Dharma Abbey

Of all the locations in Dragon Quest III, Dharma Abbey is the one most tied to in-game mechanics. It's here that you unlock the ability to multiclass your characters, allowing them to keep the features and abilities of their current class while gaining access to those of another. The Saga of the Ortegids is not supposed to be a "meta" setting, and one of my goals in creating it was to reimagine the world of the Erdrick Trilogy as a classical fantasy setting that doesn't depend on its roots in a video game. However, in spite of all that, I do think Dharma Abbey has a place in the setting. It's an evocative location, and one that could have a lot of potential in a tabletop campaign.

Dharma Abbey is located in the mountains north of Baharata, in the area corresponding to the Tibetan Plateau. It's populated by reclusive monks who have little contact with the outside world, but there are a few outsiders there who have sought the Abbey for guidance in their personal journeys. Though termed an abbey, the pseudo-Christian iconography of the temples in most cities is lacking, and the place instead has a Buddhist feel (if you couldn't guess by the name).

I plan on addressing the subject of religion in another post, but I feel it's quite apparent that the monks of Dharma Abbey practice a different religion than the rest of the world. Of note, Dharma Abbey is the only way to make one of your characters a Sage - they're the strongest class in the game, with access to the best healing and offensive spells, but in order for one of the party members to become one, they must pass a test involving retrieving a sacred scroll from a dungeon to the north - if the scroll is located there, this is likely the ruin of another temple of the same faith. This item is called different things in pretty much every release of the game, but the NES version calls it the Book of Satori, which is a nice evocative name, so I'm calling the religion Satorism. I would also presume that the Sage class thus represents people who have been taught in the mystic arts at the Abbey, and who have mastered the teachings of Satorism. This also means the monks are likely powerful magicians, versed in different disciplines of magic.

Art by Leland Klanderman

Taking all of this together, I feel it's quite natural to imagine Dharma Abbey as Erdland's Shangri-La, an inhospitable place shrouded in mystery home to mystics and sought out by outsiders, but guarded by considerable danger that one must brave in order to prove their worthiness of their teachings. For a campaign, I think a place like Dharma Abbey would work best as a place to meet mentors or gain information needed for a quest. The sages of the Abbey would be useful allies thanks to their magical prowess and their great knowledge and wisdom, but they clearly do not share their secrets with just anyone, and there would be other quests needed to earn their respect. This would be a great way to gatekeep character progression to in-universe accomplishments, rewarding PCs with resources or abilities for completing quests, or even for undergoing personal growth as a character under a teacher at the Abbey.

There isn't too much in this area of the map besides the Abbey, but in the interests of fleshing out the world, I'd likely put some nomadic tribes in the surrounding hills. Most of the overworld's equivalent to Central Asia is covered by forest (again, more on that in another post), so this seems like the best place to work steppe nomads in, because I have to have steppe nomads somewhere. To maintain the Shangri-La allusions, these people would likely know of the Abbey through local rumor, but those who had laid eyes upon it would likely be few in number - PCs would have to seek them out as guides just to get to the place.