Martial arts · Prepared runes

Brotherhood of Temperance

Become the motion of battle

What this guild is about

Fight with your hands.

Monks fight unarmed. They build concentration through meditation and use Motion of Combat to control the tempo of a fight. The Jewel of Temperance and its runes add prepared powers that their practised attacks release.

The Brotherhood’s warrior monks give their lives to temperance and martial training. A fighter without heavy armour can’t afford poor balance or lost concentration, so meditation comes before action: it builds the state of mind the next movement needs, and practice teaches you when an opponent is open. The goal is to read and control the tempo of a fight until a measured sequence of moves beats brute force or heavy armour.

You might feel at home here if…

You enjoy preparing before a fight.
You want to fight unarmed and can live without heavy armour.
You like building a combat rhythm around concentration and runes.

An insectoid Thri-kreen Monk in light robes stands unarmed with a forehead jewel.

Lore & origins

The long road to a single perfect movement

The Brotherhood’s great hall has weapon racks, targets and tall wooden pillars under a high ceiling. The granite tiles fit with unusual precision, and flickering torchlight makes every movement look hypnotic. Students must pass the School of Temperance, which takes hard training, self-control and discipline, before they can live as warrior monks.

Warrior monks train beneath the monastery’s great statue, in a marble sanctum lit by braziers, and test themselves against each other on a raised platform. They give themselves entirely to temperance and martial arts, working towards control of the motion of combat. The technique began with monks who noticed that the tempo of a fight could be manipulated and built sequences of attacks that punish an opponent’s mistakes.

The higher halls get plainer as the training gets harder. Grand masters practise on a white stone platform in a room lit without any visible lamp, and four elemental paths offer further teaching. The Jewel of Temperance holds the runes a monk learns, charges in combat and prepares for release; Brother Bessobb teaches them.

Stone monastery halls with polished floors and tall windows.

A place in the world

The cloisters of Temperance

The monastery is built into the rock beneath four towers. Its halls lead from the hard physical training rooms to the warrior monks’ marble sanctum and the bare rooms of the grand masters. Targets, pillars and practice platforms get as much space as the temple trappings.

Read about the world

Their role in a fight

Set the tempo.

A monk deals close-range damage with unarmed combat and trained sequences. Motion of Combat is the signature manoeuvre, backed by martial knowledge and meditation. Combat styles shift the balance: Offensive Flow makes your attacks faster and more effective but leaves you worse at evading. You decide how much safety to trade for a stronger attack.

A Monk kneels in a quiet stone cloister with palms together, gathering concentration before battle. — Meditation prepares the concentration that a Monk carries into combat.

With a party

In a party, a monk adds steady melee pressure and prepared rune effects. A stable formation gives you time to use the concentration and techniques you prepared before the fight. Agree with the group how exposed you should be before you switch to an aggressive style: your signature manoeuvre doesn’t work in heavy armour, so putting more armour on is not an answer.

On your own

Fighting alone shows how much the preparation matters. Meditate before you go into danger, pick a style for the opponent and use the techniques and runes you have prepared. Your concentration affects whether Motion of Combat succeeds, so the state you start a fight in matters.

Trade-offs

Motion of Combat doesn’t work with a wielded weapon or with medium or heavy armour on any hit location, and Offensive Flow gives up defence for speed, so your equipment and stance have to suit the technique. Meditation takes your full attention. A violent interruption can leave you dazed and drained before the fight has properly started.

Abilities

Signature abilities

Motion of Combat
The signature unarmed manoeuvre
Control the tempo of a fight and punish mistakes with a fluent sequence of attacks. Your meditational level affects the chance of success, and the manoeuvre costs concentration and spell points. It doesn’t work with a wielded weapon or with medium or heavy armour on hit locations.
Meditation
Concentration before commitment
Clear your mind and build the concentration a monk needs to fight at full strength. Monk meditation restores mental stamina and the body together. You can’t do anything else while meditating, and an interruption or stopping early without enough skill carries penalties.
Offensive Flow
A faster, riskier rhythm
A combat style that makes your attacks faster, more accurate and harder-hitting, at the cost of parrying and dodging. Use it when the fight allows, and drop it when you can’t afford to lose the evasion.
The Jewel’s runes
Prepare, charge and release
Learn a rune, charge it by using Motion of Combat, then prepare the finished rune so that your next Motion of Combat releases it. Each rune has its own effect: Arc Flash Nexus, for example, turns part of your attack damage into lightning.

Progression

Enter the brotherhood.

You go from initiation through the School of Temperance to the life of a warrior monk. Martial arts are the foundation, and related attacks and combat styles support Motion of Combat. Runes are learned separately, then charged, prepared and used. Grand masters and the elemental paths take the training further. Your body, equipment and concentration all have to suit the technique, so learning how to start a fight well is part of the training.

Read the guild reference Plan a reincarnation