[WIP] Zhao Guang Si monastery
Royal Scribe
🖼 326 images Mapmaker
I wanted to share and get feedback on the third of three monasteries that @Ricko and I have been collaborating on. This is the only one where I have also mapped interior parts of the monastery.
For context, here is the description that Ricko wrote:
Situated in a hidden valley where the morning mist never quite dissipates, Zhao Guang Si (Temple of the Morning Glow) is a place where deceptive beauty hides a dark core. Despite its poetic name, the temple is synonymous with silent death and lethal precision. Here, under the first rays of dawn, apprentices learn the art of killing. The morning glow symbolizes the last moment many see before their silent and ordered death.
The Dark Environment
The temple, with its angular and austere architecture, is surrounded by twisted trees and a river of dark waters that flows silently like clotted blood. The black stone walls are decorated with murals depicting stories of betrayal, revenge and glory gained by force. The only constant sound is the echo of calculated footsteps in the cold corridors. Lanterns covered with red veils create a blood-red glow, making the environment even more somber and oppressive. Life and Training
Those who come to Zhao Guang Si are desperate, rejected, or ambitious, seeking a new identity. Under the watchful eye of their masters, known as the Shadows of Dawn, the apprentices undergo intense and cruel training.
• Physical Training: They climb cliffs without ropes, traverse fields filled with deadly traps, and duel to exhaustion, all to strengthen their bodies and reflexes.
• Mental Training: They are taught to hide emotions, manipulate the minds of their targets, and plan assassinations with surgical precision.
• Practice of Forbidden Magic: The temple houses ancient grimoires containing magics that grant temporary invisibility, silencing voices, and even cursing the senses. These spells demand sacrifices, often blood, making the price of power high.
The Bond with the Emperor
Although few would admit it, rumors persist that the temple has deep ties to the imperial throne. Men of the Emperor’s Personal Guard, known for their lethality and unquestioning loyalty, are said to have received secret training at Zhao Guang Si. Some claim that the emperor himself is the temple’s greatest patron, using its resources to eliminate rivals and consolidate power.
Legends and Intrigues
The temple is shrouded in dark tales:
• The Ritual of the Scarlet Mist: It is said that an assassin can sacrifice his soul to merge with the shadows, becoming invincible for a night. But few return from this ritual unharmed.
• The Echo of the Morning Glow: Legend has it that those who hear a whisper at dawn are marked for death by a blade that will emerge from the temple.
• The Faceless Master: A mysterious leader who never reveals his identity rules the temple. Some say he is an ancient spirit who has ruled the place for centuries.
A Haven of Questionable Morality
Zhao Guang Si is not just a temple; it is a training ground, a storehouse of forbidden knowledge, and a center for the trade of death. Those who enter rarely leave, but for those who survive the rigorous training, life outside the shadows becomes irrelevant.
In the dim light of dawn, under the treacherous glow of morning, Zhao Guang Si molds assassins, manipulates destinies, and remains a dark pillar in the region's balance of power.
And here is the exterior:
I will post the interior maps as follow-up comments in this thread.
Comments
Here are the five above-ground levels of the temple. As the description notes, the lanterns are covered with a red gauze (except in the library), which gives everything an ominous red glow.
First Floor
Second Floor
(Most of it is a balcony overlooking the statue on the first floor.)
Third Floor
Fourth Floor
Fifth Floor
And here's the temple's basement. Here, monks who have passed their initiation tests live (there are above-ground barracks for the trainees, but only a fraction of them survive the training). While senior monks are entombed in the crypts when they pass away, trainees and more junior monks are cremated, and their remains are kept in urns in the columbarium. The ritual room includes a teleportation portal that can take senior monks to the "Trial of the Elements" dungeon, and this is where the initiates who have survived that trial appear at the end.
Oh, but wait, there's more: two secret passageways that connect to a secret escape route (revealed by unchecking the SECRET layer). One route is accessed through one of the sarcophagi that conceals stairs that descend (love that symbol, always need a reason to include it).
More to come in a bit...
The trainees who survive still have two final tests before they graduate: the Trial of Fire and Ice, and the Trial of the Elements. Those who succeed at both trials will join the ranks of the monks of Zhao Guang Si. Those who fail are generally dead.
For the Trial of Fire and Ice, the initiate must climb the cliff walls without benefit of rope and then make their way through the Hu0 Yu Bing Caverns to the Labyrinth of Fire and Ice, a path magically made of ice and molten lava.
