The Durheim Monastery — Update 1.1 (Patreon)

Both the setting and subclass documents have been re-uploaded with the changes listed in the update log at the bottom of the page. Be sure to redownload them!

Deep within the Daruuhma mountain range, otherworldly spires of solid rock pierce the earth and soar well over a thousand feet in the air. These towers of dark stone are covered in hardy, pine-filled forests and cast foreboding, block-like shadows across the nearly untouched world below. These are the infamous Daruuhma Spires, and they are as much a destination for the thrill-seeking adventurer as they are an eventuality for many of the world’s wandering lost souls.

For reasons unknown, this forested range is separated from the Ethereal Plane by only a thin veil: an effect called an Ethereal Nexus. As a result, ghosts of untethered, long-departed souls will almost invariably find their way to the region: destined to wander the sprawling, uninhabited wilds for all time. At the same time, these miraculous landmarks attract some of the world’s most talented journeymen and climbers, or at least those who would claim to be as much. The lingering ghosts of such unsuccessful climbers—their deaths typically the result of a poorly placed rope or pylon—have been known to haunt the spires’ sheer cliff faces and narrow passageways to force other climbers to meet similar ends as their own. This gruesome crossover and over-abundance of death and cursed souls, coupled with the grave-like spires that tower over the landscape, have earned the region the name of the Field of Graves.

Resting atop a cluster of three such spires is the Durheim Monastery: the reclusive home to an order of monks dedicated to navigating the veil of the Material and Ethereal in order to guide these lost souls to their eternal rest. The monastery often has a misplaced reputation among those that know of it for being haunted by vicious spirits. Stories of wailing specters and resident undead shroud the monastery, as well as those who practice there, in a veil of ominous mystery and fear. In truth, many peaceful and departed souls do reside within the monastery’s walls, but only as temporary visitors on the last stage of their departure from the Material Plane.

What's Included:

• 15 pages of tables ghost-hunting lore and setting details for this unique location on the fringe of the Ethereal Plane!
• Explore ghost-ridden forests and cliffs
• Quest and adventure hooks
• Bonus maps donated by Cze & Peku
• New ghostly monsters that go bump in the night!
• New Monk subclass: The Way of the Aether! Strike out using your spiritual energy and provide immediate rest for the undead you encounter. This ethereal monk can phase through the Material Plane by aligning their ki and spiritual energy: aether! 

Credits

I was responsible for direction, design, and additional editing for this setting. However, this couldn't be possible without extra help. If you like this setting, consider supporting these other incredible 5e content creators:

Ty Christensen — Writing, editing

TheArenaGuy — Monster creation, editing

Cze & Peku — Maps

Fabian Saravia — Subclass illustration

Benjamin Sommeregger — Cover art

What comes next?

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This will be a freely accessible post after 1 week of being patron-exclusive. Thank you for your support, heroes, and for letting me make this content for you and the rest of the community!

Subclass Update v1.3:

• Moved the Stunning Strike access for your ranged attacks to your 6th level upgrades instead of 11th.
• Clarified that, yes, these are replacing any unarmed strike you make, so you can use these ranged attacks with your Flurry of Blows.
• Further diversified the mage hand use from the Arcane Trickster. The hand is no longer invisible and more obviously mimics the appearance of your Spirit Strikes.
• Added gentle repose to your 6th level spells.
• Gave you the possession immunity at level 6, when you'll actually be fighting ghosts, rather than level 11.
• Changed Dismiss Undead from being an action, and instead procs when you hit an undead with your Flurry of Blows. This both makes it more exciting to try and use, and ties in a natural resource to it.
• Clarified the use of the Etherstep feature so you can only move through objects while you're still invisible.
• Reduced the Etherealness duration to 1 minute, instead of 1 hour.

Update 1.2

Small update that's mostly for flavor, but will be a welcome addition! Monks of this order can no longer be possessed by ghosts and similar undead creatures starting at 11th level, right when you get your Etherstep ability and can start shifting through the Border Ethereal! Both PDFs have been updated, so be sure to redownload 'em!

Subclass update 1.1

Revised the level 6 ability, Dismiss Undead, to let you cast see invisibility and spare the dying instead of its hyper-specific Ethereal Plane features. Dismiss Undead is moved to a named feature within that level's benefit, which has been renamed to Spectral Guide. This ultimately will be more usable across campaigns and helps address the monks' purpose of helping transition creatures, rather than just being Ethereal and Undead smiters.