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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 3128453" data-attributes="member: 19675">I was educated at a Catholic HS run by Cistercian monks, and even stayed in one of their monestaries in Rome while on vacation.Things to consider, in no particular order:1)  The food was simple, but fresh and plentiful.  Most was either straight from the surrounding farms that morning or raised/farmed/made by the monks themselves.  Agriculturally, the Cistercians in particular are reknown for beers, wines, liquors, and cheeses.  A jolly, rosy-cheeked brewmeister would not be out of place.2)  Some monestaries have servants, but in others, the monks and brothers do all or most of the work themselves.  Unlike Eastern monestaries, the physical exercise in a Western monestary is almost exclusively menial labor- farming, cleaning, sweeping, etc.  A PC with in-depth knowledge of herbalism and animal husbandry would be appropriate.3)  Priestly duties rule the day.  They have a rigid schedule for prayers and for performing ceremonies for the surrounding community.  Everything else in their day revolves around their prayer schedule.4)  Many monestaries had incredible libraries, and scrivening was a major way for the monesteries to make money.  The labor involved in duplicating an illuminated text was NOT cheap.  Archivists, loremasters, and the like would be common.5)  As a tangent of the skills involved in duplicating illuminated texts, many monesteries have embraced their members practicing and teaching the arts.  My own experience included a monk whose sculptures grace not only his monestary, but are also in collections all over the world, and another who gave me private lessons in classical music on his 400 year old cello.  Thus, an archetypal artist- even a PC with Bard levels- would not be out of place.6)  It wasn't uncommon in both the Western and Eastern tradition for people who had lived terrible lives to enter the monestaries in order to repent their evil deeds and recenter their lives.  There are some who posit that St. Peter was a mercenary of some skill and money before being called to the faith.  Several European rulers spent time in monesteries and cloisters.7)  Depending upon the particular religion or religious order, science was either embraced or supressed.  Some monestaries were key in preserving the works of Greek, Roman and Arabic theoriticians...while others put such works to the flame.  Both the alchemist/true scientist and the witchhunter can coexist in such a life.8)  Because of the compartmentalized structure of monastic life, it was possible to commit great evils even within the walls of the monestaries.  In a fantasy world, though, the existence of magic may make that much more difficult.9) The "idiot" may not be an idiot at all, but may just be feigning a condition in order to observe the inner workings of the monestery.  He may be an agent of the Crown, the heirarchy of the church, or some unknown power...10)  Despite their busy days, monks still have leisure time.  While some persue the arts, many more become phenomenal linguists.  Of the monks I know personally, only a couple are merely bilingual.  Many know 4 languages fluently, and fluency in 7 or more languages was not uncommon.  Someone like this could be quite worldly and well-traveled, acting as a translator or even a diplomat.</blockquote>

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