| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Adoril |
Posted - 09 May 2021 : 20:53:11
Greetings!
I am in the process of preparing my groups next campaign, and I am working it towards being centered around Candlekeep as a whole. I am utilizing as much "official" lore as possible, both from the Candlekeep Mysteries book as well as various literatures on the dmsguild page (Elminster's Candlekeep Companion, for instance), as well as the usual wikipages.
One thing that bothers me, is that I have a hard time finding out how most of them look alike. In essence, what colors that define the monks of Candlekeep?
The official crest of Candlekeep is red and gold, but none of the monks seems to wear these colors. Unless this is actually the usual attire?
Link to the crest: https://i.imgur.com/6chy6do.png
Although I am sure this is not due to lore - The crest colors was used on the robes when the D&D Beyond comic writer Luke made a candlekeep related picture: https://i.imgur.com/Vy02gH3.png
Reading into the Candlekeep Mysteries AND the Candlekeep Companion, it mentions that "five purple-robed monks stand at the gate" and on the wiki page of the Avowed (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Avowed) the Organization structure mention that the lowest ranked avowed, Acolyte, wear black robes and also that "Four Watchers each led a group of one dozen armed monks. They wore plain brown robes."
It has also been mentioned in a few sources that the Keeper of Tomes (the leader of the Avowed) is the only member in the keep that wears a white robe.
So yeah, I guess it could be different robes on all ranks, but these are findings that doesn't correlate with eachother on various sources.
I know I can just "decide" how it should look in my own campaign, but I really want it to be as close to lore as possible when I describe this to my players.
In the classic Baldur's Gate game, most of the monks wore green robes for some reason, except Gorion and the Keeper of Tomes...
So, does anyone has any sources or ideas on how to do this? I was about to go all purple-robed on everybody. Red and gold feels to much alike the Red Wizards of Thay.
Maybe the answer to this is to make it different robes on different ranks since they seem to differ a lot from different sources.?
Would really appreciate the help! |
| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| ElfBane |
Posted - 24 Jun 2021 : 06:54:00
In BG1, one of the monks that appear after the assassination attempts, Karan or Parda, wears a yellow robe. |
| Zeromaru X |
Posted - 24 Jun 2021 : 01:02:34
quote:
Originally posted by Delnyn
I assume your campaign does not have to account for the events that happened in The Herald.
If he is playing "Candlekeep Mysteries", that adventure happens after the The Herald. |
| Delnyn |
Posted - 22 Jun 2021 : 21:34:00
Ranks could also be enforced simply by attunement to the various wards of Candlekeep. If you don't have the rank, you are not attuned to certain wards. The wards then enforce the restrictions.
I assume your campaign does not have to account for the events that happened in The Herald. |
| Adoril |
Posted - 11 May 2021 : 07:38:22
quote:
Originally posted by SaMoCon
Just to point out, the crest colors don't have to cover the entire outfit nor do robe colors have to be uniform or even be the robe itself. Koukoulion, tabards, mantles, sashes, and other forms of outerwear or coverings may be employed as more utilitarian and/or ceremonial than just mono-colored robes. As for red implying association with the Red Wizards on the opposite side of the continent that would be giving the Thayans too much credit in the eyes of the populace in the Heartlands and all regions Westward of the Inner Seas. The most famous use of the color red IRL is the British army, yet red coats populate several armies of the world and no one even gives a second glance at the US Marine Band playing ceremonial functions in Washington DC, national pride units from Bolivia to Poland, and many of the world's honor guards wearing red without any connection to the (in)famous "red coats." Even if Candlekeep was slathered in red, most people would just think "those folks really like the color red." Hopefully, this opens up more options for you and make certain segments of confusing (and possibly unreliable narrator penned) lore easier to manage.
Thank you for your thoughts. I can definitely see what you are saying about the Red Wizards of Thay and how it would be giving them too much respect and credit if taken into account to not use such colors.
I guess what I am after is how to easily distinguish the monastic order of the Avowed, and within it, distinguish its heirarchy - for my players.
Your response did indeed open up to more possibilities. I imagine the higher up the heirarchy, dress-code might loose importance.
Still a bit puzzled how to go by it, since for some reason, lore-wise, they have set some of their colors to purple, some brown and some black (and white).
Somehow, seekers need a way to distinguish avowed from other seekers. Maybe it is just the crest itself? |
| SaMoCon |
Posted - 10 May 2021 : 22:18:46
Just to point out, the crest colors don't have to cover the entire outfit nor do robe colors have to be uniform or even be the robe itself. Koukoulion, tabards, mantles, sashes, and other forms of outerwear or coverings may be employed as more utilitarian and/or ceremonial than just mono-colored robes. As for red implying association with the Red Wizards on the opposite side of the continent that would be giving the Thayans too much credit in the eyes of the populace in the Heartlands and all regions Westward of the Inner Seas. The most famous use of the color red IRL is the British army, yet red coats populate several armies of the world and no one even gives a second glance at the US Marine Band playing ceremonial functions in Washington DC, national pride units from Bolivia to Poland, and many of the world's honor guards wearing red without any connection to the (in)famous "red coats." Even if Candlekeep was slathered in red, most people would just think "those folks really like the color red." Hopefully, this opens up more options for you and make certain segments of confusing (and possibly unreliable narrator penned) lore easier to manage. |
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