Temple of the Moon

Type: Temple / Gauntlet of the Moon facility
Campaign: Under the Bus
Status: CANON — established through actual play
Current Status: Destroyed and submerged.

Overview

The Temple of the Moon refers to a network of physical step-pyramid temples dedicated to Filtiarn and used by Gauntlet of the Moon, the faction devoted to him.

Each Temple of the Moon contains a magical portal at or near its summit. These portals are connected to the other temples, allowing members of the Gauntlet to travel between them. The network therefore served as both a religious institution and a means of rapidly moving people and creatures between otherwise distant locations.

The party encountered at least one such temple in the course of investigating the werewolf plague and the activities of the Gauntlet. That temple was eventually destroyed, but the existence of the network was confirmed by later encounters with other portals.

Architecture

The Temples of the Moon were constructed as enormous step pyramids, with a smaller temple structure occupying the summit.

The temple encountered by the party had a pyramid base approximately 200 feet across and rising approximately 100 feet above the surrounding water. Its sides were decorated with carvings, while the temple at the summit was elaborately gilded.

The structure was unusual in another respect: the particular temple encountered by the party stood in an area that had already become ocean. The temple appeared to be younger than the surrounding submerged landscape, leading the party to conclude that it had been constructed or raised directly out of the water.

The entire structure radiated magic. The party's examination identified auras associated with Transmutation and/or Conjuration, with the magical energy apparently connected to the portal at the summit.

The Summit Temple

At the summit of the pyramid was an elaborate temple decorated with imagery associated with wolves and wolfkind.

The carvings depicted wolves and wolf-like creatures attacking animals and humanoids. A large mosaic depicted an enormous wolf seated upon a throne and overlooking scenes of carnage. The party identified the figure as representing a wolf god and eventually associated it with Filtiarn.

A recurring symbol throughout the temple was an image of a sunrise or sunset obscured by a fist. This symbol was eventually understood to be associated with Filtiarn and became an important visual representation of the cult's beliefs.

The summit structure also contained a number of unusual architectural features:

Multiple openings exposed the interior to the sky.
Extensive gilding covered portions of the structure.
A narrow shaft, less than two feet in diameter, extended downward through the temple.
A stone slab fitted with manacles stood near the shaft and was covered with what appeared to be dried blood.
A large metal structure inscribed with arcane symbols served as the portal connecting the temple to the other Temples of the Moon.

The combination of the gilding and openings was specifically designed to capture and channel moonlight down the central shaft. The party discovered this while examining the temple shortly before a ritual associated with the creation of an Aspect of Filtiarn.

The precise magical purpose of this arrangement remains uncertain.

Internal Levels

The pyramid contained several levels below the summit temple.

Some levels were devoted to housing the members of the Gauntlet and the numerous animals associated with the cult. The party found rooms that appeared to serve as kennels for wolves, worgs, and other creatures. There was also a prison level.

The prison contained numerous captives taken from villages affected by the werewolf plague. Many were Chosen who had not yet been recruited into The Chosen. The Gauntlet had captured these people because they appeared to be resistant or immune to the disease and were being subjected to experiments.

The lowest level contained a massive chamber large enough to accommodate hundreds of creatures.

The Great Chamber

The lowest chamber was the site of the most significant ritual the party witnessed inside the temple.

When the party reached the chamber, it contained:

Hooded priests of the Gauntlet.
An altar at the center of the room.
Incense and blood being used as part of the ceremony.
Hundreds of wolves, worgs, dire wolves, and werewolves.
Participants wearing ceremonial cowls.
Chanting, growling, and howling accompanying the ceremony.

The ceremony was dedicated to a wolf god. The party eventually identified that god as Filtiarn. The individual placed at the center of the altar was being transformed into an Aspect of Filtiarn.

When the ritual was completed, the man became a Large wolf-man and howled. His howl was immediately echoed by the creatures throughout the chamber.

The ceremony demonstrated that the Temples of the Moon were not merely places of worship. They were also sites where the Gauntlet conducted rituals intended to directly channel or manifest Filtiarn's power.

The Portal Network

One of the defining features of the Temples of the Moon was the network of magical portals connecting them.

