Specialty cleric: Air Temple Cultist of the Howling Hatred
The Howling Hatred Priests are the fanatical clerics of the Cult of the Howling Hatred, a faction within the Temple of Elemental Evil that venerates air as the ultimate force of change and destruction. These priests seek to free themselves from all earthly ties, believing that the flesh is a burden and only the wind is truly free. They preach detachment, ascension, and ultimate purity, but beneath their ethereal philosophy lies a sinister reality—one of cold, merciless sacrifice and chaotic destruction.
" The Elder Elemental God watches over me… watches over all of us. You’ve barely scratched the surface of His power. The Howling Hatred isn’t just a group of fanatics. We’re the wind, we’re the storm that will sweep across this land, leaving nothing but ruin in its wake.. The Elder Elemental God is far beyond your understanding. He is the chaos in the air, the destruction in every storm. His followers — we, the Howling Hatred — serve his will. We are his breath, his vengeance, and his judgment when the winds come for you, when the skies darken and the very air turns against you, it will be too late."
Air Temple Cultist of the Howling Hatred (specialty cleric)
The Howling Hatred Priests are the fanatical clerics of the Cult of the Howling Hatred, a faction within the Temple of Elemental Evil that venerates air as the ultimate force of change and destruction. These priests seek to free themselves from all earthly ties, believing that the flesh is a burden and only the wind is truly free. They preach detachment, ascension, and ultimate purity, but beneath their ethereal philosophy lies a sinister reality—one of cold, merciless sacrifice and chaotic destruction.
- Race: Human, half-elf, gnome
- Alignment: Neutral Evil
- Armor Class: 7 (Studded Leather)
- Movement: 12"
- THAC0: 18
- Attacks: 1 per round
- Damage: Scimitar (1d6+2) or Spell
- Morale: 12 (Fanatic)
- Studded Leather (AC 7)
- Scimitar (1d6+2)
- Silver Wind Amulet (Cult Symbol)
- Sacred Feathered Cloak (Worn during ceremonies)
Cantrips (At Will)
- Thunderclap – Unleashes a concussive burst of sound.
1st-Level Spells
- Earth Tremor – Creates a localized earthquake, knocking enemies prone.
2nd-Level Spells
- Warding Wind – Summons swirling air to deflect ranged attacks.
- Gust of Wind – Generates a powerful blast of air to knock back enemies.
- Dust Devil – Summons a vortex of wind to obscure vision and disrupt foes.
- Skywrite – Conjures messages in the sky with clouds.
3rd-Level Spells
- Wall of Water – Creates a flowing, semi-solid barrier of water.
Higher-Level Spells (Optional Additions for Future Expansions)
- Summon Elemental (4th Level) – Calls forth an air elemental.
- Conjure Elemental (5th Level) – Summons a greater air elemental to obey the priest’s commands.
- Whirlwind (7th Level) – Creates a towering tornado that hurls enemies into the air.
- Trevon's Storm Sphere (9th Level) – Unleashes a massive, storm-like maelstrom.
- Weightless Step: The priest can move across fragile surfaces (such as thin ice or unstable bridges) without breaking them.
- Gale Evasion: When targeted by a ranged attack, the priest can roll a saving throw vs. Breath Weapon to dodge the attack completely.
- Hold Breath: The priest can hold their breath for up to 30 minutes, allowing them to survive in airless environments.
Tactics & Roleplaying Notes
- Tactics: Howling Hatred Priests favor hit-and-run tactics, using wind magic to disorient their enemies before striking with their scimitars. They rely on speed, misdirection, and ambushes, often fighting in open areas or high altitudes where they can harness the wind’s power.
- Fanaticism: The priests see themselves as extensions of Yan-C-Bin, the Elemental Prince of Air, and enforce the cult’s doctrine with zealous discipline. They push initiates to starve and purify themselves, often leading to their deaths.
- Appearance: Gaunt and hollow-cheeked, with bulging eyes and windburned skin, these priests have bodies that seem too light for this world. They wear billowing robes of white and pale blue, with intricate feathered embroidery.
Rituals and Practices
- Skyborne Initiation: New initiates are dropped from great heights, using magic or faith to save themselves. Those who fail are deemed unworthy.
- Storm Calling: Priests gather in mountain peaks or atop high towers to summon storms, believing the raging winds carry their prayers to Yan-C-Bin.
- Breath of Devotion: Devotees go through fasting rituals, surviving only on air for days to purge earthly ties.
