THE MONASTERY
The Monastery
a massive frame. To those who study within the monastery, the test of the pins represents a pinnacle of coordination and precision that they hope to one-day master. Daily they see the masters walk up to the stones, push their fingers between them, and then thrust one arm then the other between the pins, rolling them back and forth in preparation for the day’s training.
T
he monk is, perhaps, the ultimate survivalist. More than any other class, a monk is capable of surviving and even thriving without a single weapon or piece of equipment. Still, few monks are as foolish as to not prepare for any eventuality they may face, and their own disciplines have given rise to a bewildering array of equipment options.
Hardening Pins: 150 gp, 700 lb.
New Feat: Between the Stones
Your hands and arms are unusually tough. Prerequisites: Wis 13+, Improved Unarmed Strike, Base Attack Bonus +4 Benefit: You have undergone the training required to thrust your hands between the hardening pins without harm. If you take a full defence action in the round, you gain DR equal to your Wisdom bonus against crushing attacks in addition to the AC bonus.
Back Staff
One of the most difficult things for a young monk to learn is how to keep his back perfectly straight while moving through the postures of his basic form. This simple device assists with that. It consists of a four-foot staff with a curve on one end and three hoops of leather. The instructor fastens the staff to his student, providing a physical reminder of how to keep proper alignment though out the exercises. While wearing a back-staff the character gains +1 to his roll to resist trip and grapple attempts but also loses 5 ft from his movement rate in the round.
Hourglass
Although a common item in arcane laboratories, the glass hourglass finds use as a meditation aid and training device in many monasteries. This simple time keeping device has two glass bulbs attached by a very thin tube. Every hourglass measures a specific length of time (usually 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes) depending on its size and the amount of sand within. Monks who use an hourglass for meditation attempt to “slow down” the sand as it falls, adjusting their personal perspective of time. Some masters claim to be able to reverse the sands, although no one can prove it.
Back Staff: 7 gp, 3 lb.
Bucket Knives
True monastic training includes intensive physical discipline along with mental and spiritual training. The bucket knives represent a grim reminder of this. Each bucket knife is a leather band with a dull knife blade attached though it. These knives attach to the wearer’s upper arms, with the blades pointed towards his torso. The wearer then lifts two buckets filled with sand, water, or stones. When he slips or his arms become tired, the blades dig into his chest to remind him to keep his arms up. Training with the bucket knives generates the basic physical conditioning needed to utilize the monks’ remarkable physical power generation abilities.
Hourglass: 15 gp; 1⁄2 lb.
Plum Flower Posts
There are a hundred variations on the plum flower posts, each one ardently adhered to by their designers. The original design involved nine four-foot tall posts, about six inches across and approximately three feet apart. The student would step from post to post while practicing a form or sparing to practice balance and control of motion. Over the years this simple design became more complex, leading to so-called ‘post forests’ consisting of rising spirals, mismatched height posts, and other configurations. Students who train on the posts for at a least one-week every month
Bucket Knives: 2 gp, 2 lb.
Hardening Pins
This staple of monastery life looks to outsiders like two large cylinders of stone, held together by
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