In many campaign settings for the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

, Grumbar is the "Elemental Lord of the Earth."

Publication history

Ed Greenwood

Ed Greenwood

Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...

 created Grumbar for his home Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

 game, inspired by the deity Grome, of Michael Moorcock

Michael Moorcock

Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....

's Elric stories.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

Ed Greenwood

Ed Greenwood

Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...

 initially used Grome, one of Moorcock

Michael Moorcock

Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....

's Elemental gods as found in the original Deities & Demigods

Deities & Demigods

Deities & Demigods , alternatively known as Legends & Lore , is a reference book for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game . The book provides descriptions and game statistics of gods and legendary creatures from various sources in mythology and fiction...

, as the elemental lord of earth for his home Dungeons & Dragons campaign set in the Forgotten Realms

Forgotten Realms

The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...

. As Greenwood indicated in his article "Down-to-earth Divinity" in Dragon

Dragon (magazine)

Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...

 #54 (October 1981), Moorcock's elemental gods "may later be replaced in [his] universe by "official" AD&D beings as these are published". Grumbar first appeared in the original Manual of the Planes

Manual of the Planes

The Manual of the Planes is a manual for the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. This text addresses the planar cosmology of the game universe....

 (1987), and was featured as one of the elemental lords for the Forgotten Realms in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Sets "Cyclopedia of the Realms" booklet (1987).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

Grumbar was described in the hardback Forgotten Realms Adventures

Forgotten Realms Adventures

Forgotten Realms Adventures is an accessory for the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...

 (1990), the revised Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1993) in the "Running the Realms" booklet, and Faiths & Avatars

Faiths & Avatars

Faiths & Avatars is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign expansion book. The book was designed by Julia Martin with Eric L. Boyd, and additional design by Ed Greenwood, L. Richard Baker III, and David Wise...

 (1996).

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000-2007)

Grumbar appears as one of the major deities of the Forgotten Realms setting again, in Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (2001), and is further detailed in Faiths and Pantheons

Faiths and Pantheons

Faiths and Pantheons is a campaign accessory for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons, for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.-Contents:...

 (2002).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-Present)

Grumbar appears in the fourth edition as a primordial.

Description

He is closely associated with solidity, unchanging forms, and the earth. He is known for his insouciance to his devoted followers; thus, the Church formed in his name is heterogeneous and chaotic. His alignment

Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, alignment is a categorization of the ethical and moral perspective of people, creatures and societies....

 is Neutral.

Grumbar's foe is usually Akadi

Akadi

In the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, Akadi is the goddess of Movement, Speed, and Air Elementals. Her alignment is primarily Neutral, and the symbol of Akadi is usually represented by a pale cloud on a blue background.-Publication history:...

, and he has dependable allies in Kurtulmak

Kurtulmak

In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Kurtulmak is the chief deity worshipped by the kobold race. He is a member of the default pantheon....

 and Dumathoin

Dumathoin

In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Dumathoin is the patron of mountain dwarves, and the dwarf deity of mining and underground exploration. He is also the protector of the dwarven dead. His holy symbol is a cut, faceted gem inside of a mountain.-Publication...

. The holy symbol of Grumbar is a sardonyx combined with the symbol of Grumbar (mountains of earth) and is worn by priests of Grumbar.