Friday Encounter: Dueling Stylites

This encounter is best suited either on the road or in the wilderness. It was written under the assumption of being set in Golnir, where the practice of stylitism is at its strongest, but it could easily fit in other settings with character names and details being modified accordingly. Though the Byzantine stylites were the most famous, there is certainly evidence that the practice was carried on elsewhere.

Background

The party should come upon a region watched over by two stylites - members of a peculiar monastic tradition. The stylites live as hermits, climbing to the top of a pillar and living their life in lonely meditation, without the distractions of worldly life to keep them from focusing on the divine. Stylites survive off of rainwater, insects, and the donations of the faithful, and many have become sought after for their wisdom, with some attracting pilgrims who seek out these sagely masters for spiritual guidance.

At least, stylites are supposed to live in solitude. But sometimes, things don't go according to plan. This particular stretch of ground happened to be the site of a ruined Fedreline city, with many pillars left over from where the foundations crumbled. By sheer coincidence, two stylites each happened to find a pillar at either end of the city and claimed it as their station. The only issue is, they have rather different, and incompatible, theological outlooks on things...

The Encounter

There are a number of different ways the PCs might encounter the stylites. They might come upon them by happenstance, or they might be sent to seek them for guidance on a quest, or perhaps from following a rumor. If the PCs enter the ruin without looking for a specific stylite, they have a 50-50 chance of encountering one or the other first (alternatively, the DM can decide which monk seems more interesting for a first impression).

Abreas is a stoic old monk who has watched over his pillar for many years. In his years of deprivation, he has grown a long beard, which he wraps around his neck like a scarf. He sits atop a pillar that has broken in half, the capital laying on the ground beneath its foot. Abreas is a staunchly faithful man who entrusts himself fully to the whims of the gods, and he refuses any ideas that do not come from his visions. In particular, he believes that the gods are perfect beings, and thus incapable of creating evil. Therefore, if the universe and the creatures in it were created by the gods, evil must have been introduced by an outside force. Abreas holds that anything that causes harm to others must have been influenced by demons, and a proper devotee of the gods must refuse any such temptation. He sternly cautions others that they must only live a life of perfect virtue.

Leosthenes is a younger monk, but in cutting off all earthly desires, he has let his body wither away and appears much older, with a gaunt frame and hair that is falling out of his scalp. He sits atop the capital of a pillar that is decorated with the carved heads of lions. Leosthenes believes that all things in this world - good and evil - were created by the same gods; he holds that demons are not enemies of the gods, but in fact they work in tandem to achieve a predestined end. Because of this, he has come to the conclusion that whatever happens is a part of the divine plan - even if misfortune may befall innocent people, it is because the gods will it so. As such, he takes a lenient approach to morality; he thinks that if one is tempted to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh, steal, or even murder, it is because the gods want that to happen, and to try to avert that path is to invite their wrath.

The two pillars are far apart enough so that from the ground, one cannot be seen from the location of the other. However, the two hermits can see each other in the distance from their heights, and they can speak to one another if they project their voices. They have long known about their differences and have taken to trying to convert one another - in fact, they have a habit of loudly announcing any visions they receive to one another, always insisting the gods have delivered them revelations in defense of their viewpoints. Abreas believes Leosthenes is a dishonorable cad who makes excuses for sin, while Leosthenes believes that Abreas is a stick in the mud at best and actively meddling against the gods' intentions at worst. However, they are too firm in their viewpoints to change. Whenever the PCs arrive at the ruins, there is a 25% chance they can hear the two hermits engrossed in another argument. Each stylite would be happy to see the other driven off, but neither is willing to step down from their pillar in order to do anything about them.

If the PCs seek guidance from either of the stylites, the monks will try to use them as pawns in their debate, trying to use their actions to prove each other wrong. For instance, Abreas may send the party on a quest to prove their incorruptibility, hoping that if they succeed, it will prove to Leosthenes that virtue is a strength. Leosthenes, on the other hand, might point them to treasure if they express any interest in it, feeling that their greed is what the gods want of them, and that their success will prove his point, for why would the gods allow mortals to steal if they truly did not want it?

Of course, even if the PCs do succeed in a particular stylite's tasks, the other hermit will try to spin the results in defense of their point - for instance, Leosthenes might reject Abreas's quest as merely proving that the gods wanted the PCs to refuse temptation in this particular instance, and Abreas might slam Leosthenes's directions to the treasure as a blatant show of hypocrisy when he has rejected the pleasures of the flesh, undermining his position.

Ultimately, the stylites hope that they may be able to sway the PCs to their side so that the tasks they send them on may lead to their rival conceding to their points - or, failing that, to ensure they disappear. They might not be able to act directly, but if the PCs' actions end up serving their goals they certainly wouldn't complain...