Abandoned Monastery [Archive] - Wizards Community

Abandoned Monastery [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Restless
08-08-04, 09:37 PM I'm currently making up a Monestery, nestled in the Ironroot Mountians, as part of my game. It has been taken over by A Cult of the Dragon Below and the Monks they managed to convert in secrecy. The Cult has built a complex beneath the Monastery and rarly uses the Monastery now, beyond some training and guard duties. I'm having difficulty filling the old place with intresting encounters and rooms. I've only got a Garden (guarded by a uncaring Warforged Monk) which leads to the Cult's underground complex, a Library, and of course the basics, such as Monk's Cells, a large practice room, and a dining hall. I'm at a stand-still beyond that, and am having difficulty devising something with a 'Eberron' feel, to fill up the upper monastery. Any ideas would be appreicated.
Kesh
08-08-04, 11:31 PM Best source is Wizards' own website. Check out their Vicious Venues feature, Map-A-Week and other features.

For instance, I came up with an abandoned cathedral adventure using:

Altar of Ghostly Wealth (Vicious Venues)
Cathedral of Hope and Doom (Map-A-Week)
Dead Guys on Parade (Random Encounters)
Lesser Testament of Vraer (Magic Books of Faerun)
The Cult of Tharizdun (Random Encounters)

The book is on the altar, and the target of the adventure. Cultists have moved in, and are using undead as guardians.
Restless
08-09-04, 12:29 AM Wow, cool. Thanks. It helps, but I'm more looking for rooms you might find in a monastery of monks that would be cool.
MavrickWeirdo
08-09-04, 08:52 AM What "type" of monastary was it.

Historically monastaries practiced a craft or profession to support itself.

Scriptorium; Cooks (jams, fruitcake, beer, wine, ect); Candle Makers (bee-keepers); Orphanage;

Alternately they support themselves on the donations of pilgrams. This usually requires either "holy artifacts/remains" or a "holy location"

If they were followers of Dol Dorn (god of strength of arms, CG) who opposed Karrnath's use of undead, then they could have gone to the Ironroot Mountains in protest.

In time their hatred of undead could be corrupted to make them followers of the dragon below. (Making a "deal" with "aberrations" to someday remove the undead from Karrnath.)
JohnnyONeal
08-09-04, 11:56 AM I think many encounters with the monks could be interesting. Fighting human (or other common race) opponents is a cool way to play that many campaigns ignore. The challenge is to make them smart, a dynamic group of enemies rather than a bunch of monsters sitting in rooms.

Are all the monks at home right now, or are some out? If the monks are all there, the challenge for the PCs could become trying to avoid a mass alert, or learning how to fight massed enemies. If the number of monks is smaller, have the monks use hit and run tactics, healing themselves after hurting the PCs. Recently-set traps like tripwires can be a nice change of pace from the usual dungeon fare. Have the monks use their knowledge of the monastery to their advantage.

If they're affiliated with a cult of the Dragon Below, perhaps they have some cool aberrations around. It would probably be silly to have dolgrims wandering around the hallways, but perhaps they have a pit full of hungry gricks. I can definitely see a cool encounter emerging from monks bull-rushing heroes into the grick pit. Even low-level monks and low-HD gricks, combined with falling damage and difficult movement, could make for a challenging encounter.

If the monks have gone bad, are there any imprisoned monks who didn't? Perhaps the heroes can discover an ally from within.

Do some Google searches on real (ancient) monasteries to get a sense of what you might find in one. A few seconds of searching turned up the following results:

http://touregypt.net/featurestories/simeon.htm
http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~lad/fhbackground/vleybor/map.gif
http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/conway/0625d283.html

Good luck!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Restless 08-08-04, 09:37 PM	I'm currently making up a Monestery, nestled in the Ironroot Mountians, as part of my game. It has been taken over by A Cult of the Dragon Below and the Monks they managed to convert in secrecy. The Cult has built a complex beneath the Monastery and rarly uses the Monastery now, beyond some training and guard duties. I'm having difficulty filling the old place with intresting encounters and rooms. I've only got a Garden (guarded by a uncaring Warforged Monk) which leads to the Cult's underground complex, a Library, and of course the basics, such as Monk's Cells, a large practice room, and a dining hall. I'm at a stand-still beyond that, and am having difficulty devising something with a 'Eberron' feel, to fill up the upper monastery. Any ideas would be appreicated.
Kesh 08-08-04, 11:31 PM	Best source is Wizards' own website. Check out their Vicious Venues feature, Map-A-Week and other features. For instance, I came up with an abandoned cathedral adventure using: Altar of Ghostly Wealth (Vicious Venues) Cathedral of Hope and Doom (Map-A-Week) Dead Guys on Parade (Random Encounters) Lesser Testament of Vraer (Magic Books of Faerun) The Cult of Tharizdun (Random Encounters) The book is on the altar, and the target of the adventure. Cultists have moved in, and are using undead as guardians.
Restless 08-09-04, 12:29 AM	Wow, cool. Thanks. It helps, but I'm more looking for rooms you might find in a monastery of monks that would be cool.
MavrickWeirdo 08-09-04, 08:52 AM	What "type" of monastary was it. Historically monastaries practiced a craft or profession to support itself. Scriptorium; Cooks (jams, fruitcake, beer, wine, ect); Candle Makers (bee-keepers); Orphanage; Alternately they support themselves on the donations of pilgrams. This usually requires either "holy artifacts/remains" or a "holy location" If they were followers of Dol Dorn (god of strength of arms, CG) who opposed Karrnath's use of undead, then they could have gone to the Ironroot Mountains in protest. In time their hatred of undead could be corrupted to make them followers of the dragon below. (Making a "deal" with "aberrations" to someday remove the undead from Karrnath.)
JohnnyONeal 08-09-04, 11:56 AM	I think many encounters with the monks could be interesting. Fighting human (or other common race) opponents is a cool way to play that many campaigns ignore. The challenge is to make them smart, a dynamic group of enemies rather than a bunch of monsters sitting in rooms. Are all the monks at home right now, or are some out? If the monks are all there, the challenge for the PCs could become trying to avoid a mass alert, or learning how to fight massed enemies. If the number of monks is smaller, have the monks use hit and run tactics, healing themselves after hurting the PCs. Recently-set traps like tripwires can be a nice change of pace from the usual dungeon fare. Have the monks use their knowledge of the monastery to their advantage. If they're affiliated with a cult of the Dragon Below, perhaps they have some cool aberrations around. It would probably be silly to have dolgrims wandering around the hallways, but perhaps they have a pit full of hungry gricks. I can definitely see a cool encounter emerging from monks bull-rushing heroes into the grick pit. Even low-level monks and low-HD gricks, combined with falling damage and difficult movement, could make for a challenging encounter. If the monks have gone bad, are there any imprisoned monks who didn't? Perhaps the heroes can discover an ally from within. Do some Google searches on real (ancient) monasteries to get a sense of what you might find in one. A few seconds of searching turned up the following results: http://touregypt.net/featurestories/simeon.htm http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~lad/fhbackground/vleybor/map.gif http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/conway/0625d283.html Good luck!