Order of the Long Death

Order of the Long Death
Basic Information
Alias(es)	Way of the Long Death
Type	Monastic order
Base ofoperations	Firesteap Mountains, Lake of Steam
Leader(s)	Lenet the Cold
Symbol	A skull with a black diamond on the forehead
Favored deity	Cyric, Jergal, Kelemvor, Kiaransalee, Loviatar, Myrkul, Velsharoon
Favored weapon	Bare hands, kama
Formed	-6100 DR
Membership
Alignment	LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE
Members	100
Relationships
Allegiances	Devotees of Cyric, Kelemvor, and Velsharoon
Enemies	Churches of Ilmater, Chauntea, and Lathander

The Order of the Long Death, also known as the Way of the Long Death, was a monastic order devoted to understanding every aspect related to the process of dying and the nature of death itself.

They cared little for the afterlife, and sought no deeper understanding of a soul's place in the greater cosmology, but rather the effects of death on intelligent beings and the achievement of 'perfect death'. They saw this as the ultimate offering they could bestow upon any being who was deemed truly ready.

Activities

Monks of the Long Death focused their energies on studying death and the art of killing. They learned about the effect of the process of death on living tissue. The ultimate objective was to discover the 'perfect death' - an objective that no member of the group really understood, let alone achieved.

Within their monasteries, they would spend the majority of their time sparring with one another, resting in quiet contemplation, or studying the nature of death. For their studies, the monks dug up bodies, took them to their respective monasteries examined their states of decomposition within their well-stocked laboratories. Perhaps most horrific, the followers of the Long Death purchased or captured slaves, giving them slow deaths in order to observe and record the results.

Outside of the monasteries, they wandered relatively aimlessly, often disguised as beggars, attacking humanoids that they came across in an effort to inflict as painful a death as they could using only their bare hands.

Abilities

Way of the Long Death(Monk of the Long Death)
Region	Thay
Class Statistics
5th Edition Statistics
Magic type	Ki
Spell preparation	Spontaneous
3rd Edition Statistics
Alignment	LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE
Other	Knowledge of alchemy and poisons, knowledge of arcane magic and healing.

Due to their particular field of study, monks of the Long Death were both resistant to and capable of wielding deathly effects and magic. The imprint that death left on their soul made them appear exceptionally frightful to others. More skilled monks were capable of inflicting necrotic harm upon others, easily slaying weakened individuals, and even killing others with their mere touch.

Tactics

When fighting against humanoid opponents, monks of the Long Death preferred to use their bare hands. When forced to fight some beast or monstrous creature, their weapon of choice was the kama.

Base of Operations

There were at least three known monasteries of the Long Death. One in the eastern realm of Thay, one in the Firesteap Mountains on the eastern edge of the Lake of Steam, and the Abbot of the High Crypt within the Turnstone Hills in the Silver Marches.

The order even established a small, secret school in the area of Scardale.

Possessions

Within their monasteries, monks of the Long Death often kept shelves full of rare alchemical reagents and numerous specimens of dead animals and plant life.

The monks dressed in a manner that reflected their fascination with death, wearing dark hooded robes that hid their faces.

Relationships

While they were generally distrustful of others, the order were civil with those who sought to share any insights about death. Due to their narrow scope of interest they were seldom considered to be interesting or engaging by others. They did maintain a form of relationships with the churches of Cyric and later Kelemvor.

As of 1372 DR, the Thayan branch of the order was not supported by the reigning Red Wizards.

History

The order was formed after the people of Calimshan freed themselves from the Djen. Its original purpose was to teach people how they could attack and kill their former masters. Over time however, the monks developed an obsession with death. For their perverse fixation they were eventually run out of Calimshan.

As they were similarly expelled from every other place they attempted to settle in, save for Thay, the monks of the order became a semi-secret society in Faerûn. They established hidden monasteries all over the Realms where they could continue their studies in relative peace.

Members

The Order of the Long Death attracted both morbid scholars and those individuals devoted to the deities of death, namely Kiaransalee, Velsharoon, Loviatar, and of course the successive gods of the dead: Jergal, Myrkul, Cyric, and Kelemvor.

Becoming a member of the order required first finding a monastery. Very few applicants were actually accepted—perhaps a dozen a year—and each one had to pass several tests of strength, agility and endurance before being inducted into the order fully.

Any member who attempted to leave the order or spoke out against it publicly became a target for their killers.

Notable Monks of the Long Death

• Lenek the Cold: The monk who served as the head of the Firesteap Mountains monastery.
• Malark Springhill: The assassin who served Szass Tam during the War of the Zulkirs.
• Grimgnaw: A dwarf monk associated with the Hero of Neverwinter during the Wailing Death.

Appendix

Appearances

Novels

• Unclean
• Undead

Video Games

• Neverwinter Nights

Further Reading

• Rand Sharpsword (April 2003). Monks of the Long Death (HTML). Rand's Travelogue. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2015-09-20. Retrieved on 2010-10-31.