I'd love some advice and suggestion for an upcoming game...
The party consists of the following:
a moonelven boy contortionist/acrobat;
a female human bard/sage with a mysterious past;
a Damaran cleric of Illmater (god of suffering);
a dour moonelven mercenary;
and a centaur whose tribe was recently captured by slavers.
The party is based out of Phlan and is awaiting the trial of a local merchant-noble who was involved with a number of nefarious plots (the PC's are witnesses in the trial). Anyway, Matathias, the Priest of Illmater is the issue at hand.
Matathias was schooled in the temple of Illmater in Heliogabalus, Damara. The young man was on the fast track to one day become a brother in the Monastery of the Yellow Rose (a well respected monastic order) and his future seemed bright within the church hierarchy. During his tenure in the temple of Heliogabalus, he became friends with a tightly knight group of fellow students, who held the secret belief that the suffering was not truly understood nor appreciated in the temple any longer. He and his zealous friends would punish each other very severely for infractions against Illmater or their own self-made rules. It was during such a punishment that one of the group died due to the wounds inflicted.
The friends tried to hide the body and their crime, but in the end it was discovered. The group was split up, and their fates individually decided. Matathias was brought under the direct tutelage of Olma Starag, the head of the temple within Heliogabalus. After he finished his schooling, Matathias was told to leave and find his redemption in the world.
As part of his self-inflicted punishment, Matathias burns his holy symbol of Illmater into his flesh every night since leaving the temple. He has trekked to Phlan, a city known for its hardy spirit and long-suffering history. Phlan was once also the home of a grand temple to Illmater, but it became corrupted and was taken over by Banites. The temple now lies in ruins, the Banites having been driven away by adventurers a few years back.
In Phlan, Matathias joined a small group of adventurers and has learned much of the world outside of the temple. He has written Revered Mother Olma Starag with a request to be allowed admittance into the Monastery of the Yellow Rose to become a monk.
I don’t think I want to yet do an adventure that leads the players to the Monastery; I’d rather save that for later. So instead I was thinking that the Monastery would send a representative out to Phlan (additionally, they are very interested in restoring the old temple there) to test Matathias and see if he is worthy. If he is found so, he will be taught some of the skills of the Monastery by the representative until he is deemed fit to go to the Monastery of the Yellow Rose.
What I need help with is figuring out how they plan to see if he is “worthy”. What would be a good test? I’m thinking that they’ll send one monk and an old paladin to Phlan. There the monk has a bard-friend that is able to use illusions, so it might involve the representatives disguising themselves as someone in need or suffering…
Well, information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!
For information on Illmater, god of suffering:
http://dinmanlab.umd.edu/games/holyep/deities/illmater.htm
The party consists of the following:
a moonelven boy contortionist/acrobat;
a female human bard/sage with a mysterious past;
a Damaran cleric of Illmater (god of suffering);
a dour moonelven mercenary;
and a centaur whose tribe was recently captured by slavers.
The party is based out of Phlan and is awaiting the trial of a local merchant-noble who was involved with a number of nefarious plots (the PC's are witnesses in the trial). Anyway, Matathias, the Priest of Illmater is the issue at hand.
Matathias was schooled in the temple of Illmater in Heliogabalus, Damara. The young man was on the fast track to one day become a brother in the Monastery of the Yellow Rose (a well respected monastic order) and his future seemed bright within the church hierarchy. During his tenure in the temple of Heliogabalus, he became friends with a tightly knight group of fellow students, who held the secret belief that the suffering was not truly understood nor appreciated in the temple any longer. He and his zealous friends would punish each other very severely for infractions against Illmater or their own self-made rules. It was during such a punishment that one of the group died due to the wounds inflicted.
The friends tried to hide the body and their crime, but in the end it was discovered. The group was split up, and their fates individually decided. Matathias was brought under the direct tutelage of Olma Starag, the head of the temple within Heliogabalus. After he finished his schooling, Matathias was told to leave and find his redemption in the world.
As part of his self-inflicted punishment, Matathias burns his holy symbol of Illmater into his flesh every night since leaving the temple. He has trekked to Phlan, a city known for its hardy spirit and long-suffering history. Phlan was once also the home of a grand temple to Illmater, but it became corrupted and was taken over by Banites. The temple now lies in ruins, the Banites having been driven away by adventurers a few years back.
In Phlan, Matathias joined a small group of adventurers and has learned much of the world outside of the temple. He has written Revered Mother Olma Starag with a request to be allowed admittance into the Monastery of the Yellow Rose to become a monk.
I don’t think I want to yet do an adventure that leads the players to the Monastery; I’d rather save that for later. So instead I was thinking that the Monastery would send a representative out to Phlan (additionally, they are very interested in restoring the old temple there) to test Matathias and see if he is worthy. If he is found so, he will be taught some of the skills of the Monastery by the representative until he is deemed fit to go to the Monastery of the Yellow Rose.
What I need help with is figuring out how they plan to see if he is “worthy”. What would be a good test? I’m thinking that they’ll send one monk and an old paladin to Phlan. There the monk has a bard-friend that is able to use illusions, so it might involve the representatives disguising themselves as someone in need or suffering…
Well, information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!
For information on Illmater, god of suffering:
http://dinmanlab.umd.edu/games/holyep/deities/illmater.htm
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