Monks of Ilmater often travel as wa nderers, begging
for alms, seeking enlightenment, and relieving the suf-
fe ring of others. They tend to follow the Way of th e Open
Hand, as described in the Monastic Tradition class fea-
ture in the Player's Handbook..THE SUN SOULS
The Sun Soul monks follow a monastic tradition that
they believe has its roots in the a ncie nt empire of Neth-
e ril. In the ir philosophy, living things harbor a fragment
of the sun's mystic essence within them. Just as the body
has a s hadow, so too does th e spirit have a light. That
light is called the sun soul. Brother s and sisters of the
Order of the Sun Soul train to tap into the "spiritual
light within" a nd manifest it as supernatural feats of
prowess and endurance. Members of this order follow
the Way of the Sun Soul, which is described in the "Mo-
nastic Traditions" section below.
To get in touch with their internal light, Sun Soul
monks follow a strict code of ascetic conduct calle d th e
Precepts of Incandescence. It e mphasizes three pillars:
Seek physical perfection. To open th e way for the
sun soul to manifest, one should s trive to m a ke th e
body beautiful. Fit ness, cleanliness, a nd well-honed
physicality create a clearer window through which the
light can shine.
Seek spiritual virtue. Recognize the light in others, not
just the darkness. Grant and take each new chance to
be virtuous.
Shine light into darkness. Share the soul's light with
the world. Light up dark places with your presence
a nd banish s ha dow.
Due to th e precepts' s imilarity to th e teachings of
some faiths, the Orde r of the Sun Soul has long had
associations with temples a nd the faithful of three par-
ticular deiti es: Sune, SelQne, and Lathander. The dictate
to seek physical perfection a nd recognize hidden virtue
has similarity to Sune's teachings about physical and
s piritua l beauty. Followers of SelQne recognize their
goddess's exhortation to battle darkness a nd seek vir-
tue. And of course, Lathander 's association with the sun
links to the Sun Soul philosophy, but more critically for
worshipers of Lathande r, they see th e idea of granting
and ta king new chances as similar to Lathander's em-
phasis on new beginnings.LONG DEATH MONKS
Followe rs of the Way of the Long Death worship the
principle of death more so tha n a ny deity of death.
These monks seek the secrets of life by studying death
itself. It is the condition of be ing dead that concerns
the m most, and not what lies beyond; th e afte rlife holds
little interest for them. Their monas teries are full of
decaying, dying, and dead animal and pla nt s pecime ns,
which they study with detached interest. They fr eque ntly
purchase rare specimens from adventurers a nd mer-
chants that they can't obtain easily themselves. But s uch
s tudies are only part of the monks' daily life: They seek
to understand death as it perta ins especially to intelli -
gent living beings, and to this end they eagerly welcome
the diseased and the dying so that th ey might watch and
CHAPTER 4 I CLASSES
record their deaths. If such unfortuna tes seek release
from pain through death, the monks provide it. They
view death as a gift that they bestow on those who a re
ready for it. Their means of determining readiness vary
from one sect (or even one monk) to a nother.
The monks suffer no moral qualms about these deeds,
for death is the most natural thing in the world, from
the ir pe rs pective, and to expire in service to its principle
is one of th e most profoundly holy expe ri e nces a living
being can hope to e njoy. It is for this reason that the
monks th e mselves do not fear death.
Most of the order's m e mbe rs are either scholars who
sha re mutua l fascination with death a nd dying or clergy
who worship one of the deities concerned with death.
Some of the monks consider themselves to be nothing
less than visiona ries whose work will pave the way for
a better future for all FaerQn. When death is truly un-
der stood, it can be harnessed and used as a tool for the
betterment of all, or so they rationa lize to themselves.
Monks of this tradition follow th e Way of the Long
Death, which is described in th e "Monastic Traditions"
section below.THE YIELDING WAY
The monastic order of Eldath is the Disciples of the
Yielding Way, sometimes known as the Brothers and
S is ters of the Open Palm. These monks guard sacr ed
sites whe re m a ny priests dwell, and they travel the coun-
tryside gathe ring informa tion for isolated groves and
fastnesses. They don't ever seek to provoke violence,
but are quite deadly when defe nding th emselves, their
charges, a nd th eir holy sites.MONASTIC TRADITIONS
Monks in th e Forgotten Realms have the following
Monastic Tradition options, in addition to those in the
Player's Handbook.WAY OF THE LONG DEATH
Monks of the Way of the Long Death are obsessed with
the meaning and mechanics of dying. They capture
creatures and prepare elaborate experime nts to capture,
record, a nd understand the mome nts of their demise.
They then use this knowledge to guide their understand-
ing of m a rtia l arts, yielding a deadly fighting s tyle.TOUCH OF DEATH
Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level,
your study of death allows you to extract vitality from an-
other creature as it nears its demise. When you re duce
a creature within 5 feet of you to 0 hit points, you gain
temporary hit points equa l to your Wis dom modifier +
your monk level (minimum of 1 temporary hit point).HOUR OF REAPING
At 6th level, you gain the ability to unsettle or terrify
those around you as a n action, for your soul has been
touched by the shadow of death. When you take this ac-
tion, each creature within 30 feet of you that can see you
must s ucceed on a Wis dom savin g throw or be fright-
ened of you until the end of your next turn.