D&D General Monastaries in dungeons and dragons

[Voadam]

So does that mean all the "festhouses" around the Realms are basically monasteries too, with their "monks/nuns" being very deep in their "studies" as an act of devotion towards Sûne and Sharess?

It would fit the Elizabethan slang meaning for "nunnery", though...

Not all but I would not be surprised if some actually were. Been a while since I read the 2e god book entries on those two.

 

[Tonguez]

So does that mean all the "festhouses" around the Realms are basically monasteries too, with their "monks/nuns" being very deep in their "studies" as an act of devotion towards Sûne and Sharess?

It would fit the Elizabethan slang meaning for "nunnery", though...

Well some Mesopatamian religious practice included Sacred prostitutes, so its well within bounds of real world polytheism.

AD&D Complete Ninja's Handbook had a Consort class (skilled in romance and seduction) too

 

[Paul Farquhar]

So does that mean all the "festhouses" around the Realms are basically monasteries too, with their "monks/nuns" being very deep in their "studies" as an act of devotion towards Sûne and Sharess?

It would fit the Elizabethan slang meaning for "nunnery", though...

What they are called in game is a matter for the DM, but if you consider a monastery as an institution were a group of people gather together to dedicate themselves to serving a deity, then that is effectively what they are, yes.

So a monastery of a war god might be a military academy, a workshop or factory for a forge god, a farm for a god of agriculture, a trading company for a god of commerce, and so on.

And the D&D rules, specifically cleric subclasses, do tend to imply this kind of religion as the D&D default.

 

[Tonguez]

What they are called in game is a matter for the DM, but if you consider a monastery as an institution were a group of people gather together to dedicate themselves to serving a deity, then that is effectively what they are, yes.

So a monastery of a war god might be a military academy, a workshop or factory for a forge god, a farm for a god of agriculture, a trading company for a god of commerce, and so on.

And the D&D rules, specifically cleric subclasses, do tend to imply this kind of religion as the D&D default.

Heh, that reminds me of when I used the 500 Valiant Merchants of the Vaniyaga, as an Indian Merchants guild in my SE Asia game (not DnD). The Valiant Merchants were primarily itenerant traders bound by the Veera-Banaju Dharma (Law of the Valiant Merchants) which thus made them devotees of Varuna (god of the sea) and Kubera (god of wealth), who often built temples and hosted lavish religious festivals.

Spoiler: The Introduction to the Veera-Banaju Dharma

Famed throughout the world, adorned with many good qualities, truth, purity, good conduct, policy, condescension, and prudence; they are protectors of the Vira Bananju Dharma : the dharma of the heroic traders

having a multitude of cities and asramas at the four points of the compass. born to be wanderers over many countries, white umbrellas as their canopy, the whole earth as their homeland, the ocean as their pathway, the seven headed naga as the binding cord

by land routes and water routes penetrating into the regions of the seven continents, with superior elephants, well-bred horses, and exotic beasts, large sapphires, pearls and diamonds, cardamoms, cloves, sandal and other perfumes and drugs, all manner of good things carried on their shoulders,

selling wholesale or in the markets, they fill up the nations treasury of gold and the armoury of weapons; and from the rest they daily bestow gifts on pandits and munis;

Varuna is their standard bearer, Indra is the sword-guard, Kubera is the treasurer

 

[ilgatto]

Ninjad monked, um..., cloistered-clericed by Alzrius

 

[Scott Christian]

Guinevere holding onto Arthur's sword made an impact on my young mind.

But you are right, these are often overlooked. And will probably become invisible in D&D because of lore changes. Not that it is a bad thing, but through a game lens, it will definitely view something like a nunnery different in 2024 than in 1980.

 

[steeldragons]

I have different ones/uses. A pretty even split between the occidental and oriental varieties.

The main/largest religion of the setting has various monasteries that house male and female followers. Some are male exclusive. Some female. Titles tend to be - for the day-to-day general religious vs. the higher echelons of the church hierarchy - "Brother/Sister." Orders are led by a "Patrarc" ("pay-trark" No, I know. It's purposely not "patriarch") or "Matron" of Astar. There are "monasteries" (led by Patrarcs or Matrons) or "abbeys" (Abbots/Abbess) but not "nunneries/nuns" per se. IT would just be an all female order in a monastery or abbey.

There are monasteries know to produce certain potions or magic scrolls. But could just as easily produce wine/other liquor, honey, candles, oils (olive or other uses for cooking or essential tinctures), medicines.

The temples and collectives -which might be considered/organized in a "monastic" style- of the craftsman god might be known to produce great leather goods or carpentry products, statuary or metalworks.

The better known/more infamous include:

• The Onyx Abbey - which trains martial adepts along with shadowmagics and/or some psychic abilities, to produce ninja-like shadow-walker assassins.
• There are the elfin order of the Riv Chaliiri ("Leaf Dancers"), who are martial artist sacred archers of supernatural accuracy/perfection, exhibiting prowess and powers infused with divine magics.
• And the Scribe-Monks of Sorilore who serve the god of knowledge/histroy/the mind, who spend hours per day in meditative commnunion to chronicle "all knowledge" - the goings-on around the world - for their lord-god, Sorilore "the All Knowing." And spend hours more in aligning mind-body-spirit to perfect and maintain their physical forms for meditative focus/connections necessary to pursue their divine devotion, to record all knowledge/history for the monastery's (and by extension, their deity's) endless archives. They are the most "shaolin-esque" order I have in the world.

 

[Voadam]

2e Powers and Pantheons for Sharess:

 

[Meech17]

Unhallowed Ground, an adventure from Dungeon Magazine #54 is a neat little murder mystery type adventure that takes place in a monastery. It features the tag-line "A Monster Amonkst Us" which I really enjoy.

It was also submitted by Professor Dungeon Master, of the Dungeon Craft YouTube channel. (More recently recognizable by the occasional click bait videos/thumbnails that make the rounds here.)

I haven't run it personally, but I do like it and have it saved to hopefully run in the future.

 

[Jolly Ruby]

I used the ruins of an monastery in a campaign last year. The players went to the ruins searching for the knowledge to save an ally from death. The surface ruins were used by a cult as a homebase/military outpost and the crypts were haunted and the library where the knowledge to save the ally was inhabited by a sleeping young bronze dragon. The party befriended the dragon, found the lost knowledge and stuck a deal with the church or the god of the monastery to get rid of the cultists and deal with the curse in exchange for the right to use the land around the monastery to build a homebase.

Edit: just noticed that this adventure had a monastery, a dungeon and a dragon, just like the title.