Connects to: 19.31.03 and 40.20.01.
Overview
This mountain rises like a blade from the rocky coastline. It is named in honor of the Pilgrim, an old god of the Undying Cycle (19.31.03). A monastery at the foot of the spire honors the Pilgrim’s journey beyond Death’s Door by sending worthy brothers and sisters to scale the twenty thousand steps to the mountaintop. A beast known as the Basilisk dwells at the peak of the mountain, anyone it gazes upon turns to stone. It is said that brothers or sisters who can overcome the Basilisk ascend to heaven in a lightning bolt that erupts from the earth. This has not happened in living memory. Statues of brothers and sisters, frozen mid-stride, cover the twenty thousand steps. The steps are considered sacred, and returning any of the statues to flesh is considered an abomination.
As they hone their minds and spirits through meditation and fellowship, the brothers and sisters of Pilgrim’s Spire also train themselves to move unseen and anticipate danger. The martial art they developed is called the Pilgrim’s Way. It is popular among thieves and assassins. Masters of the form can slip into one shadow and spring from a different shadow far away. Rumors tell of grandmasters who can make themselves invisible at whim, regardless of his or her surroundings. Others are said to be prescient enough to know the exact moment of anyone’s death. Gnoll raiders have attacked the monastery persistently since its founding. Fortunately, the most important relics and texts are hidden deep within the Spire, and are only accessible via shadow leaping. The monastery’s outer buildings are built on ruins of ruins. Prospective brothers and sisters are expected to be at least passable bricklayers.
Connections
- The Dust Men are a sect of these monks that believe in teaching the world that material things are worthless, often by stealing money and wasting on bizarre stunts (40.20.01).
Hooks
- What is the Basilisk? Who has overcome it, and how?
- How can the Pilgrim’s Way be popular among thieves and assassins? Do brothers and sisters willingly train such people?
- What happens when a master of the Pilgrim’s Way disappears into a shadow and jumps from another? Does it involve planar travel? If so, how does someone with no magical training achieve such a feat?
- Do the grandmasters live up to their reputations?
- How do gnolls manage to repeatedly sack a monastery filled with martial artists?
