The Monks of Ivgorod

Ascetic warrior-monks of a distant eastern theocracy, devoted to the Thousand and One Gods.

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Origins and structure

The Monks come from Ivgorod, a walled and snowbound theocracy in the far east, governed by the Sahptev faith. Sahptev doctrine holds that a thousand and one gods inhabit the world, a deity for every stone, storm, and idea, encompassing gods of order and gods of chaos alike, so that the world itself is regarded as scripture written in matter. Ivgorod is ruled by the nine Patriarchs, held to be reincarnate and eternal: four devoted to Order, four to Chaos, and one who holds the balance between them. The order carries out their decrees.

The Monks are trained from childhood in the temple cloisters, enduring harsh trials that temper body and spirit into a single instrument.

Beliefs and outlook

A Monk’s strength comes from discipline rather than spellcraft. They channel divine will through mantras of retribution, healing, protection, and conviction, chants that strengthen a strike or mend a wound. Sahptev belief treats order and chaos as equally holy, and the Monks accept both without contradiction. Outsiders rarely encounter them, and tend to read their certainty as severe, even fanatical.

Ties to Tristram

A Monk abroad is anointed after a lifetime of preparation and sent out to serve the Patriarchs’ will beyond the reach of the temple walls. There are recent reports that Ivgorod’s borders are troubled and its gods restless, though the temple offers no explanation, and one of its Monks has been sent into Sanctuary toward the events around Tristram.

Player character ideas

Example motivations:

• The body perfected through discipline as a form of worship.
• Order and chaos honored as equally holy.
• Certainty of purpose and readiness to act on the Patriarchs’ will.

Suggested classes: Monk (Way of the Open Hand, Way of Mercy, Way of the Four Elements), Cleric (Order Domain).