3orcs DM Notes for T0: The Journey to Hommlet — Major NPCs

Major NPCs GM One-Pager

Faction Codes:
VB = Verbobonc · HC = Hommlet Civic · WT = Water Temple · ET = Earth Temple · IZ = Iuz · SC = Church of St. Cuthbert · GO = Good Outsider · N = Neutral/Other · CE = Celene

Who holds what (right now)

• Abbey: Bandit gang fronting for the Water Temple (Belsornig’s patronage). Slaves, loot, and river logistics pass through here.
• Watchtower: Raider cell led by Erin Darkmoon (Iuz-aligned), not an elemental faction—useful chaos that all Temples try to exploit.
• Moathouse (nearby): Earth Temple front under Lareth; it tugs the tower toward Earth’s interests.

Water Temple (WT): “Control the flow”

Water Temple Leadership: Belsornig

Why they want the Abbey/Watchtower:
The Abbey lets Water lock the smuggling artery and launder plunder; the tower would extend eyes/ambushes along the caravan line and squeeze rivals.

Methods & assets:
Bribes, poison, and “accidents”; river crews, slavers, a few obedient orcs (kitchen/taskmaster types). They fund the Abbey’s payroll and promise protection—then collect debts.

Current moves:

• Replace the Abbey’s bandit boss with a WT loyal enforcer; install a junior priest “quartermaster.”
• Feed Erin Darkmoon intel to hit Earth-favored caravans, then sell Erin out if needed.
• Buy off Verbobonc patrols with “misdirected” casks.

If they seize both sites:
River tolls, night raids on schedule, and a safe back door to the Temple via boats. Expect clean ledgers and filthy water.

Earth Temple (ET): “Hold the ground”

Earth Temple Leadership: Romag

Why they want the Abbey/Watchtower:
Earth wants a stable buffer around the Moathouse and to tax the road. The tower is the perfect checkpoint & signal post; the Abbey could be a granary/armory rather than a pirate den.

Methods & assets:
Fear, fortifications, and fronts. Press-ganged labor, bugbears or heavy infantry, local toughs promising “order.”

Current moves:

• Offer the Abbey “protection works” (ditches, palisades), slipping in Earth sergeants to take charge.
• Demand the tower coordinate beacon signals to the Moathouse, turning raids into planned seizures.
• Whisper to Verbobonc that Water = pirates, Earth = “law.”

If they seize both sites:
Road tolls, militia drills, and a quiet but relentless squeeze on rivals; raids become arrests with paperwork.

Air Temple (AT): “See first, strike unseen”

Air Temple Leadership: Kelno

Why they want the Abbey/Watchtower:
The tower is a signal mast and vantage; the Abbey’s rooflines and courtyards make a perfect spy-nest and assassination staging ground.

Methods & assets:
Lookouts, coded lights, infiltrators (spies, gargoyles/winged allies, silent blades), glamers to confuse pursuit.

Current moves:

• Place a “harmless” scribe in the Abbey to control messages & signals.
• Offer Erin’s raiders advance warnings in exchange for favors; then sell that same intel to Earth to foment reprisals.
• Seed the tower with false beacons to misroute patrols and caravans.

If they seize both sites:
Ambushes arrive from unexpected angles; warnings flicker and die; enemies stab shadows.

Fire Temple (FT): “If we can’t own it, ash it”

FIre Temple Leadership: Alrrem

Why they want the Abbey/Watchtower:
Fire craves spectacle and tribute. Owning them is good; reducing them to charred threats is sometimes better—especially if it denies Water the river and shames Earth’s “order.”

Methods & assets:
Arson rings, terror tactics, volatile hirelings, oil and pitch caches; a few fanatics who’ll burn with the building.

Current moves:

• Extort “hearth-tithes” from the Abbey; stash firebombs in the tower stair.
• Burn Earth’s new works “to prove their weakness”; leave Air-style sigils to spark blame.
• Court Erin’s pyromaniacs with loot and torches.

If they seize both sites:
Tribute pyres on the road, night-glow horizons, and scorched-earth messages to the other cults.

The third wolf at the door: Iuz (Erin Darkmoon)

Not an elemental faction—a spoiler. Erin uses fear, captives, and wanton ruin. Everyone buys Erin’s blade… no one fully controls it. Water pays for hits, Earth tries to “ deputize,” Air leaks signals, Fire whispers “burn them all.” Erin is happy to take four purses for one raid.

Flashpoints & tells (drop 1–2 to heat your session)

• The Poisoned Cask: Water’s “solution” to bandit discipline goes wrong; Earth uses the funeral to seize command.
• Beacon War: Air flips the tower’s light codes—Verbobonc blames Earth when relief rides the wrong way.
• Night of Lanterns: Fire lights the Abbey’s storehouses; Water tries to douse, troops clash in the smoke.
• The Quiet Road: For one tenday, raids stop. Earth tolls appear. Erin sharpens knives.

How to run the tug-of-war (fast table tools)

• Control Track (0–6) per site:
  0–1: Squabbling fronts · 2–3: Covert influence · 4–5: Open control · 6: Fortified hold
  Move a pip after each session based on PC choices and an opposed Faction Check (WT/ET/AT/FT, 1d20 + circumstance).
• Faction Clocks: Give each cult a 3-tick mini-clock: Plant Agent → Sway Guards → Flip the Keys. Erin’s clock: Scout → Ambush → Vanquish/Vanity.
• PC Levers: Bribe, expose, sabotage ledgers/signals, flip lieutenants, or force a parley under truce.