Old Order

The Old Order was a prominent but mysterious monastic order in Faerûn in the early 1370s DR.

Dogma
The Old Order was dedicated to the philosophy espoused by a certain deity, but they did not worship this deity, nor any other, apparently preferring to leave them alone. Their deity was either deceased or had never existed on Toril's Material Plane; the monks were contradictory about this. Some outsiders doubted they'd ever even had a god. The monks considered even the deity's identity unimportant, instead caring only about their message. Their motives were unknown to outsiders. They were generally neutral.

Classes
Monks of the Old Order could cross-train as rogues, sorcerers, and shadowdancers, provided they focused on their monk training.

History
Circa 1370 DR, an adventuring monk of the Old Order from Waterdeep named Teesha Than traveled through Deepingdale in the Dalelands. There she befriended the renowned wizard Rhauntides. In the Year of the Unstrung Harp, 1371 DR, Rhauntides died and, to the surprise of all, bequeathed his tower in Highmoon to Teesha. She established a small monastery there, the first of the Old Order in the Dalelands. It was in operation by the Year of the Wild Magic, 1372 DR. The Deepingdalesfolk were initially wary but soon warmed to them after learning the monks were good neighbors.

Base of Operations
Although the Old Order could be found all over Faerûn, they never had any large monasteries. From 1371 DR, they had a monastery in Rhauntides's Tower in Highmoon, Deepingdale.

Monks of the Old Order were to be found in Waterdeep in the early 1370s, but of course they did not worship at the all-faiths shrine of the Plinth.

Tactics
The monks were keenly focused on defense and resilience. It was rumored that masters of the order achieved ranks by being able to survive a beating from an ogre while never raising a hand in defense.

Activities
Members of the Old Order enjoyed philosophical debates and introspection.

The monks manufactured and sold their enchanted, damage-resisting robes of the Old Order to fund their monasteries. These enabled monks of many faiths and orders to survive battles.

Notable Members

 * Silence-Before-Iron, a mysterious adventuring monk member of the Annals of Halgren circa 1310 DR.
 * Teesha Than

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Icewind Dale II
 * Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
 * Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford