[Wids]

So recently I've come to a couple of realizations:

1) I haven't played Eilbren in well over a year now. She's so old that, even after the rollback earlier this year, she had the old octagonal White Wench portal stone. So it's time for me to retire her Level 9 butt and roll out a new (Level 4? Level 4-and-a-half?) character in her place.

2) Back when I was playing Jaliskar Duskpyre, I was trying to build her up and establish Thay's first monastery, a new faction for monks. Then the rollback happened, Jaliskar was uncreated and I simply haven't bothered to recreate her (since I think I'd rather go with a straight Monk than a Monk/Sorcerer like Jaliskar was).

3) I'm pretty sure that I've lost interest in Zelis; she's already Level 7, and I still haven't decided on a faction, an overarching quest or any possible endgame for her. That's usually a bad sign. So maybe I should demote Zelis to "rainy day character" status and make the monk character my third main, right underneath Corella and Wyren.

So after chatting with Bishop Edward about monks and vampires and such, I'm now torn between two ways to go with this monk:

1) Human Monk (pale-skinned, black-haired, as Gothy-looking as I can manage).
Monastic Order: The Order of the Dark Moon. (Shar's monastic order. Like Jaliskar, this Monk will be with the Order of the Dark Moon. Unlike Jaliskar, this Monk will be a pureclassed Monk.)
New Monastery Concept: A "house of darkness" where vampires, lycans and other children of the night can come and to learn to defend themselves against those "oppressive and unjust" Lathanderians, Tormtar and other "persecutors". Come Level 8, I go for the "Become a vampire" quest, as vampirism would fit one of Shar's Monks quite nicely. A shrine of Shar would be included, and followers of Selune or Mystra would be distinctly unwelcome at this monastery, risking violent expulsion from the grounds if they so little as jest about following Shar's mortal enemies. One or more chambers with multiple coffins or sarcophagi would also be included, for those vampires and vampire spawn who plan on staying with the monastery indefinitely.

2) Half-Orc Monk (basically Karshag, my present "rainy day" half-Mulan, half-gray-orc half-orc with a checkered, concealed past and a keen reverence for Luthic, the orcish goddess of home, family and fertility...just rerolled after I sacrifice Eilbren, that's all.)
Monastic Order: The Runeclaws. (Luthic's monastic order. In orcish society, the men universally treat their women like second-class citizens, confining the women to their villages and denying them the right to take up arms. Orcish women have responded to the oppression by devising the Runeclaws' unarmed fighting style, so that the women aren't completely defenseless whenever their village comes under attack by this enemy orcish tribe, that Uthgardt tribe, that dwarven city or whoever the raiders of the day happen to be.)
New Monastery Concept: A "martial arts dojo/family help center" where Thayan women, children and (maybe) select men can come to receive food and shelter from abusive spouses or parents, broken homes, destroyed homes or various other threats to the stability of the ideal nuclear family, in exchange for lists of chores for the ward's charges to attend and with the able-bodied charges offered training in the Runeclaws fighting style in order to fend off bitter exes and the like. Of course, when there's a Lawful Evil half-orc running the show, "family crisis relief and counseling" can take on a whole new meaning; particularly troublesome or incalcitrant family members may be sold into slavery or otherwise removed from the family unit, with the ones left behind pleasantly assured that "Your family will be better off without him/her. Trust me." A shrine to Luthic would be included, and while elves and dwarves would be tolerated within the monastery's walls, they would be closely watched; even with Karshag, the vestiges of orcish stories and prejudices against those "dwarven vandals" and "backstabbing, bloodthirsty elves" have left their marks.


Either way, I'll be trying to buy a Manor for the new monastery as soon as I can. So which monastery/possible future faction (or which Monk) would better benefit this server, in your opinion?