2, Masterwork club), +3 One-handed (1d4+1;19-20/x2, Dagger); AL CN; SV Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +1; Str 13(+1), Dex 13(+1), Con 13(+1), Int 9(-1), Wis 9(-1), Cha 10(+0); Skills: Climb +1, Handle Animal +1, Intimidate +2, Jump -6, Ride +3, Swim -1. Feats: Iron Will, Toughness.

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