The Shattered Monastery – Raiders of the Black Earth

Dungeon Master Introduction for the Sacred Stone Monastery Module

A Verbobonc Campaign Guide 576 CY Adventure Module

The Shattered Monastery – Raiders of the Black Earth is a standalone dungeon adventure set in the World of Greyhawk, within the Kron Hills of the Verbobonc, Viscounty, in the year 576 CY. Designed for integration with the ongoing Temple of Elemental Evil: Second Rising campaign arc, this module mirrors the legendary Moathouse from T1: Village of Hommlet —but with far darker implications.

Within the shattered ruins of a Flan-built stone monastery, a forgotten altar of the Elder Elemental God (Rentaq) has been reawakened. The Cult of the Black Earth, servants of the Temple of Elemental Evil, have returned with new strength and a deadly purpose: to unlock these long-dormant altars seeded across Oerth, and in doing so, hasten the return of a god that was never meant to walk again.

Leading this effort is Varnor Earthcaller, a Flan priest-geomancer who has forged a weapon called Stonefang from a shard of the EEG itself. With this weapon and the reactivation of the altar below the monastery, the cult’s power grows—and the earth itself begins to listen.

This adventure features:

• An ancient Flan ruin repurposed by a modern cult
• A powerful Earth cult leader wielding a mythic relic
• Connections to the Underdark and regional factions
• An ancient altar to the Elder Elemental God lying dormant
• Potential prophecy and madness tied to a whispering chasm deep below

Setting

The monastery lies hidden within the rugged Kron Hills, just north of the Gnomish hamlet of Sheernobb and west of the Long Road to Hommlet. Nestled into a windswept hillside surrounded by collapsed dolmens and forgotten Flan standing stones, the site appears to be no more than a derelict monastery to passing travelers.

But within, the monastery seethes with activity: duergar miners, gnoll raiders, fanatical monks, and a dark priesthood excavating toward something beneath—the Black Mouth.

Historical Lore

The monastery stands atop the shattered remnants of a pre-Oeridian Flan sacred site, its original purpose long obscured by time. Scholars suspect it was once a geomantic convergence point, where early Flan priests sought to commune with the spirits of earth and stone. Unknown to all but a few lost sects, this convergence masked something far more dangerous—a sealed altar to the Elder Elemental God, hidden deep within the hill.

During the early migrations, the site was buried and forgotten, its stone glyphs covered by landslides and superstition. Later, dwarves attempted to fortify the hillside with stone foundations, but abandoned the project after strange tremors and “dream-plague” afflicted their stonecutters. The structure fell into ruin once more.

It remained undisturbed for centuries—until now.

With the rise of the Temple of Elemental Evil, agents of Romag sent scouts into the Kron Hills, guided by prophecy and geomantic disturbance. There they found it: the broken Flan stones, the altar, and most importantly—the shard.

Now the monastery lives again, not as a house of contemplation, but as a mouth through which something deeper begins to speak.

Black Earth Raider of the Temple of Earth by 3orcs

Key NPC: Varnor Earthcaller

The monastery’s master is Varnor Earthcaller, a Flan geomancer, philosopher of stone, and high priest of the Elder Elemental God. He is the spiritual hand of Romag, the Earth High Priest of the Temple of Elemental Evil, and leads this outpost as both raider captain and excavator.

Varnor wields Stonefang, a mythic relic forged around a shard of the Elder Elemental God—a jagged fragment of divine entropy, pulsing with subterranean power. The weapon is part obsidian hammer, part geomantic conduit, inscribed with spiral runes that shift like fault lines when held in silence. The shard embedded within it is believed to have once formed part of the original altar now buried beneath the monastery.

Varnor believes that Stonefang is not merely a weapon—it is a key. When brought near the reactivated altar, it resonates with it, amplifies its power, and draws whispers from the deep stone. To Varnor, this communion is sacred. He calls it the “First Voice”—the moment when the earth no longer holds back the words of the Elder Elemental God.

Purpose of the Cult

The Cult of the Black Earth worships entropy, silence, and permanence through domination. Their creed is not destruction, but stasis—the slow, crushing inevitability of stone. They raid local mines, destroy leyline conduits, and abduct geomancers, believing that only through the reconsecration of earth can the world be made “pure.”

Their long-term goal is to awaken the altar, speak with the Black Mouth beneath the stone, and become conduits of the Elder Elemental God’s will in the mortal world.

Notable Features and Secrets

The Altar of the Elder Elemental God

Hidden on the second level of the dungeon is a shattered black altar, dormant and cracked. It pulses faintly when the Stonefang is near. When reactivated, it may:

• Empower divine spells cast by EEG-aligned priests
• Summon tremors and elemental servants
• Open a psychic channel to Rentaq himself

The Black Mouth Beneath the Stone

Rumored in the village of Oakvein, the “black mouth” is real—a chasm sealed by Flan geomancers that leads into the deep stone of Oerth. It whispers. Those who listen too long are changed. Duergar have begun tunneling near it, and Underdark emissaries from the drow and deeper horrors have taken notice.

TOEE Elemental Eye Cult by 3orcs