[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?

[DarkRanger]

Can never have too many orcs and half-orcs.

[Wids]

Maybe. But what about the monastery concepts? If I went back to Thayan's suggested idea about establishing a Monk-friendly faction somewhere down the road, which idea would better mesh with Thay's monk population and/or Thay's culture and climate as a whole?

[DarkRanger]

Hm, either one works. The vampires and lycans are more outcast and in need of a haven. Second one sounds a bit like Ilmater gone vigilante.

[Gatalis]

Personal Favorite monastery orders:

Ilmater-
The Disciples of St. Sollars the Twice-Martyred (Work with genealogy)
Broken Ones (Ilmater's version of the Scarlet Murmurs, personally my favorite one)
Sisters of St. Jasper of the Rocks (If I remember correctly, St. Jasper of the Rocks more or less martyred herself on some coastline or another fighting evil, so they try to replicate her example)

Kossuth-
Brothers and Sisters of The Pure Flame (Try to be like a Fire Elemental, balancing the destructive and creative aspects)

Oghma-
Children of the Passive Voice (Defend Libraries/knowledge)

[Wids]

Hm, either one works. The vampires and lycans are more outcast and in need of a haven. Second one sounds a bit like Ilmater gone vigilante.

I was thinking more along the lines of "Mr. Bumble's workhouse from Oliver Twist". Fair points you make, though. I reckon I'll go ahead and make my choice, then. Thanky. :)

[MoreThanThree]

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?

I've been mulling over the idea of a Luthic Half-orc who lives the tragic reverse of the male half-orc's stereotype, so I like this latter idea the better.

[Wids]

I did play a half-orc Druid of Luthic back on Pirate Isles, come to think of it. Earth and caves are part of nature too (not to mention the whole "breeding like bunnies" thing). So she compared everything to caves and rocks and such. It was a neat concept. Luthic doesn't get enough love, not with that gloryhound Gruumsh hogging all the attention....

[Wids]

So Vespera should be getting close to having enough Notoriety to join the Merchants and Mercenaries; maybe about forty- or fifty-thousand Talons after that, it'll be time to set up that monastery, cloister or priory. And I should probably pick a building on the edges or outskirts of a less defended settlement (if only so any visiting creatures of the night won't have as many guards to dart past while they're running for sanctuary).

So that leads me to more questions:

1) If Vespera can keep the ball rolling, I'm thinking that the monastery should be a more ecumenical faction...say, a future faction for Lawful Evil monks, with a number of minor shrines (for the deific orders), libraries and meditation chambers, perhaps with some sort of interior tomb as well (for vampires and other undead guests, as well as the not-so-deific orders, like the Order of the Long Death, who don't normally get along so well with the undead, but it's all about compromise, right?). So the monastic orders which might be compatible with such a monastery could include the Dark Moon (of course), the White Rod, the Iron Gauntlet, the Long Death, the Scarlet Scourge...possibly the Runeclaws, the Salamanders or the Serpent Guards...anyone else?

2) There are plenty of light objects and fire objects to make a house's interior brighter. But would there happen to be any objects capable of making a house's interior darker?

3) I haven't tried the key duplicators yet, but would there happen to be any way to make different keys compatible for different doors within the house? It would be useful to have if, for example, certain areas of the cloister were permitted to adepts and master monks but not to initiates.

4) One question with which Vespera has personally grappled once or twice: Would lycanthropes be considered children of Shar (and thus, potential allies) or children of Selune (and thus, likely enemies)?

5) Any other thoughts or concerns?

[dark_majico]

As far as I k now lycanthropes have nothing to do with Shar and she has nothing to do with them, but Selune is the patron of good lycans her clergy destroy evil ones, and I think Malar has the evil lycanthropes.