A portal was located at the summit of the temple. The portals on the various step pyramids were connected to one another, allowing the Gauntlet to travel between temples without crossing the intervening distance normally.

The network could also be used to move large numbers of creatures.

During the assault on the Tower of Plinth, additional wolves and mercenaries appeared through a portal. The leader of the attacking force later explained that these portals connected back to portals atop the various step-pyramid temples. He had been surprised by the additional forces because they had not come from his own army.

The portals therefore gave the Gauntlet a significant strategic advantage.

The location of a particular temple did not necessarily indicate that it was the Gauntlet's headquarters. Orinder specifically told the party that the temple they had infiltrated was not the cult's main headquarters.

Destruction of the Ocean Temple

The party eventually concluded that the portal at the summit represented a significant threat.

They believed that destroying it would prevent additional forces from reaching the temple through the network. The party also suspected that the moonlight being channeled through the summit was involved in the ritual taking place below.

They first attempted to interfere with the moonlight and then attacked the portal itself.

When the portal was destroyed, it produced a magical explosion. The entire temple began shaking, and the pyramid started to collapse. The party escaped down the pyramid while werewolves and other creatures pursued them.

The temple ultimately collapsed completely and sank beneath the waves.

The destruction of the portal therefore appeared to have consequences for the entire structure. Whether this was an inherent property of all Temples of the Moon or a consequence specific to this particular temple is unknown.

Connection to Filtiarn

The Temples of the Moon were explicitly dedicated to Filtiarn. Their religious imagery, rituals, symbols, and supernatural activities all centered around the Wolf god.

The temple network was operated by Gauntlet of the Moon, whose members sought to spread Filtiarn's influence and create powerful followers. The creation of Aspects of Filtiarn was one of the most significant activities witnessed by the party.

The temples also appear to have been involved in the broader werewolf operations conducted by the Gauntlet, including experimentation on plague-resistant individuals and the organization of wolf and werewolf forces.

Relationship to the Werewolf Plague

The Temples of the Moon were closely associated with the werewolf plague spreading throughout the region.

The Gauntlet captured individuals who were resistant to the disease and brought them to its temples for experimentation. The party found more than a dozen such prisoners in the temple they infiltrated, while Orinder reported that many more had previously been taken away and never returned.

The exact relationship between the temples themselves and the creation or transmission of the plague is less certain.

The temples clearly served as centers of the Gauntlet's operations, but the surviving records do not establish that the temples themselves created the disease.

Other Known Temples

The party encountered evidence of multiple Temples of the Moon rather than a single central structure.

The portal network connected the temples to one another, and the Gauntlet was able to move personnel and creatures through the network.

At least one member of the Gauntlet believed that a main temple dedicated to Filtiarn existed somewhere in Toreon. This was his belief rather than information confirmed by the party.

The existence, location, and ultimate fate of all of the individual Temples of the Moon are not recorded.

Known Significance

The Temples of the Moon served several overlapping purposes:

Places of worship dedicated to Filtiarn.
Headquarters and bases of operation for Gauntlet of the Moon.
Prisons for people captured by the Gauntlet.
Sites of experimentation involving the werewolf plague.
Sites of religious rituals, including the creation of Aspects of Filtiarn.
Transit points in a magical portal network.
Military staging areas capable of supplying forces to distant locations.

The combination of these functions made the temples important components of the Gauntlet's campaign to spread Filtiarn's influence.

Uncertain Information

The surviving records do not establish:

How many Temples of the Moon existed.
Who originally constructed them.
When the first temple was constructed.
Whether all temples shared exactly the same design.
Whether every temple contained an active portal.
Where the main Temple of the Moon was located, if one existed.
The precise destination structure of any particular portal at a given time.
How the portals were created or maintained.
Whether the temples were constructed specifically for Stegner's later activities or predated them.
The exact magical purpose of the moonlight-channeling architecture.
Whether moonlight was necessary for every ritual performed within the temples.
The precise connection between the temples and the werewolf plague.
Whether destroying a portal necessarily destroys the entire temple.
What happened to the other temples after the defeat of the Gauntlet and Filtiarn.

These details should remain unresolved unless additional campaign records establish them.