- The Wind’s Judgment: Those who betray the cult are cast from cliffs or into raging tempests as a final offering to the sky.
Advancement
Howling Hatred Priests who survive long enough may transcend their physical limits, gaining the ability to levitate at will and eventually becoming avatars of elemental air. Some attain the rank of Storm Herald, wielding divine hurricanes to wipe entire villages off the map.
The Howling Hatred Priests are the keepers of the winds, enforcing their doctrine with fanatical devotion and merciless precision. With their lightning-fast strikes, mastery of air magic, and cult-like indoctrination, they stand as a terrifying force within the Temple of Elemental Evil.
Thunderclap
0-level (Cantrip) Evocation
Using a Lightning Bug, you create a burst of thunderous sound that can be heard up to 100 feet away. Each creature within range, other than you, must make a Constitution saving throw or take 1d6 thunder damage.
If you warn an ally within range before the explosion, they gain advantage on their saving throw.
At higher levels: The attack's damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).
Elemental Evil Player's Companion
Skywrite
2-level Transmutation (ritual)
You cause up to ten words to form in a part of the sky you can see. The words appear to be made of cloud and remain in place for the spell’s duration. The words dissipate when the spell ends. A strong wind can disperse the clouds and end the spell early.
Player's Handbook
Gust of Wind
2-level Evocation
A line of strong wind 60 feet long and 10 feet wide blasts from you in a direction you choose for the spell’s duration. Each creature that starts its turn in the line must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed 15 feet away from you in a direction following the line. Any creature in the line must spend 2 feet of movement for every 1 foot it moves when moving closer to you. The gust disperses gas or vapor, and it extinguishes candles, torches, and similar unprotected flames in the area. It causes protected flames, such as those of lanterns, to dance wildly and has a 50 percent chance to extinguish them. As a bonus action on each of your turns before the spell ends, you can change the direction in which the line blasts from you.
Elemental Evil Player's Companion
Warding Wind
2-level Evocation
A strong wind (20 miles per hour) blows around you in a 10-foot radius and moves with you, remaining centered on you. The wind lasts for the spell’s duration. The wind has the following effects:
- It deafens you and other creatures in its area.
- It extinguishes unprotected flames in its area that are torch-sized or smaller.
- It hedges out vapor, gas, and fog that can be dispersed by strong wind.
- The area is difficult terrain for creatures other than you.
- The attack rolls of ranged weapon attacks have disadvantage if the attacks pass in or out of the wind.
Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Dust Devil
2-level Conjuration
Choose an unoccupied 5-foot cube of air that you can see within range. An elemental force that resembles a dust devil appears in the cube and lasts for the spell’s duration.
Any creature that ends its turn within 5 feet of the dust devil must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 1d8 bludgeoning damage and is pushed 10 feet away. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn’t pushed.
As a bonus action, you can move the dust devil up to 30 feet in any direction. If the dust devil moves over sand, dust, loose dirt, or small gravel, it sucks up the material and forms a 10-foot-radius cloud of debris around itself that lasts until the start of your next turn. The cloud heavily obscures its area.
At higher levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 2nd.
Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Whirlwind
7-level Evocation
A whirlwind howls down to a point that you can see on the ground within range. The whirlwind is a 10-foot-radius, 30-foot-high cylinder centered on that point. Until the spell ends, you can use your action to move the whirlwind up to 30 feet in any direction along the ground. The whirlwind sucks up any Medium or smaller objects that aren't secured to anything and that aren't worn or carried by anyone.
A creature must make a Dexterity saving throw the first time on a turn that it enters the whirlwind or that the whirlwind enters its space, including when the whirlwind first appears. A creature takes 10d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. In addition, a Large or smaller creature that fails the save must succeed on a Strength saving throw or become restrained in the whirlwind until the spell ends. When a creature starts its turn restrained by the whirlwind, the creature is pulled 5 feet higher inside it, unless the creature is at the top. A restrained creature moves with the whirlwind and falls when the spell ends, unless the creature has some means to stay aloft.
A restrained creature can use an action to make a Strength or Dexterity check against your spell save DC. If successful, the creature is no longer restrained by the whirlwind and is hurled 3d6 x 10 feet away from it in a random direction.