In addition to venomous snakes and giant spiders, the caverns are home to two undead perils as well. When a trainee dies in the caverns, their body is left to rot. Once the worms have picked the bones clean, their bones reanimate as a skeleton, and will attack the next trainees who enter. In addition, their spirits also haunt the caverns and can attack those who enter. (I used purple will-o-wisps to look like the spirits' eyes.)
There are two magical shards of crystal that trainees can try to get, which will help with both the Labyrinth of Fire and Ice as well as with the Trial of the Elements. The first is a shard from a red crystal on the other side of a pool of lava. If the lava wasn't barrier enough, the room is also guarded by a pair of lesser demons.
The second is a blue crystal on the other side of an icy lake in a room guarded by a pair of ice devils.
Trainees don't need to even try to get shards from either crystal, but they will sure help if they do.
At the end of the caverns is the Labyrinth of Fire and Ice: an icy path marked by red hot lava. A statue on the other side of the room will animate when anyone enters, and tell them that the only exit is a teleportation portal in the center of the labyrinth. It will only activate for those who walk the path. If anyone attempts to bypass the path, it will not activate.
Every turn that a trainee walks the path, they must make a Constitution saving throw. Failing results in cold damage unless they possess a shard of the blue crystal. They must also make a Dexterity saving throw every turn. Failing means they slip and touch the lava, resulting in fire damage unless they possess the red shard.
If they make it to the teleportation circle in the center, they are teleported to the Trial of the Elements.
Trainees who survive the Trial of Fire and Ice are teleported to the Trial of the Elements. This is actually five separate, disconnected caverns that can only be accessed through teleportation portals.
Trainees appear on a teleportation portal on a dais in the center of an octagonal room. There are four daises on four of the walls, each with a teleportation portal. Before each is a circle inscribed with runes and a sigil marking their element: a cloud with a lightning bolt on the east for the Trial of Air; a symbol of flame on the south for the Trial of Fire; a drop of water on the west for the Trial of Water; and a gem on the north for the Trial of Earth.
There are four statues on the remaining corners: a cat, a winged person, a snake, and a demon's skull. When the room is entered, the skull statue will speak and tell trainees that they may embark on a psychic contest of wills with each statue to receive a benefit that will help their trials. For each, the Game Master will roll a d20+5. The trainee rolls a d20 and adds their Wisdom bonus. If the trainee's is higher, they win the contest and receive a magical benefit that lasts 24 hours. If they fail, there is no harm but they do not receive the bonus and cannot try again.
Success against the cat statue grants the magical ability of Spider Climb for 24 hours, while the winged statue grants Feather Fall, the snake grants immunity to poisons and venom, and the skull grants immunity to electrical/lightning damage. These benefits only last 24 hours.
Trainees can tackle the trials in any order they choose, but cannot teleport out until they have survived all four.
Trial of Air
Trainees must cross a cloudy room by leaping from pillar to pillar. If they slip, it's a 30 foot drop, and they will take damage unless they have Feather Fall. Some of the pillars delivery electrical damage unless they have immunity. And they may also be attacked by flying creatures (signified by hawks here, but Game Masters may choose to use harpies, elementals, or other flying creatures).
If they make it to the dais on the far wall, they can take a shard of crystal and be teleported back to the central room.
I'm not thrilled with how to tops of the outcrops look. Any recommendation on sheet effects settings is welcome.
Trial of Fire
Here, trainees leap from pillar to pillar, trying to avoid falling into the lava. (If they acquired a red crystal from the Trial of Fire and Ice, that will come in handy here.) There are also Fire Elementals (I used bonfire symbols from Darklands City -- love Mike Schley's newest symbol but the style didn't really work here.)
Trial of Water
The water is swimmable if trainees fall in, but it's icy cold and they will take damage unless they have a blue shard from the Trial of Fire and Ice. There are also sharks in the water as well as tentacle creatures.
Trial of Earth
This room is filled with venomous snakes and giant spiders, and diseased giant rats, so immunity to poison would be helpful here. The mushrooms are also poisonous if anyone is foolish enough to eat them.
Trainees who collect a shard from each of the rooms can activate the teleportation portal in the main room, which will transport them to the Ritual Room in the temple's basement.
Any recommendations on sheet effects, especially for the tops of the outcrops, are welcome.