Background
The Monastery of the Untouchable Mind is found near the base of the Muninn waterfall. People come from far and wide to expand their minds at the monastery. Prospective students are taught about mindscapes, dreams and how to manipulate them. Advanced students train to master their inner thoughts and wield them as weapons in psychic duels. The monastery also takes in psychics who are just discovering their powers. They learn the basics of psychic magic, so they are not a danger to the world around them. Many people also visit the monastery seeking healing for afflictions of the mind. The masters of the monastery are skilled in dealing with charms, compulsions, and possessions.
The monastery was founded over five hundred years ago by Grandmaster Sigmund. Sigmund is a tulpa who appears as a serene elderly human with a beard down to his waist. His long flowing robes and beard are always in motion as if a gentle breeze is affecting only him. Grandmaster Sigmund takes immense joy in teaching. He frequently leads group lessons in everything from dueling techniques to cooking tips. He built the Monastery of the Untouchable Mind to spread his love of teaching to others. The exact nature of Sigmund’s creation as a tulpa is a closely guarded secret. His creator is thought to be hidden somewhere safe to ensure the continuation of Sigmund’s existence.
Inhabitants
Besides Grand Master Sigmund, there are five masters who teach at the monastery. The master of mindscapes is an always smiling dwarf named Noam. Master Noam gives his students the fundamentals of a topic and allows them to try new things at their own pace. He usually only steps in to keep lessons on track, or to correct grave misconceptions. The master of dreams is a standoffish elf called Thales. Unlike master Noam, master Thales pushes his students hard. He will thrust them into dreams or nightmares without their knowledge. He is not outwardly cruel and simply prefers the sink or swim method of teaching. Psychic duels are taught by master Gall, a well-spoken half-orc. He drills his students in standardized maneuvers until they become second nature. The master of psychic magic is an astomoi called Jung. He knows his race is considered exotic and politely responds to non-probing questions. Master Jung prepares individualized lessons because he knows every mind is unique. Not every psychic activates their powers in the same way. The master healer and exorcist at the monetary is Bandura a joke-cracking tengu. He is undeniably the busiest of the masters because he deals directly with petitioners. Master Bandura also trains students to recognize the subtle signs of magical enchantments.
Potential students who wish to learn at the monastery are tested by Grandmaster Sigmund. The purpose of the test is to ascertain their true intentions. Those seeking mastery of the mind for good and noble purposes are admitted. While those with evil or selfish reasons are turned away. New students are given plain robes of rough gray fabric and provided a narrow cot. They are also given three plain but nourishing meals a day during their stay. When not training with the masters or studying, students are required to spend some portion of each day working in the monastery gardens. Not only does this discipline the mind, it also puts food in the monastery’s stores.
Recent Events
A group of heroes has brought a dangerous intelligent artifact to the monastery. It is a sword that has a corrupting influence on the minds of anyone who draws near. The heroes hope the monastery can study the artifact enough to learn how to dismantle it. If destroying the sword is impossible then it can at least stay hidden from the world at the monastery. The sword is kept under lock and key, with only the masters and Grandmaster allowed to examine it. The intelligence within the sword resents its imprisonment. It did not take long for the sword to recognize that the masters are too powerful for it to overcome. It has started reaching out to the students in training. Some of them have begun to act out of character as the sword briefly touches their minds.
Master Thales has been feuding with a uinuja azata. The uinuja disagrees with how master Thales has been using dreams to instruct his students. To a uinuja dreams are places of wonder and discovery and not simply harsh training grounds. As a result, master Thales’s students have had much more restful dreams of late. The uinuja has been altering the dreams much to master Thales consternation. So far no one has been able to drive the uinuja away or prevent it from entering dreams. It says it will leave once master Thales acknowledges the true nature of dreams. Master Thales response to all this has been to double down on his teaching methods.
A local child has been brought to the monastery in a deep coma. Upon examination, it appears the child is trapped in a mindscape of unbelievable complexity. Master Noam has never seen mindscape with this level of detail before. He has been leading students on short excursions to locate the child and study the mindscape. During the excursions, multiple students have become convinced the child’s mindscape is real. When this happens, they have to be pulled out against their will and sent to Bandura for healing. Unfortunately, the child has yet to be spotted on any of the excursions. What has been found are a series of crudely drawn arrows pointing deeper into the mindscape.
Drag & Drop Encounter (CR 10)
The dream shimmers into focus around you. You’re standing in a walled courtyard with trees and flowers in bloom. Behind you, a bell tower begins chiming the hour. A voice from nowhere whispers in your ear, “Always stay aware of your surroundings. Dreams have a way of getting away from you.” As the voice fades an ephemeral figure rises up from the ground like smoke. The figure appears to be your great aunt, except she has a beard of bees. She charges towards you yelling in an incomprehensible language. As you ready yourself, the bell reaches its final toll you feel yourself beginning to slip away into the sky.