Trevon's Storm Sphere
9-level Conjuration
You create a 120 foot-radius sphere of cloud centered on a point within range. The cloud spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured. It lasts for the duration unless dispelled. When the spell is cast a large lightning burst goes through the cloud and any creature in it must make a dexterity saving through. On a failed save the creature takes 10d6 Lightning Damage and 10d6 Thunder Damage, or half as much on a successful save. While you are in the cloud, you can sense everything in the cloud as if you had blindsight, but can't see out of the cloud. You also have advantage on any attack roll against any creature also inside the cloud. During your turn you can choose to make an attack. As an action, you can choose to do a lightning attack or thunder attack. If you choose a lightning attack, make a ranged spell attack against a creature. On a hit, an arc of lightning strikes the creature and they take 6d6 lightning damage. If you choose a thunder attack, a loud boom echos from a point you choose in the cloud, any creature within 5 feet of the point must make a constitution saving throw, on a fail, the creature takes 3d6 thunder damage and is deafened until the start of your next turn, on a success, the creature takes half damage, and isn't deafened. At the end of your turn, choose a damage type, lightning or thunder. Until the start of your next turn, every creature that starts its turn within the cloud or enters the cloud for the first time in its turn must make a dexterity saving throw if the damage is lightning, or a constitution saving throw if the damage is thunder. On a failed save the creature takes 2d8 damage of the type chosen, or half as much on a failed save
“We are the raging tempest! We are the storm! We shatter the sky!”
Cult of the Howling Hatred
The Cult of the Howling Hatred worships air as the embodiment of freedom, chaos, and destruction. Its followers see the element not as a gentle breeze or nurturing force, but as a destructive gale that sweeps away the old and stagnant to make way for unbridled chaos. To them, the ultimate expression of air’s power is the storm—wild, unyielding, and devastating.
Core Beliefs:
- Chaos is liberation; the winds tear apart structures that bind, whether they be physical, societal, or moral.
- Destruction is an art form, and the storm is its greatest masterpiece.
- Only those who surrender themselves to the tempest can rise above the constraints of mortality.
- The cult values fluidity and adaptability, preferring to strike unpredictably and disappear into the wind, leaving confusion and devastation in their wake.
Howling Hatred Initiate
Guiding Wind (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest). As a bonus action, the initiate gains advantage on the next ranged attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn. Hold Breath. The initiate can hold its breath for 30 minutes
Actions
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.
Howling Hatred initiates are attracted by the cult’s philosophy of non-attachment and the rejection of material things, unaware of the cult’s true nature. The cult attracts adherents of all kinds, from dreamy-eyed youths with little property to world-weary folk eager to put their faith in something as tangible and powerful as an elemental force. Initiates live on little but air for a month, believing that this regimen purifies them of bodily needs. In truth it makes their bodies so desperate for sustenance that they become susceptible to indoctrination. Soon, they can justify heinous acts within the context of the cult: Human sacrifice isn’t an act of murder, but a freeing of the soul from the limitations of a physical shell; conjuring a whirlwind to destroy unbelievers isn’t an act of terror but a demonstration of true faith.
Howling Hatred Priest
The priest is a 5th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 12, +4 to hit with spell attacks). It knows the following sorcerer spells:
Cantrips (at will): blade ward, Gust,* light, prestidigitation, shocking grasp
1st level (4 slots): featherfall, shield, witch bolt
2nd level (3 slots): Dust Devil,* gust of wind
3rd level (2 slots): gaseous form
Hold Breath. The priest can hold its breath for 30 minutes.
Actions
Multiattack. The priest makes two melee attacks or two ranged attacks. Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage. Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage.
The most fanatical of the air cultists, the priests push their bodies to physical extremes in order to decrease their density and mass and become as light as leaves. Gaunt and sallow faced, with concave bellies, bulging eyes, and taut skin that enunciates every bone, these living skeletons sustain themselves on nothing more than air and fanatical devotion to the teachings of the cult. The wind serves them at a gesture. Howling Hatred priests see themselves as living extensions of Yan-C-Bin, and they help new recruits cast off the shackles of their old lives and embrace a “higher purpose.” Once the new recruits are thus purified, the priests decide whether they are worthy for indoctrination as initiates or would better serve the Howling Hatred cult as sacrifices. The priests also uphold the doctrine of their prophet, Aerisi Kalinoth, and harshly punish any initiate who strays from the path. Most other air cultists hate the priests, though none dares to speak out against them. Those that challenge the priests often end up the subjects of rigorous new attempts at purification. (450 XP)
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